Why this winter will not suck as much as last

I hate the cold. Jeff and I are both really big babies about winter. We spent like five straight months complaining to each other last year.

Oh, this year will have its moments. Moments where we wonder why we live in this God-forsaken arctic tundra. Why ANYone lives here. I mean, don't you know it doesn't get this cold other places? Just move already!

Basically, no matter where you go, people adapt. People adapt to Texas by air conditioning everything. Here, you shrink wrap your windows and use space heaters, and only live in half your house half the year, because it costs too much money to heat the entire thing.

Here is how Jeff and I are adapting:

1. Electric blanket - Jeff and I were on a pretty strict budget last year and one thing we didn't splurge on was an electric blanket. This year we're doing a little better, so I got one a few weeks ago. Oh, sweet heavenly heated blankets. May God bless the person who invented them and also the person who made mine and also the person who brought it to me, etc. Looking back, I see this should have been a necessary purchase last year. And the dual controls are nice since Jeff and I don't go to bed at the same time very often.

2. A heater that works - Last year, we had problems with our heat. It would blow hot until it was almost the desired temperature and then it would blow ice cold. That sucked. When it started to blow cold, we'd just turn the thing off, which meant that overnight, it would get pretty cold in the house. It's hard to go take a shower in a bathroom that is 55 degrees. But last week we had a guy come look at our system. Turns out, we had a heat pump thermostat, which he said was wrong so he changed it and now it's fine. No more cold. Also, this thermostat is PROGRAMMABLE, which means that it starts to heat up the house about 30 minutes before I get up. Nice.

These are simple but effective ways to decrease my displeasure this winter and will likely result in the number of complaints uttered in this house being reduced by at least 20%. Which will make life better for my husband.