I'm Sold!

Normally, I'm not one to jump on a new-product bandwagon. But there are two things that I've tried this week that I'm in love with.

The first is a new product from Goody - you know them, the company that pretty much owns the hair accessory department in most stores (brushes, ponytails, clips, headbands.... you name it, they got it). It's called a "Spin Pin" and I actually bought it because of a commercial I saw for it (something I never do).

The only way I've been wearing my hair lately is up-up-and-away.... Out of Jacob's grasp. He is obsessed with hair, and will pull mine out by the handfuls if he gets ahold of it. (And I swear, every hair he's pulled is coming back in gray!) I've been putting it in the ugly twisted pony, or whatever they call it. You know how you do it... Put your hair in a ponytail, pull it through partway, twist it and wrap the elastic around it again.... Except I can't make mine look nearly as secure and elegant as most girls do. Mine is definitely frumpy.

So when I saw the commercial for them, I thought I'd give it a try. Because my hair is too thick and heavy to stay put in a ponytail or bun with bobbypins all day (at least not comfortably).

I bought them Sunday, and have worn them all day, every day since then. Okay, so it's only 3 days, but three days of not fussing with my hair every hour made up my mind for me.

To show you.... Today, I put my hair up about noon. It took me about 30 seconds... I twisted it, put a pin in from the top and bottom, and that was it.

(Obviously not going for any stylist awards here.)

Nine hours later - after housework, a trip to the doctor in KC, driving in rush hour traffic, praise team practice, driving home with the windows down, and spending a little time outside, not to mention all the other things Mommys do, it still looked like this.

The only drawbacks I can think of is your hair has to be somewhat long. And they are a bit pricey - $6 for two. But if it keeps me from being snatched bald (and looking more elegant while doing so), it's probably worth it.

So there ya go, Goody. Enjoy the free advertising.

The second thing that I'm now completely sold on is Magic Erasers. (I think they're by Mr. Clean brand.) My best friend Brooke has sworn on how they work for years, and I finally tried them out this week.

I originally bought some almost a year ago, after one of the boys I babysit scribbled with pen on the cover of Nathan's white baby book. A combination of fear of ruining the cover by scrubbing on it, and just procrastination (out of sight, out of mind) meant that they were still in the box in the cabinet under the kitchen sink.

I brought home some chairs from the church nursery to see if I could clean 30 years of toddler use off them. I tried everything - Comet, 409, two natural cleaners, and Magic Eraser.

Incidentally, none of these worked on the chairs. The eraser just shredded on the texture. The only thing that worked was straight bleach. Straight. My hands smelled lovely for the next two days.

But while I was bent over the bathtub cleaning these chairs, I figured since I'd gotten it out, and the tub was gross, I'd see how they worked.

Apparently I have a white tub.

I've thought that it was ivory, because that's what color it has been ever since we bought the house 5 1/2 years ago. That Magic Eraser took off the soap scum, the black buildup from our gross feet, and all the water residue from splashing on the walls and the crusty buildup on the faucets. I've used several products on our shower over the years, and nothing has done that - I previously had used the Comet powder, because of everything, it did the best.

And the other thing I really like about these is they don't have any odor. I looked it up, and apparently there's no odor, because there's no chemical. It's what the "eraser" is made of that makes it clean. Bonus.

And that ends my free advertising for Mr. Clean. I think I should be paid.