Shark Attacks...

...and cleans my home!!

I always liked cleaning. My parents instilled a good cleaning, take-care-of-your-things and organization ethic that I am glad to have as an adult, wife, mom#2, and homeowner.

We live on a canyon and with a big yard. We also have 4 animals. The dogs, especially, make the floors dirty enough that I truly have to clean every other day. Our Brazilian cheerywood laminate floors are lovely but do NOT clean easily. You cannot use a regular mop, a lot of water or just any chemical on these floors. I also tried the Swiffers - nyit!

I searched online (and remember how much I hate spending time online) for homemade cleaning recipes and people's opinions. One time I made a concoction that had me 2 hours on hand and knees spraying a small patch of floor and then having to polish it off with a special dry cloth. It killed my back and took too long and wasn't worth it -still leaving a slightly sticky residue. And, remember, with the dogs I would have to do this every other day - forget it!

Then a few weeks back we got the CostCo coupons in the mail and there was a $25 off coupon for the Shark steam mop. I just knew it would work.

I LOVE MY SHARK STEAM POCKET MOP!!! It not only disinfects, but it is easy to use, is lightweight, with swivel steering and interchangeable heads that make it fit into any nook and cranny. I actually look forward to using it!

I am such a cleaning nerd that when one of my sisters visited us I brought it out for her to try knowing she would appreciate it's cleaning attack and ease. She actually said, "It's fun to use." I know my sister enough to know she'd feel that way!

It's pricey, (website says $149) but you can probably still buy it at Costco for around $100 without the coupon. We bought the steam pocket lighter version for only $75 and it works great! I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

I heart Groupon

I just got turned onto Groupon - - I never thought I would use it. But early this week a deal came on for a month of unlimited Bikram Yoga sessions in La Jolla for only $39. I immediately jumped on it and told my husband as well. When I first met him he used to be a regular yogi and looked yummy healthy. He got me into it for only about a month before I realized I just can't afford it and dedicate the timeframe needed for it. It is a 1.5 hour class and you have to get there early to ensure a spot and then stay after waiting to take a shower since it is practiced in some serious heat. So you dedicate about 3 hours to it - more than that, I think, since this particular studio is far away in La Jolla from where we live. I don't mind dedicating 2 hours to the nearby 24HourFitness but 3 hours plus daily is a lot of time away from home, family, my animals and more..
http://www.groupon.com/san-diego/deals/bikram-yoga-la-jolla
That said, the deal was too good to pass up and, being my first Groupon purchase, I got $10 off so mine was only $29. I plan to go 5 times a week if not more and that means for 1 month I am paying only about $1.50 or so per class. To get an idea one class is usually about $15. Es una Ganga! A TOTAL STEAL!

You, too, can be on YouTube

Unlike most people, I am not up on using the internet much... only out of necessity. I don't google people for the heck of it or peruse much outside of the news headlines. I hate Facebook but own one mostly for professional contacts and because my 20 year highschool reunion was last year and it made things easier with the organization of it last Fall. I don't care about entertainment gossip and quite frankly, I limit my screen time just to the fact that I hate sitting down (haven't had a desk job in 15 years) and I have chronic dry eye syndrome (thanks to a botched Lasik surgery over 10 years ago) so I hate to sit down and fry my eyes in front of a computer screen. Heck, I don't even make time for this blog and my Flickr photography website nowadays! My 'Gift to Gab' wanes --

Having a 12-year-old in the house, however, has made me mildly aware of what the rest of the world does online. For example, I truly had no idea how huge YouTube is and for so many reasons. I am known to post short videos myself - usually snippets of travel and family and I favor anything less than 30 seconds. Although there are a lot of things I wish that kids and most of us didn't have access to on it, there do exist a few talented and worthwhile postings I have become privy, too.

Getting famous by posting oneself singing on the internet akin to Justin Beiber and others is echoed often-enough to me by my stepdaughter for me to say, "Go for it!" It's just another medium to showcase talent if you have it. Sigh - between Youtube and American Idol kids have it easy nowadays hehehe...

Check out this Broadway southern-belle star who happens to be an awesome comic as well and has several videos of hilarious different characters. My gay stylist friend introduced me to her and now I am passing it on to you to enjoy... one of the funniest things I've seen in years! I still laugh so much every time. Every sentence and delivery of hers is a priceless soundbyte. A lover of big hair, I 'be-weave in her'.. :)

Pooty Plays

A quick video of our rat, I mean, teacup Chihuahua. It's my daughter's dog, but akin to my husband's basset hound - I just seem to be the one who has taken over feeding, walking, vet upkeep, cleaning up after and basically attending to every need of our blessed animals.

They are blessed to be in our home - these animals have got it made! :)

My Niece

My eldest niece had asked Patrick and I to help her with taking photos for her senior page in her yearbook. Patrick broke out his expensive Leica M9 and some film cameras and did some really nice commercial and black and white shots. I mostly was helping with styling issues and holding up the reflector light which is a blessing on the skin and radiance no matter how old or young you are.

When I finally got a moment here and there to shoot with my own Olympus Pen I fluffed up her pretty hair, and directed her in more model-y shots. She was giggling constantly but I liked the results of my shots as far as creating moods and the highlights of her hair...

Click on slideshow:

Niece - Senior pictures