Well, since it's that time of year where the leaves turn, the days get colder and shorter, and tests are lurking around every corner, I've decided to place a plaque outside my front door that reads:
Give Thanks. Simple enough, right? Well - I started thinking of all that I am thankful for....First of all, I'm thankful for him:
And I'm thankful for Remi:
And I'm MOST thankful for Christ:
And I'm thankful for leftover Halloween candy:):
And I thank God everyday for creating the inventor of Vanilla Coke:
And I'm so thankful to be Mrs. Brian Holik:
And I'm so so so thankful (and I bet you are, too) for my makeup:):
And I'm thankful for guns because they give me fried deer meat (my favorite) and safety:
And I'm so thankful for friends and family:
And one more thing....I am so so so so so so so thankful for this:
A carbon monoxide detector. Why?
It was Friday night after the ASU English Fall Festival (yes, we went to it), and Brian, Ethan West, and I came to the house to hang out and spend a Friday night watching tv. It was FREEZING that night outside and INSIDE our house, so we turned on the heater. (Sidenote: Our heater is gas-powered; thus, we must light a pilot for the heater to turn on. Obviously, we have not turned on the heater in quite some time (thank you 110 degree Texas weather), so Friday night was our first time to turn on the heater). We lit the pilot (and when I say we, I mean Brian, so let's blame him for this one hehe) and turned on the heater at APPROXIMATELY 9:30 pm. Ethan and I were talking in the kitchen, and a WAVE...I MEAN A WAVE...of gas came over us - our nasal passages were wiped clean with the smell of butane or whatever gas it is that powers our heater. We weren't that concerned because, well, we hadn't turned it on in a while, so we kind of expected it. So....we went to watch tv.
about 30 minutes pass.... (watched a great episode of Family Guy during this time)
And then the burning smell lurks into our nasal passages. That's right...Burning. We all three jump up at the same time to assess the situation. We, most likely, looked like Hank and Drover from Hank the Cowdog because we had no clue what we were doing, but we checked it out, and it didn't look like we had any smoke or flames. (We found out later that the wires in our furnace had burned together, so YES! there was a fire, but Hank and Drover over here didn't catch it...awesome). Since the burning smell had us a little worked up, we (and when I say we, I mean Brian..again, so I guess he's off the hook) thought it best to turn off the heater (THANK GOD WE DID OR THE HOUSE COULD HAVE BURNED DOWN!).
about 15 minutes pass....that's 45 minutes for all you non-math majors (aka me).
Another half episode of Family Guy later and this is what we hear: BEEPPPPPP BEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEP! If you heard that sound in person (not through text), you'd be as freaked out as we were - that's right, it was the carbon monoxide detector. I don't know how much you know about carbon monoxide, so I'll inform you on the major piece of info you need to know about it.....IT KILLS YOU!
So we evacuate our house (and yes, I had to convince Ethan and Brian to PEEL their eyes away from the last 15 minutes of the episode). I called the gas company, and an emergency technician came out to assess the situation (ok - he was a lot better than Hank and Drover...let's call him Sherlock Holmes only because I don't know any other detective-type names).
So Sherlock Holmes came into the house with this high tech detector, and sure enough, our house was drowned in carbon monoxide up to level 28 (ps-the detector is supposed to alarm you at level 4 because level 4 is toxic and fatal....and yes, I said 28). Soooooo that explained the itchy throats and headaches that all three of us were feeling.
So we had to evacuate the house for 48 hours (our first two nights at my parents....cool), and air out the house.
Long story short (I know that's ironic since I just used about 234989087654 lines to tell you a 45 minute story)...we have to get a completely new furnace. Best part is - the house was built AROUND the furnace, meaning a wall and possibly a shower, and definitely two doors will have to be torn down to fix the furnace. Better part is - that means we have no heater....and it's November....and I'm a wuss when it comes to the cold. So great! Bring on the sweatshirts!!
This is one adventure that I could live without, but it has made me thankful for that little annoying beeping sound....long live Carbon Monoxide detectors...and the three of us please!
From our family to yours -
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