New Vaccuum

We recently purchased a new vacuum. This is an item that is purchased only a hand full of times by the average citizen. There are brands of vacuums that are more common than others and brands that people say are good, but nobody I know or know of speaks highly or critically of their vacuums; Nothing is said about this common household item.

We did, however, speak to a older sales woman at Kohls who vacuums her house three to 4 times a week. She showed us the vacuum she owns that was for sale at Kohls and she said she liked it, but couldn't exactly tell us why. She was crazy.

We then spoke to a newly married couple who were thinking about trading in the vacuum they received for a wedding gift for the same model vacuum her parents owned. They spoke highly of the vacuum we chose. One of their friends or family had the same model and liked it a lot.

On the way out of Kohls, received complements for choosing the vacuum we bought by a couple who was entering the store. They had also purchased the same model sometime back and loved it.

I guess I'm saying that if you want to hear about vacuums or are shopping around for one, go to the area of a store that sells them and wait for someone else to come along who is shopping for a vacuum as well. Ask them about a brand or style of vacuum and listen for the confusion they experience while surveying all the vacuum to choose from. They might also have a story about which vacuum is better because their parents or someone they know has that vacuum.

You'll meet some interesting people in the vacuum department.

We chose the Hoover EmPower: http://www.hoover.com/db/xq/asp.U5269900/prodid.228/SubID.1/ModID.1925/qx/HooverEmPower.htm
It seems to do really well and has all the attachments we wanted.

While you're in the vacuum department, listen for vacuum jokes. Like:
If it sucks we will take it back
I hope it doesn't blow
This sucks!

Anything having the words suck or blow are common. We heard them all. I even made a vacuum joke. Maybe that why I just looked at the last guy who made a vacuum joke as we were walking out of the store. The same guy who owned the model we just purchased. I didn't even give him a courtesy laugh. I guess he will get over it.

Making Plans

Christmas never ends in our home. I love the time we get with family and friends during the actual Christmas season, but as I said before, it never ends in our home. We are now planning next Christmas. We plan on having all of Susanne's family at our home over Christmas (this includes our new niece or nephew-that's right, a surprise Heriford baby!).

We are planning which room will be assigned to which family member and what dishes we will be serving while they are here. We are also working on where the tree will be placed and how big of a tree we can get; we're thinking maybe a 10' tree will be nice.

Skiing will be the main draw for all the family to want to visit. They love us, but Utah is a long way from any of them, so their love for us + the probability of getting onto the slopes seals the deal.

We will be completing our basement soon by building 2 more bedrooms. This will give us 6 bedrooms total and room for all the family to stay with us. (This will also give us plenty of room for any of you guys to visit if you're ever in the mood to travel 1000mi to Utah.)

Is this too much planning, too soon?

O well, if it works out, it works out.

Visiting Friends and Family

I really enjoyed our trip to Texas for Christmas. Its great to see people you love that live far away. There's something about not seeing someone for a long time that makes you appreciate the time you get to spend with them. People I use to see all the time are now the ones I visit once a year. People change so much in a year's time.
Some have lost weight, some have gained it.
Some have moved and some have moved on.
New children have arrived and old children have gone.

I look forward to seeing everyone again soon.