Day Whatever it Is - A Recent Picture of Me

I know--I look pretty awesome for six months pregnant! And I was in Europe! And I had lovely yellow shoes!

What?

Listen, yesterday we had to spend hundreds (yes, many multiples of a hundred) of dollars to have the vet tell us that the reason our cat kept throwing up on our bed, had such stinky breath, and refused to eat was because her body may be rejecting her teeth which are massively infected and require heavy morphine and antibiotics to treat and which may be an ongoing problem for the rest of her life possibly resulting in her having to get her teeth removed altogether.

What the ----?!

So, forgive me if I decide to shirk reality for today.

Poor Annie! (By: Roo)

I got a text early this morning that woke me up. I was a little mad that someone would have the gall to text me at 10am, but I couldn't resist checking to see if I had won some prize or something. It was Annie, who had been at work for 2 hours already. She was having a rough day that started with forgetting to bring breakfast, that has continued to, wearing sandals on a spring day that seems to have been taken over by some evil snow spell of Saruman, and will culminate with.....well I don't know, the day isn't over yet.

So I thought that I would interrupt these unfortunate

tidings with some things t

hat make Annie laugh, smile, or feel happy:

A quote:

"I am, and this is my trusty servant Patsy!"

Independence Hall. The hall was great, but the memory is with the tour guide who impressed us with his intricate Indep. Hall knowledge that was shared in a monotone voice that would rival the threshold of pain in decibels:

Her favorite bike ride (Amboise, France):

A favorite tree (coastline outside of Muir Woods):

Her favorite sledding dog:

The Hollywood bowl (especially the preceding picnic):

Her favorite garden (Stourhead, England):

Precious romanian 4-legged transients:

Her favorite picture of us:

Hang in there Annie, we love you!

Day 9 - Some Photos of Me Taken over 10 Years Ago

Fundamentals of Annie's style:

When in doubt, add a cardigan.

If still in doubt, add a pair of pink skates and a plush rabbit...but only if your dress is homemade.

Don't worry about how your hair looks in the morning. No one will notice...except your mom who will capture it on film forever.

Making silly faces is fun.

So are shoulder pads.

When it comes to Halloween, the more billowy and puffy, the better. It doesn't matter if no one can tell who or what you are supposed to be. And I'd like to give kudos to Michael for working the homemade cardboard triceratops helmet.

Day 8 - A photo I Took

Sam

I feel like I captured how he truly felt about wearing the bow tie.

Day 7 - A Photo(s) That Makes Me Happy

When Lando was a puppy he was vicious tyrant. His teeth were razor sharp. If you stopped playing he would pounce. Interacting with him was like being attacked by a miniature, fuzzy shark. So to see him sleep was not only cute, but relieving:

Our wedding. The rest of the day was exhausting, but the ceremony itself and the small moments we had alone together that day, realizing we were married to each other were sacred and sweet.
England. We played Ultimate Frisbee next to a sheer cliff of white rock with the ocean below. It was a time and place so beautiful that it has stayed with me all the years since, like a good dream.

My family. This was taken on the day two of my brothers graduated from BYU. They were the first in our family to graduate and it was a special day. Now with the birth of another nephew over the weekend, I've realized even more how just being together with them makes me happier than anything else.

6 Months

Day 6 - My Favorite Food

I am highly sensitive to any form of animal suffering. I can't watch Nature without being nearly brought to tears when a lion tackles a gazelle and eats it. I audibly make a "tsk" what-a-pity sound whenever I see roadkill. I can't bear it when Roo drops the cat from high places to see if she'll land on her feet.

By all accounts I should be a vegetarian.

Yet here it is--my favorite food:

I try not to think of the poor cow who was sacrificed for my filet; thankfully the succulent, tender flavor tends to drown out most of my guilt.

Day 5 - Favorite Quote

"You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do."

— Eleanor Roosevelt

"The opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference."

--Elie Wiesel

"You cannot find peace by avoiding life."

--Virginia Woolf

"God created war so that Americans would learn geography."

--Mark Twain

"Where lipstick is concerned, the important thing is not color, but to accept God's final word on where your lips end."

--Jerry Seinfeld

Day 4 - My Favorite TV Show

When watching TV, I will always choose this show over anything else:

Rick Steves may be a bit dorky, but who else can take me to Prague on a Saturday afternoon while I'm eating my frozen pizza?

This is the show I can always count on when nothing else is on, plus I love it:

And finally this, but only up to about season 9 or so:

"You may purchase this charming Hamburgler adventure. The child has already solved the jumble using crayon. The answer is 'fries'."

When it comes to TV series, I do love the Gilmore Girls but only through season 3. And of course, Alias, also through season 3. And Mythbusters, but only if I can watch it with Roo. And I like Jeopardy. And Frontline on PBS with the narrator whose voice gives me the chills. And I've spent a lot of time with LOST recently...

And, yes, I watch too much TV.

Day 3 - My Favorite Book

No need for comprehensive lists and categories on this one. I have a favorite book:

Not to be confused with this one, which, judging by the cover, is not and never will be my favorite book despite the "I dare you not to love me" gaze on David's face:

Honorable mention goes to:

This is the only book to ever make me cry (before I was pregnant. I cry all the time now at books. I was a wreck while listening to A Tale of Two Cities in my car--poor, noble Sidney Carton heading to the guillotine while I sat in I-15 traffic...) Anyway, this book made me cry first because it was beautiful and poignant, and second because I wished so much that I had written it.

Day 2 - My Favorite Movie

I don't have a favorite movie. I'm still waiting for it to be made; however, I do still like a lot of movies. I've categorized them below:

Category A: The movies I admire

These are the movies which, after seeing, I think 'Dang, I wish I'd written that!' I think they are smart, amazing, and awe-inspiring. Some include:

Saving Private Ryan

Oceans 12 - 11 is good, but I think 12 is better due to the fantastic ensemble acting.

500 Days of Summer

Once - wonderfully authentic

For Your Consideration - This encompasses anything by Christopher Guest including Spinal Tap.

Holy Grail

Everything is Illuminated - great story, amazing dialogue.

Little Miss Sunshine - wonderful characters

Category B: Sentimental Favorites

These are the movies that, for whatever reason, make me feel all warm and fuzzy and like reminiscing.

It's A Wonderful Life - Always makes me cry. George Bailey reminds me of my dad.

Fiddler on the Roof - What can I say, I love Jews. Really. And I love this story. And Tevye reminds me of my dad.

To Kill a Mockingbird - one of my very favorite stories. The music reminds me of Sunday afternoons. And Atticus reminds me of my dad.

The Wizard of Oz - Totally creepy, but it was my favorite as a kid and so I still love it.

Back to the Future - Just a classic. Doc does not remind me of my dad.

Category C: The movies I actually watch

If we're going to be honest, all those other movies are great, but if I'm all alone on a rainy night trying to choose a movie, these are the ones that 9 out of 10 times I will choose. This will tell you a great deal about me...I am a 19th century romanti-holic. Judge me if you will.

Becoming Jane - I don't know why I enjoy such a sad story. It may or may not have something to do with James McAvoy...

Penelope - Not an oscar contender...but I like it. Again, James McAvoy may be a factor.

Pride & Prejudice - Probably the movie I would delegate as my "favorite." It is beautiful. The book is nice, but the movie is beautiful!

Sense & Sensibility - Brilliant adaptation. Witty, lovely. Maybe I'm a dolt, but I much prefer Jane Austen movies to Jane Austen novels. They are prettier.

Simon Shama's A History of Britain - 6 discs (or more) of a dorky but brilliant guy talking about Britain. Totally grim, gruesome, political, and I think, wonderful.

Day 1 - My Favorite Song

First off, I think this is a ridiculous question. Who has a (just one) favorite song? It's like asking, "Hey, of all the things in the world, what's your favorite thing?" Do I say "love" or "Laffy Taffy," both being equally true? But instead of giving up on my project on the first day, I will instead give as detailed an answer as I've deemed necessary for this vague question.

Below follows a very comprehensive musical journey through Annie's life featuring not just songs, but entire favorite albums:

Birth - 6th Grade

Ace of Base The Sign - Duh

The entire Celine Dion repertoire up until about 2000. As a result, I know every lyric to almost every song. You can test me. You say, "There were nights when the wind was so cold..." and I'll reply, "That my body froze in bed if I just listened to it right outside the window. (chord, chord, chord)"

Led Zeppelin IV - Though I didn't come to like the whole album for many more years, I first heard Stairway to Heaven and Going to California when I was in 4th grade and I thought they were way awesome--great music for roller blading in the driveway.

Junior High

They Might Be Giants Flood - I may or may not have participated in making up dances on the trampoline to the silly songs on this album.

Travis The Man Who - remains one of my sentimental favorites to this day. Good for winter days.

Nine Days Far From the Madding Crowd - totally a one-hit wonder album and I listened to it constantly. And I was probably one of only four people in the world who did.

Oasis What's the Story Morning Glory - Instigated my near decade-long craze for British bands.

Coldplay Parachutes - a British band I liked as a result of Oasis. They became my then (and current) favorite band. Others come and go, but Coldplay will always be my true love.

High School

The Beatles Help - Another love that will never die. I always liked the songs I heard, then in high school Roo burned me every single Beatles album and left them in a stack on my pillow as a surprise. Both he and the albums won me over. Help was a particular favorite.

Weezer Weezer (the Blue one) - An undisputed generational classic.

Carole King Tapestry - I went through a 70's singer-songwriter phase. She was my favorite. I'd steal my dad's copy of the CD and listen to it while doing homework.

David Grey White Ladder - Again with the British thing...

Nirvana Unplugged in New York - I really only like them when they are unplugged. And then they are awesome. The first time Roo rode in my car, this was in the CD player. We bonded over our common liking of it.

Coldplay Rush of Blood to the Head - One of those albums you get to know the way you get to know a person, a friend.

College

Coldplay X&Y - the album that got my family to like Coldplay

Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon - Like a whole new world of musical possibilities. I've never heard anything else like it. Everyone says it's brilliant and I'll just agree. I have to say I think Wish You Were Here is just as good and too often overlooked. Also a favorite.

Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism - I discovered them from a hand-me-down CD someone was giving away. The lyrics to me are the best written and very special. I wish I'd written most of their songs.

REM Automatic for the People - I could just listen to it over and over. Nightswimming is my favorite song.

Tom Petty & Heartbreakers Greatest Hits - What I listen to when it seems like everything else sucks. It is the most comforting, pure, road trip rock n' roll.

Travis The Boy with No Name - my favorite Travis album.

Current

The Shins Wincing the Night Away - new, different, refreshing. Plus I just love the album art!

Band of Horses Everything All the Time - The singer looks and sounds like a lumberjack. Enough said.

Brandi Carlile The Story - good purely American songwriting. She has the best voice!

Arcade Fire The Funeral - particularly the song Wake Up

The weirdest thing happened when I got pregnant: I didn't get morning sickness, but I got music sickness. I couldn't listen to music, especially my current favorites, without feeling queasy. It was the darnedest thing! In the months after my first trimester, I've been slowly rehabilitating myself to music by listening to my all-time favorite songs which, despite pregnancy, I will never, ever get sick of. Some of these songs:

Trouble - Coldplay

Learning to Fly - Tom Petty

1979 - Smashing Pumpkins

Vienna - Billy Joel

Tiny Dancer - Elton John

Anything by Chopin

Only in Dreams - Weezer

Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

And I'll probably dig up My Heart Will Go On by Celine just for good measure. Stop denying it, you know it was your favorite song at one point, too.

Blog-a-Day

Due to a general lack of creativity at this time, I want to start a little program I saw on Lizzie's blog to help give me something to post here besides my various pregnancy tidbits and woes.

It's to inspire me to blog something everyday for a month. The subject: me.

So get ready to learn all you ever wanted (or never wanted) to know about Annie.

This is how it goes:

Day 01 → Your favorite song
Day 02 → Your favorite movie
Day 03 → Your favorite book
Day 04 → Your favorite television show
Day 05 → Your favorite quote
Day 06 → Your favorite food
Day 07 → A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 → A photo you took
Day 09 → A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 10 → A photo of you taken recently
Day 11 → A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 12 → Something you find interesting
Day 13 → A fictional book
Day 14 → A non-fictional book
Day 15 → A song that represents something significant
Day 16 → A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 → An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 → A hero
Day 19 → A talent of yours
Day 20 → A hobby of yours
Day 21 → A recipe
Day 22 → A website
Day 23 → A YouTube video
Day 24 → A passion
Day 25 → Your day, in great detail
Day 26 → Your month, in great detail
Day 27 → A hope
Day 28 → A dream
Day 29 → A goal
Day 30 → Something you've learned about yourself in the past month

I'm glad "If you were an animal, what would you be?" didn't make the list. I got asked that question at a job interview once. First, I was like, "what?" And then I proceeded to tell them that I would be a dog so that someone else would have to be in charge of feeding me, bathing me, giving me water, and brushing my fur. That I would get to either lay around or play all day. That, as a dog, I wouldn't have to be in charge or really do much beyond whatever I felt like. And I meant it.

I didn't get the job.

That is just a taste of the insights this 30-day program will grant you into Annie's world. And now it sounds like an infomercial in here, so I'd better go.