Two Stories

Story #1

Last week Paul and I went out for date night, which we try to do on a regular basis.  He wanted to see the movie "Captain Phillips".  I suggested haunted mini-golfing but somehow forgot to use my birthday month trump card to get out of the movie because I found myself getting more and more seasick in the theater while watching Somali pirates (they were Somali, right?) trying to take over a huge freighter ship.  I left and went to the lobby thinking maybe a few minutes away from the jerking screen would ease my stomach but when I went back in one of the pirates had stepped on glass set down by the crew to sabotage the takeover effort and guns were being drawn and I just couldn't stomache it.  So I told Paul I was going to go hang out in Target (thank heavens we were at the theater attached to the mall with an attached Target!). 

He was totally all, "okay! have fun!" and I huffed off (he didn't notice the huffing, which is too bad because I was at least hoping he might feel a tinge guilty that he was staying for the rest of the movie without me).  Because he should have followed me out, right?  I mean, I totally didn't explain that 1. the movie was the worst, 2, I was feeling motion sick, and 3. we were ON A DATE and that usually doesn't mean he gets to watch a movie while I sit on the floor of the book section in Target catching up on new cookbook releases and magazines waiting for the movie to get out. 

Really the whole situation cracked me up, and we laughed about it on the way home (you know, after we got past me accusing him of being unchivalrous) - how I was all annoyed and how he was all oblivious.  But it was REALLY hilarious when he came home from work the next day with a story about how his buddy Matt had gone to the movies with his wife the previous week and the EXACT SAME THING had happened to them (except she went to Starbucks because there was no nearby Target) and had the same conversation afterwards about how he should have followed her out and how we (the wives) don't have to spell it out that they (the husbands) have to leave the theater too.  Poor Paul and Matt were still a little flummoxed about it all so I have resolved to be more direct next time.

Story #2

For the past three years that we have been in our house, we have narrowly avoided frostbite in the wintertime by dealing with a barely functional heating system that has hobbled along while we have channeled our resources into the projects that were more important to us at the time (kitchen & living room remodel, bedroom remodel, landscaping projects, etc.).  We're lucky that it never actually gets cold enough for frostbite here. 

Seriously though, our entire house (including all 4 bedrooms and the main living spaces) were heated through only TWO vents.  Which is straight up nuts.  There was basically no ductwork in the house and we would have been freezing already, but on top of that, the furnace was 30 years old and only worked when you manually plugged it in to get rid of the worst of the chill, then unplugged it from the wall because otherwise it just ran and ran and ran.  Plus, it was in a little utility closet in the hallway and essentially sounded like a slightly muffled freight train whenever it was on.  We had to choose between being able to have a conversation without shouting over it or freeze our fannies off and huddle around space heaters during the winter.  (I exaggerate, but still...)

Anyway, we decided we were not going to deal with one more winter like the past ones and we contacted, like, six different heating guys to get bids.  After two days with three guys working up in our attic and around the house, we have a brand new heating system.  (And none too soon because yesterday was in the 50's and Clara and I were bundled up and keeping each other cozy reading books all afternoon waiting for them to FINALLY be finished so we could crank it up to 80 and defrost our poor toesies!)

Paul posted the following picture on Instagram but didn't really explain:

His picture was really a joke because there is a company that makes a device called The Nest which essentially reads your mind and keeps your entire house at the perfect temperature always while saving the maximum amount of energy possible, etc. 

The Nest is practically Artificial Intelligence and was invented by a bunch of people who left Apple (so while not an Apple product, it is sort of an Apple product).  Paul actually sent the photo to our buddy Jason who is 1. really into tech stuff as a former Apple guy, 2. the guy who subscribed Paul to Handyman magazine so they could geek out each month over the articles about various remodel/household projects to do, and 3. hilarious in his own right.  Jason, of course, got the joke and they proceeded to have a nerdy conversation about various efficiency related stuff, etc. afterwards.  Jason's wife, Ginny, can totally back me up on this, but let it be known that we both love that our husbands are so handy and think it is adorable that they get all enthused about this kind of stuff because ultimately we benefit from it. 

Anyway, those are my two stories about Paul lately.  I swear I have had like four or five others that I have meant to post but I can't even remember them now which is a bummer.  Is it just me or have I been super bad about blogging about this kind of random stuff like I used to or what?