Hibernation in Howard County

Why can't people be like bears and other smart animals? Why can't we hibernate in winter?

Maybe, being an intelligent (okay, most of the time!) mammal, I could just move to a warmer climate, where I wouldn't shiver all day long when the temperatures don't climb above freezing. Despite the fact that I become a tiny little furnace while I am sleeping, I am a rather cold person while I'm awake. Just another reason why a long winter slumber would be beneficial!

However, I am rather attached to Howard County and the surrounding areas. I grew up here, the large majority of my family and friends are here, and the diversity and mostly liberal nature is comforting. (In other words, for that last part, Casey and I don't get nearly as many strange looks when we're holding hands in Target than if we were in a more southern state!)

So, for my love of Howard County (and Casey's ability to get government contractor jobs), we'll remain in a region where we suffer through a few months of cold weather. I'll continue to shiver (and probably complain about it), and go to bed very early every night. And, once in awhile, I'll rejoice in the beauty of snow, and perhaps a Snow Day off work!

Are You Smarter Than A Thermostat?

Sometimes I feel like I'm in one of those movies where the technology and machines have a mind of their own... My thermostat should have been named Hal.

In our new home, we have a "smart" thermostat. Now, don't get me wrong, I appreciate this new, high-tech thermostat. Especially when compared to our old apartment one, which was basically the first thermostat ever made with the invention of central heating. With that dinosaur, there were two settings: 60 degrees or 90 degrees, which made for enjoyable bills from BGE.

This new thermostat allows you to program four daily settings for different temperatures: wake, leave, return, sleep. Love it! No more forgetting to turn down the heat during the day!

An important thing to note is that Casey and I have VERY different ideas of comfortable temperatures. At night, she likes to be toasty warm and keep the same temperatures that we had during the day. I, on the other hand, like it to be cool (with the ceiling fan going!) so that I can snuggle deep into my cozy down comforter. My way has won out by my argument of "You can wear warmer clothes to bed, but I can't wear cooler clothes."

With that being said, Casey hates to wake up to a freezing cold house (re: 68 degrees). When I wake up, I am boiling hot and enjoy the cooler house. However, to be kind, I thought I would set the wake temp setting for 71 degrees at 5:30, when Casey has to get up. I didn't realize the thermostat was intelligent...It monitors how long it takes for your house to heat to the set temperature based on the outside temperature.

Therefore, on those freezing cold mornings (outside), I was being woken by scalding hot air that the ceiling fan was pummeling onto me from the ceiling vent directly above my side of the bed at 4:30 in the morning.

I tried to trick it by moving the wake setting to 6:00, 6:15, 6:30... but it's out to get me. It seems like however late I push it back, Hal keeps starting the heating process at 5:30, when I still have an hour to sleep. So, what's better, paying $250 per month to heat a tiny apartment or saving half of that to be roasted in the morning? I'll take the cheaper option, but I'm determined to be smarter than my thermostat!

My Dog is an Evil Genius

I feel like I'm stuck in a riddle, only I don't know the answer! "How do you keep a dog off the couch?" It seems like it shouldn't be that hard, but our Little Monster, Watson, keeps one-upping us every step of the way.

At our old apartment, Watson was locked in a room all day while we weren't home. Granted he wasn't in a crate, but he didn't get to play with the cats. (And for those who don't know our dog... he has a cross-species homosexual love with one of our cats and they hate to be separated!) When we moved to the new house, we decided that Watson should have more freedom during the day. My only stipulation... he is NOT allowed on couches or beds.

The beds were an easy fix - just shut the doors. The couch has proven more difficult...

Some ingenious methods that we have tried:

• Laying objects on the cushions (he just throws them to the floor)
• Pushing the coffee table against the couches (he climbed around them)
• Putting a stand-alone gate in the living room doorway (he pushed it through the door - despite the promise of NO SKID rubber feet...)
• Putting a stand-alone gate on the outside of the doorway (he pushed it sideways - again, rubber feet do skid)
• Surrounding the aforementioned skid-proof gate with chairs (he pushed the gate and climbed through the chairs)
• Reinforcing the gate and chairs with a 40 pound box of litter and 50 pound tub of dog food (and of course... he broke out his dog-hulk muscles, and pushed everything out of the way)

Originally, we bought a stand-alone (very pretty, brown-black wood) because I didn't want things screwed into our walls. Well, I abandoned my cares about defacing our walls after rolling and vaccuming the couch, and cleaning all of the dog slobber off of it.

Yesterday, Casey installed large, sturdy eye-hooks into the walls. This morning, I left for work after setting up the gate with bungee cords attaching it to the wall. I tested it by pushing on it and chuckled to myself with confidence - finally blocking Watson from the living room! I spent all day at work, flying high, knowing that my couches were safe from doggie drool!

Oh, but I underestimated the siren call of the couch to our dog... He pushed and pushed on the gate until he snapped the bungee cords, and took a victory nap on the couch, as well as on my brand new blanket to rub it in even further.

What next in this puzzle... Any ideas!?!

It's Been Awhile...

I haven't blogged in almost a year, since I've abandoned my MySpace blog. I miss it, and oddly enough, other people tell me that they miss it too. Reading my posts, I mean. Facebook doesn't necessarily set itself up to create blogs, so I thought I'd give Blogspot a try. I subscribe to several friends and strangers blogs, and it's always fun to get the RSS indicator that there is something new to read.

It's a new year, and I figure I'll give it another shot - putting my mindless babble out there for the world to read. I guess I don't really have a purpose in blogging, at least not to some specialized topic. For me, rambling and stream of consciousness always worked. I see a lot of movies and read a lot of books, so I suppose I can put my opinions out there on those topics. Mostly, I guess, I miss writing, and when I blog, as I sit in my basement, feet propped up on my desk, looking up at the pictures of my family and friends hung above my computer screen... well, it makes me feel good.

Here's to 2010, my new blog, and to the random friends and strangers who might take a peek into my thoughts!