my name is anika. a-nick-a. not a-neek-a ... and yes, people HAVE told me before that it's like annikin skywalker. but i'm not.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Episode 4: The Bachelor -- Favorite Quotes of the Night ...*
''I'd rather, like, have a tarantula crawl up my arm than do this'' ~Nikki, sobbing about having to make up a song about Jason. Get over it, Nikki. You are a crazy control freak and you have no imagination or silliness in you whatsoever.
''I don't like that she smells like him'' ~Melissa, about the fact that Molly smells like Jason the morning she got home from her one-on-one date. I feel ya, Melissa, that would not be cool at all.
''You're one person that I will always want the best for, whether it's with me, which it could be, or if it's not with me'' ~Jason, to Naomi. Um, foreshadowing much? She is not The One.
''... amazing qualities'' ~Jason in a voice-over, while the camera pans over Stephanie's breasts. Classy.
"I do everything right and yet I'm always rejected.'' ~Nikki, after being rejected. Get over yourself.
*I'm strangely fascinated by this show ... Sorry, guys!
I want to wake up my boys I want to gather scattered toys I want to sit with you at breakfast I want to clean messy faces I want to help you make your lunch I want to make a pot of coffee I want to sing you to sleep for a nap I want to pick up groceries I want to watch the snow fall I want to wipe fingerprints off walls I want to have dinner ready when he comes home I want to see your first smile of the day I want to be here when you walk through the door I want to hear about the scandals and adventures at school I want to call you at work I want to ask about your day I want to not do my hair I want to go to the gym I want to putter in the garden I want to walk on a sunny day I want to tuck you in every night I want to get cuddles and hugs I want to be here for you
Marianne gave me the letter J to do a list of me. At first I didn't know what I possibly like that starts with that letter, but after a few hours of thought I realized that the love of my life and my two beautiful sons all start with J. And the insanity just went from there ... So here are 10 Js of my little life:
1. Jason -- my husband, my lover, my best friend. He is funny -- like, spit-out-your-drink-all-over-the-table funny. He is my safe haven. He is an amazing dad. He loves me! He has this little diagonal crease in between his eyebrows when he furrows them. He is sometimes too sentimental (it's an honor and a pleasure). He is protective. He has perfect teeth and beautiful eyes. He loves hockey, just like me. He is my one true love. I absolutely adore him and I am blessed to have him in my life.
2. Jacob -- my first son, my hilarious kiddo. He is sensitive and smart. He makes me breakfast in bed from time to time. He is generous. He kills me with his one liners ("mom, girls get really crazy when they like you"). Once in awhile he slows down long enough for a cuddle. He comes in our bedroom on Saturday mornings and climbs onto our bed for family time. I love the look he gives me when he thinks I'm being silly. I love hearing him talk to his daddy. I love watching his hockey games. He is my punkinello.
3. Joel -- my newest love, my beautiful baby. He makes a funny scrunched-up-nose face when I pull out the camera. He has such perfect chubby cheeks. He smiles when he wakes up in the morning. He is friendly and easy to laugh. I love the smell of his little feet, the sight of his face, the sound of his voice, the feel of his soft skin. I love the way he loses his mind when he runs out of cookie and wants more. How did I go so long without this little piece of heaven in my life?
4. Jump -- by the Pointer Sisters. One of my favorite dance scenes ever in my favorite movie ever, Love Actually. Witness the greatness:
5. Jewish Feminism -- I once wrote a University paper on it. I don't remember what it said.
6. Jewelery -- I love it. I love my wedding rings, I love my earrings with the emeralds and rubies. I love the necklace Jacob made me with big bright plastic beads. I love bracelets, big necklaces and bright accessories. I love rings and nose pins and anklets and earrings. And I like white gold more than yellow gold.
7. Justice -- I am concerned about justice and the effects of injustice in our world and particularly, the country in which I live. It's madness.
8. Job -- I have a love-hate relationship with my job. It can be interesting, so-boring-you-want-to-fall-asleep (and some do), revolting, exciting, horrifying, frightening, hilarious, and extremely sad -- sometimes all of these things in the span of one day. I have a lot of great stories. There are days I love my job and days that I am very tempted to walk away and never look back.
9. Journey -- When I look at where I came from and how far my journey has taken me, even in the last five years, I am taken aback. So many changes! So many blessings! Some chapters have thankfully ended and new ones have begun. I am excited because if this much has been given to me in the past three or four years, what about the next? It's the starting of a brand new day -- a beautiful day.
10. Jello -- I used to eat Jello powder when I was a kid. It was so yummy and I wasn't even deterred when I was told it's made from bone marrow or something gross like that. I don't eat Jello powder anymore.
So I missed some of last night's Bachelor episode due to dinner at my in-laws. Tragic? Perhaps, but thanks to the internet there are recaps galore, including the one by Chris Harrison (the host). I have never been a Bachelor(ette)-watcher. But sometimes there is a show that catches my attention because it is the most amazing and trashy thing I have ever seen.
The Bachelor is not quite as trashy as Rock of Love (hey, did you know that they're on their third season? How great is that?!) ... On the show there is, of course, the token catty one (Megan) and the token verging-on-stalker one with really big teeth (Shannon*). There is the my-husband-died-in-a-tragic-plane-crash one who isn't going to win** (Stephanie). My picks for this Jason character are Melissa and Jillian.
Melissa
Jillian
Also? I think I know who is going to win. And here's why: I took a look at this SPOILERbecause I like knowing the ends of movies and all that sort of thing. So DON'T GO THERE UNLESS YOU, LIKE ME, ENJOY KNOWING THE END OF THE STORY BEFORE YOU'VE READ THE WHOLE THING. Consider yourselves warned.
*Shannon actually looks like she's quite funny when you see outtakes and stuff **Reasons Stephanie is not going to win: 1. Her eyebrows are kind of peculiar. 2. She is nice, but they don't click. As Kristin Baldwin wrote in her article, 'Watching the two of them together is kind of like watching an adult son make small talk with his dad's second wife — it's polite, stilted, and a little uncomfortable. Case in point, this exchange: Stephanie: ''I'd love to meet Ty.'' Jason: [Silent chewing]'
Sometimes life is just so shitty. And it's difficult to remember the good stuff because it's clouded by the uncertainty and frustration of everything else. Like going back to work and feeling like I'm going to miss out on my two beautiful sons and wonderful husband. And like having my best friend not live near here.
Name your MOST favorite thing about being a new mommy. Name your LEAST favorite thing about being a new mommy.
I have a lot of favorite parts of being a mommy. I love helping them discover the world. I love being the one they run to when they get hurt. I love showing them extravagant love. I love seeing Joel smile and laugh. I love when Jacob looks at me with admiration, or hearing about his day. I love the hugs and the slobbery kisses. I love the sticky hands and the stinky feet. I love hearing 'mom' and I love having Jason as my partner, their dad. I love their sweaty hair when they have been sleeping ... There is so much that is my favorite part.
My least favorite part? I hate the worry I feel. Like when Joel's temperature is high. Or when I consider the fact that Jacob is almost a teenager and will thus be too cool to hang out with us. And I hate thinking sometimes about how harsh the world is, and when they will inevitably learn this. I think my job has made me more aware and cynical in this way.
If you had a day all to yourself, what would you do?
What would I do?! WELL. I would probably go to the beach and sit, even if it was cold. I would go to Starbucks and curl up with a great book (Lemony Snicket or The Little Prince or Dry). I would eat out at one of my favorite restaurants, uninterrupted. And I would probably miss my little family.
Do you want your kids to play sports? Which one would you like them to play? Which one would you prefer them not to play?
Yah I'd like for them to play sports. Jacob already plays hockey, and since it's my favorite sport of all, that's what I'd love for them to play. But soccer is good too, as long as they don't become criers like so many professional soccer players. I'd want for them to play a sport that they love, and I'd rather it wasn't one that they have a good possibility of getting severely injured.
How did you and Jason start dating and fall in love?
When we met, I wasn't interested at all in a relationship -- I had just had a difficult ending of one and definitely wasn't looking to meet anyone. But Jason was persistant even after I ditched him a couple times. We had an amazing first date (when it finally happened!), where I discovered he was really funny. We fell in love really quickly and got married less than four months after we'd met. He is truly the love of my life and I am blessed.
What color are you kitchen plates?
Grey
How many babies do you want?
A lot!
Did you have any "feelings" before you found out that you were pregnant? Also, was it something you two were planning, or just a fun surprise?
Well, when I was pregnant I felt like I could feel the baby in there. It was beautiful and I loved it. We weren't planning-planning so it was definitely a great surprise.
If you could spend one whole day with only one person (dead or alive), who would it be and why? and what would you do?
Probably it would be my Opa when he was young. Because he is one of my favorite men ever, and my single hope and evidence for a lot of years that there are, in fact, great men that exist in the world. I would want to see what he was like as a teenager when he fell in love with my Oma in Holland before he got taken away by the Nazis.
Do you grind your own coffee or buy it already ground?
Instead of beginning this letter with a bunch of niceties, I'm going to get straight to the truth: I don't like you a single bit. You are loud and horrible. I don't want to hear how many 'brewskis' you've had at any given moment. I don't want to know the story of how your night went when you went home with 'two hot chicks from the bar.' I don't care to know when you are hungover, either (although this usually means you will be quieter than usual).
It must be nice to be all grown up and to have friends over to party every weekend. You're the first out of all of them to move out of mommy and daddy's house, aren't you? At least that's what I suspect, especially since I heard your little friend yelled "I got my mom to make an appetizer to bring over" ... Classy.
Hey neighbor, remember that night a couple weeks ago? The one when the cops came by at 4am? I know that probably doesn't narrow it down much, but the really really loud night? Still no? Ok, the one when you were fighting with your brother because you slept with your brother's girlfriend? Yes, now you probably have a recollection ... The yelling, the smashing, the screaming ... And when we called the police they said they had already talked to the girl from your place and were on their way. We watched the whole thing and I have to say that it was kind of entertaining.
So I have a request -- if you could have more funny nights like that and less plain old parties, we'd be a little happier to have neighbors like you -- ones that contribute to society and make the world a better place.
Love, Anika
P.S. That was an awfully big piece of drywall you were carrying into your place the next day. Remodelling already?
*Specifically to the guy with the reeeeally loud and obnoxious voice because I don't know how many of the other ones actually reside in your home
Have you ever watched Martha Stewart? Is she not the most socially awkward person ever? She is just so strange. Like when she had Snoop Dogg on her show and was getting him to say words with 'izzle' on the end ... Martha: what's this? [pointing to a knife] Snoop: a shiv Martha: what's this? [pointing to a napkin] Snoop: uh, a napkin
This went on for a few minutes. Unfortunately I was nursing my baby and couldn't reach the remote. Life is hard like that sometimes but I have endured it. Anyways, I mentioned Martha because she decided to do a favorite things list, but all the things on her list are from her own brand.
Dear Martha, You have some good ideas, but you are lame. Love, Anika P.S. You have been to jail, you should know what a shiv or shank is. COME ON
As I was drinking my second of many cups of coffee this morning, I was thinking about how blessed I am. And how much I love my life. So here is a list of my favorite things ever:
- the fact that my 10-year-old son wants to see Mall Cop and my step dad is going to take him to it because secretly he loves movies like that - my painted red kitchen - hearing Jacob walk through the front door from school and standing at the top of the stairs with Joel to greet him - fresh coffee with Coffeemate in it - doing the laundry (ok so maybe it's not my absolute favorite thing ever, but I like doing it) - watching hockey with all of my boys (this includes Jacob's games because they actually are pretty good) - taking videos and pictures of the ones I love - cuddling up to Jason when we go to bed - the mornings that we don't have to wake up right away, when Jacob brings Joel into our room. And they play together on our bed. - Tim Hortons coffee - getting mail from my friends - my husband and my two boys and my mom and my stepdad and my sister - Love Actually. I really cannot watch that movie too much, it is so perfect
Now that it's 12 days into 2009 I am finding that this year is shaping up to be a good one. I have the love of my life and two beautiful sons, I have an amazing family and a good job. I also have a few pounds to lose, but who doesn't, right? RIGHT GUYS?!
2008 was a pretty big year in my life, I think. And here it is in list form (in no particular order). I like lists. - a beautifully short (1 1/2 hours) labour helped along by a fun nurse and hilarious stories from my husband - the birth of my beautiful boy Joel - our first road trip with our little family (which included, among other things, beer margaritas, a stray dog, a lightning storm, the zoo, hot days, a beautiful lake, future plans, a trip to the emergency room, a fear of cougars, driving through the rockies, delicious food, a potato gun, a girl's night out and the coolest toilet seat ever) - my sister and brother-in-law getting married - my second anniversary of marriage with the love of my life (it just keeps getting better) - minor hockey - a switch of schools for Jacob that turned out to be so wonderful for him - minivan test driving - painting - moving with a ten-day-old baby - promotions - scandals - furniture re-finishing - discovering that Jacob is truly the most amazing big brother I could ever have imagined and other small adventures that I would not trade for the world ...
And so far in 2009? We have a red kitchen, I have a great new opportunity at my work for my return in a couple months, and I am just thankful for my lovely little family.
