Product Reviews: Things that are worth the money and things that ain't edition.

So I had this shed kit, right? And I had it built last week by a couple of guys from Mr. Handyman, right? Which inspired this post.

Handy Home Products 10' x 10' Princeton Wood Gable Shed

Oh, Jesus. Where do I start? My Sainted Mother asked how the assembly went the other night, and I told her, "If I were blogging, I'd call it a cluster-fuck". Yeah, it was bad. The lumber was cut to the wrong lengths. The siding was of two different, incompatible types. The FUCKING INSTRUCTIONS WERE WRONG. Which is why I'm glad I had....

Mr. Handyman guys to build the thing.

They are expensive. Be warned. The cost of having the shed assembled was four times the original price of the shed kit, plus money for extra lumber and screws and so on. But honestly? Three grand for the assembly was totally worth it, because now I have a shed that won't fall down, won't leak, and that I didn't have to get drunk over on my own. Plus, they cleaned everything up, left me the usable dimensional lumber and extra shingles, and even raked up all the bits of wood and sawdust and threw them away. Nota Bene: It took a Master carpenter and a Journeyman carpenter TWENTY FUCKING HOURS to set up the shed kit. Don't say I didn't tell you.

In other news,

Borghese Crema Saponetta Facial Cleanser...

...is not all it's cracked up to be, sadly. I spent the $$$ on this stuff after reading nothing but positive reviews on Amazon, reading another blogger's raves about it, and talking to the Italian woman at work, who has gorgeous skin. It does nothing for me. It cleans well and takes off makeup, but it leaves this weird waxy residue on everything from your face to your sink. I'm happier with the Aveeno Clear Skin Foaming Cleanser I buy from the grocery store. However!

The Clarisonic Skin Brush rocks my world. Yeah, it's bloody expensive. I consider this retribution for the fact that I didn't really have acne as a teenager or young adult, but am getting it now. The last laugh's mine, though, as I can now afford an appliance that really digs shit out of your skin and makes it smooth and even and lovely.

Speaking of things that make other things clear and lovely, I recently tried Rain-X on my windshield. Results were mixed: it worked great at keeping the windshield clear in light rain, but didn't do so well when it came to not streaking or smearing with bugs. I used it to good effect on the back window of the Honda (Note to Honda: Please Put A Rear Wiper On The Accord. Thank You.) and it worked *great*--until I washed the car. You have to be *really* careful when you wash, and make sure to get all the Rain-X off, or else you end up with weird smeary bits that don't go away.

And, finally, a Tool Review. No, this isn't a review of the latest internal medicine resident to make me hypertensive; this is a review of the Black & Decker Rechargeable Drill With Enormously Heavy Battery Pack.

Now, Chefboy likes Mikita, as they're made for professional builders (which he was, in between cheffing gigs). Mikita, however, is too rich for my blood, so I bought one o' them nifty B&D thingies from Target.

And it has held up *beautifully*. It is heavy, so be careful to switch hands when you use it or else be prepared for sore forearms. It lasted through umpteen bazillion holes drilled and screws screwed the other day as I was reassembling the kitchen, then (without recharging, I'll have you know), did a great job on ramp-building and 2 x 4 screwing. I'm recharging it right now, but I really doubt that I need to. As far as I can tell, the charge will last through building a small house with no problem.

Tomorrow I head to Home Despot to buy shelving pegboard cabinets fried eggs sardines socks hammers nails small hooks etc for the shed. I don't intend to do a PR post on sardines. I promise.