Bye Bye Birdie

I don't think that I mentioned in my blog that Bob and I broke up (for the third time in a month and a half). It actually happened on 10/11/2006, but it was really over before then. As much as I didn't want it to be over, I have let go. Fly away and be free...

Gwen

hot water is hot!

I know from experience how neat it is to be able to clean yourself. Our water heater has only worked when it feels like it for years. I tend to shower at GWEN'S house (yay, Gwen) or at work. thankfully we have a full bath at my office. But I know what'cha mean, Gwennie! ;)

FINALLY!!!

I finally have hot water! YAYAYAYAYAYAY!! I got it back yesterday. I took the day off from work yesterday, and the plumbers arrived at 7:30am. They replaced the water heater, which was not a small feat. What made it harder is that there is no outside access to the cellar since there is an addition with a trap door that was built over the bulkhead that led outside. The problem was that the trap door was covered in stuff, and needed to be uncovered. Then the thing had to be wheeled in the front door and through the entire downstairs in the house. The plumbers left with my check for over $500 and said that I should have hot water in about 20 minutes.

I hopped into the car and took my son, Azize to day care so I could get some errands done during the day. I went to Ellsworth, got my car inspected (WAY OVERDUE!), replaced the rear brake light myself, got an oil change, etc. I did meet this one really cool tough guy at the Prompto oil change that was talking about his harley, and then showed me his Winnie the Pooh tattoos! He has every character from Winnie the Pooh tattood on his body. Whadda guy!

I came home, and was ready to hop into the shower, and the water was ice cold. So, I got dressed again and called the plumber. They came back out, and tinkered. They found out that there was a problem with the electrical system. Between the circuit breaker box and the hot water heater is an old fuse box with a switch. It turns out that the switch was broken, and they noticed that it was sparking and starting to smoke as they were tinkering with it. They said that it needs to be replaced ASAP since it was a big fire hazard, but at least they got it working enough to have hot water until the electrician can come out. YIKES! I don't know anything about wiring, but that sounded pretty dang scary!! I called the electrician and they said that they could come out on Monday, and they would call the plumber to see what's up since I can only relate the information in terms like "that box", and "thingie". Well, I didn't actually say thingie, but close.

So I waited around until afternoon for the electrician to come and he replaced the fuse box with a junction box. While they were there, I had them look at the outlet near the sink to see what's wrong with it. It stopped working awhile ago. Now, this is an old outlet, and it's all completely brown. I didn't know it, but it was a GFI outlet. The dang outlet just needed the reset button pressed. The button was the same dang color, and wasn't clearly labeled. I felt so STUPID to have the electrician press the dang reset button! At least I didn't call them to come out just for that!! LOL!

I promise, I'll NEVER take hot water for granted again! I may not have needed the water heater, but at least now I don't have to worry about it going down the road when I don't have the money to fix it! There were old parts on it, and a screw driver so the previous owner may have had to have the old one fixed at least once previously. If I had known it was good, I would have kept it and given it away on freecycle to someone who needed one. Oh Well!

Gwen

By the way...

I got to work today, and found out that I was wearing the same thing as one of my co-workers. She and I are both wearing a maroon knit v-neck shirt from Old Navy, and dark slacks. I think hers are black, and mine are very very dark brown, but we're clothing twins today. What's the chance of that happening? I just thought that was funny!

Gwen

Less Stress?

I am finally finished this set of classes that I have been struggling through. One class was fine, and the other class was torture. I am crossing my fingers hoping that I passed that class. I think I did alright on the final project, so I might actually pass. That really doesn't mean all that much since the teacher seems to take pleasure in tearing apart everything that I submit, so I might end up taking her class over again. I'm on a new block of classes, and I am under less stress that way. I actually didn't have to do homework last night, and I enjoyed a quiet evening watching TV in bed until I went decided to go to bed at a reasonable hour (10:30pm instead of the usual 12:30am).

Overall, I feel less stressed. I still am under quite a bit of stress at work and that won't change until late this fall. It will be busy for some time, but at least I feel like I'm making progress at work now. That really helps.

I have a plumber coming on Thursday morning to replace my hot water heater. All I have to do is be there and have a check handy. I'm so looking forward to having hot water again. I've been without it for almost 2 weeks now, and it's really getting OLD! At least I have the money to have the work done! I'm thankful for that!! Hopefully there will be no more heating water on the stove to do dishes, wash the floor, or take a bath in an inch and a half of luke warm water. LOL!

I am feeling a little up in the air about my relationship with Bob. We had a bit of drama this past weekend where we almost broke up. He is facing the possibility of having to make big changes in his life because of what's going on at work, and the possibility that he may have to move away from the area. Plus, there is the issue of not having much time for a relationship since he is working so many crazy hours - 7 days a week and at least 12 hours a day for at least the past month. We talked, I cried and cried, and we finally made the decision to stay together. I'm very happy that we came to this decision, and that we are going to try to work this out. I love him very much and I don't want to lose him. I still feel like I'm walking on eggshells though. What if he decides that he still wants to break up in a week, month, or so? What if I do something that will trigger him wanting to be out of a relationship? I'll deal with whatever may come my way. I guess I can't think about that, and focus on the present.

I am planning on a surprise for Bob though. I won't give details, since he often reads my blog and I don't want to give it away. I haven't actually started it, since I'm waiting for components of the surprise that I ordered to arrive. I hope he likes it when I give it to him!! I already told him that I'm working on a surprise for him, and he has asked me what it is. I think he might be curious.

Ok, probably need to get back to work.

Gwen