Pickles & Dimes

I made these questions harder this time, so you’d have to guess based on what you know of us. Here are the answers:

1. Who has taken (and passed) the FBI entrance exam? Me. I took the test back in 1999, passed, and then received a letter stating they were in a hiring freeze. The new Minneapolis FBI headquarters is going to be built three blocks from our house; I’m going to walk in there someday and see if they’re hiring.

2. Who got to actually play at the Metrodome? Jason. After a Twins game, he got to play there for a high school baseball playoff game.

3. Who can play the French horn, trumpet and flute? Me. I originally played the flute, but then switched in 10th grade to the French horn. I taught myself to play by first playing a piece on my brother’s trumpet (which had similar fingerings but a much easier mouthpiece).

4. Who had a mullet and braces in 8th grade? Jason was incredulous that most people thought it was him, but it’s me, dear god. And there are pictures out there in the world somewhere.
Which you will NEVER SEE.

5. Who has more speeding tickets? Jason. This irritates him, as Mr. Tailgater claims I am a much worse driver than he is (not true).

6. Who was in a nasty car accident two years ago? Jason. He was a passenger in a car that hit a truck carrying an unsecured mattress, which flew off in the middle of the freeway, causing the truck to slam on its brakes. Jason was picking glass out of his ear for days.

7. Who once got a toothpick embedded into their kneecap? Jason. Story to come.


8. What color is our bedding? Blue.

Someone had to get a panda-loving bamboo pillow this weekend, whereas I bought the $2.94 Target pillow. And then got made fun of by the cashier.

9. Who sleeps on the side of the bed closest to the door? Right now, Jason, so I can be closer to the heat vent. We’ll switch sides once it gets warmer, so he can be closer to the A/C.

10. Who has a fraction of Cherokee Indian as part of their heritage? Me. Although it’s not enough to get a scholarship or casino money or anything. Pffft.


11. Bonus question (worth 5 points): How many books on forensic science does Shauna own? Five.

The winner? My real-life friend Michelle, who got 6 questions right, plus the bonus question (for a total of 11). Then came Becky, Jason’s mom, with 9 correct answers.

However, both of them have already won before and have the advantage of knowing us in real life, so the winner is LoriD! She got 8 right, even though she thought she’d do terrible.

Congrats, LoriD! Shoot me an email (picklesdimes at comcast dot net) with your address and I’ll send you a goofy magnet set made by yours truly. (Also Michelle, I still owe you one from your win before.)

Thanks for playing, everyone!

Oh yeah, here’s some shots of our monkey bathroom, which Jason wants to reiterate is our spare bathroom downstairs. Our regular upstairs bathroom is decorated all nice and adult-like.

The view from the doorway showing the curtain, rug, soap, and one of the candles. The mirror is on the wall to the left (not shown).

The medicine cabinet over the toilet with the lotion dispenser and the other candles. Notice our fancy positioning of the matchbook. That means we’re classy.

Some nerd taking a self-portrait. Hee!

It’s been awhile since we’ve played this, and we’ve gotten some new readers in the meantime, so here’s Vol. 3. The winner will get a handmade magnet set featuring quirky illustrations found in various magazines around our house. (Thank god for ESPN magazine and their “tighty-whiteys” illustrations!)

We’ll reveal the answers on Monday, so you have plenty of time to mull these over. Also, this time there’s a bonus question and one that goes beyond the ‘Jason or Shauna’ answers. Good luck!

1. Who has taken (and passed) the FBI entrance exam?
2. Who got to actually play at the Metrodome?
3. Who can play the French horn, trumpet and flute?
4. Who had a mullet and braces in 8th grade?
5. Who has more speeding tickets?
6. Who was in a nasty car accident two years ago?
7. Who once got a toothpick embedded into their kneecap?
8. What color is our bedding?
9. Who sleeps on the side of the bed closest to the door?
10. Who has a fraction of Cherokee Indian as part of their heritage?
11. Bonus question (worth 5 points): How many books on forensic science does Shauna own?

Here’s the results of the second edition of So you think you know us?

1. Who has a scar on their shin?
That would be Jason, who, according to his version of the story, got hit by a “60-mile per hour” fastball while playing softball.

2. Who has spent the night in jail (on more than one occasion)?
Jason. Once for something he did and once because the cops were looking for his cousin and were holding Jason as collateral or something.

3. Who lettered in high school sports for 6 straight years?
Me. I was on varsity track since the 7th grade as a sprinter. I was one of those skinny beanpole kids whose speed peaked (and plateaued) at age 13, despite my track coach’s threats that someday I’d be getting “hips and boobs.” I’m still waiting on the boobs.

4. Who is older?
Well, that would also be Me. By a mere five months. I’m no cradle robber.

5. Who once got 9 large marshmallows into their mouth?
Jason. The man is a human pocket gopher.

6. Who had a green dirt bike as a kid?
Me. Which I rode at top speed down our gravel driveway to soar off our makeshift (log and plywood) bike ramp. Which segues nicely into our next question…

7. Who had pieces of gravel in their kneecap for over 10 years following a rollerblading accident?
Also Me. I went rollerblading for the first time in college and the rental place had run out of kneepads. They had wrist guards though, which were entirely unhelpful when I bit it on a deserted tennis court by rolling over an insignificant pebble that lodged in my wheel and made me bloodily shred my jeans and kneecap.

As my friends oohed and aahed over the gore, I “cleaned” the oozing wound by phantomly daubing at it while looking at something else entirely. Ten years later, I was absentmindedly running my hand over my kneecap when I felt a small bump under the skin. Which then popped out and revealed itself to be a small pebble. A 10-year-old pebble that had been living in germy bliss under my knee skin. Eww. Anyway, KNEEPADS, people!

8. Who has carried the Olympic torch?
Me. You probably won’t believe this, but it’s true: Somehow or another, I was chosen to participate in the Olympic Torch Run when I was about 17. I’m not sure how I was chosen, but let’s assume it was because I was awesome.

I don’t remember too much about the experience itself except that the distance I ran was really, really short and the Olympic Torch was really, really heavy. I’d show you pictures, but (this is true, I swear to God), the pictures were on the same roll of film as my band trip to Hawaii. The same roll of film that got ruined when my mom insisted I take it into a new place in town that developed photos.

(Actual quote from idiot film destroyer: “This looks like a lawnmower.” Me: “That’s the HULA BOWL. In Hawaii. Where I will probably never return in my life.” Idiot film destroyer: “This picture looks like it has fire in it.” Me: “Argh – that’s the Olympic Torch!”)

I could show you a picture of the snazzy t-shirt I got for participating, only it was stolen from my senior high gym locker. (Also totally true.)

9. Who needs three shots of Novocaine while at the dentist?
Jason. He is some kind of freak of nature, and I love when our normal dentist (who is in the National Guard) is gone, because I can only imagine the skepticism that results when Jason begs the new dentist for THREE shots because he “needs it, man!”

10. Who once dated a person named after a celestial being? AND,
BONUS POINTS if you can guess the name of that person.
Oh, your answers to this one were so great. The answer to this one is Jason. And Tessie is half right: the girl’s name was Star. But not Star Jones.

The winner? Again, Becky (Jason’s mom) won, with 8 correct answers and the correct answer to the bonus question. But since she’s ineligible, Michelle was the next big winner, with 8 correct answers. Michelle, you win a P&D magnet set, which I’ll give to you in person someday since we see each other in real life.

Thanks for playing, everybody! Keep your eyes open for Volume 3, coming sometime after I have thoroughly bored you with wedding and honeymoon talk and pictures.

Hi! We’re back, and we’re married! Everything went perfectly and we had a blast on our honeymoon. Now we’re back to reality and digging ourselves out of all the things that piled up in our absence.

More pictures to come later, but for now, I’m revealing the winner of the Email Guessing Contest. In a shocking turn of events, I got hardly any email during the 8 working days I was gone: less than 10 per day. This is incredible, especially since I typically receive 50+ in ONE DAY. So, the final tally was 77.

Technically, Jason won, but since he’s ineligible, the next closest guess was from Sara. Congrats, Sara! Email me your contact info and I will send you a set of 5 handmade, fall-themed thank you cards.

And, just a reminder: we’ll announce the winner of the second So you think you know us? contest tomorrow. So keep those (hilarious) guesses coming!