New New Journey (but still same journey, just new step?)

What's up internet family? I miss ya'll. I miss typing into this little white box on a regular basis. Maybe after this semester I'll be able to type more schtuff out for ya. My goal right now is to FILM more schtuff, and that's been going crazy too. BUT, I have filmed! AND posted! I know, it's crazy!


My videos are not the quality I want them to be, but they're a start. Maybe years from now I'll look back at them and laugh (or cringe? eh, that's okay). Maybe I'll look at them and think "who is that girl?" It's always interesting to look back on yourself and see (hopefully) growth and change.


Anyway, I got on blogger and started typing in this box so that I could share with you my latest filmed ramble. It's not exciting necessarily but it's real life, you know? My aim on my blog and youtube is to be real and authentic with ya'll.

I'm gonna film a big sit down video with planning and schtuff but this was a quick update I filmed with my phone (yay technology amirite?).




So, hope you enjoyed that.
TLDR; I'm doing beachbody stuff again! I'm eagerly awaiting my package right now (maybe i'll film an unboxing? That would be cool content). I'm starting Core de Force. I'll talk more about it in the next video.


Share with your friends, your amigos, your amici! And let me know if you're on a weight loss/fitness/health journey! I would love to connect.

Have a blessed day and weekend,
xoxo,
Alexandra Anne 

Internet Life Blargh

Hello there fellow bloggers and blog readers and internet stalkers alike :)


I got busy. But I'm writing now! HUZZAH.

Also, I have this thing of watching tons of YouTube videos for hours and then thinking "I could do that." Then I just don't. But I'm seriously considering occasionally vlogging! Would ya'll be interested in that? (I say ya'll, I have no idea who actually reads this thing, but I have the hopes that somebody does!)

Speaking of presence on the internet, you know Felicia Day? Well, she's definitely my spirit animal, and I'm SUPER excited for her book to come out next month. Well....SHE FAVORITED MY TWEET YA'LL. Forreals. I cannot stop smiling. I was nerding out on twitter (Follow me! AlexandraAnne27 ) and was sharing this link to an excerpt from Felicia Day's new book "You're Never Weird On The Internet (Almost)" and.... she favorited my tweet! XD

Seriously.

Aaaand I recently did the math and got my hotel $$ figured out and, I AM GOING TO DRAGON CON THIS YEAR. I just have to get my ticket sometime in the next month, haha, and then I'll be able to officially say I'm going. But it's in my plan and budget, and it is happening.


I've never been, and have always wanted to go! I think it was last summer, Michael and I were cleaning stuff from my old bedroom/house, and I found journal entries from middle school where I wrote about wanting to go to Dragon Con and how I planned to cosplay as Agatha Clay from the Girl Genius comic series. I still totally would/could! But would anyone even know who I am? Maybe.

Michael will be attending as Captain Malcom Reynolds from Firefly, because he IS the captain.

I'm marrying a handsome fellow, aren't I? 

Anyway. I would LOVE to do something of the Browncoat realm, but...there aren't a whole lot of blondes in Firefly :( I mean I still could do a blonde version, or wear a wig. 

I've never cosplayed before...and I have a little over a month to pull something together. 

Heh, now that I've grown up since that middle school entry I could do Lara Croft from Tomb Raider ;) Or a female assassin from Assassin's Creed?  Or my original idea of Agatha Clay pictured below:

Isn't she cool? She's what got me into steampunk before I knew steampunk was a thing! (hipster much? oops, but seriously though, it wasn't a word/style I knew back then!) 

I'm gonna have to learn how to deal with the masses of people that attend this convention, hello anxiety attacks, but I have gone to three conventions now (of a smaller stature) and am getting the idea. Heh, after this con I should be a pro, right? 

The other con I've been to is Space City Con (which is now Space City Comic Con, I believe) in Houston/Galveston, where I met a whole ton of Babylon5 actors! I didn't cosplay, but I made myself a Psi Corps pin that only lasted me that weekend... I'm a noob, ya'll. I'll get it eventually. (Oh, I also met Gil Gerard who played Buck Rogers. BUCK ROGERS YA'LL)

I think later this week I'm gonna post a Historicon (speaking of conventions) update/review since that's where we were at last week! I will also include an awesome photo dump, Historicon is such an amazing event for me though, honestly. 

I cannot speak for the world of gamers, but the tabletop gamers that I have met in my time are some genuinely amazing people, and I would trust most of them with my life! (I say most, because there are always some butt-nugget-self-centered people out there, so I can't just say "all") 

Speaking of nerdy things, we recently (and by we I mean my awesome engineer fiance) updated my computer so now it runs Windows 7 not XP, so I had to wipe it completely (sad day, but thank goodness for external hard drives!). Since I lost/wiped most of my files, I had to pick a new background. I had been sporting an awesome picture of Serenity for the two years of having this computer. Now it's time for my first gaming fandom to be the background: 

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation was my absolute all time favorite game of the series, and still is to this day! 

For a personal udpate: I've been hitting the gym yo! I'm feeling stronger and more energized all the day (it helps to have a free fitness center right next to the apartment, and when I go back to school I will have an even larger gym also for free! Well, paid for by student fees...blegh) 

But yeah, I'm feeling good, thanks endorphins!!!

I think that's enough rambling, don't you? ;) 

Are you on twitter? Let's be twitter friends!

Are you going to DragonCon? Let's try to meet up!

Got any suggestions for what I should cosplay?

Have you ever had a celebrity moment on the internet you'd like to share? Comment below! 

And as always, have a lovely day and lovely almost weekend! Huzzah!

xoxo,

Alexandra Anne 

More Fitness Love

Hey friends,

It's that time again. What time, you ask? Time for another (read: full/real/legit) round of 21 Day Fix!! YEAH. I tried it a few months ago but had to bail because I traveled WAY too much, and honestly didn't give it my all when I was not traveling...oops...


SO. No excuses. I am #committedtothesexy and working towards a healthy fit bod! Also, MY WEDDING DATE HAS BEEN SET! WAHOOO!!! January 9th, I will be a Mrs. :) I'm so so excited, and you can bet that This Journey of Journeys will be documenting some of my wedding ideas, trials, experiences, etc.

But more on that later.

Right now, it's time to WORK.

If you've never heard of 21 Day Fix, here's an excellent intro to it!


AND I will be drinking chocolate Shakeology post-workouts (most days, sometimes it's my meal replacement, but my favorite is to have it after a workout, it's kind of my treat where I feel no guilt at the same time!)

I am excited to get on this journey again! I have a great team of accountability online (new friends that are on a similar journey who will message me and encourage me and make sure I don't crap out, it's awesome!!)

I will be utilizing the app that Beachbody just released called "21 Day Fitness Tracker" to keep track of how many containers I consume (i.e. if I eat 2 yellows and four greens, I'll put it in my app, and then, no matter where I am, I know exactly how much I've eaten; I can also track my water on it!)

For more tips and info, check out my pinterest board geared towards 21 Day Fix and my Committed To The Sexy journey! :)

So yeah. 30 minutes a day of my DVD workouts, clean eating, and YUMMY superfood-filled/nutrient-filled Shakeology; it's awesome!


Are you interested in improving your health and/or weight? Comment or contact me for more info, and I will be happy to get you set up! You can sign under me as your coach, or I can recommend you to someone on our team.

The coaches help us FOR FREE. All you buy is the program and Shakeology. AND I have full access to Beachbody On Demand; I can access all the Beachbody workouts online from anywhere with internet access. So when I go to Virginia in a few weeks for Historicon (More posts on this later!!!!)? Yeah, I'll be working out in my hotel with wifi!

So yeah, no excuses. I'm committed to the sexy, and KNOW I can do ANYTHING in 21 days!!!

Who is with me? Let's go team, no time like the present!

xoxo, 
Coach Alexandra Anne <3


P.S. Do any of ya'll use FitBit? I start my new job this weekend and will be saving for a FitBit Charge HR, so I am excited to see how that will help in my fitness journey! I love seeing my progress, and this will hold me accountable AND encourage me, all while living on my wrist. How cool?
Can we be fitness friends? Or FitBit friends? Comment or message me! <3

Some Quick Inspiration

It's hump day, woot! Or in my case, eek!! So much to do, so little time. Need more hours in the day or at least more coffee!


I have essays and projects and finals (oh my!) to be working on AND my NaNoWriMo novel is wayyyyyy behind.


BUT, I will get it done!!!

One cup of coffee at a time, I will conquer the world! HUZZAH! Or you know, I'll get my ish done. That's good right?


We have a support group facebook page for NaNoWriMo and someone posted this awesome picture that basically inspires me to do all the things :) I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Yeah, I'm gonna go write now ;)

Have a good rest of the week, lovelies!

xoxo, Alexandra Anne 

Dare to Dream- Five Minute Friday

Today we link up and write for Five Minutes with no edits/rewrites; raw, pure, unfiltered thoughts.

Scary right?

I love it.

Isn't it neat how open we bloggers are with others on the internet? Some of you I have never met but have become so close to via blogging and that is incredible to me!

I would love to "virtually meet" more of you! Please feel free to comment or email me (you can find my info on my contact page)!


So here we go...
Today's word?

Dare.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.... GO!


Truth or dare is a game played by (mostly) young children. We've all played it at some point or another with somebody in our lives. Truth can be scary, needing to open up about something potentially personal! But dare? Dare could be downright dangerous!

The past few weeks I have been wondering where my life is headed. I know that every college student dreads the question "so what are you gonna do when you graduate?" It's a nightmare to answer; especially as a music major! Non musicians look at me kind of funny and assume I want to be a big star but will never make it.

My voice teacher said I have a gift, but that I had been seeming to lack drive. So the question again came up, "What do you want to do after you graduate?" That question sat with me for DAYS. I had felt like I was settling on this degree and that I would never actually get to sing and that it was useless.

Isn't that sad?

But after many heartfelt conversations with loved ones, and some serious consideration, I had a bit of an epiphany.
I want to sing! I want the MUSIC!

Ya'll, I have loved music since I was in the womb, no joke, you can ask my Mom. My parents still have a piece of paper I wrote on as a kid saying that I decided I wanted to be on Broadway. I loved musicals all through growing up. :)

When I lived in Italy in 2011 however I fell in love with opera! Classical music is beautiful and so neat and fascinating, and I loved the characters and the music I was studying. (Being a mezzo-soprano has great perks!)

So my dare to myself is to dream, but not just dream a little, dream big! I want to perform, ya'll! Whether it's classical or musical theatre, or hey I could be a rock star, I will SING.

My dare to you is to do the same; I know paying bills isn't easy (especially not when you're an artist). But you can pay the bills and follow your passions and dreams too. If you love it, the work will be hard and scary, but wonderful and ultimately so rewarding.

Dare to dream!

STOP.
Ok so I wrote for six minutes instead of five, big whoop. I wrote what I wanted. My blog, my words, my rules ;)


What are your dreams?
What do you dare to do?

Have a great weekend dreamers!
xoxo, Alexandra Anne  

Stuff...?

Ciao blogworld!

I'm gonna post...I'm gonna post... YES! I am!!


I need to commit to this writing thing, ESPECIALLY since I will be attempting NaNoWriMo this year!!! Have you ever tried to write a novel in a month? I have, and have not succeeded. I always give up like halfway through, I need to not do that!!

But...I have no story in mind! I have 12 days to figure it out!!! I'll be a-brewin' for sure (or something like that).


Also, how would you like me to do vlogs every now and then? I want to get myself on the youtube world, I love watching youtubers and want to be part of that community. I've loved the blogworld, time to expand I say!


As far as generic updates, bullet point time!

*I love Montevallo! Tiny towns fit me; I can walk just about anywhere, except major grocery stores which are outside of main street or campus. If it's on main street or campus I usually walk to it.

*I'm taking TEN CLASSES. But that's normal for music majors here; it's 16 credit hours. I just have to sing a lot a lot and show up to a lot of places.

*On the singing note- would you like music major/profession vlogs or blogs? Give me your thoughts!!

*I've been on the Whole30 diet this month! I would say go Google it or Youtube it because I cannot give the definition justice. The gist of it is: no processed foods or sugars or grains or dairy or legumes. If you can't hunt it or gather it, you can't eat it. Ok, it sounds super strict, but there are a LOT of yummy foods you CAN have! And I feel SO good eating good natural foods. AND on a college student budget! If I can do it, YOU can. Look it up :) I'll post more about it once the month is over (it's only a month long program, but I want to incorporate it into my lifestyle after this month).

*I re-subscribed to Elder Scrolls Online! Find me, Chandelier27! :) I'll be trying out some other games and blogging about games soon!


*I got a part time job! I'm a cook at pizza hut :) Yeah, I love cooking and love pizza, so this will be a fun way to spend my weekends!

*Michael and I hit 3 years this month, my longest relationship ever! (And his too!) I love that man so much, he visits me frequently. It's another perk of living closer to home now. Gosh I love Alabama <3 and I love my Michael!! (Mushy pictures to come!!!)

*My cat is just as adorable as ever; she's a year and a half now and adjusting fine to living with a dog in the house (my roommate has a sweet pitbull). Today Zoe, the cat, kneading my stomach for a good 15 minutes straight! I thought it was cute so I let her. From what I've read, that means she sees me as a maternal figure and the kneading is like babies asking for milk? Anyway, I'm her momma and that's how it should be!
Again, pictures to come ;)


*I'm LOVING the temperature drop and would love for it to be 50-60something all the time! It's so crisp and beautiful, and the trees change colors, and oh yes I am so cliche and mushy gushy about it. I don't care! I love fall :)

*I'm a redhead! I have been since the middle of the summer, I love it :) I'm still getting used to it though! I look at old pictures of blonde Alexandra Anne, and think to myself "who was that? Oh right, me."


*Oh hey, I'm 21 now!!!!!!!!!!! So my roommates joke that I look like an alcoholic because I stocked up on some yummy wines and mixers. But really, I hardly ever drink. It's just good to have it there for when I do :)

Pictures as promised!

What's going on in your lives, dear blog friends? 

Thanks for reading!

xoxo,
Alexandra Anne 

Ideally

Day 3 of Lists

My Ideal day :) Follow, comment, see my new pages if you haven't yet!

My Ideal Day

v Free coffee and a cookie

vGetting to see a beautiful sunrise

vSpending the day with my closest loved ones

vI would do a craft from start to finish

vI’d go for a run outside and listen to a great playlist

vLots of hugs and snuggles

vCatching-up skype dates with old friends

 xoxo, Alexandra Anne

Dear Penpal

Dear New Friend,
I'm so glad to be writing to you!! I thought I would tell you a little about myself, but I wanted to be crafty and I made a little notecard to describe my personality a little bit. Oh, and here's a picture of my face!

That's me!!

Tell me about yourself! <3 <3 <3

xoxo, Alexandra Anne 

That Journal

I love my journals. I am terrible at keeping a steady diary, but I love journals. For 30 Days of Lists I am setting up my "Dwell in possibility" journal.

Also I love my sparkly gel pens!!!

Oh, and some obsessive cat pictures, sorry not sorry.

I just love her snuggles!


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

Weekend Update, Alexandra Anne Style

WEEKEND!!

I'm super grateful for free weekends where I don't have to go to work, especially because on Fridays I don't have classes. In the words of Barney Stinson, what up!!

I definitely spent my Friday night nerding out. I painted models for my tabletop game Warmachine, and played on my gaming computer (I'm almost done with Portal!).

I also painted on a small canvas I got last semester; I had been meaning to paint for a while. It's really therapeutic, (so is writing!) and even if I have no artistic skill I still like it. 

Have I played too much of this game?? Possibly....I can't wait to finish it and start on Portal 2!
I've also been playing Lord of the Rings Online; boyfriend and I both recently got VIP memberships for the next three months :)

I wonder if I can find other gamer girl bloggers, that would be an awesome friendship.

ALSO, you HAVE to look at this cute article of animal pictures! You're welcome.

I am SUPER excited to go to my first blogger social tonight!! I'll definitely write a post about it. I need to go use a friend's shower today, though, because my apartment turned off the water today to fix some maintenance issues...bleh! Oh well. I'm still pretty excited.


What's your weekend looking like?
xoxo,
Alexandra Anne

Typing On A Tuesday...

Hello friends!
Do you like my superhero there? This could be me most nights; if I'm tired I often get very very emotional and take everything the wrong way. I've decided that I cannot take life too seriously past 9pm usually. It's helping, haha!


I realized I had not posted about Space City Con. It was so so so much fun!!! I got to meet actors from Babylon5, Game of Thrones, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century :)

http://www.amazon.com/Babylon-Confidential-Memoir-Love-Addiction/dp/1937856062/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391560336&sr=1-1&keywords=babylon+confidential

 

 

After reading Claudia Christian's amazing book "Babylon Confidential," I started to really respect her as more than a beloved character; this woman overcame so many struggles and is now a counselor for those with alcoholism. She also played one of my favorite characters on one of my favorite tv shows from the 90s. Babylon 5 !!! It was such an amazing show, and a huge part of my childhood/upbringing.
Can you imagine how star struck I felt when I got to MEET and take selfies with one of the main characters???

When I approached the celebrity table where Claudia was hanging out, I honestly didn't know what to say. Maybe I should be thankful for the conversation her assistant/handler started when she tried to get me to buy a copy of Babylon Confidential. I told her I was so sorry but I already had a copy!! ;) I ended up buying her other book, filled with hilarious anecdotes, "My Life with Geeks and Freaks," and the musical makings of the Babylon5 cast called "The Be Five." After a few minutes of conversation with Claudia, she said to me "You know what, I'm gonna throw in a picture because you're such a huge fan of the show." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told her I was studying music and she wished me luck, and autographed a picture of her character on the show. Holy cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The photo says "To Alexandra, much luck to you!"

I came back an hour or so later and requested a selfie with her; she is so gracious with her fans, and really really funny. (You should YouTube her panels from conventions, and from space city con, she is a fantastic storyteller!) She was kind and fun to "hang out" with! (For those of you who have never attended a convention like this, most celebrities charge for pictures with fans, but she wasn't about that).

First picture attempt...

She took my ipod and said "let me try, I have long arms!" :) :) :) 

Claudia trying on a fan's cape of feathers

"Lift your head up, let's get better light." I love this lady!!

Now, I have to do a teeny little Game of Thrones plug, but honestly; I've never read or seen the show. (GASP, right?) But that made my experience pretty fun. I was waiting in the photo op room (where I got my picture with Buck Rogers, more on that below...) waiting for my picture to print. And in comes Jason Momoa just eating a sandwich and getting ready for his photo op. I got to just chill out near him and the photographers. I also saw the swordmaster from the show, as he was taking pictures with some guys and he autographed their swords. Pretty neat! So yeah, I met some well known celebs... no big deal right?? I didn't get pictures myself just because I didn't want to be a creeper, ha!





Back to Babylon5 (the reason I really came to Space City Con); among the cast of attendees was my favorite ranger from the show, Marcus Cole, played by Jason Carter. He was always funny on the show, and seemed like someone you could be friends with, someone loyal and kind. He is just like this in real life!!!! He still has the hair, it's just slightly grey now ;) Mr. Carter ALSO let me take a picture with him, and he signed my Con program even though I couldn't buy anything from him. He signed it with a stick figure of the ranger, and wrote a Minbari phrase, "Entil'zha!" I was so so excited!!!! I'm going to buy his t-shirt of the stick figure as soon as I get a paycheck, you should too!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=602887963125165&set=a.315481731865791.75865.139460742801225&type=1&theater

So. Buck Rogers. Most people my age haven't even heard of the show (although if you like the show The Guild, Erin Gray guests on it and she was the main female in the 70s series). I definitely HAD to go to the Buck Rogers panel at the Con. Twiki was there too! (So, honestly, I didn't know that in the show the robot named Twiki had an actual human inside...I thought it was real.... *facepalm) So anyway, their panel was super funny; Gil Gerard (who played Buck) and Felix Silla (Twiki) were great together and have been doing these conventions for years and years.

Myself and the wonderful Gil Gerard!

 Now, how I got the picture: I was supposed to get a photo op with Claudia, but since I had never been to a con before, I didn't know she had a photo op schedule. Oops!!! But, I got my selfies. Great memories. So, I had this already paid for photo op ticket, but no Claudia (and most of the B5 actors were packing up too). So, I took my ticket to Mr. Gerard, and I am so glad I did! I asked him, super polite and shy and such, "Would you please do this photo op with me?" There wasn't a line or anybody behind me, but he turned to his assistant/handler and said "You got this?" She nodded and he said "Sorry folks, you'll all have to wait!" Haha, he was funny. I said, going along with the joke "I feel so special!" and he turns to me to say "You ARE special, baby." XD
 He was such a gentleman and so sweet.
When we were getting ready for the picture, the camera guy had to pause and fix something, and Gil said "It's ok, we'll just hold each other." And he gave me a great embrace. (Fangirl moment!! Eee!!!) We got the picture taken, and he told me I had a great smile. Buck Rogers from the 25th century told me I had a great smile. If meeting Claudia hadn't already made my weekend, seeing him certainly did!

Buck and Twiki during the panel

Height difference ;)

It was a great weekend and I had so much fun!!! I hope to meet these actors again someday, and maybe have more than a college student wallet ;)

Here are some more pictures from the con!!

xoxo,
Alexandra Anne

Delenn and Lenier!! 

Claudia's panel; I asked a question!

My Psi Corps costume pin I made; still working on finishing it! 

The cast recreating an old photo, for funsies ;) 

xoxo, 
Alexandra Anne