Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Us
1. A few months before starting this blog we had never painted brick, ripped up a carpet, upholstered a chair, made a headboard, caulked anything, changed out hardware or done pretty much any of the other tutorials we’ve since figured out and shared on our How To page (we’re true believers in learning as you go).
2. Our license plate says “Burgrr” (custom plates are only $10 here so we couldn’t resist).
3. John’s middle name is Freeman in honor of his grandfather (his first name honors his other grandfather named John).
4. My first name is actually not Sherry, it’s Sherry-Beth (my mom thinks it flows like Elizabeth, but it doesn’t- in fact it pretty much ruined my life growing up so I quickly adopted Sherry to avoid the Bobby-Joe-Becky-Sue country bumpkin comparison).
5. The irony of my good ol’ girl name is that my mom’s side of the family is extremely Italian (for example, her name is Diana Teresa DeCesare LaPadula and I have an Uncle Vito, a Grandpa Carmen and a Cousin Dominick) so the odd country/southern reference in my name is totally out of left field (and my brothers and cousins got totally normal monikers: Daniel, David, Adam, Tim, Jennifer).
6. John kissed me first (anyone who knows us is blown away by this because he’s generally the shy one and I’m the loud crazy one).
7. John used to do improv comedy in college and in NYC after he graduated but opted out of that lifestyle after he realized he liked to sleep at night and be awake during the day (thank goodness or I never would have met him working in advertising). Many of his improv acquaintances have gone on to be super famous (he knew Kenneth from 30Rock and a girl named Jenny Slate who’s on SNL this season).
8. I had a tumor in my airway (between my nose and my throat) in middle school. Can you imagine how many times I had to hear “it’s not a tumor”? Thankfully it was benign and two surgeries later I was as good as new. I also had teeth that grew in near the back of my throat and had to be slowly pulled to the front of my mouth through a series of torturous wire tightening exercises (but in hindsight, having a normal smile is totally worth the effort). I always ask my mother what the heck she ate when I was in the womb but she has yet to tell me.
9. John doesn’t drink. Not a drop. He never has, which almost everyone at work quickly learned after a few happy hours with him (he was still the life of the party, just never the one we had to put in a cab at the end of the night). His unwavering willpower and amazing ability never to be “that drunk guy” made him incredibly intriguing and appealing to me… and still has me hooked to this day. Update: We’re not Mormons – which is actually a pretty popular “internet rumor” about us – haha! More on that here.
10. John and I tried out for the Amazing Race back when we were friends right on the cusp of dating (our hook was that the race would either ruin any shot at a relationship or bring us together). We didn’t even get a call back, which I now realize is a good thing as my terrible sense of direction and loud mouth would probably have made us a pretty lame team. I still think John could win the entire thing with a better partner though. He’s great at reading maps, having a strong sense of direction and running (three things I don’t do).
So that was a fun little Friday departure. What about you guys? Any strange facts that will blow us away about you, our lovely readers? Anything that we revealed above that totally surprises you? Number 1? Number 9? Number 10? Do tell.
Psst- want more Burger? Just head on over to Hamburger’s House to see how big his head is getting (along with the rest of him).
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These were fun to read. I made similar list on my blog a little while ago:
http://lifeon19th.blogspot.com/2009/05/22-random-things.html
Sherry, do you wax your eyebrows? they are perfect!
I’m dying at Sherry Beth though. I think you chose the better option to shorten it.
Neither my husband or I drink…but we still have fun together!
Hey Missy,
Aw that’s such a nice thing to say! Random and unexpected but super nice none the less. I used to get them threaded back in NYC when I was fancy, but here in VA I just pluck them and try to keep from looking Sasquatch-ish (the Italian in me can make them a little rowdy if I’m not careful). I do have a nice little pink angled Tweezerman tweezers that I swear by though. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
What a GREAT list of random facts!!!
They are all so fun and interesting…. but #9 really impresses me! It’s great that there are others out there (like me + my hubby) who can have a great time without needing to drink.
So strange, my mother is a half Italian with a hyphenated first name. She was named after the Italian grandfather of the family Nicoli, so her given name was Nikki-Lyn Franzese. She also had a boy cousin Nicholas, who was called Nicky, so she had to be called Nikki-Lyn. She was like you–HATED it. She did not have a middle name so when she got married, she dropped the Lyn, and made her maiden name her middle name. Her family still calls her Nikki-Lyn too, insist on it. She gave me Lyn as my middle name–avoiding the dreaded hyphen. However, as I about to get married, ( and the partner to be strongly dislikes hyphenated last names), as a nod to my mother, I am going to hyphenate my first name–bringing it back, and take my maiden name as my middle name! Just practicing above!
On my wife’s side, her brothers’ middle names are both Freeman after their grandfather! How interesting is that?!
My little sister had funny teeth and I used to call her snaggletooth. We had and still have a great relationship! She was in the Miss Tennessee Pangeant 2 years in row so she grew out of that akward phase. By the way, I was 6’2″ and played middle linebacker in highschool…nobody else called her snaggletooth!!!
I always wanted to go on the amazing race with my best friend, but his weakness would be the food. He will eat anything but we may have to stop every 5 minutes as a result!
Good for John on not drinking. I think its funny how our society is so hooked on things like that. No need for that in order to have a good time or relax. My first sip of beer came at the ripe old age of 28! Still won’t drink more than one and don’t keep any in the house now that we have a child.
Thanks for the list of fun facts!
I am loving this post! So funny and totally interesting. You two are such a cute couple!
This was so interesting! Love this post!
I know I’m a bit late on this, but I just thought I’d chime in. Originally, my mom wanted to name me Alyssa Beth, which does flow, but is definitely a country name. She didn’t admit this until a few years ago when I made sure I thanked her for not naming me that.
I know you posted this awhile ago, but I loved reading it! I’m sort of dying at the Sherry Beth thing…I imagine a completely different blog from that girl than you! (filled with lots of hand stitched quilts and best jam canning practices) Will this list go in your new baby book? :)
Too funny! I bet Baby P would get a kick out of it, so we probably should print it out and stick it in there for safekeeping. Great idea!
xo,
s
I read this when you first posted it, but for some reason, it seems a lot funnier to me now than it was then. I think I’m going to post something like this over at my blog.
I definitely don’t picture you as a Sherry-Beth. I can definitely see why you dropped the Beth. Great idea :)
And John, you are not alone. I don’t drink either, which generally makes me the butt of designated driver jokes whenever I go out with my sisters (which isn’t often). I am from the Virgin Islands, where drinking age is 18 and kids often start a lot sooner. I had my first AND last drink at 14. I prefer waking up sans headache, and actually being able to remember what I did the night before. A few weeks in college and seeing girls having to be carried to their dorm rooms solidified my decision :)
Oh, please do another one of these shortly!! Love it.
I’ve been a reader for a couple of years and never saw this post….loved it! How about a “10 MORE things you didn’t know about us” post????? Pretty please? I read daily and love the way you write! I’ve gained a ton of ideas and learned how to fix up my own older home, so thank you!
Aw thanks Julie! We’ll have to see if we can think of ten more! Hahah.
xo,
s
You never said why John doesn’t drink…doesn’t like the taste? AG?
He just never has. Not sure if he can even explain it. He definitely hung out with lots of folks who did at college, but he said it was more fun to be the sober one who saw everyone else being crazy and just sat back and observed. Haha. I love it about him though, just because he’s his own person. Never goes with the crowd and is always the designated driver for anyone in need! Haha.
xo,
s
Finally! Another otherwise normal non-drinker like me. I like having a good time, but drinking has never appealed to me. At lot of it has to do with taste. Some of it has to do with the slightly sick feeling my stomach gets when alcohol hits it. Too scared of getting caught to do weed. But, if it ever gets legalized in my state……
You guys should reapply for The Amazing Race. I’m pretty sure you’d get a call back this time around. You know, now that you’re published authors and are all famous and what not. :)
BAHAHAHA on the Becky-Sue reference! My given name was Rebecca Sue and I have many a relatives who call me Becky Sue (gag). When I got married to Mr. Lemon I dropped the “Sue” and moved my maiden name in to be my new middle name.
I too am a Rebecca Sue and my mom quickly dubbed me Becky Sue. She had moved from the Iowa to Chapel Hill, NC and wanted to give her daughter a southern name. Ugh! I hated it! Took me years to get people in the habit of just calling me Becky. Funny, I dropped my maiden name (hard to spell and pronounce) when I married but kept the “Sue”.
What did you guys do in your application video for Amazing Race? Pleeease post the video here?! Pretty please? :D
Oh man, I wish we still had it! It was before we were really dating so the angle we went with was “this is John, he’s a good boy and he doesn’t drink or anything and I’m this loud/hyper girl and I have a terrible sense of direction and we’ll either fall in love or hate each other within a week or two of racing!” – sadly they must not have thought that was interesting. Hahah!
xo
s
Just randomly found this….and even after stalking your lives for 4 years I didn’t know some of that stuff!
Much love Sherry-Beth :)
Sherry and John,
I have been working my way thru your blog for the last few weeks and am really enjoying the experience. I wish I didn’t have to go to work so I could get myself into the present that much sooner. I was going to wait till I had read thru to the present but when I saw item #8 I had to comment. It is the teeth thing. I had the same thing. My orthodontist actually wrote a paper on it (lol). I think the process of moving those little suckers into place was the most painful things I ever had to endure. But I agree with you that it certainly makes me appreciate the smile I ended up with.
Heather
No way! I found my long lost tooth twin!
xo
s