The best news of the week has to be my oldest son getting his very first job! My son is 20 years old, recently out of high school and just waiting on a few minor details to be sorted out before he can head off to college. But before all that can happen, he needed a job and the deal was that after we got back from our epic Boston trip and month long vacation, he would look for one. It took a little bit longer than expected for him to secure a job because of the whole pandemic and I honestly gave up hope on him getting a job while we were still on this lockdown. But good news always has a way of fnding our family when we least expect it.
He and I went looking for starter jobs back in February as expectations of him getting anything serious was low. He is very inexperienced and we just wanted him to get his feet wet with a bit of work experience before he headed off to college. He needed to immerse himself into the real world and that meant he had to work. After the lockdown happened, we decided to hold off on the job search as many businesses were closed anyway and jobs were few and far between. Then one day, when the opportunity presented itself, I sent in a job application on Facebook to a call center just in case. Well, that just in case gave my son a call last Friday. By Monday he had the job and his first day of work was on Wednesday. Tomorrow marks his second week as a working adult and I could not be more proud.
The job itself is pretty self explanatory as he works as a customer service rep in a call center. It's a pretty decent job and an awesome opportunity for a first timer fresh out of high school. He'll be making more money than he'll know what to do with and gain experience along the way.
Now on to our appliance purchases. We have been looking to upgrade our refridgerator and stove for years. For starters, both were over 14 years old and slowly falling apart. Our stove was already a hand me down without a working oven. And our fridge, while purchased brand new about 14 years ago, was not the fridge I had wanted. But it was cheap and it was a gift so I graciously accepted.
For starters, the fridge was small. Bulk shopping each month always proved tricky and I had to play tetris every time I needed to arrange items in the freezer. The fridge section was no better as items had to be taken out to reach other items in the back and it proved difficult maneuvering certain bulky items in and out of the fridge. The doors lacked sufficient space as well, and over the years certain parts started breaking. To add to all those problems, the fridge atarted leaking and the door would not close on it's own. I had to scoop water out of the bottom of the fridge twice a week or water would end up spilling out all over the kitchen floor. We also had to get into the habit of not just slamming the door shut but kicking it as well to ensure that the door was closed properly. Faiure to do so would leave the door ajar which, of course, was not ideal. Also, temperature control was an issue as items would freeze in the fridge and veggies and fruits would go bad too quickly. In short, our fridge was a nightmare that we had to live with for years.
Finally, after much discussion, we decided to just go ahead and buy a new refridgerator. Not just upgrading to a more functional fridge for our family that works but also stepping into the 21st century with a more technologically advanced appliance. Oor dream refridgerator was a side by side stainless steel or equivalent with ice and water dispenser. We also thought it would be nice to get one with a feature that would keep our produce fresh as long as possible. We honestly didn't do much in depth research on what model or brand we wanted because honestly, we just wanted a basic fridge that worked. Anything was better than what we had.
To be fair, I have to give credit to our old fridge for lasting so many years. Even with all it's issues, it still kept our food cold and somewhat fresh. That was one reason we kept it for so long as it did still work for the most part and the kind of refridgerators we were looking for are very pricey. Appliances in general cost a pretty penny and we wanted to make sure we were ready to make such a huge purchase. With the ongoing remodel of our kitchen, we decided now was as good a time as any to not just upgrade the kitchen but the appliances as well.
We ended up purchasing an LG side by side large capacity refridgerator with ice and water dispenser system in the door as well as wifi capabilities (an extra feature we probably won't even use). Having a bigger fridge means I won't have to play tetris with my groceries. It'll be a nice change not having to worry about the amount of food I am buying every month, wondering whether it will all fit or not. I also love the sleek stainless steel look of the fridge as it's very modern and fairly easy to clean. Plus having cold water at the push of a button is a luxury I can certainly get used to
The GE stove we bought is most definitly the upgrade we needed. I finally have a working oven and it feels amazing. I am in love with the glass cook top as it's sleek and easy to clean. And I also love the stainless steel and black modern look. The oven is also very spacious and the warming rack at the bottom gives amazing storage space. Holiday cooking and baking will be such a breeze from now on. After years of pining after a stove like this, I finally own one.
We are finally living a dream with our new appliances and I could not be any happier.
