New & Blue Bargains

Right after Christmas everyone was posting stories about Christmas and the great times we all had with our families. Some folks shared their gifts, too. For BLUE MONDAY this week, I thought I'd show everyone two things that I got with my Christmas gift money that are BLUE. The other gals sharing nifty BLUE things are all listed at Smiling Sally. After you check us out, think about joining in next week.
Remember back in December when the SITS girls were giving away the Bissell Healthy Home vacuum as their big monthly prize?

I have needed a new vacuum for years, but I never wanted to spend what I really needed to get a good vacuum. With all of my breathing problems, I thought, "Hey! Look into that Healthy Home vac!" I did some research, and it seemed like it was an amazing vacuum and would be perfect for me. I of course entered the giveaway and did not win. Of course. No way was I paying $300.00 for a vacuum, so I poked around online and found it for 1/2 price at Overstock Woo Hoo! This baby is a WORKER. It weighs about 25 pounds, which I don't enjoy, but it's the weight of all the attachments. I really like those, especially the upholstery brush that really perks up my chenille chair. It does a great job and I should have gotten one years ago. BTW, when writing this post I saw that the price has come down a little.
My second BLUE thing is this great Kodak Z1485 camera, that I also got for 1/2 price! It's BLUE, it's my first digital camera, and it's another bargain from my friends at QVC, or "the Q" as I call them. It was a TSV (Today's Special Value), so the price was only good for that day. I've noticed that some manufacturers sell things as TSV on QVC before they put them in stores, almost to see how they go over, and this was one of those products. As of last week it is available everywhere, but QVC still has the best price with no shipping, even though it's more than I paid. My only complaint is that this camera doesn't have the traditional little eyehole, which is good to use when taking outdoor pictures in bright sunlight. In the background of this picture you can see my home oxygen tank that has a BLUE dial on it!
I know it's not BLUE, but some of you may be wondering about the weird stand my camera is on. It's called a Gorillapod, and I also got it with my Christmas money. I am always complaining about my shaky hands taking blurry pictures. Image stabilization only works when the image is moving, not the photographer! A visitor to my blog mentioned the Gorillapod in a comment, so I checked it out. It is so cool! The legs are all bendy, so it can wrap around things, be placed on uneven surfaces, even the head bends down to take pictures of things. It looks very small and silly, but I have been taking pictures all weekend and no blurs! This is the smallest size, they make 4. I've seen similar ones at Target.
I hope you enjoyed learning about my new BLUES and will take some time to visit Smiling Sally and the other BLUE MONDAY participants.
There is a Book Giveaway Carnival going on this week with many book blogs participating. Check mine out on the main page.