Luck of the Irish.. na..blessings from my Father in Heaven.

This week I had an entry plotted out in my head about how pleasantly surprised I have been lately by the little good things that have been happening despite other negatives like being sick and Josh not working.  In my quiet time this morning it occurred to me that these were all blessings, even though they are small.. God is concerned over even the smallest details and needs in our life and I realized I had not properly given him praise and thanks.  It was one of those light bulb moments.. ohhh that was YOU LORD.. wow.. how awesome the way you work things out!!  Why had I not seen it right away.. because I focus too much on the negatives .. haven't been drawing near to Him.  To some getting a new vacuum or having the engine light stop appearing on the dash may not seem like a God thing.. to me they are blessings to be thankful for and even more confirmations that my Lord loves me and is always looking out for me.

 

Not even a year ago I bought a new vacuum cleaner and at the time we had money so I spent a good amount on it.  It was a VAX 5 from Best Buy and since I had spent so much money I purchased the extended warranty thing.  I really loved this vacuum.. even though it was not the coveted DYSON (the Cadilac of vacuums) I thought of it as just a step down from one. It had a retractable cord so I didn't get tripped up on it, it had scented filter pads so the rooms smelled fresh after vacuuming, It was bagless and all I had to do was dump the junk and wash the canister and filter once in a while.  Well, about two months ago it went on the fritz.  No suction at all and would not pick up.  I thought maybe I had broke it when I had washed it out or I had not put it back together right.  I toyed with it and Josh did but it was no use.  The procrastinator that I am, I let it sit and just borrowed my friends Dirt Devil canister vac or just let the vacuuming go.  Needless to say my carpets were starting to get in poor shape.  It was very frustrating.  Best Buy is not around the corner live out in the boonies..and I just didn't want to take the time and gas to go up there.  I knew I would get some kind of run around or hassle that is just how things always go.  Well, this week we had wonderful weather.. the kind that motivates you to do spring cleaning.  I cleaned my van from head to toe, bumper to bumper.. even armour-alled it.  I had to take it to a car wash to vacuum it out and I hated that I had to spend money to do it.  I asked my friend if I could borrow her vac and Josh overheard me and started nagging that I should finally go and get ours fixed.  I wasn't even sure if the warranty was still good so I called ahead and was told to just bring it up and I'm all good on warranty.

 

I talked my friend into coming with me.  We both have been fighting households with some kind or another illness this winter so we have not had much time to hang out.  I insisted that we would feel better just by being out and about and taking in the nice weather. And we did..a little bit of sunshine and 70degree weather does a lot for a person's out look and so does a little bit of fellowship.  We get to Best Buy and ofcourse there is a nice wait in line at the customer service.  We were directed to the Geek Squad desk to have them look at my vacuum.  Why I don't know.. they are computer guys not vacuum repairmen.  Ofcourse they can't fix it and I figured he was going to say they would have to send it away to the manufacture but the pleasant surprise came when he said I would have to do an in-store exchange and he directed me back to the customer service counter.  Come to find out my vac has been discontinued because of all these major probs and Best Buy stopped carrying it.  I just had to find a new vac in the same price rang and simply exchange it.  (they could have told me that over the phone).

 

I was a bit overwhelmed by all the choices of vacuums.  Most looked nice enough but were well under what I paid for my vacuum and I didn't want to be loosing money.  If only this had happen when I had money I could have paid the extra amount for a DYSON but ofcourse we are broke and that was out of the question.  After hemming and hawing I finally asked a sales person for help.  She helped me narrow down the choices in the price range I had and ones that had comparable features to my old one.  I finally choose a new one that has just come out called The INFINITYw/PET CARE SYSTEM.  It promised never to loose suction.  What I really liked is unlike the others you never have to buy a filter for it.. just clean it with water.  Only downside to it that I can see is it doesn't have the retractable cord like the VAX.   After taking it home I found it to be well superior to my old one and to my friend's Dirt Devil.

 

I love love love it!  AND OMG.. Does it pick up every bit of cat hair and dirt.. I knew my carpets were dirty and needed vacuuming but I had nooooooo idea they were THAT bad.  What I also like about it is the wand is see threw so you can see if there is any clogs in it and it is very extendable.. I even vacuumed all my cobwebs that were on the ceiling.  It goes from carpet to hard floors surfaces easily and has a good attachments for doing bare floors and stairs.  Another good thing is my old vac was still under manufacture's warranty and returning it did not void the in-store one I had purchased with it.  I am covered thru 2010.  Reading on the web about the two vacuum cleaners I can see all the unhappy customers over the VAX.. I had no idea. About the only complaint I saw for my new one was one customer had the door to the canister break and he had to pay $25 for a replacement canister.  I am hoping that doesn't happen to me but if so I do have the store warranty that should cover it.

 

The INFINITY.. MY NEW VAC!

 

THE VAX 5.. MY OLD ONE

Also while my friend and I were at Best Buy we ran into the associate Pastor from our church.  Our church attendance has been hit and miss lately due to several excuses you know and we have been missed.  Apparently we were meant to run into him ... he had been meaning to talk to both of us and here we were right there, saving him a phone call.  He wanted some help and input with the new website and our input.. since you know I am just so Internet savvy. now I can really use being online as an excuse for helping out at church.. haha Josh can't yell at me no more (just kidding)

 

My van is way over due for an oil change and its another task I have been putting off.  I get so many free from the dealer ship we bought it threw but need an appointment.  Just another example of my laziness in making a simple phone call.  My engine light turned on at the beginning of this week but the van drove fine.  I tried not to drive it so much and planned on calling Friday to get it looked at.  It was on all week.. and I thought it was weird it went on and not the oil light since I am in a bad need for the oil change.  I called Friday and got an appointment for the oil change and the diagnostic but couldn't get in till this coming Tuesday morning.  I was quoted that the price for the diagnostic test for the pesky engine light was going to be $85!!  Crazy but what could I do.  But don't you know not 30 min. after making the appointment I drove the van and the light has not come back on since?  I think I can forgo the diagnostic now and just get the oil change.. Lord knows we don't have money to spend on the van right now.  My friend Amy suggested that Auto Zone will do a free diagnostic if you ask them too.. so if the light comes back on I may take it there.

 

Those are the two major blessings this week.  A minor but just as wonderful is I got two free movies from Blockbuster and only had to pay for one.  Also the builder for our subdivision has finally come out to fix nail pops and other minor things around the house.  The floor at the top of the stairs doesn't squeak any more and they repainted our front and back door frames and redid the weather stripping on them.  Maybe now I can get Josh to do some painting around here??

 

I feel very blessed this week but I know I am blessed everyday.. just need to look for it sometimes and give credit where credit is due.. to the Lord.  THANK YOU LORD! 

 

Tags: BEST BUY, VAX 5, INFINITY, VACCUMING, VACCUM CLEANERS, BLESSINGS, THANKFUL, CHRISTIAN