Saef~while I don't check CR for purchases, I do Google the appliance for reviews. Usually the end-user has a better opinion regardless of whether or not CR gives it a nod.

Michele~that is so sweet! Let us know what she thinks!

Here's what happened to us over Christmas. First, DD gave me a Christmas card with a personal note saying something to the tune of "I know I don't say it often enough, but I love you and appreciate everything you do for me." Then, two days after Christmas we went on a 6 mile hike. She's been trying to get me to do this for years. I have been hesitant. Well, she got me hooked to the point where I ordered a Camelbak water backpack and hiking boots yesterday. We're looking forward to an 8 mile hike in January when she returns for a short visit.

Allison - you mentioned an article last week talking about needing carbs in winter, can you send me the link?

Off to brave the AT&T store - back later.

Jessica What a great suggestion you made to saef about having her mom purchase the appliances. That would give mom the feeling she was really helping out and relieve saef of what she sees as a tedious chore.

I have never bought large appliances - always rented and had them there. I did consult CR (I am a "member" online) when buying the new TV and also when getting Laffie. I also looked at other reviews from other sources but I value CR's less biased (IMHO) opinions.

So my dad slipped and fell yet again and I think he's refractured the ankle he did last time. He's refusing to go to the hospital for an xray because he will probably pee his pants sometime during the transport/wait. No adult diapers for him though! He's a MAN!

My cousin the doctor is coming to see him tonite. Hopefully he can talk some sense into him. ARRRGH!!!

I hired a snow removal service for my dad's house yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised to see they had already been there when I arrived at 9 a.m. today. They did a great job too and are very reasonably priced.

I'm going to go see "Ides of March" again this afternoon so I can drool over George Clooney without DH there.

Anyone got any exciting New Year's Eve plans?

Dagmar

saef, I think your mother feels badly about what happened to you and wants to help.
Re: the appliances the most important thing is that they fit the allotted space, take those measurements with you as well as a tape measure to measure the proposed new ones.

Funny story - former clients of mine had a huge, expensive reno done to their kitchen, using "professional designers" for the first time. There was a space alloted in the cabinetry to an as yet unpurchased espresso machine.

My client showed me the 4-page letter he was giving to the designers, citing all sorts of problems, including the fact that, out of the 73 espresso makers available in Canada, NOT ONE fit the intended space in his kitchen.

DH and I are compulsive measurers and we always have tape measures in each of our vehicles.

Dagmar

I can't find it! It had to have been on CNN news. I googled it and still can't find it, but the google did state that in winter we have low levels of seratonin in our brains due to lack of vitamin D and that eating carbs increases tryptophan which in turn raises the seratonin.

Hope that helps!

Me, too. I also know the span of my hand is 7 1/2 inches.

Thanks, Jessica, for suggesting Momsourcing my appliance shopping chores, and also thanks to Dagmar for agreeing that this sounded like a sensible solution. That's what I did. I had to work much of the day. I told my mother: "This is painful. Let's stop. You know what I want. And I've given you the dimensions. Can you help out?"

(Yes, Bargoo, the dimensions were another thing that I made notes on while doing the walk-through with the contractor: I asked him to measure the spaces and tell me how much room I had for my appliances, and also for my bathroom vanity. My original stove had been a very tight fit, and I had to get a 33-inch wide fridge also.)

My mother came back with printouts of two things that look appealing. On the dishwasher, there's a slightly marred floor model in NJ that might suit, if they can deliver.

Now my headache is the bathroom vanity. As often happens with Prewar-era apartments in the NY area, my bathroom is very, very small. (It would feel insufferable, actually, except for the very high ceiling and the long window.) The space for the bathroom vanity is only 21 inches wide and 18 inches deep. Yes, you read that right. I think the answer is probably something custom-made.

saef We too have a tiny bathroom - carved out of part of our equally tiny kitchen (which is now galley). We have a pedestal sink instead of a vanity so that face-washing and shaving doesn't get water all over the floor.

Our bathroom storage (toilet paper, lotions, potion, etc.) is all mounted on the walls in 2 mirrored cabinets. We do have to watch our heads whenever we open a cabinet door (or get up off the "throne") but everything is neatly out of sight and the mirrors make the windowless space seem a bit larger.

Perhpas this might be a solution for you saef, instead of a vanity with a teeny tiny sink.

DH and I are going to go see "Chagall and the Russian Avant Garde" at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario)) today. DH is also going to shop for pants. I'm hoping to persuade him to go to the gallery first so that we can enjoy the exhibit. Then, when he gets totally frustrated by the shopping we can go home, take a nap, and be ready for our at-home New Year's Eve.

Good day all! Enjoy your New Year's Eve celebrations!

Dagmar

Dagmar, I'd love to come with you. I saw a wonderful Chagall exhibition at the Royal Academy in London the other year. I was particularly struck by his use of violet and green.

I'm on a train, coming back from a few nice days in Edinburgh and Dundee (Scotland, you know).

I'm not sure how I got so tired yesterday. I woke up early and flew home. BF picked me up, we drove home from the airport (2 hour drive). I looked at Emma's eyes when I got home and took her straight to the vet. One eye that started to get irritated the night before I left and "looked better" according to BF had turned into two red gunky messes. $150 later I came home with some antibiotic ointment to apply (her eyes already look much better this AM) and took Emma for a jog. BF and I hung out and stayed in last night, and I was exhausted and passed out by 10:00. I'm glad to be home! I plan to finish unpacking, do laundry today, maybe study lines some more and take it easy. Oh, and take Emma for a long wog, of course. She laid in my lap on the couch last night and seems determined to make up a week's worth of affection as quickly as possible.

I think the rest of the visit with my family went better. I tried to be more positive and also we went out in the evenings and did some things (shoe shopping one night, a Christmas light celebration the next that was very impressive). If this happens again I decided I could get dropped off at a metro station and take a metro into the city and spend some time at the Smithsonian museums, which I've always enjoyed.

Saef, I'm glad giving your mom the task of appliance shopping herself has worked out. I was watching a TV show about how the Japanese fit so much into small spaces while I was away... I think NatGeo channel or something like it. I wish some of these solutions were more readily available here. Not all Americans want bigger, bigger, bigger all the time! GL finding a solution for your bathroom.

Allison, what a sweet gift from your daughter, and so nice you enjoyed your hike together!

Michele, what a neat idea. Share with us what you end up getting your DD/how she receives your gifts!

I really have no idea what BF & I will do for New Years. I think there will be a bonfire on the beach but the way I feel right now, I will be happy to go to bed early and skip the celebrations. Have a happy New Year all!

I've been getting a lot of crashes from this site lately - sorry for not posting. I get a post started and then I lose it...

Allison - thanks for the info!

Dagmar - sorry you're client let you go. That is sad. Enjoy your show! I saw some Chagall while it was on tour to the High Museum here a few years ago. We have Warhol now - I want to go.

Saef - I think it is cool that your mom helped with appliances. That would be a good task for my mom in that setting.

Megan - you have had a busy week, it isn't a wonder that you are tired! I'm glad that things got better later in the trip.

Jessica - I hate HOAs. We just founded ours from the builder and I dread it. Really though - there isn't much they could do to you for your garden other than peer pressure. It is hard to uphold covenants in court if they tried to file them, unless you are doing something that breaks the law.

I'm ready for things to get back to normal. Holidays done, decorations down. My parents came up for the last party with DSS today, so I can get decorations down tomorrow after my race. I'm running a ResolutionRun 10k tomorrow at 11.

I'm now at almost a week with my GoWearFit. I love it. My obsessive about details mom told me it is a little crazy, but it makes me happy. It is much easier to make a good food choice when you can look down at your real time calorie burn on the screen of your phone.

Shannon~I'm intrigued on the GoWearFit. A few questions: where on your arm do you wear it? I see there are several different models--any idea if any are better than others? The one I looked at at Amazon was about $160, but there was another for $80--difference? Is the App free or included in the price?

We went golfing today and it was horrible! Only one par for me and one hole I dropped my shoulder really bad and took a huge divot and the force of doing so hurt my right wrist. It was so painful that the last 6 holes or more I gave up even trying to drive--I just chipped and putted (which isn't nearly as fun). I didn't even do that on #18. Sad. I iced it all during lunch and came home and took some pain killers.

I had to make a lasagna for dinner tomorrow, and I couldn't stir the ricotta mixture--had to have DH do it for me because it was so thick and hard to stir. I sure hope this doesn't last long!