Fall Closet Cleaning

Most of you (unless you live in Florida or somewhere really warm) know that this is the time of year that us girls clean out our closet and try to remove all the summer stuff and replace it with sweaters, jackets, jeans and so on. Winter is a bitch for my closet. Not only do winter clothes take up more space, but there is a lot of summer stuff (like tank tops, t-shirts, yoga capris, work-out type shorts) that I need all year. I literally have already removed 2 large yard type bags of clothes that went to charity (too small or just one of those things that you wonder whatever possessed you to buy it) and 1 bag of summer clothes to storage and I seem to have only a little more room than when I started and that has already been filled with sweaters that I brought in from storage. One of the things that bothers me is that I never know how winter will be here in New Mexico. Sometimes I need my cozy sweaters and some winters they get almost no wear. There are always at least a couple weeks that are miserable cold, but some winters that is it. Other winters it seems like several months of that. Don't get me wrong, there are few things that I love as much as a cozy cable knit sweater or some soft cashmere, but they do take up a lot of space. I guess I am saying all that to motivate myself to finish the 1/4 (or there about) of the closet that I haven't finished with yet. There is no sense in having great clothes that you love if you can't find them under everything else.

Swooning over my new Dyson Vac

OMG, I have a new Dyson vac!

It is the little 10 lb model. I was skeptical that it would work as well as the full sized, but it does! Oh, and it is soooooooooo much easier to carry up the stairs. As if that wasn't good enough -- all my attachments from my other Dyson fit it, including the coveted power brush! It is also one of the new "ball" models that actually can turn. It is the most fabulous cleaning machine ever invented!

Just when you thought I was done with posts about vacuums

A couple months ago, Britton decided to give my Dyson to the handy man we had working at the house to see if he could "fix" it because it seemed to have a clog. Now handing a Dyson (or probably any vacuum) over to this man (or maybe most men) is like handing a computer hard drive to a caveman. It is something foreign to them (unless it is a shop vac) and they don't understand it. Somehow this person managed to pry off the canister without actually using the release knob, he then took apart pieces that were not suppose to be taken apart and cleaned them. Probably needless to say, but that totally destroyed my already sickly Dyson. Since then I have been stuck having to use the horrible, very heavy, many filtered Bissell Pet Vac. When the filters aren't clogged the suction is pretty good, but the filters clog every few minutes when you live out in a desert dusty area and have several pets. That alone is frustrating beyond belief, but earlier today I apparently didn't snap in one of the filters right, which for some reason took nearly a minute for me to notice and I ended up with a room full of fine dust particles. This caused the worst asthma attack that I have had since I was a child. So I threw the Bissell out the backdoor, well, so much as I could throw that heavy piece of crap while having an asthma attack.

Not having had an asthma attack bad enough to require medication since I was a child, I had no inhalers or any type of med in the house. I made a hot pot of coffee and although I have heard you shouldn't take it for asthma (not sure why) -- I took allergy med. Luckily that seemed to work and I was back to breathing pretty normally within about 30 minutes.

It has been due to my cheapness that I didn't just buy a new Dyson. Well, also I thought that I wanted or needed the animal vac version, which is like $600. However, after checking some sites on the internet I found the only difference with that version is that it comes with 2 attachments that not all Dysons come with. I already have those attachments, assuming they will work with a new model, but even if they don't they really aren't that important. Anyhow, it means I can buy the much cheaper, smaller and lighter (easier to lug up the stairs) version of the Dyson! I will likely have to empty the canister a lot more often, but emptying a Dyson is a breeze.

So first order of business tomorrow will be shopping for my new Dyson. I doubt I will ever again be as happy to spend a few hundred dollars on a cleaning tool. :)

Just some girlie links

I came across these on Networked blogs today:

Herbs n' Oils

The Holistic Diva

Cathy's Natural Remedies

Vintage + Goodness = Happiness

Now back to networked blogs to add this blog.

Green Living and Clothes Disposal

I do give my unwanted clothes to places like Goodwill, but have to admit I'd never thought beyond the impact of clothing and recylcing, etc. Here's some good info
NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council site about this topic.

The Hair Styler

I tried out The Hair Styler and I was pretty disappointed. The site lets you upload a photo and then try on different hair styles and colors. The first problem was that it was hard to get my head to fit right into the template (maybe I have a weird head?). Second and worse is that none of the hair looks like it does in the photo you click. Often times the color is different and it looks more like a drawing than actual hair.

Anyhow, I won't be choosing a new hair style or color using that. I looked horrible in every single one!

My latest thrift store bargain

How could I resist that adorable ceramic cup set for $3? I couldn't.

Kind of girlie stuff

For those of you from other parts of the country and world -- that is a Navajo Taco. That one is fry bread with beans, lettuce, tomato and cheese. Normally they also contain ground beef and red chili rather than green, but I prefer no meat with green. Fry bread is a wonderful thing. Luckily it is not something you find everywhere, not even in NM. Aside from the tacos it is yummy with just honey. If you have ever had a sopapilla, it is like that only not as puffed and much bigger.

Anyhow, we spent part of the day at the Wild West Antique Show, at the fairgrounds. That is kind of a girly thing, but plenty of men like antiquing -- including mine.

Normally I like to buy trade beads at this annual show, but since I haven't beaded in ages -- I bought nothing other than food. Oh, I still would have bought beads if I found any really unique trade beads, but I didn't. A couple years back I bought a strand of rattlesnake rattles and I still need to make those into something because they are awesome!

Britton talked me into sitting on a bull to have a photo taken. Actually, I am glad he talked me into it because it was fun and I can now say that I have rode a bull. :-)

Exercise -- an excuse to shop!

So after almost a week away from "the spa" (due to the dog bite) I went back on Sunday. Any weight I had lost that previous week I had managed to gain back. Not that it was any surprise. On the bright side, my neck and back still feel great from swimming.

I swam enough laps last night that my arms are actually a little sore. I am going to see if I can lose those few pounds again this week.

Something I discovered now that I am "working out" -- sports bras are wonderful! Much more comfortable than most regular bras. I have been wearing them everywhere lately. I didn't know that some come with actual cups. Seriously, I love them!

Of course, I had to buy more yoga clothes and I have ordered a couple more swimsuits. Now I just need some new shoes. I am not a big fan of athletic shoes, but surely I can find some that I like. After all, they are shoes and I have never had a problem finding shoes that I want to buy. :-)

Love Your Thighs

Searching for vintage ads and images for my
Pulp Jello blog (nice plug, huh?) I found a blog I like called Formerly Fun. I really liked this post:
"> Ode to Thighs, with great vintage pics as well as a terrific poem.