hot water ...

On Saturday, J realized that our hot water heater was leaking. Nothing major, but enough to warrant a call to our home warranty provider. We were told that someone would contact us to set up a service call "as soon as possible." Needless to say, "as soon as possible" does not mean quickly. So, we called again (on Monday) and got set up with a technician on Tuesday. In the meantime, we changed out the towel that was absorbing the leak every few hours and continued to go about our daily business.

When our service call actually happened on Tuesday morning, the plumber told us the water heater needed to be replaced and that it would be a one to two day turn around. We were cool with that. Everything was working fine and we didn't really mind swapping out a towel here and there. Plus, our home warranty was going to cover the cost.

But, then on Tuesday night (after my second run of the day), I took a shower. And when I came downstairs to swap out the towel, we had an issue. LIKE A BIG ISSUE. Like Old Faithful had erupted in our utility room. Water was everywhere and the shut-off valve wouldn't budge (we later learned the valve was shot).

I called J in a panic. There was no containing the water and I couldn't find the shut-off for the water line to the house. I tried to catch the water in a bucket, but that was pointless. When J got home 20 minutes later, he was able to cut the water to the house (well, partially), which slowed the flow of water. At that point, there wasn't much else for us to do. We had to sit and wait for a professional to come and remedy the situation.

An hour and a half later, the "on-call" plumber showed up to drain the tank and restore water to the rest of the house. It sounded great to me. Sure, we wouldn't have hot water until the unit was replaced, but that would hopefully be within a day. Easy peasy.

Except it wasn't. Because not only did our hot water heater provide hot water to our home, it also served an integral part in our home heating system. Meaning that if we don't have a functioning hot water heater, WE DON'T HAVE HEAT. And it's freaking 20 degrees outside. Needless to say, we are cold. And I'm not good with cold.

And to top it off, it is over 24 hours later and we still don't have any clue as to when we will be getting our new water heater. Apparently, it is "special" and is more difficult to obtain than your standard water heater. Right.

So, until it arrives and is installed we will be doing (or not doing) the following ...

1. We will be sleeping with WAY more blankets than anyone ever should. I'm pretty sure that Dilly is going to get lost in the three queen sized blankets on her bed.

2. We will be wearing multiple layers and hats indoors. Not ideal, but at least I don't have to brush anyone's hair.

3. We will be snuggling. A lot. Which doesn't really suck at all.

4. We will not be doing laundry. Kind of sucky, considering I only own 35 pieces of clothing and I am wearing most of them right now.

5. We will not be using the dishwasher. And all of our dishes will be cleaned in ICE COLD water. (That will be J's job.)

6. We will not be bathing. I'm not into the whole cold shower in the winter thing. And although I know I could fill the bathtub part of the way with cold water and add boiled water to the tub, that is just too much work.

7. We will count our blessing that this didn't happen a week from now, right before or right after we go to Disney.