Saying goodbye to an old friend

The other day I was vacuuming and I could smell something burning. It was a funny smell like something electrical. I began looking around and didn't see anything so I continued vacuuming. Then suddenly smoke began pouring out of my machine. I instantly turned it off and watched helplessly as my vacuum began dying in front my eyes. The poor thing. It was like watching an old friend passing away.

I purchased that vacuum before I married my husband. Hoover and I've been through a lot of moves, life changing events, and relationships. And here my poor little friend finally gave out on me. I remember when I first purchased Hoover. I was walking through the mall one Christmas and cut through Sears to the parking lot. As I walked past the vacuum display I was taken back by the beautiful machine. It was bag less. That's when bag less machines were just coming out. It was bag less and purple. What gal doesn't need a purple vacuum cleaner I thought. At that time it was one of the more expensive purchases I made for my little apartment. Because the bag less feature was new my little Hoover cost a small fortune. However, I definitely made a good investment considering that he worked his little heart out for the past 10 years, 3 days a week, before he gave out.

Last night my hubby came home and we went vacuum shopping. Not something I looked forward to doing during Christmas but it needed to be done. Funny how I purchased it 10 years ago around Christmas and it breaks down around Christmas. Anyhoo, I found one that I loved at Target. And it was purple. However, they didn't have one in back. Don't you hate it when that happens (It's like playing with your emotions when you get hooked on the display and then....nothing) I really liked it so my husband decided to try Walmart around the corner. I winced at the thought of going to Walmart and especially during the holidays. We did a drive by and saw that the parking lot wasn't too bad. So we decided to go in and actually it wasn't such a bad experience as we had anticipated. We found the vacuum right away at $20 less than Target and we were able to walk right up to a register and check out. It was our lucky day.

Last night I ran my new friend, Bissell, over my floors. She did a fine job. I couldn't believe how much more advanced she was from my old friend Hoover. She gave me a much deeper cleaning and it was easier to use. Today I've become a vacuum maniac. I've been vacuuming every room in the house. I called my husband and told him how much I love my new vacuum. That's when you know you've finally grown up when you're overly zealous for household appliances, lol.

What household appliance or tool are you absolutely in love with?

I also wanted to thank Amy over at http://bamamy.blogspot.com/ for giving me a sweet blogging reward. If y'all haven't visited Amy before you really should. She is a new proud momma of twin baby boys. They are precious!!! Her blog is hilarious. She always keeps me laughing as she blogs about her love for Bama football (Roll Tide), her new adventures in motherhood, and her Martha Stewart crafting abilities. Love ya, Amy!