Well, Crap

Well, crap.
I mean, really. Is it too much to ask for a nice, normal, BORING life? I mean, dang it. It's something every day.

I've been stressed out about Christmas for the kids this year, we are really hurting, with both of our jobs. There seems to be some new drama at the clinic every day I go in there; Tuesday, Corrie fell and broke her leg, and we are all going to have to scramble to make up for her loss, yesterday we had the Sevo leak, and today I had to go to the EC for 3 hours for blood work, and now this.

I came home from the clinic early, cause quite frankly, we were dead. We had canceled all the surgery procedures because the machine was on the fritz, and we really just didn't have anything to do. So I come home, and change my clothes, and go to the bathroom, and I can hear water running in the pipes. So, I thought maybe the kids didn't shut off the water in the tub, or maybe the toilet in the other bathroom was running again. I check every faucet we have; all the ones outside, the washing machine, everything. Can't find where its coming from. Driving me CRAZY, cause it sounds like a lot of water. At first I thought it was the ice machine, but like I said, I couldn't pinpoint the location, because I could hear it in all the walls near the faucets. and it just continued on.

Then, later through the day, as I'm walking through my kitchen, its very odd; there are a few hot spots on the tile. Now, let me tell you; there is nothing like walking on a cold tile floor, and then coming across a warm one. So, I"m wandering around, tracing the pattern, trying to figure out WTH is going on.

Later, when the kids were taking a shower, they were complaining that there was no hot water in the shower. Oh, CRAP. I mean, dammit. really. So, I start wandering around, looking for the hot water heater, cause I didn't know where it was, and I finally found it. And I found the source of the noise of the water running. Its coming from the hot water heater.

No, the hot water heater didn't bust. We'd be better off if it had; then all we'd have to replace was the hot water heater. No, this is much, much worse...

So, after talking to my dad a bit, bouncing off ideas, trying to figure out what is going on, I went and had "lunch" with Jon, and told him about it. and he thinks that the hot water pipe leading to the washing machine busted somewhere. So, he wants me to check the meter when I get home. And, yeah, its spinning. Great, we've established we have a leak. WTF do I do about it running up my water and gas bill until we get it fixed??

I call my dad up, and talk to him about it. He wants to come into town to turn my water off (he lives an hour away, its already 830, I don't think so). I start talking outloud, trying to establish a few ideas. So, I start asking him if I can turn off the gas going to the hot water heater, cause I don't want 2 outrageously high bills this month. So, he tells me its ok to turn off the gas to the hot water heater, which I do, and can hear shutting off instantly. You wouldn't believe the heat coming off this thing at this point. So, I go sit back down, and I can still hear the water, and then I say, can I turn off the water TO the hot water, without turning off the water to the house? I figured that out, and it worked. No more rushing water through the pipes in the walls. But now, we have no hot water, and I have no freaking idea where that leak is. Surely, its under the slab somewhere, cause, you know, why not, right? Why not make it even more difficult for us. I don't even know how to begin to go about fixing that, and neither does my dad, which is a shocker; he's the know everything man.

So, yeah, I'm not looking very hopeful at Christmas at this point. Its not like we can chose, Christmas or hot water. This is something that is going to have to be fixed now, this weekend, or we are going to have to find somewhere else to take showers for a while.

And, needless to say, my diet is out the window tonight. With all this stress, I am drinking me some hot chocolate, and going to bed.