Go Naked- Method Brand Counter Cleaner

So, last year my hubby (Phil- that Harley riding, bar loving, ready-to-rumble man o'mine) and I tested our marriage to its limit and built our own home. Looking back, we try to see the glory of it and tell one another- it wasn't that bad. But it was, oh my, it was that bad! From the trained monkey comments, to the swears of redoing the kitchen if he didn't like it, the best aspects of my hubby and me were not always present.

When it came to designing the kitchen, I would say Stan the Cabinet Man saw at least a dozen different ideas. I cried so much my eyes are still swollen, I was sent to a cardiologist because my anxiety levels were so high, I had an irregular heartbeat- all over a freaking kitchen! (I won't even start in on the flooring- yet) After all, this was to be my dream kitchen- the kitchen I would make family meals in, talk to the girls about boys and school and boys and clothes and boys in. Anyway, final plan included a big beautiful island with black granite. Oh I loved the black granite idea- that architectural idea to make the kitchen POP!

Six months into the house- oh how I hate the black granite- what the heck was I thinking? Black shows EVERYTHING- every glass ring, every speck or crumb- it shows. I have tried cleaner after cleaner, and guess what? On black granite, they all leave this cloudy film that makes the granite look really gross. Even the granite 'polish' makes me think of my island as a petri dish and not the piece of architectural beauty it was intended to be. I would polish, I would scream, I would cry- but no avail- I was destined to have a $2000 petri dish. (insert deep sigh here)

One day I was in Target, once again pouring over the cleaners in the cleaning aisle, lamenting that I had tried just about every one there- when suddenly, a label caught my eye. "Go Naked". Come on, who would not be drawn to a label of "Go Naked". I controlled my x-rated thoughts, and read the label. It was claiming to not leave a film, yet clean any surface with only natural ingredients- hence the 'go naked' part. All claims I had heard before. The price was steep, the bottle amount small, but I thought, hell, I have tried everything else!

I kid you not, the first time I used the stuff the skies parted and the Angels sang. This stuff rocks! It cleans the granite- no streaks, no goo, no film- Petri Dish GONE! It smells awesome too. My only gripe about the product is that Method does not make a refill bottle, so you do have to pay the high price for the small bottle everytime you run out.

Garden Gloves (picture to post soon)

One thing I have learned about gardening over the years is that you can't garden and be clean. It is impossible- your knees get dirty, your shoes get gross, and your hands are destroyed. Only really old aristocratic ladies are able to stay clean when working in the garden. I am hard on knees, clothes, shoes, tools, etc.- I can't help it- I am destructo-woman when it comes to these things, so I don't like to invest a lot of money in them. Gloves are one of these things.

I have tried the all fabric gloves, but they get wet, and then they get muddy, and then the mud is leaking through to your hands- and anyway- it just gets gross and by the time you get the uck out from around your nails, it is time to start the following year's garden. I have tried the calf-skin (faux of course) gloves, that are supposed to be more tolerant to water, more resistant to those nasty weeds with the prickers on them... and they are to a point. My experience showed that these gloves are too stiff- making it difficult to handle tender seedlings or grasp little tiny weeds without damaging new plants. They also do get wet, which makes them more stiff and ucky and so I hated them. They also make your hands sweat, so I reiterate- I HATED THEM!

I found these part rubber, part fabric gloves at Lowe's this year. THEY ROCK! My fingers are not stiff in them, the prickers do not break through the rubber and the fabric side allows for air movement, so lack of sweating (unless my husband walks by and then I just sweat all over- he is SO HOT!), The rubber allows them to get wet, but mud and uck does not seep through. They will even handle a night outside- you know one of those moments where you strip of your gloves to tear inside to check on the kids because there was that dreadful silence? The silence where your gut tells you they are up to no good? The silence that leads you to get side-tracked by yelling, threatening, putting faces in the corner, to see the clock and realize dinner should have been started an hour ago, then to see the pile of school folders on the counter and see that 'D' your kid got in math. (You know the 'D' you pretend to get upset about, but you have no clue how to solve the math problems either 'D'?) AND, so you completely forget that you stripped off your gloves and left them in the garden/flower bed or on the porch/lawn/fill in anything here. I once found mine on the grill- I don't even want to know what was going through my mind with that one. Well, you know how you forgot them outside and it happens to be on a night that the sprinklers go off at 3 AM or the only thunderstorm in a month comes through? These gloves survive that.

These gloves are the Timex of the garden glove world. And the best part? My nails still look yummy after gardening... see? So, if you take this opinion, grab a quarter from that stash of yours, and march yourself to the grocery store- you will be able to buy a gumball!