I've finally found a good man...

As many of you know I hate Helen Hunt. I have an embargo on her movies and have imposed sanctions on people who have stated her name in my presence. I've finally found the perfect guy. As many of you saw in my last post I found a really cool site where a pirate (which I love) by the name of Maddox expresses his opinions on various subjects.

Well I've been going back through his archive reading previous things he has written and came upon the best comments ever. (Please do not read unless you too hate helen hunt I don't want to deal with people who get all huffy when someone doesn't like who they like.) Anyway I knew he was the perfect man when he realized instinctively the inherent evil that is Helen Hunt. It was just a matter of time until someone else saw the light. Of course like all good men I'm sure he is taken and/or isn't interested in geeky girls such as myself. (Even when a guy is the biggesnt geek/dork/nerd he's still holding out for a supermodel.)

Anyway have a good day and as always enjoy.

A Little Bit Never Hurt Anybody

Today at work before the floodgates opened and the children decended on us like the plague...I mean angels from heaven my coworker Hsun showed me the funniest website I've seen in a long time. (Feel free to stop reading my post now and click here immediately.)

If you are still reading ok fine. If you are an avid "blogger" then please read this. Although I would like to state for the record that mine isn't as bad, but maddox has a point.

Have a good day and as always enjoy.

Funny Quotes....(Revised)

I've been having some interesting conversations recently I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite quotes:

(REVISED PORTION) please go check out donna's page and comments for the best quote ever!!!!

"...yeah most of the black girls I know have hair that is so short they can't even make...what do you call those things...oh yeah ASTRO puffs!"

"You know it must have been hot if I was coming up out of my clothes!"

"Make sure you don't say it with a Hebrew accent, no one will understand!"

"Tanika you aren't gonna PEE in that toilet, are you?"

"Come look at my bathroom it's so exciting, if you want to see something boring go look at mom and dad's."

"I just want to hold the monkey for a little while..."

If you have any funny quotes from conversations feel free to make a comment.

As always have a good day and enjoy.

Tanika's Los Angeles Beauty Secrets...

Yeah Right! Ummm...don't you know who I am? But I thought it would be a funny title. Well I've been thinking recently about something JR said a couple of months ago at Kairos. He told us to take a moment and think about something we would physically change about ourselves. (Go ahead and close your eyes and think about it for a second)

Well anyway living in a place like L.A. where people get plastic surgery like they are ordering a fast food meal it is easy for BOTH men and women to think about all their physical imperfections becoming irritated or disatisfied with their looks eagerly wanting to imitate someone they feel looks better or maybe just recreate themselves in whatever their idea of "perfection" is. (btw-plastic surgery is dirt cheap in Mexico in case you were thinking about it seriously)

Anyway when I thought about what I would change it came to me very simply. I would love to have my right baby toe undergo some reconstructive surgery. Ever since I was a little girl I've stubbed, jammed, sprained or broken the thing on a regular basis. It's little more than a scary chocolate stump. It's so knarled and twisted it looks like it's "throwing gang signs". Ok maybe it isn't that bad, but pretty close.

I mean really though my BABY TOE?!? What's up witht that? I mean let's get real I could start at the top of my nappy head and work my way down to that self-same toe and find a bazillion things that aren't "perfect" and need "a fixin'", but I decided a while ago that there are things about me that I might not like on the outside, but as long as I'm happy with the Tanika on the inside the rest can go walkabout. Because no matter what I change about my appearance to "appeal" to others if I can't live with myself then who cares.

So why now? Why the toe? Well because I stubbed it for the gazillionth time and it hurt to wear my shoe so in a fit of rage I started thinking. But I realize that it's pointless. Baby toe will ever be the same. Maybe she'll fall off of her own accord.

Well anyway as always have a good day and enjoy.

A Voice in the Wind...

I have been feeling a lot of pressure from some friends to read the book A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers. And yesterday I finally did. Suffice to say it was incredible I couldn't put the book down. Read it in less than 2 days. Yup all 500 pages. Which is pretty standard where I'm concerned anyway.

For those of you who might be scared off by the cover and the back of the book which says, "A young Christian slave girl struggles to reconcile her love for a handsome aristocrat with her deep faith, as she confronts the dark and decadent forces of imperial Rome ... " you might think, "Oh no! Cheesy romance!" But trust me there couldn't be anything further from the truth. There isn't anything the least bit "romantic" about this book. Unless of course you think it's romantic to watch gladiators kill each other for sport, learn how the decadence of Rome spread through the Empire like a disease, or learn shocking parallels that exist between our modern society and ancient Rome (trust me they ain't good). Anyway I'm definitely recommending this book to both men and women. It also has some really cool discussion questions at the end that help you dig into the text better. (Excellent reading for small groups).

I prefer the synopsis that says. "Hadassah, a Christian, is taken as a slave by a Roman family and falls in love with their son Marcus. Meanwhile, a Germaina warrior, Atretes, is taken as a gladiator to fight for his life in the Ludus. Both must face challenges and love as their lives intertwine, and bring them together in a triangle of hate and love. " Although that in no way encapsulates what happens in this book. You definitely won't be able to put it down until the end.

Just another Sunday?!?

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon in the outskirts of Culver City. I had just finished crying my eyes out at the end of the movie The Color Purple and was playing baseball in the backyard with Dawson. Then Lisa comes out and agitated says "Quick, get inside, there's a grenade next door! The bomb squad is here!". Not sure exactly what's going on I hurry inside with Dawson eagerly awaiting an explaination. Joe says, "Stay away from the south side of the house and the south facing windows. In case of flying objects." As we move into the family room Lisa explains that the next door neighbors found a live grenade in their backyard garage and the bomb squad was here to extract it and check for other "suspicious" objects. ( I would like to point out it's been there for 20 years (they say))

Now we are planted in front of the door watching as the armored bomb squad van pulls up, then the K-9 unit. Now more officers...the kids have pretzels and enjoy the show outside the door from a safe distance. Not sure what's happening we try to listen in as the officers communicate on their radios and talk to each other about progress...

Not sure of what happened we look away for a moment and in a flash they are gone. Is everything over? Has the grenade been removed? Are we safe? Sorry folks I don't have answers to those questions, I guess we all will have to just wait and see.

Tanika's Relationship Tip #12: Yes my friends it has been some time since my last relationship post, but it isn't because things haven't been happening it's because I just couldn't focus on anything. Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that people can get hung up on various relationship. For example, creating the perfect situation where you meet the perfect person, expecting never to argue, or expecting someone to be able to read your mind and know exactly how to react. (This is NOT a comprehensive list). Or worse the negative ideal, i.e. that you are destined to only ever meet up with horrible people/situations or that only guys that will mistreat you are going to be attracted to you which is underlined both by Donna's post and also the comment my friend made to me this week, "Tanika is a good for something man every going to love me?". To tell the truth I try to stay positive about life, but I also like to be realistic. I like to think I'm a realistic optimist. (whatever that means). I guess what I mean is that I feel that sometimes it's difficult for us to let go of perfect scenarios or horrifying scenarios that make us think and feel that with any of our relationships if it doesn't go the way we ideally would like then it isn't the best way or worse that we expect the worse and that's all that can ever happen. We all are complex individuals (yes, you are...yeah you over in the back) and because are lives are sometimes complicated it's impossible for us to predict what's going to happen so whe shouldn't get bent out of shape trying or stressing out about worse case scenarios. Anyway feel free to share your comments.

As always have a good day and enjoy.

Addendum: The neighbors came over a few minutes ago and let us know that it was mearly a tear gas bomb. Nothing to worry about. It would mearly burn the very flesh from your bones. Nothing to serious. They will continue searching for more tear gas and will keep us up to date.

Good wine...good times

As my lovely friend Lauren said my friend Derek and I went to visit her this weekend for a belated birthday celebration and a friendly visit to Vacaville. Because of Lauren's bewitching proximity to Napa Valley we were compelled to make a visit to the world famous wine growing region. Above you can see the view from the terrace of Sterling Winery which was our first port of call. I thoroughly enjoyed gazing out over the gorgeous view while soaking in the sun, the humming of the insects, and enjoying a glass of viognier. The crisp citrus flavor mingled with the atmosphere and company to provide an intoxicating experience. (my attempts at waxing poetic)

I must admit that I had to eat a heavy, carby lunch after this visit because those four tastings although spread over a couple of hours did rather go to my head. (they barely give you a sip. I guess I must be a lightweight after all, HAHA!) I definitely enjoyed this trip as much as my last to the Napa Valley. Although I think we overwhelmed Derek with our wine connoisseur skills. I definitely remember him pointing out that he couldn't tell the difference between a 75 dollar bottle and a 25 dollar bottle of wine. But what we told him is that it all boils down to your personal tastes. I prefer reds. Unless it's a fruity crisp white. However he did say he loved Moscato. That boy has excellent tastes.

Anyway we moved onto my next favorite place (St. Supery is in a class all it's own, thanks to Lauren). Frog's Leap Winery. It was a rustic, rambling sort of place with a huge red barn and an orchard where you could sample the fruit while you enjoyed the wine (which was free by the way). We sipped our 2nd Sauvignon Blanc of the day (there would be 2 more to follow) as we walked around inhaling the aroma of ripe peaches and lavender. We enjoyed some extremely good peaches and I brought a couple back for the Raceks. Afterward we went to St. Supery and another one that started with a C. For the life of me I can't remember the name. (btw-Lauren is so well known at St. Supery that we got to pretty much taste what we wanted even without our lifetime tasting cards)

We had a great evening with Greek food, more wine, and Derek's first experience of Alias. I think this weekend held a lot of firsts for my friend who had never been wine tasting. All in all I think it was a wonderful weekend full of laughs, good food, and great friends. If anyone is interested in going back just let a sista know.

As always have a good day and enjoy.

Yes, I need to be like everyone else...

Much like Donna and Anna I was intrigued by the check list and decided to fill it out myself. Feel free to do the same so I can see yours...

checklist: (must get more x's)
(x) snuck out of the house
(x) gotten lost in your city
(x) saw a shooting star
(x) been to any other countries besides the united states
(x) had a serious surgery
(x) gone out in public in your pajamas
(x) kissed a stranger
(x) hugged a stranger
(x) been in a fist fight
( ) been arrested
(x) had alcohol
(x) laughed and had milk/coke come out of your nose (or orange jello...)
(x) pushed all the buttons on an elevator
(x) made out in an... elevator
(x) swore at your parents...
(x) kicked a guy where it hurts.
( ) been in love
(x) been close to love
(x) been to a casino
( ) been skydiving
(x) broken a bone
( ) been high
(x) skinny-dipped
(x) skipped school
(x) flashed someone
(x) saw a therapist
(x) done the splits
(x) played spin the bottle
(x) gotten stitches
( ) drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour
(x) bitten someone
( ) been to Niagara Falls
(x) gotten the chicken pox
(x) kissed a member of the opposite sex
( ) kissed a member of the same sex
( ) crashed into a friend's car
(x) been to Japan
(x) ridden in a taxi
(x) been dumped
(x) shoplifted
( ) been fired
( ) ever had a crush on someone of the same sex
(x) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
(x) stole something from your job
(x) gone on a blind date
(x) lied to a friend
(xx) had a crush on a teacher (Prof. Kochekian)
( ) celebrated mardi-gras in new orleans
( ) been to Europe
( ) slept with a co-worker
( ) been married
( ) gotten divorced
( ) had children
(x) saw someone die
( ) been to Africa..
(x) Driven over 400 miles in one day
(x) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(x) Been on a plane
(x) Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Thrown up in a bar
(x) Purposely set a part of myself on fire
(x) Eaten Sushi
(x) Been snowboarding
( ) lost a child
(x) gone to college
(x) graduated college
( ) done hard drugs
(x) tried killing yourself
(x) taken painkillers
(x) love someone or miss someone right now

hope you enjoyed finding out what you did. Does any of it shock you. I hope so...it's all true.

Napa Getaway...

For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure this a picture of the new house where I live with the Raceks. If you look really closely you can see Dawson and Katie in the window. For the record we live in the 'burbs. Okay enough about that.

Once again I'm heading for the north of the state to visit my good friend Lauren. We will be belatedly celebrating her birthday (which was today) and enjoying the sights and sounds of Vacaville and of course the beauty of Wine Country. Unfortunately, unlike my last Napa escapade my friend Mike will not be joining in our festivities. But we hope to introduce my good friend Derek (DR) to the wonders of Napa Valley. Unbeknownst to him I will be bringing my wine bible and will be scoping out the best way to enjoy our wine..uh hmmm...I meant time. Not that Lauren doesn't have an awesome weekend planned. (I'm sure she does).

Sorry I haven't been communicado this week. There some interesting things going on, but the most interesting I'm not at liberty to speak about yet. So sad. (and no, no one new is pregnant.) I enjoyed watching the 4th of July fireworks from the top of Dawson and Katie's swingset. I sat on the very top and was able to watch the entire fireworks. It was actually pretty chilly. It's usually chilly at night in the CC. That's about all for now. No tips not toids. But as always have a good day and enjoy.

Hmmm....

Considering what next to post about. Have many thoughts jumbling around the ol' noggin'. All fighting for coherency.

But I would like to state that I think it's time for me to break out the sandals. I think that should make Shannon happy. She has been yelling at me for a month now...until clarity have a good day and enjoy.