2. One thing I always mention on these sorts of things is that my ears are technically deformed. I was born exactly a month early, and for some reason or another, the outer flap of my ear didn’t form all the way. It’s not horribly obvious, and most people who have known me my whole life (assuming they’ve never done a survey like this with me) don’t notice. But I do…and it’s actually one of my favorite things about myself. Specifically, my left ear is my favorite part of me. I know it’s weird…but so am I ;)
3. I’m a really odd sort of introvert…or, at least, I think I am. I was always a really outgoing and kind of hyper child, but I was also shy and reserved at times. I got into theater arts when I was in the 6th grade. I stayed with it through my junior year in high school. I landed most of the lead roles when I was in middle school (though I really think it was a bizarre bias the drama teacher had in my favor, rather than that I was insanely talented). I auditioned for and got into Advanced Production Theater class in high school (though this could have been because we only had freshmen and sophomores). I sang, danced, and made a general fool of myself with no reservation or shame. I loved it. But, all of a sudden, my junior year, I developed stage fright. I was afraid to act or to be foolish. I kind of shut down…and then I dropped out of drama. It was a very strange, very difficult adjustment for me. A lot of my friends had gotten into the wrong sort of fun, so I think some of that was me trying to get out of those bad influences…but the rest was just strange, and I’m not sure what happened. I still get unusually embarrassed over the stupidest things.
4. Which brings me to the blushing. I’m horrible at hiding my emotions. Particularly because I blush pretty easily…and it’s hard to deny something when it’s written all over your face. I was able to control it for a while, but no more.
5. I have three dogs. I’m insane. We started with just one. Lars, the sheltie. We talked about getting another sheltie - a girl - and I was going to name her Dru. But, we got robbed, and decided we might should get a more intimidating breed of dog than a sheltie. They’re great dogs, but aren’t very intimidating. One Sunday when we were picking Lars up from PetSmart from a hair appointment, a reddish brown puppy with a kelly-green collar caught my attention. He was perfect. But, we had just moved into a brand new apartment…and I don’t mean new to us - we were the first people to move into the complex…and I knew it’d be a really bad time to get a new dog. So, I decided I’d just go hold him for a second…and Sean caught me. O.o I assured him I didn’t need the dog, and I understood that we shouldn’t get one, and wasn’t even going to ask for him. Sean turned, and I could see him in the reflection of the sliding doors that he was checking his wallet to see if he had enough money for us to adopt the puppy…which we did…and that’s Doggie Beau. Fast forward a bit. We’ve moved back to Texas, we’ve got our own house, and life is settling down. Enter dog #3. A dog had been abandoned on Sean’s mom’s doorstep. There is a HUGE story to this one, but I don’t feel like writing it now. Long story short, I saw a picture of her and was grateful that it appeared she was ugly. I know that sounds bad, but I thought it’d make it easier to foster her for a bit and then give her to a loving home. Only for some reason, I thought she was full-grown. So, when I got home to meet the “foster dog,” I was looking for an ugly, big, beefy pit-bull. Instead, I found this tiny, adorable, wriggling little loving puppy…and though I said we were still trying to decide what to do with her, I knew I could never let her go. I just really didn’t want three dogs. But Sadie won my heart. And that’s how I got my sweet (but insane) doggies :)
6. I am an art teacher ^_^ I’ve waited most of my life to be able to say that. I’m not certified or anything, but I still teach art…and I love it.
7. I’ve never broken a bone before.
8. The first “person” I ever told about Jesus and the “ABC’s” was my dog, CJ. I grabbed her muzzle and gently nodded her head when I asked her if she was ready to ask Jesus into her heart. Oh, crazy little me.
9. Mark Driscoll approves of me. I think that fact will make me smile the rest of my life, though he has probably already forgotten that he said it.
10. I wrote a story about the night I knew I was in love with Sean, and saved it on my computer, planning on giving it to him if we got engaged (he had committed to not say “I love you” before he proposed). I’m not sure why I never gave it to him, but it was lost along with a lot of other priceless things when our computer was stolen in the Great Robbery Caper of 2007. Yeah, that name doesn’t make it sound cool. Getting robbed sucked. I frequently regret not reading it to him.
11. One of my favorite places in the entire world is my grandparents’ lakehouse. It’s not fancy or overly impressive…it’s just “home.” It’s the one constant location in my whole life.
12. Sean and I honeymooned in Georgia. We got our own cabin, and returned there for our anniversary. I think that’s one of our favorite places. They have a guest book in the cabin…so when we went back for our anniversary, it was cool to flip back through the pages and find us on our honeymoon…it was a really neat way to kind of commemorate the previous year, and remember all that had happened.
13. I struggled a lot in college. I love to learn…and I had always been a good student. I didn’t have to try super hard to get good grades. But, once I got to college, I didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing, and I had a lot of personal issues. Doing well in school became a struggle, and I felt like I had lost part of my identity. I’d always thought of myself as a “smart” person, and because my grades didn’t reflect that, I wondered if it was true anymore.
14. I’m extremely weird about the texture of food. I don’t eat steak or hamburgers because I don’t like the way they feel when I eat them. But I will eat beef in chili or tacos. I don’t get it. Wish I could change it.
15. I don’t eat meat very much. Which is a problem, because I don’t really eat a lot of vegetables either. I’m not strictly a carnivore, nor am I a vegetarian. I remember when meat and I first began to have problems. I was very young. I was at the aforementioned lake house. My poor grandparents were trying to make “kid food” that my brother and I were eat. At the time, pretty much the only thing that fit that criteria was fish sticks. The problem was, we were coming in to dinner after a long day of fishing. For some reason, the words “fish sticks” and the animals I had been playing with all day (catch and release) finally collided in a way that turned my world upside down. I’m sure that I pitched a terrible fit (sorry G’ma and G’pa), and from that point on, I’ve refused to eat fish sticks. I’ve tried to eat other fish since then, but I can’t eat fish sticks anymore.
16. With the new position of art teacher, I’ve discovered something rather comical (though rather inconvenient) about myself. I can’t stand it when people try to erase with a pencil that has no eraser, or a little eraser. The sound drives me absolutely crazy! I get goosebumps, and I literally cringe. I was unable to speak the other day, because I kept imagining the sound that the eraser made against the table, and was trying to explain to the kid that I’d get them a new eraser, and to please stop trying to erase with no eraser.
I doubt they will, but I’m really hoping they’ll forget all about it by next week.
17. I worked for an insurance company shortly after Sean and I got married. This was a bad idea. I don’t regret it, because I made great friends (one in particular), but I became a complete hypochondriac. I think I went to the doctor more times in the first two years of marriage than I’ve been in my entire life.
18. Speaking of, getting married really changed my perspective on things. In addition to my job at the insurance company, I think having a husband made me more paranoid about everything…because I felt that I had so much more to lose, if that makes any sense.
19. My absolute favorite children’s illustrator is Steven Kellogg
20. My all-time-favorite children’s author/illustrator is Dr. Seuss. That man was a genius.
21. I love hockey. Well, watching hockey games. Especially with my dad and brother…but I’m hoping my hubby will join us soon.
22. Lots of people who know me and my brother separately would never guess we are related. As a matter of fact, most people in our youth group didn’t realize we were related until my senior year or later. It’s probably because I’m albino and he looks Hispanic.
23. I have crazy hair. Like, for real…absolutely insane hair. It’s thick, and not curly or straight…I both love it and hate it. Sometimes, it’s super awesome, and does amazing things. Sometimes, it’s so unbelievably atrocious that I’d rather shave it off than mess with it.
24. Mexican food is my favorite. I like Italian quite a lot too, but Mexican is just so very yummy!
25. I’m a huge book worm. I absolutely love to read. I read A TON when I was a kid. THAT’S IT!!!! Sean, that’s it! My husband is always asking me what I did when I was a child that prevented me from seeing some of the movies or shows he saw, and I don’t know why, but I didn’t realize that READING was the answer! I used to read all the time. I still read quite frequently, but have been listening to audiobooks as of late, so I can “be productive” at the same time.
26. I am OCD…at heart. I’m not always able to live out my OCD tendencies…and sometimes my compulsion to organize results in several untidy piles of things being stacked at random, which is actually counter-productive to cleaning…but still, I really like organization and cleanliness, and am most relaxed at home when everything is in its place.
27. Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. It was convenient that I happened to meet my husband on my favorite holiday. That makes it even better. I love fireworks, and gatherings of family and friends, and the lack of pressure that usually accompanies other holidays with juggling scheduled dinners with various families, acquiring the perfect present for as many people as your wallet will permit, accomplishing all the normal everyday tasks, etc. Fourth of July is nice and laid-back.
28. I’m allergic to my two favorite fruits :(
29. I would love to have my own “business” of sorts some day. One where I can make custom art for people, sell my own designs/creations, help people design and decorate their houses or nurseries, etc. Basically, be an artistic consultant for all of life’s needs :D
30. My favorite candy of all time no longer exists. It was called Dweebs, by Willy Wonka, and they discontinued them years ago. They were like Nerds, but larger, and round, softer, and a bit sweeter. They were delicious.
2 comments:
I loved Dweebs too.
DWEEBS!!! oh my goodness i loved them too!! Also, I am a big fan of item #6 on your list - way awesome :) Miss you Jenn!!
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