How Are We Supposed to Eat?!

One of the worst things that could possibly happen in this household has happened.

Our electric ceramic-top stove has died!

Mario wanted a potato and egg taco for breakfast (he requested it around 1am last night when I felt him slide into bed) so I got started on it after I got home from dropping the kids off. I turned the right front burner on to heat the pan while I washed and peeled the potato. I noticed that around every 8 seconds I’d hear a ticking sound. I got closer and noticed the tick was coming from either the top of the stove where the knobs are, or from the front burner itself (the one I use the most). The potatoes finished cooking, I drained the olive oil that was left and added the egg, pepper and garlic powder. I took the pan off the burner when it was done and placed another pan on top of it to heat up the tortillas while I went to wake up Mario.

He gets up, I go back to the kitchen. I notice the red light that indicates that theres a “Hot Surface” isn’t on at all, yet I’ve had the stove on for a while on ‘6’. I switch to another burner, the left back one, put it on ‘9’ and nothing. I freak out and run into the bathroom where Mario’s taking a shower and yell, “OHMYGODTHESTOVEISN’TWORKING!” I explain about the ticking and how it was probably telling me it was dying and he says he’ll check it out when he gets out.

Not much he could do…he’d have to take the whole darn stove apart just to check the stove top and he still had to eat breakfast and get his stuff together for work. And I was finally going to make lasanga tonight, darnit! How the heck are we supposed to eat? I don’t buy microwavable food! Even the stuff that can be “heated up”, like pot pies and pizza, require an oven to cook them. The oven isn’t working either *pulls out hair*.

I wish I knew what caused it to just take a crap like that. We’ve only had it since February 2003, which is 3, almost 4 years. I can’t find any of the pamphlets and god only knows where I left the receipt for it. I know for a fact that we were idiots back then and wouldn’t register anything, so we probably don’t have any type of warranty. We paid cash for it at Sears, so they most likely didn’t take our info down, I think? Argh! I told Mario, “Dina’s (Jorge’s mom) had her flat top for years; how come hers hasn’t died?”

He smirks and says, “Because she probably doesn’t use it as much as you do.”

“… Great. I killed it. For cooking too much.”

I don’t know what we’re going to do, where I’m going to cook (I really don’t want to be cooking at my mom-in-laws then lugging everything back here), and who will fix it. Mary’s calling around and I need to ask my dad-in-law if he knows anyone who’ll fix electric ceramic tops, so we’ll see. Appliances and cars have great timing. Here we were excited about buying baby things and Christmas presents and now we have to fix a stove. Lovely!