Another Lovely Weekend on Our Journey to the Poor Farm

We have been experiencing ongoing "cash flow" problems.  Just when we think we can sit back and breathe for a minute, some other unexpected expense falls into our laps.  We've been feeling so pinched for funds that the husband has started buying lottery tickets again. 

Saturday afternoon, we felt like we had two extra dimes to rub together, so we were out making the rounds of resale shops looking for cheap cabinets to install in our laundry room.  We also had to make a stop at Kaiser, because the husband has blood clots in his legs (again) and is on heavy-duty blood thinners (again) and has to get a blood draw every day to check the progress of the blood thinners.  (Oh...and this great health insurance that they take almost ten thousand dollars a year out of his paycheck for does not even completely cover the labs anymore...there is a $20 copay for each.  That's an extra $100/week going out right there.)

So we walk back out to the truck after his Kaiser visit, get in, and...it won't start.  Out of the clear blue sky.  The engine turns over, it just isn't getting any fuel.  WTF!!?!  Get out.  Open the hood.  Basically just stare at the motor because neither of us has any idea what you might do to a diesel engine to get it going again when it craps out.

Get back in.  Turn the key.  Bam!  It starts right up.  Yay.  Or maybe not...

We decide we'd better head for home in case it decides to crap out again.  We're driving downhill on an acceleration ramp onto the freeway, hit a bump., and all of a sudden the steering wheel starts shimmying like crazy.  The truck is shaking so violently it feels like the front wheels are falling off.  Husband hits the brakes to slow down...shimmy goes away. 

"You see?  I told you it was doing that!" cries husband as he tries to release his death grip on the steering wheel. 

"THAT?!?  I drove this thing all over hell's half acre on Friday and it never did THAT.  If it had, I would have s**t myself!  This is NOT okay!"

So off we go to Les Schwab, where truck is now sitting awaiting parts for a $1300 repair to the front end. 

Yay. 

Saturday night, we were pretty wasted after all that, so we thought we would run down to Bing's and get some Chinese takeout.  At the end of our gloomy little treat, Matt hands me my fortune cookie.  I sigh..."Hey, did you remember to buy that lottery ticket?"

And then I crack open the cookie, and pull out the fortune.

"Don't worry about money.  The best things in life are free."

This happened.  I kid you not.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.