Dream Sampling No. 11

4.27.10






"I saw the most tiniest hummingbirds. Their wing and tail feathers were so bright and pink that they actually glowed in the dark shade. I tried to take a picture of one really close up, but before I could, it opened its beak really wide (inside were long black, needle point teeth) and it gobbled up my phone. Dang it!"

happy earth day to you

Last night I dreamt that the earth was my cupcake and I ate it. Sorry humanity, but you were just too tempting.



















Okay I didn't really dream that... though this cupcake does make the earth look real tasty. It's actually a little graphic for a free song download my sister is offering for earth day—to download the tunes, click here. Happy Earth Day to you!

Dream Sampling No. 10

3.18.10







"I got to ride around on a soft, furry humpback whale. It was incredible! I just loved it so much... Granted we flew around a whole foods, which was strange and crowded, but still thrilling. I'd lay with my head down against my whale and we could hear each others' thoughts."

Such a pain in the neck...

My neck got bent in half somehow this week. I'm not sure how or why it happened. Maybe fighting dragons or swirling around in tornadoes in my dreams. I'd better read back through the dream journal to find an answer to this puzzle... Anyway, I found relief today after visiting my massage therapist, Tenile. She has magic hands—a genetic gift received at birth—and worked some goodness on me and my chronically f-ed up neck. I'm very much looking forward to turning my head again, something I've missed dearly this past week.

Dream Sampling No. 9

7.19.08













Jason Bateman and I fell in love in Africa. He was there establishing some frozen banana stands and I was starting up an art school for blind kids. He donated so many frozen bananas to the school. The kids could not believe their eyes.

...I've been watching too much Arrested Development.

Dream Sampling No. 8

4.29.08























Andy was going to give Rach a tattoo around her mid section. It was a saying or proverb about rabbits, along with some bunny illustrations. Rach had a crush on him and liked him too much to stand up for her body. She was too blinded by love to be able to see that a rabbit tattoo would be completely stupid. I had to stand up for her and her mid section and tell Andy, 'no.'

Dream Sampling No. 7

4.9.08

I went on a run through the forest as the sun was setting. I stopped to rest on a bench, but I had forgotten that a certain type of snake would always try to bite me when I was on that bench, and I'd have to kill it with a plastic sword which happened to be laying around. I had a feeling one of them was my friend, so I said, "Ryan, is that you?" He curled up, protecting his head with his snake body and nodded 'yes.'

I want the road.

I am itchy. I am feeling the itch. There's something out on the wind calling my name. It's a little whispery song that says, "Annie, get up away from your desk for a little while and play. Come to europe and play. Mkay?"

I think it's time for me to go. But this is what I want: a Europe friend. I was all for venturing out on my own awhile ago, but I've realized over the past months that I want a wonderful soul to share it all with, to look back on the adventure in years to come, to reminisce, and laugh and cry and blow our noses over all the things that are going to happen. But who is that person? Who can swing it, both financially and time-ancially?

Where are you my little friend? My little companion? Who wants to join me with the sticks slung over our shoulders, bandanas tied to the end, full of bread, cheese, toothpaste and a clean shirt?

Come on, let's go...

Dream Sampling No. 6

8.30.09

"Walking into town from my mountain home. There were lots of riots and fighting going on due to health care and Obama and Michael Jackson. So many people throwing rocks and shooting guns. I was afraid. I almost got shot. I got pissed at someone who threw a rock so I threw one off the back of the truck and it almost hit Michael Jackson. He tried to throw one back and it was an awkward throw. I felt bad and hand signaled him that I was sorry and he did it back. We held up peace signs and pretended to hug and made up. We drove away. His face was sort of black and charcoaled from a fire someone set off. He also looked like a skeleton."

Dream Sampling No. 5

01.17.10

"After swimming around on my dolphin I stopped at the dock. Someone made an announcement about me and I got emotional. I turned to the group teary-eyed. I told them my eyes were just hurting from the water. Someone held up a mirror and I found a piece of my contact floating around in my eye. Then I found another, and another. And the same was happening in my other eye. It was like my contacts shattered and had been floating around. Soon after, I realized that I was supposed to be blind. I was like the blind girl in Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, except that I rode a dolphin instead of a horse. All of a sudden I was in this movie... and I couldn't see."

Dream Sampling No. 4

10.12.07

"I drove through a national forest that was mostly on fire. All the animals were running around, trying to get to safety, including dinosaurs. I came to a bridge. One of those huge railroad-track-over-the-canyon types of bridges. The whole thing was on fire. I knew it was the end of the road for me. A long time seemed to pass but I knew it was only minutes. Just when I was about to jump into the river below, with the fire at my heels, a dandelion seed, came floating over to me. A big one. I grabbed ahold of it and floated across to the green hills on the other side. Turns out a tiny dinosaur was hiding in my hood and caught a ride on me. He said thank you and asked to stay. I said sure, if I can name you. He was alright with that, and I named him Hoodwink."

Dream Sampling No. 3

3.12.07

"I signed up to help the poor by fighting off hunger with sticks. The line was really long but I made it after 3 hours of waiting. They gave me my stick but I wasn't sure what to do with it. I waved it around a few times and stabbed the air like a sword. I don't think it was effective.

Was in Estes with Rach. She had dyed her hair in streaks of red, orange and yellow like some flourescent lioness. I told her she was fierce. She drove our van around town. Damn near tipped us over. I told her to get out and I'd drive. I had some 4 wheeling to do.

I went through this competition with my sisters and won it. We had to do weird things, like plant a seed in a parking garage with some mean animal biting at me. The last task was to run, full speed and dive out a 4th story window without hesitating or knowing what was below. I was the 1st to jump. I wasn't afraid and I knew I'd be okay. It was thrilling and freeing. I soared through the air and landed safely on the ground, surrounded by a garden. My sisters jumped after me and I watched as they floated to the ground beside me."

Dream Sampling No. 2

02.21.07

"Some zoo animals had escaped during a rainstorm. Frogs, a couple of orangutans, but the best was a koala. At first I was kicking water at him cause I didn't realize what he was. Then he was on the monkey's back and I held out my hand and he climbed up onto me. He could talk. He told me he loved me the most out of everyone. Maybe it was because I'm tall, like a tree. I went to find my fam to show them but it was nearly midnight. The koala peed on my leg through his little pants, but I guess it was okay in all the rain."

tis the season

I'm lounging at my parents' house while outside snow softly and plentifully falls to the ground. Somehow the snow I love is even more lovely when I'm at home. It's peaceful here. I'm listening to Christmas music. I know, early right? It's not early for me. And if it's snowing then life just isn't right without it. I sit here drawring nutcrackers and rat kings and Clara for the Colorado ballet. Can my night get any better? Mmm...

snow day | sick day

Doing some drawrings in my new book, well more like old book. Old book turned drawring book. I was sick and dying this weekend, but coming back into the light today, evidenced by the drawring activities. When I'm sick I do nothing but watch movies, sleep and dream some crazy crazy things.

new branch of Ladders: the Dream Samplings

So a few years ago I started up a new kind of journal. A dream journal. For the past three years I've written in it most mornings (in phases), scrambling for it under my pillow half awake and half out of consciousness. I lay there on my side, one eye open, scribbling side to side as flashes and memories of the night's happenings would come to me. Sometimes it would be complete stories and thoughts, sometimes just a glimpse, an image, a quote, a feeling, etc. Sometimes drawrings accompany if we're lucky... Anyways, this will be the first installment of the Dream Samplings (name is up for consideration) on Ladders. I'll start with some old entries.

Please note: some names may be substituted for obvious reasons.

November 5th, 2007

"In Switz... George, Peter, I and a few others came with me to stay at the family cabin. I was doing yoga and the two guys joined in but tried to turn it into some kind of breakdance session... They just don't get yoga.

Then there were wasps in the recycling that I had to take out I was ushering them out the door 1 by 1 after I took out the recycling screaming. I told my mom you have to tell those wasps you're french, you're a french pastor, so they'll take you seriously and won't think you're a swiss pastor. whaa???

I had to march in a parade with old highschool friends. I am older now and had to come up with my own drums–some little congas I found in the basement. Dressed up silly in an itchy coat. Some whole foods people were there too. All of produce were dressed as firemen. A woman and a daughter there had both seen me drinking once, so they asked me for advice about the daughter drinking during her pregnancy. Odd."

my new career path:

My second day on the job of painting faces. No, I kid... It's just for kicks. But I sure do have fun doing it, and I think the kids do too, when I don't take too long to do their faces. AND when I make sure to chew gum. I found that this is key in a face painting career. Gum.

Today seemed to be a day filled with sea creatures.

This is Sniffly Little Ani Face. She loves the rainy fall weather, and today she's stuck inside an office building which seems to have air conditioning being pumped in overhead. It's making Little Ani Face feel all sicky. Office = Cold Prison Cell. She'd much rather be out in the rainy fall weather.

The end and the beginning.

Dear Diary (aka world),

This is my first blog post besides the header, which let's face it, it feels a little dry, a little void of personality, a little too "office"—but hey i made it while i was at the office so that makes sense. Where one resides will often rub off off on who one thinks they are. Okay, that's only true of me. I have somewhat of a chameleonic personality, like when I hang out with my cool hipster friends I become a cool hipster. When I'm around a mechanic, I find that I can somehow fix automobiles. When I spend time at the office I turn into that kid playing office when they were little, filing things and stapling things, and creating blog headers with filing cabinets on them. Booaring! So needless to say, I will change the header (away from the office!). But just so you know, if you can't tell, that little filing cabinet has a label on it that says "inspirational shit." So at least if it's going to be boring, it's still inspired.

This first entry is putting a lot of pressure on me right now, so I'd better stop. This is it: the end and the beginning. (I'm so deep in the early mornings).

ps. This my anteater that showed up in the mail yesterday. It needs a name.