The Time Our Dryer Caught the $300 Flu

Correct me if I'm wrong, but we've discussed the appliances in my house before, yes? Okay, good....

So you already know that they are all in cahoots with each other and when one breaks and gets to see the repair man, the others get jealous.

The last few weeks have been no different.

Three weeks ago, our ice maker took a dump. It just stopped making ice. Sure, you'd think ice was no big deal, but it's like a level red emergency at our house. Especially because my mother in law was arriving a week later. WE NEED ICE. The woman lives off of Gin & Tonics.

(no, really, I am not joking)


So, the appliance repair man came for a visit.

He did some poking and prodding and announced he needed to move the fridge.

I've lived in our house almost 4 years now and guess what I have never done.....
Yeah, that.

Sweet Jesus, that was disgusting.
Receipts, those damn card things that fall out of magazines, magnets we did not own, cat food, a random paper clip, all were living under there. I wanted to curl up and hide under the sink.

Thankfully, the appliance man was like "Psshh, that's nothing. Where's your vacuum?" And cleaned it all up for me.... bonus points for him.

As it turns out, the line to the ice maker was frozen. He was able to fix it and life went on.

OR so we thought.

Fast forward to the following Thursday.
I was knee deep in a pile of laundry when our dryer suddenly quit.
Having been part of a family that owns a commercial laundromat, I know a few tricks. So, I checked the breaker, the outlet and the power plug and determined them to all be in working order.

Later that day I climbed behind the dry (oh, the things I do at nap time) and took the back off of it.
That's when the head scratching really started.... I know a good deal about commercial, gas powered dryers. But a residential, electric dryer.... huh? I don't know nothing about no residential, electric dryers.

So, I did what any red blooded American female would do.... I cried and called my dad.
(I would call Mr. Berg but he doesn't fix stuff... okay, he fixes some stuff, but I know his limitations.... I know them well)

I explain the situation to my Dad.

Our conversation went something like this:
(mind you I'm hunched behind the dryer, phone in hand, lint all over me)
Did the breaker trip? Nope
Is the outlet working? Yes
Is the plug live? Yes
Did you pull off the back? Of course
Anything out of place? Nope.
The belt? Fine
Wires? All in place
Gas Line attached? It's Electric, Dad
Huh? My sentiments exactly.


At this point, we are both stumped.
Bring on the appliance repair man......

The repair arrives the following Monday while our sitter was over.
She called me at 9:15 to tell me the following:
- It cost us $215.00 for the repair man to come out and do his thing.
-There is nothing wrong with the dryer.
- It has to be an electrical issue.
-Dry is still not running

AUGHGHAGHAGHAGHAGH!


Since I don't take bull shit lying down, I call our electrician.
(Owning a construction company has it's perks)

The electrician calls me 30 minutes later.
He can't find anything wrong, but the dryer is working.

WHAT?

He flipped the breaker off and on, unplugged and replugged the dryer, and ta-da, it started working again.

But I did that like 45 times this past weekend!

Our electrician dies laughing.

I am not amused.

While I own the construction company, I still have to pay the construction company.
$75.00 later, good God.
We sill have no idea why the dryer stopped working, how it started working again, or what the eff word really happened.

But my dryer is working. I don't have to drag my wet laundry to the laundromat anymore.
And the creepy guy that watched my underpants go round and round will have to find some  new kind of entertainment.

(another story for another day)

Sad News Monday

While the waters are calm in the Berg household, it feels like uncertain seas are swirling around us. At every turn there is sad news, heartache and unthinkable acts. We sigh and shake our heads, sending up silent prayers for peace, comfort and understanding. While logically we know we cannot catch divorce or heartache, we are a long way off from old age, we fear it's existence in our lives. We are reminded that really bad things can happen to really good people.

Mr. Berg and I have very different processes for understanding, dealing with and managing our emotions regarding these things. Often we change stances depending on who has more information, what side of the table we are sitting on, how this impacts family versus friends.

It is all so very sad.

But in the quiet, darkness of our king size bed, I reach out for a familiar hand and a voice of reassurance.

I know that anything can happen. We are not immune to the events that are swirling around us. Marriages end, people get old, sickness, illness, instability is everywhere we turn.

But sometimes I still need to believe, need to hold close to my heart, the hope and promise that it can never happen to us.

It is a lie, but sometimes, I just need to believe it.

Sometimes I am a Friggin Genius!

I just realized that I am an idiot. Wanna hear why?


I have a realitive that is getting married in June in London, England. I am thrilled for her, she is getting her dream wedding. However, I am not very close to her and frankly, I don't want to travel that far for a wedding of someone that I'm not terribly close with. That and she isn't serving dinner, or drinks... nothing. Call me a cheap skate, but if I'm taking a transatlanitc flight, I anticipate dinner.

Anyway...

A month a go I RSVP'd saying that Mr. Berg and I could not attend because we weren't willing to be so far away from Ryan. Especially being overseas, it just wasn't something I was comfortable with.  It seemed like a wonderful idea at the time.
Fast forward several weeks and.....

Mr. Berg and I got the invitation to travel to Germany for his job. Of course, we jumped at that opportunity and never though twice about leaving Ryan with my parents for a week.


Yup...... because Germany is so close by!


Have I mentioned that the trip to Germany is the week BEFORE said relatives wedding?

Yup, genius in the making right here.

Methinks I may have difficulty explaining this one.

As Usual......

I make plans, I set a schedule, I obsess over to-do lists and last minute details. Finally, I will step away from my madness, satisfied smile on my face. I have created the perfect plan. I will do all the things.

And within 45 minutes, it has all gone to shit.

Take yesterday for example.
I finished my 3rd workout for the weekend, went to take a shower and noticed some discomfort when I used the bathroom. YAY! UTI for J-Berg.
It's been a back and forth. One minute I feel good, the next minute I do not.
I debated calling the doctor all morning before finally breaking down and making an appointment. I don't want to get as ill as I did several years ago. But at the same time, I hate paying a co-pay and lab work costs if there ain't nothing going on but some minor irritation.
How do I go through an entire pregnancy without a UTI and then randomly show up with on after nothing exciting? The world may never know.

So that throws off my typically productive Monday at work.
Followed by the concern... am I going to feel well enough to work out tonight?

And... because there is always an AND when it comes to my life...

It's a friggin blizzard outside. Just what I need, the opportunity to drive 30 minutes across town to go pee in a cup, drive to the pharmacy and all that jazz.

Did I mention Ryan was up 7, yes you read that right, 7 times last night?

Happy Monday y'all!

The Calm Before the Madness

I'm seriously enjoying the last few hours of my work day today. Not because it isn't stressful or life isn't crazy, because it is. It really, really is. I'm enjoying the last few hours because once I get home, I start hitting the ground running again.

The next 2 weeks will most likely be a whirlwind. I have 14 days before we leave for South Carolina.  8 of those are in the office, 1 is a work from home day, and 3 are being spent at the beach. I have to fit in 9 workouts, 10 dinners, countless load of laundry, and I have to pack 3 suitcases- twice. Truthfully, that's just scratching the surface of the list.


So yes, for now, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet and making a lot, a lot of lists.


This morning I had the pleasure of grading graduation exit projects at a local high school. I happen to be an alumni of this particular school so get an extra kick out of being there. Plus, it's typically extremely entertaining.


For example:

Kids these days are wearing BOW TIES to school. BOW TIES. And yes, they look completely ridiculous doing so.

I'm frequently left wondering what these girls are down with these low, low, low cut jeans. And then I laugh because some day, they will have babies and they will have belly fat that just won't quit. (I know this because I was once wearing those low, low, low cut jeans and now my fat would just push them all the way down.)

And finally, the pretty girls are still really mean.

In other news:
My favorite pair of grey dress pants fit again.... sort of.
I should probably wear them every day. Then I would be able to remind myself NOT to eat. Like, ever... ever..... ever.

I keep looking at my calender and thinking.... there is just now way I'm going to get all this shit done.
And I won't if I keep hanging out here talking about it :)

Spring? Spring? Bueller? Anyone?

Well, the first day of Spring has arrived.... as I type this wearing a sweater, sitting beside a space heater and sipping really hot coffee.

Mother Nature is sleeping in it seems.

I realized this morning that I haven't really filled ya'll in on how my goal for March is going.

Get organized month has sort of taken a backseat to all the drama and what not that circulated around us. While I have no been able to organize specific areas around my house like I had originally intended, I have gotten out day to day routine into a much more organized rhythm.

Our new sitter comes to our house twice a week to watch Ryan. This means we have more time in the mornings to get ready. We aren't running around prepping last minute bottles, gathering toys and double checking list of things we need.

Instead, I can prep what Ryan will need the night before. Nothing needs to be packed up.
If bottles are in the dishwasher, I have time to prep them or leave them until I get home.
The sitter does some light house work and we aren't worried about extra laundry, etc from daycare. Everything stays in our house.

That cut down tremendously on the rat race.

With that said, Mr. Berg and I have also put together a better plan for helping with household chores and getting things ready for each day. We do as much as we can the night before. We divide and conquer in the mornings. The stress level as decreased 10 fold AND we are finding more time for workouts and personal time.

I cannot begin to explain how good this feels.


Now if the weather would just warm up!

Spring, Where Are You?

Yesterday, I had a meeting acrost the river. Which is Pennsylvania Dutch speak for "Yesterday, I drove to Lancaster for a a meeting." Typically, it's a pleasant 45 minute drive, for a hour meeting and a pleasant 45 minute drive home. No big deal.

Expect there was a switch up. The drive to my meeting was its typical pleasant self. Our meeting even let our 20 minutes early. I was stoked, that meant I could get home early.

Or not....

As I was walking towards the doors to the parking lot, I heard the icy tinging of sleet on the windows. As luck would have it, we actually got the winter weather that forecasters where predicting, which hasn't exactly happened in a while. So, my typical 30 minute drive home was instead a hour and a half, complete with traffic accidents, 20 mile an hour driving on the highway and plenty of mergers to get around rescue workers and fire police.

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, have a I mentioned that?

I am so ready for warmer weather. We are leaving for a Southern Ground trip in two weeks and I have yet to even fathom pulling out my spring clothing. Here's hoping I fit into them.

In other news, in the form of 10 Things Tuesday:

1. Ryan started with a new babysitter on Monday. It has been an easy transition so far. As sad as I am about his old babysitter, this was a much, much needed change.
2. I am so close to my first goal weight, I can taste it.
3. The next two weeks are going to be very hard for goal weight making, so I really need to buckle down and stick to making good decisions.
4. I have a really funny story about our dryer that died and came back to life after $300 and no real life saving efforts needed
5. Ryan is spending the night at his Grammy's house.... I am fine with it, I am fine with it, I am fine with it......
6. He's doing the above as practice for two weeks from now
7. Tonight is date night.... I have my "." Boooo
8. Really, I just excited for a good night's sleep, not that sleep as been that bad at our house lately
9. Mr. Berg and I have decided we are drinking beer on the airline on the way down for our trip. I'm all for it!
10. I am completely at a loss for Mr. Berg's birthday present