I've had my Dyson Animal for 8 years and have had exactly one problem with it. Ok, two: 1: my oldest daughter decided to vacuum down the stairs, which dragged the vacuum crashing down the stairs, which crimped the hose. We bought a new hose. 2: it demonstrates how truly disgusting we are every.single.time we vacuum. :001_huh: :lol: Seriously, the only thing I would recommend is getting a second HEPA filter. Mine gets all clogged with dust about halfway through any massive vacuum I do (after several sessions between, not each time I vacuum), and it's nice to have a second one while the other one is drying. eta: The Dyson replaced two Windtunnels. One broke with the beater bar on, stayed at the only "authorized repair center" waiting for a part for 3 MONTHS until we complained directly to Hoover. They sent us a new one, which broke with the beater bar off the very first time we used it.

I use Supermedia Store for my laser cartridges. Their prices are less than half those I've seen elsewhere. I don't know about ink, though. I need to look into that for the new Brother color inkjet we got.

Yup, me too.

Me, too. And, as far as page 4, no Moby Dick wiki, though the first Moby Dick reference is on page 4, on an enotes page. Oops, I must be having a low literacy day. The wiki is number 9 on the first page for me, too.

I have three hampers upstairs for whites/colors/darks. I pick out the appropriate items for each load from the color group I'm doing (in the laundry room). Sheets are taken off the beds and put into the washer, new ones pressed and put on the beds <don't judge me>. Towels are removed from the bathroom en masse and taken to the washer - white ones, I hide in the whites hamper until I have enough. Woolens just get worn <obviously in season, it's 90 here right now> until I decide they're vulgar looking, then I snag all the sweaters I can find.

:001_wub: Me, too. That's pretty much what mine looks like: Synthetics: bright workout clothes black/gray/navy workout clothes (little detergent, no bleach, no fabric softener) Woolens: as they sort out at the time Cottons: whites (detergent, maybe bleach, fabric softener, maybe bluing) lights (detergent, fabric softener, maybe Biz) brights (detergent, softener, maybe Biz) dark heavy (detergent, softener) dark lightweight (detergent, softener) sheets (detergent, softener, maybe bleach, maybe Biz) bed blankets (detergent, softener) throw blankets - down (detergent) throw blankets - fleece :ack2: (detergent, softener) dark towels (detergent, softener) white towels (detergent, maybe bleach, softener) kitchen towels <dishcloths, towels, microfiber rags, napkins, etc> (detergent, bleach) (and, of course, when we had diapered kiddos, a load of diapers and a load of covers) Everything gets hung out except white cotton socks. And everything is hung in the "proper" order: Dad's shirts - long sleeved, collared, t-shirts, dark to light in each category, then mine, Bailey's and the boys'. Same drill with pants, followed by dainties, then socks. Once, when my dad was visiting he was chatting with me while I hung the laundry. I went to hang something and realized I'd missed a pair of my husband's dainties that were in the middle of the dark to light gradation in the basket... Me: curse, curse, curse <take lighter pairs down, hang middle ones, rehang lighter ones.> Dad: uh, anal retentive much? :lol: I get it from him! Back in the days when the boys were wee and I was profoundly sleep deprived, I was so caught up on the laundry that everything was pressed before it was put away, and I changed the sheets about every three days to keep the laundry flowing along (also pressed). Sigh. I wish I could get back there. :crying:

That cerebrum is sooooooo cheesy. The cerebellum is AWESOME! :lol: My <lame, unupdated> blog name came from a slur from my sister in law. (She called me a knitting, geeking, loser)

:lol: Pam, I haven't noticed anything weird. It must be the PMS voices in your head.

Totally ignored it. All 4 pages. Twice. I am a very good direction follower. :D

I agree. I also think "dysfunctional family" has become a vague catch-all excuse for poor behavior in adults. Yes, ok, perhaps many of us did not have the best modeling as children, but there is just nothing keeping us from looking around at the rest of the world modeling appropriate behavior... And, unless your parents were serial killers and completely open about it, I don't think you can miss a memo about children not being disposable. (I should really stay out of these threads. They make me twitch)

Yeah, all those delightful side effects of nursing - weight loss, suppressed fertility, etc - skipped me. Well, except when nursing twins. My weight at their fist birthday was the least I've weighed between their birth (9/2004) and now. With their older sister, I lost a single pound between her birth and first birthday. I developed thyroid issues, though.

:lol: That's my house. The husband is asleep in 15 seconds. I spend an hour and a half "processing", then hearing random suspicious noises, then waking up periodically so I can know what time it is... What happened to the days when you could crash a plane through the house and I'd sleep through it? :001_huh:

I was taught that, as well. However, I think it's the heat drying that sets stains. I know enzyme cleaners work much better in hot water than cold, and there are certain stain releasing techniques that call for boiling water (red wine on a table cloth, for instance). The hot/enzyme combination just removed coffee residue from a white top that had been rinsed in cold (at the time of the unfortunate splat), pre-treated, and laundered previously. I do wash in cold, though, because I think (most of the time) that is perfectly adequate to clean our laundry and the cost of heating water with an oil burner... :svengo:

Excellent article! Thanks for sharing. :001_smile:

I have a bunch of whites soaking in a sink of hot water and Biz right now. These are items that I noticed persistent spots on when hanging them on the line (read: freshly washed) and the water is brown. I'm seriously considering wet pailing (like with cloth diapers) the kids' light and white clothes, just for this reason. I do think, for food drips, a (brightly colored, patterned) napkin, tucked into the neck, might save you a lot of hassle though. At least when dining at home.

That's us, too. After lunch is "quiet time". I dont mind if they read, but there is no playing, no noise. Most of the time we all fall asleep for an hour or so.

I have one of those 6 year olds. He "forgets" the directive to brush his teeth walking, literally, five feet into the bathroom. He "forgets" at least half his clothing on the floor/couch/wherever when he is told to bring it to the hamper. He is also the sloooooooooooooowest eater ever. He is not ADD (or whatever we're calling it now). He is simply not interested enough in the task at hand to do a good job. He is also the only one doesn't offer to help. (and then is mad when his twin brother is doing something helpful.) I have no advice, but I feel your pain. It's infuriating.

There's also the commuting, car-centric lifestyle. It seems fewer people are outside or even home. The whole family leaves in the morning, returns in the evening, and stays in the house. Well, except the drunk, yard brawling neighbors but we don't socialize with them. :glare:

When my daughter was learning to parallel park, we drove around the block, pulled up in front of the house, and she'd park between two cones we'd put out... About the third time around, the dirtball neighbors were all lined up on the curb with a case of beer, "cheering" her on. Otherwise, it wasn't so bad.

Wow! Those are amazing!

You're building mean muscle. It weights more than fat. And body weight can fluctuate as much as 10 lbs over the course of a day. Pay more attention to how you feel and the way your clothes fit. Weight and measurements can be deceptive if you don't start out with lots of padding to lose. :001_smile:

Old Navy has running skirts w/ the compression shorts now. I think they were $16 or $19.

I wear glasses to drive - my prescription hasn't changed in 20 years - and just recently added "granny specs" to read... Because I just turned 40 and, evidently, my eyes saw that one coming.

:iagree: My now 10yo wanted desperately to go to "real" school when she was 5. It was because she saw the school bus stop every morning. Ultimately, we are the parents, and we make the decisions we feel are best for our family based on research, much consideration, and the many more years of life experience and maturity that we have amassed. We can revisit the discussion later but, for us, children do not make such decisions.

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