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Getting my husband to help out in the kitchen and subsequently letting him discover that he was a really good cook started with getting the right tools in the kitchen. If it feels and performs like a high-quality power tool, he’ll use it. When tools feel like they belong in a commercial kitchen, they are a joy to use, and use them he will, much to the benefit of me and my family. I save time by getting to shed a large part of the daily tasks of cooking, and the rest of the family enjoys eating the masterpieces he creates. My husband enjoys the praise and recognition of preparing part of a delicious meal.

Take, for example, my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I had asked for one for years for Christmas, but being fairly expensive year after year I kept receiving cheap $9 handheld blenders from instead. These would break each year in November, about the time I started baking Christmas cookies for the freezer. This past year, several members of my family went in together to get me a Professional KitchenAid stand mixer, including several attachments like a meat grinder, vegetable pureer, food processor, etc.

This appliance is so heavy, so shiny, so beautiful… If a hurricane came through our house, the walls may blow down around it, but I believe the KitchenAid will still remain exactly where it stands. The day after Christmas, I unboxed the mixer and set it up. My husband started drooling immediately, then tried his hand at grinding a beef chuck roast into ground beef. He was hooked, and immediately went on the Internet to investigate sausage recipes to use with the Kitchen Aid.

He would never dream of making a Smoothie — not manly enough — until I got him his own high-end blender for the bar. Now nightly he proudly serves me delectable cocktails, like “Nada Coladas” (fat-free, but NOT alcohol free pina coladas), Mojitos, Mudslides. I need to buy more power tools for my kitchen, quick, so I can sit back and enjoy La Vida Dolce as he uses modern technology to create masterful concoctions for our family!

This brings me to my recently requested review of a new website — The Splendid Life at http://www.splendidlife.com . This site is brought to you by Splenda — a sugar substitute that happens to be a staple in our kitchen. Their Cooking and Baking section features a selection of unique kitchen appliances, including Stand Mixers (yes, the KitchenAid that I own is on there), blenders, waffle irons, food processors, and other small appliances. I appreciated that the selection is fairly small — it is not overwhelming, and only high-quality products are represented. Besides KitchenAid, other brands include Krups and Zojirushi — all brands that will make you feel like a professional chef when you use their superb products in your own “Splenda Kitchen“. I have my eye on one of the waffle-makers for a gift for my breakfast-cooking husband. He needs a new power tool to keep him in the kitchen where he belongs!

Other products in their Cooking and Baking section include bakeware, cookware, and “cooks tools” — small colorful gadgets and accoutrements like grinders, lemon squeezers, mixing bowls.

Check out their End of Summer Sale for up to 50% off several items. I buy gifts year-round from these types of clearance sales to save the money and craziness during the Holidays.

Also noteworthy is their “Kids Can Cook” section under the Family Fun tab. It has quite a few fun-colored kitchen items for kids. Getting kids to help in the kitchen is great bonding time, teaches math skills, and the kids will usually eat whatever they create.

I hope you will visit SplendidLife.com soon.

Exactly one week ago today we moved across country from Western New York to our new home in South Texas. For about the same amount of money, we got a bigger house, with a great water view, an inground pool, and an affluent neighborhood. When we bask in the warm Texas sun, watching the palm trees sway in the breeze from Corpus Christi Bay while we sip Margaritas, my husband and I remind each other that we are not on vacation — we actually LIVE here now. How did we get so lucky to find this piece of paradise? Only one thing brings us down to Earth — the pungent smell of dog urine when we walk into the house.

When we flew here to house-shop two months ago, there was no odor of dogs, although three large dogs were penned up in the back office while we toured the house. The owner vacated the house shortly after, subsequently turning off the air conditioning. We surmise that the heat and humidity of two months of near 100 degree days brought up these older smells.

The smell was so vile it initially brought tears to the eyes. After buying several over-the-counter products guaranteed to remove pet odors, it now smells like dog pee lurking under spring rain, mountain breeze, and fresh linen scents. In addition to watery eyes, we now suffer from uncontrollable sneezing fits from all the different odors and chemical products piled on top of the dog pee.

I have steam-cleaned the carpets with our personal steamcleaner, to no avail. I believe the smell is actually getting worse. It is now time to give up trying to do it myself and call in the big guns — professional carpet cleaners.

This brings me to my paid review of Quality Carpet Cleaning. I have reviewed their website at http://www.qualitycarpetcleaning.com/ and they have a solid premise of solving problems like mine. In fact, their FAQ page addresses how to treat pet odors.

“Q. How do you treat pet stains and odor?

A. Because dogs and cats don’t sweat, their urine contains alkaline salts which absorb moisture out of the air. Thus, pet urine never really dries. It becomes a feeding ground for bacteria which causes odor, staining and discoloration. Minor conditions can be handled with a combination of germicidal and enzyme surface treatments, and enzyme injections into the padding. Major conditions usually require pad replacement and floor treatment in addition to treating the carpet.”

I believe the part about how “pet urine never really dries” is our problem. In fact, I have difficulty pushing the vacuum over the spot where the worst stench is. I am met with resistance from the vacuum — it feels like I am pushing a vacuum over a wet carpet.

Quality Carpet Cleaning has an entire section on Pet Odor and Pet Stains, including a coupon for 25% off. If they were in my area, I would be on the phone with them this very moment, asking “how fast can you get here to clean my carpet?” They serve many counties in Southern California. If you live in that area and are experiencing the embarrassment and torture of a smelly pet-stained carpet, I recommend giving them a call for an estimate. Cleaning a carpet is a lot cheaper than replacing a carpet.

Quality Carpet Cleaning treats all sorts of stains and dirty carpets, not just pet stains. Besides carpet cleaning, other services they provide include upholstery cleaning, drapery cleaning, carpet repairs, and tile and grout cleaning. They offer a list of carpet cleaning services on their website.