My Afflation

Photographed by David Moyle I never dreamed I could look like this!  I was kind of an ugly duckling growing up -- coke bottle glasses, goofy grin (that hasn't changed), and over all awkwardness that I never grew out of. Suffice it to say, I didn't (and some days still don't) have the greatest self-esteem when it comes to my looks. However, I have known since college that I have a decent pair of legs :D.  A few years ago ( I can't believe it's been years! ) I had a leggy avatar for twitter and about the same time I started hanging out with photographers in Long Beach/North OC. One of them is the amazing David Moyle . We talked about doing a shoot of my legs. He does some breathtaking work . Three years later we finally made it happen. And damn, don't I look HAWT ?!? I want to thank @Jonathan360  (another awesome LB photographer) for suggesting Smash Photo in Long Beach -- because, you know me, procrastinator - couldn't find a studio and there wa...

Who needs men to move? Evidently not me when I have my mom and a few good girlfriend s ( would be plural but I had to do it this weekend instead of next). I figured my friends are getting tired of moving me and my crap around, totally understandable. Josh counts it as four times in the last two years, including the move from Oregon. It feels like more.   This past weekend I just needed to move my stuff out of storage in Long Beach to a less expensive storage center in Lancaster (because who knows how long we will actually be in Lancaster). The biggest piece of “furniture” is my TV, a 30” HDTV that is NOT plasma. That sucker weighs like 300lbs. But we figured it out, got it moved, and no one injured anything.  I say that makes the move a success. Now to finish getting my crap out of my mom’s living room before my sis and nieces come back this weekend …

I’m stoked, and should have posted this weeks ago when I got the message from @ LBMatt that the Port was sending me something. Things have been ( insert favorite phrase here ) – CRAZY BUSY . ©Annette Holland – This photo was taken at the Long Beach Photo Tweetup on March 7, 2009 from the Admin Building rooftop. Thank you, Matt and the Port of Long Beach for such a wonderful opportunity. The contest was for the top three spots in this contest. @ Oakmonster won one of the spots too. Filed under : Better late than never

Because so many of my friends have started their own businesses, I decided to showcase them on my blog. If you have a local (Southern California) business that you would like placed here, just leave your info in the comments and I will get it added to the post. You can also contact me on twitter (@ dananner) to get added to the directory. Business : Vintage Lingerie Location : Long Beach Website : Sweet Cherry Vintage Lingerie Business : AVON Representative Location : Long Beach Website : http://tgreet.avonrepresentative.com/ Twitter Name : @ divacowgirl Business : Car Enthusiasts – Buy/Sell/Trade Location : Orange County Website : TheTunerSource.com Twitter Name: @ yukihoang and @ fakerich Business : Wedding and Event Photography Location : Long Beach Website : David Martinez Photography – Currently on hiatus, but check back often Twitter Name : @ davidmartinez Business: Clothing Outlet Location: 26305 Jefferson Ave, Suite C, Murrietta Website: 16 Underground on MySpace & 1...

©Annette Holland - 2009 - taken at the Port of Long Beach

: (photo courtesy of @theagent ) If you haven't heard, the think tank of all conferences ( TED ) is in Long Beach this week. Last night one of our members saw Al Gore and we tried to get Kevin Rose to let us into the block party. @killregrets wrote up our adventures before anyone else. You can read her account [excerpt below, go to her blog for the whole story] orange colored day: Attempt to #crashTED was an epic #Fail : "We began our night at the Dubliner in downtown Long Beach with @nsputnik and @theagent. We shared a round discussing current and past employment, the housing market, and the art scene in and around Long Beach. Once @daNanner, @missmotormouth, @DigSomeMore, @agentjon, @niecee, @jpdefillippo, and @Fogarty arrived, we got word that 18 #TED people were at Rock Bottom Brewery. Upon heading in that direction we realized that the TED Block Party was going on and we needed to be a part of it." and read our #crashTED tweets for the whole vicarious experience...

The sun was covered by dark clouds, the wind was blowing, and we were at sea level. BUT honey, it was COLD outside! It hadn't been when we left the house for gymnastics, so despite having her snowsuit (time for a new one I think) we didn't have a jacket. In these pics she's wearing her leotard, covered by a long sleeve tee and a snowsuit. Pants wouldn't fit. And she hates wearing socks if she doesn't have to. After being miserable on the snow, we went to the bouncy stuff, and then back to the snow where she proceeded to bean me in the eye with a snowball. After that we went shopping in the Village and warmed up with some tasty churros. All-in-all a good Saturday.

I just love the roll in the picture above. You get a good mix of dark and light, and it's all completely natural. Yes, I sometimes take pictures when I drive. With my camera, not my cameraphone. I love things I can operate with one hand. I also love clouds, and cloud formations. This is what L.A. (really Long Beach) looks like in Autumn when it is trying to decide if it will rain or not. Lovely clouds...

Here are the dogs waiting patiently with me as I wait for AAA, again. A little over a month ago I had to call AAA to come unlock my car. Last night was a little more dramatic. I thought I was being a good doggie mommy when I got home and it was about 90 degrees in the house. HOT! I changed as quickly as possible into a T-shirt, board shorts and Teva's (love my Teva's, but that's another story), grabbed leashes and away we went. The dogs get so excited when I grab the leashes. And even more so when I told them to go to the car instead of "Front" (front means you have to pee and poop out front and just get a walk. Car means "Yay! We're going somewhere and get to SMELL things!") So, we head out to the beach. I chose the board shorts because they have a pocket I can keep my keys and phone in. Apparently about 5 minutes in, or sometime after I locked my car (this time I clearly remember having keys in hand!) my keys fell out into the soft sand from a ho...

joy showed an interest in developing a green thumb and i got about 15lbs of fruit which my children will devour post-haste. and i stayed within budget! the star of Bethlehem flowers were the most expensive, well and the 2lbs of cherries.

Davik's Heart http://lang.presstelegram.com/flash/cambodia/images/title.jpg