I have a blog friend (yeah, your all my blog friends) who is in dire need of your thoughts and prayers.Her family is in crisis mode and I think KT at When Did I Become a Grownup? could really use all of our happy thoughts.
Take the time and read her last four posts.They sum up a situation that is way too close to home for some of us out there.The pressures of raising a family and finding a balance with your significant other can be daunting.
It arrived while we sat in the bar enjoying our drinks.The aroma was enough to get us salivating.It came piled high with caramelized onions, bacon cooked just right, and with just enough arugula lettuce to give it color.The 1000 island dressing added another dimension with the melted blue cheese layer topping this magnificent creation.
And if that wasn’t enough the lean ground beef was cooked to perfection.A patty that when first bit into caused, may I say, a slight drool from the corners of my mouth.Encasing this stack of flawless bovine beauty were two ever so slightly toasted buns.
You may be asking yourself where do I find such a marvelous meal?
Well, I’m not going to tell you.
Oh, ok, we came to find this beautiful burger by way of a sixth grader, a former student of my wife’s.Her parents are owners of A Restaurant here in Newport Beach.They believe that this is the best meal they serve on the menu.We now are true believers.
Damn, these people.I’ve now been spoiled.I can no longer show my face at any old drive thru again.So long McDonalds, later Burger King, it’s been nice Wendy’s.
After exhaustive searching through countless articles, online opinions and tons of advice from you and many of my peers, we made a choice.I’d like to say it was through all this that we came up with our ideal vacuum.But, to be honest after all the choices we had the decision was made by a simple process.
Eenie, miney, moe.Yep, that’s right.We used the old tried and true method of fate to come to our final decision.That and what our bank account said we could afford.
What was this wonderful machine that will now be a part of our family you may ask?What vacuum cut the mustard and finally found its way into the heart of this domestic god?
The winner of our very unscientific selection was the HooverU5140-900 Tempo WidePath Bagged Upright Vacuum.A beautiful bright blue upright machine with enough sucking power to pull the paint off the walls.Can you read the excitement I have for this machine?
We purchased it at our local Best Buy and got it home. I was so giddy I could hardly contain myself as I unboxed our new addition to the family.My wife (not the domestic goddess) just rolled her eyes as I carefully unpacked it, searching for the manual I proceeded to assemble the machine and looked for all its parts.I was in domestic heaven.
When it was finally assembled and all its parts were accounted for and installed correctly the testing began.My hand shook as I plugged it in to the nearest outlet.I twitched a bit when my finger reached for the power switch.This was it.The moment of truth.
I flipped the switch and nothing…
What happened?This is the part where the machine is supposed to go “vroom.”I flipped the switch back and forth several times.Each time my heart sank a bit.What was wrong?
I ran over to the plug and pulled it out.With the mind of a steel trap, I deduced that there must be something wrong with the outlet.I mean we just bought this thing today.I ran the cord over to another outlet and plugged it in.I then stood behind the vacuum and nervously flipped the power switch again.
Vroom.A sweeter sound was never heard before or since.I ran the vacuum up and around the living room giving it a thorough testing.Our carpet was standing at attention after each back and forth stroke.It was seemingly propelling itself around the room.Almost as if it had a mind of its own and it’s mission was to clean.
For those interested I’ll be giving a more in-depth opinion on this wonderful machine at a later date.
But for now, I am very much in love with our new vacuum.
So imagine my dismay when our vacuum started to spit out more dirt than it was sucking up.I can’t blame the “old girl”, we’ve had our cheap, inexpensive Eureka since before the last ice age.She’s been a good workhorse but I think time and the addition of teenagers, a dog and two cats was just too much for it.
Here’s the dilemma, I have spent forever researching vacuums.Between Consumer Reports, Amazon reviews, “Big Box Store” reviews and internet searches. My eyes have grown weary and very tired, and to top it off, I still have no clear idea what to buy.
I have a Roomba and I love it.I’m awaiting replacement batteries for it and when they come it will be back in rotation.It’s a great general vacuum, but it’s not going to handle the heavy stuff and it won’t work on the stairs.
So what sucks best for you?
What are you using for your dirt, dog and cat hair and toddler’s Cheerios?
