Tuesday, October 23, 2007

My guy- 50 fun facts about Paul

Written with permission of course.

1. Was born in Wyoming, but has lived in Oregon for most of his life.
2. Is the oldest of 4 children.
3. Lived on Guam when he was little, and was swimming on his own in ocean when he was three.
4. Spent his Junior year of high school living in a tent on a lava flow in Hawaii.
5. Would love to be a contestant on "The Amazing Race" but doesn't want me to be his partner- something I take no offense at, I would totally be begging to go home after just the first few days!
6. Loves 80's alternative music (Depeche Mode, The Fixx, Oingo Boingo, The Cure, New Order)
7. Graduated from high school in a small town in southern Oregon- there were 7 people in his graduating class
8. When he was in high school he moved out of his parents house and lived in a converted chicken coop on their property
9. Is a really good student- even though he just had to earn 75% or better while he was becoming an electrician he studied really hard and always received 90's or above, finishing second in his class.
10. Has an impressive comic book collection- over 600
11. Was stationed in two really extreme places when he was in the air force- Iceland and Las Vegas
12. Dreams of acreage
13. Has swam all the way across the Columbia River- from Washington to Oregon
14. Would love to finish the Portland marathon, but has injury problems when he tries to train
15. Would much rather read than watch TV
16. Loves nonfiction and documentaries (the history of chess and the biography of some famous physicist are among recent interests)
17. Is one of the best cooks I know- but just likes to make complicated foreign food, not everyday dinner items
18. Gets excited at discovering new little hole in the wall foreign restaurants- anyone up for Afganistan cuisine?
19. Hates yard work, painting and laundry
20. Never forgets a face- but unfortunately can't always remember the name to go with that face
21. Is very calm and level headed, almost to the point of being irritating sometimes
22. Has a great sense of humor- which I largely attribute to his dad, who has a fabulous sense of humor
23. Is quiet, but not shy
24. Was planning on becoming a naturopath when we met
25. His first car was a red 1974 Volkswagon bug- this is what he was driving when we met- I loved it!
26. Loves the movies 1984 and Repoman
27. Doesn't watch sports on TV, with the rare exception of the Olympics, Tour de France and other more "off the beaten path" athletic events- this is much to the chagrin of Fuller who loves ESPN
28. Really "gets" our boys, and does his best to convince me that they're normal
29. Is a fantastic husband!and father! (I guess I probably should have put that one first)
30. Is still disappointed that I wouldn't let him name one of our children Erskine. Just to spite me, he has named our ipod Erskine!
31. Has been to: Canada, Mexico, Guam, Iceland, the Virgin Islands, Austria, Italy, Spain, France, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany
32. Really wants to go to India- and has already told me he's not taking me with him, which I'm not offended by, (I get car and air sick, hate being in the heat, and don't like questionable dietary choices)
33. Loves red velvet cake
34. Is always well liked and respected by the people he works with
35. Appreciates the humor of the 3 Stooges, Looney Tunes, and Spongebob
36. When he had his appendix out he swore it was just the cookie dough ice cream he had eaten that was making him sick, he hasn't eaten cookie dough ice cream since, even though it's been almost 16 years
37. Is not a crier, the only times I can really remember him tearing up were at the births of our children
38. Hates it when people curse, but has to listen to it all day long at work (gotta love those construction workers!)
39. Collects cool old clocks (if you've ever been in our kitchen you know what I'm talking about!)
40. Is incredibly hard working, will work 60 -70 hours a week with almost no complaining
41. Gets allergy shots
42. Gets very excited about gardening (somehow this is different than yard work)
43. When we met he was living in a one bedroom apartment with his brother Jason. Since he's the oldest he claimed the bedroom for himself and his poor brother was sleeping in the hall closet!
44. He likes to research purchases and decisions to the extent that it drives me crazy, then half the time he rethinks the decision afterwards anyway
45. Likes estate/garage sales- appreciates a good deal!
46. Was a great labor support person! When I was in labor with Fuller I spent several hours in a hot shower, but needed someone to put pressure on my back (to combat the back labor) so Paul put his swim suit on and spent those long hours in the shower with me putting pressure on my back, even though he was freezing the whole time since I wouldn't share the hot water with him!
47. Loves a good road trip
48. Gets sad when he thinks about how fast our kids are growing up.
49. Loves watches! already owns way more than he really needs, but would still like to get more
50. Enjoyed the book "The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving", and wishes I'd let him try it.

and one more that Fuller felt was important to add-

51. Mourns the loss of the farting tape that he and his brothers made when they were young and gross.

8 comments:

Aundrea said...

That list is so fun! I only really see the back of Paul's head when we sit behind you guys at church:) Now I have all this knowledge...

Suzanne Axtell said...

A belated happy birthday to Paul! I can certainly sympathize with the turning-40 dread. I'll be in the next decade before I come to grips with it, I'm sure. Great facts--he is definitely one of the family!

Shannon b said...

How fun! I can honestly say that before today I didn't know much at all about your husband. It was fun to learn about his adventurous streak. And I would have to bail out of the Amazing Race too. Inevitably they would make me bungee jump or eat a plate of *something* until I puked and the race would be over at that point. ;)

Jodi said...

I never knew anything about Paul until today...what an interesting guy! What a sweetheart to help you through labor even though he was freezing cold AND tell him I love the Amazing Race and secretly think I could win if I was ever on the show. Maybe we could partner up :)

Paige said...

And you need to add that Paul is a GREAT hometeacher. :) Paul sure has some interesting interests. I think he needs to teach enrichment or something on some of his passions. ;)

Anonymous said...

Holy wow, now knowing all of this I realize how much he and Todd have in common. I know we have mentioned that before but now I can really see it more. And personally even though I don't really know him too well he seems like a pretty cool guy to me!!! That was a great list :)

Nicole said...

I finally found a link to your blog. I kept seeing your name on others but didn't know how to get here. Anyway, it's interesting how many things people have in common without knowing it. I recently did Spencer's "50 things" and having not read anyone else's yet, I can't believe that both of our husbands want to be a contestant on the Amazing Race, but not with us. How funny! Sounds like your hubby has been there and done alot in his life already. Pretty cool.

Tiffini said...

I just found your link too! yeah! Don't ever give in on the dumpster diving thing. I like Fuller's addition...sounds so very boy.