2010 BUICK ENCLAVE

This week I am having the pleasure of driving the brand new 2010 Buick Enclave. The reason that I am driving this vehicle is because my Sequoia is in the shop. A little boy in the neighborhood became angry with me when I told him that he could no longer play with children or come to my house because he was using foul language. In return this 6 year old little boy decided to key my truck. So now it is in the shop being repainted from bumper to bumper. Thank God we have GREAT insurance.

Now, back to the review. Enterprise car rental gave me a Buick Enclave because it was the only vehicle they had that was comparable to my SUV. At first glance this cross-over vehicle is eye-catching and sporty. The shape of it is appealing if you like the "bubble" shape in the rear. The interior is nice but the leather does not appeal to me. The leather in this vehicle is a little "cheap" looking. There is wood grain inside and power everything.

The features are what you will fall in love with in this vehicle if you are a "gadget junky". The model that I have has remote ignition starting, automatic rear cargo door opening, power driver and passenger seats with heating, individual climate control and so much more. The leather wrapped steering wheel has controls for the stereo system and wood grain. The are so many buttons on the console that you could get confused if you do not read the manual. can you imagine having to read the manual for a rental car????? You can program the seat position, you can check your tire pressure, the outdoor temperature, and your gas and oil level while sitting in the driveway. It's all digital and all you have to do is push a button.

I really have enjoyed the past 3 days that I have been driving the Enclave, it has a smooth ride, it turns on a dime and you "Take Off" when you hit the gas. Keep in mind that this is a brand new vehicle and I am the first person to rent it from this particular Enterprise location. Buick is living up to its reputation of being a mid priced luxury vehicle with this cross-over.

There are some cons that I have found with the vehicle. The biggest problem that I have is that there is a blind spot when you are turning created by the side view mirrors. I am accustomed to driving an SUV that sits up high and it has a shorter windshield. The Enclave is more car like in that the wind shield is long and low so even though you can move the driver seat up and down yo still have an area that is "blind"to you when driving because of the length of the windscreen and the position of the mirror. Maybe I have been driving an SUV too long but this is a problem for me because I am not sure how wide I have to make my turns. Another thing that is troublesome is that it took me 2 days to get the seat adjusted properly. Because of the windscreen and side view mirror placement the seat is hard for me to adjust because I keep trying to get situated to where I can see above the side view mirror like I can in my SUV.

I am not sure what the price is on this vehicle with all the amenities that it has but this is not something that I would but for myself. I think that there are some improvements that can be made to it to make it a lot better. Aesthetically this car is very appealing but once you have driven it you may wish that you had rented it before you bought it.

BOUNCE DRYER BAR

Once again I have been away too long, my apologies. A dear friend of mine asked me to review the Bounce dryer bar. I have been waiting to write the review because I wanted to make sure it was thorough. I purchased the dryer bar about 6 weeks ago when it first came out here in Washington. The first week that I used it the results were the same as if I were using the actual dryer sheets. The clothes smelled great and they were soft and fluffy, no static cling and best of all no dryer sheets hidden in pants legs or anywhere else.

The next week the results were almost the same. the only difference I noticed is that the bar was not giving off as strong a smell as it was the week before. The clothes were still fluffy and the there was no cling but they did not have that "dryer sheet fresh" smell. Over the course of the next 3 weeks the smell became weaker and weaker and now there is a very faint smell but nothing like the smell from a dryer sheet.

All in all I would give the dryer bar a 3 out of 5 stars because I really missed the fresh smell that the dryer sheets leave on the clothes. The dryer bar does its job as far as softening the clothes and removing static but if you are a sucker for the smell that dryer sheets leave behind this may not be the product for you. I think that this dryer bar is eco friendly, cost effective and for the most part, it is a fair replacement for the dryer sheets but it is not an even trade.

KEURIG SINGLE CUP COFFEE MAKER

First things first. I know that you all are wondering where I have been since this is the most popular blog online you have all been waiting with bated breath for my return. I must apologize to my loyal readers for my unexplained absence. School started here in Washington on 2 September and we have been adjusting to our new schedule so please forgive me for not posting for a while. Also, I had to go out and make some new purchases to blog about.

Today I want to tell you about my newest toy. It is a coffee maker. What makes this coffee maker so special you may ask. Well that is what this blog is for, I tell you exactly why I think some things are great and why some are not. The Keurig coffee maker can go in the "just shy of fantastic category". Let me first tell you that I purchased this because I am not really a coffee drinker but wanted to be able to have a single cup every now and again and did not want the mess associated with regular coffee makers.

The Keurig is a really neat machine and it will make you a single serving of coffee in less than 3 minutes. You can choose from a large variety of coffee, tea and hot cocoa. Set up time from box to counter top is less than 3 minutes as well. There are 4 easy steps to follow in order to make your coffee and the machine guides you every step of the way. What do I mean by that, well I'll tell you. Once you plug the coffee maker in you press the button on top and insert your choice of beverage. Next the water compartment will open on its own. that's right you read correctly, it opens on its own. After you have added the water (8oz) and close the lid a yellow light will appear. This light is telling you to place your coffee cup in the staging area. Once you have put your cup in place then a blue light comes on that reads "BREW". Hit the brew button and you are ready to go. In less than 3 minutes you have a hot beverage with no mess.

I know that you are wondering why there is no mess. Well, this system is designed with single
canisters that allow you to pop them in a small contained compartment while the machine does the rest. When your beverage is done brewing you just remove the canister and discard it. There are no coffee grounds to dump out and no filter remove and replace. You so have to deal with residual coffee drippings or the old coffee smell that lingers if you for get to toss it out the same day. You came make as many beverages as you want all you have to do is follow the 4 steps each time and you can't get it wrong.

Now, some of you may be wondering why I rated it just shy of fantastic. Well being the perfectionist that I am I found 1 issue with this machine. When making hot cocoa all of the cocoa powder does not get used. The water does not pass through all of the cocoa mix and it clumps up inside the canister so your cocoa is very weak. This is not a big issue for me but it is for my kids. With that one exception the machine is worth every penny. Which brings me to my last point, the price. There are 3 different Keurig single cup coffee makers that I have seen and they are priced from $79.00 to $129.00 at Target. I purchased the $79.00 once for its size. It is very compact and you can travel with it. You can take it to your office or on vacation with you if you like. If you are sort on counter space, this is the one for you. The $99.00 model is a larger but it is said to make your coffee in less than 1 minute. The largest one they offer costs $129.00 but it allows you to use many different cup sizes in the staging area and also makes your coffee in less than 1 minute. I have not personally tested the larger machines so I cannot attest to these claims but I am happy with the model that I have.

This coffee maker is convenient and easy to clean. It does not leave an odor of old coffee in the air and can be used in any room or office space. One of my favorite things about this machine is that they use fair trade products and you have a very large variety to choose from. You can buy what you want at many different retailers (Target, bed bath and beyond, Lowes, JC Penny, Wal Mart etc.) or you can order them online from the company and set up auto shipping. I highly recommend this coffee maker for everyone from the occassional drinker to the everyday coffee addict.