Homemaker Monday: Two Things That Beautify - A Vacuum and A Razor

Welcome to the 48th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs. (By the way, if you have been featured on Homemaker Monday in the past, your name is on my left sidebar. Check it out!)

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Sweet Pea at The Newlyweds! Posted on her blog is a scrumptuous how-to on making "Outback Steakhouse Bushman Bread". In addition to using typical ingredients, such as whole wheat flour and butter, this recipe also calls for molasses and cocoa! I am completely intrigued by this and can't wait to try it! Look at how lovely it turns out...


Thank you so much for your repeated inspiration here at Homemaker Monday, Sweet Pea! I can tell you always put so much thought and preparation into your posts and I truly appreciate your efforts! For The Newlywed's entire post, click HERE.

As for the "How I applied it to my life" weekly feature, in which I actually utilize the "YOURS" featured homemaking tip and report on it, I have been vacationing at my mother's home and have not necessarily had the opportunity to try the recipes and tips of the past few weeks. Thanks for your patience on that and I'll be up to par just as soon as I get back home!

MINE: This week's post is about two products that beautify my world, one in the form of removing dust, crumbs and other miscellaeous debris from my floors and one in the form of removing unwanted body hair for a more attractive me during the scantier-clad months of summer at the pool or beach. Let's start with the vacuum.

As of late, I've had my share of struggles with my various vacuums. My regular, all-purpose vacuum is in the winter of it's life. All of the attachments have been lost, as the sweet children leave it out for the toddler and twins to reach, and the cord is becoming increasingly alarming, as the rubber insulation is tearing and splitting up and down nearly it's entire length. This concerns me because sometimes, just sometimes, I find one or more babies chewing on the cord, and I certainly wouldn't want anyone to experience the feeling of 110 volts coursing through their bodies. Come to think of it, maybe that's why the cord has so many rips and splits in the first place. Either that, or because of the fact that the dear children continually run over the vacuum cord while they are vacuuming.

We also have a small cordless vacumm on which I posted previously, but that is too weak to succeed at picking up the immense amount of material that ends up on my floor. Also, during a major ovehaul of the food storage room, adjacent to the kitchen, one of the lovely children unplugged the charger cord from the outlet and I have not encountered it since. I hope I can replace it soon, as it truly did serve it's purpose while it was a vibrant, charged object in the prime of its life.

To get to the point, I needed a new vacuum. I hadn't really even planned on making the purchase during my visit to the states, but when I walked into Target and saw the huge display of Easylite Dirt Devils, on sale for $44.95, I took the leap and made the purchase...


I have to say, I LOVE this vacuum! One of the selling points, besides the cheap price, was the fact that it weighs under 11 pounds - perfect for the kids to help without having to haul around the dilapidated dinosaur we previously had. Here are the cons and pros...

Pros:

1. It's super-light weight and easy for the kids to maneuver, and even carry upstairs.

2. It has two functional attachments, one pointed-tip and one with a brush...



3. It sucks....really really well, surprisingly so for it's weight.

4. It's bagless, and the kids think it's really cool to watch the debris whirl around in the plastic canister.

Cons:

1. There is no release lever for when one needs to move the handle from the upright position into the standard vacuuming position. I find I have to place my foot on the front bottom portion when I want to begin the vacuuming.

2. It's so light-weight, the plastic feels like it came out of a Cracker Jack box. I keep thinking, "This is going to bust any time now." After all, you DO get what you pay for.

Even with the two cons, again, I do love this vacuum. I find myself actually looking for opportunities to plug it and push it around the house, thus beautifying our home in a much more pleasant way than before.

Now, for the razor. In my past life (which was two weeks ago) I used Daisy razors. They were what I grew up on and they were pink, therefore I was sure that none of the men or boys in my family would use them.

Then, about a month ago, a friend suggested that I try the Venus. She said it was the only one she would even consider using, so I took her advice.


Let me tell you....there is a difference between two blades and five blades. With the Daisy, I found that I would go over a spot on my leg several times before it actually felt smooth, then I would go over them all over again when I was finished to make sure I had gotten everything. With the Venus, it didn't even feel like I was shaving. The head is large, and oval and unlike before, when I would have to straighten my leg when I got to the knee area to avoid nicks, I simply shaved right over my knees in their bent position. It was amazing! I went over each portion of my leg just once, and I certainly did not have to repeat the process all over again as I usually did with the Daisy. I felt free and liberated from the bondage of having to shave and realized I could actually enoy it with the Venus, as there was so much less of a risk of nicks and it was exponentially faster. I won't be going back to the Daisy.....ever. Thanks, Girl (you know who you are), for your advice. That's what friends are for!

OURS: All righty then, let's see what all of you awesome homemakers have for us today. What's coming up in your garden? Are you using it at your dinner table? Let us know what's going on in your life. Thanks for joining us today and I hope you have a GREAT Homemaker Monday!

P.S. As you can see, I'm using a new Linky system called MckLinky. Mr. Linky has just been unfaithful too many times, so I'm leaving him for a younger model. Just click on the "Click here to enter your link" link. Couldn't be simpler. Please let me know if you have any problems at all. Thanks!



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