Our entire house is either laminate flooring or tile.  Let me say again the ENTIRE house!  When the floor is clean it is so pretty and I love it, but keeping it clean and pretty is a whole other story.

The kitchen floor seriously makes me want to cry sometimes.  It is the worst and it has absolutely nothing to do with James and I cooking and eating in there, but has everything to do with the two dogs that we decided to co-exist with.  Our backdoor leads directly into the kitchen and when the dogs come in they bring in an insane amount of dry grass and dirt.  The sweeping and mopping was becoming the dreaded task of the house and even though I have a wonderful husband who willingly helps it was still quiet a task for the both of us.

My sister had recommended the Bissell Flip It and since she has 4 kids I figured she would have a pretty good idea about cleaning products.  I got online and read some reviews and like most reviews they were mixed.  After about three and a half months of using a broom, mop and mop bucket I decided that I would give anything a shot.

After buying it we immediately assembled it and used it.  Since we didn’t read the directions the first attempt wasn’t that great, but after going over them it all made sense and I have to say that I am extremely happy with it.

 For those of you that don’t know what a Flip It is, its a vacuum of sorts for hard floors (wood, laminate, tile, concrete, etc).  One side is a dry vacuum to do the sweeping for you and you flip it over for the wet side which does the mopping.

Some of the bad reviews stated that their Flip It leaked a little out of the clean water reservoir and ours does the same thing.  When you have water in any sort of container and are sloshing it around it has a tendency to leak a little.  I will find a drop here and there but nothing significant enough for me to not be absolutely thrilled with our purchase. 

Our sweeping and mopping time has been cut in half if not more than that and it gets done a lot more often, with a lot less complaints. 

If you have large areas without carpet I would definitely look into it.  Check out the Bissell website to read more about the Bissell Flip It.

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America did a good job last week voting off 4 people.  I’m very proud of you America, give youself a pat on the back.  However, there are still quiet a few that grate on my last nerve.

I have to be honest and say that there are a couple that we listen to the first few lines and then fast forward through their entire performance. Thanks goodness for a DVR.  I just can’t do it, I can’t sit there and listen to those people and watch how horribly uncomfortable they are up there on that stage.

I’m not going to say which ones I fast forward through because, well I just don’t want to be that mean, but I will tell you my favorites and who I thought did a really good job this week. 

My number 1 has to be David Archuleta.  He has so much control over his voice, its so soothing and let’s be honest, he is adorable.

Out of the other guys I enjoy Michael Johns, David Hernandez and Danny Noriega.  I actually thought that Danny was really good during Hollywood week, but last week was a disaster.  I think that after he watched the show he realized that and came back fighting this week.  He had a really good performance and you can tell that he loves the spotlight.

I’m having a harder time with the girls this year and I think that it’s because there have been so many great ones in the past.  Last week I really liked Ramiele Malubay, but this week she let me down.  This week my favorite was Brooke White and I love the fact that she can play the guitar.  She really showed her talent this week.  Syesha Mercado is another favorite, if you recall she is James’ favorite, aka “the fro girl”.  I didn’t think that her performance was the best this week, but she can really sing, I think that she just needs to find the right songs for herself.

Simon can be a little harsh sometimes, but most of the time I agree with him.  I think that the really good singers take what he says to heart and try to get better. 

I’m looking forward to the top 12, that is when the show really gets good.

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Is anyone else watching American Idol?  Are these 24 singers really the best that America has to offer?

I do realize that these are just ordinary people and some of them have never performed.  I give them all credit for trying to follow their dreams and I’m sure that it is so nerve racking to get up on that stage knowing that America is watching.  BUT… does anyone remember the first time, for example, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry graced that stage?  It was like they were doing what they were born to do. 

Every year I get frustrated with the top 24 and can’t help but think about all those millions that didn’t make it.  Surely somewhere in all those millions there are some better contestants than what we have seen over the past two nights.

I really hope that they start getting better and that someone just blows me away.  So far I do have a couple of favorites, but no one yet that I can honestly say THAT is MY American Idol.

Who are your favorites?  Does anyone watch this show anymore?

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So we finally found some time to get out into society and watch a movie on the big screen this weekend.  The wife & I planned to see Cloverfield on Saturday and then Juno on Sunday - but like most things in our lives, we ended up being lazy and missing the latter of the two.  Saturday though, we got ready, got cash, got tickets, got popcorn, got drinks and got ready for a movie.

There are a few spoilers after this point, so I will be hiding the remainder of this post, in hopes to not ruin anyone’s “good time” by talking about this, that and the other.  If you wish to see a review of this film - I will do my best to give you my two cents after the jump. [Read more →]

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