New hot water heater...check!

So the plumbers got to our place yesterday at around 3:20PM. They didn't finish everything until 8:30PM. Yes, it took them 5 hours to finish the job. I'm pretty certain most of that time was spent at Home Depot trying to get our new hot water heater. They called us once, and then we didn't hear anything again for another couple hours, then another phone call. Mike then went down to Home Depot to try and figure out what the problem was, and within 10 minutes was done and the process continued. I'm still not sure what those guys were doing over there for such a long time and not calling us to let us know that there were some snags. It doesn't really matter to me though. I'm just glad that we have hot water again. We had so many dishes that needed to be washed it was ridiculous. And being that I cooked a lot last night didn't help with the overflow of things to be washed.

So, after the initial $95 for the guy to tell us what was wrong and the $350 for the new installation, we paid $445 for this new water heater. And back in November when we had a hot water heater problem, we paid about $250. So, I'm glad to be done with that thing. At least we can say that we have a brand new hot water heater when we put the house on the market.

Waiting on the plumber

We have had more trouble with this stupid water heater. The most recent trouble happened on Friday when I went into the utility room (which houses our washer and dryer, furnace and hot water heater) and there was water all over the ground. This has happened numerous times before and the cause has always been the drain tube for the washing machine has somehow managed to fall from the utility sink to the floor, in turn causing a flood. So I immediately looked to the washer. But the drainage tube was still in the sink. No way the water could have come from there this time. When I looked a little closer, I noticed that something wet (that had a yellow color to it) was dripping out of the exhaust tube from the gas water heater. This was quite strange as this should not have any water involved at all. We called a repair guy and he found that the water heater was leaking and we would need a new water heater. In addition, there was that drip from the exhaust. He didn't know what that was from, but put that problem aside to fix the big problem first. He told us that our water heater was probably still under warranty and that he couldn't do anything else for us that night. $95 out the door.

The next day Mike called the GE manufacturer and had them give us the OK to get a new replacement for free under warranty. We still have to pay for installation. And the new tank needs to be picked up from our local Home Depot. So then Mike started getting quotes for the uninstall of the current tank, bringing that tank to Home Depot, getting the replacement tank, bringing it back here and then the install of the new tank. Quotes ranged from $350-$1000+. The guy that said he would do it for $350 could come out here on Sunday morning and fix everything if we paid him in cash. So, he scheduled the guy for 8AM this morning. Poor Mike got up, waited, waited more. Painted while waiting, called them, called them again, waited more, called again, and still hasn't heard anything from this person. So he started calling other people today. He found another place willing to do it all for $350 and they are supposed to be here between 1-3PM. We are going on two days now without hot water. I showered Friday night, but that was the last time. I'm starting to feel kind of gross especially after taking care of the cats at Petsmart yesterday, sweating around the house, and sleeping two nights now. I refuse to workout during this non-shower period. That would be utterly too disgusting. And yes, I could take a bath and heat up the water on the stove top. But I honestly don't feel like our tub is in good enough shape to take a bath. We would end up with pieces of paint chips all over our "clean" bodies. Mike took a cold shower last night and I'm pretty certain that wasn't too much fun. I don't think I'm brave enough for that one.

Well, after starting this blog about 2 1/2 hours ago, having 3 different cats take turns using my lap as a bed, sanding some spackle, and painting the downstairs bathroom again, the plumbers have arrived. They were a little late, but they at least called 45 minutes out from when they would be here. Hopefully we will have a hot water heater by the end of tonight and will be able to take a hot shower later on.

Skye just jumped up here again, so I must do what my master tells me.

It's raining and cool

Skye is sitting on top of the cat tower cleaning himself by the open window. Surprisingly, that is the only cat I can see at this time. Usually there are at least 3 in my view. I guess all of the kitties are utilizing the open windows to sit and watch the outdoor life.

It's raining steadily outside but it's a nice streaming rain. It's not very windy and there is no thunder or lightning so I can definitely put up with this kind of rain. With the windows open, and no wind, water is not getting everywhere inside. And it would have been a shame to have to use A/C in high 60 degree weather. I am dreading going outside to feed the ferals today though. It's always so muddy and wet when it's been raining in their feeding spots. The one positive though, will be that the mosquitoes will not be out right now. Tomorrow though, they'll be out in full force. I've been having to use mosquito repellent everyday before going out there lately. And I still come back with at least 2 bites. They usually end up on my upper thighs, face or neck where I don't cover well enough. The cats are worth it though.

I'm on my last week of the 30 day challenge on the Wii EA Sports Active. I am definitely feeling stronger since beginning but the only complaint I really have is that they don't focus on the abdominal muscles at all. They do some standing crunches, but not enough to really have any effect. (Which brings me to something I was just trying to grasp a little better. When do I use Effect vs. Affect? I'm usually pretty good with my grammar usage, but these two really give me grief. Apparently, Affect is usually used as a verb and Effect is usually used as a noun. Does that mean that I used Effect correctly in the last sentence? I'm still confused.) I'm going to start using my ab ball I bought a couple months ago tomorrow in addition to my Wii workout. I decided on tomorrow to be the start date so that I will have exactly one month before my trip to Costa Rica to get my abs back in better shape. Oh, and after the 30 day challenge is completed, there are hundreds of other exercises you can continue to follow each day. I haven't tried any of them yet, but from online reviews I've read, they seem to be just as good. Now if I can just get my ankles feeling better.

Stumpey just tried to get on the top of the cat tower. She jumped up the side and saw Skye, then settled on the second tier. She is now cleaning herself by the open window while Skye sleeps. I love my cats.

Back from Manhattan

So I got back from my trip to NY on Sunday night. The trip was a lot of fun, but I think I've learned that I like DC better. The subways are cleaner, the city is cleaner and there are more trees around. It's just overall a prettier place. But NY does have it's perks. There are lots of things to do and lots of vegetarian restaurants around. But all of the vege restaurants besides one were in other parts of the city outside of Times Square. You can reach every place in Manhattan by subway and walking a couple blocks, but it would have been nice to be able to try more than just a couple places without making a whole trip out of it.


On Thursday night when I got in and got settled, I went to a nearby Asian vegetarian restaurant. I don't really know what I ordered, but it was very good. It was some sort of rolled up soy thing that was tempura battered over seaweed and then smothered with a yummy sauce. It came with broccoli, rice and two spring rolls. And the plating was lovely as well.

On Friday morning, I woke up at 2:45am and got ready to go stand in line for the Fan Pass holders for the DMB concert. When I got to the line, there were probably 30 people in front of me. I got there at 4:10am. They didn't start letting people into the area for the concert until 6am, but the crew started checking names around 5:30am and then we knew things were moving along. When they finally let us in, I ended up behind some tall dude (which always happens) but I was close enough to the stage to see everything that was going on. It started raining early this day, but I brought my trusty rain jacket so the rain didn't bother me. When I watched some of the show on YouTube I actually saw the back of my head a few times. The concert was a great experience. The only down side was that they played one song a total of 4 times, another song 2 times and 3 other songs once each. I guess they were getting the sound corrected before going on live. It was still a good time and I was surrounded by like minded people which is always nice. Lots of hippieish young people. I was in MY crowd.


The rest of Friday I just walked around the city trying to see whatever I could in the rain. I went to another vegetarian restaurant where I got a "bacon cheese burger" and curly fries. It was really good as well. I think if I ate meat I probably would be fat because I wouldn't be able to control myself with all these bad for you dishes. Luckily, I don't consume flesh which saves my soul and my stomach. Later on this night, I went out and got dessert at a nearby restaurant. The Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding with toasted cashews was delicious.


On Saturday morning, I woke up and ate some brunch where I ordered the eggs florentine and potatoes. Then I went over to the Top of the Rock. I took lots of pictures from at the top of the building. It's pretty amazing that so many buildings are built up in such a relatively small space. Central park looked amazingly big from here, but unfortunately, I never was able to visit it.

After leaving the Top of the Rock, I walked over to St. Patrick's Cathedral. This was a beautiful church with lots of architecture. Then I went over to see Marilyn Monroe's subway grate. I went to a grate where the location was supposed to be, so I can only assume it was "the grate". It wasn't labeled though so I can't be sure. After picking up a cannoli, I then went to stand in line for an hour to get 50% off tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera. It was hard making up my mind which show I wanted to see, but since I have never seen this one, and it is a classic on Broadway, I chose it. And the ticket cost me, including taxes and fees, $66. Not too shabby.



After getting my ticket, I went down to the World Trade Center site. I really expected more, but they were just starting on the memorial. It was blocked off so really all you could see was rubble under ground and a blank sky above. It was a pretty sad sight. I then walked over and got a slice of NY style pizza. It was pretty good. I went back to the hotel to relax and change and then headed to the musical for the 8pm performance. The show was great! The costumes and actors were amazing. The voices these people had were beautiful. I would love to see another one. I wish I had more time while there to see more shows.


On Sunday morning, I packed up all my stuff and stored it at the hotel. I walked next door and got a chocolate and banana crepe for breakfast, and then went to the American Museum of Natural History. I got there as soon as they opened at 10am and I figured that I would have time to go across the street to Central Park for a little while after viewing the museum. Well, after an hour went by and I had only moved two rooms, I knew I needed to speed things up. This museum was 4 stories tall! And they had extra exhibits going on in addition that I didn't pay for. I could literally spend all of two days in that place and still not get all the details that I wanted. By 1:45pm, I was rushing around trying to glance at anything I could before rushing to the subway to get back to the hotel. I needed to get back to the airport by around 3:30pm and the subway out to the hotel took 1.5 hours. Luckily, the trip back to the airport took less than an hour so I was able to make up the time I lost at the museum. It's a good thing I got to the airport an hour and a half before my flight though because that place was big and confusing. With international travel, and 8-10 terminals, it was easy to get confused as to where your flight was supposed to take off from. And after getting on the plane, we waited on the flight path for another 1.5 before getting cleared for the runway because so many planes were taking off at that time. JFK airport is insane. But I made it back only a few minutes late.


Overall, my trip was a success. It just would have been better had my husband not missed his flight out there and I would have gotten to spend the weekend with someone I love other than just myself.


In other news, my sister had her second baby on Friday, June 5. Allison was born around 5 pounds and will be a duel citizen of both Costa Rica and the USA.

I'm getting worse and worse about updating this thing

So here it is. The beginning of June and I haven't posted since May 22. I'm becoming such a slacker. But I guess this just isn't the highest thing on my priority list of things to do. Number one, calculated by the amount of time I spend doing things throughout the day, must be sitting on the couch searching the internet while the TV is on in the background. Next in priority would be feeding the feral kitties. And last (and sometimes is VERY far down at the bottom) would be taking a shower. Yes. I am a busy woman these days!



Newest thing to report: I'm leaving for New York City tomorrow afternoon. I got tickets to see Dave Matthews Band on the Today Show this Friday, June 5, so I'll be making the trip out there for this once in a lifetime opportunity. I hope they put me in close proximity to the guys, but with my luck, I'll probably be in the back behind all the tall people. But at least I will be able to say that I was there. Michael will be joining me on Friday night and then we are going to stay the weekend. I'm not sure exactly what we are going to do just yet, but I think heading to Central Park and going to the "Top of the Rock" (top of the Rockefeller building) will be on the list. I'd also like to indulge in some yummy food since we will be in one of the best cities for wonderful cuisine. There are numerous vegetarian restaurants around, so hopefully I'll get to dine in at least one of those as well. We'd like to go to a Broadway show, but tickets are about $125 each. Michael said he heard that if you go to the ticket booth the day of the show, tickets are half off so we may try that. If not, an Off-Broadway show would be fine with me. I just have to pack something nice to wear.



The EA Sports Active that I mentioned in my last post I'm still using...and it's still changing things up daily and kicking my butt. On Monday it made me do swats and hold them. OUCH! My legs were shaking! I could use some more upper body tension though, as the workout band they sent with the program just isn't tight enough for most of the upper body exercises for me, but I've been trying to double it up so it gives a little bit of a tougher workout. When they make me punch the punching bag though, I'm definitely out of breath. It's a great program and I really recommend it to anyone who has a Wii and is looking to workout at home. And if you have a Balance Board from the Wii Fit, they will incorporate some routines using that. I don't have one so I don't know how they would change things up, but they somehow utilize the board.



I just bought a new set of luggage at K-Mart on-sale for 50% off of $100. It's a three piece set, and I'm sure it's fairly cheaply made, but it will do the job. On my last trip up to Michigan, my smaller luggage got ripped on the side so you can stick your hand through it. So yes, I needed a new one. I could have just bought a small luggage, but those were $25 a piece. I figured, for another $25, I can get two more bags with it. And we'll be needing more bags for our trip to Costa Rica as well.

So, I'm off for now. I'm sure I will write after getting back from Manhattan. Oh, and we are staying at the Westin in Times Square so we will be right in the middle of the action! I'm looking forward to the trip!