Thursday, January 31, 2008

Tag, Your Husband is It!

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):
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.

Love for a Prophet

This post is to all of you who also posted about President Hinckley.
I was going to leave comments on each blog but then I realized that I pretty much wanted to say the same thing on each. So to save time I decided just post my comments here.

Thank you for sharing you thoughts and feeling about our great Prophet. I enjoyed getting to see each different perspective. It's not often we all write about the same subject. Especially a subject we all feel passionate about. Each of our posts were expressed differently, in our own style, but the means were all very similar. How grateful I am for your testimonies.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Words I Needed to Hear

My friend Jenny posted the lyrics to a song on her blog that I think every women should read. It addresses issues that I think we all deal with from time to time. It touched my heart. The timing of her post was perfect and I have to look at it as one of the tender mercies the Lord so often sends.

Thanks Jenny!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

It was Just Snow

Ryan Shupe and the Rubber band have a song called "Snow". I don't know who they intended the song to be about but I have always thought it could be talking about the death of one of our prophets. This is what it says:

it was just snow soft and white
it was just snow falling so light
it was just snow soft and white
falling so light,
falling last night

no it wasn’t a lightning storm
ripping leaves and
the limbs off of trees
and it wasn’t a massive earthquake
the earth buckling from beneath

because he wasn’t quite that sad
and he wasn’t quite that mad
but his messenger died yesterday
and he wanted us to know

so it was just snow soft and white
it was just snow falling so light
it was just snow soft and white
falling so light,
falling last night

no it wasn’t a giant tidal wave
drowning every man
woman and child
and it wasn’t a huge hurricane
wind and rain whipping
‘round us so wild

because he wasn’t quite that sad
and he wasn’t quite that mad
but his messenger died yesterday
and he wanted us to know

so it was just snow soft and white
it was just snow falling so light
it was just snow soft and white
falling so light,
falling last night

This morning I sat contemplating President Hinckley's death. As I did so I looked outside and saw that the ground had been covered in beautiful white snow. I smiled to myself as this song came to my mind. "How appropriate" I thought. My heart was at peace. Soft and peaceful just like snow.



I am not good with words and I know this will not compare with so many beautiful things that have already been written about our Prophet, but I have to take a moment and record my feelings about this wonderful man.

I love President Hinckley. I'm sure anyone who has ever known him feels the same way.



I admire the relationship he and his sweet wife shared. I have always hoped that Daniel and I would be able to have the same kind of connection when we got to be their ages. I am so happy that they are together again. That thought alone brings me much happiness.

friendship. It didn't matter what religion, what age, what back ground, President Hinckley loved all.

I loved his sense of humor. He always had a smile in his eyes. I love how he joked and laughed all the time. One of my favorite quotes from him is "in all living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured".

I am astounded by all that he had done for our Church. I am grateful for the innumerable sacrifices he has made for us.

He has been the Prophet for most of my adult life. In fact when I think about him I think of him as "My Prophet". Sometimes you hear people talk about the prophet that has touched them the most. That would be President Hinckley for me. I love each prophet that I learn about but President Hinckley will always hold a very special place in my heart.



Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Sweet Sounds

Sounds I Love to Hear:

the sound of Christopher playing the piano for no other reason than he loves doing it,

the sound of the back door opening around 6:00 pm because it means Daniel is home from work,

the sound of our sump pump turning on and off in the middle of the night (long story there, but truly the sound brings a smile to my lips every single time I hear it),

the sound of Michael nursing the moment after he has just stopped crying,

the sound of rain on our roof top,

the sound of my children's laughter as they wrestle with their dad.

Monday, January 21, 2008

An Angel named Beth

To My Mom:

We had an angel move into our house during December. Her name is Beth but she is more commonly called Grandma or Mom. Since she has come, she has blessed this home with her generous ways. I am so grateful for her and all she does. Our home is cleaner than it has been since I had Michael. The kids are happier because they now have another adult paying attention to them. Daniel and I have actually been able to go out without the kids a couple of times. Since she has come I have been able to accomplish many tasks I have had to neglect. Getting more done always makes me happy and everyone benefits from that.

She gives so much of herself, everyday. Thank you mom! We love you!

Saturday, January 19, 2008

High and Low

My friend Amy has a post on her blog that explains how she stimulates dinner conversation with her family. During dinner each member of the family shares their highest point of the day and then their lowest point.

I thought this was a wonderful idea so we tried it last night. It was great. Daniel started out and then it was my turn. After that we went in order around the table. My mom and I had the same high point and Christopher and I shared the same low point. What was really neat was that talking about our highs and lows gave a few of us the opportunity to ask for forgiveness for wrong doing, and others of us to express appreciation for kindness given.

After dinner we were all happy and everyone seemed content. Dinner time is usually such a stressful time for me. In fact it has become one of my least favorite times of the day. This totally changed that around. I hope we can keep it up. Thanks Amy for talking about that on your blog. You just made my day a whole lot brighter!

12 Wonderful Years

Today Daniel and I have been married 12 years!
These have been the best 12 years of my life.

We have had ups and down, highs and lows.
We have shared everything from laughter, tears, t-shirts, and toothbrushes.

There have been times when we have each tripped and fell.
There have been times when we have each lifted the other.

He is my breathe.
He is my strength.

We are only whole when we are together.
When we are together we are one.

Because we have been together through it all everyday is wonderful!

12 years
626 weeks
4383 days
105,192 hours
6,311,545 minutes
378,692,700 seconds

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Blog Therapy

Amy this one's because of you! ;)

A few days ago I, and maybe a few of you, were wrongly accused of having too much time on our hands. I laughed! But then I started to ponder.

My life is insanely busy. Not a day passes that doesn't end with me recounting the day and finding all the things I didn't accomplish. Not because of laziness or poor time management skills (well, OK, better time management would probably help), but mostly because there is just not enough time in the day.

So here is the question that I was pondering: Why do I spend what little free time I have blogging and reading my friends blogs? Here is what I came up with.

Because I love it!

Question #2: Why do I love it? That answer takes a little longer to explain.

I have never been good at staying in touch. I would go so far as to say that I stink at it! (let the snarky comments begin :) ). This particular short-coming is something that I have truly been trying to overcome lately. But it's hard; really hard. It's just not in my nature. Then I got introduced to blogging. For the first time in my life (seriously) I feel like I am making some real progress towards staying connected with my long-distant friends. I love that I can read about the day-to-day life of my friends and that they can read about mine, if they want. I love being able to write one post and know that several people can read it whenever they want, on their own time schedule. There is no pressure. I feel more involved with those of you whose blogs I read than I have since we each moved. It's great! I also think it is really fun when someone who has been reading for a while without commenting, suddenly decides to pop in and join the conversation. It's like a welcome surprise visit.

Now, for those of you who don't have blogs of your own or who don't ever leave comments, please know that I am not slighting you at all. This just works for me, and I'm really excited about it! I know that this kind of communication doesn't work for everyone; far from it. It's just so fulfilling to finally find a solution to a problem I thought I would always struggle with.

The next thing that I discovered as I pondered this new pastime was just how touched I have been by many of your posts. I am astounded by the range of thoughts, ideas, and feelings I experience due to the things we share in our blogs. I have felt my testimony grow as I read about your testimonies. I smile at your kids' antics. I sympathize with your concerns. I laugh out loud at the fun things we all do. Overall, reading each of your blogs gives me hope, perspective, and a growing desire to be a better person. Thank you!

I guess the skinny of it is that blogging is like therapy to me. I need it right now.

The last issue I want to mention, just as a post-script, is about the time we spend making our blogs look pretty. After all, Amy, I know this is what you were really talking about. Making my blog look nice is kind of like putting make-up on in the morning (not that I ever do that, but you get the idea). This is the face I am presenting to the world and I would like it to look its best. I also want it to reflect who I am. I want to accentuate the positive. So it's worth spending a little extra time on it.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Tagged

I've Been Tagged!

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


10 years ago: (Jan 1998) I was pregnant with Kira and sicker than a dog. Christopher was 15 months old and one of my greatest joys. Daniel was working at Novell and being the most loving and patient husband ever (some things never change). I was taking care of Kaylee while Charity (one of my close friends) worked. We were packing up our apartment to move into a bigger apartment that we were going to share with my mom (she had separated with her husband). I was team teaching 5 year olds in primary with Daniel. I hated it and knew it was going to force me to become inactive (look how much I've grown up).

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Go to the gym and run
2. Teach 6 unruly 1st graders how to use flash cards
3. Help Kira finish her Spain report
4. Talk to Daniel to devise a plan of how to keep me from going mental
5. Drive my mom around to pick up job applications

Snacks I enjoy:
1. Cinnamon rolls (especially from Cinabon)
2. Potato chips with ranch dip
3. Red Swedish fish
4. Cheese (most varieties)
5. Chocolate covered pretzels

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Pay off our debt
2. Build a new building for our school
3. Visit Europe
4. Take Kira on a cruise (she wants to go on one so badly that she is saving up for it. She already has $34.00)
5. Start the process of making my dream come true of running a program to aid homeless people to get back on their feet.

3 of my bad habits:
1. Procrastination
2. Committing to do more then I am capable of
3. Biting my finger nails

5 places I have lived:
1. San Jose, CA
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Tremonton, UT
4. Provo, UT
5. Hillsboro, OR

5 jobs I have had:
1. Pizza Delivery Person
2. CNA (certified nursing assistant) at Bear River Nursing Home
3. Phone Operator and Customer Service Rep. at Granite Furniture
4. Book Seller and SPT at Borders
5. Celestial Housekeeper at the LDS Portland Temple

5 things people don't know about me:
1. During my childhood my family was homeless for over a year.
2. I am very insecure with my level of intelligence and I often feel uneducated.
3. I was the drama club president at my high school during my junior year.
4. I have traveled through all of the continental United States except for Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
5. I don't know who my real father is and probably never will.

I tag Maralee, Dori, Ariana, and, Kylene (4 is all I can come up with because everyone else I read has already been tagged).

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Bowling






Beautiful Blogs

Okay, I have a question. There are several blogs that I read and each of them are amazing to look at. How do you do it? I have tried to make it so that my blog doesn't just look like another template but I can't seem to figure it out. How do all of you make your blogs so beautiful? Can you give me some pointers?

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Lumberjacks

Living in the country is so much fun!!! We heat our house with the wood burning stove that is in the basement. We have not had to turn on our furnace at all this winter. That's not exactly true. We did use the furnace during October but after we got the $469.00 power bill we decided the stove was the way to go. Buying fire wood is not economical either. In fact it costs more to buy firewood then it does to run the furnace. Luckily last year our wonderful neighbors gave us a large load of wood to get us started. It kept us warm for almost 2 months. But now the real adventure begins. The only way to really save money on heating is to cut down wood ourselves.

Daniel went out and bought a chainsaw (scary, huh?). I didn't really think about the danger of it all until Daniel was describing these chaps he could buy that are made from a special fabric that will jam the teeth of the saw. A friend gave us a tip on a place that has tons of downed trees that we could cut for free. The owner of the land is clearing it for some reason. There are probably 50 or more acres out there with tons of trees.

On New Years Eve and then again on New Years Day Daniel, Kira, and I went out and sloshed around in the mud for 3 or 4 hours and cut wood. It felt so good to be doing something that we knew would benefit our whole family. You know that old adage "Burning wood warms you twice" well that is true enough. Actually as Daniel pointed out it's more like it warms you 4 or 5 times. Once for cutting, once for loading, once for splitting, once for re stacking, and finally for burning.

Of course this wood won't be ready to burn until next winter, but that doesn't diminish the happiness I feel each time I look at it. It feels so good to look in our shed and see all the wood piling up. Daniel and I both love feeling self reliant. We still haven't cut enough wood to last through all of next winter yet but we plan on making several more trips. Daniel wants to wait until it drys out a little bit (actually I think it's fun playing in the mud. I love the sound it makes as it tries to steal your shoes.)

Here are a few pictures.