Chirky

(an ongoing project)

1. I am married to undeniably the most adorable, patient, wise, and wonderful man in the world, Roger.

2. I became a Christian on April 23, 1997. I remember that choice distinctly.

3. In college, Bianca (college roommate and one of my best friends) and I once drove around our ritzy neighborhood with our trash can attached to the bike rack on my car, because we forgot to put the trash out for pickup. We never could find that trash truck, but we did manage to get "the look" from several neighbors.

4. I locked myself in my room and taught myself to read at age four. I was jealous of my best friend, who "read" a book to me that she had given me as a present. (Her mother had actually read it to her until she memorized it and could "read" it to me.)

5. When I was in high school, I would slam my doors. My dad threatened to take them off their hinges. To my horror, he did. TWICE.

6. Once, when I was little, it rained really hard. Our driveway filled with puddles (we lived in the country and had a long gravel driveway). My mom gave my brother and me each a piece of bacon on a string, and we went into our driveway and fished for crawdaddies. We were so excited to catch some that my mom included them in that evening's meal. PEOPLE, WE HAD CRAWDADDIES FROM OUR DRIVEWAY FOR DINNER.

7. I love cemeteries. My family even held our reunions in our family cemetery, which we would "clean up" and then have a big meal together.

8. While I was in college, I mentored four high school girls throughout their high school careers (sans their freshman year - i didn't live in Denton at that time): Courtney, Erin, Kristy, and Monique (and a handful of others at different times). They kept me on my toes, but were such a joy to work with!!

9. Roger and I both love to backpack. The only place I have been (twice), and consequently my favorite, was the Weminuche Wilderness in the Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado.

10. I work as a paralegal in Texas for a major corporation. I love the work that I do.

11. My husband is an incredibly talented Graphic Designer. I know this isn't about me, but it's ALMOST about me, since he's MY husband. :)

12. Roger and I would like to have twins. Or triplets. Don't try to deter us - so many people have followed that path before, to no avail. We're dead set on it. Of course, God has a huge part to play in that...

13. I like my toes very much. They are in a perfect arch. Roger, however, has one on each foot that sticks out taller than the others. He says that he's the one with normal toes, and that mine are weird, but I think it's quite the opposite. My toes are so cute! How could he ever think they are weird?!?

14. I have convinced six of my friends to get blog sites, so I'm a momma of six. Two of them have convinced three friends to get a blog sites, so I'm also a grand-momma of three.

15. My nose is pierced. I happen to think it's way cute. My husband agrees.

16. My very first live concert was at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth, Texas. I went with my dad (and the rest of my family) to see Jerry Lee Lewis. He sang "Great Balls of Fire," and the crowd went nuts. Especially my dad!

17. I'm addicted to email. I check my email probably 100+ times while I'm at work. I don't know how I manage to survive when I go out of town.

18. I don't wear deodorant. I wear Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial hand gel. It kills the bacteria, and my armpits don't smell. Try it. It works. I was first introduced to the idea by my friend Amanda Adams, in college. REALLY.

19. My first car only got radio reception when I was driving around sharp turns. Sometimes I would drive in circles just to hear clips of songs playing on the radio.

20. When I was in middle/high school, my favorite computer games were Kings Quest, Space Quest, and Police Quest. These games were made by Sierra. They are virtually impossible to find now. If you know where I can get a new copy, please let me know. I'd love to play them again!

21. I met my husband while playing the Game of Life at the house of a mutual friend from church. In turn, it was also the Groom's cake at our wedding.

22. When my family moved from my beloved home in Washington (state, not district), I can remember looking out the back window and seeing a Daisy Sour Cream container in the dash. I'm sure it had something else besides sour cream in it. How weird would that be to have a container of sour cream sitting in your back dash?

23. I LOVE to dance.

24. I like to cook, but hate to clean up afterward. Why won't dishes and countertops just clean themselves?

25. When I was growing up (remember, in the country), my brother and I would have manure fights. Whether it was with our friends or cousins, we would always be on opposite sides of the barn wall from each other and we'd heave manure over the wall with a giant shovel. It was dry manure, at least. Now, I like to think of it as "dirt" - it seems less gross that way.

26. I snore. My husband says that I sound like a squirrel.

27. I once caught two fish with no bait. I just dangled my empty hook in the water while I waited for my dad to re-bait it for me, and a fish bit it. TWICE. Two different fish were THAT hungry.

28. My favorite dog is a Labrador. Either chocolate (I know they're not as smart) or a black lab. My husband's favorite dog is a Dachshund. Roger wants his weiner dog to be the Alpha. I abhor that idea. I WILL NOT HAVE A LITTLE RAT DOG BOSSING AROUND MY BIG LAB.

29. Popcorn is my favorite food group.

30. I've eaten Duck Blood Soup. Yes, it's actually duck blood. Congealed until it stiffens, and then cut into squares and put in a soup. It tasted similar to liver.

31. I've ALSO eaten Chicken Feet. Toes and Everything. Appetizing, yes?

32. And on one of the backpacking trips (see number 9), I ate a black ant. One of those BIG, juicy ones that are about the length of my pinky fingernail. It tasted tart, and then sweet. I did it on a dare. The others (#s 30 and 31) were not.

33. I get a wild hair now and then. Forgive me. My husband and friends have learned to overlook it. In time, you will too.

34. I'm addicted to Oh Baby lipglass by Mac.

35. When I was in high school, I once snuck out of my house with a friend. Mind you, I had a long driveway (see #6). And when I say long, I mean LONG. Sherre and I had to push her car ALL THE WAY DOWN our long, gravel driveway, WITHOUT THE DOGS BARKING. We stayed out til 5am. We were SO BORED, it was pathetic. We ended parked in a park nearly the entire night, laughing because we were so bored (we lived in a small town, and everyone else had curfews). I don't know WHAT we thought we were going to do. About 4:45 we went and picked up some doughnuts, and then went back to my house. My mom was up, waiting for us. We tried to convince her that we had just left the house early to get fresh doughnuts, but she didn't buy it. My momma's smart like that. It didn't happen again, if only because we didn't want to go through such boredom TWICE in our lives.

36. I was a Nicholas before I was a Jessica. Yes, my parents thought they were having two little boys. Turned out, they had a boy and a girl. I'm the girl. ME. JESSICA. My older brother is JOSH.

37. I love the following genres of movies: military, CIA/FBI, or law (which all usually fall in to the category of action/suspense), romantic comedies, and silly movies, like Zoolander. I DON'T LIKE movies like Waiting for Guffman or The Royal Tennenbaum's. I JUST DON'T GET MOVIES LIKE THAT. THEY'RE NOT FUNNY, PEOPLE. And after I spent my hard-earned money to go see the latter, I was actually ANGRY that I had wasted 50 cents (I saw it on a Tuesday night at the dollar theater, so it was only 50 cents) and TWO HOURS OF MY LIFE watching it.

38. I have a flair for drama, if you haven't already noticed.

39. I live in Texas. I was forced here at the innocent age of 6, by my parents who were also moving here. Once we got here, my dog ran away. I still believe he ran all the way back to Washington (see #22). I would rather live somewhere that has more topography than Dallas' cement buildings. Until then, I'll be happy here. I love that it is so WARM most of the year.

40. I have only been married once. I will only be married once. I am a strong believer in the sanctity of marriage.

41. On that note, I am also a strong believer in the existence of God and the sacrifice made in Jesus. (see #2)

42. I graduated from UNT with a degree in English, Technical Writing. This means that I know how to write manuals. For objects, such as blenders or for software documentation, etc. Upon graduating, and again in 2004, I applied to Lockheed Martin to work as a Technical Writer in their Missile development branch. Apparently, they weren't too impressed with a paralegal applying for that position.

43. I hate shaving my legs. This doesn't mean that I don't shave, it just means that I hate to do it. I always get razor burn. I always miss hairs. I always have hairs just under the surface that I have to pick at before they'll surface for my razor. I can't Nair, because I get chemical burn. I've tried waxing, but that didn't last long. I have a low tolerance for pain. Tell me, Internet, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?

44. My middle name is Lynne. WITH AN "E." Get it right, people.

45. I LOVE having friends over and entertaining people in our home. It's that Southern Hospitality, I suppose. Even though Texas isn't Southern. Texas is TEXAN. There's a difference.

46. Embarrassing things happen to me all the time. You can read about them from time to time on my blog. It's not that embarrassing things HAPPEN to me, but more so that I consistently manage to put myself in embarrassing situations. Like that time my boss walked in my office, and for some reason I was smelling my armpit. Don't ask why: I don't remember.

47. Roger and I both LOVE to travel. Roger grew up traveling - he's been all over the world. I've been around the US (obviously), Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, the Bahamas, and China. (And as of January 2006, the Philippines.)

48. I am a natural chocolate brunette. Once, when I was in the 7th grade, I tried to die my hair blonde with hydrogen peroxide. It just turned a lighter shade of brown, but when my best friend tried the same thing, hers turned bright orange.

49. I love my husband. And when I say love, I don't mean that I love things about him. I mean that the more time I spend with him, the more my love for him grows. The kind of love that rips my heart apart when we argue, though we still do it. Frequently, it sometimes seems. The kind of love that makes me want to fling myself on top of him while he's still hiding under the covers, not wanting to realize it's already time to wake up, and often it makes me want to spontaneously hug him just to be closer to him. When he's not home, I love to crawl in his side of the bed, just because I know that he has laid there. This man is the man all women dream about - of impeccable integrity, an excellent leader in our marriage, he gives wise counsel, he seeks to become a man after God's own heart, and he treats me like a lady. ALWAYS. And this incredible, amazing man chose ME to marry.

50. I am humbled by my husband, and so thankful for him. :)

* * *

Added April 27, 2005:

Want to know more? I allowed the Internet to ask me questions, and then I answered them. Read my answers here:

Part One
Part Two

* * *