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 

Terrific Tuesday

Hello ladies!
While still a bit sick, I am hoping for a wonderful Tuesday.

What do I have planned?

Well. First off, I get to meet Taylor, another Houston blogger who happens to go to U of Houston too!

After our little lunch, I might go volunteer to be in a choir video thingy. We'll see how I feel.


Tonight? This chick has a comp ticket to see her voice teacher's dress rehearsal with HGO. Yeah, that's Houston Grand Opera. My teacher, Hector Vasquez, is wonderful and has given some students free tickets! I'm super excited to see him on the stage, and just to see an opera in general.

:)

How's your week going?

Oh, I'm still obsessing over Zelda music.




Please watch this video. And listen. Ohhhh my word just listen. Yes, that is my current obsession.  :)

xoxo, alexandra anne <3

Oh, I'll Be Right Back ;)

Givin ya'll a quickie post before I head out of town; going to HOUSTON, TEXAS!!!!!! WAHOOOOO!!!! Ok, maybe I'm a bit excited...it's orientation time! Booyah! I'll be gone Wednesday til Saturday, but I have a guest post scheduled for ya'll, so check back in tomorrow (Thursday) for some journey goodness.

Praying for safe travels, new friendships, and a good good time. (I get a little "check-list-y" about trips, but I'm trying to focus on the fun too and not just the getting there, although I do have my reservations about my safety sometimes). But, it should be lovely. Houston is supposed to be 95 degrees all week/weekend long :) That's my style!

And in Cougar style, I will be sportin my red and white attire this week. Gotta show some school pride, you know. Go Coogs!

Oh hey, if any H-Town Blogger ladies wanna find me, I'll be around ;) I move in next week for good! EEK!

Super excited about this next step in my journey. God IS good!!!

xoxo, alexandra anne 

Summer Thunderstorm Love

So, ya'll....I'm a total copycat. And I love linkups. And giveaways. (Maybe someday I'll have something to giveaway :) For now, I'll just tweet a bunch and hope to win something someday haha!)

First off, you must go see my friend Elise :)  She is my lovely new friend, and I just enjoy her blog so much! We've been emailing and texting quite a bit recently. I love new friendships! So I figured if I'm going to copy all her linkups, then I will give her a bit of credit here ;) 

1. How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed? I started blogging a long time ago, and have had several blogs. Last year I was in Italy, so I had an Italy blog, but now that I'm back home, I figured I should have a generic blog for all my thoughts. :)

2. Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study? I've been taking classes at my local college for years now, BUT will officially be a freshman (age wise, anyway) at the University of Houston Moores School of Music as a Vocal Performance major :)
3. Where have you traveled? So many places! See my All Around the World page ;) 
4. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy? College tuition, and a puppy. Oh, and some dresses from The Shabby Apple. 
5. What are your 3 biggest pet peeves? Untied shoelaces; when people let the trash bag fall into the trash can and still put more trash in it; when people just cannot use the English language correctly.
6. What is your favorite movie? Tie between The Princess Bride or Serenity. 
7. What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea? Proseco (like white wine) for alcohol. Water for generic. 
8. What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time? Listen to music and read. Or just listen to music and zone out :) Taking a walk is also lovely.
9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be? Oh wow....Barnes and Noble or White House Black Market. 
10. Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present. My first movie date with Michael was when we saw Sherlock Holmes 2. It was a great first movie experience :) until the drive home...I spilled popcorn all over the floor of his car...and it was brand new. >.> Whoops. Sorry, dear. <3 
11. What day would you love to relive again? The day I met Michael. It was a dance for a sweet sixteen of our mutual friend, and we didn't know each other at all then. But it was such fun, and I would love to relive that. :) 
12. If your life was turned into a movie... what actor would play you? I think Amanda Seyfried could do me justice. 
13. What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years? I've babysat out the wazoo (what does that phrase even mean? really??), and I've cleaned a rental house, done office organization, etc. 

14. Show us a picture from high school or college. 
--> --> --> My 17th birthday party; me and Jarrod. He looks so thrilled to see me, right? ;)






15. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go? Right now I'd say Egypt or Greece. But I really want to go back to Italy....... 

16. Show us the most current picture of you or you, or your family, or anything of meaning to you. 
--> --> --> Me and mah bro. ;) He's 6 and way too cute (and devious) for his own good. 


17. Where do you see your life 5 years from now?
Hopefully with a Bachelor of Music, maybe married or engaged, possibly in grad school and finding a job. 


Now for my Top Ten Tuesday :) 


1. My Dad is home!!!!!!!!
2. He took us kiddos and Michael to go see The Amazing Spiderman; quite enjoyable! (Who loves Stan Lee's cameos? I always look for him :) :) :) )
3. My new ipod is in the mail, and should get here sooooooooon!
4. I'm getting excited for my recital on Sunday! (The more prepared I get, the better I feel!)
5. I have quite enjoyed making new friends and staying close with old friends. 
6. I'm on a Shabby Apple fix right now.....and reallllllly want their dresses. *melt*
7. I've been listening to a lot of epic music lately; mostly a group called Two Steps From Hell. Don't let the name fool you, they're an orchestral group! But...rockin! 
8.The weather is so funny here in Huntsville. But I love the summer thunderstorms. 
9. I am SUPER excited for Houston! 5 weeks and two days til I move!!! EEK! XD 
10. God is healing my heart and slowly bringing me closer to Him. <3 





Enjoy the rest of the week my lovelies!
xoxo,
Alexandra Anne <3 

PS. Anyone else addicted to coffee? ;)  
--> --> My morning cup (yes, I wear chandelier pajama pants haha) of wonderful coffee. <3