Ode to Subway

Dear Subway,

Thank you for being bold enough to lower the price of your Footlongs to $5 for a time, and for offering a $2.99 Daily Special. Even though I don't care for the Footlongs that you decided to keep on your $5 list permanently, your actions have brought sub prices down all around town. Hogi Yogi, Blimpie, and Quiznos are all offering $5 subs now as well in an effort to keep up with the competition. And that makes me feel good inside. I love sandwiches, but for a very long time, the prices were too outrageous for me to feel comfortable splurging on one. But Subway, you did the right thing. You've kept things in check and allowed those of us who couldn't fathom paying $8 for a sub to once again regain a long lost love.

Let it be known, Subway, that despite the fact that I am giddy inside and out that the blessed sandwich prices around town are dropping in an economy where everything else seems to be increasing in price, I will still do my best to support you. I will continue to ask for Subway giftcards for my birthday and Christmas in an effort to continue ordering my sandwiches from you. Because I have tried all the rest, but your subs really are the best. I love that I can order whatever I want on my sub instead of having to pick the sub that most closely represents what I like on a sandwich. The anticipation of creating my own sub just about kills me. Where else can I get a turkey sub with provolone cheese, lettuce, pickles, cucumbers, ranch dressing, mustard, salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar on it? You guessed it. Nowhere. No other sub shop allows me this amount of customization. And for that, you will always hold a special place in my heart.

Sincerely,
Carlee

(Cassi, wow, that was rejuvinating. I love being able to sing praises directly to the things I love. Thank you for introducing me to "the letter" style.)

Command Strips by 3M

Have you ever tried the Command Strips by 3M? If not, you need to. They have now earned a solid spot on my list of best inventions ever. Kory and I had wanted to install hooks on our closet and bathroom doors to hang towels on for several months, but we could just never seem to get around to doing it. It's one of those things you put off because you know you're gonna have to get all your tools out and drill into the doors and then make sure everything's level, etc. So a few weeks ago Kory finally went to the store to get some hooks and he came home with some Command Strips. I was skeptical at first, but after he put one up I was instantly sold. No drilling, no screws, no leveling...nothing! These were so easy to put up and the best part about them is that if you decide you don't like them anymore or if you want to move them, you just have to pull the adhesive strip and they come off without any effort. And you can use the same hooks over and over again by just applying a new adhesive strips (every pack comes with extra adhesive strips or you can just buy the replacement strips).

We have only tried the hooks, but 3M also makes picture hanging strips, along with many other products that use the same adhesive strips. Do you know what this means people? No more holes in your walls! No more debating whether or not you should hang something and risk having an unnecessary hole in your wall. If you have a decoration you want to hang up for Christmas or if you want to hang a wreath on your front door, holes are no longer required. Simply hang the decoration on one of these hooks and then when you put the decoration away, you can take the hook down without leaving a mark. They're just amazing! Go here to see all the different products these strips are used on. And if you want to give the picture hanging strips a try, click here to print a $1.00 off coupon.

Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs

Every time I eat a hot dog it seems there is always some heckler nearby who feels the need to preach some sort of anti-animal-part doctrine to me. They're all, "Ewwww, you’re eating that?!? Did you know they put ground up animal eyes and lips in those?" To which I reply, "Yes," and continue to take a bite AND swallow it in front of them. So what? So what if there's animal stuff in my hot dog? Millions are consumed daily, so I'm not gonna lose too much sleep over it unless those ground up eyes and lips actually kill somebody. Until then, I will continue to eat them because they're good. Really though, I like to partake of the all-beef variety because they just taste better. They're my favorite and I think it's totally worth the little bit extra to get a really good tasting hot dog...because hot dogs are an all or nothin' deal with me. I love them if they're really good, but otherwise I'll take the burger.

My favorite brand is Nathan's Famous. Nathan's hosts the annual hot dog eating contest every year on Coney Island. Their hot dogs taste somewhat like a sausage, but with a hot dog texture. And they pop when you bite into them! They really are amazing. Sadly, most people don't know that you can buy them at local supermarkets (I've seen them at Wal-Mart and Smith's). Nathan's is huge back east and they've decided to share with us western folk. So if you've never had a Nathan's Famous hot dog before, go to the store right now and get yourself a pack (I recommend the long skinny ones shown above). Then go home, grill it up on the George Foreman, and let me know what you think.

Dyson DC25 All Floors

Several months ago, Kory and I finally took the plunge. We purchased this bad baby. It's is the Dyson DC25 All Floors vacuum cleaner. And I honestly don't think I have ever been more pleased with a purchase in my entire life. Not only does it live up to it's slogan that it turns on a dime, but I am constantly amazed/disgusted with the amount of crap it picks up. We have to empty the container about once a month because it picks up so much she-haw. We had to empty the container on our former vacuum, the Hoover, about once a year, so it now makes me sick to think about what we were wallowing in before we purchased this vacuum. The Hoover only lasted about 3 years and it sucked...actually, it didn't suck. I would purposely put things in front of it and it would just roll over top of them. Pathetic! Once Maggie started crawling I decided it was finally time to get a Dyson. My favorite features of this vacuum include the quick-draw telescope wand, the stairs attachment, the low floors feature, the fact that it's small and bagless, and of course, the ball!

When we purchased ours, we were actually going to go with the DC14 model that didn't have the ball, but as I searched on the internet I actually found this version, which is much better, for cheaper than I could get the DC14. Normally this model sells for about $500. Do a search on Nextag, Froogle, and Pricegrabber and you will see what I mean. Pretty much the cheapest I could find it for was $435 plus $16 shipping, but most retail for about $499. However, there is one online store that always sells it for way cheaper than everywhere else. When I bought mine, they were having a sale and I got it for $350, but you can almost ALWAYS get it for $399 at AAA & Broadway Vacuums, which in my opinion is still an amazing deal for this vacuum. And it ships free and is tax-free. And I trust this company. They were VERY knowledgeable about vacuums and helped me realize that the Dyson DC25 was the one for me. It was also delivered brand new within the week.

So you may have just choked on your toast hearing that we spent $350 on a vacuum, but you have no idea how awesome this vacuum really is. We spent over $200 on the Hoover, and as I've already stated, it was terrible. This one is incredible and comes with a 5-year warranty. So if you're in the market for a new vacuum, take my word for it. This one's a winner. Honestly the only con to this vacuum is the cord size...it's a little shorter than normal. That's it. Well, and the price. But I'm good at justifying that if you haven't already noticed. :)