My simple chicken dish turned into a two hour mess last night

I wanted to make a quick lemon chicken recipe that said it took 30 minutes. The problem was my chicken breasts were way too thick, so they wouldn't cook through. I spent over an hour just trying to get the middle to stop being pink, and I had to cut them into tiny pieces. The whole thing took almost two hours from start to finish. Does anyone have a foolproof way to cook chicken fast on a weeknight?

Pro tip: I used to hate fitting extractors until I started using a different file

Honestly, for the longest time I always used a standard needle file to fit a new extractor. It was a slow process, and I'd often take off too much material trying to get that perfect hook shape. About six months ago, I picked up a Grobet 4-square file on a whim from a tool supplier in Spokane. Tbh, it changed the whole job. The square cross-section lets you work the inside corner of the extractor hook way more precisely. I can now get a clean, sharp engagement surface in about half the time, and I haven't had a single one come back with extraction issues since I switched. It's one of those small tool changes that just makes the work flow better. Has anyone else found a specific file or method that made a tedious fitting job way easier?

My sister's wedding in Savannah made me rethink frozen fries

The caterer ran out of sides and had to air fry a bag of store brand crinkle cuts in a hurry. They came out way crispier than my oven ever gets them, with a soft inside. Should I just skip the oven for frozen fries from now on?

TIL a trick for blending stubborn gray roots on dark hair

A client came in with about an inch of gray regrowth on her dark brown color, and the usual base color just wasn't covering it fully. I remembered something I saw a stylist do at a class in Denver last year. I tried mixing a tiny amount of a warm, coppery red direct dye into her regular demi-permanent color formula, maybe a pea-sized amount to a 2oz mix. Processed it for the full 45 minutes. The warmth helped the color grab onto the resistant gray, and the blend was seamless. Has anyone else tried adding a bit of direct dye to their formula for tough cases like this?

My mom insisted a slow cooker was pointless for a quick dinner, but after a hectic Tuesday last month, I finally tried her 'dump and go' chili recipe (it took 8 minutes to prep) and we ate at 6:15 sharp.

So, for anyone else who's been skeptical, what's your favorite truly fast slow cooker recipe (you know, the kind you can actually throw together after work)?

Had a client bring their emotional support hamster to a facial last week

The little guy was in a travel cage, but he managed to get out and run across my wax warmer. I had to pause the entire service to do a hamster rescue mission, lmao. Anyone else had a pet cause chaos in the treatment room?

Had a whole brick course start to lean on a job in Cincinnati last month. The mortar was setting way too fast in the heat.