Happiness is Darren

It is Darren's Birthday today. That's right, he is now solidly in his thirties. He is also a prime number. In honor of this day, here is a list of 31 things about Darren. Probably more than you wanted to know, but no one is forcing you to read the entire list. Feel free to skip and scan:

1. Darren's favorite cake is yellow with chocolate frosting.


2. He is in heaven if he can put his yellow cake with chocolate frosting in a glass of milk.


3. Darren had a lot of green cakes growing up (it is St. Patrick's Day afterall), and always says the football field ones were his favorite.


4. Darren isn't a pie person.


5. Darren loves brownies, and has been known to eat them for breakfast.
   
   
6. Darren doesn't eat a traditional breakfast, but he loves to have breakfast for other meals (brunch, brinner).


7. Darren never chooses Italian restaurants when we go out to eat because he has a slight allergy to tomatoes.


8. Darren will also never choose an Italian restaurant because he hates paying for noodles.


9. When we are walking he grabs my hand just as often as I grab his.


10. Darren rarely eats after 8:00 pm. This drives me nuts when I want a sweet treat and he won't indulge with me.


11. Darren likes to drive when we go on road trips, but this last time he had me drive a stretch because he was exhausted. He slept almost the whole time I was driving. I was shocked, but was okay with it because:


12. On our trip to Vegas he totally let me listen to Anne of Green Gables instead of insisting we listen to Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.
    
    
13. Darren is generally receptive to the books on tape I choose for our road trips. He does let me know if they are boring.


14. If Darren finds something funny and we are in a group, he will whisper it in my ear instead of waiting until we are alone.


15. Darren was invited to play on a dodgeball team.


16. He hasn't invited us to come and watch because he says there is no place to sit without being hit.
    
    
17. I think Darren looks like Evan Lysacek, only without the slicked back hair and glitter.


18. Darren does the second half of bedtime for Little Miss and likes to tell her made up stories about Bailey the dog and Scuzzy, his cat when he was little.
    
    
19. Little Miss asks me for Scuzzy stories sometimes, but her skeptical expression tells me my stories lack something. Darren must be good.


20. Darren hardly torments and teases me now that we have the girls.


21. Darren likes to give all of us the choice, "Do you want me to tickle your foot for 2 minutes, or for 5 minutes?"


22. If Darren sees you playing with a toy that looks fun, he will wait anxiously next to you until he can grab it for a turn.


23. Darren has discovered an addictive game on his phone. As near as I can tell it is a cross between Tetris, Dr. Mario, and Minesweeper.
    
    
24. Darren lets me rant and rave about anything, no matter how silly or insignificant. He is not much of a ranter.
    
25. Darren and Big Miss get along really well. He knows just how to make her smile when she is in a grouchy mood.
    
    
26. Darren says he got the skill above by practicing on me.


27. Darren rarely checks this blog, but Darren never checks any blogs so I'm not offended.


28. Darren sits at a computer all day and we email back and forth. This is the excuse we give anytime anyone asks why we don't have texting on our phones.


29. Darren is convinced that people can IM him on his Blackberry. I have explained that yes, people can IM him, but is called texting and we get charged for it. It doesn't come through his email.
    
    
30. Darren is great about remembering to say family prayer and have family home evening. Before we had kids I always wondered how he would be about those things.


31. Darren still makes my insides go all jumpy and butterflyish. He makes me happy.
    

Darren probably won't read this list, but it was fun to write. Happy Birthday Honey B! I love you. I love you. I love you.

Keep smiling and remember to be happy.