The Ondracek Refrigerator Saga (and how I almost lost my mind...)

Last week, (Wednesday to be exact) I got up, got my coffee and sat down at the computer after snuggle time with Annie; my usual morning routine before we do school.MY phone rang, it was my hubby. "Is your refrigerator running?" he asked. Knowing his sense of humor, I replied"oh, I need to go catch it, right" "I'm serious!" he replied.I opened my refrigerator, hoping it was all a joke, but knowing it really wasn't. My freezer was at 39 degrees, the fridge at 47. "oh, no" I groaned. I closed the fridge,hoping it had not been shut all the way,and just needed to cool down. I hung up the phone ; waited a bit, and checked again. The freezer was about the same; the fridge at about 54 degrees. I shut the doors, ran to the garage and grabbed an ice chest. I began chucking items as fast as I could into the ice chest, dumping what little ice we had on top of what I was trying to salvage.I ran next door, loaded with egg nog and cheese, explaining quickly the situation,and please enjoy.Thus began my week long(not ended quite yet) refrigerator saga. I called the local appliance service company. They came out the next day. Thinking my fridge was no longer under warranty(It's only two years old) I figured we would be whipping out the old visa to pay the bill, and bite the bullet later. The repair man informed me my evaporator was out, there was no coolant(a leak or blockage somewhere) and it would be an expensive fix. "yippee" I thought. This is the second time in two years something major has gone wrong with my fridge. The motor went out in the first year. The repair man suggested I call Maytag, to see if there is something they can do, since the fridge is still fairly new. Taking his advice, I called. "We can give you half off the part" the operator tells me. "I guess it's better than nothing, I'll call you back in a bit" I replied. I got online, posted on myspace and facebook my frustration. I needed some time to sit and veg before I tackled the situation again. My sister in law posted a message" you should call Maytag!" I had already done so once,but in the meantime had contemplated trying again. I kept thinking this fridge was still new enough that this shouldn't be happening.(not to mention the expense in purchasing the fridge) That was all the confirmation I needed. "Thank YOu, Lord for the confirmation!" I found another number for maytag, and hoping it might yield different results; I tried it. I explained my situation to the man who answered. He connected me to another operator. Armed with the information that the evaporator was kaput, I informed her of my situation. "Your sealed system is covered under a 5 year warranty!" She tells me. Relieved, I told her she had just made my day. " I told her who I had called for repair,and she told me they were an approved company by Maytag. I was so relieved! She put me on hold, while she called the local company and explained that they could go ahead with repairs. I thought that was the end of things. The appliance repair called and set up for the following Tuesday. (bear in mind, this is still Thursday, so we were looking at 4 more days.) "I'll take it, if it's the soonest you have" . The next Tuesday, I left to do childcare for the Bible Study., happily thinking when I got home I would find the fridge repaired,and maybe the ice chests would be emptied, food replaced in the fridge. WRONG! Dick called "the fridge isn't fixed" When I got home, I called the repair company. "they fixed it" she tells me. "No, it's not cooling" I tell her. "It takes about 24 hours to regulate." she replies."OOOkkayy..."(I am feeling rather doubtful, since the fridge had actually gone up a degree or two while I was on the phone.) Dick begins to try and tell me to tell her what the repairman said, so I hand the phone over. They set up another appointment for Thursday. In the meantime, I find out via "Tracy" from another phone call, that no, they had not installed the evaporator(I found out yesterday the part had not even been ordered yet), they needed an authorization number from Maytag. (ARRGGH!) In between allt his, I had been talking with Maytag , trying to get someone to get this straightened out. (I am nearly in tears by this point) I explain to Tracy at the repair company that this warranty that she seems to think I purchased through home depot is the MANUFACTUER warranty, I did not purchase this warranty through ANYONE, it is in the owner's manual,and not an extended warranty. "we have to have an authorization number!" I call maytag again. The operator tells me they don't need an authorization number, but I can try another repair company. So, I call A&E factory service. The operator there(who barely speaks English) sets up an appointment, explains they will diagnose the problem, order the part, blah blah (.The woman from our local repair place said Maytag was going to waive another diagnosis , just to tell the repair place what I needed, per whomever she had spoken to from Maytag. ) ( I am nearly hanging from the ceiling fan by now.) She then begins informing me of fees, etc. I tell her I am not paying anything. She tells me this price, that price. "This is a manufacturer warranty, and I am not paying a dime for any repairs!" "your warranty is expired" she says. "No it's NOT!"(I am nearly shouting by now) "Yes it is,you have a one year warranty" "No, it is a 5 year sealed system warranty! (I am ready to begin spelling everything by now in hopes of getting her to listen. The evaporator is part of the sealed system!" "No it's not" "Yes, it is! " I ask to speak to a supervisor. I am put on hold. She comes back, explains the same story she had tried already. "I want to speak to supervisor!!!" "I am telling you what the supervisor said" "Fine then" I hang up. I call Maytag once again. I am so frustrated by now, I am not sure I can be civil,but I pray and find myself feeling like I can do this. Knowing I am covered by the warranty, I try once again. Explaining the situation,and telling her I cannot live out of ice chests for another week, it's costing a fortune, she checks my file. Agreeing I am under warranty, she apologizes(sounding very sincere) for my difficutly and tells me the repair place needs no auth. number. "I have been trying to tell them that all week!" I exclaim. She puts me on hold, and a few minutes later, apologizing for the delay, explains she had brought a supervisor on to the line, called the repair place and asked me to read the warranty. I do so. She tells me they(Maytag) have to honor it, and can I please fax a copy of the warranty to her, she will fax it to the repair place.Yesterday morning, I received a call from Linda, at Maytag(the woman I spoke to on Wednesday). She informs me that everything has been taken care of,and I should hear from "M's" appliance shortly.I did get the call from "M's " appliance. They told me the part would be ordered(My heart begins to sink, thinking another week, minimum of living out of ice chests) and in the meantime, they would bring me out a loaner refrigerator. I exclaim my thanks. She tells me it may not be the prettiest; but it would keep my food fresh. "I don't care what it looks like,as long as it works! " I exclaim in reply.Yesterday afternoon, they brought me out the loaner fridge. To my pleasant surprise, it is clean inside(albeit a litttle dusty on the outside, but that was easily taken care of. ) ! It isn't bad, a few dents, but it works,and I can actually go grocery shopping! The best part is; I can put my ice chests away (hopefully) until summer when I WANT To use them for camping!
So, that is the end( I hope) of the Ondracek refrigerator saga. I still have my hair, I did not find myself swinging from the ceiling fan,and did not completely lose my mind. I did find myself telling Hannah that if I had to live out of ice chests, couldn't I at least have an old fashioned"ice box" to use in the house? I seriously meant it. I figured I could handle that for a fridge since I had the big freezer in the garage. So, for those of you who may have read my status posts, and wondered if I had gone off the deep end, well, I may have teetered on the edge, but with God, I made it through!

Dear Mr. Obama

Dear Mr. Obama,
I am writing this to you, doubting you will ever see it, but writing it nonetheless.
You have won the Presidential election and on January 20 you will be sworn in.
I did not vote for you, I don't agree with your ideas and I don't like the ideals of some of the people you associate with.
That being said; You will be President, and I want you to know something.
You will be prayed for. I will be praying for the people you choose to put in your cabinet,and I will be praying for your family. While I am not happy that you won, I owe you that much. I have prayed for other presidents,and owe you no less.

I will pray you make the right decisions, to keep our country safe. We have not had a terrorist attack since 9/11, and that is not a coincidence. I am sure you want America to remain safe.
I will pray for you to change your views on life. You seem have no problem letting an aborted baby born alive die, but I do. I will pray that God changes your heart. I know you have two little girls, and seem to be a devoted father. Think of those precious babies as your own! Imagine what you want life to be for your two babies,and the potential they have. Then think of those babies that are born alive despite being aborted,and the potential they have,and that God has given them. No child is a mistake; and I pray you will reconsider your views on abortion.
I pray that you will honor the institution of marriage. I do not want Gay people discriminated against, but I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, as God intended it to be. You know as well as I that is what marriage is; a union between a man and woman. I pray you will honor our military , and you will put America's priorities above any other agendas.


I wish you no ill will, but rather, I wish you well. You have a big job ahead of you, and the responsibilities are huge. It is not a job I think I would want.

Although I don't agree with your views, (I don't think there is one view I agree with) and I don't understand why you believe the things you do, I will pray for you, because God commands us to pray for our leaders,and because I love my country.
America is the greatest nation on earth,and many have given their lives to keep it that way.
We have so many things to be thankful for. We have the freedom to worship as we choose, the freedom to earn as little or as much as we want; and the freedom to vote for the candidate of our choice,and vote without fear of retribution if we don't vote for the candidate we disagree with.

My prayer is that you will remember what our forefathers intended for this country,and why so many come here from other countries. America is a land of opportunity. I just pray you remember that, and that you will let God lead you in your decisions.
I pray you make decisions that are not politcially correct, but rather, morally correct.
I pray that you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ,and that you find the joy that comes in a personal relationship with him. I pray that God blesses you and that God blesses America.
Don't worry, I am not going to pray ANY ill will for you , your family, or friends. I want you to be a good leader, and I know you want to be remembered as a great president. I hope you accomplish that goal, with God and America's best interest at heart.

Random thoughts and wishes

Lately, I have been doing some thinking, about many things, but for now, I 'll start with Jesus. I wonder what it would be like to touch his robes? I have so many questions. I wonder what he smells like?

Smell is something I know can bring up memories. Certain smells remind me of my Grandma Dorothy's house. I always felt so at home there, more than I did in my own home growing up! Her house always had a certain smell. I never want to forget that smell. When she died, I went to her closet and smelled her clothes, I couldn't help it. I NEEDED to. My sister asked me to stop. I guess I did, I know it was hard for her to watch.

Anyhow, I wonder what does Jesus smell like? I want to smell him, touch him, I want to enter the throne room,like some people have.It would be so cool to smell him,and then know when I walk into a room,that he is or has been there because of that smell, kind of like knowing the smell of Grandma's house. (actually, to know he is there or has been there in any way would be awesome!) I know what I want and what Jesus wants may be two different things. I just want to experience more of him. I want to go to a deeper level with Jesus, not just "oh, yeah,I love Jesus,and I know he loves me. " I mean really go deeper.

One of my loved ones has seen Jesus. She has been to the throne room. She has other experiences,and gifts from God that I would love to experience myself!

I wish I had a place here at home where I could go to seek him, where I couldn't be interrupted. Not to escape daily life, I have responsibilites that have to be attended to, but just a private place where I could pray and seek him.

Ultitmately, whatever Jesus gives me, I will take. SOmeone I know once said she would take everyone's leftovers, but she also said she knows that leftovers aren't really what Jesus wants to give her. I know what she means, though! I sometimes feel the same way. I haven't a clue whether this makes any sense or not, but these are my thoughts, wishes, etc. I can say that I have experienced Jesus and the things of God in a way I haven't ever before, in the last couple of years. I just want so much more. I am grateful for what He has done for me and what he has given me, don't get me wrong!!! I just know there is more,and I can't wait to find out what it is.

That having been said, I guess I have to wait and see! I don't necessarily want to know ahead of time, because I love surprises and presents, too!