Happy Valentine's Day? Hell Yes!

This year, Bubba and I are gifting each other a whole house humidifier and air scrubber installation for Sandra Place. I know. So romantic, right? Seriously, I’m so excited about getting this humidifier. There isn’t enough moisturizer on this whole damn planet to sufficiently moisturize my dry-ass skin! I drink tons of water, but it’s not enough. At this point, I could be in a commercial singing “I heard it through the Grape Vine.”

When we bought Sandra Place, our builder said, “get a humidifier” but we didn’t listen. Scandia Circle was old, leaky, moldy and humid as a Louisiana swamp, so we were not overly anxious to add a humidifier to our brand new house.  We have an annual HVAC service contract that includes twice-yearly relative humidity testing. Every check-up, the tests have shown that our humidity levels are “a little low.” Each time, the service tech has suggested we install a humidifier. And we’ve promptly tossed the humidifier brochure as soon as the tech exited the house.

We had no idea that the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers recommends a relative humidity level between 45-55 percent for optimal comfort (and maximum HVAC efficiency).  Health experts recommend a range of 35-45 percent, as low humidity levels have a variety of negative health effects, like constant sinus issues, migraines and prolonged flu and colds (yes, yes and yes).

Therefore, during this winter’s check-up, when our HVAC tech told us Sandra Place’s relative humidity was 19 percent, Bubba didn’t say “no thanks” straight away. He mentioned our intense aversion to mold spores and my allergies. In response, our tech thoughtfully mentioned that adding an UV Air Scrubber would improve my allergies AND kill off potential mold spores.

So then, Bubba rolled with “cleaning out the humidifier is a pain in the ass,” and our tech came back with “we’ll clean and maintain your humidifier during our regular service check-up, for an additional $75 a year.” And Bubba said  “SOLD!” Happy Valentine’s Day to us! However, an HVAC upgrade isn’t a terribly romantic gift, so I worked up a little something extra for Bubba.

Thank You!

For bringing me coffee in bed, every day.
Because five o’clock is too damn early, and I am not a morning person.

For driving to work, every day. Because DC traffic is nightmarish,
and Rush Hour makes me crazy.

For door-to-door- service, every day.
Because our offices are six blocks apart, and we park in your building.

For your immutable commitment, every day, to the long-term plan. Because aging broke sucks, and we might live to 100.

For filling my every day, with irreverent humor, and persistant optimism.
Because life before you was awful, and life since you is amazing.