Someone should tell the plants that winter isn’t over quite yet.
Pantry, Washing Machine, Kitchen Habits, etc.
I am so excited! I think I have finally found the perfect solution for how to display the many wonderful Christmas cards we receive each year. The refrigerator! It is a great way to enjoy them for a while and it means we’ll revamp our fridge pictures at least once a year. I am excited about having a new tradition in our house. What do you do with the cards you receive?
I really, really wanted a Scooba. But they are ‘spensive. So I found an affordable one on Craigslist. Which turned out to have a bum battery. So the seller sent me a check to cover the cost of a new battery. So now I have a Scooba with a brand new battery. For CHEAP.
I am in heaven. It gets the floors really clean. You don’t have to sweep before you mop. I love it. I wish I had more time to spend with my Scooba. Who incidentally I wanted to name “Sabrina” but who Dave calls “Scooby Doo.” I think Scooby Doo has stuck.
A bit late, but my bonus check was finally spent this week on a brand new dryer which I got for a steal from Best Buy!
Blog Readers: Can I get some feedback on this approach to displaying pictures? I’m fooling around with NextGen Gallery and I’m not sure how I like it so far. Thanks!
And finally, our completed guest bedroom. This room has some Ikea shelves that Dave installed which house his extensive record collection. We love the blue color, it lights up this room which doesn’t receive that much natural sunlight.
I found a new home for the two vintage blue glass lamps Kerri made me buy from the flea market, and I re-purposed the teal curtains from the nursery. We’ve decorated with a little bit of a Southern theme with the comforter, front porch picture and antique window, but tied in the wall o’ records with the array of record frames above the bed.
Here’s our completed office. We had French doors installed in the room that used to be our reading/puzzle room. It makes for a nice, light and airy office. Dave got a new desk (after 15 years!) that looks very handsome in the room.
Over the past few months, we’ve been getting our house ready in preparation for our new little one. We’ve done a bit of a shuffle with four rooms, and are happy to report that we’re pretty much finished!
Our top priority was getting Henry’s new room ready so we could transition him into it months before the new baby arrived. Over the holidays, we moved him out of his crib/the nursery and into his new room. It took about one week to settle in, and since then we’ve had only a few problems revolving around naptime.
We’re really happy with how it turned out – it’s fun and very boyish and kind of grown-up. We got this Eric Carle bedspread and these dark brown insulating blackout curtains, and we found the dresser at a great price on Craigslist. The enormous green clock is from Target and the Ikea coffee table we used to use as a puzzle table in the old “reading room.” It makes a perfect play surface for Henry.
Isn’t it fabulous?
Recently I picked up a brand new iRobot Roomba 560 on the cheap. I named her Hazel and I love her. She keeps my floors so clean!!
Every day she cleans a different room. She sucks up the miles of cat hair and Jeni hair that litter the house and I just have to dump her wastebin every so often.
Henry knows how to start Hazel, too.
Friday, Dave had 10 yards of mulch delivered. He spent all day Friday and most of the day Saturday distributing it through out various plant and tree beds.
He really wore himself out getting this done. He did it all in just two days, and the yard looks excellent! We were overdue for mulching the beds. Kudos to Dave for getting it done!
I really, really want a Roomba. With Henry spending so much of his time crawling around on our floors, I love the idea of having the Roomba maintain our carpets, hardwoods and vinyl on a daily basis. I realize that a Roomba does not replace regular vacuuming with an upright. But the idea of having a daily maintenance plan for all the dust, food, cat hair and Jeni hair on our floors just thrills me with delight. (I know, I should get a life.)
Depending on the model, the Roomba will turn on at a specified time, undock itself from its charging station, and then go clean its appointed area. It cautiously beep-beep-beeps as it backs of its dock — how adorable! If it finds areas with higher concentrations of dirt, it will focus on that area. It will switch from carpet to tile to hardwoods effortlessly. When its program is finished, or when the battery is getting low, it will go back to its dock and settle in for a nice recharging nap.
It sounds so lovely. *Sigh*
Of course, it doesn’t always work that way. The 400 model series don’t have a home base to return to, so you have to find the Roomba whereever it died, then plug it in to recharge it. They also don’t have scheduling capabilities. On the other hand, several of the 500 models have known flaws in the design and require a little more frequent maintenance or replacement of parts.
A Roomba with basic features (the Roomba Red) starts at $150, but there is no self-charging home base with that model. The 500 series Roombas, which have more features and more standard accessories, start around $250 and seem to have some enduring flaws. Top-of-the-line Roombas can sell for as much as $550.
On the other hand, there are used Roombas of all flavors on Craigslist, ranging from $75 – $350. Some of these are unopened, new-in-box. Some of them are “gently used” and some are probably two years old or older.
Everything I’ve read about Roombas say pretty much the same thing: “It worked great while it lasted.” That means if I get a new one, it might only last two years before pooping out on me. Which makes paying full price for a new one a bit hard to swallow. On the other hand, if I buy a used one the life expectancy may be significantly shortened, but I won’t be out that much cash. But buying electronics from a person off the street with no warranty protection just seems nutty. Another idea I had was to buy one at full price and use it for a few weeks, then return it. That way I could evaluate just how much I like it and how handy it is. That might help me make a purchase decision.
Suggestions?