As I get closer to wedded bliss...a new tradition starts...

I'm not talking about who takes out the garbage, who pays the bills, or who picks the camping spots. I'm talking about the list. The list of things you never thought you or your spouse would hear come out of yours or their mouths. This list starts a little early as we aren't actually married yet, but I'm an over achiever and I always like to get a head start on things. The first items to be added to that list are as follows:
1)"Honey, why are there bullets falling out the BACK of the dryer?"
2)"What the hell would anyone use .11 bullets for anyway?"
3)"YAY We fixed i...awww SHIT the garage is flooding again!"

This all started with our rental deposit. We had finally bought our mail key after two months of "blowing" our mail key money on flea treatments (again, our landlords didn't bomb our house before we moved in, and we were infested), and when we checked our mail we saw that $550 of deposit was given back to us! Apparently we left the house better than they did when they first rented it to us, so we got almost all of our money back. Since we had been behind on bills (unemployment cut our funds three weeks early because so many people in Oregon applied for emergency funds...costing us $300 and making us late on bills for two months straight), we decided to pay our bills first and use the remaining money to FINALLY buy a washer/dryer off of craigslist.com. We were STOKED!

Since I'm pretty much fantastic at finding deals on craigslist I set out to find us a laundry set. My criteria were: less than 10 years old, no leaks and no repairs needed, and within our budget (with room to haggle if necessary). I finally found us a set at a store here in town that drives around buying stuff on craigslist, and turning a very reasonable profit on them. The set we bought was 7 years old, white, and fully functioning. They said the lady was in a hurry to move out of state, and was finishing her last load of laundry when they went to pick it up. This meant that if it was working at her house with no problems then it would work at OUR house with no problems. Right? So as we're loading the set into the back of our truck I notice what, at first, looks like to be nuts and bolts falling out of the back of the dryer (where that big metal hose hooks to the back for air flow). Another look told us that they were not nuts and bolts...but .11 bullets!!!I asked Tyrell, "Honey, why are there bullets falling out the BACK of the dryer?" and then "What the hell would anyone use .11 bullets for anyway?" Thinking that the family shot beer cans and left bullets in their pocket was MY assumption until Tyrell pointed out that the hose doesn't connect to the dryer like THAT! Someone had to put them there. According to the sales guy no one's heard or seen her boyfriend for a while, either...creepy. We were told to hook up the set immediately when we got home and to call within 24 hours if there were any problems.

So we get home, celebrate that our house is complete now, and set to do a couple loads of laundry. As soon as the washer hit spin cycle it set out to nearly flood our garage! Not only that, but it shakes so bad that it scoots all the way back to the wall!!! Tyrell took a look and thought he could fix it, and tightened a few things he thought may have gotten loose in transport. AS soon as he was done we turned the washer on again and NO leak! "YAY We fixed i...awww SHIT the garage is flooding again!"

Thankfully the dryer works just fine, but that doesn't do us any good. We call the store and let them know what happened. The next day they stop by to see if they can fix it, saying that a hose might have gotten loose in transport, and that this happens all the time. They tighten the hose, turn on the washer, see that there is no leak and head out after we thank them (assuring them we didn't really want to hunt for a washer again anyway). Again, as soon as the washer hit spin cycle the flood waters returned. I ran to my phone and called the guys back again. A further look at the washer showed that a part was actually MISSING, and they gave us our money back so we could buy another washer elsewhere.

Later the next day I found another washer meeting my criteria, and arranged to pick it up the next morning. That night, Tyrell and I went to the store to pick up some juice and the side dishes for our Christmas dinner. As soon as we get in the turning lane at the stop light...the clutch stops working on the truck! We're helped by a stranger to push it into a nearby parking lot, and a look in the street shows that our clutch fluid is ALL over the road!!! So we hop back in the truck, and set to bunny hop the truck all the way home (thankfully only a couple blocks away) finding the "sweet spots" in the clutch. Poor truck.

So here we are, at home, stuck because no part store here has the part we need without ordering it from UTAH. Nevermind that both Tyrell and I have to be at work for the rest of the week. Thankfully the lady who I'm buying the washer from is in the Christmas giving spirit (and probably just wants the washer GONE) and agreed to drop off the washer tonight. God bless the generous people that are left in this world!

Keep your fingers crossed, guys. That the washer works, that the truck can get fixed in the next 24 hours, and that nothing else happens to DEMOLISH Christmas this year.