Never Let A Man Pick Out Your Vacuum Cleaner

My hubby and his buddy were living and working on our new home for most of 2011 & 2012. I was not able join them, so they were there without any female supervision. This was a HUGE mistake, in ways I am still discovering.

I was relieved when hubby offhandedly mentioned they vacuumed once in awhile. I assumed that they were using the buddies vacuum, because he was storing most of his stuff in our basement after he moved from his apartment. I knew better than to assume anything when it came to my hubby or his friend, but alas, my guard was down.

So…  we move in and when one of the rooms (finally) got clear of boxes, I wanted to vacuum up the dirt and dust-bunnies that somehow hopped on a box and moved with us from our old house.  Hubby told me it was in the laundry room closet.

OMG!!

I did not want to believe this.  There stood the most big-assed, yellowest, ugliest, monstrosity of a vacuum that I had ever seen.  It obviously is a vacuum designed for men. It’s casing made me think of Storm Troopers.  I had to read the manual in order to figure out how to set it  to vacuum carpet.  "The Boss"

And get this – the yellow monster is so heavy (50+ pounds) that I can barely move it, so guiding it is a grueling chore . Only a man would buy a vacuum that looked macho and had a “Turbo” attachment. Am I right?

The thing’s own motor could not move the head enough to make it easier for me to push. I tried every carpet setting available. Some were better than others, but all of them strained my arm. It did not matter if I was pushing or pulling.

I would have used both arms to vacuum if I didn’t have to hold and maneuver the electrical cord to keep it from getting run over and eaten by Big Yellow. Yes, I  named it – temporarily. I plan on coming up with a much snottier one later.

To vacuum the corners, I configured it to use the hose attachment. Using the hose was even worse.  It wasn’t the hoses fault. It was the lifting and pulling of the monster around to get the short-assed hose where I needed it to go. My arm (wrist to shoulder) was not happy with me, and my herniated disc has not calmed down since.

Eureka!® must have had some reason to produce this monstrosity.  Nice try.  Men will certainly buy this model because it out-macho’s all the other vacuums.  Then the woman has to use the damn thing. That is just SO wrong!

I’m going to write those people a letter!

Diary of a Nicotine Addict: Remembering Why

Locked Up Memory
photo credit: maistora via photo pin cc

Let me say up-front:  The Bitch has been up to her wicked ways, but she has not been successful. ♥

With major life changes going on, retiring and moving from a city to a small town in the Sierra foothills, I have dealt with stress and emotions for weeks now.  I am wanting to start-up smoking again to relieve some of the pressure and strangeness I’m feeling.

Soooo, it’s time to remind myself of why I quit AND  why I need to stay quit. I should remind myself of the perks too.  Yes, believe it or not, there are perks!

Because I have not come up with the box that has my medical info and original list of reasons to quit inside of it, I will do my best to recreate it here.  If you are recovering from any kind of addiction, I invite you to make a reason list along with me. You also have reasons to stay clean. Who knows?  We may even share a few of them…

Jodi’s Reason List:

  1. Both of my parents died young of smoking related illnesses.
  2. I have chronic health conditions that are bad enough without being worsened by smoking.
  3. I don’t want to be the source of 2nd hand smoke anymore.
  4. Always had to interrupt whatever I was doing to go have a cigarette, because I just had to have one! (Perk: I won’t be standing outside in horrible weather because I have to smoke)
  5. Two words: Ashtray breath   (Perk: My gums are healthier and not receding anymore)
  6. It embarrassed me to be the only one at work who smoked (Perk: People stopped giving me crap about it)
  7. Was tired of being smelly (Perk: I can wear perfume and smell wonderful now)
  8. Sometimes I would chain smoke until I was nauseous (Perk: I make a lot of baby blankets)
  9. I hate the lying & conniving  tobacco industry, and I don’t want to support them anymore.
  10. I hate paying all the taxes when buying cigarettes. (Perk: I’ve saved $$$ )
Blogging All Night Long
photo credit: Federico_Morando via photo pin cc

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How many can YOU list???

The Big Move: Mission Accomplished!

That #$%&@! box was hiding in the living room, under records & DVD’s. That’s correct, I still have a 3-foot stack of those large vinyl disc’s. The original Album’s. And the technology to play them – if you’re wondering.

I have to admire the efficiency of our movers. Whoever “packed” that #$%&@!  box of everything, did so in record time. No packing materials used. Just turn the desk drawer upside down over a large box, then tape the box closed. Done. They knew they could get away with this because when you opened that drawer you got the impression someone dumped a large box of miscellaneous crap into it.

It took 23 years to get that drawer full of crap. I think it will only take me a couple of days to disperse items to where they should go. Most of them are electrical & mechanical waste products, that men seem obligated to toss in a drawer – just in case. In case of what? Even if “what” happens, he will forget he has that junk and will buy more at the hardware store.

I should “forget” that I have a formal gown or a gorgeous tennis bracelet and run to the nearest mall and find one. It would be over an hours drive though, and I do not have the time to be a smart-ass now. So, I will file that idea in my brain for future thinking, and move on to unpacking that #$%&@! box.

Along with the “man junk” I find boxes of check receipts. Checks written in 2003. Why are we keeping them? Answer: Because no one has thrown them out. It’s the same reason we have a receipt from a drug store that went out of business before our kids were in school.

OK. Obviously I need to take on a new mission (impossible?). Slowly, as I unpack things, old useless crap will retire to the trash. Hubby doesn’t even have to worry his handsome head about it. The excellent wife that I am, will not bother him about those annoying little details.

Junk drawer contents
1/3 of what was in that #$%&@! Box!