On Our Own Again

So, I really should be uploading my grades into my electronic gradebook right now, but I don't want to disappoint those of you waiting patiently for this post.  Okay, okay... I'm just procrastinating the work and it's only my first day back from vacation. Definitely not a good sign, but I digress...

After our family left to go back to their cozy little homes, we headed out to Sears to purchase a dishwasher.  We had already scouted out a particular dishwasher for its good reviews and new sale price!  Right before we left, we decided maybe we should head to Lowes just for a "looksie."  Sure enough, we found an equivalent dishwasher for an overall better price!  We combined several gift cards we had from the last year as well as our security deposit from our apartment, which helped ease the financial weight off our shoulders. I think, collectively, we spent about 4 hours researching the best dishwasher in our price range.  We'll soon find out in the New Year if our research paid off!  The dishwasher was scheduled to get installed today while we were at work, but after careful consideration and a recommendation from B's dad (our common sense must have walked away), we rescheduled it for Friday.  In the end, we just weren't comfortable with someone in our house when we aren't.  I mean, who is!?!

Brendan comparing two dishwashers line by line of the printouts.

That night Brendan did loads of laundry and I cleaned our new dishes to start stocking our glass display cupboards.  I was very excited for this because we had not opened ANY of our shower and wedding gifts.  It has been a great experience to move into a new house and unload all our new items with it.

Couldn't wait any longer for a dishwasher.  New, beautiful glasses drying on the kitchen counter.

 The dishes went very well, up until I unpacked the Pfaltzgraff dishes.  First load, was washed and dried and looked wonderful in the cabinets.  Then onto the second set of Pfaltzgraff dishes. Immediately, I noticed that the same style of dishes looked a bit different.  *See photos below.

Houston, we have a problem.

Wrong (dark) shade

Correct shade

Yes, that's right!  The exact same brand, same dish style (Colton) was not really the same. I called Pfaltzgraff, who told me to work with Bed, Bath, and Beyond (the wholesaler).  I was sure they were giving me the run-around and after waiting on the line for 15 minutes... I wasn't leaving easily.  (I am most definitely a customer service agent's worst nightmare.)  I asked the agent to create a customer number for me, so that a case could be started recording my concern with my dishes and could easily be dealt with later, if BB&B was unable to.  She did, although she didn't seem too excited about it.  I called BB&B, and they said I could come in any time to exchange the set and my gift registry would act as my receipt.  That store may overwhelm me and cause my head to spin, but they are super flexible and customer friendly.

The end of our vacation was quiet and calm. We enjoyed a beautiful drive on New Year's Day from Fredonia to Jamestown and saw this vivid rainbow.

Serenity

And then dark ominous skies gathered and we knew it was time to get some supplies from the store just in case the predicted bad storm came true.  Well sure enough on our last day of break, it snowed and snowed.  We had a total of 8 inches.  I have a sneaking suspicion that a snow blower purchase is around the corner.  (Ka-ching, ka-ching, goes the bank account. Wince, wince go the Keisers.)

8 inches to shovel!

Isn't this a beautiful American street!?!

I guess it's time to turn up the heat!

This is pretty much where we ended! We'd like to leave you with one little thing.  There are always surprises in our house; things we could never imagine.  The latest discovery... rubber door knob handles.  Yep!  I don't know what made me pull on the edge of the knob, but sure enough, I slipped a rubber cover off the old bronze doorknob to a bedroom.

Brendan, always ready with the iPhone, captured it!