Ok…here is a DH classic.
Our expensive insinkerator batch feed garbage disposal broke. New one it would have cost about $400. New part was $175. We got the new part.
Snow blower electric starter failed. New snowblower was $999. Getting it fixed was going to be $175. The place gave us $350 trade in…so we got a new snowblower.
Go ahead. Nod your heads!
To those who have lost their spouses, I am sorry and hope that you have many memories to cherish.
As for my H, who long ago lost his D for reasons he knows and I am not going to discuss in public:
He is a Facebook addict who will leave me waiting at the train station for 20 minutes while he crafts the perfect post about something that took place 40 years ago. HE works from home, when he’s not on FB.
He takes credit for every funny joke or witty statement I make and then posts it on said FB without attribution. When I complain, he says - “But you refuse to be on FB and these things are so funny they have to be shared!”
He is always late. He caught on to my 15 minutes early trick so now I vary it; sometimes, it’s 15, sometimes an hour. He never knows.
I have not had an upstairs bathroom in 8 years and my “new” kitchen cabinets are still in Ikea boxes in my LIVING ROOM since their delivery on December 15, 2014! He refuses to let me hire a contractor to finish the work. He could do it and do it beautifully, if he’d just get off FB.
He is afraid to fly and we have never been on a vacation together in 35 years of knowing each other. Unless you count a camping trip to the Hamptons as a “vacation” and I don’t.
OTOH, he is a loving father to our children, a kind and generous man to everyone but me, so who am I to complain. Plus, when my father was alive, H would talk to him when I didn’t want to, which was usually almost always.
@marian -
Your story made me very sad. For some perspective, I never call my MIL by her name. She once asked me to call her by her first name, which made me uncomfortable. Then she suggested I call her “mom” and I just couldn’t do that, either. She’s not my mom. So, now I call her “grandma,” “your mom” or “you.” I’m not happy about it but I can’t think of anything else to call her.
And nother classic…
In the winter, DH sets the thermostat to 55 at night. It’s 68 during the day. No problem.
But get this. In the summer, the AC can not be below 72 because that is “too cold”.
Nodding heads yet??
@techmom99, I also couldn’t bring myself to call my MIL “mom” (I was 42 when I married, so at that age it would have felt weird) and I did call her by her first name. But she got really upset by my referring to “MY” mom as “my mom.” She said that we were supposed to be one family now, so there isn’t any “his” mom and “her” mom business) despite the fact that DH certainly didn’t call 'my" mom “MOM” and used the term “my mom” for MIL. And also didn’t make much sense because (as is natural after a lifetime of being a mom) MIL really did pass more instant judgement on me than on DH and his sister on any given thing as of course she understood their perspective, Very different family cultures in a lot of ways, but I was not allowed to acknowledge that I was really an outsider. It got a little tightly wound. Sigh, Families. Now I look back and wonder why I didn’t just ask her point blank…well, what am I supposed to call the woman who raised me? I really feel awkward calling “that” woman by her first name, and DH didn’t call the woman who raised him by her first name either!
Let’s see, my wife of 30 years:
And I wouldn’t trade her for anyone!
I am the only SIL (Mr R is one of 3 boys) who does not call our in-laws by mom & dad. I can call people other than my parents mom and dad, but those are people who I’ve known since I was younger and really felt like second parents growing up. My in laws do not fit that criteria.
I call them by their first names. Don’t know if it bothers them. If it does, and they ever said something, I just wouldn’t call them anything.
Mr R calls my parents mom and dad. Not really sure when it happened, but before that it was first names. No one calls my parents Mr./Mrs. “Romani.” My mom especially HATES it.
In our house, H and I play a wintertime game of Thermostat Wars. He tries to keep the furnace running as much as possible and I am equally determined to keep it off for as long as possible. It’s not that I’m cheap and don’t want to pay the bill, I just can’t stand forced air heating. Absolutely hate it. Doesn’t help that I’m at that certain age where hot flashes are a problem. Growing up in NYC we had radiant heat with those old metal radiators. Loved those things but here in CA there is nothing like it. All this means that I am constantly turning the heat down shortly after he turns it up. Sigh. Three more months of this…
My husband is a great cook! But he’s a terror about making the hugest possible mess in the kitchen and using every available bowl/plate/utensil in our cupboards to make his high-maintenance dishes. The kitchen always looks like an explosion of flour, grease, sodden towels, and mixing bowls when he’s done.
As much as I enjoy his food, I’d be just fine with Kraft mac-n-cheese and no mess.
Techmom99
Is there any chance that your husband is going on a fishing or business trip soon?? Hurry up and schedule your cabinet installation in his absense. I used to have to rush some projects in my H’s absence that were not getting done.
H calls me at least 5-6 times while grocery shopping. I always give him the list, discuss every item and answer his multiple questions. Then the calls begin the minute he arrives to the store and continue until he is out the door. He wants to know what does swiss chard or legume look like, how to find the cereal aisle, what spaghetti brand to choose, do we need red or yellow tomatoes, what apple size is right, what to do if the store is out of our favorite bread, do we need more coffee etc. Mind you, our shopping list is not complicated, and we always buy similar type of food. If I cannot pick up the phone, or miss his call, he buys both choices, and doubles the amount for good measure. Then he adds a laundry detergent, paper towels, and another 10-20 items just in case. When he arrives home, it takes a looong time to unload the car and find a place for everything, and I am afraid to even look at the bill. But I appreciate him doing the shopping, so I can live with that.
Also, he has no idea how to control all house thermostats (we have many zones for cooling and heating, as well as many supplemental systems - it’s very tricky to manipulate multiple climate-controls in our old house). If he does this himself, he either manages to activate both cooling and heating systems to fight against each other, or sets up a thermostat into the lock mode, and does not know how to disable it. I am afraid that one day he may freeze to death if left home alone.
But I adore him (amongst many other things) for letting me make all the decisions about appliances, home remodeling, furniture, cars etc. Actually, he is very happy that he does not need to deal with these. And if I ever mention that I like anything, he immediately tells me to buy it. I have to be very careful not to become a spendthrift because I have no one to stop me 
H is currently in rehab after his second knee replacement surgery. I tried getting a contractor in but couldn’t find one that I could afford. H has barely worked in the 3 months since the first surgery in September so I am very cash strapped. He is self employed and has had to refer work to other attorneys which is not a good thing. As for a business trip, nope. I can barely get him into NYC.
All I can say is that he’s really lucky he’s cute!
<<<
@LuckyCharms913, our conversations go like this:
Me: What time is your flight?
DH: 7 pm.
Me: What time do you want to get to the airport?
DH: Oh, I’ve already checked in, so as long as I get there by 6, I’m good.
Me: What time are you going to leave the house?
DH: I’ll leave around 5:45.
Me: You’re giving yourself 15 minutes to get to the airport in Friday afternoon traffic, which takes 30 minutes with NO traffic?!
DH: Stop it, you’re so negative. I’ll be fine.
Phone rings at 7 pm:
DH: I missed my flight. I’m on standby for the 9 pm flight. I’ll call you when I arrive.
Me: Slamming head repeatedly on the desk: Ok. Talk to you later.
<<<<
Me: What time is your flight?
DH: 7 pm.
Me: What time do you want to get to the airport?
DH: Oh, I’ve already checked in, so as long as I get there by 6, I’m good.
Me: What time are you going to leave the house?
DH: I’ll leave around 5:45.
Me: (My newly adjusted positive self!!!) That’s great! It’s enough time for you to be there for the later standby flight.
LOL @mom2collegekids. Good plan.
@mom2collegekids, HAHAHAHA good one!
Anytime there is music on, and that’s often, my husband has to play the “drums” on any surface close by, including is own knees. Drives me bonkers! He plays guitar in a basement/garage jazz band but I think he’s a drummer wannabe. He also leaves every door and cabinet open. I swear I walk around my house, pushing chairs back in, closing cabinets, and making sure lights are off. Apparently I traded my two kids for another older one when we married four years ago 
Lol on the flights; that’s me. My assistant always asks, are you sure you don’t want me to BOOK you on the later flight since that’s the one you’ll be taking anyway? My answer is NOOO … Just make sure never to book me on the last flight.
Well, I’m not married, but you just described my mom. 
It’s beyond annoying to go home for the holidays and freeze my butt off at night. You would think that I would be used to it after 5 winters in New England.
My husband has a problem with correct priorities (in my opinion). Here we are- frantically getting ready for Christmas and some company. Trying to get cards out, buy stamps, wrap things etc. What better time to make re-wrapping the cat scratching post a top priority?
Pet peeves? What am I, crazy? My wife is Perfect!