The Dyson ..........a vacuum?

A little over a year ago I purchased a Dyson. I spent the first year plus 4 days not realizing I was being DUPED by this silly monster with the see through bag less compartment. Being my first bag less of course I'm going to be impressed with getting to view the dirt I'm picking up. I don't exactly live the life of ease so purchasing a $400.00 machine (and they don't even show the same one I bought anymore on their site. hmmm I wonder if it was discontinued for faulty manufacturing)was a big deal to me and I expected A LOT from this thing.





I must say, I only accidentally stumbled upon how poorly this machine really was working. I needed to steam vac my house. Before hand you are supposed to thoroughly vacuum all carpets. I thought I had done this as I went over each area 3 times with my Dyson. As I proceeded to steam vac the place I noticed the machine getting clogged. I asked my neighbor about why that might happen (since it was her steam vac). She said you have to vacuum first. When I explained things to her she gave me her vacuum. I took her machine over the same areas I had gone over with the Dyson and I filled its chamber twice. Ok I am not a filthy person. I do have a dog, but seriously what this tells me is for one year I have been getting a half arsed job from the Dyson vacuum. After using my neighbors I went over the floor again with the Dyson it picked up nothing more, and on dirty areas not treated by the Hoover yet it struggled to pick up small amounts. I would have to vacuum with the Dyson for 1 hour in one spot to get what the Hoover got in 5 minutes.





So, I'm pissed obviously. Now I cant return this machine and it cost me WAY too much. So I call the company. First they try to accuse me of not properly caring for their machine. I tell the lady I had cleaned the filter but nothing looked any different. I told her my filter never looked dirty in the entire year I had the machine. She tries to tell me that's because the dirt it picks up is microscopic and I cant see it but i should have still cleaned it. I told her I did what I was supposed to do, but it was never dirty. She turned this into me not cleaning it and repeated this to me several times over the phone. Finally they sent me to a local company to have it repaired. The company said it was the clutch and it was covered by the company. First nice thing they have done for me since taking my $400. I test the thing out in the store on their walk in mat. Sure it picked up the dirt you could see.....woooohooo. The true test is when I got it home and used my neighbors vacuum after using the Dyson. Still it was not picking up like the company claims it should.





I am sick that I spent this much money for a shite vacuum and I could have spent half as much and got a machine that not only picks up EVERYTHING but has self propel features and a light sensor that tells you when its no longer picking up dirt.........in other words "your floor is now clean".




I will call the company and give them one more chance to make this right. Maybe I got a shitty machine. Maybe they will trade this one out for a better version. I don't know but I'm disappointed right now.



Looks can be deceiving

Infant save thy self

Have you heard of ISR ?

ISR stands for Infant Swim Resource. Its a swim program developed to teach a child to save himself. You can read all about the facts and history on the site itself. I am blogging to tell you my personal experience and feeling I get from having paid for the service.

I have 4 children. My youngest at about 9 months of age, last summer fell into a 3 ring toddler

pool much like this one.Apparently the top ring had been popped by a cat or some other night lurking beastie but you could not tell it was popped just by looking at it. I was standing 5 feet away and my boy must have been able to lean over the edge and tumble inside the water.

I was watering the garden just next to the pool for 20 to 30 seconds when my 2 yr old came to me giggling saying, "mommy baby swim."

I said, "what no your not your right here?"

Blu (my 2yr old) then said, "no mommy dat baby swim."

I turned to look and found my 9 month old upside down in this baby pool gulping up water. I swooped him up and he expelled quite a bit of water. He was able to breathe right away but his skin went from blue to gray to just ugly pale. I called his pediatrician to make sure he was going to be ok.

After asking a few questions about his breathing and color the doctor referred me to sign him and my other son up for ISR. I called immediately to speak to the instructor and learn more about it. I questioned many other parents across the country about these lessons and all of them had glowing reviews. I can not, still to this day, find one negative review from anyone who has followed through with this course.

If you have a young child age 6 months to 4 years, I highly recommend you sign them up for the ISR swim lessons. They can be difficult to endure as a parent, watching your child gulp up water or struggle to understand why they are being allowed to flap about in water as the instructor guides them to be able to save themselves. I'm positive some parents have walked out never to return after the first few lessons. I understand then if this is just not for you.

It does require quite a commitment on the part of the parent. The classes are 5 days a week for 4 to 8 weeks. This all depends on how each child takes to the lessons. My younger son did take 8weeks to float for 5 minutes alone. Also you should understand and accept that each lesson will only last 7 to 10 minutes. This is important to be kept short as it is so intense. You will also be required to keep track of each child's bowel movements,urine,sleep patterns and food intake. A record of this information is given to the instructor every day before the lesson begins. The cost is $125 to register each child and then $100 for each week of lessons.

The technique is amazing and it works. My boys are living proof. To pass the class the child has to come fully dressed (in a diaper if age appropriate) with shoes and they are dropped in the pool. They right themselves to a safe float and, depending on their age, wait for help or they are able to swim float to a side to get themselves out.

You can view the site for video proof and you can go to YouTube and search for ISR videos.

I have received many odd looks from parents when I tell them I have my kids in this class. They judge that I must have gobs of money to be able to afford such a thing for 2 boys. Let me say, this is not the case at all. We go without many "comforts" that others enjoy and we use our tax return money for these lessons. It is indeed worth it. You will NOT be let down by the technique being taught. Not only will your child learn to save himself or herself you will also find a new strength in yourself as a parent

video of my son after graduating. He moved on to fun stuff.....snorkeling




.

Pampered Chef

I am normally not into the "party" type product sales things. But over the years I have had to try new things out to learn more. I am glad I have. Its so helpful to have someone actually stand in front of you and give you a cooking demonstration with their products.

I was recently given the opportunity to try out some products from Pampered Chef. I am a very simple person in that I prefer less frill and fancy and more get the job done for goodness sake. I was skeptical (so much so I even made fun under my breath at some things) before I was given a complete "tour" of these products. I might add that using something in your everyday life makes a big difference. Then you can find its true worth for your world. Utilize those return policies and warranties people.

So I started off with simple things like the Safe Cutter selling for only $3.oo. You can't beat the price and the product is made very well. I know this item looks like the pumpkin knives you can buy at the dollar store during Halloween but its not. Its much stronger and cuts much better. My 6yr old is learning to be independent and this is a good way for her to gain some knowledge without hurting herself.

I had the opportunity to try out the Avocado Peeler . This is one of those products I made fun of before actually getting to use one. I love avocado, I will eat one a day if I can. I used this peeler pretty much everyday. Sure you can cut your avocado with a knife and try to scoop out the seed with a knife or spoon and then scoop out the fruit of the avocado with a spoon but with this you can do it all and more. I always find it difficult to spread my avocado across bread ( I like it more than mayo) when using the spoon or knife, but for some reason with the Avocado Peeler it spreads like smooth cream butter no problem and it always clears the entire fruit without leaving any behind.
Ok I am going to admit something for this next product review. I am not that great at cooking and making those delectable and flavorful meals. With the wide range of Rubs, I don't need to worry and my food always tastes good. I tested several of them out the other day while barbecuing. I made 6 burgers, 2 with the Greek Rub, 2 with the Smokey Barbecue Rub
and 2 with the Crushed Peppercorn and Garlic.

We sampled all of them and all of them were wonderful. My favorite was the Greek Rub on a bun with some hummus and lettuce.

We are going to use this product to make our pre-made patties for our camping trip this summer. No need to go without flavor just because we are sleeping on the dirt.





My daughter particularly loves the Cut-N-Seal. I am well aware that you can simply use a cookie cutter to make fun shapes out of your kids sandwiches, but they don't pinch them closed for a clean edge holding in all those yummy chunks of peanut butter and jelly. The cut-N-SEAL will seal it shut for you.


I think my favorite product so far is the Mini-Muffin Pan. I really enjoy baking and anything that can make that process easier and cleaner for me makes me want to bake more. This pan is perfect for bite size muffins to have ready and waiting in the cookie jar on the counter for the kids to munch on while I'm busy cleaning the bathroom. The family loves the size and I love that the pan didn't burn my muffins even though I did leave them in a bit too long. They slid right out and the cleaning of the pan took about 45 seconds. We make a lot more muffins now. Its also perfect for those little quiches i have to throw together for gatherings with friends.

I am not a sales person for this product. I gain nothing from sharing this information. I just hope others can make wise shopping choices and I believe this product wont let you down.

I have to say that so far these products all