Ms. Potato Head Gets Her Arm Back

I'm really trying to be positive. After all, my problems pale in comparison to the problems of others. But, it is hot and I am chronically sleep deprived and I'm just a little grouchy. My dishwasher has quit dispensing soap, which, in my mind, is a major part of the cleaning process. Okay, we can wash dishes by hand. The AC in my car has also decided that August is the best time to quit working and refuses to be fixed even after my husband worked on it and spent money (we don't have) on a part. Okay, okay, I can drive with the windows down. It is still hot and I arrive at my destination sweaty with my hair standing on end but I get there. Best of all--my washing machine won't finish washing without beeping out in distress, flashing F codes, and dumping water all over the floor. We tried our various means of coping with this disaster, depending on our levels of hygiene requirements, before I was able to schedule a repair person through the Sears phone robot. The repair man came and spent several hours cleaning out the drain, replacing parts, and testing volts. $300 later (which we don't have) he declared the washer cured of its ills and left. I happily began washing only to have a recurrence of the F-codes and more beeping. I argued with the Sears phone robot (I'm sorry, I didn't get that response.) and think, hope, and pray the repair man will return to find the real problem. Never mind that I had to schedule a day off work to wait for his first appearance. The only bright side to all of this is that one of the items clogging up the drain was Ms. Potato Head's arm. It has a few chunks missing but I think we'll be able to reattach it. I can't say the same about my sense of humor.