appliance shopping

Well, I haven't written in a while. I do have some pictures to upload, but that requires me to be on my desk computer and not this laptop, since they are all on that harddrive. So, instead you just get a note from me about what's been going on lately. To update you on the mouse situation, so far no other indicators that we have any more mice in the house. Think and hope we are ok. However, bad news about the dishwasher. Evidently the tub is not a replaceable part so the dishwasher is toast. So I've spent the last several days dragging the kids to appliance stores and checking out new dishwashers (and washer/dryers, since I was planning on buying a set at Christmas for our upstairs laundry room anyway, I might as well use my time at the store to look at both so I don't have to go through all this again in a few months). So anyway, I always say I LOVE looking at and getting new appliances...but the truth is I LOVE it when I'm not really in the market to buy one. When I really need to buy one and make a decision I get all stressed out trying to figure out which one will be right for me. The reason for this problem is that the first time I bought new appliances I got perfect ones and loved them. The second time I bought new appliances I've had bad luck. For example... my old washer was fine, my new one tangles my bras horribly even on the gentle cycle. What a pain. 2. Loved my first fridge, but when it was in storage when we first moved here, the heat in the storage unit did something to mess up the ice maker so it had a small leak that caused all the ice to freeze together in a clump(that was a GE Profile by the way). Bought a Whirlpool a few years ago- got great shelves and set up organization-but it freezes my fridge food in certain places in the fridge even though I've turned the temp on both the fridge and freezer lower than the recommended "normal" level. Drives me nuts and makes me mad. In fact, just yesterday I pulled out my container of carrots in water and they were frozen in a block of ice! ugh! So anyway, I'LL never buy a whirlpool fridge again, and I hope u don't either. Then #3, I had a small leak on my dishwasher (which was actually great) . I told my husband about it, hoping he would just look at it and tighten a nut or something to stop the leak. He told me to just buy a new one (I think he wanted to change to stainless steel anyway). Well, I usually don't say no when given the opportunity to buy something new (ha ha) so I went and got a Fridgidaire. Horrible! Did not clean the dishes. Was so discouraged I called Lowe's and asked what their policy was on returning installed appliances. They were great, they actually let me get a different one and they exchanged it out. (ps. don't EVER buy a fridgidaire dishwasher-afterward when I'd mention to salespeople they'd all say "oh yea, frididaire's never clean well" [why didn't someone tell me this during the purchase?!}) Anyway, exchanged it for a GE and its been pretty good. Only annoying thing is that my bowls don't fit on the top shelve where I would prefer to put them. But anyway, this is the one the mouse ruined so now I have to replace it. So all this to say, what was once a fun, enjoyable shopping experience, has now turned into a wretched requirement that is wrought with anxiety and frustration. I would really like to be able to run a load in a dishwasher before I buy it and stack it with MY dishes to see if they really fit. And most importantly will it clean them, and secondly will they be dry? I am a firm believer in the fact that a dishwasher is meant to WASH the dishes so I shouldn't have to pre-wash them in the sink. Sure, I scrape off the food chunks, but I don't rinse or wash them unless they are super stuck on there. So anyway, that's another issue, because all new dishwashers came with built in food disposers, but now I've learned some of the high end brands which u would expect to be the best(Bosch) don't. U actually have to clean the filter manually. YUCK. Who wants to clean out gross old food from the bottom of your machine? Not me. So I've been doing lots of research on drying elements, and cleaning issues, only to not find much that is helping me.
But to cut this short (not really but I still have alot to say), Dan is getting ready for bed, so I need to turn this off and go to bed too so he doesn't get grumpy. (that was for u Dan-but u know its true!) :)

Anyway, tomorrow the girls will be at grandma's so after I finish work (early I hope) I am planning on heading to the appliance stores again to brave the overload of information and try to choose one and be done with this. Wish me luck.

Oh, by the way, my stupid scale says I gained 5 pounds. I'd say "what's the deal with that?!" but I know the "deal with that" is all the cookies and ice cream I've been eating lately. ggggrrrrr! Wish I was naturally skinny like high school and could eat ANYTHING all the time and not HAVE to work out (just do it when or if I wanted to). But I guess age, babies, and a slower metabolism have changed all that. Such is life.