No Good Horrible Rotten Very Bad Days

During the past few days it has felt as if everything around me was breaking and falling apart. It feels like every time I reach for something it doesn't work or is irrevocably broken. In some ways it feels as if the universe is conspiring against me.

Friday morning, sitting in my hotel room in South Carolina, I powered up my laptop to check both my email and the agenda for the day. My computer wouldn't load my programs and only the dreaded blue screen of death displayed on the screen. All of my attempts at repair were in vain. Incidentally, body slamming a laptop out of frustration onto a bed no fewer than 28 times will not fix anything!

Friday night I arrived in the FastPark lot at the Baltimore-Washington airport, after my long day of meetings, traveling and a broken computer. I was tired and not excited about the additional 90 minute drive before I finally arrived home, but I was excited to see Robby and Scott. I put the key in the ignition only to hear the now all too familiar silence that signaled a dead battery. Luckily the parking lot attendant was available and jumped my car.

Much of Saturday was spent shopping for a new laptop. Wanting to wait for the new ad cycle, we decided to wait until the next day to make a purchase. I had accepted the fact that I was going to have to buy a new computer, but I was still not happy about the expense.

Sunday morning I was thrilled when we opened up the newspaper to see the circular for Best Buy. The computer that I chose was on sale. We didn't save a lot, but I was happy for any price reduction. It took the sting out of the expense. We packed up and headed to the store.

Apparently while we were gone, we had a power outage at home. I noticed that the clock on the oven was flashing and pressed the reset button. Nothing happened. I pressed the button more, along with every other button on the control panel to no avail. After examining the fuse box and trying to reset the appliance, we were left with the realization that my oven had been fried by the power surge.

I wasn't surprised that the oven finally broke. After all, it is 21 years old and the accompanying microwave has been non-functional for over a year. We knew that we were baking on borrowed time, but it certainly doesn't make accepting the broken oven less frustrating.

After discovering that my wall oven was broken, I knew that I would need to rearrange my kitchen. My stand alone "less broken" oven would become my only means to bake. In order for this appliance to work, it must be slid out from the wall and plugged in. The plug is awkward and the only way I can get it into the socket is by hitting it with my cast iron tomato shaped trivet.

The on/off on the control panel on the oven no longer works. After the initial temperature is set, it cannot be changed. The oven must be unplugged and no less than 15 seconds must pass before it can be plugged back in. Only after it has been unplugged and replugged can the temperature be changed. When I am done baking, I have unplug the appliance and push it back against the wall.

The microwave which used to be stored downstairs but was moved upstairs when the wall microwave broke last year, has been stored on top of my "less broken" stand alone oven. I was in the process of moving the microwave onto the counter in anticipation of having to move the oven frequently. Just as I picked up the microwave I heard Robby exclaim, "Momom, it's raining inside again."

Our roof is leaking again. Rain is coming in around the fireplace, trickling down the wall of bricks and landing all over the hardwood floors and stairs. I threw down some towels and hid in the bedroom. I wanted to quietly sip on a cup of coffee and find my happy place before proceeding with my disaster of a day.

Unfortunately, I forgot that I was in the process of descaling my coffee pot earlier that morning before we left to buy the computer. Subsequently I brewed myself a steeping hot cup of coffee flavored vinegar. I ended up grabbing a bag of Hershey Kisses and crawling back into bed.

And then I discovered that I wasn't the only thing that had crawled into bed. Apparently Robby decided to give the newest members of our family, about 50 ants living in a glow in the dark habitat, a tour of the house. He placed the habitat on my nightstand, where it was knocked over by the cat. On the positive side, my chocolate remained unscathed by the ants!