Apology.

Am I going to become (have I become) one of those people who is all of a sudden boring when they have a boyfriend because all they can talk about is him?
I hope not.
I'm sorry for gushing and swooning.
But Jason is just so amazing that I want everyone to know him and he makes me feel like I've certainly never felt before in my life and I have a ridiculous smile on my face when I think of him.
Wow.

So in order to not become one of said people who only ever talks about their amazing-and-hot-and-so-terribly-funny-and-cuddly-and-romantic-and-thoughtful-and-fun-and-sensitive-and-creative boyfriend, I will tell you a joke:

Once, there was a string and he went into a bar and ordered a beer, but the bartender scoffed at him and said "we don't serve string here. " The string was really mad because he was a raging alcoholic and he already drank his family out of house and home. So he went outside, swore a little bit. And tied himself up and ruffled the top of his head (like frayed it). And then the string went back into the bar and marched up to the bartender and demanded a beer. The bartender said "Aren't you that string that was just in here?" and the string said "No, I'm a frayed knot"

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA funny hey?

This Weekend In Math:

We went to my sister's boyfriend's cabin this weekend. I have some great pictures. And Jason has some great (and incriminating) video.

0 girls who swam

+1 makeshift birthday cake for Jacob made out of a chocolate chip muffin and matches for candles
+1 row boat adventure that involved rowing backwards, romance and laughing
+1 breakfast of Smirnoff and eggs
+1 ride on the quad where I almost fell right off
+1 car getting stuck and having to be pulled up the hill by the quad
+1 very intense game of Trivial Pursuit 90's Edition

+2 litres of oil added to my car after I added oil to my car on Friday because it still wasn't registering on the dipstick (Iamashamed)
+2 boys who swam. Twice.
+2 amazingly good sleeps because those beds were extremely comfy

+6(ish) total hours of driving

I had somuchfun.

I Amaze Myself Sometimes ...

So I'm going away for the night and the oil light has been coming on randomly in my car for the last couple weeks and this morning I added 2 litres of oil to my car.
I am so car-savvy.
AND.
That was even before my sister's boyfriend got her to remind me to check the oil.

Little Miss Car-Sav AND Political Ani.
I have a lot of skillz.

I'm glad I'm not my car.

The Men In My Life ...

Because I am a reformed man-hater and because I have had contact with so many guys who are tote luses in my life, I sometimes am in awe of what amazing men I currently have around me ...

Jacob. You are the greatest little kid I have ever known. It makes me laugh that we joke about me beating you and you yell "HEY MOM, WHY DON'TCHA BEAT ME UP?!" in the grocery store, for instance. Even when you are driving me to drink I love you. And when you ask Jason if he's going to kiss me and then say "good" when his answer is yes. I like you, kiddo.

Jason. You are so amazingly funny and thoughtful. And we have good talks. And dammit, I'm going to get rid of my trophy one of these days, whaddaya say about that? I'm pretty happy we passed the first round of Deal Breakers*. It's good. And I'm really happy in general. It's almost disgusting. But I like it.

Phil. You are such an amazing friend and you encourage me like none other and you are so thoughtful. I absolutely love you (and will fight you, but you already know that). I am so blessed to have you in my life. And I have never not had a good time when we're together. 4-4 and 10-10. It's a sign.

*Deal Breakers is a game we made up that every week we have to do something that the other person might not like and then if the other person ends up not liking it, we have to break up. This last week it was Love Actually for him (he liked it) and Punch-Drunk Love for me (I liked it about 86%)

Surplus ...

Yesterday Jacob said to me "I told Grampie that I saw a cute girl at camp today" which took me by surprise because, well, he's not even quite eight years old.
My stepdad said "yah he's been checking out girls already, that's kind of interesting, hey?"
me: "Um, yes. Why were you checking out girls, Jake?"
Jacob: "Well she was just really cute ... And I had to look at her, she was leading the camp"
me: "Oh so she was older ... What did she look like?"
Jacob: "I don't remember."

Wow.

***

Remember the boy Jason that I've slyly been mentioning? (and by 'sly' I mean 'not-sly-at-all') ... Well he's my boyfriend. So yes. And I like him a lot. And he's amazing and he's hot and he tells great stories and he's extremely funny and Jacob likes him and he's adventurous and we made up a Deal Breaker game and Phil loves him and we want to race my sister and her boyfriend across Canada.

***

My sister's boyfriend Than is the nicest ever in the history of the world because he is a milk man and he gives us cappuccino drinks. And my sister? Sometimes I just want to squish her because I just love her so much and we have the same laugh because yesterday we were laughing and it was the same.

Flying Colors ... Colours? ... Well They're Flying Anyway ...

So remember how I took that extremely-difficult-test for the job I want? I passed ...
YESIPASSED!
I'm pretty excited about that. So now they're going to call me for an interview (eventually) and I'll probably burst into tears or burst out laughing because I'll be really nervous. Or I'll fidget a lot. Or I'll make an inappropriate joke because I'm the kind of girl that, on a first date, jokes about abducting a child.
But I'm still excited.
And I'm excited about this weekend because we might go to Whistler and it's also Jake's real birthday so we are going to celebrate.

Regarding Laughter ...

So laughing is so great. And this morning I was driving along in my mom car singing along to the radio and thinking at the same time AND text messaging Phil because he sends me the nicest ever text messages ...

And anyways, I burst out laughing. It was a mixture of things. One being the new guy in my life? -- SO funny. Makes me laugh my head off and brings me flowers and brings over tools to cut down and tape up Jacob's hockey stick. Anyways, he's really funny.

Another thing I was laughing about was Jacob. Last night he was playing a video game with said guy and:
New Guy: I don't like Bowser
Jacob: I don't like you
It was funny because it's something I'd say but he wasn't being mean.

I was also laughing about Britton, prolly cause he's one of the funniest people . Witness the following (disclaimer: Dear Britton, I never asked you if I could do this. So can I? Thanks. Love, Anika). This is a story he wrote. It's one of my faves:

This is a very serious story about this one time I went hunting.

It started on a friday. Or was it a thursday? I'm not exactly sure. Some of the details are somewhat blurry, so I'll try my best and fill in details with lies and extreme exaggerations.

So we left on our trip to go hunting somewhere up north. After 62 straight hours of driving we finally arrived and the deer and moose were everywhere. There actually was no need to hunt because you could basically say "here moosey moosey", and they'd come running. So we decided to go for more of a challenge and drove about 163 kms west of this spot and set up camp. There were no animals anywhere near, except for the neighbouring beavers that had set up camp basically 4 feet away from us. They were pretty friendly though. They caused us no problems at all ... yet.

So I woke up the next morning first, or third, doesn't matter. I made breakfast for everyone, cause I'm pretty much the best cook ever ... (sidenote) I can make chocolate chip cookies with nothing but tree bark and 3 stray dog hairs. They don't taste that great, but hey, they're chocolate chip cookies, you can't complain.

Back to the story, I made breakfast and everyone ate, and then we decided to head out hunting. We broke into 2 groups and were off. With my J827 Oozie and my 277 rifle (those are guns) I was off. After 2.75 hours I saw something in the distance ...

A black bear?
A black moose?
or elk?
or pigeon?
Something.

So I shot it.

As I walked towards it, it stood up and started running towards me. I quickly brought out my gun again and shot it in the face.

Turns out, it was a buddy of mine, Peter, that I had gone hunting with. I apologized and headed back to camp.

So at dinner someone asked me about my day and I told them all about it.

Peter never did make it back to camp. Pansie.

I'll save the beaver story for another time. But I will say it has to do with a Beaver and a missing limb. A leg. The Beaver ate it. It wasn't my leg though. Whose was it? Jack's. It was Jack's leg. He was sleeping at the time, don't worry.

I'll save it for another time.

Funny hey? If you don't like that story, I don't think anything will be able to save you from the un-funniness of your life. Just joking. But not really.

Lately I have been laughing more than ever before. I think it's a mixture of having good people in my life and bad people out of my life and forgiving my dad (but still making fun of him) and meeting amazing people and reuniting with the Players and having a wonderful home. Yes, that's what it is.

I Scream At Ice Cream ...

Things I very much like:

- trying to help someone who feels discouraged feel encouraged

- this new boy

- realizing how sneaky and smart my kiddo is: he lost a tooth last night. When he was talking to me about the Tooth Fairy he said "Well you have three dollars and two cents on your night stand, I counted it. So if that's how much money I get from the Tooth Fairy then I'll know YOU are the Tooth Fairy."

- discovering that I like things I didn't think I liked. For instance: I like whiskey. And I like some hiking. And do I ever like dancing!

- falling asleep happy

- a good story. I LOVE a good story. I like stories about being a kid like this one, or one a nice boy told me a couple days ago: his sister tied him to a tree when he was little because she was baby sitting him and wanted to go to the store but didn't want to bring him. And stories about my bosses? Priceless, too.

- weddings. I am totally excited about this wedding tomorrow.

- remembering things in relation to songs. Pretty much the way I remember things is what song they were with in the soundtrack of my life.

- abbreviating words (examples: ridic, tote luse, abbreve, fab, calc, whatev, sitch).

- not having to be a planner. I suck at planning. I like tentative plans. If I have plans-that-I-have-to-do I feel like I'm being suffocated. Maybe I have commitment issues. Maybe we should talk about that.

- listening to Ani Difranco when I feel strongly about something. Especially in the car

- painting. I haven't painted in SO LONG and I've wanted to get back into it and now I met someone who paints, right, so we are going to paint together. I like that.

- I like Miranda July's I Can Japan. Go listen to it. Immediately. No seriously. It is so fantastic.

Dear Diary,

deet-deet-deedle-deedle-deet-deet-dee-dee
deet-deet-deedle-deedle-deet-deet-dee-dee
deet-deedle-deet-deet
deet-deedle-deet-deet
deedle-deedle-deedle-deedle-deedle-deedle-dee-dee

Love, Anika

* to be sung happily

Abbreves Are Number One In My Heart ...

So yesterday I got the BEST PRESENT EVER! It's a stop sign -- a real stop sign. I've always wanted one but clearly it's not a great idea to steal one, and anyways, someone got one for me (not by stealing). Now if anyone ever asks you if you know anyone who owns a stop sign you can say yes. Is that not a big weight off your shoulders or what?

***

I like Phil's threatening tactics: "Don't worry, Ani. I told him if he ever hurt you I'd kill him ... Or was it yell at him and run away? ... Either way, I took care of it."

I know that he took care of it because Phil represents.

***

What's the difference between a jerk and a Jaguar? With Jags, the prick is on the inside.
This morning on my way to work I saw this guy driving a Jag with Louis Vuitton interior. Obnoxious Louis Vuitton interior. So I cut him off three times to punish him for being so pretentious. The third time was by accident. And I signaled every time. But ... I didn't do the I'm-sorry-for-cutting-you-off wave that kind of makes things all better in these sitches.

Hooray for mom-cars!!!

Like The Whispering Winds In The Tops Of The Trees ...

Melissa and Ant, mod podging is like gluey stuff and you can make collages with it. And I do. (this is the link if you wanna have the full explanation)

***

Last night the ex-boyfriend was in my dream (not my dreamS. My dreaM). I was trying to help him out but he was being a dink. I woke up annoyed.
The last time he was in my dream, he was scaring me with a spider. I woke up mad.
And the time before that when he was in my dream he was telling me how he was sleeping with some girl. And my reaction was disinterested and unconcerned. I woke up disinterested and unconcerned.

***

This is the funniest (and SADDEST. Very sad.) story. You've gotta read it.

***

Yesterday I was laughing with my Mom-Friend about how our kids are too cool to be lovey-dovey to us when we drop them off at school sometimes. My remedy for that is honking and waving as he walks away.

And then when I put Jakey to bed last night he gave me the biggest ever hug and was like "I'm glad I have you for a mom."
"Why," I asked,"Because I beat you?"
"No, because you're just nice to me and you're funny."

It was a moment. I liked it.

I Like Big Butts And I Cannot Lie ...

... Jacob was singing that song the other day. He had completely all the wrong lyrics, but the melody (melody?) was there. Scandalous and horrible. Buuuut funny nonetheless.

***

I really like the feeling of my life lately: funness and freeness and who-knows-where-this-will-end-up-but-lets-go-on-an-adventure-anyways ...

***

Have you listened to Cafe Del Mar lately?

***

Ant, lei'ing is giving the person the lei. It's not laying ... Just for the record.

***

I like drinking a cup of coffee in the morning while I get ready
I like lying on the sand
I like campfires
I like having people over for dinner to my house
I like throwing my keys
I LOVE a good story
I like cooking
I like music that makes me feel certain ways
I like boys that pay $20 for a pen so they can get your number
I like my friends
I like mod podging
I like making presents for people
I like getting letters in the mail
I like adventures
I like laughing so hard
I like the memories I have ...

One for the MONEY ...

Last night Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were in my dream. And they were out for dinner with me. I kept thinking "ah, they're so endearing." Now I am dry heaving.


Anyways vot a weekend! ... Friday night I had Phil and Bob and Andrew over for din dins.

I made spaghetti and caesar salad and spaghetti squash and garlic bread. And we drank beer because that goes well with Italian food, right? RIGHT GUYS?

And then? We went to the casino, where we met up with Firefighter Jen! Woohoo!

I won TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY FIVE CENTS, people. I totally broke the jackpot on that one.

So we went to a Country Cabaret ...

We stripped down to the beaters again ... It's like a tradition ... This time Phil didn't get kicked out because of dress code. Maybe cause it was so beautifully redneck there ...

I danced with a very cute and nice boy ...


Sunday? Jacob and I had some fam time and hung out at the beach and ate ice cream and scavengered and walked and talked ...

Treasures Found ...

Everyone makes mistakes. I have made my share and more in my life and I like to think I learn from them, but many times I know I haven't ... Sometimes I've even convinced myself they were good choices (don't look at me like that, you've done it too) ...

Have you ever had a friend, or friends who it's as if God made them just for you?
Like you've never laughed so hard in your life as when you have been with them.
And they could hurt you to the core with a single word, just because you love them so much.
And you are just yourself.
And you have never had so much fun no matter what you're doing as when you're with them.
And when you need to cry, you can sob and your nose can run and your makeup can smear and they love you.
And you have the stupidest ever inside jokes that you laugh at every time because they're yours.
I have had friends like this.
Everybody should be lucky enough to have friends like this.
It's a mistake to let them go.

Stan Smyl? Kenny Rogers? I. Love. You. (and I still have my Player Card)

Insert First Few Seconds of the Forget About Dre Song (by Eminem) Here ...

... because you know at the start of that song? It's kind of like a sneaky soundtrack. But not the rest of the song; just the start before the rapping.

And that's what I wanted to bring to your attention: Have you ever realized how immensely funny sneak attacking is?! It is without a doubt the FUNNIEST THING EVER! Ponder the different types of sneak attacks:

- sneak attack by tackling (this can also be called 'attackling'). So funny, right?

- sneak attack by water fighting. This is a great idea to do sometimes in the house (it's sneakier). A friend and I had the hugest waterfight ever at my old house when I lived with mes parents (they weren't home) and it was crazy. And great. Another good one is when Jake was having a waterfight with my stepdad and Jake turned off the hose (my stepdad's weapon) and sneaked* up on him with his watergun. Yes. Sneak attack by water fight is fabulous.

- sneak attack by film. Sometimes when you're taking pictures or making a video (*cough* Phil *cough*) you have to sneak attack innocent bystanders and get them involved. This is great when you're in Central Park** and you're doing the Anika Cry*** and strangers are turning to stare so you video tape them staring at you. Tres funny. TRES.

- sneak attack by food. This one is great when you do it without even knowing you've done it. Like when you make a baked potato for someone (*cough* Andrew *cough*) and then he discovers that the potato is rotten inside (I didn't do it on purpose I PROMISE). Or? My sister has a friend that (for reasons unbeknownst to me, but great nonetheless) every time cake is eaten, said friend gets the piece of cake that a carrot has been put into.

Oh man. I like sneak attacks.

*sneaked is a better word than snuck
**I have never been there.
***If you know me, you know the Anika Cry. It involves loud wailing and then laughing.

I Am ...

... Loving this right now

KM + BL FE right? Right guys??

SO ... My friend Krista is fabulous. I am often in awe of the fact that her outfits look perfect and she's gorgeous and loud and airy fairy but real. And once? She gave a guy a wedgie at a club in the middle of the dance floor just because!! And if that doesn't tell you how great she is, I sure don't know what would. Not only that, she is pretty much single-handedly responsible for getting me the heck out of a horrible abusive relationship I was in awhile ago and I am forever indebted to her for giving me the courage to get out.

And she is getting married!
So congrats, Brad & Krista! I have rarely seen a couple with as much chemistry as you have ... You are amazing.

***

Speaking of relationships ... You know after you are out of one and you are over the grieving stage and at some points you still miss it, but then you realize that what you miss are things that you wanted it to be, as opposed to what it actually was? Yah. That's what I'm seeing. It's kind of sad, the dismantling of a thing you once thought was so good.

Niceness From The Depths Of My Heart ...

Andrew thinks I'm mean because my stepdad was talking about laser hair removal and I said "oh Andrew's thinking of getting that done because he has hair all the way around his forearms."

But I'm not mean, right guys?
Just funny.

And it was funny when my sister and I said he has nice girly hands.
Yes. Yes it was.

And he told me to say it's funny that I said his feet remind me of Smart Cars.
Because they do.

And it is funny. He's laughing too (even if only in his heart).

It's A Full Moon ...

So Ant is far more eloquent than me. It's true. I love it.

***

I visited with Phil last night. The best thing ever is that he's in love. The worst thing ever (for me) is that he's moving to NYC in 6 months. Then I'll cry the Anika-cry every day ...
Eric and Phil made the best ever video and he got me a most gorgeous necklace!

(And for the record? My sister's neck is longer than mine. I used to carry her by her head. She liked it.)

***

I love the new Justin Timberlake song.
I love head butting in soccer.
I love Phil.
I love my white beater (white, not wife) with lace trim.
I love my eighties rocker hair.
I love doing laundry.
Yes.

My Version of a Bobblehead ...

This weekend in math:

0 kiddo
0 more sleeps till Phil is home

+1 Britton
+1 Bazza
+1 Carly
+1 Than
+1 movie (Pirates -- Loved it.)
+1 very fabulous head butt in the World Cup game
+1 extremely yummy dinner
+1 hot tub
+1 reunion with someone I went to high school with
+1 rum & coke
+1 huge bill for gas at our stupid old house

+2 nights of very. minimal. sleep
+2 hours of watching a movie outside (a makeshift drive-in movie, if you will) trying not to sleep
+2 dollar stores
+2 times getting lost in the car
+2 plastic deer that got paint balled

+6 cups of coffee both mornings

+ several criers who disguised themselves as soccer players (did you notice that?! They'd skin their knee and someone would run out with a stretcher!! ... Hockey, please!)

This Passes My Time Like A Wheelchair Downhill ...

Do you snore? No ... I have talked in my sleep, but in Russian (ok not in Russian, but that would be cool, no?)

Lover or a fighter? Lovah (exceptions: someone hurts my fam / friends, someone makes fun of my car, someone like Phil threatens to move to NYC, someone likes my dad or stepmom)

What is your worst fear? Prolly clowns. Or Forrest Gump (actually he's just creepy creeperson). Or trucks with teeth on the grills. Or the sound a Sasquatch makes.

As a kid, were you a Lego builder? Did I evah! I made a ski lodge and there was all this drama with the patrons and ... Too much information? Mmmkay. Yes.

What do you think of reality tv? I usually think "hey, this is such an original premise ... What's for dinner?"

Do you chew on your straws? I fidget. And if that's what it takes to fidget, then yes, sir, I sure do.

How is the single life for you? It's good, thank you. My parents divorced when I was ten, lets talk about that now.

Do you sing in the shower? If I have a song in my head. Usually there's always a song in my head and that's why I don't sit still.

Have you ever bungee jumped? No.

Any secret talents? I'm wicked-awesome.

What's your ideal vacation spot? Anywhere but here.

Do you give a damn about the Ozone? The Ozone Nightclub? Not really.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? Yes.

What's your stand on hunting? I don't have a stand on hunting.

Is marriage in your future? Of course. Hopefully to Gino Odjick.

Do you like your handwriting? It's pretty ugly, but I like my printing alright. And I like those Crayola Stampers.

What are you allergic to? nothing. Aaaaabsolutely nothing.

When was the last time you said 'I love you'? Yesterday, either to my sis or Jacob

Is Tupac still alive? Yes, he lives with me.

How do you like your eggs? How do you like your eggs in the morning, poached, scrambled or fertilized? ... I think eggs are ok, but if I bite something crunchy like a shell? It induces my gag reflex and I simply can't eat them anymore.

Where does the other sock end up? Britney Spears collects them and makes them into a pretty abstract art feature that she's going to sell on Ebay.

Do you have a nickname? Ani, Manika deBadd, Arnie Peters, Anaconda (referring to the size of my penis I guess)

Is McDonald's disgusting? Yes but I like it.

Is Santa Claus real? Do you even realize how sad I was to find out he wasn't??? SO SAD. Of course he's real.

Are you afraid of the dark? I am afraid of Noah's ark.

What are you addicted to? Hm, where do I begin? ... Coffee, necklaces, earrings, American Eagle, 222s, MAC makeup, cleaning my house, melted cheese, homemade popsicles, jerks, the city, racing my mom car.

Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? It really depends on what kind of effect you want. Probably crunchy in most instances.

Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? I don't think so, but I sat in one once when my ex-boyfriend hit a pedestrian. Shidiot.

Have you ever hitch hiked? Yes once when we were at a concert downtown and we spent all our money and forgot that we parked far away and were going to take the Skytrain back.

Do you like your life? very much

Are you psychic? No but I donated blood once.

Do you play any instruments? I could play about one song on guitar. And I used to play piano when I was littler.

Can you skateboard? Oh absolutely. And sometimes I like to skateboard without the skateboard like Britton.

Do you snort when you laugh? Yes, cocaine

Do you believe in magic? No but I believe in the Big Bad Wolf and that Jesus died on the cross for me and now my sins are white as snow.

You believe in divorce? Believe in it? Um, yes, I believe it exists.

Can you do the moonwalk? It's overrated anyways.

Does your mom know you have a blog? Does YOUR mom know I have a blog?

Have you ever eaten a crayon? When I am sad. I'll let you in on a secret: The orange and light green smelly felts taste good when you lick them.

Last person's house you were in? Zoe's to watch the World Cup (LOVING the head butt, by the way, LOVING IT)

What does your last text message say? 'hey u, did u work things out wit ur boyfriend? I hope not hehe I miss u. Let me take u out 4 dinner this week'

IAMSOSOSOEXCITED.

So yes, I am so stinking excited my fingers just want to do this: lawkecxygjhmfgytyfghmntgfuryhsk

Ahhh.

It's only one hour and twenty-two minutes until my weekend and I talked to Phil today and I haven't talked to him since the day he left which was a week and a day ago so I was a little bit sad about that because I miss him like the dickens but today I talked to him and he's having an excellent time in New York (again) and I talked to his new boyfriend who's been dying to meet me and then we said the same thing at the same time and it made me laugh and Phil's making a video to bring home and bringing me "something beautiful to adorn my neck" and it's practically the weekend and it's sunny and I'm going to see Pirates with mes amies and I'm going to get tanned and tomorrow's going to be so fun and it's just all so exciting right now that I can't even STAND IT!

I think I'll drink some coffee ...

My Funny Little Man ...

Last night I moped a little bit because Jacob left for a week or so with mes parents to go to Calgary to see my new little nephew. I've never been away from him for more than a couple days and usually the first night is like dun dun DUUUUUN FREEDOM!

But I miss the little gaffer! I miss his ridiculous dancing and funny comments and getting up a billion times after he's gone to bed to get a drink of water and turn on another light and I miss him having to wear his flannel pj's no matter how hot it is and asking for a freezie every 4 minutes and his funniest white bum tan and his dirty hands and how he gets mad at me when I copy him ...

So yes, I miss him. But Janie came and whisked me away into adventure to get me out of my state (translation: we drove around and went to Walmart where she bought Wilbur the Fish because my mom was going to give Janie her fish, but it tragically died yesterday).

But other than that ... It's Friday! It's going to be a fun weekend! Piracy starts tonight! Phil's back on Monday! Woohoo!!

I'm SORRYYYYYYY ...

Remember that game? Sorry? I didn't like it. I always felt kind of guilty for, you know, screwing someone else over just so I could win, especially if they didn't do anything to me. It's a much better idea to win by cheating than to win by being mean. Right?

So I'm sorry that I didn't blog yesterday and that I'm just doing a quizeroo but it's just that I'm revelling in the things that make up my life right now and fresh new things (am I a nerd? Cause I sound like a nerd) and I haven't had time to blog.

So here:

1. Are you in a relationship? No sirree!

2. If no, would you like to be? Not with anyone I've ever been in one with, that's FO SHO.

3. What are your favorite shoes? Oh man, I like shoes. Maybe my red sparkly flip flops.

4. Do you have a vacation planned for this summer yet? No ... I have a week but I haven't decided when to take it yet because I want to take Jakey camping and I also need to take off time if I get an interview for The New Job.

5. Do you like amusement parks? Yes! I went on the Drop Zone so clearly Iamthebravesteverinthehistoryoftheearth.

6. Do you ride rollercoasters? Yes I absolutely do.

7. What is your current favorite CD? Well I have been listening to my Ani Difranco compilation I just made the other day. And the breaking up compilation I made awhile ago is good, but I haven't listened to it lately. And Au4 I like a lot. I'm pretty much the best DJ ever (and Janie will agree by telling you I'm the worst DJ ever) and I just like cds I make.

8. Can you touch your tongue to your nose? No, I'm afraid not.

9. Do you like beer? Yes I do. Molson Canadian I like and Corona ... I just don't like Guinness because it looks like the spit of someone who chews tobacco and that makes me dry heave all over the place.

10. Socks and sandals? Oh no no no. Remember my dating tips? Please review.

11. Who was the last person to go to the movies with you? Jake. We went to see ... What did we go see? ... Oh. Over the Hedge.

12. What's one thing you really hope to do this summer? Camp. And get a new job. And a killer tan. And wear my coolness of a bikini more.

13. Do you like to go Mini-Golfing? No I absolutely can't stand it and I cheat on it so I can get done quicker and it has never been a pastime I enjoy.

14. Do you plan on going camping this summer? Um YES!

15. What was the last restaurant you ate at? The last restaurant I was at was Milestone's for a Bellini. But the last restaurant I ate at was Kelsey's.

16. Pants or shorts? Probably pants. Or capris I like. But in the summer time, skirts. I wear shorts too, though. So I guess my answer is yes.

17. Do you play any sports? I have played baseball and basketball. And I like beach volleyball. And in high school I was going to play rugby but someone told my best friend and I that we could lose a tooth so we changed our minds about that ...

18. Do you use Chapstick? No because I don't really usually like wearing lip stuff but I still buy it all the time with good intentions. And I like this stuff called Lip Fusion that Phil had so I got it.

19. What were the last 3 movies you watched? Oh man. I have no clue. The only thing I've really watched recently is Sex & The City ... But probably Lemony Snicket. And Madagascar with Jake.

20. Are you currently fighting with anyone? Nope. I'm not a big fan of fighting ... That being said, I'll fight you and I'm not even remotely afraid at all.

21. Are you too forgiving? I think lots of times 'too forgiving' is used to mean 'not having boundaries and letting someone hurt you again.' I don't think you can be too forgiving. I think it's a mistake to forget what happened and let someone do something bad to you again ... Forgive and forget. Forgive and then forget they exist (ahahaha just joking. Or am I?)

22. How many pets do you have? Fish. Some. The number fluctuates because they keep dying and we keep getting more.

23. What is your favorite breakfast? A cup of coffee with Coffeemate and sugar.

24. Where will you be in 24 hours? *sigh* work. But I'll be 24 hours closer to the weekend and that makes me very glad.

25. What did you do 3 nights ago? Three nights ago ... Monday ... That was the end of my long weekend. In the evening I picked up Jake from his friend's and then later Janie and Andrew came over.

26. What was the last thing you bought? Groceries.

27. Have you ever been in a foreign country? Not so much. I've been to the United States of America.

28. Anywhere you want to go? There are lots of places I want to go ... Including, but not limited to: the beach, Cultus, Las Vegas, Disneyland, Depoe Bay, Victoria, Blarney Stone, and my house.

29. What's the farthest you've ever traveled from home? Uh ... Not too far.

30. What have you done today? Made coffee, drank coffee, listened to good music on my way to work, work stuff, nothing so very exciting ...

31. Are you thinking of someone right now? Yes, I'm thinking of my kiddo because he was going to go with my parents to Calgary today and I'm not sure if they left or not ... And then I continued to think of him and I laughed at him saying "rub-a-dub-dub" to me last night because he really is a nut bar. You've gotta meet him.

32. Do you smoke cigarettes? I don't.

33. Would you date someone who smoked cigarettes? I don't know ... I like the smell ... I don't like smoke breath ... And I don't like the thought of the addiction or results of smoking ...

34. Are you happy with your life right now? I really am. And I'm happy to be in a place I can say that truthfully.

35. What's the last thing you ate? An apple and some carrot sticks. Goodie goodie gum drops, hey?

36. What's the next place you have to go? Home.

37. How many hours do you usually sleep per night? Some.

38. What's the next important date on your calendar? Friday -- Pirates ... Saturday -- BBQ ... Monday -- Phil comes home

39. Who last messaged you? My sis to say "Laloo, have a good sleep."

40. Are you afraid of the dark? No but I'm afraid of spiders and clowns and semi-truck grills with teeth on the front ...

41. Do you exercise regularly? No ... I should but meh ... I'll play sports and run around this summer ...

42. What is the most expensive thing you ever bought? I don't really know ... I don't spend much money ... HA!

43. What should you be doing right now? Caring that my bosses are stressed out and taking it out on everyone around them ...

On Today Being Independence Day And All ...

So the thing of the matter is, today is Independence Day. And THAT is the name of the Ani Difranco song that kind of kept me going last month. And the other thing that kept me going was the idea of reaping in tears and sowing in laughter. And so I kind of tied it all into Independence Day and being happy with the idea of having my own independence back. And it happens to be on the fourth of July, which is significant because four is a good number for me in my life!

Are you following me? Me neither.

Essentially what I'm saying is this: Ani Difranco's song Independence Day = the fourth of July = a good number and Independence Day = my independence = reaping in tears and sowing in laughter = the beginning of a new era for me.

Because that's what your line of thought does if you pay attention to coincidences!

The Best Long Weekend Ever in the History of the Earth ...

Well THAT was fun, hey guys? ... Four days off ... I caught up with friends, shopped with my mom, had a Bellini, and went to Cultus Lake Waterslides* ...

Number of waterslides I actually went on when we were there: 2*

Number of times I apparently applied sunscreen to my lower back: 0. Good one, Anika.


*What we did instead? SUNTANNED! Remember how I bought that string bikini? Well I decided that the waterslides were the perfect opportunity to wear said bikini because, well, I've lost weight and IjustplainoldfeltlikeitbecauseIambrave.