I heard something super exciting just now...

And I'm not gonna tell you. You'll find out.

Pictures from our Ward Christmas Party

These are on Facebook and I thought they were hilarious:

We're doing the Studio portrait "dumb hand placement" thingy here...

And apparently here I have a VERY large mouth. heehee!


Aren't we so cute?

That night we did a puppet show version of a Flight of the Conchords song, called "Something Special for the Ladies". Julie edited it down to be just a minute in case people got bored, but it turns out everyone loved it! Well everyone who knows who Flight of the Conchords are, of course. It was a smashing success. The puppets that Julie made were sooo cool and I held up the props. Rachael's hand cramped towards the end, but she pushed through and finshed the song. very gallant of you, Rachael. :)

I'll ask Julie to take some pics of the puppets- you really need to see them close up. There's also a video out there of our song- I'll see if I can find a version to post on here.

New Christmas Playlist!

Wow, that was fun. I looked for a Christmas music to put on my blog, and I think I got a good mix of classic and fun stuff- you'll see Weezer, The Carpenters, The Chipmunks... and you can look at the rest of them yourself. :)

I looooooooove Christmas!! It's my very favorite holiday. :)

Oh man... if only Simon could see us.

We did this at the LA Car Show last night- and this showed up in my email inbox. So awesome. Make sure you look for Julie at the very beginning- she chickened out but you can see her sitting by Rachael at the beginning.

You wanna see the most expensive shoes I've ever bought?

Here:

Yep. This is a picture from JCrew's website. I must say, I'm pretty stinking proud of these. They're so awesome! The color is really unique, and of course, anything this shiny HAS to be cool. Plus all of JCrew's shoes are really well made, so they'll last for a long time.

Woo-hoo!

So who else, besides me, feels bad for the old man that bumped his head?

Tonight (technically yesterday- I'm up late) me and some friends went to the LA car show. Saw some cool cars. But that's not what was so cool- Rachael said she wanted to wear her rain boots, and of course I wanted to, too!! So we walked around the show for the 2 or so hours we were there, and my feet hurt like crazy because apparently wearing thick rubber boots for that long will do that to you. But it was worth it...

DID YOU SEE THE RAIN TONIGHT???

So awesome. I splashed and splashed... It's still pouring, as I write this, at 2:54 AM.


The funny thing is, Rachael didn't wear socks under her boots, and when we came home and tried to take ours off, mine were relatively easy to pull off, but Julie and I both pulled so hard to get Rachael's boots to come off, we ended up dragging her clear across the floor! MAN those suckers DID NOT want to come off!!! Whoooo!! We laughed so hard that we worked off all the calories we ingested at Roscoe's (side note: I've never been there before and it's the bomb diggity. Soooo good! Their waffles are really good, and you pair them with good fried chicken and you create a meal that should never be eaten by a girl trying to watch her girlish figure. Well, at least I'm content with watching mine leave... ha!).

Anyway tonight was a pretty exciting night.

Mes remerciements

You know, I really should be grateful for what I have. I've got an amazing place to live that is in an amazing city.
Most of my family within an hour or so driving distance.
Good friends who listen to me every now and then (I don't think it's a good idea to complain too much).
A few (ok, a lot of) stinking awesome pairs of shoes.
Some possible love interests.
A good tech support guy/friend.
A really cool and fun roommate, who pushes me to be a better person, and to grow up, for crying out loud! (My words.)
Ridiculously good taste in music (not bragging, it's true!).
Lots of subjects I am passionate about that are pretty widespread (good music, photography, possibly product or graphic design, well-constructed clothes and shoes, politics, dancing, relationships, the way mine and other people's brains work, correct spelling, hot chocolate and really good fruit pie, feng shui, and boys).
A Franklin Covey planner that saves my butt almost every day.
A cute little red car.
A body.
A well-balanced brain (thanks to my parents- Dad for the math/tech side, and Mom for the artsy side).
My testimony.
Many, many things that have been given to me that I really don't deserve.
The ability to remember, every now and then, that I really don't deserve them.
http://www.threadless.com for the really cool shirts that make people think I'm a cool person for wearing them.
My little knowledge of French, so I can look cooler than my dad, although I never do. You can't beat someone who says, "Those French!! They have a DIFFERENT WORD FOR EVERYTHING!!!"
A bucket of fun pens on my desk.
The fact that I can see right through Twilight- that it's a ridiculous over-hyped impossible love story, set upon plaguing the world's women of their happy and realistic dreams, replacing them with wishes for something that doesn't exist, or at least probably isn't good for them, anyway. I mean, do you really want some guy to crawl through your bedroom window every night, watching you sleep? Sure it sounds cute, but that's the last of your privacy. GONE! I'll admit, however, that they were exciting- who can shake off all that suspense?
My love of reading.
My equal love of sleep, although sometimes the reading wins.
My past experiences, to teach me where my limits are.
My dreams, to make me break out of my box ad try new things.
My $15 razor scooter that I bust out every now and then, just to make people laugh.
My new family and brother-in-law.
My reading glasses.
My ukulele.

Ketchup!

I know, I know. It's been forever since the last time I wrote. But I got out of the habit when my internet died, and I've had a hard time coming back to this. Too much to say!!

I needed to post pics of my new place, so here some are:



This is my birthday. You can see most of the living room behind me.
















This is at the birthday party I had that Saturday. You can see the color of the other 2 walls in my living room. Suzy came that weekend for my party!! It was soo super fun to have her. I miss her tons.

It was also cool that Warren decided to drag his bum out of his house- only when he heard that Suzy was going to be there. I see how it is... ;)







This is of Carissa- she was so cute! After Lily's bridal shower, I took my mom and some of my aunts and my sister Laura to see my place. Carissa loved Rachael's fish. His name is Sir Charles McRumpshaker, and it's got something to do with the way he swims...

Anyhow, you can see my kitchen in the background.

This is sooooooo funny.

Flat, pad, digs, crib.... so many names for one awesome thing.

My apartment. My first one. So exciting!! I've been looking for a while, then it took me a while to move it, now it's taking me a while to find a bed.... but good things are worth waiting for. In case you're reading this and haven't heard, I moved into an apartment with my friend Rachael. It's an awesome place!! I love the apartment community, I love my random bright blue accent wall it came with, I love my bedroom, and I love that we each have our own bathroom. No more sharing with Melissa, no more bugging her to clean up after herself (sorry Pems, but it got frustrating), no more feeling like my room was imploding due to all the extra furniture in there, waiting to be used in a bigger space.

I spread all my stuff out, and I painted my room for the first time. I made sure to pick color that's not almost white, because I've never had a room with that much color. It looks awesome! Because I was able to start with a fresh slate, I've been able to master plan what I want everything to look like.

I should definitely mention: Warren helped me paint my room, my mom and dad helped me move my stuff, and Rachael has the best taste ever!! (It's the same as mine- could I have asked for a better roommate???) Also my dad put together both my shelves (they're the same ones Lily and Grandma have) and my desk, which was $40 and consists of a piece of wood and 4 legs. They're both gorgeous and work very well for me.


I'm basically taking this chance to do all the things I've wanted to do but never had the guts, or ability. I have a room with colored walls, I'm decorating in a nice clean style with minimal clutter, we're getting a white couch and black and white patterned chairs. Lots of pops of color, and enough pattern to make it exciting. I'm also buying a bigger bed, because I've always wanted one and never had the space! My friend is giving me a mattress (thanks, Chris!!) and I'm buying the cutest frame ever from Ikea. I would buy it online, since they won't have it in the store for another month, but the shipping is almost as much as the bed!!! The headboard, frame, etc costs $150, and shipping is like $130. Holy cow!!! So I'll just go back in a month and pick it up. I hate having to wait, though. :(

I'll post pictures of the actual place once I take some, but I want to wait until we get the couch and my bed frame. If you happen to be reading this and really want to see some now, let me know in a comment and I'll do it.

I'm just excited and impatient to have everything done so we can finally have our housewarming party!!!

I love my ukulele all over again.

Today, for some reason, I decided it would be useful to discover that there really are a lot of chords and tabs for ukuleles.


I mean, of course there are, I just decided it would be a good idea to look for them. And I've found a ton of stuff!! I've been sitting at my computer and tinkering around with my uke and playing everything from The Beatles (I have "I Will" already), to a song from Juno, Happy Birthday... how have I not been doing this the whole time????

Here are some cool websites I found (this is for you, Grandma and Jake):

Animated Beatles songs: http://beatlesite.info (Although it bugs me a little- they show you the chord on the neck after the song changes, so it's not in unison. That doesn't make sense to me, and is quite frustrating.)

A complete random and very diverse collection of songs (presented with tab or just the chords): www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/tabs.html

And this site, which seems to have the most professional look in my opinion: http://ukulelehunt.com (and where I saw this amazing cover of a Stevie Ray Vaughan song, whom I looooove):


Totally cool.

Mes nombreux noms

Anne Elizabeth Ashbrook
Anne
Ann
Annie
Bunk
Annie Fannie
Annie Bananie
Anna Banana
Anne of Ashbrook
1/2 of Lanne
Bedpan
Trash can
Anne the Man
Anne the WoMAN
Anne Dirro
Lily
Melissa
Marie
Ashbrook girl
Friend
Sister
Daughter
Granddaughter
Cousin
Aunt
Auntie Anne
Little Red
Annie Q
Milk
Hey
Girlfriend
Ex-Girlfriend
Amy
Jan
Anne-tioxidant
Anne-aconda
Anne-tithesis
Anne Ti Social
"pixie-like"
Cornbread


I've been called each of these names at least more than once (which is why I remember). Of the family names, I get Lily the most, Melissa second, and every now and then someone gets really confused and calls me by my mom's name.

The "Anne-" names have to be my favorite. Sometimes me and my friends sit there and try to think of as many as we can.

So, I'm really sunburned.

The backs of my legs are pretty bad. It's awesome how I can't sit, haha!


Let me start at the beginning. Today my ward played a Powder Puff football game against the Tustin and Irvine Ranch branches. Then we had a BBQ and pool party! I totally put sunscreen on, but I guess not enough because I'm red on my shoulders, legs, and face. Pretty bad.

Oh well!


But can I tell you how fun it was today? I jumped off the high-dive at the pool- ONE WHOLE TIME! :) There was a shorter diving board and I jumped off that too- I'm so very adventurous. And I saw some friends I hadn't seen in a while, and met some new ones!


Very good day. When I get them emailed to me (hopefully), I'll post some pictures of me doing cartwheels on the grass with a guy I met. That was awesome.

I ate the largest hot dog ever tonight....

At tha Angels game. Rachael Lowe knows how to find the best ones!


Huge, right?? I should have included more in the frame so you could have something to reference it to. But just be satisfied knowing that this thing is enormous.

I never really pay attention to the actual game when I go, and tonight was no exception. I think they lost... I go to have fun with my friends. And, boy did I ever.



Oh!! I almost forgot!! I saw Allison Smith and her family there- she said she moved back! I am so beyond excited! She's got to be one of my favorite people. Her kids are adorable, and her husband Charlie is great, too! So I'm excited I told her I want to babysit her kids sometime. The only problem will be finding a time when I can.

Ode to my bed

I miss you.
We don't spend enough time together.

I'm sorry I ditched you for my desk chair, but I came back, didn't I? I will always love you. Even when I have to get up in the morning, I will come back.

I forget how nice it is to curl in bed. Why do I wait so long?


Maybe I do need to wind down at night...


Maybe it's because I spend too much time on the internet! Here's a link to some really cool beds! Now to pick which one I want... Click here!!! Make sure to check out the bed made of balls...

Melissa's new instrument

While we were unintentionally missing Sunday School at church today, Melissa expressed a desire to play the glockenspiel. My first question, of course, was not, "Why do you wish to play that instrument, Melissa?" but, "How do you spell that, Melissa?"



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glockenspiel

Bjork's "Who Is It?"

I wanted to share this because it's one of my favorite Bjork videos.

Katie- you should model a dress like hers next time!!

Some pictures

So I thought I'd start with a sunset photo. Why not??

I took this in Hawaii (almost TWO years ago!) when I woke up one morning at 5:00 and couldn't go back to sleep. I had a to-do list of things i wanted to do before I left, and one was to take some pictures of a sunrise, since in Hawaii it's easy to get the sun over the water no matter what time of day it is.



There were so many shots from that morning. I think I'll most more of them, since I was so happy with the results!

I can't remember what order these were taken in. It looks like this one was taken before the first one I posted.


I love the burst of white-hot light you get from the sun. While learning my way around the darkroom at Saddleback, my teacher told me to never have too much white hot light; you always need some definition, some information even in the lightest ares. But the sun is really your one exception. It's that shocking spot of white paper poking through the tree branches that makes that shot at the park really nice.

Or, in this case, exploding through the orange morning clouds.

For these shots I'm standing at the end of the point- the part the north shore of the island I lived on. I just walked down the street, and ended up at this place with hard lava rocks and little sea caves.

You can also see 7 small islands grouped around- each with a Hawaiian name and a legend. I have a picture of thew plaque that describes them somewhere, although I'm pretty sure I only took them with my film camera.







Laie temple at dusk. I loved the gardens there, as well as the visitors center. The missionaries made me feel at home and reminded me of Lily.

Okay... I give in!

Lily's blog looked really pretty, so I gave in!

Sheesh!


I think what I'll do, eventually, is post my work here. Maybe it will give me a gentle push to make time for what I love. Because all you need is love!

Here's hoping!

-Anne