VERSUS

If two of the top-selling refrigerators had a fight, which one would win a spot in your kitchen? That’s the question we posed during our last trip to Metro Builders Supply (located on Highway 71Business between Springdale and Lowell). We pitted two of the top styles against one another so we could really compare and contrast them. Here’s what we learned during our version of “Fridge Fight Nite.”

GE Profile French Door Refrigerator (Style number: PFSS6PKX5S)

(Pictured above on the right)

The pros:

• The space in this thing seems HUGE.
• Love the width; perfect for big platters, deli trays, casserole dishes, etc.
• Adjustable, spill-proof shelves with a pop-up shelf to make room for tall liter bottles;
• Temperature-control on a big deli drawer;
• LED lighting that never needs replacing.
• In-door ice maker offers cubed or crushed ice. (Yum.)
• Most of the time I’m using the fridge portion, not the freezer. I like that the fridge space is all on top and the chest-style freezer is below.

The cons:

• Speaking of that chest-style freezer, it seems a little small and most of the food would have to be stacked on top of each other.
• The in-door ice-maker has trouble keeping up with a big demand. It makes about 4 to 6 pounds of ice a day, but that won’t last if your family likes lots of ice in every drink.
• Price tag is about $2,400 - a pretty big investment.

GE Profile Side by Side Refrigerator (Style number PSHF6RGXSS)

(Pictured above on the left)

The pros:

• The price is markedly lower at $1,699.
• Still offers the nice slide-out shelves like the French Door version
• LED lighting that won’t need replacement bulbs
• Door storage can hold gallon-size jugs of milk and other drinks
• Can holder for 9 drinks
• Deli-fresh drawer is temperature controlled.
• This one makes way more ice than its French Door counterpart and can turn out around 12 pounds of ice. Cool.

The cons:

• Even though the cubic foot capacity is identical between these two competitors, the side-by-side style seems SO much smaller and tighter than the French Door version. It may be just the perception, but it’s definitely worth mentioning.
• The side-by-side style gives me fewer possibilities on shelf organization.
• It’s just not wide enough to slide in a big deli tray or party platter.

So who delivers the knock-out punch and wins the match? It really comes down to which one delivers the most for your specific wish list. For me, the French Door style takes the title because I like the width, I have extra freezer space in my garage and I don’t use very much ice. But that’s just me. Which one would win in your kitchen? Share your comments below if you have experience and likes or dislikes about either style.

Here’s a note if you’re looking for a refrigerator with similar features as the ones described above but want something with a little more contemporary, modern look (pictured right). The Jenn-air brand French Door and Side-by-Side refrigerators had most of the same features and even offered a really neat “Chillkeeper” compartment, designed specifically to keep your milk fresher longer. We like that idea a lot.

For more info on these refrigerators or any others, call Metro Builders Supply at 479-750-2200 or check out their HUGE showroom on Highway 71 Business in Springdale or browse online by clicking HERE.

Finally, the housewives of Wisteria Lane are back from the holiday break. Looks like 2009 is getting interesting already. If you missed it, here’s what happened Sunday night:

Edie: Well, crazy Dave is off his meds because he kinda murdered his psychiatrist and then burned down the bar where he committed the crime to cover it up. So Dave has not been able to get a much-needed refill which has caused him to become more than a little edgy and bizarre. In fact, Edie woke up in the middle of the night and heard Dave’s voice coming from the dining room. She tip-toed downstairs and found him sitting there alone having a conversation with invisible people. When she questioned him about it the next day, he finally admitted that he was married once before but that his wife had died. But that was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back for Edie. She told him to pack his things and get out by the end of the day. Ouch.

Bree: Bree offered to host her son’s boyfriend’s mother for a few days so they could all meet their future in-laws. It would have probably been fine, except this lady is like the anti-Bree. She’s an out-of-work cocktail waitress who likes to kick back a few beers on the front steps and smash her cans with her feet. But she and Bree do have one thing in common – they both like to have their own way. So when the boyfriend’s mother tried to convince the guys to move five hours away to her town, Bree upped the ante and bought the vacant house on Wisteria Lane, to ensure that her son and any future grandchildren would be close by.

Susan: Mike had M.J. and boyfriend Jackson was out-of-town, so Susan went out with her gay neighbor, who was in a tiff with Bob. They went to a bar, complained about men, drank too much wine and ended up in bed together. But nothing happened, except Susan beginning to realize that maybe she just doesn’t love Jackson enough to move away from Wisteria Lane and live with him in another town. (That’s okay with me. Not a big fan of Jackson’s hair anyway.)

Gabi: When Carlos quit his job at the country club, Gabi insisted he get busy finding a new one. In fact, she even found one for him when she bumped into a former associate of his who was looking for an investment “shark” like Carlos. But Carlos had decided he wanted to work with the blind at the community center – a job that would inevitably keep the family struggling to pay the bills. They both dug in their heels, but Gabi eventually won the fight and said it was “his turn” to take care of things for a while. Hope that move doesn’t come back to bite her. I have a feeling it will.

Lynette: She’s definitely got the market cornered on the biggest problems on Wisteria Lane. Her son is on the run and his identical twin is standing in for him so that the family doesn’t lose their bail money, which would mean they’d lose their restaurant and sole source of income. Talk about your high-stress situations. Lynette found out that the twins had been secretly talking by cell phone and she convinced Preston to tell his brother to come home. (He’s hiding out because the husband of the woman he had an affair with has threatened to kill him. And he’s also a tad worried about going to jail for setting a deadly fire in a bar. But he didn’t actually do that one.) At the end of the episode, we found out that Preston is holed up with his grandmother – Lynette’s not so sweet and cuddly mom.

There will be another new episode next Sunday, so stay tuned, set your DVR or meet me back here next Monday for a full recap of the action.

By Gwen Rockwood, newspaper columnist and mama of 3

One of the reasons so many New Year’s resolutions fail has a lot to do with the word itself. Trust me, we writer-types know how much words matter. The right one can make all the difference. The wrong one can kill the whole line. The word “resolutions”? Nope. It’s all wrong.

“Resolute” means steadfast, fixed. It means “firmness of purpose,” unwavering and undaunted. When you’re trying to change something about yourself – particularly something big – most days you’ll feel everything except “resolute.” Most days you’ll hate the whole idea. You’ll want to jump off the wagon, embrace your vice and wallow in the muck of February failures. Resistant? Yes. Resentful? Probably. Resolute? No way.

I think we’re better off with something more practical like a 2009 To-Do List. (Notice the name has the word “do” in it, indicating it’s designed for action.) Nobody wakes up in the morning and scribbles down resolutions for the day. They write a to-do list because it means business. It’s not about ideals or goals or concepts. It’s about getting things done. Getting results. Plus, a forceful to-do list kept in a high visibility spot will absolutely haunt you. It begs to be checked or crossed off with one of those fat Sharpie pens.

I’m not at all resolute about my New Year’s To-Do List. Right now I loathe the list because it’s hard. It’s cliché, I know, but I really do want to lose at least 10 pounds by summer. But you would never have guessed that was what I wanted a couple of weeks ago when I was enjoying Christmas at my mom and dad’s house. I inhaled every piece of ham on my plate, polished off my mother’s famous desserts, sucked down as many Dr. Peppers and holiday punch as I could hold and was absolutely shameless about it for five consecutive days. It was as if I knew the cold reality of January was coming and I was walking some sort of dietary plank. And, by golly, I was going to make sure I was as guilty as possible by the time I reached the end of the line. I kept telling myself that in January I’d do better.

So here we are – in January. And the inertia of last year’s bad habits is hard to shake. I don’t feel super-motivated by the ball dropping on Times Square. I don’t feel like going to a spinning class. I don’t feel like drinking more water. I just want what I want without having to pay any consequence. I want the good results without the work. It’s silly and childish but oh-so-true for so many of us.

The truth is we are our habits. They are the actions that help define us. Smokers smoke. Drinkers drink. Yellers yell. And people who need to lose 10 or more pounds eat things they know they shouldn’t in quantities they know they shouldn’t. Simple as that.

What’s not so simple is how to change habits in a way that will really stick for the long haul. If I ever figure that one out, I’ll write a column about it from some far-away beach where I’ll be looking incredible in a bikini thanks to my newfound healthy habits. In the meantime, I can only hope human desire is stronger than bad habits. I believe we all have a vision of the kind of person we’d really like to be. Often it’s really tough to get there, but the people who want it bad enough tend to find their way. And their paths are probably as different and individual as the people on them.

What I do know is that nothing changes if we don’t start doing at least one thing differently than we did before. In the last six months of last year, I ate Fritos too frequently, drank too much Dr. Pepper, stayed up to do my work until nearly 1 a.m. and cut my hair too short in order to save time in the mornings. Then I told myself the ultimate lie – that I’d start working out when my schedule slowed down a little. (Yeah, right.)

That was me. Whether or not that continues to be me in 2009 will depend on how I manage day-to-day stress and how badly I want things to be different. Here’s my 2009 To-Do List:

1. Eat better food and smaller portions to lose 10 pounds by summer

2. Work out at least three times a week.

3. Let my hair grow longer

4. Ration Dr. Peppers to one a day

5. Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night

When I was writing my list, I included at least two things small enough to be checked off by March or April because those early successes will help fuel the rest of the journey. (I’ve already begun rationing my beloved Dr. Peppers and my hair is growing even as I type!)

Forget about being “resolved” to do anything this year. The bigger question is “What’s on your to-do list”? And when are you getting started? Good luck and Godspeed.