Sunday, May 5, 2019

The Sunday Post [17]

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly at the Caffeinated Reviewer! It's an opportunity to share news, post a recap for the previous week, showcase books, and highlight what's planned for the week ahead.

News:

This has been an insanely hellish week. Why? My washing machine broke last Thursday, and it still hasn't been fixed! I was folding laundry in my bedroom when I heard a really weird grinding sound coming from the back of the house. Initially, I thought a cat had bumped against the switch for the garbage disposal (wouldn't be the first time), but quickly realized the sound was coming from the utility room and not the kitchen. I flipped the light on and there was water all over the floor, so I turned the machine off. When I tried to turn it back on again, it just kept locking and unlocking the lid.

The day the washing machine stopped working, I called to see if it was still under warranty. I knew it was close to expiring, but I wasn't 100% sure, and I didn't want to dig the paperwork out of the filing cabinet unless it was absolutely necessary. They assured me my warranty had expired months ago, so I went to the store to buy a new one.

I'm not picky when it comes to appliances. I just want them to work, and work well. It didn't take me long to settle on one, and the purchase was made. I decided to check the mail on the way home, even though I usually wait until the afternoon (our mail person is highly unpredictable). Thank the gods I did, because in the mail was a letter letting me know that I only had a month left on my warranty (crazy perfect timing, I know), and listed their options to add additional services.

My first thought was that they lied to me, because of course they want to sell a new washing machine and not fix an old one, but I happily returned the one I purchased for a refund. Unfortunately, that meant scheduling a time for someone to service the machine, and then order the parts required to fix it. Apparently, the transmission was shot, a seal was nearly nonexistent, and the ball bearing was gone. It was well and truly scrapped at that point, and the man thought they would just replace it. No such luck. They've decided to replace all the parts and pay for the two days of labor it's going to take to fix my washing machine.

I have twin two-year-old girls, and we use cloth diapers. Also, having three children under the age of five, means I do a lot of laundry even without throwing diapers into the mix. However, diapers are an essential part of my day-to-day life, and I'm not going to ask a neighbor if I can toss some dirty ones into their machine. We also have dogs, and it's been raining almost nonstop all week. They're indoor dogs, but they still have to go outside to do their business. They inevitably track in mud, which requires towels, and then a freaking washing machine. It's been stressful. If they don't call me tomorrow with good news, I'm going to lose my mind.

Previous week on the blog:

Sunday: The Sunday Post [16]
Monday: Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz ⋆⋆⋆⋆
Tuesday: DNF&Y [16]
Wednesday: Nothing!
Saturday: This Is Not a Love Scene by S.C. Megale ⋆⋆

What I'm currently reading:

Every Last Breath (Final Hour, #1) by Juno Rushdan
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha, #1) by Tomi Adeyemi
A Monster Like Me by Wendy S. Swore

I'm really enjoying Every Last Breath! Problems are being resolved, sex is being had, and I have high hopes for the rest of the book. Cole and Maddox are complex characters, and they've both hurt each other in the past (in very big ways), but they're forced to work together to save the world. It's a recipe for disaster and heartache, but also for answers and healing. Tthe story is engaging, fast-paced, and full of action!

Children of Blood and Bone is also amazing! I haven't had a lot of time for audiobooks, since I mostly listen to them in the car, or while I'm doing housework. All of the rain we've had has cancelled most of our activities, and the kids and I have been jamming to music while we work around the house. They don't often like to participate in the cleaning, so if they're willing to work, I'll play some awesome dancing music instead of listening to an audiobook.

A Monster Like Me is a book I've been reading off and on to my kids. My son asks a lot of questions, and I love that he's inquisitive, but it also means it takes us twice as long to finish a book. I've also had to stop and explain to him that someone else's behavior in the book isn't something to be mirrored. A lot of children (and even one adult) make fun of the main character, or are afraid of her, so they say things without thinking. I want to make sure my kids know that it's never okay to treat someone differently just because they don't look or sound exactly the same.

What I plan on reading next:
Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale by Lauren Myracle, Isaac Goodhart (Illustrator)
Hazel and Holly by Sara C. Snider
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren 

What I'm watching:

I binged a lot of anime when I took my spontaneous hiatus the other week, but this week my face has been in one book or another. The kids are on pretty decent schedules, so right now I have a few minutes in the morning with my coffee, time while they nap (if there's no other housework to do), and some time before bed. It's not always like this, so I am taking full advantage of it. I'll occasionally watch One Piece if I'm having trouble sleeping, and my brain's too tired to read.


Challenge updates:

Audiobook Challenge: 19 / 30+
Beat the Backlist Challenge: 25 / 100
Discussion Challenge: 2 / 11-20
Goodreads Challenge: 137 / 500

I'm not doing as well on my Beat the Backlist Challenge this year! Although, audiobooks are how I typically read backlogged books, and I haven't had as much time this year. Life has been busy! As for the others, I think I can make them work before the end of the year. Only time will tell! 

What are you reading right now? Should I add it to my TBR?

49 comments:

  1. Oh I remember when my washing machine broke too... That was a very rough week :/ I am wishing you the best! I am also starting on Children of Blood and Bone this week too :D Reading buddies!

    Elle @ Keep on Reading

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    1. Yay! Reading buddies! I think I have three or four days to finish the audiobook before my hold expires from the library. It's like 15 hours long, so I should probably stop dragging my feet and make time for it. I'm enjoying the book, but haven't had much time for audio. :)

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  2. I feel your pain on the washing machine issue. Hopefully you'll be sorted soon, as I can imagine how stressed you must be. I have The Unhonnymooners on my tbr too.

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    1. Thankfully, my parents don't live too far away, so I take a load to their house when it gets really bad. I'm just used to doing multiple loads in a day, and not being able to wash things when I need them is stressful. I also can't take my three littles to a sit for hours while I do laundry somewhere else. It's not fair to them.

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  3. You are in the right, and the washing machine people need to get busy and fix things for you. In a perfect world, these people would not only replace the machine but they'd send staff to wash all those diapers for you in the interim. Oh, well, one can dream. But a washing machine should last at least through the warranty period. C'mon. My parents had washing machines and refrigerators and toasters that lasted thirty, forty, even fifty years. (My dad is still using a toaster my parents bought when they first married in 1954!)

    Keep breathing!

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    1. Yes! If my washing machine breaks under warranty, they should totally provide a cleaning service until it's repaired. I love this idea! Technically, the washing machine did last through it's initial warranty period, but we always purchase the extended warranty. Good thing we did! However, you're right and appliances don't seem to last as long as they used to. I'm pretty sure my parents still have the same appliances from when they got married (at least most of them). Now they make things to last a certain amount of time, so they can sell more things. It's terrible. Nothing is built to last anymore.

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  4. Three little ones and no washing machine? My heart goes out to you. Fingers crossed the repairs hold up.

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    1. I have this horrible feeling that it's going to work until the warranty does expire this month, haha. Like, they'll do a temporary fix to last me through the month, and then I'll be back in the store re-buying a washing machine to replace this one. Honestly, I don't care at this point, because I just want to be able to wash my stuff. My son got sick this morning, and he threw up on the couch, and I'm just having to stuff all the dirty stuff into a trash bag, when I would normally immediately start the wash. :(

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  5. OMG I'm so sorry to hear about your washing machine that literally stinks!! Obviously that washer was not made 100% there's no way it would crap out before or slightly after the warranty period. I can't even imagine your dirty clothes pile! I've had Children of Blood and Bone on my TBR for a while now and I really need to read it soon. I'll be looking forward to your review. I heard amazing things about The Unhoneymooners too I mean can Christina Lauren do any wrong! LOL Have a great week!!

    ~ Kendra @ Kendra Loves Books

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    1. Literal stinkage. I can believe mine would stop working after five years! I've worked it hard and almost nonstop, haha. Three kids (the oldest is five), and we've used cloth diapers for them all. That's a lot of washing over the years! It's held up until now, which I'm thankful for, but I can also see how it might be overused and falling apart. Luckily, it's still under warranty, but they need to stop dragging their feet!

      My dirty clothes pile is insane. Every other day I'll take some stuff to my mom's house, but I can only squeeze in one load before needing to leave. At home, I can't start the wash without having to worry about getting back to it at a certain time.

      I love the Christina Lauren duo! I hope The Unhoneymooners meets my expectations! Children of Blood and Bone has been great so far! I hope you love it! <3

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  6. My washing machine is leaking but still works but I need someone to come out. We are way out of warranty though and hoping it doesn't cost too much. I can't imagine how you are doing it with cloth diapers! That must be a pain with no machine. Enjoy your books and have a better week!

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    1. I wish mine were broken and working, because then I could at least use it while I waited on someone to fix it. Ugh, the waiting has been awful, and all this laundry is stressing me out. Unfortunately, the washing machine broke when I started a load of diapers, so I had to dig dirty diapers out of the machine and put them back in the pail. It was super gross. My mother let me wash them at her house, and I've been trying to use pull-ups and panties whenever possible. The girls don't like pull-ups, and we're smack in the middle of potty training, so it doesn't take long for them to go through their trainers. Again, no washing machine to wash those either. It's a mess!

      Hopefully your washing machine will have an easy fix and only cost you, like, $10. ;)

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  7. OMG! This is a nightmare!!! Just this week I explained to my colleagues why I thought that moder appliances and especially washing machines were responsaible for the women's lib! Because let's face it when you have a big family of five or more kids (like our grand-mothers used to) if you have to wash the laundry by hand, walk or bike the kids to school, grow your own vegetables, wash the dishes manually etc. you can never work outside the house! So I hope it will be fixed and that you'll be able to go back to normal soon!

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    1. I'm seriously contemplating handwashing our clothes and the diapers, haha. What would I need? Soap? A washboard? Something to scrub them with? At this point, I'm willing to try anything. ;)

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  8. Oh no! I'd lose my mind without my washing machine and that's without twins, dogs and a 5 year old! You are principled on the warranty thing... If I had the new one right there and ready to install I don't think I'd have bothered even though the other was still in warranty, lol. I'd have been like, "Any other item! But not this."

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    1. It was very, very tempting to just keep the washing machine and forget about the broken one, but we did pay for the warranty all those years ago, and it's purpose is to keep us from spending $700 on a new one. Three kids are expensive, and dog food is no joke, so I chose to save the money and use my warranty. However, it's maddening when it takes them this long to fix it! Someone had to come out and look at the washer, which took him two minutes, and then he left to order parts. Lowe's (where we bought our washing machine) had to determine if it was worth fixing, or if they should just replace the entire thing. I was told this means they check the age of the washer, the availability of parts, etc., which also takes time. When they FINALLY approved the parts (wish they wouldn't just replaced the thing, because that would have been a faster and easier solution), the company doing the repairs has to wait for the parts to arrive, which can take 3-5 business days. It's the weekend, so...ugh. Maybe tomorrow! Fingers crossed!

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  9. Your washing machine situation sounds like a nightmare! I can't believe they didn't just replace it! I think warranty companies purposely make it difficult so you'll just say hell with it and not use it.

    I'm picking up the Unhoneymooners soon! :)

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    1. Nightmare seems to be the general consensus, and I would have to agree. My son got sick this morning, and he's incapable of making it to the toilet to vomit. He's not often sick, and he's young, so I'm not sure he really realizes what the feeling is until it's too late. One time I told him to grab the trashcan because he was going to puke, and he assured me he wasn't right before soaking the couch. Gross, I know, but also...no washing machine. Thankfully, my neighbors said they'd take the those things to wash at their house, and return them to me later. Yay for awesome people!

      Calling about the warranty wasn't difficult, and they sent someone out the next day, but the waiting now is insane. It's like they don't want to approve whatever they're going to approve without looking underneath every single rock in a rock garden.

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  10. Sorry to hear about the washing machine Ugh, how aggravating. Especially adding in warranty issues *rolls eyes* Hope you get a quick resolution this week! Also... funny how they said the warranty was expired months ago, except it wasn't. And they wonder why people get cynical!

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    1. I didn't think it was funny! I was livid! I called back and said they lied about my warranty just to sell a new washer. It looks good when a store can sell appliances, but it doesn't benefit them to have to fix one, even if a customer did spend money to buy the extended warranty. I'm worried this will be a temporary fix, and it'll break again once it's officially expired. :(

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  11. What a nightmare with the washing machine. I am floored that they're not replacing it with all the work it needs. What a hassle. Fingers crossed it gets repaired quickly! I hope you'll love The Unhoneymooners! Hate to love isn't my favorite trope but Christina Lauren totally made it work for me in that one. :)

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    1. He said it would take a lot of work, and a lot of room. He'll have to disassemble the entire thing, and then rebuild it with new parts. It's going to take one or two days of constant work on his part, which means I'll have to make sure I'm here for that. It messes up our schedule for sure, but it's necessary. Like you, I thought they would just replace it and be done.

      I don't mind hate-to-love romances, but it does irk me when the hate is unfounded or ridiculous. If two people have a legitimate reason to be angry with one another, that's understandable. Speaking of! You should read Every Last Breath by Juno Rushdan. I just finished it and it was great! I think you'd enjoy it. :)

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    2. Off to look up Every Last Breath on GR. :)

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    3. My review will post in half an hour. ;)

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  12. Oh wow, I didn't realize you had so many little kids. lol I can definitely see why you need that ashing machine back working right now.

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    1. I have three! A five-year-old and twins that are two and half! My life is insane, but I love it. I don't love not having a working washing machine, so hopefully that gets resolved soon, like tomorrow! ;)

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  13. We had to replace our washing machine a month ago for the same reason though it was way out of warranty. I had 3 kids under 3 at one stage so I remember those endless loads of washing. I hope it gets fixed soon.

    Have a great reading week

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    1. Endless loads of washing! Yes! They get dirty every time we go outside, and we go outside a lot. It's been raining here, too, so we've been muddy and wet most days. I have a lot of clothes on the fence outside, because I would normally toss them in the wash once we came inside. It feels weird to not be checking the washer and dryer, or folding clothes.

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  14. Ugh, appliances! Sometimes it is just better/cheaper to replace than try to fix, I'm surprised the company is spending all the time and money instead of just giving you a new unit.

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    1. I guess they decided it would be better for them to try and fix the problem than replace the entire thing. Honestly, I don't care at this point, I just want something that works and can handle the many loads of clothes and diapers I need to do in a day. :)

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  15. I couldn't imagine cloth diapers for twins without a working washing machine. I feel for you and hope it gets fixed for you very quickly. Have a great week!

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    1. I've been making the diapers stretch by having them wear their training underwear, but they often forget they have those on and potty in them, which leaves me with something else I can't wash. I though I was being particularly smart until I realized they would need to be washed just like the diapers, even if it was less frequently. They also for sure need diapers for naps and bedtime, or car rides. UGH, I'm just keeping everything crossed that it'll be fixed tomorrow.

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  16. Children of Blood and Bone has been on my TBR for a long time now, and I am glad you enjoyed it as much. I hope you do the same when I get to it.

    Gayathri @ Elgee Writes

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    1. I'm not very far into it, maybe 10%, but I've liked what I've read so far. The audiobook is amazing! Bahni Turpin is a wonderful narrator. She also did The Hate U Give and others I've enjoyed. Hopefully I can finish Children of Blood and Bone before my library hold expires! It's longer than I was expecting! :)

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  17. Yay I had trouble with getting timely fixes by the landlord on the dishwasher, garbage disposal and AC over the years. I am also washing something almost every day or so.

    I loved Every Last Breath and Children of Blood & Bone. I'm glad you're enjoying them.

    Keeping my fingers crossed for a quick fix and a good week for reading!

    Anne - Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post   

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    1. I remember living in an apartment! They always seemed to stop by when I wasn't home, which made me super uncomfortable. I don't like the idea of someone being in my home while I'm not there. People are creepy! They'd leave little notes that said they were there, and then I would feel violated. I'm sure nothing ever happened, but you never know! Also, I would have to crate our dogs if someone needed to fix something, and that always made them sad. Living in a house, we haven't had to crate them in years! I'm sure they don't even remember what it's like. ;)

      Every Last Breath was amazing! I had a lot of fun reading about Maddox and Cole. There were lighter moments amidst all the mayhem. <3

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  18. Oh gosh, you definitely need a washing machine. I'm so sorry it's taking forever. I hope you have good news today!

    Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. When I called this morning, they were still waiting on parts. They can see where shipping labels were created for some, but there's no tracking information available yet. She said it might be Friday before they get back out here to fix it. :(

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  19. I hope you have a washing machine by now.

    Let me know what you think abut The Unhoneymooners. I had a few minor quibbles but really liked it.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. Nope. Still no working washing machine! We have a tentative appointment scheduled for Thursday, because that's when they THINK they'll have the parts they need to do repairs.

      Hmm -- It depends on what those quibbles are! :)

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  20. Oh no!! I hope the washing machine situation gets solved soon. How ridiculous!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. The parts are supposed to arrive today, so they've scheduled an appointment for tomorrow morning. If I can just make it through one more day! I'm going to be doing laundry nonstop for DAYS. ;)

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  21. That sucks about the washing machine! I hope it gets fixed soon!! I hope you're enjoying Children of Blood & Bone... I enjoyed that one.
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

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    1. I am enjoying it! I haven't been listening to a lot of audiobooks lately, but I try to make time for this one. I hope I can finish it before my hold expires, but that's not likely. It's a long one! I might have to buy the book to finish it, since I don't want to wait other 5-6 weeks at my library. The audio has been amazing, though. :)

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  22. Hi! I finally got my new modem, and I'm going through all the posts I bookmarked at work while waiting for it to arrive...Well, I thought I was living a nightmare while I was internet-less, but washing-machine-less sure beats it by a long shot ๐Ÿ˜ฑ. Especially in the middle of all the body-fluid emergency LOL. I hope it's soon now!

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    1. My washing machine is still busted. They're supposed to be here in the morning, so we'll see. No one called to confirm anything today, so who knows. They scheduled the time based on when the parts SHOULD arrive. :(

      Yay for new modems! Happy to have you back. <3

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  23. Oh, man! What a nightmare. I can't imagine not being able to do laundry or having to haul it somewhere else to do it. Such a pain. I hope it gets fixed soon!

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    1. It was repaired yesterday, but they'll send someone back out on Monday. He tested the washing machine when he was done, but now it's leaking again. I'm worried it's going to short out the control panel, but I cannot not do laundry right now. I've been washing and folding for two days! It was insane... the piles of clothes, the ick I couldn't clean, ugh. Chaos.

      He asked for a towel while he was working on it, so at first I assumed the water was leftover from him working on it. However, after another wash or two, the spot started to get bigger, not smaller. After looking underneath it, I saw the dripping and had to call them back. Since it's under warranty, I basically had to start the process over. :(

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  24. That sucks about your Washer machine. Sucks more they lied to you on the phone.

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“Stuff and nonsense. Nonsense and stuff and much of a muchness and nonsense all over again. We are all mad here, don't you know?”
― Marissa Meyer, Heartless