hero

It's been a while since I've linked up here, but I am looking to grow my blog community (I love making new friends via writing on this little page and seeing their pages!) so here I am! Also, I'm awake watching Jimmy Fallon interview Melissa McCarthy and am trying to tire out my kitten so I can get a little deeper sleep tonight.

If you haven't been here before, I am Alexandra Anne, a  20-something blogger who is currently a music student in Houston, Texas. I love Jesus, music, my family, my friends, my kitty Zoe, and my blog friends. I write to share my life stories and to connect with others who may relate or offer new perspectives. Everyone has something to share :)

Five Minute Friday is where we link up with Lisa Jo (who I am also joining by watching and being part of a group on (in)Courage this winter) to write for five minutes straight without editing, correcting, or over thinking. It's a very raw and vulnerable way to write, but it also brings us closer to each other AND lets the Lord speak through us in His wonderful way. Words are magical to me; they are my friend. So this writing prompt has always been one of my personal favorites.

Here we go.

Are you ready?

Today's word:

Hero.

GO.


Hero. We often picture a hero as someone strong, someone who has it together. The hero of the story saves the damsel in distress. The hero has a conflict that somehow always gets resolved.

But that's fiction. We don't live in a fairy tale. 

To be a hero doesn't mean to be squeaky clean.


Sometimes the hero falls down

I am not perfect. I have moments of weakness; sometimes the moments last longer than I'd like. I fall down. I'm not in control.

She doesn't have a job, but she tends to the family

He wakes up every day and feeds the animals

She finishes her degree even when she really cannot agree with the school system

They stay together and fight for their marriage, to keep the vows they made to stay true forever

These are real examples of heroes.

Life isn't pretty. Life is full of messy gross and dirty mistakes. Sometimes we even have the best of intentions, but it doesn't work out.

But we keep going.

One day at a time.

We're still here aren't we?

And those we've lost? Those are the heroes we honor. We will always remember her confidence in us, we will remember his funny stories, we will remember how she took care of her family.

Life is full of journeys of heroes.

I'm one of those heroes. And so are you.

STOP.

What does the word "hero" make you write? 

Have a blessed weekend,
xoxo, Alexandra Anne 

ps. After writing this post, the nerd in me must declare that I have "Everyone's A Hero" from Dr. Horrible stuck in my head!! :)

Tuesday Thoughts

Things on Alexandra Anne's mind today, this lovely Tuesday:

*Wreck It Ralph is a fantastic movie! Even made me cry. Yup, total sap here. No shame. ;)

*I could listen to Lindsey Stirling all day long (see previous post, I kind of am an uber fan girl, to say the least!)

*I miss writing, so I'm gonna try to write more!

*I miss my online/blog friends!

*I need to game more. It's a fact. I'm looking at getting a new laptop (since this one is about 2 1/2 years old and kind of dying on me) aaaaand I'd love a gaming machine. The only gaming I can do is on my boyfriend's gamecube (which he loaned me, best boyfriend everrrr), and the occasional online game that my poor laptop can handle. Not enough for this gamer girl!

*Speaking of best boyfriend ever, two days ago he gave me beautiful red roses. Why? "Because I haven't seen you in a while." SO SWEET AND SPONTANEOUS I LOVE IT!! Seriously. It had been a month since we'd seen each other, so, I doubly appreciated the random flowers. I always do though.

*I recently got a book in the mail that I ordered two weeks ago: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Ever read it? Something I said once apparently sounded like a quote from it, so I had to get it. It's a tiny little green book so I am looking forward to delving into it during my week at home.

*Spring Break is the best invention ever!! After this week I have 8 weeks left of school...mamma mia, I can do this though! Taking it one week at a time. And that also means only two months til I'm officially a sophomore in college. I'd love for the time to go by quickly, but I do not want to wish my life away. I am grateful for every moment I'm alive!

*I'm allergic to Huntsville, AL. I just sneezed a crap ton. Gross.

*I think I will now write for my own pleasure, because in addition to being a musician, I am a writer :)

Hope your week is great too!
xoxo,
alexandra anne

Some Lindsey Love

I study classical music. It's what I want to make a job out of someday. This means that most of my concert/show attendance includes operas, orchestras, jazz ensembles, and the occasional choral group. I basically go watch other classical performers.

Well, on February 27th, my concert attendance took a turn. I haven't been to a "rock" or "pop" or "non-classical" concert in...years! (I remember going to Jump5 and ZoeGirl and BarlowGirl as a kiddo....trying to think if I saw anything else "non-classical")

Who shook me out of my classical niche for a night? 

The one and only Lindsey Stirling.

Yeah, she's amazing. Seriously, this show was AMAZING. She reminded me why I want to be on a stage; I want to invoke "the feels" in an audience too! She's super talented, and if you don't already know who she is, well, thank goodness you're reading my blog today because you need to know!! ;) 

^^This was my first Lindsey video, thanks to my boyfriend who sent me the link about a week after it was posted :) :) :)

We followed her vids for about a year when we heard that she was coming on tour! Unfortunately, she wasn't coming to Texas at that point, but she would be where boyfriend is: Huntsville, Alabama. I was super jealous. Well, turned out that she couldn't make that show, which saddened both my boyfriend and myself.
She won him back over though.
Second tour, Spring 2013.
February 25th he went to Birmingham, AL, to see her, and had a fantastic time. I had to tell him to not tell me too much about the concert because I didn't want spoilers for when I saw it!That's right, she came to Houston two days later!

Oh oh oh my goodness the concert was fantastic...I couldn't process it for at least a week. SO wonderful.

If you didn't watch the above video yet, shame on you. That's pretty much what she does LIVE at a show. Yeah, she plays violin and dances and it's just amazing! Oh and she's also a decent singer too, which we didn't know because her music tends to not be lyric based.

She was #8 on YouTube's top 10 videos in the year 2012 for this one:





A lot of my favorite songs of hers don't have videos yet, but that doesn't stop me from rocking out to them ALL the time...yeah, she's awesome.

I had so so much fun at the concert!

My swag ;) Poster, keychain(not pictured), sticker, shirt. Can you say fangirl?

Drew, the drummer! (We got a pic with Gavi, keyboardist, too, but the camera didn't take apparently :( sad day! Gavi had even replied to my tweet on twitter! )

Oh yeah, I met Lindsey and got my poster signed. <3 <3 <3 this was the only pic I got though, as she was tired (we stayed out til midnight waiting for her to come out to the bus) and wasn't sticking around long. 

So yeah, I MET my favorite violinist. And had a great time at the show!

Fun fact: I've loved violinists for almost a decade now, AND I used to play the violin myself. :) (Formerly loved violinists: Hilary Hahn, and Lucia Micarelli, both are still favs!)

I want to be like Lindsey. I want to share what I love with an audience. And hey, she did say to follow our dreams :) :) :)

Here are some more music videos, because you obviously haven't seen enough yet :)

http://lindseystirlingviolin.com/

This Blog Thing

I've been meaning to write..seriously, I have....

When I drove back to Houston after Christmas break, I had 14hours in a car all to myself. This means I had wonderful (and several) blog topic ideas. Of course, I don't remember half of them now. You can't really blog while driving.... (if we had a robot that could dictate our blog ideas as soon as we get them, that would be amazing! It would just write down our thoughts while we do other things; drive, workout, dance, read, anything! Engineers...come on....ya'll can do this....)

Ok, I am WAY too A.D.D. to do this right now...

Here are some random brain spurts, since I AM actually sitting down to write today.


*School started this past week. 2nd semester at the University of Houston.

*I moved into my house, where I am renting a room and living with a wonderful Christian lady. Since I get asked about this ALMOST EVERY DAY, I shall explain (for the billionth time) on here as well: My former church music director is Susan, my family is close with Susan. Her sister is Sylvia. Sylvia lives in Houston and has hosted exchange students and foster students, etc, over the years. I am now living in Sylvia's house. Make sense ya'll? It's not even that complicated. But for some reason, getting asked to explain it seems ridiculously silly to me.

*I came back to Houston a week before school started so I could go to rehearsals for our opera/musical-comedy Cheryomushki (a cute and funny show by Shostakovich, originally in Russian, but we are English-i-fying it up).

*Weather in the south is just berserk

*God puts the right people in our lives at just the right time

*Les Miserables and The Hobbit were both enjoyable, but not as amazing as I'd hoped. (please don't shoot me for saying that...)

*Speaking of shooting, I'm a huge 2nd Amendment gal. So, if you try to take away my rights, I'm gonna be more than a little vexed.

*20 days until the boyfriend visits me! I believe our plans include: NASA stuff (because...I live in Houston! Duhhhh), baking/cooking, swing dancing (Houston is a big swing town, I love that), and lots of gaming. Yep, I'm excited.

*February 27th, Lindsey Stirling comes to Houston! I GOT MY TICKET YA'LL!!!!! Slightly excited......

*Mozart is sticking to me a lot. But, he'll probably be the one responsible for my future employment, so I'm okay with that.

*Oh yeah. Employment. I got two part time jobs. I started one, and am dealing with the stupid silly government about the other one (let's just say, don't lose your social security card, it's a BIG pain in the butt to get stuff taken care of after that). My jobs will be: Music teacher (beginner voice, beginner piano), and Box Office for the music department at school. I'm looking forward to income again, once I actually start working.

*Music keeps me going. Jesus does too. But He gave me music. Therefore, music keeps me going.

I think this is enough random for one post.
I'll try to post more regularly. <3

xoxo,
alexandra anne

One Month Later...

Ciao amici! (Hello friends!)

I sincerely apologize for the complete lack of posts this past month; life is too crazy! But Christmas break is close, therefore, I can write more :)

Some quick updates:

*This girl is finishing up her first semester fulltime college living away from home! This means I have 15 credit hours under my belt! (Next semester it appears I will take 13 hours: Music Theory 2, Aural Skills 2, Vocal Diction [French], Piano 4, Voice Lessons, Choir, and American History; super excited!!)

*Next week I head back home to Alabama!!! WAHOO!
*This week I move into my newest place in Houston! WAHOO! (Gonna rent a room in a house! No more dorm life, super duper excited for this change).

*Lindsey Stirling is coming to Houston in February; definitely NEED to go to this concert. She's just amazing. Seriously.

*I love granny smith apples. This isn't new, so it shouldn't fall under my "update" list, but this is  my personal writing space where I make the rules and I can break them! ;)

*Thanksgiving was crazy, busy, but loads of fun! Michael (the boyfriend) came with my family to Edenton, North Carolina to visit the grandparents. My family is a crazy bunch, and I miss them terribly. Our roadtrips are always fun fun fun. :)

*I'm QUITE excited for Christmas; I'm singing at the Christmas eve service at my church (such an honor!) AND I am pretty darn excited to give my people's presents. Seriously. I am just giddy about this :) :) :) (you're gonna love your presents, ya'll, truth!).

*Being healthy is hard. I don't mean to sound whiny, but when you live in a dorm and eat cafeteria food all the time, it is difficult to be healthy. This chick definitely gained a wee bit between orientation to Thanksgiving. I'm trying, ya'll. Trying to get fit and healthy again! Gotta be strong opera gal ;)

*Lately I haven't been a great long-distance communicator, so I feel like a terrible friend. But hopefully ya'll understand, and I promise to write over the break!

*My break is only a little bit over 2 weeks honestly...but I'm okay with this fact. My break ends earlier BECAUSE I come back to Houston a week earlier for opera rehearsal week :) :) :) My first opera with Moores School of Music! (And my 8th opera overall, in a 3 1/2 year period......crazy!)

*God is amazing. Again, not an update, just a fact. :)

*I should probably do my laundry this weekend, I'm running out of socks and undies. (TMI? Apologies. It's all real-talk here).

*I'm a gamer girl. Not an update per se, but I am definitely spending my free time catching up on gamecube and pc games. Just found out that all the original Tomb Raider games are now available on Steam for only $10 each!! Also, I desire more gaming consoles....all I have is my boyfriend's gamecube, which is wonderful, but now I want more ;) Thanks to a music friend here, I also have my own tv! (This is good for study breaks, fyi). So yeah. Gamer girl. This chick. <3

*Music is the hugest blessing in my life lately. On Thursday I woke up very very sick, threw up four times, and had horrid violent dizzy spells. I eventually made it out of my room, and to the music building, because I absolutely had to meet with my pianist. (Friday was my voice lesson final, Thursday was my last chance to practice). Singing was actually what made me feel better! It was the best part of that day, and I am convinced that music is God's personal gift to me. Music is full of healing, and that is a wonderful fact.

So yeah! That's my crazy life in a quick (ish) glimpse :)

Picture time! I'll write more later, promise ;)

xoxo, alexandra anne

The aforementioned Gamecube (well, controllers haha) I'm in a phase. Gamer phase. mhmmm...

Josh's recital; music majors go to a lot of recitals. Since we're random friends, I went to his :)

the man and I on the drive to North Carolina for Thanksgiving <3 

yep, we were color coordinated for Thanksgiving dinner. I love this guy and his handsome face :)

hanging with my little sister (whom I miss a lot a lot!)

right before I visited Huntsville; was SO excited! 

that's my man. no, you can't have him. I'm too darn happy with him <3 

November Gratitude

Have you ever read "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp? It's a lovely book, and it will change your life. She introduced me to the concept of writing down gifts and constantly being thankful for everything. Well, as it is now November and the "thankful" month, I want to get back on track with counting gifts!!

Today I'm thankful for:

*new friends
*pumpkin spice latte
*music
*free candy
*fresh fruit
*the passion to write
*the passion for music
*passion for God
*frustration that gets my rear into productive action
*NaNoWriMo
*squirrels
*walks outside
*hugs


What are you grateful for?
xoxo, alexandra anne

NaNoWriMo Gal

Yup. I'm gonna write. This might seem crazy considering I'm a fulltime college student AND I can't even blog regularly these days. WELL, I need a release, a source of creativity that isn't academic. So I am going to write a novel. It's for me. Sound selfish? I might be. But hopefully this will be a wonderful experience.

It's November ya'll. National Novel Writing Month.

In other news...
20 days left til I go home for Thanksgiving; so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, time to write ;)

xoxo, alexandra anne

My First Anniversary

I have a myriad of interesting nicknames; my favorite of the odd ones include "List girl," "girl who has to know," and "date girl." When I say date, I don't mean getting all dolled up and going out on the town (although I LOVE dates like that), I mean I keep track of time and countdown to things almost religiously. For example, how long has it been since I lived in Italy, how long have I been in Houston, how long til I see my family again, how many hours have I sat in this chair, etc etc etc.

Well, October 4th is a day I have been counting down to for a while now. I didn't even know originally how wonderful a day it would become. First off, it will be my 1 year anniversary with my wonderful man, my guy, my boyfriend Michael.

If I recall correctly, he asked me out on October 3rd, 2011, and I accepted on October 4th, 2011. That's when our relationship started. Our first date was a little less than a week later. :) I don't think I realized back then how much I would fall for this guy, and how much fun we would have! Honestly, I didn't even want a relationship back then. If it weren't for God tugging at my heart that night, I wouldn't have even talked to him. But I am so so so glad I did!

The night he met mom and two of my best friends :) 

His 20th birthday, where I met all of his friends for the first time; talk about nervous! I ended up loving all of them and they're all *my* friends now too ;)

My little brother wanted to be in pics too, so cute!!

Right before our first movie date! Sherlock Holmes 2 :) Such a fun time, even though I spilled popcorn in his new car... whoops =P

We took Jessika (one of many best friends) out to coffee after her recital this summer, and she snapped this shot. I call it, starbucks hug ;)

He's so handsome :) :) :) this was right after I graduated high school!

Can you tell I was sick? We visited Jessika and Jarrod that weekend, and got some early morning pics. I like this one. 

This summer, before I left for school, he took me on a sueprise picnic! I was definitely shocked. He and our moms planned it all out and deceived me ;) good job guys. One of my favorite dates for sure! 

That weekend at Jessika's :) I love this shot. I trust him so much!

Hehe ;)

After my senior recital in July :) 

 Anyway (sorry for the cornucopia of pictures...I'm just happy!)

I am super excited that we have been together for a year now!

But wait....there's more ;)

As of early September, I've been even MORE excited for October 4th. Why?
He's coming to visit me in Houston; yay!!!!!
First, I get to see my best friend/boyfriend for a whole weekend, but also, he is bringing me a part of home. That's what he represents to me right now. Not just someone whose hand I hold, but someone who is part of my home life. I won't see my family until Thanksgiving, which is still 2 months away, so it'll be nice to have part of that here. (Don't get me wrong, I love Houston, and love my new home! But my family will always be my family, so naturally I miss them).

Ever since M got his plane ticket, I have been counting down the days on a little chalkboard in my room ;) yeah, I'm slightly obsessed with countdowns. But it's part of my positivity and optimism. See, my system is such: I try to find something positive to look forward to in each day. It makes the days more enjoyable, and I  then become truly appreciative of each day! (We're never guaranteed tomorrow, make today count!)

So, on October 4th, I might ignore the world for a bit, but I will be cherishing each moment for sure.

Siblings and myself, Christmas 2011; I miss these kiddos!!

Family back home: I miss you lots. You should visit too ;) I'll see you soon though. I love you so much and thank you all for supporting me on this crazy adventure!
Friends back home: I'm sorry for not writing back quickly all the time. But I love ya'll and we must catch up when I am back home! (Feel free to visit ANY time; I have a couch hehe)
Friends in Houston: thank you for making me feel welcome :) I can't wait to meet more of you! It seems every week I make a new friend. This is a lovely town, and I am proud to call it my new home.

Have a good rest of the week, ya'll!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo, alexandra anne <3 

Puddles

*Drip. Drop.* The rain has left remnants of its visit. Deep lakes are disturbing my regular path. Our group tiptoes around the puddles, so as not to get wet.

But the child in me wants to JUMP right in and SPLASH a rainfall of my own.

Society says no...


The crowd is quiet in a hall, not daring to speak up against a wrong. I long to scream at the top of my lungs.

The crowd says no...


This *isn't* what God calls us to be! We are supposed to be loud for Him! He doesn't call us to be a bunch of indifferent lemmings.... why do we follow society's standards? Why do we not speak our hearts, and only say what the crowd has taught us?

"Shout, and sing for joy!" -Isaiah 12:6

"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." -Deuteronomy 31:6

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men..." -Colossians 3:23

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."- Romans 12:2


Let's live these words this week, and SHOUT for our Lord! :)

in Him,
alexandra anne 

World Traveler, This Girl

Tomorrow, I will no longer be "Alabama Alexandra." It's gonna be Texas time for this ragazza. Huntsville will always be my high school love, and for the foreseeable future it will be the "home" I visit every holiday. But, ya'll....I'm moving to Houston. Leaving bright and early tomorrow with my Momma to move into University. 

I'm mostly all packed. I'd say 92%. It's a little strange to look at your life smooshed all together into three suitcases. You kind of think "Huh. This is me...in a few pieces of luggage. What does this say about me?" 

I moved to Huntsville, Alabama a little over 5 years ago. May 2007. Good heavens how time flies, and then...how it drags! I love this city very much, and have grown immensely and learned so much. 

What will Houston, Texas bring? 

I will admit, I am nervous AND excited. Happy AND sad. Scared AND ready. God has definitely put it very clearly to me that I need to be studying opera at the University of Houston Moores School of Music; gotta listen to God!! (He does truly amazing things, and I am so excited to see where He takes me!)

Today I am finishing up some last minute packing and cleaning. I must vacate my room, which will be really strange for me. It won't really be my home anymore. I'll be a Texas chick. (Good thing I already use lotsa hairspray and wear dresses a lot ;) )

I'm not good at goodbyes...I am much better at see-you-later's. God has a purpose for taking me to Houston, and I can't wait to see what He does this year. 

Prayers for safe travel and adjustment would be lovely; I'm a little overwhelmed, but trusting in God. I might not be able to blog for a while, we'll see how crazy life gets. 

Hope ya'll have a great rest of the week!

xoxo, alexandra anne 

PS. If you live in Alabama, I already miss you way too much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please please write me all the time, and visit ANY time. :) I love ya'll so so so so much! <3 <3 <3 Be back soon ;)

Prayer

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." -Romans 8:26 

I have come to the realization that for a while now, I have not been a good witness or even a good Christian. My faith is not where I need or even want it to be. See, I get in this pattern with God, which starts with my stubbornness, then I hide from Him, and He has to drag me out by the ears to get me to listen.

Well, I would like you to hold me accountable! "Alexandra Anne, how's your faith today?" I need to have a better answer than "well....God is good and all." I need to be shouting for joy about my Savior! I need to talk to God! Yeah; simple as that!  Well, not so simple, since I seem to avoid it like a child avoids medicine. But His words are healing, and true, and full of love. Yes, there are sometimes consequences, and yes, sometimes it's not going to be fun.
But He died for us. For me.

This is how I show gratitude?
Nope. I'm spitting in His face. I'm a hypocrite.

Corrie Ten Boom once said "Don't pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord, and keep it."

So, I'm using this blog as a stepping stone. I would like to pray for you. If I have a regular prayer list, that will be a huge important step! You can comment, or send me a private message, whatever works for you; but I want to pray for you. It could be something as simple as "I hope I can run 3 miles today," to something as difficult as "Please pray for my friend who has cancer." No prayer is too big or too small.
Did you know God watches out for even the tiniest sparrow? Then of course He's watching out for you!

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Please. Let me pray for you. <3

xoxo, alexandra anne

"Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually." -1 Chronicles 16:11
"Commit to the Lord whatever you do and all your plans will succeed." -Proverbs 16:3

PS. My verse for this week is of a prodigal-son nature: "Let us carefully examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord." -Lamentations 3:40

All We Ever Want Is A Connection

~Five Minute Friday~


Where we link up with Lisa Jo  for five minutes of unedited writing.

Today's word is:
Connect

GO.

I have definitely been blessed by the blog community, and by the connections I've made. I cannot wait to meet some of these new friends, and am blessed daily by posts, emails, texts, tweets, etc.

But it isn't just blogging that connects us; the hugest thing I'm finding as a connector is faith. Yeah! I have met other ladies that I can gush about God with, it is the best thing ever. "God is SO good!" "God is awesome like that." "Praise Jesus!!!" I have also been blessed to find new accountability. I've found others who are walking on a similar path as me, a path seeking Christ daily.

Today, we are connected with the internet. We are connected with cell phones.
But more than that, we are connected through Christ.

We have this wonderful forum to be witnesses! Isn't it awesome? I have the freedom of speech to write on the internet about my awesome God, and I can find fellowship with other Christ-followers.

Thank you, blog world, for these connections.
God is good.

He is the reason I write.

And I am very very blessed by this community.

STOP.

Would you like to write a 5 Minute Friday post? Go to Lisa Jo's page!
Would you be interested in writing for This Journey of Journeys? I'd love to have you here :)
Would you like a new friend? Private message me any time any day for any reason! I love (if you couldn't tell from above) to make friends here. <3

Have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo, alexandra anne

T-minus One Month

Mamma mia......today marks three weeks until my orientation, and four weeks til I move in to my new digs at U of Houston.
I have a lot on my mind today, so it's perfect for an IT'S OK THURSDAY linkup with Amber and gals.

It's ok...


That I got my wisdom teeth out on Monday and still have puffy face today...


To cry because of overwhelming circumstances


That I'm listening to Demi Lovato right now (I really like her music, and she's an excellent role model for young girls)


That I said goodbye to Dad again today...I won't see him til Thanksgiving probably (he got to visit home for two weeks, but is heading back to Afghanistan til October) 


That I am moving in four weeks


To just need a hug


To blog to get all these thoughts out 


To make silly faces to distract myself (yup, I'm apparently 3 years old)


That I am turning 19 in less than 2 months (I just realized this the other day when mom referred to me as "almost 19." Huh. Last year as a teen. That'll be nice)


That I "stalk" my favorite bloggers :)


That I am longing for a good shopping session, and I'm not a shopper...it's strange. I'm the oddest female. 


That I love the nickname: Allie Anne (I really love any nickname if it is given in love)


That I spent three different times trying to get to the next level in Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (I haven't played this one before, so I recently got it on Amazon.com, and got stuck the other night, but as of last night I'm on a new level!! Currently running around Paris, but in the sewers....hmm)


That I could do nothing but listen to music all day


That I am leaning on God; that's always ok :) 

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."- Colossians 4:2 

Dear Monday...Yikes

I'm stuck in bed, so, I feel a blog post is necessary ;)
First, let me give a disclaimer: in my idiocy, I did not write anything on my last post to tell ya'll that Emily (my July sponsor!) wrote it! Ohhh I feel terrible :( I just copied the html she gave me, and added nothing else. *facepalm* So, I will edit that right quick after this post (yes, I am southern, I get to say right quick, ya'll, yonder, reckon, fixin, etc ;) )

So, today is a Dear Monday and a Mingle Monday :) Let's go!

*Dear mouth; I'm sorry I had to get wisdom teeth taken out of you, AND a bad cavity tooth extracted. As I write this I am in immense pain (left side, and my tummy, yup) but am trying to keep the ice pack on you as much as possible. Anyway, thanks for letting me eat melted ice cream and cake.

*Dear music: oh my goodness we had such fun yesterday! My senior recital was like a cloudy dream full of love, happiness, and joy joy joy! I can't wait to see the pictures of my wonderful friends who came to support and celebrate with me. I couldn't be more grateful. Plus we had fun going out to Maggie Moo's for ice cream after. Anyway, music. You rock.

*Dear blogworld, thank you for making me feel welcome! This community is so loving and supportive. I'm still a tiny blogger, but I love to write and connect with new people. So so neat!

*Dear Elise; thank you for nominating me for the Liebster award! My first blog award!! :) I'll get on that in a bit, super fun! I've really enjoyed getting to know you via email and texting :) Again, the blogworld is just such a neat community!

*Dear Daddy, I'm so glad you are here for a few weeks on leave from Afghanistan. Thank you for taking me to my surgery this morning and getting me a milkquake from Krystal. And thanks for being pretty legit and cool. :)

Dad and myself right before my recital. I just love to take goofy pictures, and he is nice enough to let me ;) Ok, we're both goofs haha. 

*Dear Mom, thank you for your never-ending love, support, wisdom, hugs, and crazy sense of humor. You're a light, and I cannot ask for a better mom! You're MY mom. I had you first of course ;) Just me and you against the world. I'm gonna miss you when I leave, but we're gonna have super fun moving in and decorating together. And hey, I can still call you every night at 9:30 and chatter away about random nonsense ;) I'm so glad you're my Mom. You truly inspire me! (I wanna be like you and Dad someday. Ya'll are way too adorable for your own good ;) hehehe).

*Dear ice pack, keep it up. You're doing your job.

*Dear Houston, I can't wait to become your newest resident! Heck, with all this gun-rights garbage talk going on, I'd love to become a full resident, then Texas can secede and life will be great. ;)

*Dear Shabby Apple, and Etsy, please stop being so irresistible. I have no moneys, but your products look so lovely and beautiful and really soothe me when I'm stuck in bed and can't move. :) So, ya'll should have an Alexandra Anne sale ;)

*Dear Michael, thank you for loving this crazy goofy opera chick. I'm wearing my ThinkGeek.com shirt right now, and thinking of you. If it weren't for Firefly, we wouldn't be together ;) I'm super jealous that you're going to DragonCon, but I will get over it ;)

This picture is from when I lived in Naples; the shirt was my first online purchase ever! Says "Also, I can kill you with my brain." ;) (I'll give you a big fat hug, or a virtual one, if you can get the reference) 

*Dear friends and family who came to see me yesterday: ya'll rock!!!!! I will admit, when I first saw how filled up my house was, I did have a bit of a freak out ;) "All these people are here......for me????" (basic thoughts, honestly). But once I started singing, I was so grateful that you were all here. It was a pleasure sharing my joy with you.

*Dear Italia, I miss you...not gonna lie. I really really really miss you. You changed my life :)

*Dear God, Ok. I'm bedridden, so, I'll get the Bible out. Sorry.... I need to be a better witness than that. Thank you so so so so much for your never ending grace and true love. You're the reason we're all here :) You're the creator of This Journey.

Xoxoxo,
Alexandra Anne

Doin' Alright

Today I am linking up with.... 

and 

The good:
My Daddy is home! It's so awesome to wake up, have breakfast, and just talk with my Dad about anything and everything :) He's the coolest, and as my friend Maegan says, he is a legit adult we like ;)
Also good, he met Michael! It's a little strange introducing my boyfriend of 9 months to my Dad....after the 9 months of dating. But I guess that's how it goes when your dad is deployed for a year and only gets a 2 week visit in the summer.
Quite good: I had an INTENSE voice lesson yesterday. A normal lesson for me is 45minutes to an hour. Yesterday I sang from 4:30 til 6:15; yowza! And don't be fooled, singing is definitely a workout of the body, mind, AND soul. (It's a really neat experience when I get emotional during an aria or art song).

The bad:
I am freaking out that my recital is this coming Sunday.
Dad leaves next Wednesday.
I have oral surgery next Monday (gotta get a tooth extracted, super bad evil cavity)
I'm feeling really guilty about my faith life, I haven't been seeking God regularly, and I have not been in the Word. I am, however, praying God brings me some new accountability soon. I am confident that He will, in His timing. :)

The ugly:
I need to shower, and right now I have ridiculous bedhead.
I need to be healthier...I need to eat better and exercise regularly.
I need to stop judging others, getting my feelings hurt easily, and being so defensive and mean. I've been working on that...but I really don't like how ugly I can get. Again, I am praying for accountability. On my own I am just a meanie poo and I don't like that person at all!


I've enjoyed this perspective post! You should link up too ;)
Have a great week!

Meet Emily!

Welcome to my first spotlight post! Emily is my new blog friend, and has been such a pleasure to get to know. Since we are each other's July Sponsors, I have written one guest post for her, and will be writing another one soon (check it out on July 18!) and she has written a post for me that will be available July 22 :) To get to know Emily, I asked her some questions :) Check out her place!

Hello, friends! I'm Emmy and I am a city girl, who after graduating college found myself working as a youth minister in a small town. Other than adjusting from the culture shock, you'll most likely find me reading a good novel (probably Harry Potter), writing on my blog or one of my fictional stories, hanging out with my dog, or helping with the local community theatre.

I've been blogging ever since I was 18, but Love Woke Me Up This Morning has been going since 2010. I love blogging because of what an awesome community of people I've been able to be a part of. I've made so many friends and have kept in touch with friends who live farther away. 

What you'll typically find on the blog is basically my random thoughts that pop into my head! I talk about life, faith, my dog, theatre, books, art, crazy adventures I go on, and especially learning how to live love out.

Life out in the "real world" is crazier than I thought it would be, but with a little bit of love and a little bit of coffee, I make it through one day at a time, as I try to figure out what God has in store for me. I would love for you to join me! 

Twitter: @LoveWokeMeUp
Email: lovewokemeupthismorning@gmail.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lovewokemeup/


Here's our little interview :)

When did you start blogging and why?-  I started "blogging" when I graduated high school. My friend introduced me to "Xanga" (kinda like Live Journal) and we used it to keep in touch and I got a bunch of my college friends onto it. Then when Facebook came around that died out and I would use the "notes" feature to write blog posts . But about a year ago, maybe two now, I decided to start an official blog. Writing has always been a big part of my life. So the question isn't really "why blog?" but "why not?"

What are your top three favorite cities in the world? -Chicago would be my number one city. It's where I grew up. I love the location, we aren't crazy like LA and we aren't as uptight as people claim NYC is. We have awesome sports, theatre, culture, food. You name it, my city has it. Chicago is my forever boyfriend.

I also love New York. I went there for the first time a few months ago and fell in love. I loved how crazy and busy it was, all of the people, the sights and sounds, the theatre, Times Square. I know for sure that I want to go back.

For the third I'll say London. I've never been there, but they have Harry Potter, Doctor Who, the Beatles, and Andrew Lloyd Webber - so it's gotta be awesome, right?

What's on your top played list on your ipod lately? - I can't stop listening to the soundtracks from Newsies and Once. They are completely amazing.

What is your favorite thing about yourself? -Hmmmm. This is a hard one. I really enjoy people. As annoying and as crazy people are, I love them.

If you could give a piece of advice to other bloggers, what would it be? -Get to know other bloggers! You'll get great ideas and more traffic to your own blog. But even beyond that, you can make some awesome friends from around the world and be part of an awesome community!

Isn't she awesome? Keep an eye out for her post! 

Xoxo, Alexandra Anne

Pshh

Hello blogworld! I haven't written in a few days, but I have been keeping active so to speak.
What am I up to?

*My Daddy comes home in just a few days! We are so so excited to see him for two weeks, especially me because I won't see him again before I leave for school. So our house is preparing for his arrival.

*I need a new ipod...I cannot go off to college without some form of portable music. I'm a MUSIC MAJOR, I think it is a valid need. (Try telling a chemist he can't have a lab, or a copy of the periodic table, or telling an athlete they can't have a bouncy ball, don't tell me I cannot have music!) :)

*Obviously, anyone who has a blog and commits to it must like writing to a certain extent. Well, I love love love writing actually. And as a matter of fact, I've been working on some pieces of fiction in my "spare time." :) It feels so good to be writing again. I haven't composed a story in years, and I am enjoying getting to know my characters.

*I've been going to the pool so so much this year! I'm quite proud of myself, because I honestly detest the public pool (neighborhood pool) but I take my siblings so I get sister-points, AND I get exercise and a slight tan. ;)

*While I haven't been writing here daily, I HAVE been reading other blogs too =) I love the friends I am making! And I can't wait to meet some lovely bloggers when I move to Houston (7 weeks left ya'll....can I make it?)

*My recital is two weeks from tomorrow, but a few nights ago I dreamed it was this weekend. OH MY GOODNESS that freaked me out so so much. I need my two weeks ;) Preparing this music is such a fun adventure though. Hard work, yes, but lots of fun. I can't wait to share my passion with my friends and family!

*Time for a link-up :) Working on that 15 day challenge. I'll not bore you by catching up on missed days, but I shall do today's! 

"Day 7: Recommend a book for us to read. Why is it important/special to you?"

Oh boy. That's a tough one...I have fallen in love with so many books...and in so many different genres...I have to pick one? Mamma mia...Remember, I'm the girl who had to get ANOTHER bookshelf in my room because I just didn't have enough... ;) 
I'm gonna go with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (sister to Emily and Anne). This classic story has been one of my favorites for a long long time. And while my Dad says the Bronte sisters encourage women to make bad choices in men, I still love this book. 
Why?
I remember the first time I read the story and kept coming upon the word "peruse." I was fairly young when I was reading it, so I didn't know that word yet. Well, it kept showing up, in my face! "Figure me out, you don't know what I mean yet, do you?" Ok, so the word didn't actually taunt me like that. Actually, I eventually came to love the word, because through this book, it revealed its meaning to me :) 

 *PS. I would LOVE to have your button on my page, in fact, for some of ya'll, I already found your button ;) Will you please follow me and grab my button too? Email me if you're interested in free button swaps!*

Have an awesome weekend! <3