No one tells you when you become a grown up that the best new toys are practical gadgets. Kevin and I finally joined the world of real vacuum cleaners last night. We'd been making do for 6-7 years with a stick vac that had gotten to the point where it only really picked up the big crumbs and only if it was feeling in the mood. So a little research and a little spontaneity resulted in us bringing home the Hoover Windtunnel T-series something or other.

It was too late last night to actually try it out (unlike our neighbors who are inconsiderate, we do try to be considerate). This morning I assembled it and fired it up. Oh my!! I had no idea of what color our area rugs actually were because it had been so long and they were apparently that full of crud. The amount of dust, dirt, and crud that this vacuum picked up was impressive. I couldn't stop vacuuming. I tried out all of the tools, in all of our rooms, sucking up dirt and dust that hadn't be touched in years. (We really aren't super dirty people, but in cracks and crevices some dust is impossible to get out without awesome suction power.)

So not only did I get a grown up toy, I now have a clean apartment!