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Happy Wednesday!  Can you believe October is almost over?!  I certainly can’t.  I’m excited for the upcoming weekend, too.  I’m ready for it to be Friday.

 

Breakfast before dropping Henry off at preschool:

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Eggs

Grapes

Toaster GF waffles with Pumpkin Pie Cream Cheese Dip

 

Speaking of time flying, you should see how fast the hours tick away when Henry is at school!  There’s always so much I want to do (including laying on the couch, hah) and never enough time.  My first errand of the morning was a trip to the grocery store.  Then I went to a prenatal appointment.

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Verdict:  everything is good and normal.  Baby is HEAD DOWN but legs are firmly in my side.  Maybe this kiddo will be a tall one?! 

 

Then, I got my vote on.  Very grateful that I was alone – the line was long and it took 30 minutes to vote. 

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Got my “I voted” sticker!!! <— so very motivating, right? 

 

Came home and had breakfast #2:

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And now I’m chatting with you!  <3

 

The Thermostat Wars

 

I used to post funnily-serious-but-not-actually-serious debate topics on the blog all the time (there’s a round up list at the end of the post), but haven’t for a while.  Well, I finally thought of a good topic – the thermostat wars!

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The Husband and I argue about very little.  But one major bone of contention in our marriage is the thermostat.  I swear, we’ve argued about the thermostat every fall and every spring for the last decade. 

 

I do not like a warm house.  I would rather be chilly and pull on fleece sweats and a hoodie than turn up the thermostat.  Especially at night – a warm bedroom at night is a killer.

 

The Husband hates the cold.  He wants to be able to walk around in minimal clothes and be toasty warm, even when it’s chilly outside.  He hates to be cold at night or to put on the ceiling fan.

 

So – as you can imagine, there’s a constant battle over the thermostat.  He puts it to HEAT, and I sneak downstairs and turn it back to COOL.  Or I coincide the HEAT setting but punch down the numbers… only to notice the next day that they’ve crept back up!  Hah.  It’s actually pretty comical.

 

Then, every year, we both start sending each other Internet articles to “back up” our claims (mine is that we save “soooo much mooooney” even by changing it a degree or two and his is that constantly forcing the heat to come on instead of just keeping it level burns up the cash).  We even enlisted the opinion of our HVAC guy – he said that it really just depends on the temperature in the house, the house itself, the temperature outside, etc.  And trust me – you can find articles supporting your “side” either way online, so I think unless you’re talking extremes either way, there’s no clear cut “right” answer. 

 

Do you feel strongly about the temperature, too? Are you involved in a thermostat war?  Who is winning? 

 

Other fun little controversies:

 

The Case of the Sexy Halloween Costume

The Only Child

Do Personal Records Ever Expire?

Women’s Only Races: No Men Allowed?

Who are the Hardest Working Athletes?

The Hand Sanitizer Debate

Do Dogs Belong in Bed?

Locker Room Nekkidness

The Shower Curtain Debate

The Grey Area: Are Marshmallows Vegetarian?

The Race Shirt Debate

The Great Stinky Workout Clothes Debate

The Bib Transfer/Race Bandit Debate

The Dog Poop Debate <— still my favorite, hah.

{ 48 comments }

 

  • Nicole October 29, 2014, 12:34 pm

    Ooh, that’s got to be the worst. Thankfully J and I both like to be warm, so it’s set to 72 or 74 in the winter, lol. We might even go to 76 at some point. I do dislike being warm at night, but it’s a sacrifice I have to make because our house heats unevenly. Lucy’s room gets so cold, so we run the fan at night to blow the warm air in there, or we increase the temp on the thermostat.

  • mindy @ just a one girl revolution. October 29, 2014, 12:40 pm

    Definitely a perk of living solo – I can keep it as hot or cold as I like! I don’t use my air in the summer (all I have is a super inefficient/expensive to run wall unit), but I tend to keep it on the cooler side in the winter.

  • Samantha D October 29, 2014, 12:43 pm

    There is a lot that sucks about living alone (no one to watch tv with, no one around when I’m CERTAIN there’s a ghost in the apartment, etc) but I have to say that this is one thing that I’m happy to have full control over! When I was in grad school in Scotland I lived with three other girls, and we put the heat on for two hours in the morning and two in the evening. I have always had the heat on all winter, and was shocked that people lived like that. I would much rather have spent more money to be more comfortable. It was basically torture.

  • glenneth October 29, 2014, 12:51 pm

    hubby and i are just like you and your hubby. luckily mine seems to just let me win this war. i tell him if he is cold, put more clothes on and i put plenty of quilts on his side of the bed. i would much rather be a little cold and snuggle under a quilt then burning up – especially at night.

  • Kellie October 29, 2014, 12:51 pm

    Ha! I love the thermostat wars topic! I am much more on the side of energy-saving when it comes to temperature modification. In the summer (Ohio), if we use the AC, I generally keep it set to around 78. Hubs prefers to knock it down to 72-74. Then, during the winter, I’m more prone to setting the heat to 60-64, whereas Hubs likes to bump it up to 68. I use the arguments for saving $$, as well as the argument against obesogenic environments where the body’s thermoregulation is at a minimum because the temperatures in the environment are so moderate due to AC and indoor heating. Save money, prevent obesity… win win! 🙂

  • Gena October 29, 2014, 12:52 pm

    Fortunately we don’t fight over the temp – I don’t even think we are aware. We just layer up or wear less depending on how the house feels 🙂 We do bicker about the toilet paper roll – I’m terrible at putting a new one on the roll, it takes me several tries – so I always leave it off – the Husband always wants it on.

  • Ali October 29, 2014, 1:08 pm

    My husband and I have an ongoing thermostat war… it’s usually over three degrees and it’s the one thing that we can’t compromise on! It’s a fierce, fierce battle! 🙂

  • Holly @ Happiness This Hour October 29, 2014, 1:09 pm

    I have SO missed these debates! They are always such fun topics! My husband also likes to wear minimal clothing and then complains of being cold. Drives me crazy…I’m constantly telling him to put on more clothes!

  • Anne October 29, 2014, 1:22 pm

    Ummm, no husband. Cooler is always better. I cannot sleep in a warm room. We usually only have a small thermostat battle in the summer, when Matt claims that it’s too hot. I’m with you. In the winter, I’d rather put on layers and bundle up. I was keeping my house 60-62 at night. Don’t tell your husband!

  • pablo October 29, 2014, 1:30 pm

    There is a way that you could end the discussion for good. At least where I live we have outside our house the electricity meter. You can get accurate watts usage from it.
    What you do is the following.
    Write down the number in the meter in the morning. Then do a complete week using the cold (the one you like) thermostat setting. Write the number every morning. Compute the daily average. Then do the next week using your husband’s warm setting and again compute the daily average. The lower average wins the thermostat war.
    Of course you should make sure the average outside temp was around the same for the 2 weeks.
    Regards
    Cr

  • Beks October 29, 2014, 1:38 pm

    I’m with you. I’d rather pile on the layers than be toasty warm all the time. I had a friend in college, whose dorm room was always an oven. So was her car. It was wretched.

  • Verna October 29, 2014, 1:39 pm

    I feel VERY strongly about the thermostat. Our house is usually pretty cold. I like it freezing at night with lots of blankets. Thankfully my husband is on the same boat but you should hear the inlaws complain when they come over! Haha!! When I was pregnant with my first baby I was so HOT, all. the. time!! It was about 64 in our house all winter!! It’s not that cold now that we have kids and my hormones aren’t as vicious. 🙂

  • Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed October 29, 2014, 1:47 pm

    Although I do agree that it would be more economical, I like the house warm! Hubby is always warmer than I am, so it makes sense that he would be fine with the cooler temps. I don’t have an issue layering up, but he didn’t want to turn the heat on as long as possible this fall, even when it dropped down to the 30s overnight. When I wake up and my house is 55 degrees, that is NOT ok! 68 is my sweet spot.

  • Kristen October 29, 2014, 1:49 pm

    seriously, the struggle is real. We are the opposite though, I like the heat and he likes the cold. I’m from Australia, I never had AC and I had a fan on all year round. I like 100 degree weather. He can’t stand sweating, and he can’t sleep when it’s above 73 in the house. We argue about it all the time, and he always wins because me being cold is not as uncomfortable as him sweating. Gah!

  • Nancy October 29, 2014, 1:56 pm

    I’m pretty similar with the thermostat with my husband. Except we’re the opposite. I’m almost always cold and want to crank the heat up, where he wants to be the money-saver and not. Now, if only we had a fireplace I’d be so content. Love sitting infront of a nice good fire 🙂

  • Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers October 29, 2014, 1:57 pm

    I grew up in a home where my parents were seriously engaged in an ongoing thermostat war (it still goes on to this day)! I remember always siding with my mom who liked the house cooler because I think it’s MUCH easier to throw on a sweater when you’re cold than it is to cool down when you’re hot and sweaty. Now that I’m married, Ryan loves the house cooler while I like it warmer… the only time I like things cooler is when I’m trying to get ready because blow drying your hair and trying to curl/straighten it in a HOT house = EVIL Julie comes out!

    • Caitlin L. October 29, 2014, 3:31 pm

      There is NOTHING worse than sweating while blow drying your hair. NOTHING.

      • Katrina October 30, 2014, 9:51 am

        Make sure you remember that comment in a few weeks when you’re giving birth! Nothing is worse than sweating while blow drying your hair, right? :o)

  • Danielle @ Green is the New Black October 29, 2014, 2:07 pm

    I fall somewhere in the middle on the temperature debate. I do not like to be cold, but prefer it to be cooler when it’s time to sleep for sure! We have a new baby on the way as well and I don’t look forward to those early winter nights where I feel like I have to keep the heat warmer than I’d like to make sure the little guy isn’t cold!

  • Arlene @ Adventures in Weight Loss October 29, 2014, 2:09 pm

    The Boyfriend and I were just having that argument this morning. He whined because it was “freezing” in the bedroom and I told him it’s easier to add more blankets than for me to sweat to death.

    Glad we’re not the only ones! 😀

  • Alice October 29, 2014, 2:48 pm

    My partner (we live in the UK) tries to tell me that the official goverment guidance says that the ideal room temperature is 21 degrees Celsius (69 degrees Fahrenheit, I think!) so tells me that we can’t heat our home any higher because ‘it’s against the law’ haha! I much prefer being a little more toasty, but it’s a war I’m not winning!

  • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine October 29, 2014, 2:53 pm

    I can NOT be cold, It has to be warm in the house! That’s what I’m expecting when I come in from the cold outside lol, relief!

  • Pam October 29, 2014, 3:02 pm

    I’m with the Husband on this one – I want to be able to wear a t-shirt and bare feet and be comfortable in my home, no matter what time of year (and I live in Canada) BUT I do like it to be cool at bedtime….

  • Reenie October 29, 2014, 3:06 pm

    I can’t sleep with the heat on either. I turn my thermostat down to 60 in the winter, and 70 in the summer.

    Get a mattress heater. They have dual controlled ones ~ ~ that way he can keep warm when he sleeps. 🙂

  • Caitlin October 29, 2014, 3:30 pm

    When it comes to the thermostat we just do what will save us money during each season and put on/take off clothes if need be. Our issue, is the fan. I cannot sleep in a room with zero air circulation and complete silence. I need the noise and I like feeling the air. My husband HATES it. Every so often if it’s super warm in our bedroom he’ll adjust it to cool him off and I always say, “oh now you want the fan???” he claims it makes him sick and he can’t sleep (he sleeps like the dead- no joke).

  • Traci October 29, 2014, 3:31 pm

    I am always the cold one wherever I am, but I don’t mind piling on blankets and wearing warm slippers! It’s cozier that way. :] Plus, saving on the heating bill is always a good thing.

  • Anne October 29, 2014, 5:01 pm

    Hehe, the thermostat wars are the worst! I always want to cuddle and my boyfriend seems to be permanently overheating. 😛

  • Rachel October 29, 2014, 5:51 pm

    Oh the thermostat debate! This actually isn’t much of a debate for me and my husband as we (like you) tend to prefer our house on the cooler side. However, since we moved to Phoenix last year, regulating the temperature in our house is a whole new ball of wax! When it’s 115* outside it’s really hard not to crank the AC full blast down to 65*! You kind of have to figure out how warm you’re willing to be inside, in the name of money/energy savings. During the day we’ll keep the house around 78-79, maybe even 80 if no one is home. But at night, all bets are off as we need it c-o-o-l. 72 degrees to be precise. We program our thermostats to help regulate as well as run our ceiling fans, although it’s not unusual to have a $400 energy bill in peak summer months. It’s a sickening amount of money, but the upside is we rarely ever run the heat in the “winter”.

  • Carrie (This Fit Chick) October 29, 2014, 6:16 pm

    HAHA I am SO with you! I HATE a warm house… I want to get cosy– sweats, sweaters, scarves…

  • Sophie @ Sophie Speaking October 29, 2014, 7:05 pm

    Glad to read that everything is good and well with bubba 🙂 I’m so excited to find out whether it’s a boy or girl (I think girl!) !!!

    Haha I’m a teacher and always use stickers to motivate my students, but I’m always a little bit sad when I have to give away the good ones because I secretly want to keep them for myself! Stickers for the win!

  • Joy October 29, 2014, 7:42 pm

    Ohh the thermostat…
    Jim always wants it cold I always want it hot. Our agreement is all summer he can have the ac as cold as he wants and all winter I can have the heat as hot as I want. The logic behind this is we can go outside in the summer to warm up and winter to cool down… It’s flat out ridiculous

  • Emily October 29, 2014, 8:50 pm

    Too true! But I’m the one like your husband.:)

    Thank goodness my husband and I both agree on nighttime temperature. We both like it freezing cold when we go to sleep. Whenever we are away from home, we notice how much we seem to be in the minority. I’m glad we’re well suited for each other at least for half of our time spent together!

  • Katie October 29, 2014, 10:34 pm

    Great Post! I’m a long time reader and recently (not sure if it’s just me), but whenever I look at the blog in firefox or chrome it shows an older post (today from Oct 24), but if I go in Internet Explorer I can view the new post! Just thought I’d let you know in case it’s glitch (and not just me).

    • Caitlin October 30, 2014, 8:15 am

      Try clearing your cache – in the meantime, I’ll talk to my blog guy 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!!!

  • Laura@SneakersandSpatulas October 30, 2014, 9:22 am

    I’ve missed these debates! We generally run the AC in the summer at 74 degrees and the heat in the winter at 67 degrees. I like to save money by not going to extremes with the temps! We don’t have the heat or AC running right now and it was cold the other day but I just hunkered down under the blankets to get warm, I was refusing to turn on the heat! haha. My husband is like yours, he’d prefer it to be warmer in the winter so he can just wear a tshirt in the house. I tell him it’s winter so he should dress accordingly! If he’s still cold in sweatpants and a hoodie then we’ll talk 😉

    • Diana October 30, 2014, 12:45 pm

      Thankfully we both like it cold. We are in northern NY and keep our apartment around 60-62. Definitely on the cold side! We’re out of the house most of the time and like to snuggle under blankets at night so it works.

  • Laura October 30, 2014, 9:37 am

    You forgot the To Stir or Not To Stir Hummus Debate!

  • Katie@LifesNextBigStep October 30, 2014, 10:05 am

    This is us. 100% We have The Nest, which is awesome and programmable and learns your habits and what not, but (opposite of you guys), I HATE being cold and my husband is naturally pretty warm, so we bicker on this. My most recent argument stems from watching the temperature in our daughters room. if it gets below 70, heat goes on. Above 74, AC goes on. So far, it’s working…at least for now…

  • Kim October 30, 2014, 10:21 am

    I, too, like to save money on my energy bills so we usually keep the house a little cool in the spring/fall/winter and a little warm in the summer. And both my husband and I agree that it’s better to sleep in a cool room. Last night we set the thermostat to 67 degrees and had the ceiling fan set on the lowest speed and we both slept great!

  • Karen B. October 30, 2014, 11:13 am

    I side with whoever needs it to be cooler. The person who wants to be warmer can put on a sweater and socks but the person who is too hot can’t cool off and get comfortable without it actually being cooler. I set my thermostat for 75 during the day and 72 at night in the summer and in the winter its at 62-64 all the time.

  • Bobbie October 30, 2014, 12:21 pm

    I like to be toasty during the day and not have to bundle up too much in the house. At night, however, I like it a little cooler. Luckily the husband and I agree at night but during the day I like it a little warmer than him. 4 days a week he is at the office during the day so I win but Fri-Sun it’s a bit of a battle.

  • Heidi October 30, 2014, 3:16 pm

    You are right. Husband is wrong. End of story. 🙂

  • laura leane October 30, 2014, 3:31 pm

    you’re in charge of the thermostate for november, he takes march. (no sabotage!) april, the winner will be unveiled and a thermostat rule decided. may the odds be ever in your favor.

    • Caitlin October 30, 2014, 7:24 pm

      i like this plan!

  • Rachel November 5, 2014, 8:42 pm

    Ha! I’m with you – I like to keep the place pretty cold, and then pile on the blankets. I actually was still running the A/C at night until just a week ago. Luckily I live alone so I can do whatever I (and my wallet) want. 😀

  • Stephanie @ Whole Health Dork November 6, 2014, 1:13 pm

    Haha! We are lucky to usually agree on the temp-chilly! We live in Massachusetts and keep our at 59 at night and when we’re away from home (somehow 59 sounds so much colder than 60, so that’s how we randomly came up with that number). We usually don’t turn it past 65 when we’re home, but if one of us just can’t get warm or we’ve been cooking/had a fire so the thermostat (which on a wall between the kitchen and living room) hasn’t gone off in a long time, we’ll allow the other to put it up. We can spend so much money up here in the Northeast on heating that I like to picture the savings towards a vacation during the summer (when it’s warm!).

  • Kate November 9, 2014, 11:27 pm

    http://elitedaily.com/life/science-behind-cold-sleeping/837884/

    Basically, it’s best to at least sleep without the heat on!! 🙂

  • kathy November 12, 2014, 1:38 pm

    We can’t war over our thermostat – it doesn’t work very well! We have coal heat and once the fire starts rolling, you can set the thermostat to 70 and it will keep on a blowing! It can be 90 in the house and the thermostat can be set on 70, so we mostly argue over how much wood or coal we put on the fire. I LOVE it hot – well not exactly 90, but warm (80ish) and he prefers is cool (70). I also like minimal clothes in the winter. I do like it cooler at night to sleep though, but then I have trouble getting out of bed at 5:00 in the morning when its 68 or 70 in the house. But we battle over the temperature all the time. I want to move to Florida and hubby wants to move to Alaska. Will there ever be a happy medium????

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