Sunday, November 11, 2007

Habits We Could Do Without

ANNOUNCEMENT: Cory - you have won the autographed copy of UNLUCKY! Please email me your autographing preference and mailing address at jana (at) janadeleon.com And congratulations on your win and your bad habit!

C'mon, let's admit it - we all have habits we wish we could easily shed, and it's probably a definite that if you live in the same space with another human being, they probably have some habits you could do without as well. So today, we're going to play a game. I'm going to throw out a habit I could do without (well, technically, one I wish my hubby would shed), and then I want everyone else to chime in with their own unappreciated habit (or one of those they live with). Now, I'm not talking about anything evil, or mean, or hurtful - I mean stupid things that ought not to bother us but do. I'll go first and maybe you'll get the idea.

Most women go through life hoping their husbands will learn to leave the seat down on the toilet, and that's a valid problem. After all, no one wants to stagger into the bathroom in the middle of the night and dip their hiney in cold toilet water. But at my house, I have the opposite problem. Not only does my husband leave the seat down, he puts down the lid also. So instead of a wet, cold dip, I get carpet butt when I traipse into the bathroom in the wee, dark hours of the morning.

See what I mean - no death, no tragedy, no injury to self or others - just a weird feeling that I don't necessarily like on my bare tush in the middle of the night.

Now it's your turn: what the habit you could do without?

Oh, and did I mention - all bloggers who post habits will be entered into a drawing to win an autographed copy of UNLUCKY.

Have a great Monday!

Deadly DeLeon

39 comments:

Angie Fox said...

Great question. Unfortunately, I didn't have to think long at all. My loving husband's idea of putting things away (clothes, shoes, magazines, anything) is to toss them on the floor. My kids do this too, but in all fairness, they're ages one and three.

Of course I have no annoying habits, right? Actually, I can name one easily. I like to ask questions and get into long conversations when Mizzou football is on. But, geez, an hour of football time feels like three days. And, really, they replay anything good, right?

Anonymous said...

The habit my dad has of changing the channel every time a commercial comes on. I don't think I've seen a full episode of any show I've tried to watch with him.

My annoying habit is constantly clicking my pen whenever I have it in my hand.

Anonymous said...

I was a teacher for a long time and my husband says I am still a teacher when I come home because I am always telling him what to do...and that he isn't doing it correctly! Oh well,can't break the habit and the psychologist would probably say I don't want to change.

CrystalGB said...

I hate it when my husband puts empty containers back in the fridge/cabinet.

Gemma Halliday said...

I have a friend who is constantly misusing the word literally. Drives me nuts. "I was literally racing to get there on time." Um, unless you were in the Indy 500, no, you weren't.

~Gemma

Christie Craig said...

Great post, Jane!

Okay...my hubby has a bad habit of having to come back inside after we're in the car. I tried asking before we walk out the door. "Did you forget anything? Need anything? Forget to do something, before we leave?" Doesn't work, 9 out 10 times, he still comes back inside.

Now my bad habit? Duh...I don't have one. Okay...I'm email obsessed. Gotta check it one more time before I go to bed. My hubby asks, "But who is going to email you this late and expect an answer tonight?" I always tell him, "I don't know, that's why I have to check.

Crime Scene Christie

Anonymous said...

LOL! Great habits, everybody. I, of course, am like Mary Poppins and practically perfect. And if you believe THAT I'll sell you a few bridges around the country. *g*

Does being majorly anti-social (except online) count as a bad habit? I hate when we have company. I just want people To. Leave. Me. Alone.

Jana DeLeon said...

ugh, angie - that would annoy me too.......although, it would make it impossible to vaccum. :

Jana DeLeon said...

susan - your dad and mine must be related!

But I have to admit, I'm guilty of the pen thing myself. I just LOVE those clicker pens.

Jana DeLeon said...

joye - well, some people just need constant guidance. :)

Jana DeLeon said...

crystal - ah, yes, nothing like being teased with an empty container of something you just got your taste buds set for.

Jana DeLeon said...

LOL gemma - we must have the same friend!

Jana DeLeon said...

Christie - at least yours gets out the door. Mine gets to the door, I get out, then I'm standing in the garage FOREVER. :)

LOL on the email.

Jana DeLeon said...

tori - this is just my opinion (and some might say I'm sorta bitchy), but I would never consider being anti-social a bad behavoir. :)

Cory said...

My husband does too extremely annoying things. 1st, he will get the clothes out of the dryer, but just dumps them in a pile on the futon. He won't put them away, or even halfway neatly lay them out to help with wrinkles. I have several things I end up having to iron because of this. 2nd, he refuses to put his dirty dishes in the dishwasher! Even if I tell him too while he's eating.
As for myself, I'm sure there are several. The only one that comes to mind right now is that I tend to overexplain things sometimes.

Jana DeLeon said...

cory - I HATE ironing, so that one would definitely annoy me too!

Anonymous said...

Being anti-social must be a writer thing. My parents think my anti-social habits are the most horrible thing ever. *g*

Colleen Thompson said...

I've kidnapped the batteries to the channel changer on more than one occasion because my husband's clicker habit drives me around the bend.

As for my annoying habit? Christie's e-mail checking rings an all too familiar bell. But unlike certain friends of mine, I can leave it for a few days when I go on vacation.

Unknown said...

Hey we all have our habits and I can tell you a few I live with. I am a smoker and I could do without that habit. My hubby is to but he throughs ashes everywhere but the ash tray I think. My hubby or son never puts the tolet seat down, so you always have a cold hinny in the middle of the night. This is just naming a few.

Jana DeLeon said...

Hi Colleen - Looks like the remote control habit is winning this contest of annoyance. :)

Jana DeLeon said...

Virginia - yes the ash thing would drive me nutty. It just doesn't take that much of them to streak something black.

Lucy said...

Something my friends have said it drive them nuts is I refuse to get an answering machine and I don't answer the phone. I have caller ID and I figure that will work if I want to talk to someone. Guess it goes with the "anti-social" thing that I'm seeing mentioned in the posts. ;-)

Jana DeLeon said...

Lucy - I'm pretty sure caller id was developed so I could decide whether to answer the phone or not. C'mon, what other reason could there be? With the no-call lists in effect, it's not like telemarketing is the problem it used to be.

I'm right there with you!

Shel said...

I'm not home much, so I have a tendency to let the dishes go. A glass and silverware can sit in my sink for weeks! I should be better.

Kathy Bacus said...

Annoying habits? My children never put the phones back in the chargers when they are done and I'm running through the house trying to track them down like a madwoman whenever the phone rings.

My own personal annoying habit? I start sentences and lose my train of thought and keep repeating myself but fail to complete the sentence -- or my thought. This drives my kids nuts.

~Bullet Hole~

Stacy S said...

My dh & son's one very bad habit: they take their clothes off all over the house! Drives me crazy. I have way too many to name!

Michele L. said...

My husband has many annoying habits but the one habit he has that annoys me the most is he goes dumpster diving and brings home all this junk. Some of it has been good stuff but most of it should have stayed in the dumpster! I mean we just cleaned out our attic and garage. Now he brings all this junk home to clutter it up again. ARGH!!!!!!!!

Jenyfer Matthews said...

These are all too funny!!!

The email thing...not me. Really. Honest.

My hubby? He doesn't put the empty containers back in the fridge - he leaves them out, on the counter.

Jana DeLeon said...

shel - Now that's a problem that's easily fixed unless you're really into the environment. Just buy you a stack of paper plates/cups and you're set! :)

Jana DeLeon said...

Kathy - the phone thing would definitely drive me nuts, so it seems only fair that you put something back on your kids. :)

Jana DeLeon said...

stacy - the clothes on floor habit seems to be a primarily man sort of thing, no?

Jana DeLeon said...

jenyfer - ah, the whole "it's too far to walk two paces to the trashcan" routine. Seen that one myself. :)

Jana DeLeon said...

deseng - your husband could definitely hang out with my uncle. I swear when they pass away, someone is just going to have to bulldoze the house. No one will want to move all the crap he collects.

Estella said...

I guess my brain works faster than my mouth, because I stop in the middle of a sentence and start talking about another topic. Drives my family crazy!

Enchanted by Books said...

I love every one of my fiance's annoying habits. I complain but I still love him. Let's see...

Instead of putting his soda can into the garbage, he'll set it on a table surface that is inches away from the garbage. Two more feet and it's throw out. Nope. Not with him. LOL And he leaves half drank soda cans laying around that I have to clean up.

Enchanted by Books said...

Congrats Cory on winning Unlucky!

Lily said...

Cory... you are going to love it... I just bought it and started reading it :)

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I am new here... Lila N (the nickname on this page of my daughter sent me)

I have also begun reading Unlucky and it is so funny :)

Anonymous said...

You are super generous Jana :)