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Picture taken by my friend Cyndi Leos....thank you Cyndi.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Updates and The Fine Line of Negotiations Within a Marriage...

I finally discovered the problem I was having with my CPAP sleep apnea mask...I had the nasal pillows in backwards.  No wonder they didn't fit right!  Since turning them around I have slept like a baby the past three nights!  I plan on taking it with me this weekend when I go visit the grand kids and my two daughters...

I adjusted the mask, removing the hose going between my eyes and fastening on top of my head,  to allow it to swing freely from the bottom of the nasal pillows.  I find it much easier to read at night and it still stays out of my way when I sleep...

We plan on visiting family this weekend, so I know the 8 year old and the 6 year old grand sons will get a good laugh when they come to wake me early to make them their special french toast...I will tell them it is similar to the masks worn by the jet pilots...then they will think it is cool....

 Well...it kinda' looks like one....


My husband and I are... shall I say,  STILL "negotiating" about which bills to cut back on.  He has no problem with reducing the services on the phone...but our DISH channels and learning to use the "timer" to automatically turn off the TV, saving electricity when he falls asleep, is a whole different situation!


We have always had a "difference of opinion" on the subject of thriftiness and decorating:

His definition of thriftiness:  Find what you like and pay whatever it costs. He does not believe in "second hand" anything. Spend less money driving around to find the best price.

My definition of thriftiness:  Take the time to do my research.  Check various stores websites, newspaper for "gently used" furniture options, check out stores to see the items in person, measure, and decide on what we like and best bargain.

In all my life, I have NEVER had a man care about sticking his two cents in on what furniture I buy, where I put it, or how often I want to move it...until, I married my husband!  When we went to buy furniture for our house, we left early in the morning and arrived at a particular store (who will be nameless, and it no longer in business by the way...) and began to look.... (course, being a man, he was "on the hunt"...)

I must admit, the prices were good, but I did not want to get the first thing we saw... HE found our bedroom set, - Queen sized bed, frame, dresser with mirror and two side tables, all in oak, dining room set - dining room table with leaf, six chairs and double hutch, family room set - love seat, couch with double recliner, coffee table and end tables.

When I said I wanted to look some more...else where, he promptly sat down and began to pontificate on why this was such a good "deal", we did not need to look further and why didn't I like it...

We had been in the store since it opened.  It was way past lunch and I was starving to death and very thirsty.  He knew that, it was part of his strategy.  Wear me down, get me good and hungry, and I will agree to anything...

So that is how we got all our furniture...  

Just hanging pictures was another "discussion"...


I am very creative with arranging a collage of photos...but he believes there should only be one framed picture or painting per wall.  By this time, I was wise to his plan, so after a couple of hours of "fake fighting", I relented, let him hang everything where he wanted it and then when he went to work, I changed it to how I liked it.

When he came home, of course he was upset, he pouted, he threatened to sell the house...(yes, that is what he said....LOL), I quietly, sadly, looked at him with my big blue eyes and asked why he did not like my decorating talents... after all, I just wanted to make a cozy home for us...(sniff, sniff)... If he really didn't like it, he could help me fill in all the holes, and I would change it back...

And that is how THAT battle was won... (big, huge, proud, female smile...)

8 comments:

Jeanie said...

Sounds like Doc and I when it comes to painting walls. His mantra is "what's wrong with white?" The good news is if I can get something painted when he is not around he probably won't even notice.

Teresa said...

LOL - that cracks me up. Ron doesn't care what I hang or how I hang it. In three years, I've hung a clock. Period. He hung a picture of me (one of those places that dress you up and take "sexy" photos of you). I did end up hanging a couple of things in the 2nd bedroom but just because I didn't want them standing against the wall. We won't have many holes to fill when we leave.

DJan said...

Oh, Donna... I live with a man who doesn't feel anything should be any heavier than something I (or he) could move by ourselves. No heavy wooden furniture, only light portable things. I really don't mind, because I also like a sparse look.

But I do require a need to hang things on the wall, and he's relented, although I don't think it would have worked if I had let him hang the stuff first. Very good job here! Wonderful tactics of how to work together with someone totally different. I've taken note...

betty said...

glad you figured out the mask for your CPAP, Donna and that you got 3 good nights of sleep! I bet your grandchildren will get a kick out of pilot Grandma!! How neat though you make them their special french toast they like!!

LOL, men and women trying to get along and negotiate. I remember it was always a struggle to get hubby to put up Christmas lights outside year after year when the kids were younger, he always did it but it was such a big to do, lots of "drama" associated with it. I decided one year not to ask for outside lights at Christmas. And I didn't. Wouldn't you know it? He kept asking if we were going to do it and I said "nope, not this year". Never complained again in the following years :)

betty

J.B. Chicoine said...

Donna, what a charming post. I can relate on several levels, especially regarding thriftiness and shopping around. Personally I hate shopping of any kind, so if I'm going to engage in it, I want a bargain! I too, love yard sales and thrift stores--fortunately, so does my sweetie.

Since we are both artists, probably the biggest 'contention' we have is, who's paintings get hung where. Wall space is a rare and precious commodity in our house. He, with his big oil portraits, is undeniably the wall hog, and my modest watercolors have to fit in around his. If we stuck to the one painting per wall, we'd need a hundred-room house, lol!

Chatty Crone said...

I have to tell you I am living your life with you right now girl. I kind of let him do his thing too and then move it when I can. Teehee Oh this is too too funny,

sandie♥

Linda Hoye said...

I'm out blog hopping today and came across yours. Thank you for making me smile!

gayle said...

I am so glad you are liking your cpap machine. My husband didn't take his to CA because he didn't want to take it on the airplane and he missed it.

I have never been around a man that cared about decorating etc until my daughter married her husband. She's having a pretty hard time with it because her dad just went along with anything I wanted.