You have got to be kidding.

Treasonous bastard was supposed to be on our side.

As if life wasn't already difficult enough with everything else that has been happening in life, the last hour at Chez Sheffer has involved unusual noises coming from the utility/laundry room. Luckily, it was not a result of any freaky little demon rodents that are just lurking and waiting to launch themselves at some unlucky person's face leaving them scarred from the gnawing teeth and sharp little claws, so there is that bright spot.

Unfortunately, it is the result of the plumber installing a brand spanking new water heater. Sure, it's a nice water heater. It will have a larger tank capacity than the old one, so it will have enough hot water in it to take a long shower or actually fill the bathtub. It also might end up being more energy efficient. However, it was not in the plan or budget - the bathroom will just have to wait a bit to get redone. The water heater we had was supposed to just quietly go about doing its business and not pee all over the utility room floor. Maybe we should see if the med board office at Fort Sill wants it......that place is full of folks who don't do what they're supposed to do. That whole "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" thing doesn't really make it any better either.....it would be nice if He would cut us a little slack on stuff every once in a while. It's not like we'd get all worried that God didn't think we were up to the challenge.

Since it's annoying, it's probably best to come up with a list of things to be grateful for about the situation in order to calm down:

• Thanks to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, there's cash on hand in the home improvement savings budget to cover the surprise expense.
• It was only a little hole in the water heater, so there wasn't too much water on the floor, and nothing got ruined.
• Lindquist Plumbing was able to get here same day to replace the water heater, and even though there was a lot more labor involved than anticipated, they are going to stick to the original estimate.
• The water heater is nice, and it will probably look good when we sell the house that we have a new heater instead of one that's 15-20 years old.

It would be really nice if this was finally a turning point for our fortune. Good things come to the persistent, right? "Today's the day!"

God Bless!

This one had better be housebroken.  No
more peeing on the floor. (The heater, not the plumber.
 The plumber's a nice guy who had to do a whole
lot of extra work to make the heater fit properly.)