Want Not

Personally, I don’t find iced tea all that complicated, or anything. Certainly I don’t feel the need for a dedicated device to make it for me—I boil water, steep the tea, and then add more water and put it in the fridge. It’s not rocket science.

Still, I can’t help noticing that this Hamilton Beach electric ice tea maker isn’t just at an all-time-low Amazon price of just $15.85, it has nearly 400 overwhelmingly positive reviews. Either tea is more complicated than I think, or I’m really missing out.

Or—third option—people are really lazy. That could be it, too. But hey, a full pitcher of tea in under 10 minutes. Maybe this is perfect In Case of Iced Tea Emergency!

Because I am a mean, mean mother, I have never purchased a trampoline for my children. Because I am mean, did I mention?

Of course, now that they’re too old to think it’s the greatest thing in the world, the Sears Real Deal of the Day is a 12′ trampoline and enclosure for just $199—a full $150 off the regular retail price.

Now let’s all sit back and wait for someone to come tell their broken arm horror story. Someone always has one, when the topic of trampolines comes up, right?

Been jonesing for a Kindle Fire, but not so jazzed about the price? Check out today’s Gold Box Deal—they’ve got certified refurbished Kindle Fires for just $139 shipped.

This is a great way to score a like-new unit at a discount price, and the warranty means there’s no risk, unlike buying a used unit off of eBay or whatever.

All in all, it’s not a bad deal to start off your Thursday. (It is Thursday, right? I need more coffee.)

If you’re still in the market for a toothbrush upgrade, take a look at today’s Target Daily Deals—they’ve got a Sonicare Essence for $34.99 with free shipping. This is half off their regular price.

The problem with comparing the price is that this packaging is a “Target Exclusive,” which means this exact item isn’t available elsewhere for comparison. But! Amazon has the Essence 5300 currently available for $50, and it looks to me like the Target offering is the 5300 with the addition of a “quadpacer” (a handy timer that tells you how long to spend brushing each quadrant of your mouth).

The bottom line is that it’s $35 for a highly-rated Sonicare toothbrush, so I’m thinking it’s a pretty good deal.

Have a digital camera that uses a compact flash card? Know the agony of “card full” right when something awesome is happening? Hie thee over to Amazon today—the Gold Box holds a Transcend 400X CF card with 32GB of storage. In layman’s terms: It’s really, really fast and holds a whole lot of pictures.

Plus, today you can get it for $52 shipped, which is the lowest price it’s ever been at Amazon. (If you can believe it, when they first started carrying this card about a year ago, the price was $140. Aren’t technological advances—and their associated drops in price—wonderful?)

Are you the last person on earth who doesn’t own a Wii? I know you’re out there, somewhere.

If you don’t have a Wii, and if you’ve been waiting for the perfect deal, here you go: Right now Best Buy has the Super Mario Brothers Wii Console Bundle available for $150 shipped, plus you get a $20 gift card along with it. (For comparison: It’s running about $170 at Amazon right now.)

And don’t get me started, young whippersnappers, about those of us who cheerfully paid $250 for our Wiis, and we liked it. Why, I walked uphill in the snow both ways for ours. Hmph.

If I were a nice mom, I’d go ahead and pick up this Hamilton Beach Icy Treats Ice Shaver at Amazon, because it’s currently just $20.85, its lowest price ever. And what kid doesn’t love making their own shaved ice?

It would be perfect for making margaritas letting the kids create their own icy treats in the summer. And then using for margaritas for the adults. Why, I think maybe the Easter Bunny will drop this off at our house. Because he likes margaritas, too.

What?

Regulars ’round here know that I am serious about my love of a good blender. About a year and a half ago I did my research and bought a new blender, and I’ve been very happy with my refurbished KitchenAid, true to what I’d read.

That said, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for the folks at Blendtec, mostly because Will It Blend? is hilarious and brilliant. Would I pay $400 for a blender? Not unless I win the lottery. And probably not even then. However if you have your heart set on a Blendtec, you might want to hop on over to QVC today for their featured deal—they’ve got a Blendtec bundle featured on the front page, and it includes the blender, a spoonula, and recipe book for just under $330. Still crazy expensive, but the very lowest I’ve ever seen.

And then you can blend up your iPhone. Or a smoothie. Whatever.

People, I don’t even know who I am, anymore. I used to be the kind of person who lusted after books and pretty shoes and meals someone else cooked (preferably with a lot of butter). Now I’m… coveting a vacuum cleaner.

I have a vacuum cleaner, already. A great one. But ever since I saw a commercial for the Dyson cordless stick vac—and literally, I kid you not, sat up and went, “OooooOOOOOohhhh!”—I’ve been… preoccupied. Visions of a clean (okay, cleaner) kitchen floor dance through my head. But $330 for a stick vac? No way.

Of course, today at Woot they have a refurbished version for just $255 shipped. Cheaper, yes. Cheap? No. I don’t need it. And that’s a lot of money.

But it is awfully pretty.