101 Things About Me
(one more than one hundred – because I could)
1. I have a beautiful wife, known here as MDW.
2. I have four great kids.
3. The oldest is a boy (9); the rest are girls (7, 6, and3) and they are all homeschooled.
4. We live on a horse farm near the Blue Ridge Mountains.
5. MDW is fulfilling her lifelong dream of owning an equine training facility.
6. My kids and can play in the yard without fear.
7. My kids all have ponies of their own.
8. So do I (except mine is bigger).
9. I can breathe cool mountain air in the morning.
10. It is expensive to start up an equine business.
11. We are still starting up.
12. I am a programmer.
13. I love computers.
14. Except when I hate them.
15. I work in Washington, DC.
16. I commute over two hours – each way.
17. People ask me why I do it.
18. I say see #4 and #10.
19. I am very creative.
20. I cook, build, draw, and photograph.
21. At other times I have done cross-stitch, stained glass, acrylic painting, miniatures, models, calligraphy, watercolors, and architectural drawing.
22. I even tried knitting.
23. I generally dislike cats.
24. We have seven of them.
25. They live in the garage.
26. They adore me.
27. Dogs, horses, and hamsters generally like me, too.
28. We have all three.
29. I like dogs and horses.
30. We also have fish and snakes, but I can’t tell if they really like me.
31. I have near perfect pitch. I can always tell if someone is singing off key.
32. My kids almost always sing off key.
33. I love hearing them sing.
34. I have a beautiful maple baroque recorder that my father gave me. I can’t read music so I play it by ear – see #31.
35. I love to play it.
36. I rarely do.
37. I also play the penny whistle.
38. I am politically very conservative.
39. Some of my best friends have been very liberal.
40. We treat each other with respect; discuss issues; and agree to disagree.
41. I am a committed Christian.
42. Some of my best friends are: agnostic; atheistic; neo-Pagan; Jewish; Protestant; Catholic.
43. See #40
44. I have enjoyed many outdoor activities: mountain biking; skiing; kayaking; hiking; rock climbing; rappelling; horseback riding.
45. Horseback riding is the only one that doesn’t leave me feeling like I got run over by a truck – so I ride instead of the others.
46. I have had nearly every major bone in my body x-rayed at least once.
47. I have injured my toes, ankles, shins, knees, only one hip, lumbar spine, ribs, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, fingers, thoracic spine, c-spine, and head.
48. Most of those happened while I was in the Army.
49. Most of them also happened while I was off duty.
50. I am really not a klutz.
51. Now days I refer to Motrin as “Vitamin M”.
52. I had Strep throat seven times in one year.
53. The doctors finally decided to remove my tonsils.
54. They took them out at 8:30am on September 11, 2001.
55. When I woke up the world was a different place.
56. MDW is the first girl (outside my family) I ever kissed.
57. I was twenty three.
58. I was a late bloomer.
59. We were slow dancing in the dark in her family room while listening to Restless Heart’s The Bluest Eyes in Texas.
60. We were in Virginia, but she had the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen.
61. I asked if I could kiss her. She said, “If you want too.” So I did.
62. After I kissed her I had to sit down because I was weak in the knees.
63. We kissed some more while I sat.
64. We married 14 months later.
65. We lived over 400 miles apart the whole time.
66. My favorite meal is fresh steamed Maryland Blue crabs. We used to buy them, alive, by the bushel from the fishermen who caught them.
67. I have eaten over four dozen in one sitting.
68. Blue crabs should be a social event, not just a meal.
69. I struggle with depression, anxiety, and adult ADD. Fortunately all are generally moderate and the medicine is effective.
70. Because of my meds I once tested positive for amphetamines on a workplace drug test.
71. Fortunately I had a prescription.
72. I have lived in five states and two other countries.
73. I was born in Japan (to American parents).
74. Since then I have moved 36 times in 38 years.
75. In May we are moving again (but just down the driveway, this time).
76. I was also deployed to Germany and Somalia while in the Army.
77. I was an Army officer for seven years.
78. I missed my first wedding anniversary while deployed to Somalia.
79. While there, my truck was shot and hit – thankfully none of my troops were.
80. Somali donkeys have zebra stripes on their legs.
81. You actually stop noticing the sound of bullets going over your head.
82. MDW struggled with endometriosis for the first eleven years of our marriage and through four and a start pregnancies. We lost one baby to a miscarriage.
83. It took a complete hysterectomy to finally stop the endometriosis. She is all better now.
84. I am a light sleeper.
85. I usually pull night duty when the kids wake up scared or sick.
86. I learned to go without sleep in the Army.
87. The longest I ever went was 72 hours without a nap. At that point I fell asleep while walking. I never even fell down.
88. I’m not that good/young anymore.
89. I still am OK with only two or three hours of sleep – but only for two or three nights running.
90. It is 3 AM now. My youngest is having mucus issues tonight. I have to leave here at 5:30. I will be fine for one more night.
91. I have two sisters.
92. In October my parents will have 10 grandkids.
93. We all live in the same state.
94. When we were young I was closest to my baby sister.
95. Now I am closest to the older one.
96. I wish I were closer to both.
97. I created my blog in January of 2005.
98. I started blogging a year later.
99. I read a lot of blogs every day. Most are written by parents with young kids.
100. Cat’s blog was the first one I started reading when I started blogging.
101. I love my wife with all my heart. I will do so until the day I die.
This was interesting, and easier than I thought it would be. It was interesting to see how I distilled me for those who do not know me. I chose to just start typing without really planning what to reveal about myself and see what showed up. That is why I call it a distillation – these are pretty much the things that first occurred to me to describe myself to a new friend. Well, except for the one about the Somali donkeys…
I would appreciate comments on this, as I am now very curious to know how this leads you to perceive me. It was also a lot of fun. Try it if you haven’t already and let me know.
1. I have a beautiful wife, known here as MDW.
2. I have four great kids.
3. The oldest is a boy (9); the rest are girls (7, 6, and3) and they are all homeschooled.
4. We live on a horse farm near the Blue Ridge Mountains.
5. MDW is fulfilling her lifelong dream of owning an equine training facility.
6. My kids and can play in the yard without fear.
7. My kids all have ponies of their own.
8. So do I (except mine is bigger).
9. I can breathe cool mountain air in the morning.
10. It is expensive to start up an equine business.
11. We are still starting up.
12. I am a programmer.
13. I love computers.
14. Except when I hate them.
15. I work in Washington, DC.
16. I commute over two hours – each way.
17. People ask me why I do it.
18. I say see #4 and #10.
19. I am very creative.
20. I cook, build, draw, and photograph.
21. At other times I have done cross-stitch, stained glass, acrylic painting, miniatures, models, calligraphy, watercolors, and architectural drawing.
22. I even tried knitting.
23. I generally dislike cats.
24. We have seven of them.
25. They live in the garage.
26. They adore me.
27. Dogs, horses, and hamsters generally like me, too.
28. We have all three.
29. I like dogs and horses.
30. We also have fish and snakes, but I can’t tell if they really like me.
31. I have near perfect pitch. I can always tell if someone is singing off key.
32. My kids almost always sing off key.
33. I love hearing them sing.
34. I have a beautiful maple baroque recorder that my father gave me. I can’t read music so I play it by ear – see #31.
35. I love to play it.
36. I rarely do.
37. I also play the penny whistle.
38. I am politically very conservative.
39. Some of my best friends have been very liberal.
40. We treat each other with respect; discuss issues; and agree to disagree.
41. I am a committed Christian.
42. Some of my best friends are: agnostic; atheistic; neo-Pagan; Jewish; Protestant; Catholic.
43. See #40
44. I have enjoyed many outdoor activities: mountain biking; skiing; kayaking; hiking; rock climbing; rappelling; horseback riding.
45. Horseback riding is the only one that doesn’t leave me feeling like I got run over by a truck – so I ride instead of the others.
46. I have had nearly every major bone in my body x-rayed at least once.
47. I have injured my toes, ankles, shins, knees, only one hip, lumbar spine, ribs, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, fingers, thoracic spine, c-spine, and head.
48. Most of those happened while I was in the Army.
49. Most of them also happened while I was off duty.
50. I am really not a klutz.
51. Now days I refer to Motrin as “Vitamin M”.
52. I had Strep throat seven times in one year.
53. The doctors finally decided to remove my tonsils.
54. They took them out at 8:30am on September 11, 2001.
55. When I woke up the world was a different place.
56. MDW is the first girl (outside my family) I ever kissed.
57. I was twenty three.
58. I was a late bloomer.
59. We were slow dancing in the dark in her family room while listening to Restless Heart’s The Bluest Eyes in Texas.
60. We were in Virginia, but she had the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen.
61. I asked if I could kiss her. She said, “If you want too.” So I did.
62. After I kissed her I had to sit down because I was weak in the knees.
63. We kissed some more while I sat.
64. We married 14 months later.
65. We lived over 400 miles apart the whole time.
66. My favorite meal is fresh steamed Maryland Blue crabs. We used to buy them, alive, by the bushel from the fishermen who caught them.
67. I have eaten over four dozen in one sitting.
68. Blue crabs should be a social event, not just a meal.
69. I struggle with depression, anxiety, and adult ADD. Fortunately all are generally moderate and the medicine is effective.
70. Because of my meds I once tested positive for amphetamines on a workplace drug test.
71. Fortunately I had a prescription.
72. I have lived in five states and two other countries.
73. I was born in Japan (to American parents).
74. Since then I have moved 36 times in 38 years.
75. In May we are moving again (but just down the driveway, this time).
76. I was also deployed to Germany and Somalia while in the Army.
77. I was an Army officer for seven years.
78. I missed my first wedding anniversary while deployed to Somalia.
79. While there, my truck was shot and hit – thankfully none of my troops were.
80. Somali donkeys have zebra stripes on their legs.
81. You actually stop noticing the sound of bullets going over your head.
82. MDW struggled with endometriosis for the first eleven years of our marriage and through four and a start pregnancies. We lost one baby to a miscarriage.
83. It took a complete hysterectomy to finally stop the endometriosis. She is all better now.
84. I am a light sleeper.
85. I usually pull night duty when the kids wake up scared or sick.
86. I learned to go without sleep in the Army.
87. The longest I ever went was 72 hours without a nap. At that point I fell asleep while walking. I never even fell down.
88. I’m not that good/young anymore.
89. I still am OK with only two or three hours of sleep – but only for two or three nights running.
90. It is 3 AM now. My youngest is having mucus issues tonight. I have to leave here at 5:30. I will be fine for one more night.
91. I have two sisters.
92. In October my parents will have 10 grandkids.
93. We all live in the same state.
94. When we were young I was closest to my baby sister.
95. Now I am closest to the older one.
96. I wish I were closer to both.
97. I created my blog in January of 2005.
98. I started blogging a year later.
99. I read a lot of blogs every day. Most are written by parents with young kids.
100. Cat’s blog was the first one I started reading when I started blogging.
101. I love my wife with all my heart. I will do so until the day I die.
This was interesting, and easier than I thought it would be. It was interesting to see how I distilled me for those who do not know me. I chose to just start typing without really planning what to reveal about myself and see what showed up. That is why I call it a distillation – these are pretty much the things that first occurred to me to describe myself to a new friend. Well, except for the one about the Somali donkeys…
I would appreciate comments on this, as I am now very curious to know how this leads you to perceive me. It was also a lot of fun. Try it if you haven’t already and let me know.
posted by Odd Mix | 12:35 PM
9 Comments:
Seriously great list!
*2 Hour commute both ways? My road rage gene would not allow that.
*Each of your kids has a pony? You are the coolest dad EVER! :)
*The love you have for your wife and kids is SO heartwarming. I wish so much for a piece of that for myself one day.
You are a very intriguing person, have many talents, and seem very well rounded.
Your family is beautiful and I am jealous that you live in such a beautiful place with horses!
Can we come visit?
And I liked #40 because I feel respect for others and their differences is an important character trait to have.
I guessed #41 - me too!
My husband did #61 for me too. I KNEW when he did that - it was my own mental requirement for THE ONE.
Maybe I'll work on my list now.
This was fabulous. I loved reading this, it really helped give me a sense of who you are -- devoted husband and father and all-around interesting, cool guy.
Thanks for doing this. I really, really enjoyed reading it.
Hey, thanks for posting this! Very interesting stuff to read.
By the way (hyopthetically speaking of course), would YOU be concerned if someone from Data Communications Affairs in Iran was a frequent reader of your blog?
I loved reading your list! I have one linked in my About Me section. I sort of went at it the same way. Some of your list, and #88 remind me of a Toby Keith song "As Good As I Once Was" - do you know it? We have a lot in common as I am also pretty crafty. God how do you find the time?! Must be the less sleep thing. Cause man I need my sleep and I feel like I don't have enought time for all the projects in my head ;)
And how about a pony for me? ;-)
PS I'm meeting two girlfriends in DC for a weekend - just for fun. I used to live there and haven't been in a while. We were thinking DC is good for free museums. Let me know if you recommend anything else!
Love the list it's a great insight to you as a person (rather than "a blogger")
23 and 26 together and part of 56 make me snicker.
wow, man, you're a chick magnet!
anyway ... that #55 is a mind job. anesthesia is always awkward to wake up from ... but 9/11?
please, don't get your wisdom teeth taken out. ;)
like me, you really enjoy writing and photographing and sharing about your kids.
e+
You are very interesting! It's really cool to read what people choose to share.
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