Happy Birthday, Bill!

Today is Bill's birthday, he is turning 32. It hasn't been much of a celebration day. He had to go to work all day then school tonight, and I attended my great-grandma's viewing tonight. So I made German pancakes for breakfast, and he opened presents when we all got home. Tomorrow he has the day off, though, and I'm planning a birthday dinner with cupcakes and candles.

My sister, Molly, posted answers to a husband questionnaire on her blog on her anniversary. I thought I'd do the same here in honor of Bill's birthday.

1-What is his name: Douglas William Buhler, but he goes by Bill. It still throws me every time someone refers to him as Douglas.

2- Where did you meet? A singles ward, the University of Utah 46th Ward. We were both on the Activities Committee. Bill remembers meeting me in January and remembers sharing a beanbag chair at a Valentine FHE. My first memory of him is in March. We had a movie night activity and I brought a projector, but didn’t know how to get the sound to work. Bill got everything to work and I was impressed.

3- How long did you date before you were married? Hmm… It depends on what counts as dating. We met in January (16 months), the ward informed us we were dating around April (1 year), I decided I was interested in Bill in May (11 months), I asked Bill if I should wait to see if our relationship went anywhere before submitting mission papers in July (9 months) but he said no, in September he changed his mind (7 months), in October he asked my dad for permission to ask me to marry him and got told no (6 months), and in December I decided not to go on a mission and my dad told him yes (4 months).

4- How long have you been married for? 2 ½ years (April 8, 2006)

5- Who said I love you first? Bill.

6-When and where was your first kiss? At my house. I can’t remember exactly when it happened… I would guess, but Bill will know and correct me.

7- Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.

8- Who proposed? Bill did. He was determined to get my dad’s permission before he asked me. My dad told him yes at the end of December but asked him to wait until I worked out some health issues. My mom told me about their conversation, though, so we went ahead and started planning the wedding. My uncle made my wedding ring and Bill waited until it came to officially propose. He took me to Market Street Grill in February or March (once again, Bill will know) and I knew he had the ring so I kept picking through my food looking for it. I even ordered dessert – even though I was full – because I thought my ring might come out with it. After dessert, he gave me a dozen red roses and my ring and proposed.

9-What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? Bill loves to go dancing and I wish I could say that was our favorite thing, but we haven’t been in a long time. At one time I would have said walking, but that’s another thing we haven’t done much lately between his work and school schedule. I’d have to say just talking and spending time together.

10-Do you have kids? How many? We have one baby girl, Sandy.

11- What does he do that surprises you? Any time I ask Bill to do something he does it – and usually does it immediately, but he doesn’t usually say he will and sometimes even acts like he won’t. Then I come across what he did and I’m always surprised.

12- What's your favorite feature about him? His eyes.

13- What's your favorite quality about him? His respect for other people, he treats everyone with great respect.

14- Does he have a nickname for you? He calls me Megs sometimes, which I like.

15- What's his favorite color? Blue.

16- What's his favorite food? His Grandma Buhler’s round steak with mushroom gravy (which I’ve attempted and he says is a good match) and her fried chicken (which I haven’t attempted).

17-What is his favorite sport? Does ballroom dancing count as a sport?

18- What's a hidden talent that he has? He can rewrite lyrics to songs instantly to fit any situation.

19- How old is he? 32

20- What's his favorite type of music? Bill has very eclectic taste in music. For example, all of these artists appeared on his birthday request list this year: Blood Sweat and Tears, Peter Breinholt, Belinda Carlisle, Carpenters, Phillip Glass, Jazz (no particular artist mentioned on his list), No Doubt, Pink Martini, and Jon Schmidt. I’ve only heard of half of the artists on his list, but I almost always like the music he has playing.

21- What do you admire most about him? His ability to diffuse tense situations.

22-What's his favorite past time? Searching the Internet, always researching something.

23- Do you think he is going to read this? Yes, and he will probably have a list of corrections to post in the comments. Bill has an incredible memory and I have a very poor one, so I defer in advance to any corrections he might post.

24- Who eats more? Me

25- Who is taller? Him.

26- Who sings better? Definitely Bill, he has a great voice. He laughs at me for following whomever I am sitting next to in church – even following him through the bass part sometimes.

27- Who is smarter? Him. Bill knows how everything works – or finds out if he doesn’t.

28- Who does the laundry? Me.

29- Who pays the bills? We’re still working that out. It was him, but now that I’m staying home we’re transitioning to me.

30- Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Bill.

31- Who mows the lawn? Bill. I’ve never mowed a lawn in my life.

32- Who cooks dinner? Since Sandy was born and I’ve become a stay at home mom, I’ve cooked dinner. But Bill is an excellent cook and very capable and willing to cook.

33- Who drives? Bill. I’d rather he drive, and he’d rather he drive. Shortly before we got married, I rented a rental car that was wider than I was used to. He was very disturbed by my driving that day. I’m sure he’ll elaborate if you ask him.

34- Who is more stubborn? Bill.

35- Who has more friends? Bill has more friends. He keeps in touch with friends much better than I do. He would argue that I have more friends, but that’s because I meet people easily and have lots of acquaintances. For example, I know more people we go to church with, but Bill has more friends that we do things with.

36- Who is more sensitive? Me.

37- Who has more siblings? Bill. He comes from a family of 7, I come from a family of 5.

38- Who wears the pants? Can we share the pants?

39- Who controls the T.V. remote? Bill.

40- Whose temper is worse? Mine. Bill rarely gets angry.

41- Who does the dishes? Usually me. But when they get backed up, I can get overwhelmed. Then Bill will do a load of dishes and get it back to where I feel that it is manageable and can finish.

42- Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Bill is always quick to apologize and make up, even if he isn’t wrong.

43- Whose parents do you see more often? His, they live in town and mine live in South Dakota.