Day 93: Another Day, Another Vacuum

Today I didn't have any work to do, my boss is getting articles ready for me to type, so I had a day off to catch up on some much needed house work. Just so it's out there for everyone, my house looks incredible (you have to say incredible an octave higher than the rest of that sentence)! I also spent the first 2/3 of my day looking for my cell phone which I eventually found in my stroller out in the garage.

When I started cleaning today, I focused on the top floor and worked my way down, which is opposite of my daily routine. I usually get the main level presentable and the bedrooms are an after thought. Today, I owned those bedrooms, all three of them too. They were looking so incredible, the last thing they needed was a good vacuum. Well, I pulled out my vacuum and got Lucy's room all done when I realized I needed to empty the canister. That's where all my trouble started.

In December my Grandma Turner sent our family a $100 check for Christmas. Score! She wanted us to get something nice that we needed, so when I pulled out our vacuum that I bought Shawn for our first Christmas for $30, I decided it was more than time for an upgrade. So Grandma bought us a new Bissell vacuum. When I first used it, it worked like a charm. It worked great for the next 3 or 4 uses too. But once I had to empty the canister, things changed. Suddenly my vacuum had ZERO suction, and I was not happy. It actually took me a good month to figure out that there was no way to fix this.

One day I was complaining to my mother in law about it and she told me to take it back. Even though it had been close to 2 months since I bought it, I took it back and Costco exchanged it for me no questions asked. I decided to risk it and go with the same one because it was the only one at Costco in my price range. I figured there was no way all these vacuums could be bad. I brought it home and it worked like a charm. Seeing a pattern here?

Well, about 2 weeks ago I watched an infomercial for the new Shark Navigator vacuum. It's suppose to be like a Dyson and never lose suction. I was so made that I had just bought a new vacuum because I totally would have gotten this one instead. So you better believe I was excited when I emptied that canister today and found the same problem. This stupid Bissell had NO suction to it at all. It couldn't even power the brush for the hose because there wasn't enough suction. So, I loaded my kids up and took them all to Costco with my vacuum and receipt in hand. I'm so glad I kept that receipt because they were clearance out those stupid bissells and I would have lost $30. But I got refunded the full price in cash.

I got everything I needed at Costco and was just about to check out when I decided I would go see if they had any new vacuums since my last visit to the vacuum section. You can imagine how excited I was to see the Shark Navigator there waiting for me for only $30 more than I got back. My plan was to go buy a Shark where ever I could find it, I thought I'd have to go to Target. But with the one at Costco I saved a trip and I was able to get the upgraded version with all the bells and whistles.

When I got home I gave it a test drive and I'm pretty dang happy with it. The infomercial did make it sound way cooler than it is, but it has great suction, and I love the hardwood floor attachment. My only complaint so far is that it cannot hold all the attachments it came with, so I have to keep them in a separate bag hanging in my closet, so not convenient. It also has a little bit of a hard time on my shag rug, it can do them, but it stops the brush if it's not held at just the right angel. But it is quite, and light, and it doesn't lose suction. Overall, I'm a fan.

In other news, Lucy is really picking up the piano well. It's only been a couple of days, so she is still excited about it, but she has learned Mary Has A Little Lamb and she couldn't be happier about it. She may not last with me that long because I'm just not that good, but I'll do what I can. I feel so accomplished when I'm working with her and seeing improvement. She is one smart little cookie.

Jack is coming along in potty training swimmingly. Swimmingly is the best word for this because we take a lot of baths, and if I get lazy and he has a pee pee accident (something that only happens when I get lazy now), he usually slips and swims in it. That and he likes to try to stand in the bowl of water, which is what he tried to do pretty much the entire time we were reading scriptures tonight (something we've never done with the kids, but Lucy really wanted me to read the scriptures to them tonight, we should be better at this). Good day, I'm tired, I will sleep now.