Sally's & Home Depot

Sally's Beauty Supply

I guess I just paid $2.50 for an age compliment.

Last night I went to Sally's Beauty Supply and upon checking out I was asked if I'd like to join their beauty club. After hearing the reduced cost of $2.50 vs. the $5.00 regular membership if one is 55 or older, I said, "Sure, it'll only cost me $2.50. When I got to the car and looked at my receipt, I'd been charged $5.00 instead of the reduced fee of $2.50 for being 55 or older. I let it go as I received a $5 coupon to use in the store at the end of my cash register receipt and will correct them at the end of a year when it expires.

Home Depot

Home Depot was supposed to deliver and install our new dishwasher on the 29th. They delivered it, but then told us they couldn't install it because the water shut-off valve that is just for the dishwasher was not right next to it - on the same level. Ours is just at the bottom of the basement steps which is right off our kitchen. The plumber redid it so it would make it EASIER for them to do the installation compared to what the past owners had done. So, NOW we have to call the plumber back and pay even more money to get the @&^%* thing installed. This "little" project is going to cost a fortune before it's over. The dishwasher was only $300. It's not like there was never one there - there was. The guy from Home Depot said where we have the shut-off valve isn't wrong it's just against their policy on what is required for them to install the dishwasher. I told him then I bet nearly all the installations that are scheduled for them never happen, and he said it was about 50/50. I bet it's higher than that. Home Depot hires another company to do their installations with Home Depot regulations/rules. Another crappy thing which is mostly why we had to have the plumber come to the house in the first place is that Home Depot will cart away your old dishwasher free if and only if it's already unhooked and taken out.

In hindsight, I should have just had the dishwasher delivered and had the plumber out once to do ALL the work. This will be the third time he's been here for this project.

Christmas Cookies & Kitchen Chaos

Compared to the decorated Christmas cookies I've made in the past, this year's are a bit sorry looking. But, hubby will think they're beautiful and will gladly eat them, and that's all that really matters anyway.

We're getting a new dishwasher that will be installed the Wed. after Christmas, and I have stuff sitting everywhere that came from under the kitchen sink that I had to remove for the plumber to take out our garbage disposal that stopped working, redo the plumbing there, and take out our old built-in dishwasher that's now sitting on the patio waiting to be hauled away when the new one comes. Hubby thought I was kidding when I said that I was the plumber's right hand man until I told him all the stuff I helped with. Then, add the fact that I started to rearrange a corner cabinet on a whim the same day and never finished it and now that stuff is also sitting to be gone through, purged and rearranged.

Actually, if you'd see my kitchen you'd be amazed I was even able to produce these Christmas cookies...lol I just hope the new dishwasher is worth all of this trouble AND cost. I had gotten used to doing dishes by hand when I decided a couple of years ago that the 30 year old dishwasher that came with the house wasn't doing all that great of a job unless I practically washed them first myself so I just stopped using it. Now, it doesn't work at all. I found a good deal for a new one on-line on Cyber Monday so I decided to replace it. I hate having something around that doesn't serve a purpose anymore or work anymore just taking up space. I just never knew it would be such an involved and costly project.

Cookie Baking Tip - Using parchment paper on your cookie sheets makes baking cookies a hundred times easier and more successful. I didn't become a great cookie baker until I discovered it.