Get Up and Go

Happy 2016!

It's a new year and so much has already happened, it's unbelievable.

I got married last week, eee! Pictures and posts to come, I'm still processing that it really happened ;)

I started my second semester of senior year of college]

I've started rehearsals for my last college opera, Cosi Fan Tutte

This weekend we will be having a reception party for friends who didn't come to the wedding itself because we had an intimate private ceremony with our closest family and friends. Much cake and champagne will be had!



So because I'm married and in school, we are actually doing long distance marriage during the week and can only see each other weekends, and sometimes not every weekend.

Sounds awful, right? But we are doing decently, we have much experience with distance and used to be even farther apart.

But it means that when I started classes this week I had to say goodbye to my husband and drive two hours away and be strong. I didn't want to go, and part of me wanted to drop out of school entirely (am I dramatic or what?). But you know what? I got up and went. I put my big-girl panties on and conquered the day.

It isn't easy, and I will never claim to be an expert or to be ok with my situation all the time. But I am loyal to my husband and our commitment gets us through anything life may throw at us.


I can't wait to see what other adventures this journey of marriage brings us, because I am sharing my life now with my favorite person in the world. No power in the 'verse can stop us.

xoxo,

Alexandra Anne 

Concert Review: Lindsey Stirling pt. 2

#musicmondays

Have you met Lindsey Stirling? Before continuing, you must YouTube her. Watch any music video or performance. Right now.

Isn't she amazing??? 

3 years ago I had the opportunity to attend one of her concerts in Houston, TX. It was amazing and made me want to pursue more styles of music. This was only the beginning.... 

(this computer doesn't have pictures from that concert, but I have one of me in the tour shirt, fangirl!!)

Since that first concert I have had a plethora of life changes; let's fast forward to October 2014. I got to see one of my favorite bands, Sabaton, and loved them even more! I got to see them again (with Nightwish and Delain) in May!!! I was quickly seeing that I am becoming a frequent flier at these rock concerts.

Last week? I finally got to see Lindsey Stirling a second time. And it was awesome.

My "I'm ready to rock" look; did I pull it off? 

This particular tour she wasn't coming to Alabama, so the fiance and I drove up to Nashville on a Tuesday night and arrived to a pretty packed outdoor amphitheater. It was my first time (in a long time, as in, since childhood) to go to an outdoor concert, so I was pretty excited but also a little nervous.

Well, I had good reason to be. It was raining for most of our drive up to Nashville, and due to thunderstorm warnings we actually had to evacuate the venue before the concert could even begin! So we all shuffled to our cars and waited for the all clear (they had heard thunder or seen lightning, so even though it wasn't raining we still had to wait for it to clear out), and then we headed back to our spots on the grass/gravel edge. 

After that little hiccup we had a fantastic time dancing and jumping to some of our favorite music! 

Disclaimer; not my picture, found on twitter

She did a Gamer Medley, including her Assassin's Creed song!! I fangirled SO hard! 

Once again, I've been inspired to work hard at my craft and chase my dreams. I am also truly impressed by Lindsey's musicianship and skills. She is not a trained dancer, and writes her own music, and you know DANCES WHILE PLAYING THE VIOLIN. Come on, that's cooler than anything really. :) 

I'm a dreamchaser, and a music maker. Thank you to the concerts that keep me going. 

I highly recommend attending a Lindsey Stirling concert when she's in your area!! And until then, just YouTube the heck out of her, sound good? 

--

What concerts have you gone to lately? Any summer festivals anyone?

xoxo, Alexandra Anne 

New Beginnings (Ooh, Is That Too Cheesy?)

Ciao, blog world! I've missed you! Now that summer break is approaching I seriously will be committing more time to writing here. I will especially be committed because of all the new things in my life I want to share with you! Phew, it's been a crazy year and it's only April!

I got engaged February 28th

I joined a FANTASTIC company in Jamberry the same day!

I was in an opera at my university (Mozart's The Magic Flute)

I've joined as a coach for Beachbody and will be starting my 21 Day Fix very soon!

I'm going to Europe for a week in June!

Sooooo many of my friends are getting married, and so am I :) so I guess I need to learn how to plan a wedding. I am sure I will be blogging about that journey.

I'm so excited for my fitness journey as a coach and as prep for my upcoming marriage (I want to be a healthy and fit wife!). My fiance is SO encouraging and does a lot of the healthy eating with me! (He also fences regularly, which is just plain hot; if we still dueled nowadays, he would kick butt). We have a phrase to get us through: #committedtothesexy ;)

Showing off my Jamberry nails, my drink of choice, and my gorgeous diamond!

And of course I'm excited for my journey to Europe for the 3rd time! Our university choir will be going to Vienna, Prague, and Budapest! Many many pictures to come ;)

I'm loving Jamberry, and feel wrong when I have naked nails haha. I never used to do my nails (I suck at polish, and it always smudges and chips the day after or DAY OF!) but now I'm hooked. And I love the friendships I've made through this journey of business! It's so much more than that, but it also helps me pay my bills. Crazy stuff.

Oh oh and in May I'm going to see Nightwish (right??) and one of my favorite bands EVER, Sabaton!!! Nashville, we're coming for you!!! (Who knew that this opera chick would love metal? Yeah, it's wonderful) Back in October the man and I saw Sabaton and absolutely loved their show (we already loved their music, turns out they're fantastic performers live too!) so we had to go find them again!

Total fangirl for their lead singer, Joakim <3 <3 <3

Hopefully in June I can go see Lindsey Stirling for the second time; she's truly amazing!! As a musician myself, going to live concerts is very important to me and keeps me going. I feel that we should support these artists who have given their everything for us to enjoy! Music is love. Seriously. Go see a concert. (or come to one of mine ;) )


Have I mentioned how much I love being engaged? It's the best. I have the best man in the world as my fiance and I have a gorgeous ring! So so happy!

So much excitement going on!
Time to study for finals, catch up on blogs, and get back to my journey of life!

xoxo,
Alexandra Anne

LIST GIRL IS MY SUPERHERO NAME

I love lists. No, really, I LOVE lists. When my boss gives me a list of things to do, I get excited to do them and cross them off the list. It's a sickness, and I love it. 

Hello, my name is Alexandra Anne and I am addicted to lists. So addicted, I registered for 30 Days of Lists XD XD XD Yay!!! 

I've wanted to be a part of this for a while, and I'm finally on time and on board! 

Do you love lists? You too can register for this fun journey :) 

It's gonna be great. My first list is the test run example they gave us: What are you looking forward to this March? 

I'm looking forward to:

*Spring break!!! I get to go HOME and REST. Isn't that all we want? I just want sleep. And to sing a lot.

*Getting healthier- I am on Weight Watchers, I am going to exercise more, and I am going to get FIT and SEXY (for myself haha) ;) 

*Seeing the finale to How I Met Your Mother (so sad for it to end, though!)

*Singing the National Anthem at U of Houston baseball games!!! 

*Petsitting for someone and getting a temporary playmate for my Zoe kitty girl 

*Trying new flavors for my new Keurig

*Painting my army for Warmachine 

*Rocking my make-up jury 

*Seeing the next class of SAI get initiated :) 

*Going to my second blog meet up 

*Being a part of 30 Days of Lists!!!!

What will the month of March hold for you? What are you looking forward to most?

xoxo,

Alexandra Anne

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

Lovebug, Lovey-dovey, Lovebird, Love!

So, Valentine's Day is coming up. Apparently it's been coming up since the day after Christmas, according to Walmart standards (seriously?).

I am trying to get used to the fact that I have a significant other to celebrate this lovey holiday with. Well, sort of. We're currently 800 miles apart, so we can't celebrate together on V-day. BUT, my wonderful guy is visiting Houston the week before, and that is plenty wonderful for sure :)

Of course, this is my first year in Houston. I don't really know what there is to do here..... especially in the Valentine sense!

Last year was our first Valentine's day together. That was a wonderful day. The night before, M picked me up at the airport because I had just auditioned for college, and he brought me a rose. So sweet.


The next day, actually Valentine's day, we spent all day together. The day started with us dressing up (because we can) and going to...Waffle House. (I pride myself in the fact that I don't need lots of money to be spent to have a good time!) We had a wonderful time and some yummy food. Oh, and I spilled my glass of water....I tend to spill SOMETHING on every date we go on... (first movie date, I spilled popcorn in his brand-new-shiny car...) but the food was good and many laughs were had.

Proof that I spilled water everywhere...I seriously lack coordination. Tis sad. =P

Yum! Love me some Waffle House 

Then we headed over to the movies to see...(again, we're not the norm, I think...)...Red Tails. Because a war movie just says Valentine's day date of course! It was a good movie, and I loved that it took place in Italy.

The only good pic I have of minis we would use; these are for a D&D campaign we did over the summer :) 

All dressed up. This is his trollface impression; I cringe everytime he does this. 

Following the movie we headed back to M's house to paint minis for tabletop games.

:) :) :) 

Can't wait to see my guy again!!!!

2012 had a wonderful Valentine's day.
What will 2013 have?

Probably a visit to NASA ;)


Any ideas for a Valentine's date in Houston?
What should I bake my man for dessert?

I can't wait to see my Michael! <3 <3 <3 <3 <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 

I am a...

I am a writer. But apparently a very...delayed one. Yeah, sorry for not blogging in two weeks, ya'll. College life= busy AAA. I seem to always be running around all over the place! I'm also behind on my novel, BUT, it IS coming along. And with Thanksgiving break coming up, I will hopefully catch up.

Life is wonderful, despite the stress and craziness. I'm truly happy, and loving music and friends and academics and God is just so good :) I am super excited to get to go home in 3 days!! ALABAMA HERE I COME! But, really, that means, North Carolina here I come ;) we're gonna visit family for Thanksgiving. ROAD TRIP! Can you tell I'm excited? And no, I haven't had my monster drink...yet.... ;)

Promise I will write more, but to tide you over, here are some random pictures, and a video of a song I'm obsessing over lately. Lindsey Stirling is just wonderful and quite possibly magic. :)
Have a blessed week and a happy thanksgiving!

I'm doin alright :) 

Nights at the theatre are always entertaining! 

Typical Friday nights with Robynne :) 

xoxo, alexandra anne <3