This has taken me some time to finish but I feel the time was well worth it. Daniel and I worked on it together. For any of you who haven't done this yet, I strongly encourage you to. It was loads of fun!
What’s his name? Daniel (no official middle name, but it's Othello to us) [ For the record, she chose the middle name, not me! I told her that if her compulsion to use middle names in anger required me to have one, it should at least make my initials spell something useful. For a brief moment, I was nearly "Ignatio." At any rate, you can put your Shakespeare analysis away; no homicides are planned. -- DG]
How long have you been together? Since 1992. 3 1/2 years dating. 12 years of marriage. Wow! That's 15 1/2 years. That's half my life! [ And not quite half of mine. Which means that she's been with me longer than I've been with her! -- DG]
How long did you date? Daniel and I started dating when I was 15 and he was 19. I think we had both just turned those ages around the time we met. So that means that we dated for 3 1/2 years.
How old is he? 34
Who eats more? I don't know for sure. Probably him. He eats more at meals but I bet I snack a lot more during the day.
Who said I love you first? Daniel. We were at Daniel's Grandparents home in the "Blue Room". We were sitting on the blue couch. I don't think we were talking much (we were still too new to the whole relationship thing. Remember I was only 15 and Daniel was afraid of girls). Mostly we were just holding hands being near each other. When very gently Daniel leaned over and said it. I was so happy that tears came to my eyes and I threw myself at Daniel, saying "I love you too" in the process. Somehow in the confusion Daniel missed my words and spent the next several minutes trying to figure out what my reaction meant. [ I think that was the first time I really understood what a "cold sweat" was. -- DG]
Who is taller? Daniel at 6 ft. I'm only 5'6" (even though in my dreams I'm 5'8). [ We're both pretty sure this is due to a childhood hormone deficiency. Robin really was intended to be two inches taller. True story: when I was 15 I had a dream about my future wife. I didn't remember the dream until we'd been dating for three months, at which point it came back in total clarity: it was Robin to a tee. That two inches was the only thing missing. -- DG]
Who is smarter? No question there. It's Daniel by a long shot. But I will admit in the wisdom department we're about even (on some things anyways). And when you talk common sense, there is no contest (what guy could win that contest I ask you?). [ I could argue the "common sense" thing, but that would just prove her point, wouldn't it? (And probably disprove her initial answer, too.) -- DG]
Who does laundry? It used to be me, but now it's my mom (am I lucky or what?).
Who does the dishes? The whole family takes a part in it (If I'm being totally honest, my mom does them the most often. It's Christopher and Kira's job to unload. Daniel and I rinse and load some of the times, but really, dirty dishes in the sink seems to bother my mom more than either of us. Not that I'm complaining).
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? That depends on which side is closer to the door. Daniel always sleeps on the side next to the door. It's a protection thing. Ever since we got married Daniel has liked sleeping next to the door because then if there was ever an intruder they would reach him first (I think it's romantic).
Who pays the bills? I do.
Who mows the lawn? We take turns. We both really enjoy the way it feels when we are all done. Daniel is very meticulous about it. He is reluctant to start but once he gets going he can be a little obsessive about it. He likes to mow in diagonal lines, so that when he is finished the lawn is striped like a barber pole. I on the other hand mow any way that suits me at the moment, usually changing directions several times during one mowing. It's beautiful when Daniel's done, when I do it, it just gets done. [And, truth be told, more often. -- DG]
Who cooks dinner? This is my job. I love to do it (most nights). Cooking is one of my passions. I would get more pleasure out of it if my kids appreciated it more, but that's probably expecting to much. Daniel is great at fixing cold cereal and pretty good at nachos. Anything above that causes him a little anxiety. On a side note: Daniel use to be an incredibly picky eater but when we got married he promised me that he would at least try everything that I made (is that love or what?). Over the years he has developed a wide range of tastes and I am so proud of him. (There have been times when I don't even what to eat what I have cooked and yet he still won't turn his nose up at it.) [ Small personal triumph: I once completely failed to burn water. -- DG]
Who drives when you are together? Sometimes Daniel and other times me. On long trips I do most of the driving because it suits me better. I get really car sick so all the turning around to take care of kiddos just doesn't work for me. So Daniel takes the hard task of dealing with them while I get the peace of the road. [ I also get to read out-loud more often for those times when we agree on a book to pass the time. -- DG]
Who is more stubborn? That would have to be me. I can be so bullheaded at times (big shocker huh?)
Who kissed who first? Honestly I can't remember but Daniel can so I'll let him tell it. [ Huh. I'll be the first to tell you that my memory is a little strange. As I recall, it went something like this (cue Peter Falk):
Oops. Wrong story. I'm sure there were no Sicilians or 6-fingered men involved. Pretty sure.
Really, though, Robin's much better at setting the context of a story. I remember a dark night in a park, the hum of a too-bright street lamp and its attendant moths, the smooth-ridged-smooth pattern of the aluminum picnic table (slightly chilly, which is why I'm shaking), the creak of the merry-go-round that her friends are using to pretend they don't notice we've wandered, the perfect fit between the ridge of her jaw and my ring finger, the whisper of hair on my earlobe, the desperate cardiac flailing that turns my nonchalance to vertigo, the smell of leaves and loaves and loves and laughter, a sudden whirling sense of depth, and a small, warm and silent moment.
It's pretty much like that every time. -- DG]
Who asked out who first? What on a date? No, we didn't do things that way (Probably because I was only 15 and I wasn't allowed to "date" until I was 16. Of course I moved out on my own when I was 16 and I think that wasn't allowed either). We went out plenty of times but there was never a 1st date. I do remember the first time he paid for my dinner. It really freaked me out actually (that age thing again). I had this idea that if he paid for me, I in some way owed him something and I also felt like it took away some of my independence. One of my friends forcefully tried to set me straight, warning me that I was going to screw up a good thing if I didn't cool it with that kind of thinking. So I listened to her and have been hopelessly dependent on him ever since. [ I don't think you can call it "hopelessly dependent" if the one you're supposed to be depending on still needs help picking a tie that doesn't make people sick, and has to call you up for directions to a place less than 10 miles from home. Just hypothetically, of course. -- DG]
Who proposed? Daniel. We had known for a long time before the actual event that we were going to get married. We had gone out looking for rings several weeks before he actually proposed. I had shown him two or three different rings that I liked but I wanted him to be the one who actually picked it out.
We were on the USU campus getting our engagement pictures taken when the photographer had me sit on a small stone bench. He told Daniel to kneel down by my side as if he were proposing. The photographer asked me if I said "yes" right away when Daniel asked me to marry him. I laughed and then turned towards him to explain that he had never officially asked me. When I turned back towards Daniel he had a tiny black ring box open with my ring inside. "Will you marry me" he said. It was great. How many couples have a professional picture of the actual proposal? (On a side note, when we went back to the studio to look at the proofs, that picture wasn't with the group. We asked his assistant what happened and she told us that she had taken it out because my foot was blurred. Lucky she still had the negatives. That picture was our personal favorite, blurred foot and all). [ "All" here also includes a couple of atrocious sweaters, some bad hair, and a couple of baby-faced kids who have no business looking as happy and in love as they do. Here in 2008, though, a couple of things have changed: I'm no longer baby-faced, and Robin has some very nice sweaters. -- DG]
Who has more siblings? I do. I have 1 brother and 3 sisters. Daniel has 1 sister and 1 brother. It's interesting to note that neither of us have a full blood sibling. Not that that matters in the slightest, it's just interesting.
Who wears the pants in the family? What does that mean now a days anyways? If you want to know who runs the family, well that answer is just like most of the rest, "We both do". Daniel and I almost always share the same values, same parenting styles, same pants (no just kidding). [ I will say that she looks a great deal better in my pants than I look in hers. -- DG]
As I've been answering these questions I've noticed that when I was tagged the questions and answers were all about me. However now that I am doing a "tagged" blog about Daniel the questions are mostly about "us". So here is some info just about Daniel.
5 things he would do with 6 weeks off of work:
1. Read. A lot.
2. Begin building a metal shop from scratch.
3. Take the family to the beach. Three weeks in the sun and sand sounds about right. See item #1.
4. Visit family and friends in Utah, and get in some training time, too.
5. Work on some pet projects.
5 things he wants to do (well) before he dies:
1. Speak a foreign language (probably Chinese)
2. Play piano
3. Dance the waltz
4. Publish something worth reading
5. Create something worth passing on
5 things people don't know about him:
1. He didn't know how to tie his own shoes until he was 13. [ It's true! She still says I do it funny. -- DG]
2. He did a recording session with the guy who was the lead sound engineer for Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
3. He worked at a 5-star resort, and enjoys describing the job as "telling people where to go, and what to do when they got there."
4. He once seriously considered moving to Ohio and studying honest-to-goodness authentic ninjutsu with the only authorized American teacher of this misunderstood discipline. Luckily, he got married instead.
5. He once lost an entire toenail. He considers himself lucky, and is very careful around horses now.
5 of his best traits:
1. He's not afraid of working hard.
2. He is quick to apologize and even quicker to forgive.
3. He is non judgmental
4. He loves to make others laugh (and he's very good at it too).
5. He is strong enough to lead our family with a gentle hand, and humble enough to let God lead him.
5 things I love about him:
1. The way he is with our children. The way he plays, teaches, directs, inspires, loves them.
2. How, no matter how late he has stayed up, he always gets up with the kids.
3. How he has taken care of, and kept alive the little bamboo plant that Momi gave me 5+ years ago.
4. How when I need to let off steam he lets me, even if it is hard on him.
5. The way he loves me unconditionally.
How long have you been together? Since 1992. 3 1/2 years dating. 12 years of marriage. Wow! That's 15 1/2 years. That's half my life! [ And not quite half of mine. Which means that she's been with me longer than I've been with her! -- DG]
How long did you date? Daniel and I started dating when I was 15 and he was 19. I think we had both just turned those ages around the time we met. So that means that we dated for 3 1/2 years.
How old is he? 34
Who eats more? I don't know for sure. Probably him. He eats more at meals but I bet I snack a lot more during the day.
Who said I love you first? Daniel. We were at Daniel's Grandparents home in the "Blue Room". We were sitting on the blue couch. I don't think we were talking much (we were still too new to the whole relationship thing. Remember I was only 15 and Daniel was afraid of girls). Mostly we were just holding hands being near each other. When very gently Daniel leaned over and said it. I was so happy that tears came to my eyes and I threw myself at Daniel, saying "I love you too" in the process. Somehow in the confusion Daniel missed my words and spent the next several minutes trying to figure out what my reaction meant. [ I think that was the first time I really understood what a "cold sweat" was. -- DG]
Who is taller? Daniel at 6 ft. I'm only 5'6" (even though in my dreams I'm 5'8). [ We're both pretty sure this is due to a childhood hormone deficiency. Robin really was intended to be two inches taller. True story: when I was 15 I had a dream about my future wife. I didn't remember the dream until we'd been dating for three months, at which point it came back in total clarity: it was Robin to a tee. That two inches was the only thing missing. -- DG]
Who is smarter? No question there. It's Daniel by a long shot. But I will admit in the wisdom department we're about even (on some things anyways). And when you talk common sense, there is no contest (what guy could win that contest I ask you?). [ I could argue the "common sense" thing, but that would just prove her point, wouldn't it? (And probably disprove her initial answer, too.) -- DG]
Who does laundry? It used to be me, but now it's my mom (am I lucky or what?).
Who does the dishes? The whole family takes a part in it (If I'm being totally honest, my mom does them the most often. It's Christopher and Kira's job to unload. Daniel and I rinse and load some of the times, but really, dirty dishes in the sink seems to bother my mom more than either of us. Not that I'm complaining).
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? That depends on which side is closer to the door. Daniel always sleeps on the side next to the door. It's a protection thing. Ever since we got married Daniel has liked sleeping next to the door because then if there was ever an intruder they would reach him first (I think it's romantic).
Who pays the bills? I do.
Who mows the lawn? We take turns. We both really enjoy the way it feels when we are all done. Daniel is very meticulous about it. He is reluctant to start but once he gets going he can be a little obsessive about it. He likes to mow in diagonal lines, so that when he is finished the lawn is striped like a barber pole. I on the other hand mow any way that suits me at the moment, usually changing directions several times during one mowing. It's beautiful when Daniel's done, when I do it, it just gets done. [And, truth be told, more often. -- DG]
Who cooks dinner? This is my job. I love to do it (most nights). Cooking is one of my passions. I would get more pleasure out of it if my kids appreciated it more, but that's probably expecting to much. Daniel is great at fixing cold cereal and pretty good at nachos. Anything above that causes him a little anxiety. On a side note: Daniel use to be an incredibly picky eater but when we got married he promised me that he would at least try everything that I made (is that love or what?). Over the years he has developed a wide range of tastes and I am so proud of him. (There have been times when I don't even what to eat what I have cooked and yet he still won't turn his nose up at it.) [ Small personal triumph: I once completely failed to burn water. -- DG]
Who drives when you are together? Sometimes Daniel and other times me. On long trips I do most of the driving because it suits me better. I get really car sick so all the turning around to take care of kiddos just doesn't work for me. So Daniel takes the hard task of dealing with them while I get the peace of the road. [ I also get to read out-loud more often for those times when we agree on a book to pass the time. -- DG]
Who is more stubborn? That would have to be me. I can be so bullheaded at times (big shocker huh?)
Who kissed who first? Honestly I can't remember but Daniel can so I'll let him tell it. [ Huh. I'll be the first to tell you that my memory is a little strange. As I recall, it went something like this (cue Peter Falk):
Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.
Oops. Wrong story. I'm sure there were no Sicilians or 6-fingered men involved. Pretty sure.
Really, though, Robin's much better at setting the context of a story. I remember a dark night in a park, the hum of a too-bright street lamp and its attendant moths, the smooth-ridged-smooth pattern of the aluminum picnic table (slightly chilly, which is why I'm shaking), the creak of the merry-go-round that her friends are using to pretend they don't notice we've wandered, the perfect fit between the ridge of her jaw and my ring finger, the whisper of hair on my earlobe, the desperate cardiac flailing that turns my nonchalance to vertigo, the smell of leaves and loaves and loves and laughter, a sudden whirling sense of depth, and a small, warm and silent moment.
It's pretty much like that every time. -- DG]
Who asked out who first? What on a date? No, we didn't do things that way (Probably because I was only 15 and I wasn't allowed to "date" until I was 16. Of course I moved out on my own when I was 16 and I think that wasn't allowed either). We went out plenty of times but there was never a 1st date. I do remember the first time he paid for my dinner. It really freaked me out actually (that age thing again). I had this idea that if he paid for me, I in some way owed him something and I also felt like it took away some of my independence. One of my friends forcefully tried to set me straight, warning me that I was going to screw up a good thing if I didn't cool it with that kind of thinking. So I listened to her and have been hopelessly dependent on him ever since. [ I don't think you can call it "hopelessly dependent" if the one you're supposed to be depending on still needs help picking a tie that doesn't make people sick, and has to call you up for directions to a place less than 10 miles from home. Just hypothetically, of course. -- DG]
Who proposed? Daniel. We had known for a long time before the actual event that we were going to get married. We had gone out looking for rings several weeks before he actually proposed. I had shown him two or three different rings that I liked but I wanted him to be the one who actually picked it out.
We were on the USU campus getting our engagement pictures taken when the photographer had me sit on a small stone bench. He told Daniel to kneel down by my side as if he were proposing. The photographer asked me if I said "yes" right away when Daniel asked me to marry him. I laughed and then turned towards him to explain that he had never officially asked me. When I turned back towards Daniel he had a tiny black ring box open with my ring inside. "Will you marry me" he said. It was great. How many couples have a professional picture of the actual proposal? (On a side note, when we went back to the studio to look at the proofs, that picture wasn't with the group. We asked his assistant what happened and she told us that she had taken it out because my foot was blurred. Lucky she still had the negatives. That picture was our personal favorite, blurred foot and all). [ "All" here also includes a couple of atrocious sweaters, some bad hair, and a couple of baby-faced kids who have no business looking as happy and in love as they do. Here in 2008, though, a couple of things have changed: I'm no longer baby-faced, and Robin has some very nice sweaters. -- DG]
Who has more siblings? I do. I have 1 brother and 3 sisters. Daniel has 1 sister and 1 brother. It's interesting to note that neither of us have a full blood sibling. Not that that matters in the slightest, it's just interesting.
Who wears the pants in the family? What does that mean now a days anyways? If you want to know who runs the family, well that answer is just like most of the rest, "We both do". Daniel and I almost always share the same values, same parenting styles, same pants (no just kidding). [ I will say that she looks a great deal better in my pants than I look in hers. -- DG]
As I've been answering these questions I've noticed that when I was tagged the questions and answers were all about me. However now that I am doing a "tagged" blog about Daniel the questions are mostly about "us". So here is some info just about Daniel.
5 things he would do with 6 weeks off of work:
1. Read. A lot.
2. Begin building a metal shop from scratch.
3. Take the family to the beach. Three weeks in the sun and sand sounds about right. See item #1.
4. Visit family and friends in Utah, and get in some training time, too.
5. Work on some pet projects.
5 things he wants to do (well) before he dies:
1. Speak a foreign language (probably Chinese)
2. Play piano
3. Dance the waltz
4. Publish something worth reading
5. Create something worth passing on
5 things people don't know about him:
1. He didn't know how to tie his own shoes until he was 13. [ It's true! She still says I do it funny. -- DG]
2. He did a recording session with the guy who was the lead sound engineer for Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
3. He worked at a 5-star resort, and enjoys describing the job as "telling people where to go, and what to do when they got there."
4. He once seriously considered moving to Ohio and studying honest-to-goodness authentic ninjutsu with the only authorized American teacher of this misunderstood discipline. Luckily, he got married instead.
5. He once lost an entire toenail. He considers himself lucky, and is very careful around horses now.
5 of his best traits:
1. He's not afraid of working hard.
2. He is quick to apologize and even quicker to forgive.
3. He is non judgmental
4. He loves to make others laugh (and he's very good at it too).
5. He is strong enough to lead our family with a gentle hand, and humble enough to let God lead him.
5 things I love about him:
1. The way he is with our children. The way he plays, teaches, directs, inspires, loves them.
2. How, no matter how late he has stayed up, he always gets up with the kids.
3. How he has taken care of, and kept alive the little bamboo plant that Momi gave me 5+ years ago.
4. How when I need to let off steam he lets me, even if it is hard on him.
5. The way he loves me unconditionally.
