Television madness

When Patrick moved out I was able to unload some furniture that I wasn't particularly fond of. It's just a coincidence that it was Jim's sectional and Jim's dining room set. I don't really care what we replace the sectional with since it's in the basement but I've already picked out the dining room set I want. It's beautiful! I told Jim a few weeks ago that I found the set I wanted but he wasn't real eager to go see it. You see, he's been pricing televisions for over 6 months. He decided that we needed a bigger screen. He also decided (even though I very much objected) that we should have the TV installed over the fireplace. I personally think a fireplace mantel should be decorative and if you have a TV over it how can you have candlesticks, plants, clocks, etc. on it? So, here we go again - another battle I was going to lose. Much like the one where he mounted a 20-year old baseboard heater on the wall in the bedroom downstairs! It seems to me that he was much more agreeable and obedient before we got married!

So he went shopping a couple of weeks ago to get the best deal he could - going from one store to another until he felt he got the best bargain. It took him hours and he must've called me 5 times throughout the afternoon to update me on his progress. When he finally came home, he said he got the best deal, he requested to talk to the manager, etc. and got another $100 off. I think he must've taken lessons from Butch! Anyway, he also told me that the bracket to mount the TV on was $150 plus another $500 for installation! Can you believe that? What a rip-off! I continued to protest the inevitible TV over the fireplace and pointed out that the eyeball lights would be useless because we wouldn't be able to have them on with the TV there. I wasn't fighting real hard because Jim can be very stubborn and it's just not worth it.

Well it just so happened that Jim was home sick from work for 2-1/2 days last week so he had plenty of couch time. When I came home from work one night, he told me he decided that he didn't want to put the TV over the fireplace. He grudgingly admitted that I was right and he didn't want to have to move lights nor be unable to use them. Plus he wasn't thrilled with having to run wiring down the wall. So before he could change his mind we immediately went to Best Buy to take the mounting bracket back and cancel the installation. He got an amazing $684 back! I told him that would be more than enough for a TV cabinet that I would pick out! So we went to a few furniture stores, I found the perfect cabinet and everyone's happy now.

I know what's going to happen next. When I'm ready for the dining room set he's going to baulk because we (HE) just bought a new television...

Super Tuesday Birthday

Every year I brag to Jim about how many birthday cards I get compared to the number he receives on his birthday. I'm not very happy to report that I only received 3 in the mail this year and one was from our financial advisor. I also received 4 with gifts and one from my co-workers.

Here's the outcome of my birthday well-wishers:

Happy Birthday cards = 8
Happy Birthday e-mails = 10
Happy Birthday e-card = 1
Birthday presents = 6
Birthday presents outstanding = 2
Happy Birthday phone calls = 0 (but it's still early!)

Not a bad year, huh?

I guess this proves that although my age may be getting up there, I'm still a big baby.