Oh, thank heaven for modern conveniences!

Since I promised no cheesiness today, I am going to take a moment to pay tribute to a few of the modern conveniences that are a big part of my every day life.  That's right, I'm lookin' at you, dishwasher, and you too, washer and dryer. 

I have been a fan of the dishwasher my whole life, perhaps appreciating it more than most people since we never had one growing up.  My dad's favorite refrain when my sister and I would ask (or beg...or plead...or weep, while wrist-deep in suds) why we didn't have one was, "What do I need a dishwasher for?  I already have two!" Oh yes, my dad was a HOOT.  :-)  So I have never lost the appreciation for being able to get clean dishes by the mere push of a button.  But now more than ever, when I only have free time in snippets between naps and feedings, do I relish the fact that in a few minutes I can rake everything off the counters, shove it out of sight into the dishwasher, and come back an hour later to sparkling cleanliness!  It's like magic!  If only I could somehow find a machine that could handle all of my housework as easily!

I also want to give a big shout-out to my favorite purchases of 2010, my front-loading washer and dryer set.  Our hand-me-down washer and dryer from Clay's parents finally kicked the bucket early this year, and we went shopping for a new set with our tax return, fully prepared to resist the siren call of the shiny new front-loading machines.  After all, they're more expensive, and we wondered what in the world could make these machines so much better than the old-fashioned kind?  Did the fact that the door was on the front of the machine really make that big a difference?  I was fully convinced women were buying them because they were new and exciting, and came in pretty colors like robin's egg blue.  Well, the joke was on me!  Once I saw what these babies could do, I was sold, hook, line, and sinker!  We walked out of Lowe's the proud owners of two pieces of equipment that basically do everything but fold the stinkin' clothes for you! (Now that would be a priceless invention, wouldn't it!?)  They really do get our clothes much cleaner, and we live for the steam cycle on our dryer- it allows us to throw wrinkled stuff in, and in 15 minutes it comes out wrinkle-free!  Anything that allows me to avoid an iron is a welcome addition to my home, let me tell you.

I am THANKFUL for these tools; they sure do make my daily chores a whole lot easier!  I guess they'll just have to do until I am able to have a robot maid, a la the Jetsons' Rosie.  Now that would REALLY be something to be thankful for! ;-)

Random side note: speaking of the Jetsons, was I the only person who thought that by the time I was a grown up we'd all be living in those space houses, driving flying cars?  I watched that cartoon thinking it was forecasting my immediate future! :-)