Okay, so I’ve always tried to live by the motto, “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff”. I’ve been doing fairly well with this. But I have a question. By ‘small stuff’, what does that actually mean???? I mean, like…is ‘small stuff” under $50? $100?(i.e. repairs, unexpected expenses, a bill?, what? what is small stuff?) And what happens if there’s a bunch of small stuff that, for instance, occurs in a relatively short amount of time. Say….two days. Three?
Let’s just say that, oh, I don’t know….let’s throw something wild and wacky out there….k? Let’s say….I made an error in a bank account I rarely use. An error as in failing to record one little intsy transaction. And that costs me two, count um’ two…bounced check fees of $25 each. Now. Normally…the bank would waive these since I’ve never bounced one…but…seems like the banks…you know…since they are ‘struggling’ and all…well, they’re no longer waiving fees. It was my fault anyhow, so okay. That’s small stuff.
But the next day, I spend 2 hours scanning my wedding photos that are now 20 years old (better late than never)…only to discover when I got all 90 scanned…apparently the scanner glass was NOT cleaned and had little white specks all over it. Uhhhhh! Re-do! Re-do! But…don’t sweat the small stuff.
Shortly after the scanner incident, my Middle Child…lovely little girl she is…decided finally to pick the clothes up off her bedroom floor (apparently she ran out of clean stuff?) and wash them. Huh! Turns out, she may have been a little on the lazy side, because she stuffed an entire overstuffed hamper full of clothes into the washer, which fried the motor or something. Something that smelled really…really…bad. And it stopped draining. Bottom line? Need new washer. $325. (yes, I’m going cheap. Times are tough, don’t judge me! lol)
All this made pulling that tooth pick out of the vacuum hose look very silly. Yes, someone used the hose to vacuum something and sucked up a tooth pick, which punctured the hose. (Of course that ‘someone’ was me….because wtf else vaccums around here????) Of course, I didn’t see the stinkin’ toothpick until I took apart the whole vacuum cleaner looking for the problem. Finally something in my day wasn’t sucking. LOL. So I methodically and surgically removed said toothpick using tweezers.
How about the fact that Shane’s booth at the Home and Garden show was right next to (literally up against…)the traveling animal zoo. And every time one of those cute deer, or camels, or the kangaroo would circle it’s pen or take a jog….it would kick up filthy brown dust alllllll over our green. And the pee was seeping through the ‘fence’ into our base. Hmmmm? Small stuff? Maybe. The grounds people tried to help after customers and vendors complained of the stench and worked dilegently to control the smell and urine/feces ‘debris’.
So I ask you. What exactly IS small stuff? lol. Sometimes I wonder if I am being tested. Maybe I was some rich dude in another life and I am experiencing karma for something I did. Maybe, just maybe. Murphy’s Law? I dunno. My only thought at this very moment is wtf is small stuff, really? And funny, I intended this post to be small. How ironic.
I'm Sheila. In addition to raising 1 husband and 3 teens, I've founded 
Sounds like you had one bitch of a weekend. I think the small stuff theory is great, but this is beyond small. Overdraft fees and photo/computer problems are annoying, but when the washing machine gets a hernia and the vacuum stops sucking is when life starts to suck and get very expensive. Not that this will make you feel any better but my hubby broke my vacuum over the weekend. The once in a blue moon that he decides to use it, he broke the little door off the bottom that holds in the garbage… I hope it’s still under warranty. And, we just got a notice in the mail that overdraft fees went up at our bank. Now, if we have an oopsie, it will cost us a whopping $34.00.
Aliceson’s last blog post..So It’s Valentine’s Day
You poor thing… sounds like you’ve had a rough few days! I hope this week is much better!
Can you buy a used washing machine? I purchased one once for about $200 and it lasted five plus years.
And the toothpick? Totally why I have a shop vac.
Gettysburg Mom’s last blog post..Easily Confused
this is the part where some smart ass…me, this time…says, ‘at least you have your health’
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So sorry to hear about your weekend. It seems like every so often when things start to go wrong all hell breaks lose and anything and everything that can go wrong does. As for sweating the small stuff….each weekend issue on it’s own would have been the small stuff but put them all together and it just plain sucks! Hope your week is better.
Alisae’s last blog post..Day 229 – Saturday
I don’t think what you have there is small stuff. You have a very good attitude about it especially since it all seem to happen at once. When it rains, it pours? Sorry about the weekend. Hope this week is better.
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If you ask me the small stuff is defined by the big stuff. The bigger the big stuff gets the smaller the small stuff seems.
For example, having to buy a new washing machine seems like big stuff to you and me, but to a couple who’s newborn baby just passed away, its almost meaningless.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed I TRY to remember that no matter how bad it gets, it could be SO MUCH worse. As long as we have our health, our family, and enough money to keeping making it through… everything else is “small stuff”
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Oh My! Small stuff indeed, lol! Girl you need a relaxing week at a spa in Mexico, and btw I am coming too!!!!!!!
Jenna @ Newlyweds’s last blog post..I am a Walk 4 Life Winner!
Sorry about the rough patch. I think when you compound a bunch of little stuff, it just turns in to one big hairy ball of crap. It’s okay to get upset, you’re only human. I usually tell my kids to scream in to their pillows, just cause when they’re frustrated they tend to hit people like their siblings. So scream in to your pillow or something, just keep your hands to yourself.
Hope you build up some good karma points.
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Man, that sucks. Sounds more like a crap storm than small stuff. I recommend a full blown tizzy when no one is looking.
I don’t know when small becomes big, but it sounds like you had one hell of a weekend.
On the washer, try Craig’s List and Freecycle. You never know. I bought a used w/d set for like $100 and it was awesome. Also, a friend of mine got a practically brand new washer on Freecycle.
I dunno, to hear the gurus talk it’s ALL small stuff.
Except in my opinion animal pee on your Home Show booth. Not so happy with that or the feces idea.
And guess what, we bought a new washer a month ago for…. $325.00!!!! Great minds think alike. From Lowes, let me go check and see the brand… it’s a Whirlpool, light blue on the top. Yours?
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sheila Reply:
February 17th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Jannie, great minds do think alike. Only I got a Kenmore. A nice LOUD one! lol.
(((hugs))) Sorry about those things you’ve been through lately.
I’m the type who makes a big deal out of small things. It’s something I need to change.
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I’d say all the stuff before the seeping pee is small stuff, unless it’s all loaded into a short time span. You need a day off!
And I can’t believe you found the toothepick!
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