Reviews by shopaholic2005

shopaholic2005 says "Beautiful, comfortable and reliable!" about Nissan Murano - 2004

shopaholic2005 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:15:43 GMT

We bought our Murano brand new in 2004 when they first came out. We were looking for a smaller SUV. We saw these on the lot when we were taking my Maxima to be serviced. At the time, there were no other vehicles that looked like it. It was very unique. It took me some convincing to get my husband to testdrive it, but once we did, he was hooked. We'd testdriven 5 other SUVs and this one took the cake. Drives much more car-like. Luxurious interior. Safe. In fact we had a completely flat tire once and couldn't even feel it going 70 mph on the interstate. Another driver flagged us down and told us or we wouldnt' have known. That says something for the stability of this vehicle if you ask me.

And as a nice surprise, our insurance has gone down on this in the last couple of years b/c of "vehicle experience" so that means it's shown that it's safe in real world usage, not just crash tests.

Also it's been extremely reliable. Needed nothing other than routine maintenance. ...

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shopaholic2005 says "A cinch to install! High weight limit is a huge plus!" about Britax Marathon

shopaholic2005 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:02:39 GMT

We bought our Marathon 3 years ago when my daughter outgrew her infant seat. I've loved it ever since.

The best feature is the ease of installation. I've put it in my 1997 Maxima, with no LATCH and am able to get a tight fit with the seatbelt. Have also put it in my husband's Murano and my mom's Altima and I can quickly - less than 10 minutes total moving from one car to the other - and easily get a rock solid fit in both of those vehicles as well. Impressive!

It also keeps my daughter at a nice angle. She can sleep in the seat and her head doesn't fall forward. Not so with our Triumph. If she falls asleep in that, her always falls completely forward.

Cover is easy to remove for washing.

Straps are easy to adjust and tighten. Chest clip stays put. This is important to me as I have issues with weak/sore hands. Not having to fight with buckles and straps is a relief. I battle with the Triumph in my husband's car every time I put my daughter in and out.

The 65 lb....

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shopaholic2005 says "Straps difficult to adjust, chest clip slips down easily" about Evenflo Triumph DLX Convertible Car Seat

shopaholic2005 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:52:34 GMT

We've had this seat since 2005. Registered for it when I was pregnant b/c of the glowing Consumer Reports Reviews. We have this in my husband's car where it pretty much gets weekend use, as I have her in my car in a Britax Marathon during the week.

I'm sure it is a very safe seat. It crash tested very well in CR's reports at the time we bought it. BUT, I have always found it frustrating to deal with adjusting the straps. Mind you, my husband likes it just fine. But I have issues with weak, stiff hands and fingers and sometimes I have a heck of a time holding the lever down while turning the knob to be able to looses the straps when needed. I found it easier to do once we turned forward facing, but while it was in the rear-facing mode, I found it nearly impossible b/c the knobs were right up against the car seatback. I find that that the straps get twisted pretty easily also which leads to even more frustration.

The seat cover hasn't been an issue for us b/c we typically...

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shopaholic2005 says "Picks up cat litter in one pass - need I say more?" about Dyson DC14 Animal Vacuum

shopaholic2005 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:32:23 GMT

LOVE my Dyson Animal. I had a Hoover Windtunnel before that I THOUGHT worked well. When it died, I didn't care for the newer Hoovers or any other uprights I was finding....the better ones were all self-propelled and were HEAVY and with a 4 level split, they wouldn't have worked.

I read Consumer Reports who gave less than glowing reviews for the Dysons, but then I started reading actual customer reviews for the Consumer Reports recommended models and for the Dysons and based on those, Dyson was the better choice. I compared them in store, and was stil somewhat hesitant, but I bought the Dyson.

I've had it for 4 or 5 years now and I absolutely love it. I was leary of a bagless as I have allergies and was concerned about a mess when emptying, but this empties so easily, I can put it down inside my trashcan and no worries at all. On the occasion I do spill a little dust in my own clumsiness, it's no messier than changing a full bag on a bagged upright.

What still impresses...

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shopaholic2005 says "Cleans well, quiet, love the Silver Care, using less detergent" about Samsung - Vibration Reduction Technology Washer

shopaholic2005 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:10:47 GMT

I bought this, along with the coordinating Samsung dryer in a pinch b/c my 6 y.o. Kenmore dryer died suddenly, and my washer had been rusting out in the tub for a couple of years. So was planning to replace the washer after tax returns in the spring anyway, but the dryer had different ideas.

After reading through tons of customer reviews, I was torn between the LG models and the Samsung models. I opted for non-steam models b/c of the much higher cost and b/c I figure the more mechanisms you have in an appliance, the more likely something will break. Anyway, what finally swayed me to the Samsung was a combination of 2 things: The Samsung customer reviews seemed to have fewer disgruntled buyers.....the LG models would have several glowing reviews followed by a couple of "lemons" I guess. The Samsung had fewer disgruntled customer reviews complaining of major malfunctions. Secondly, I really wanted the Silvercare. I don't like to use hot water wash cycles b/c hot water wears your...

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shopaholic2005 says "Great starter SLR!!!" about Nikon - D40 Digital Camera

shopaholic2005 — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:49:56 GMT

I have had my Nikon D40 (the D40x actually...same camera, more megapixels) for about 10 months now and am loving it!

I am just an amateur photographer and this is my first SLR. I moved up from an Olympus digital Point and shoot. My main motivation for moving to an SLR was my frustration with the shutter delay with my P&S. I would love to learn more about photography also and get into shooting in manual. BUT, I have a low tolerance for frustration when I am learning something new, so I didn't want an SLR that was so complicated I would be missing all the great shots of my daughter while I tried to remember how to adjust the settings for the lighting conditions. Everything I'd read said the Nikon D40 was right up my alley.....great presets to get great pictures, but the ability to branch out creatively in manual. I've found this to be true. I'm getting great pictures, no shutter delay (which is awesome when your main subject is moving ALL The TIME!) and I'm using the preset...

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shopaholic2005 says "Can't sleep comfortably on anything else now!" about Select Comfort Sleep Number Bed 3000

shopaholic2005 — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:54:49 GMT

We bought this bed about 3 years ago. My only regret about it is that we didn't buy it when I was pregnant. It would've been a Godsend then.

A couple of caveats:

As another reviewer mentioned, there is a piece of foam separating both sides of the bed. Along with the fact that both my husband and I end up with a hammock like concavity in our sides of the bed, this higher lump of foam makes cuddling impossible. One thing we did do was invest in a 2 inch memory foam mattress topper for about $150 (Costco) and that seems to have smoothed out that feeling of the center lump somewhat. I imagine upgrading to the Sleep Number mattresses that have the memory foam topper on them to begin with eliminates the need for this, but even with paying $150 for the topper, we still saved a substantial amount of $$ buying the 3000 model vs. the higher priced models with the memory foam. Still, to really cuddle, I need to raise my sleep number so that I have a firmer (and higher) surface to...

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