Wanna Know Why I Never Cook???

There is a reason why I never cook....it's because I have a very serious phobia of burning the house down. This is a new phobia that has just recently come about in the last two weeks since I almost burned the house down for the second time in three years. I'm not talking about a little bit of smoke, I'm talkin flames and fire on the stove.....twice now!!

The first time this happened, we had just moved into the house. Literally, I think we had maybe lived there about a month, max. It may have even been one of my first times using the stove since moving in. Matthew was headed to the church for a brief meeting and I told him that I would cook while he was gone and it would probably be ready about the time he got home. So, I turn on the stove to start boiling the water and all of a sudden the eye of the stove just burst into flames about two feet high. I didn't know what to do so I ran for the door (I guess I was going to just let the house burn down) but Matthew had locked the front door when he left the house and there was no time to find the keys and try to get out. I was screaming at the top of my lungs and crying hysterically. I was afraid to pour water on the stove because my neighbor growing up did that and it caused the fire to spread. I couldn't find the phone to call 911 and the fire was growing hgher and higher by the second. I finally grabbed the pot and filled it with water and took my chances. I figured I was going to die either way because I was locked in the house anyway. I poured the water on the stove and the fire died out. By this time, maybe a minute had gone by, I was pouring sweat and hyperventalating. I went in the den, sat on the couch and bawled until Matthew got home. It took me a while to recover from this, but I finally did...

Two years later ( few weeks ago), and a remodeled kitchen later....I had just finished cooking dinner for Lyn and Cameron, some friends whose baby had surgery. I decided to stay at home while Matthew delivered the meal so I could cook dinner for us. Again, the eye if the stove caught on fire and it was burning hard. I starting my hysterical screaming, crying and running around. My first instict was to call Matthew (before putting out the fire). Obviously I don't think straight in those kinds of situations. I got halfway through dialing his number and the fire was getting higher so I hung up. I quick tried to move the pot that was on top of the fire without buring myself, then I turned off the stove and threw water over it again. When the fire was out, I called Matthew hysterical. I was screaming and crying...I couldn't even talk. He started yelling at me to calm down because he couldn't understand what I was saying, I think I scared him too. It was so scary!

Needless to say, we ended up just going out to eat and I haven't turned the stove on since that night. I did make quesadillas the other night and rather than cooking them in a frying pan, I decided to cook them on the griddle. I think I might be scarred for life.....good thing we are not home often to cook and I love to go out to eat.....