I love my Oreck

One of the items that I purchased with my tax refund is this little gem. I absolutely love it! Although mine is last years edition, it comes with a 21 year warranty!!! I am guaranteed my vacuum for 21 years, how can this not be a bargain?!

My Oreck is black/grey and because I purchased the Susan G. Komen edition, a portion of the money will go to that foundation. So I have a beautiful pink ribbon signifying that on my Oreck. With my purchase, I have also received:

Free year of replacement bags

Free canister vacuum w/a year supply of bags.

Free cordless iron a $130.oo value - Which Chris is thrilled to have since he does most of the ironing... I personally can not stand to iron.

I also received Oreck's new micro-fiber cloths free just because I own my cleaning business

And because I clean homes I will get a discount on replacement bags as long as I am in business courtesy of the store in Sarasota.

I picked my vacuum on many factors:

"The built-in HEPA filtration system traps 99.9% of all dust and allergens down to 0.3 microns. The dust on the floor doesn't blow back into the air and end up on your furniture. So you could dust less often"

Furniture-friendly Design:
"Its low profile, soft top-and-sides make it easy to clean around and under furniture without scratching it. Side brushes make cleaning baseboards and edges easier too."

Fast. Simple. Sanitary.
"Unlike bagless vacuums, the Saniseal® system automatically seals shut, locking the dirt in the disposable filter bag. Changing bags is effortless, odorless and clean. And one Oreck bag can hold as much as four bagless dust cups."

The Oreck Advantage: Direct Suction
"With Direct Suction, the New Oreck XL produces 127 mph air flow, yet weighs only 9lbs. Direct suction design delivers dirt in a straight, efficient path right to the vacuum bag. But most bagless vacs move dirt through a convoluted maze of tubing, which requires a larger motor. The Oreck's smaller, more energy efficient motor uses 1/3 the electricity of virtually any other vacuum motor. "

Oreck vacuums are not cheap by any means but it is an outstanding vacuum! I paid $399.00 for mine and that is $200.00 off the online sale price. Pam, one of the partners, for the Sarasota store really gave me a good deal. They support house cleaners because we make up at least 50% of their business. Their belief is "support those that support us". I think that is so awesome! One of my clients owns an Oreck and I have used Oreck vacuums when I cleaned houses years ago and fell in love with them. The handheld vacuum does what they say it does. It can pick up a 16 pound bowling ball. I have tried it myself!!!

I am having a Calgon moment...

The last few weeks have been very hectic and stressful. Battling pneumonia, making sure all paperwork and whatnot's are complete for Jeff's graduation AND college enrollment.

Finalizing the cap and gown order (because Riverview has no idea what they are doing) By the way, whoever heard of buying your cap and gown? That is so ridiculous! It's like a prom dress. It's only going to be worn ONCE! Y'know when this is all said and done I am going to NEED a few weekend getaways.

My best friend, Jennifer, and I have have talked about the expense of buying what is needed for graduation, the party, a few mementos for the kids to remember their high school days, getting their crap ready for college. We both decided that once the two siblings (Jeff and her daughter, Cassie, are half brother and sister) graduate that we will all get together and celebrate their milestone. So, sometime in June they will be coming here so we can celebrate the kids accomplishment together. I know Jennifer and I will probably cry more tears because they represent an accomplishment for us. Both our children have carried out what we could not and both our children have grown into mature and responsible people. And as Jennifer said to me " We did good by our kids, neither are parents"! I had to laugh at that because that was one of my biggest fears, becoming a grandparent before Jeff graduated high school!

Feeling a whole lot better now.

The past few weeks I have been battling pneumonia. I made it worse by continuing to work and then it just knocked me out. I am feeling much better now and I have an enormous amount of work to catch up on. I will never do that to myself again.

A lot has happened since I last blogged. My dad lost his job as a maintenance man for a condo association on Longboat Key. It was nothing my dad did or didn't do, they just changed board members and the vice president let my dad go so that he could bring in his friend that didn't have a job. I don't think it is fair or that something like that should even happen without the residents vote but they did it anyway. My dad's boss was livid but there is nothing he can do to stop it without the possibility of losing the account. In this day and in this economy I understand that fear! My dad's boss did do something that normally they wouldn't do. They told the board members that they would have to give my dad notice and allow him to train the new guy and they would have to pay him a weeks severance pay. The firm that my dad worked for will definitely place my dad somewhere else when a position opens up. It still angers me that they let him go in the first place.

Katie is selling Girl Scout cookies again and so far we have done two cookie booths. Friday and yesterday. We were signed up for six but they took one away to give to another girl that "mistakenly signed up for a wrong day" and the only other booth slot left was for a day that Katie is already working. I am not going to allow Katie to work two shifts ( 4 hours total) on the same day. Two hours is plenty long enough for a nine year old! Chris, Katie and I do our best to help the troop reach their goals every year and this year it seems like we are the bubonic plague or something. There are only a handful of girls that we will work with because the other handful do not do anything but whine and complain. I can not and will not participate with them or their parents. It's sad but I can't make them do what they are supposed to do. I am not their parent!

Jeff is seriously looking into buying his scooter. We have shopped around here locally for a 50cc and the prices are absolutely mind boggling. We shopped online and found the same exact bike for $689.00 plus with the cost of shipping would make it $888.00 While the same exact bike sold here is $1300.00 I can't justify spending the extra $400 or so just to help a local merchant! No difference in the bikes or warranty either.

That's all I am going to rant about now! I am getting a headache just thinking about these things.

I was down for the count.

I am feeling much better now though. Whatever it was that got a hold of me really put me through the ringer. I made it worse by working Friday and Saturday and then Sunday I barely made it out of bed. I am not sure if it was virus or if I ate something that didn't agree with me but let me just say that my energy level is in the red and I am hoping to feel "normal" again here soon.

Chris seems to think that I am working myself to hard but with only a few clients I don't think that is what is. Although I can pick up just about any virus or cold since I am working in other people's houses and that really does compromise your immune system.

While I was sick in bed for the last couple of days, Chris and the kids went to work on cleaning out our garage. We have a lot of stuff to either sell or get rid of. I am not sure I want to deal with a garage sale right now but I have talked Chris into advertising on Craigslist. I would like to sell our stackable washer/dryer through the website rather than in a garage sale. Chris is trying to talk my dad into putting his motorcycle into self storage but I know that won't happen. That motorcycle is his baby and he personally has not rode it in several years. It's a 1980 Suzuki and except for a little rust on the exhaust pipe it is in perfect condition. The last time I drove it was just before I found out I was pregnant with Jeff. I don't know why but whenever I mention to people that I have driven motorcycles they give me this weird look. Except for Chris, he just gets turned on. Guys are funny sometimes. LOL! One of my best friends used to compete (although I have been told he is trying to make a comeback) in the motorsports circa. So… I grew up around bikes and if I really wanted to I could have competed but back then girls weren't widely accepted into the motorsports circle. I don't think I could ride one now.