July 13, 2006 @ 12:10 am | Filed under: Family,Thursday Thirteen
Tomorrow is Mike’s birthday so here’s thirteen things you may or may not know about the history behind the man.
You already know he loves ice cream. V-a-n-i-l-l-a ice cream, that is. Just to prove that point, check out this picture. He’s passing on his vast knowledge to future generations of ice cream connoisseurs!
- Mike’s mom was a pastry chef for DISD while he was growing up. She used to make up to 36 double-crust pies by 11:00 a.m. each morning. Mike developed a real love and true appreciation for sweets at a young age. I don’t know if that’s the reason why, but …
- He makes a mean apple pie from scratch, including the crust. He’s very handy with a vacuum cleaner too, but don’t let this and the fact that he’s secure enough in his masculinity to wear a light pink shirt confuse you. He’s a man’s man, for sure, and can hunt and fish with the best of them, if he chose to do so. But hey, if he wants to stay home and make us apple pies, you won’t find me complaining!
- He played defensive lineman for the Baylor Bears on a full football scholarship from 1969 – 1972. He suffered a severe broken leg during Spring Training in 1970 and spent a year in a cast. After a long recovery, he returned to the field in August of 1971.
- He majored in education, but never taught a day in his life.
- He rode horses as a volunteer with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office for eight years. He participated in crowd control for large events, searches for lost people, parades, and patrolled the woods surrounding Tinker Air Force Base whenever the President came to Oklahoma City.
- Besides his apple pie, Mike is known among our friends as the king of guacamole. It’s so good. I love it. And him. And the guac. But him more. Yeah…definitely him more.
- He spent several weeks in Southeast Asia in 1986, selling and arranging for oilfield equipment shipments. While there he went up the KB River from Brunei where the world-record 32-foot Python was captured just months before.
- He went back to Baylor in 1998 and earned his MBA. This made him very, very smart. At the end of the two years the class traveled to Europe to fulfill the international business requirements. It seemed to him like a good time to marry me. This made him even smarter.
- We spent a week in Paris for our honeymoon and then met up with the rest of the EMBA class for another week in Vienna and Prague.
- Mike has an avid interest in sign language, piano, and guitar. He’s taken lessons in all three as an adult and is actually quite proficient at…one of the three. No, wait, make that two of the three. No, no. Just one.
- He gets seasick on the ocean. But he’s working really hard to overcome this so he can take his wife on a cruise for her fortieth. Patches all the way, baby!
- Mike has been to 32 of the 50 United States and has visited 13 foreign countries. Yet he saw the Grand Canyon for the very first time this summer.
- Mike logged 30+ hours toward his private pilot’s license back years ago. I gave him an hour of airtime for Christmas last year and the "bug" bit again. So…for this birthday I’m finally swallowing my own trepidation and giving the gift he’s really been wanting and waiting for: my blessing. On July 22nd he’ll begin to log the final 10-15 hours in the air and will go through ground school. Prayers are welcome. For us both.
Happy 55th birthday, honey! I love the way you love me, the way you love our children, and the way you love our family and friends. But most of all, I love the way you love Jesus.
That’s so sweet! We’ve got a couple in our family that eat only vanilla, but it goes great with that apple pie of his!
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 5:30 ammike sounds like an A-1 guy!
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 5:32 amMmmm, a man who cooks! Happy birthday to him!
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 7:15 amSounds like such a Renaissance man–football, to cooking, to traveling, to flying, well rounded! Neat person! My list is up!
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 8:40 amTell Mike that I get terribly sea sick as well, but Kevin and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon and I was just fine! Pick a BIG cruise liner and you won’t even feel the boat move! (Of course I kept plenty of sea sickness pills at hand, just in case!) Oh yeah, try not to go during the midst of hurricane season… TRUST me on this one.
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 9:08 amWhat a nice tribute to your husband! I used to work for the company that makes the patches – they work pretty good! Happy birthday to your husband and Happy Thursday to you!
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 11:25 amMike sounds like a great guy! He’ll do fine flying. And, so will you! If I can survive my first flight in an itsy bitsy Catana plane then you can too!
Of course, I was so nervous and scared I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I did my second flight!!
Now that our son has his wings (in the AF) and is flying those huge C-130′s I’d trust him to fly anything!
Thanks for dropping by my place.
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 11:26 amWow, what an accomplished man you have there, not to mention the cooking skills (apple pie and guacamole are both delish!) and the vacuuming. Congrats and good luck on the pilot’s license
Have a great day, mine is up too…
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 11:31 amSounds like you have a great guy there…sure wish mine could make apple pie;-) However, mine does have his Pilot’s LIcense with IFR rating, and although he is a very good pilot I still feel much better when is his back on the ground!
Thanks for visiting.
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 11:46 amSounds like a sweetie! Better keep him. That was a sweet post…I hope he gets to read it over and over again.
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 11:57 amMy TT is up!
Happy belated birthday Mike!!
I’ll let you practice your sign language with me if you’ll share your apple pie recipe.
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 12:45 pmA great list. Vanilla is also my husband’s choice of ice cream.
My TT is up.
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 12:59 pmSounds like a great guy. Happy birthday to him!
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 2:26 pmOh wait I have number 14 – one to grow on….He is the same age as my daddy!!!Ha! Tell him happy birthday from me:)
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 6:20 pmWow! Such great things to note! *wipes a tear*
Posted on July 13th, 2006 at 8:09 pmHappy Birthday Mike & A big God Bless. I really could see how much you love him. He’s a real lucky guy. But then I think your lucky too… to have a person you love and appreciate so much…
Thanks for your kind wishes & for visiting my site. I am much better today and taking things 1 day at a time…Please keep me in your prayers
Posted on July 14th, 2006 at 12:37 am