Six Strings and a Dream

"He's always been a dreamer, he's always dreamed a dream, that one day he would make it, to Nashville, Tennessee."

It was the third week in a row that I had attended open mic night at the Bluebird Cafe in support of my friend Jody Miller. After Jody had played, I was standing by the hostess station when this skinny young cowboy with tattooed arms, a Jack Daniels ball cap and the infamous Johnny Cash flipping the bird t-shirt stood by the door with his guitar waiting for his number to be called. He looked a little nervous as he waited for the person before him to finish up their song. He got up to the microphone, introduced himself as Chris Taylor and told the audience that this was an original song titled "Six Strings and a Dream". I waited for the typical open mic performance: a voice that can carry a tune and lyrics that are cliche but original enough that you can appreciate the song.

Then it happened:

Four lines into the song chills ran down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I was hooked.

You could tell this boy was raised on gospel music. His voice was full of soul and he sounded far beyond his years. Maybe the lyrics hit me so hard because of my own recent move to Nashville but the moment he sang those words "one day he would make it to Nashville, Tennessee" I couldn't help but want to know this kid's story.

How is talent like this still untapped? This was the moment that I knew I was where I belong. You can find someone who is completely undiscovered and their song will be stuck in your head for a week and a half after you only heard it one time. That's not just good music, that's talent my friends.

I introduced myself to Chris, his mom, and his bandmate as they were leaving. I cannot wait to watch him develop as he spends more time in Nashville.

Check him out at www.myspace.com/christaylorfriends.

Call me crazy, but I'm gonna do this

So I've been thinking a lot lately about how much I enjoy working out. Which is something I never in my life thought I would say. I like it so much though that on my off days (Fri & Sat) I sometimes want to sneak in a workout. No one will know, right? I mean does your body really need a day or two of recovery every week? Maybe, but maybe not.

For instance, last night I spent 40 minutes circuit weight lifting then spent 1/2 hour on the treadmill running and walking. And about 2 hours after I left the gym I really wanted to hike the M and was also thinking about getting up early so that I could run before work. I have plans after work today and am already thinking that if I eat early enough I could go to the gym for an hour to swim laps before the gym closes.

I'M BECOMING OBSESSED!

I track my workouts online everyday. I have charts and graphs that show how many calories I've burned, how many cardio hours I've spent working each month, how much weight I've lifted, and how it compares to each month before. It breaks it down to minutes per machine, weight per muscle group, calories burned equivalent to how many apples or ice cream sundaes those calories equal, how much weight lifted in elephants (I've lifted 3 elephants in the last 2 weeks). I love every minute of it. The more sore I am the harder I want to workout.

I've decided to channel this obsession into a goal though. I, Annette, vow to complete the Grizzly Triathlon in April 2010. I have one year to train. One year to swim 1000 meters, run 3 miles, and bike 12 miles all in one day. One year to accomplish a goal I never would have fathomed. One year to change my life.

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta!

(too much? yeah, well, it does feel good) :)

Open Wide

So, I've had my fair share of trips to the dentist. It was commonplace as a child and I actually kind of looked forward to it because no matter how bad the Novocaine hurt, at least I got a prize afterward. And then I had a bit of a traumatic experience involving an extra root that was missed in my root canal and flared up 6 years later causing and abscess which led to my dentist re-doing the last root in the root canal and sealing the tooth, which caused anaerobic gasses to build up under the surface of my tooth causing a throbbing in my entire face and jaw. In order for the gasses to release they drilled out the center of my tooth and left it open for about 5 days before going back in and filling it. I could not sleep lying down; I could not chew solid foods; I did not chew on the right side of my mouth for about three months; and I started having mild anxiety attacks every time I stepped into a dentist office. Can you blame me for being a bit leary of these guys?

(***NOT MY REAL DENTIST BUT SCARY STILL***)

I switched dentists and found out that my horrible dentist whom I had been going to from my very first dental appt. as a wee lad up until the summer after I turned 18 was in fact a moron. Seriously, he's an idiot and I'm not just saying that. Not only did he do my root canal incorrectly, he had also missed about 7 cavities in my mouth which you would think would be apparent in the X-rays he had been taking on a fairly regular basis. With my new dentist I found out that it didn't have to hurt have a shot of Novocaine, in fact, I didn't even need to feel the needle going in. AMAZING! However, I still had a minor fear of going in to the dentist because it seemed that no matter how often I went in and not matter how much I brushed, flossed, rinsed, did fluoride treatments, etc., there was always something wrong. Basically my teeth suck at everything except for decaying, which they are really good at doing. This has lead to my enhanced anxiety and fear of the dentist so I've been avoiding going in for a while now.

Then over the weekend it felt like there was something stuck between my back teeth, so I pulled out my trusty floss and as I pulled the floss up a piece of my tooth came out too! WTF? That's not normal. So I got into a dentist today praying for a filling and hoping I didn't need a crown. But as luck would have it, I definitely need a crown. AND, I apparently need 8, count them, 8 fillings. But it's no biggie, I have a spare couple thousand dollars lying around and plenty of dental insurance...WAIT, I don't have either of those things! So when they told me the estimated total for all the work I'll need I responded with a face kind of like this.

Please Note Mass Amounts of Silver in my mouth

So, would it be totally uncool for a 23 year old to opt for dentures? Yeah, I thought so.

Just call me Rachel Ray...

So, the Lenten season is upon us. And like many Catholics, I may not go to church regularly, but dangit, when there is a chance to punish myself for 40 days I all of a sudden become a devout Catholic again. Guilt and punishment seem to take over our lives at every given chance--we need to sacrifice for the good of others and repent when we do things for ourselves...or something along those lines. I find it interesting that when I was going to Mass every week I wasn't as strict with lent. I would usually give something up, like soda (Mountain Dew in particular) but wouldn't follow the no meat on Fridays. OR, I would strictly follow no meat on Fridays but not bother giving something up. Then, I moved out on my own and sort of fell out of the habit (no nun pun intended) of attending mass. Yet, the guilt got to me and I would give things up for lent that would make me go crazy.






My first year of college, I went to church on Ash Wednesday and gave up soda which was much more difficult than giving up Mountain Dew. When you live in the dorms and eat at a cafeteria every day, soda is the drink of choice...especially for someone who never drank coffee for their caffeine fix but rather got it through a lovely refreshing cola. The following year I had moved into the beginning stages of being a coffee drinker and still relied heavily on soda for caffeine so logically, I rid myself of caffeine for 40 days. The next year I pulled a big stunt and gave up caffeine and alcohol...and let's not do the math to figure out how old I was that year and inquire as to why I would be giving up alcohol. Anyhow, it was cleansing even though I ended up breaking lent about a week before Easter (which seems to be a theme with me). Then I spent the Lenten season in Wales where it would be unheard of to give up alcohol and Lord knows I wasn't as dependent on caffeine since I pretty much just slept all day (who needs classes when you're living in a foreign country?). So that year I gave up potato chips, or crisps in the UK. Then there was last year and I once again sacrificed sweet succulent alcohol for 40 days (or realistically 33 days because a week before Easter, I was boozin it up again....it's the thought that counts though, right?)

Now that I'm over my drinking problem [kidding, I still have it , err, I mean, it was never a problem] I decided that it was time to change it up with the sacrificial rituals. So this year, ahem...drumroll please, I have decided to give up dining out. This means no fast food drive thru on my way home from work, ordering pizza on the weekend, going out to dinner with friends during the week, no forgetting my lunch and going to the food court on campus, NONE OF THAT! I have two main reasons for doing this: 1) Eating out is spendy and it's pointless to spend money when I can, after all, cook for myself; and 2) It's pointless to be going to the gym and eating good all week just to blow it on a calorie packed fried chicken sandwich or greasy slice of pizza. I'm hoping my pocketbook will expand and my waistline will slim over these next 40 days. This may sound easy but now I have to think of new culinary adventures to keep things interesting during this challenge because let's face it, as fun as a grilled chicken breast with asparagus is, it's not gonna taste quite so great after eating it for every meal. So here I go, embarking on being my own personal chef and attempting to make healthy meals that actually TASTE good!


I'll take any suggestions for recipes, especially if they can be multi-purpose, i.e. dinner one night and a wrap for lunch the next day. Here's to the next 40 days!

You must be the change...

What an exciting time! Change brings such a fresh perspective. I've found myself going through a series of changes recently and love how grounded I feel. It's true that once you've hit rock bottom you can truly appreciate the simplicities of life and feel blessed with all of life's little gifts. And as I experience this on a personal level I am amazed to see our great nation going through the same changes. We've had our rough patches in recent years and now that we've hit rock bottom we are ready to appreciate what we have and can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Good things to come, let's not forget to appreciate each day and cherish how lucky we are to live in this ever changing nation.

P.S. Maybe I should change my hair color in the spirit of the season...your thoughts?

New Year, New You!

2008 I bid you audieu, 2009 bring it on!

Does anyone else feel this way? To me the year 2008 was a big old rut that I was trying to get out of and although we're only a few days into 2009 I feel that the wheels are finally turning. Maybe its because as I entered 2008 I knew it couldn't compare to 2007. I mean, think about it, 2007 took me to a foreign country that I fell in love with and didn't want to leave; I traveled through Europe by myself and really felt that I found who I was while spending time with great friends along the way; I spent Christmas 2007 back in England with great friends re-discovering the reasons I fell in love with the country, the culture, and most importantly the people. When I returned to Missoula I was focused on graduating, because after all, once we graduate from college life just falls into place and we get the job of our dreams and are immediately rewarded for those 5 years of hard work and living the poor college life right? WRONG!!!

I started applying for jobs before graduation and had an interview for the first job I applied for, awesome. But that interview was followed by the first of many rejection letters to come. I was becoming a pro at submitting applications and going through the long arduous process of answering interview questions and being called back for a second or third interview and then either getting a phone call or a letter stating "No, really, you were in our top two choices but for reason X, Y, or Z, we decided to go with the other candidate, but we're sure you are going to go far in life." Really, you're sure I'm going to go far? Because I'm pretty sure I ended up having to take a job that only requires a high school diploma.

And that has lead to my attitude about 2008. To me, 2007 was a teaser of the life that I dream of having, and then 2008 was a harsh reality that we all have challenges and obstacles to overcome and we have to continually work towards our life goals. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I have a bad life in any way, shape, or form. I've had an amazing life, but we all have our internal struggles that we face and to me being told that the world is at your fingertips and you can be anything you want to be after you graduate, then falling flat on your face and losing sight of the reason you went to college in the first place was a tough lesson to learn. And that is why I have such a positive outlook on 2009.

I've come into 2009 with many resolutions, because we need to set multiple goals for ourselves so that if we don't succeed in one area we still have other areas to succeed in. By having a list of resolutions I figure that I am more likely to keep some of them and if a few slip through the cracks....so be it. So here it is, my list of resolutions for 2009.

1. Start blogging again (yay, I've started on this one)
2. Find a job I enjoy (as of today, I do have an offer but more on that later)
3. Be more healthy (this has different meaning for each individual, but I have a goal in my mind)
4. Live within my means (I think everyone is trying to do this now more than ever)
5. Start going to church again (I'm not talking every Sunday, but a couple times a month wouldn't hurt)
6. Be more tidy (If you could see my apartment right now, you'd understand)
7. Maintain the friendships that are important to me (in my 2008 funk I've let a lot of friendship maintenance sit on the back burner, no more of that in 2009)
8. Start Christmas shopping early (think about what life would be like if you didn't have to step into a store during the holiday shopping season...plus who really has it in their budget to do all their shopping in one month...let's spread it out through the year)
9. Read one book each month (I have a bookshelf filled with books that I bought because I thought they would be interesting, but I've yet to read them all)
10. Always remember that you can change your life whenever you want...who needs a new year to make a resolution? Let's start the trend of a Valentine's resolution, an Easter resolution, an Independence Day resolution, and a Halloween resolution. Because today is the first day of the rest of your life, and don't you forget it.

What are your resolutions for the year?

Life's too short

For some reason I've been thinking a lot today about everything that I want to accomplish in my life. I don't really keep a timeline and I don't think that one should feel defeated if they don't accomplish things but this is just my ideal perception of the future. So, here it goes in no particular order.

-Live in a big city (London, L.A., New York, Austin, Paris) where the world is at your fingertips and anything and everything you've ever dreamt of is within your reach.

-Fall in love...I mean real love. None of that fairytale storybook bullshit that we've had engrained in our impressionable minds since gradeschool.

-Love self-lessly...some people know what this is, for instance, my parents who have been married for 34 years and love for the sake of their spouse. But this is something that I can only pray to exprience.

-Make a difference. Now I know that is a bold statement, but I'm not trying to create a revolution, I just want to impact at least one person's life positively. It could be something as powerful as helping them find faith, or something as simple as them meeting their favorite band. I just want to know that in some way, somehow, I made a positive impact on them.

-Love my family. No matter how much they drive me crazy, no matter how many miles apart we are, no matter what I do to dissappoint them, I want to know that our love is stronger than any obstacle that may arise.

-Exude happiness. You know how some people always say that they love their life? Well I don't want to be one of those people. I want others to know that I am living a happy life by the manner in which I present myself. I hope people can look at me and automatically know that I am happy with the decisions that I have made.

-Live up to expectations. Not the expectations of others, but the expectations of myself. I want to look back on the decisions I have made and either be proud, or else have learned from the not so great decisions I have made in my life. How else can we grow?

With that, I will close. But I challenge you all to examine your own situation. Because we don't measure our time on this earth, it is a gift that we are privelaged to be a part of every day.

We Gonna Party Like It's Your Birthday!

A birthday shot to kick off the night

I spent my Saturday night celebrating the 22nd birthday of my amazing friend April. She studied in Wales the same semester that I did and we have become so close. She is the only person in Missoula who truly understands how amazing my semester abroad was.








She was with me to celebrate my 22nd birthday Welsh style.
















(I realize I spelled Celebrating wrong..oops)



And I prepared a gift full of Wesh memorabilia to ring in her 22nd year on this earth.





We went out on the town for drinking with friends and dancing the night away...I, of course, was the designated drive though since it is lent after all.


Happy Birthday April!

Across the Universe

All you need is love. And I think I'm in love. His name is Jim. He's from England. He's got the most amazing voice. His eyes are filled with passion. He's an actor. He's about 28. And he's perfect in every way.

One little problem...I haven't met him yet and he doesn't technically know I exist.

I'm stalking....I mean talking about Jim Sturgess, the gorgeous boy who plays Jude in the film Across the Universe. It is such a good movie. It's based in the 60s but all of the issues that it covers are issues that we are currently going through right now. AND, all of its songs are Beatles' songs re-done by the cast. With a tagline like "Within the lyrics of the world's most famous songs, lives a story that has never been told. Until now." How could you not be intrigued?

The songs are amazing. I bought the soundtrack right after I watched the movie in the theaters and haven't been able to stop singing and thinking about the songs since. I'm falling in love with the Beatles in an entirely new way. The cast does such a good job. There are even guest appearances by Bono (of U2) and Salma Hayek.

This film touches on war, love, friendship, music, art, absent parents, losing a love, losing a child, and almost every human emotion you can think of. I will admit that a few scenes are a bit odd (like when the colors are inverted to simulate an acid trip), however, given the time it is portraying and the music that goes along with it I felt that it was a perfect fit for this film.

They lived without rules. They loved without fear. But as the world changed, so did they.

Jumpin' on the Rehab Train

Well, since every celebrity under the sun is going to rehab these days I figured I might as well try it out. Sort of. Actually, I'm just giving up alcohol for 40 days...and then I'll start drinking again. "Why?" you may ask. Well, today is Ash Wednesday and the season of sacrifice is upon us. Lent=No Alcohol for me.

I wouldn't say that I drink in excess or anything; but I do enjoy an adult beverage here and there. I can be found relaxing on my couch with a nice cold beer, or cool glass of chardonnay, or out on the town with a flask of vodka in my purse (okay, not entirely true...but it did happen once or twice). Anyhoo, as a college student most social events involve alcohol and I'm always up for a challenge so I want to see if I can make it 40 days without consuming a single drop. I gave it up for lent 2 years ago and made it about 36 days. Close, but no cigar. Then last year I was living in Wales and not drinking while in the UK is basically a sin. They would've had me committed probably. So I gave up potato chips (crisps if your British). In the past I've given up caffeine, soda, Mountain Dew (I was addicted in high school), candy, and the probably something like giving up hitting my sister when I was little...which I'm sure I broke around week one.

I'm thinking of this as a cleanse for the body, mind and spirit (punny if you think of it in the Trinity sense for any Catholics out there.) But seriously, my body is cleansed of the alcohol which is a poison that I willingly consume, my mind has clarity without the fuzziness of alcohol, and my spirits will be lifted from knowing that I am strong enough to resist the temptation of the forbidden fruit (literally, I like hard cider and that is made from apples.)

So what are you giving up for lent? Anything you feel you can't live without? Come on this journey through the next six weeks and test yourself. Come on, what's your guilty pleasure?