Annedromeda

Crazy Pet Names

2012-01-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

One of the many things I waste time thinking about are hilarious pet names. You know, the kind of name that makes people laugh. Or actually probably just make them wonder why you drank Windex for breakfast instead of a sensible bowl of cereal. Consider the following:

We had two cats growing up, Mickey and Minnie. They were siblings. Oh, the hilarity. Cats named after mice?!?! Hilarious, I tell you.

I only have a picture of Mickey because Minnie "ran away" years earlier. Mickey died a couple of years ago. I never knew I could miss one animal so much, but I do.

I also like the really-long-and-fussy-sounding-last-name for a name. Like Worthington. Or McGregor. You get the idea.

You may consider naming your pet after food. May I draw your attention to my friend's goldendoodle, Waffle.

She's famous. Watch this video of her as a puppy and try not to say "Aw".

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You might try "V8", "Pasta Primavera", or the ubiquitous "Oreo" (although, imo, that one may be a bit overused. Your call, though). The name could correlate with their coloring... or not! Zing! You've now become clever.

For more pictures of pets check out Hello Giggles. I do appreciate that they include the pet's name.

If any of you are so inclined, send me pictures of your pet(s)! I really miss having one and love having many foster pets.

xoxo

Foux de fafa

2011-12-21T23:52:00.001-08:00

I made a red tutu for my niece. She'll be able to wear it when she's about a year old. Not sure why the picture makes it look pink, but I promise it's bright red. So beautiful.

What have you guys made for Christmas?

Crayon canvas

2011-12-21T21:55:00.001-08:00

I made these for my niece and nephew. I think they look AWESOME and they were really fun and easy to make. The wax just goes all over the place and it's hilarious. I want to make one for myself, too.

Christmas crackle

2011-12-20T11:41:00.001-08:00

I can't stop staring at this. I love red, green, and gold together! Gorgeous. I do have to thank my friend Keely for giving me the idea though!

Snowman toes

2011-12-13T12:31:00.001-08:00

I am so stinking proud of these. :) ps sorry for the feet picture, can't really get around that.

PS If any of you want your nails done, you know you can ask me. :D

Halloween toenails

2011-10-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

Opi decals are on the big toes.

That's a lot of nail polish.

2011-10-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

138 bottles. Some people collect stamps. I call those people boring.

Glittery Miu Miu shoes- diy!

2011-10-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

I made these last night in our craft group. It was fun, cheap, and frankly, kinda easy! The sneakers are $9 at Target, and some of the supplies I already had. The ones I had to buy were under $10. So I have a pair of $200 sneakers for about $20. :D

Heres the link to the directions.

Vintage pink nails

2011-09-20T13:19:00.001-07:00

Loved doing this. So simple!

Ladybug nails

2011-08-24T13:24:00.001-07:00

These were super fun to do. And easy, if you have a black striping polish.

It was amazing.

2011-07-15T02:44:00.001-07:00

I was so ridikulus...ly pleased with Harry Potter ep 7 part 2!! We were cheering, crying and laughing, and I didn't want it to end you will love it.
Oh and here is my "costume" and the 3d glasses we all got. Harry Potter 3d glasses. *nerding out right now*

Who's excited?

2011-07-14T00:26:00.001-07:00

You bet I'm excited. I've got my costume and hopefully going to fit a nap in before I go to the midnight showing! I am such a nerd.

Fourth of july nails

2011-07-08T00:30:00.001-07:00

I couldn't decide which design to do so I did them all.

Ombre Nails

2011-06-07T08:54:00.001-07:00

This is my version of pink ombre nails. (If you don't know, the term ombre refers to a change of color, either drastically or quickly, but the colors fade into the other.)
This is where I got the idea: http://thebeautydepartment.com/2011/04/oh-hey-ombre/ (thanks, Mandy!)
On another note, does anyone know why these bubbles happened? It happens every now and then, and I can't seem to figure out why.

Yikes!

2011-05-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Yikes! school supplies? I didn't. Until I found a collection of colored pencils from my elementary school days, and they brought back such fun memories. They always made crazy stuff, which is why I loved everything they made. See, the trick here was the lead of the pencil was a different color than the painted outside of the pencil. Tricky.

Cursing the fig tree and cleansing the temple

2011-04-18T22:47:00.001-07:00

Here are the scriptures for today: Matt. 21:18-19 and Mark 11:12-14 (cursing of the barren fig tree), Matt. 21:12-16, Mark 11:15-18, and Luke 19:45-48 (second cleansing of the temple) and Matt. 21:17, Mark 11:19 and Luke 21:37 (return to Bethany).

On Monday christ reaches a fig tree that has leaves but isn't bearing fruit. He curses it, saying it won't bear fruit again, and it withers.
We have a fig tree at home, and I've noticed that a fig tree is unique (I think) in the way it bears fruit. You know when spring has arrived when the leaves start to grow, but at the same time the fruit starts, although the figs aren't ripe for a while, until they turn purple. (My mom is allergic to the white milky goo that comes out of the stem when you pick them. Just a little random piece of info for ya.) So it stands to reason that a fig tree with leaves must also have fruit. If you look up "fig tree" in the Bible Dictionary it mentions this account of Christ cursing the fig tree. It says "Jesus' cursing of the fig tree for its fruitlessness is an allusion to the fruitlessness of Israel." There is also that time that Christ looked down at Jerusalem and wept because he knew that Jerusalem would eventually be destroyed due to their own wickedness. This of course breaks my heart to think of Jesus so sad that he would weep, but you can also use these instances to remind yourself how deeply he loves, and that his love includes you and me. Or at least I try. Mostly I start getting choked up. This whole time of easter is so emotional for me, which is why I wanted to study it more this year. I want to know more of what Jesus Christ went through for our world so I can better love and appreciate him.

The second thing he did that we know of is he cleansed the temple. He enters and becomes angry at the moneychangers who were selling things (animals, etc. for offerings) dishonestly. And I'm unsure of if they were allowed to sell things like that in the temple in the first place. (If anyone knows more about that, feel free to pipe up! I'm doing this to learn.) Christ goes through the temple and drives them out saying "It is written my house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of theives." Oh boy would I hate to be one of those he needed to drive out. The sad thing is that he had done this same thing 3 years earlier during another passover. Sometimes it takes a couple times for us to learn, huh? Just be sure you don't mess with the Lord's house. Like Texas, but way more hardcore.

The Lord hath need of him

2011-04-18T21:11:00.001-07:00

I am reading my mom's Easter binder. She has the scriptures that tell us what Christ did during his last week on the earth and it starts with Palm Sunday, which was yesterday. I'm a day behind, as you can tell, but that's ok.

Just so you know where I'm reading, I'll tell you:
Matt. 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:29-44, and John 12:12-19 all tell about the journey into Jerusalem and Bethany, and when the people wave palm fronds and greet Christ with hosannas. I love this day, even though it's sad since Jesus knows how close the time is when he will have to sacrifice himself for us.

Christ tells two of his apostles to go into the city and they will find a colt for him that has never carried a man. He tells them that when the owners ask why they are untying (and essentially taking) the donkey, to tell them that the Lord had need of it. That phrase means so much to me. Its really not a gigantic event, because I feel it happens so quiety in the scriptures. But it is one of many examples of how utterly perfect Jesus was and is, that he knows how to obtain the colt, whom to go to, what to say, and who can help him. The fact that he lets people help him is significant in its own. Christ is the only person who doesn't need help, but he knows he needs to give others the chance to serve him. And he has commanded us to follow and serve him. He could accomplish everything he needs to by himself, because he is perfectly capable of doing it all alone, but he allows us to serve him because we need it. There is no pride on his part, nothing he has to swallow in order to accept our meager offerings. He doesn't look at us as charity cases, either. Its not like he says "ok, I guess you can handle this one thing. But don't screw up, ok? Are you going to be ok with this?" He lovingly gives us what we need by making us grow. Making us go through just about the hardest trials we can take, but never more than we can take, because he will never do that. So even though I feel ridiculously overwhelmed sometimes (read: always), its never more than I can handle.

Sometimes I do feel like a donkey. But as long as the Lord has need of this donkey, I will try my best to do what he wants me to do.

Hosanna!

Bored!

2011-04-15T11:16:00.001-07:00

I can tell when I'm bored with life because the grass looks greener EVERYWHERE else. I start thinking dangerous thoughts like, hey maybe I should find a new job. Maybe I could work terrible hours in retail on my feet again. Something needs to change, and I'm thinking way too ambitious of thoughts.

What do you do to give life some variety, but to make sure you don't go overboard?

Weirdest dream ever

2011-04-03T09:25:00.001-07:00

I just had the weirdest dream. Of course it started that I was somewhere and I had to use the bathroom really bad, and it was near impossible to find one. I have those dreams a lot, where either the door is ridiculously short, or the toilet's filled with poo, or something. Terrible.

But then! Then randomly I was getting married the next day, and had gotten engaged only a couple days earlier. Even in the dream I knew it was crazy, that I shouldn't be rushing it but for some reason, I was like, "meh, who cares, it'll be fun" so I had to get the reception room ready, but it wasn't a church. Somehow I had found a nice place to have the reception, like a hotel or something. But then! There was a party happening that night so we had to take down all of the decorations.

I'm trying to remember who the guy was. In my dream it felt kinda fake, like maybe this was some joke we decided at the last minute to make happen for real. Weird. And I remember that I had a fake enagement ring and I think I had left it by the sink in the bathroom, but didn't really feel bad about it, even though I was sure someone would steal it.

Then! As I was still getting ready, I was walking toward the lobby of whatever place this was, and who should come walking through the lobby in jeans and a leather jacket but Conan O'Brien! I run to hug him but he had stuck out his hand to shake mine instead so that was awkward. I am a huge fan of Conan, so I was gushing and frantically trying to find some paper and a pen for an autograph. There was a huge line forming behind him for autographs. I knew I had to hurry or I'd lose my chance. Then I found a pen but it fell apart in my hand and I had to put it together, only to realize I had lost a piece of the pen, so when he tried to use it it didn't work and he looked at me like, "sigh... seriously?" And make some joke. Which I of course laughed at because it was so funny. While I feverously tried to fix the pen my dad was there and Conan looked at him like he knew him. Conan made a couple of jokes which happened to be the same kind of jokes my dad makes so my dad laughs. I'd like to add that Conan also did the "for...evvvvvverrrrr" thing from "The Sandlot" and I thought it was funny, but not really Conan's caliber of jokes. Which makes sense because Conan only had my imagination to come up with jokes, and let's face it...

And then! I was going to be on his show that night dressed up as a horse that had to be put in jail. I did my best to remember the acting (ha! Acting.) that I learned in high school and make him proud but I remember feeling like I was being overdramatic. Then I told Conan I was getting married the next day and he looked at me as if to think, "hey you should get married on this show," but then he realized that since I'm LDS that wouldn't work since I need to be married in the temple. So I said "but we could have a ring ceremony or something" but he said no. So we went about the sketch I was doing, which incidentally was a on different stage than he shoots on. He had said we'd move into his regular stage later. There were people running around getting striped clothes for me (small stripes so I wouldn't look fat, of course. Random!) and then my fiance shows up. He comes to visit me in "jail" and I stroke his cheek and he looks very much like that guy who plays Rachel McAdams' boyfriend in "The Hot Chick" which I had just watched the other night. I can't remember his name. He proceeds to tell me that he was with another girl and that she would have a part in our marriage. For some sickening reason, I agree that's ok because he's so good looking. [I'd like to interject here, and say that's ridiculous. No man of mine will ever be allowed to have a girl on the side. I'm sure you all know that, but in case someone is worried I'm that stupid/low self esteem, then don't worry.]

So! We do my bit and then we watched Conan's monologue and I think that's when I woke up.

Tea Party, Minus Tea. Who needs tea do have cute food and wear white lace gloves?

2011-02-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

A few of the girls in the ward up here got together for a really cute tea party around Valentines Day. Nothing like dressing up super girly to make you feel pretty, while eating chocolate-covered strawberries and these yummy spinach-parmesan appetizers I brought.

My dad makes the BEST waffles.

2010-12-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

The best thing you could ever hear my dad say is, "Hey do you want some of the best most delicious, awesome waffles?"

The answer, me hearties, is always a resounding yes.

Observe:

See that glorious steam? So good.

Really Happy I Read This Book.

2010-10-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

So a couple of days ago a friend of mine was walking by and he was holding a copy of this book. I am always on the lookout for recommended reads, so I asked him, hey what book is that and do you like it? Wrote down the name, and checked it out at the El Toro library (a favorite lunchtime haunt of mine).

Loved it! I highly recommend it. It's definitely one of those make-you-want-to-do-something-with-your-life books, which are always a good kick in the pants for me. He's also a pretty strong Christian, and finds ways to thank God for the blessings in his life. I found a lot in common with what he said. A couple of thoughts that came to mind while I read it:

I need to work more on following what the Holy Ghost prompts me to do. He talked a lot about how essentially God is the writer of our "story" (read: life), and in order to have a better story, we need to trust that he knows what composes a better story, i.e. trials, being nicer, etc. (I'm butchering it, but that's why you read books written by other people, not me.)
A good story consists of meaningful scenes. Relationships, adventures, growing through hard times, etc. Human beings are content with, well, being content. In staying comfortable, we stay stagnant and stop growing, become unhappy, yet unwilling to find what we essentially need to feel better about our lives.
Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. One cannot expect the significant other in our life to be perfect, or even at all to "complete" us. One thought is that there is no such thing as a soul mate, because no such person exists that can complete us. Here's an excerpt:

"I was interviewing my friend Susan Isaacs ... she said she and her husband believed they were a cherished prize for each other, and they would probably drive any other people mad. But then she said something I thought was wise. She said she had married a guy, and he was just a guy. He wasn't going to make all her problems go away, because he was just a guy. And that freed her to really love him as a guy, not as an ultimate problem solver...neither needed the other to make everything okay. They were simply content to have good company through life's conflicts."

Oh, and I feel strongly about this: marketing essentially tells us that we would be happy if we had the next best thing. Which I'm sure we all are aware of, or at least have heard that. But it truly does that. In thinking that a material possession can make us instantly and completely happy, we never are satisfied with what we have, since there is always something new to take its place. So sad.

"If you want to know what a person's story is about, just ask them what they want. If we don't want anything, we are living boring stories, and if we want a Roomba vacuum cleaner, we are living stupid stories. If it won't work in a story, it won't work in life."

Last thought: life has no climax, and certainly no "happily ever after" in the story sense. When we sacrifice something, we think it will be worth it, right? We translate that to meaning that what happens after that will be great and easy and then when it's not we are disappointed. Life is the story. It's the struggle, and means more when you sacrifice, even if it doesn't get easier after that.

Like I said, read it.

Come on New York, New Yoooooork!

2010-08-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

I'm planning a trip to New York over Labor Day weekend. Pretty excited. If any of you have advice, tips, etc, let me know!! I want to see it all. :)

Hilariosity.

2010-07-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Steve's t-shirt design. Seriously made me laugh. If you have a Threadless account, do me a flavor and vote this a 5$ so i can buy it.

Or if you love me, make a threadless account and vote. Either way is good.

Thanks!

Video of Greg!!

2010-01-14T20:35:00.001-08:00

Sent from my phone

2010-01-14T20:20:00.001-08:00

Testing....

Pretty cool!

I miss this sweet bubble bum.

2010-01-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

You climb that tree, Julie.

2010-01-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

This is too much fun not to share!

2009-10-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

Go on, color outside the lines!! It's more fun that way!! :)

Limozeen Coloring Book!

Oh man I am on my way!

2009-10-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Finally! Started my mission papers last night!

To do:
get dates of various health things
take picture of me in "mission attire"
go to physician and dentist
turn them in!

Then... wait. Guh I feel like all I do is wait. Welp, the best things are worth waiting for, right?

But I guess there's lots to do while i wait, like study the scriptures a lot, memorize certain verses, read Preach my Gospel and other books. I just need to be patient, which is like saying, Hey Anne, don't love shoes.

Another Testament of Christ

2009-09-22T19:09:00.001-07:00

So beautiful.

When I was just watching this John 14:27 came to my mind, which was an answer to a constant prayer in my heart: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Um...

2009-09-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

I had a dream last night that I met Madonna. We were trying to get into a club or concert or something, I didn't have a ticket and I saw her going in, so I said, "hey, Madonna!!" and she waved me over so I could get in. Then we sat together and became like, best friends.

So weird.

Shiver me timbers!

2009-09-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

Arrr... tomorrah be Talk Like a Pirate Day, as it be the 19th o' September. Ye best be surrenderin' the booty, else ye be visitin' Davy Jones' locker sooner than later, aye.

If I be not hearin' the correct-like speech of the buccaneer's then I best be makin' ye walk the plank. Arr.

Baby love, mah baby love

2009-09-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

You ever get that feeling, for a split second, that you're happy? And everything really is going to be ok? I don't get it often, especially with the crazy stage of life I'm in. Not complaining, it's just kinda insane, every day, wondering where you will live in a few weeks. If you're going to get a job. Etc.

Well... holding my nephew Greggy does that for me. Totally corny but I feel like when I'm holding him that I'm closer to heaven; holding an angel. When he squeaks or breathes in funny, or decides to change position of his head, revealing the sweaty side, or when he toots and I say, "Good toot, Greggy!!" or when he looks at me cross-eyed, I love him. I am so stoked for Lily and Adam because they're stinking spoiled. Well they won't be when I'm around!! Muahahahaa. I'm a baby stealer. Stealin' babies. That's what I do. :D

Here's a picture of him if you haven't already seen it. My cousin Janelle took about a billion one day at a photo shoot she created and oh man, is he cute.

Presenting: Gregory Adam Eggleston

2009-08-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

Earth's angel. He's the sweetest thing ever. He was born at 12:15 am on Aug 22 (we sure thought it'd be Aug 21, but he had other plans). He is 6lbs 8oz and looks around and rarely cries. He loves to eat, too- Lily says he eats about every hour. Heehee!! So silly. And such a boy.

I'm his favorite auntie. He loves me best. :)

San Fransisco Trip

2009-08-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

OK I'm not a good blogger. I think that's pretty clear. Every few months I remember. But you will take what you can get, and you'll LIKE IT! And NO COMPLAINING!!

:D

K.

So I've had an interesting week. Last Tuesday Justin and I decided to go to San Francisco just for fun. (I've never been, and he hasn't been since he was little. And before any more of you ask: NO, we didn't get engaged.) So we drove up PCH and got to stay with Laura Dalton in San Jose. So fun! I loved seeing her and Kylie. Gosh that little girl is growing up! She says some words and is a stinker! So cute.
Here are some pictures from our trip up:

When driving through Malibu, the businesses there milk the city name for all it's worth.

We stopped by Solvang on the way, which is the cutest Danish town. When you go: you eat, and look. My 2 favorite things to do anywhere. :)

This is the restaurant where we ate our lunch. So nummy.

Aebelskiver!!!! Hom nom nom nom nommmm...

3 seconds later. :)

CUTE! I want one for my house.

We stopped by Hearst castle, mostly cuz it's right off PCH. We didn't pay for the tour, though, so we kinda wish we didn't go at all since we took so much time there. Oh well! We looked at the displays in the visitor's center, so we kinda feel like we went to the castle for freeeeee!

More driving:

This is about 1/3 of the way through a really windy and Ortega-esque part of PCH, around Big Sur. Really pretty when there's daylight, but when it's dark it's ANXIETY CENTER. Sheesh. So you do the math: 2/3 of the windy stuff was in the dark. Cue cold sweats and scary thoughts. Justin drove. He's my hero. :)

Anyway when we got out of that I promptly fell asleep on his arm and woke up when he asked where Laura's apartment was cuz we had arrived!! Phew!! Haha.

It was fun to see Laura! We stayed there that night and the next night. Justin got to sleep in Kylie's room (luuuuckyyyy!!!!) and I stayed with a ward friend she has in the same apartment complex where I got my own room. :)

Wed morning we drove the hour to San Francisco. First I took Justin to a Russian Orthodox Church (a surprise for him! He didn't know where we were going first) and he was stooooked. Kept smiling and got to talk to Russian people, buy Russian food and juice!! The Russian juice doesn't have any sugar added, and it's really good. It's similar to nectar you might buy here, but no added sugar. Sounds great to me!! :)Those Russians. They have a DIFFERENT WORD FOR EVERYTHING!! Heehee!
Привет!

This is the first view of the church when we drove over the hill. Justin said "Hey that's a Russian church!!" Me: "yeah." Justin: "But that's cool!" Me: "Yeah that's where I'm taking you."

Justin: "!!!!!!!!!!" And big smiles.

This is the whole thing.

See the smiles?? :) The bummer thing was, it was closed so we couldn't go inside to look at it. We missed it being open by a hour or so both times we went by.

Then we drove over the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. I've done it! So fun. Cue me freaking out. :)

Unfortunately it was cloudy and cold all day, so the pictures don't look fabulous. But it was still fun, and still worth it.

We saw this guy on the other side of the bridge, where we hung out for a bit. He's covered everything in Sunday funny papers, including his glasses, the bench he sits on, and his donations container-thingy. We didn't have any money to give him, but his hat flew off in the wind and Justin went to go get it. Justin said they guy was like one of the old surfer dudes: "Thaaaanks, mannn you just made my day."

On our way back over the bridge:

oh, and you have to pay $6 to get back the other way. It's free Northbound, though. Still... guh.

Then we drove down Lombard street (the curvy part- so fun!):

Can you believe people live on this street? They must love traffic to pick there to live. So weird.

Then we went down to the piers and Fisherman's Wharf. This is us goofin' off:

MAN he is so much tanner than me. Sheesh!
We went into the Aquarium of the Bay which was cool, but unfortunately not as cool as the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. So... in case you ever wonder if you should go, don't do it if money is tight. Too bad we didn't know.

Then we got a sourdough bowl filled with clam chowder: yay!!!!

Alcatraz and birdies.

We also went into this museum where they have all the coin-operated games and things. I got to arm-wrestle the same machine that Julie Andrews did in Princess Diaries! So cool. We got some fried shrimp and chips, and teased the many, many seagulls that beg for food. Justin put a shrimp tail on the ground, right by his foot. The bully seagull that was chasing all the other ones off his turf tried the longest time to get it, but Justin would keep raising his foot a little bit, as if to kick the bird, so he'd back off. So funny! He finally got brave and snatched it, all proud of himself.

Then we went to Ghiradelli Square and looked at how they make chocolate, and smelled the nummyness. We were good and didn't buy any, but we got a sample of the peanut butter filled square and nommmmed it. SOOOO good. Sigh...... Then we booked it back to the car cuz we were exhausted. Fun day! I didn't even tell everything that we did, cuz I'm tired and adding pictures is annoying. Rawr. So this is all you get. Don't cry.

Ok but on our way home we stopped by a farmer's fruit stand and got strawberries and 6 ears of corn. We ate almost all of the strawberries (3 crates) and the corn we bbq'd at Mom and Dad's house. Thanks Dad!

OH!!! And I discovered that Justin took a couple of pictures while I was sleeping. NAUGHTY!!!! I'll get him back somehow. Oh and they're on Facebook, no less. I will soooo get him.

Oh and happy May Day!

2009-05-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

Crazy Dreams

2009-05-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

So I just thought it would be funny to record some of the dreams I can remember. Since I have no job at the moment, I have some pretty crazy sleep patterns, which means I can remember some dreams. Usually I have to fall back asleep in the morning to remember them when I wake up again.

Here are some I can remember:

Melissa got engaged, but wouldn't tell me to whom. I was really mad and tried to get her to tell me who it was. [fun fact: I texted her about this and she said something. But now I can't find the text which means I deleted it... maybe I'll ask her and see if she remembers. Anyway it was funny, I promise.]
Liz Pulido and Trey Glauser got married. [Liz said "Hahahha! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!" haha, I love Liz. :) ]
Pretty frequently I have bad dreams with gross toilets filled with number two and blood. Please don't try to analyze that too much. It grosses and stresses me out, those dreams.
Oh I had a dream about a guy I dated asking me to marry him, and I was dumb enough to tell him about it in real life. Note to self: scares guys away. As if I have control of my dreams... Ok then, moving on.
Oh a guy had a dream that I was killed by the German Navy, and he cried. In the dream, not real life.
This one was especially stressful/sad/etc: for some weird reason that made perfect sense at the time of my dream, I had to marry my dad. My mom had to separate from him and it was really sad. In the dream I said, "No, Mom, I won't go through with it. It's ok. You can stay with him" or something. Very weird. That same dream a guy I was dating broke up with me and was seeing Jessica Hawkins, who is married, and was saying to her, "Anne's just not over me". [I don't know why, but I frequently have really sad dreams. This one I woke up crying pretty intensely- Rachael came into my room and comforted me. She's awesome.]
I had to start a new highschool [this dream was really recent] and I had the hardest time frinding the classrooms. The building looked kinda like a church building inside, like the ways the hallways looked and stuff. Melissa also was there. [I think it probably has something to do with my applying to colleges and stuff; I'm nervous about how that will go.]

This is from Melissa's facebook.

2009-03-03T13:52:00.001-08:00

Just thought it was funny:

"One time a spider appeared on Anne's knee...she screamed so loud, and it struck immediate fear into my heart and Lily's too and we both screamed back. Then the spider disappeared and Anne spent the next ten minutes looking for it, curling her toes and moving around gingerly. 'I wish I could just see it...then I could find it and kill it.' Lily said, 'What my guess is, is that it ran under the chair and over to the bookcase, cuz that's the quietest part of the room.' And then Adam said, 'He's probably just laughing at you and watching you.' And Mom said, 'His name is Floyd.' "

Pretty much describes my life. And crazy family. :P

Picture from the film festival- my dad was my date :)

2009-03-02T19:14:00.001-08:00

I am an Oscar-winning actress!!!

2009-03-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Well, kinda. Last night our ward had a Film Festival and showcased some movies that we all had been making. The movie that I participated in, Fast Sunday, won Best Picture!! Which means that the majority of the people who watched all the films voted us as their fave. :)

Here's a link to the video. Make sure to notice the girl who drops her books (me) and the girl who rambles during Sunday School (Melissa).

Fast Sunday

Sorry, I fixed the link now. a duh...... :-P

my super exciting news...

2009-02-07T14:43:00.000-08:00

Remember the post on Dec 31 that says I have news but I wouldn't tell you? Well Lily is letting me tell everyone now. I think a lot of you know already, but I'm just so super excited that I have to tell the world!!

I'm going to be an Auntie again!! Lily and Adam are having a baby and they heard the heartbeat about a week ago and I'm just so excited!!! I'm going to be the baby's favorite Auntie, of course. That's not even a question.

She's due in August and that's funny since Lily and Melissa's birthdays are that month- why not add another?? Well I don't care, I'm going to love that baby so so so much. :)

Family is great, huh?

2009-01-19T01:47:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went over to my parents house to watch family videos. It was really fun seeing ones I either have never seen or haven't seen in a long time. With my horrible memory, who can tell? As we laughed at our silly antics we did in getting attention from the lens, it brought me to a conclusion. These past couple of months have been fun. I feel like I've been getting to know my family in a way that wasn't possible when I lived with them. Does that make any sense? But what I've been able to feel is a great appreciation for everything they have and continue to do for me. My mom was willing (more than once, although I only took her up on it once) to come over to my apartment and hold me hostage, I mean sit with me until I worked on my resume a good amount. You see, I happen to have a very strong procrastination habit, and I was putting off my resume for far too long. Mom came over, and helped me write grammatically correct sentences and generally make it good enough to send out. Then Dad brought dinner over and we had a fun dinner over here. They really help me so much with everything I need to do and I'm very grateful for them.

They also set great examples of strong church members, good money managers, and how to basically be good people. I'm grateful that the Lord sent me to such an amazing family. I'm spoiled and for most of my life I didn't appreciate it as much as I should. I always knew they were great, because I'd hear it all the time when people would hear my last name, but I'm starting to learn just how hard they work to do things right.

My sisters are also a great strength to me. Lily, and now Adam, are hilarious and I really love when they come visit and force/beg/coerce me to come see them. They use some reason like I'm entertaining, which we all know is absolute hogwash. :P But seriously, folks- they're great and I'm glad that we have such fun together. Melissa is hilarious. She's upstaged me in every way in the Ward, but who could prevent that from happening? Her songs are funny and great (but not the one that has that word that is annoying... grr....) and she makes everyone laugh. One day, maybe, If she tries reeeeeeeaaaally hard, maybe she'll learn how to dance. Haha! That's pretty much the only thing I do better than her.

Laura and Danny are great and I wish I could see them more! I love my neices and nephew and wish I could see all of them more often. They're such good kids and make us laugh so much. Christmas Day was fun having Laura and the girls come to exchange presents before we all went to POG. We didn't get to see Danny yet- his truck broke down and he couldn't make it. :(

I feel like maybe some people will feel like I'm writing a post for "Seriously, So Blessed" but I felt the need to tell the internet world that I appreciate my family. I appreciate the fact that as we've grown up, maybe we've gotten less cute (my case, for sure), but we've become better friends and we can be each other's strong point.

Lily tagged me... I guess that means I had to fill this out? Sigh... if you want, just watch the random video.

2009-01-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

I am - usually first in line at Break the Fast.
I want - a bigger hard drive. That's what I get for having such a wide range of music.
I hear - music in my head, all the time.
I never - want to see another spider again!
I wonder - where to go to school.
I always - close the toilet lid.
I usually - drive home replaying conversations that happened that day in my head, laughing out loud at things I remember.
I search - for pictures on google all the time.
I am not - a rock climber.
I dance - all the time... is that even a question?? :)
I sing - , but not with confidence. I'm really best in a choir.
I wish - for a pony, and a barbie, and nail polish, and polly pocket and shoes and, and, and...
I dislike - feeling left out. I'm working on that.
I rarely - don't answer calls on my phone.
I cry - during sad parts in movies, sad songs, when I'm sad, ok really I cry often. But hopefully not too much... haha!
I am not always - on time. Ok, rarely.
I lose - when I play online games. All the stinking time!!!!
I fear - the dark of the night. No, not really, I just already used spiders in this thing...
I'm confused - when people spell my name wrong. It's not that hard!
I need - music. More than anything else, really.
I should - do my laundry more often.
I dream - situations and emotions. Sometimes very strong emotions that are hard to shake when I wake up. Very strange.
I have - almost 70 pairs of shoes.
I love - a heck of a lot of things- shopping, the sky, good smells, good conversations, walking, learning new things, my comfy bed, a new color a day, feeling understood, cats, and soft fabrics. To name a few.
I tag - um... Janelle, Christa, and Ruth.

Peppermint ice cream

2009-01-07T23:13:00.000-08:00

Is so good.

And I thought it was gone from all the stores, but I found some at an Albertson's while buying butter.

Woo-hoo!

Tired

2009-01-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

You know, I just want to say that I'm tired sometimes. It's exhausting to act happy. I'm not a good actress- I learned that in high school. I have a hard time convincing myself that my life is a happy one. I find so much to gripe about, and so much to bring me down. I think I need to spend more time looking for the good. More time finding ways to be independent and not let others actions bring me down. In Relief Society today Christina made a comment how it seems that a group of church members may appear to look/act the same (ex: the Apostles, etc.) and the reason may appear that they/we are trying to be each other. But the real reason is because they're all striving to be like Jesus Christ. I find myself wondering that if I acted like so-and-so that maybe I'll be happier. Or, why can't I be nice like Kim. People won't be scared of me and think I'm a jerk. That maybe I'll find this amazing guy and life will suddenly become easier. But I've got the wrong goal. I'm shooting for something that won't work for me. I need to find the best ME, the me that is becoming more like Jesus Christ. That way, I will find happiness in getting to know myself. That it won't matter if there isn't an Anne Fan Club 1,000 members strong. I will be ok just being me. That I will find out that I am worthy of carrying Christ's name along with mine. Right now I don't feel it. Right now I feel like a whiny teenager who can't keep it together. And even typing that I feel pathetic.

Please do not take this post the wrong way. Don't feel pressured to comment nice things to make me feel better. I just feel the need to say that I'm going to have a goal this year. In 2009 I will become a better person. I will get my act in gear and try to better myself. Life is not about just having fun. I can have fun, but I will work that into the important stuff. Because the fun stuff will feel more fun when I'm not feeling guilty for shirking my responsibilities.

I will:
Find a job.
Research schools and figure out which one is right for me.
Read my scriptures and pray daily and my patriarchal blessing often.
Read good books, which include not just the fun fantasy ones, but ones that make me grow and learn (church books, informational books, self-help, music books, etc.).
Learn more songs on my ukulele and practice them, as well as try to pick up more theory.
Build up my friends, and make new ones.
Learn to be more independent, and not a burden to others.
Dance everywhere possible.

I am determined to make this a good year.

I heard something super exciting just now...

2008-12-31T15:01:00.001-08:00

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

Pictures from our Ward Christmas Party

2008-12-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-11-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-11-26T03:09:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-11-26T02:52:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-25T16:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-10-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-07-23T23:15:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-07-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-05-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-05-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-11T23:47:00.001-07:00

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?"

2008-05-11T20:58:00.001-07:00

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

2008-05-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-05-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

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