Quirks

This picture goes in our "all time greats" file. Joni and I took some pictures at the park on Sunday. We laid down and while waiting for the timer, we realized we laid on some fire ants. Joni's reaction is priceless, Dilly is terrified of being thrown into the lake, and I am used to this kind of stuff happening...so our expressions pretty much explain the rest.

A friend of ours challenged us to decide on 6 things that are unique or "quirks" about us, we had some pretty wierd conversations, but this is what we came up with. Some of these are a little embarrassing.

Joni: I can't stand when phone cords are wound and curled up tightly(I know you are probably thinking "who has those types of phones anymore") Well my work has one of these phones in every corner of the facility and I can not walk by a curled up phone with out stopping, letting the receiver hang and the phone spin to release the tension.

Paul: I would like to make fun of her for that one, but I have to wear yellow rubber gloves when doing the dishes. It all started when I had to do some nasty dishes and I didn't want to touch them, now I have to use them.

Joni: There is list of criteria that must be met when I go running. NO jewelry whatsoever, hair pinned completely away from my face, shoes tied in the perfect runners knot with the inside laces on each shoe tucked in (to prevent slapping on my legs), ipod cord wrapped twice and tucked neatly away to prevent excess swinging/swaying.

Paul: Ummmm...I like to have pancakes every Saturday morning. Tradition started as a kid, it just makes the day complete.

Joni: I can't seem to overcome my compulsion to immediately take a hearty bite out of almost any sandwich I make ;whether it is for myself or others.

Paul: I have gotten used to that quirk after many sandwiches with bites missing. Funny thing is I used to hate sharing "my food" but now I am like a trained animal. I actually give Joni the last bite of everything...even if its the best dessert ever, the look she gets on her face is better than having the last bite.

Joni: I spend way too much time thinking about songs I like and what they would look like on Guitar Hero.

Paul: Hygeine habits- I've always been paranoid of bad breath and hairy necks, so I always have gum or breathmints, and my neck never goes more than a couple days without being shaved.

Joni: Some time in my life I think I became a hypochondriac. Each week I become conviced I have a new disease. This week is MS, last week was Renal Failure, the week before it was Diverticulosis. You name a disease, and if I havn't already had it then I do now because you named it.

Paul: Holy smokes that is totally true, its crazy, I should have been a doctor. I think that I would rather lose email or phone access than not have access to ESPN. I turn it on first thing in the morning while getting ready, its like another religion to me.

Joni: I vacuum the inside of my car more than any person I know. I also have to keep little cleaning upholstery wipes handy tucked away in a side pocket. The only thing I let stay on any seat in my car is my sunglasses on the passenger side. Funny, because the outside is a mess. I think I've washed it once since I owned it.

Paul: I have to always east something crunchy with non-crunchy food. Sandwhiches, noodles, whatever...I'll find something to crunch on with it. Its part of my optimal food guide pyramid.

So now you all might be scared of us, or you might just be able to relate to our quirks with some of your own. Coming soon...Dilly's embarrasing but hilariously funny halloween costume.

R.I.P. cow, carrot, little pup, and frog

Joni would strongly object to me posting about one of Dilly's destructive habits, but she's in the family room taking a nap and I am bored so let me tell you a little secrect. We call Dilly the black widow because every night at about 10pm she "goes to town" on her little stuffed animal. Once she is satisfied (after about 5 good turns), she tries to tear her toy apart and eat it. The funniest thing is that she lets the toy take advantage of her, if thats possible, by always being on the bottom, and since she is always on bottom her motions cause her to roll around in a perfect cirlce while on her back. I would love to post a video but I thought that would be innapropriate, so I get to describe it in detail instead and be innapropriate all on my own.

The latest toy lasted several months until tonight when I walked in and saw stuffing all over the floor. She has gone through a carrot, a frog, a dog, and a cow (all stuffed of course). Its a coincidence that the latest addition looks exactly like her.

The whole reason we got a female dog was to avoid this type of problem. She has even been spayed, but for some reason the devil comes out in the middle of the night, and the devil is a little female rat terrier named Dilly. When we take away the toy or refuse to buy her a new one, she insists on treating my harry arms in the same fashion. In fact, whenever I talk on the phone she gets jealous and gets into "happy mode". When I tell her "no" she gets mad and barks and/or pouts. 23 hours a day she is sweet, cuddly, playful and all kinds of fun, so I guess one hour can't be too bad right? Despite all of her imperfections we love our little dog, but all I can ask is that our kids don't have any late night rondezvous with their favorite stuffed animals like Dilly does with hers. In the meantime, I'm off to the store to find Dilly another mate.

We finally got a new camera! After getting the same one (twice) in the last couple of years we decided to get a different brand and we are happy that we can post pictures again. Our friends from Houston that stayed with us for a couple of weeks during the hurricane moved back to Idaho this week. We played a lot of Rock Band and sports on the Wii, as you can see the whole fam was into it. Speaking of which, we downloaded a bunch of original Nintendo games last night and I have been having some serious flash backs. Most of those flash backs are of me watching my older brothers play, then when they were finally done I would sneak in a game or two. But now Joni and I are completely addicted. The worst addiction is Dr. Mario, the one with the little pills you put together and match colors kinda like Tetris...but not at all like Tetris. Joni used to play it so much in college that when she pulled up to a car that was the same color as hers she would make the same noise from the game...wierdo.
Wanna see a great picture?

Annie is the funniest little girl (one on the left), talk about two sisters that are completely different. Our friends made me a giant rice krispie toilet cake for my birthday...strange...but yummy.

Last night we ate with friends at a German/Irish pub, it was fun but that German food hits your stomach like a brick. Its one of those places that the waitresses dress up in big poofy dresses and everyone cheers in unison when proposing a toast...or when someone drops a plate everyone says, "Heeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy". Of course the rest of the night was dedicated to a Dr. Mario tournament.

I have been invited to a second round of interviews with Raytheon in Boston at the beginning of November. Raytheon is contracted to make all the weapons for the FBI, CIA, and other government operations. They make missiles, satellites, and all the James Bond gadgets you could imagine (Talk about a guy's dream job). I'm thinking pretty seriously about accepting an offer from them if they give me one, but as always I have a lot to consider with the GE offer currently on the table. Some day we'll have our life figured out.