No More Scrubbing!!

I have been looking for a better and easier way to mop my floors for a long time. The Clorox floor cleaner I had was pretty good, but was starting to fall apart. Since I have back trouble, I thought there just had to be something out there that would make it easier for me. So I started searching and checking reviews.

The one I decided on was the Eureka Enviro Steamer for $69. Click on the name to see it on Amazon. That's where I bought it, but I see now it's listing for $79. I think it's well worth it because it is so much easier to use than a regular mop, you don't buy the pads (like for Clorox or Swifer) or use any kind of cleaning chemicals. It cleans only with steam and is suppose to be safe for most types of hard floors.

I tried it this morning and boy it did a good job. I was afraid it would leave a lot of water on the floor, but it didn't. Danny even thought it was a pretty clever contraption. I told him it was, and he was welcome to get it a try anytime he wanted. I didn't get a response from that.
:-D


The handle adjusts to your height.


This is what comes in the box: two pads, measuring cup, funnel, heating tray and steamer. You put one pad on the bottom (which is very easy to clip), fill reservoir with water, plug in and put the steamer on the heating tray while warming, then you are ready to mop. Took only 3 - 4 minutes to heat up. It's very easy to swipe across the floor.


When you're finished: turn off, unplug and set on heating tray to cool. When it's cool drain the water and take off the pad. I just washed the pad in the sink, although I think you could put it in the washing machine. But it says not to put it in the dryer because of shrinkage.

The only draw backs I see so far is I didn't have the fresh clean smell you get when you Mr. Clean or some other product. And... because of it's size it won't get in those small hard to reach places like around the toilet, but it just takes a minute to get that with a wrag when you're cleaning anyway. Overall I think I have a winner here.

Christmas in January

We were very fortunate to get to see all our kids this Christmas. It was just spread out a bit. We had one in November when Jared was here, one on Christmas Eve with Megan and Eleanor and a final one with Shane, Casey, and Megan and Eleanor again. Eleanor thought it was great she got to open presents lots of times. Although... it may have been a bit confusing. I think we all enjoyed each celebration.


Shane digs into his gifts, including the Texas A&M lawn gnome (had to look up the spelling on that one).


Eleanor helps Mimi and Papaw open a BIG present.



The excitement is over and the big kids sit back and chill.

Eleanor dances and sings for our entertainment.

The big box is her favorite toy. She even gets to draw on it.

Alex wants to play too.



Papaw's hat is fun. I just had a really hard time catching her with it on. She would put it on and spin around and let it fall off, then laugh. She would stop every time I got the camera out.

I did catch this rear view of Little Miss Droopy Drawers.

We had a great extented holiday!!

My Top 10 2008 Movies

Danny and I really like to go to the movie theater on the weekends, (mostly for the popcorn) and we saw several good movies last year. Most of these you can probably rent now. The descriptions in quotes are from Netflix.

1. Twilight
"Based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel, Twilight follows the saga of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), who moves to a small town to live with her father. At school, she meets Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire. Despite his cautions, Bella falls in love with Edward, which endangers her life when a coven of bloodsuckers arrives to challenge Edward and his family."

2. Wanted
"Wesley Gibbon (James McAvoy) is just an ordinary guy, unaware that his long-lost father is one of the world's most notorious assassins. But when his father is killed, a mysterious associate named Sloan (Morgan Freeman) arrives, offering Wesley the chance to fill dad's shoes. Mentored by Sloan's deputy, Fox (Angelina Jolie), Wesley carries out the will of the mythological Fates, who see Wesley's targets in a magical loom."

3. The Dark Knight
"Batman (Christian Bale) teams with Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to continue dismantling Gotham City's criminal organizations in this sequel to Batman Begins. But a psychotic new villain known as the Joker (Heath Ledger, in a Golden Globe-nominated role) threatens to undo all their good work."

4. Swing Vote
"It's Election Day, and the eyes of the nation have fallen on one beer-swigging couch potato named Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner), who, through no fault of his own, finds himself in the position of being able to single-handedly choose the next American president. Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, George Lopez and Dennis Hopper also star in this political satire from writer-director Joshua Michael Stern."

5. Australia
"In the days leading up to World War II, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) inherits a sprawling cattle ranch in northern Australia. Threatened by land barons, she reluctantly joins her farmhand (Hugh Jackman) as he drives 2,000 head of cattle across the outback. While on the grueling trek, they witness the Japanese bombing of Darwin, which heralds Australia's entry into the war."

6. Iron Man
"After ultrarich inventor and weapons maker Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) escapes from kidnappers using makeshift power armor, he turns his invention to good by using it to fight crime. But when he must face the evil Iron Monger, his skills are stretched to the limit."

7. Body of Lies
"Newly stationed in Jordan, idealistic CIA agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) teams up with veteran operative Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) and the head of Jordanian intelligence (Mark Strong) to infiltrate an underground network of terrorists and locate a criminal mastermind. Based on the best-selling novel by David Ignatius."

8. 27 Dresses
"Tired of being a perpetual bridesmaid after helping 27 friends tie the knot, altruistic Jane (Katherine Heigl) finds herself facing her worst nightmare as her younger sister (Malin Akerman) announces her engagement to the man Jane secretly adores. But when Jane meets the charming Kevin (James Marsden), will she beat her sibling to the altar?"

9. Appaloosa
"When a malicious, land-hungry rancher (Jeremy Irons) has the marshal and deputy of Appaloosa killed, two gunmen (Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris, who also directs) arrive and try to bring law and order back to the frontier town. But when a beautiful widow of uncertain convictions (Renée Zellweger) enters the picture, the stakes are raised and soon the lead flies. Lance Henriksen co-stars in this Western based on the novel by Robert B. Parker."

10. Valkyrie
"Wounded in Africa during World War II, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance, becoming involved in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Hitler. Soon, events dictate that he become a central player -- and he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing Hitler. Based on true events."