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

Hop Hop

(Random titles that have nothing to do with your post, awesome right?)

I had a lovely girly night last night with my friend Robynne; we watched "Say Yes To The Dress" (and other girly wedding shows/movies), ate popcorn, perused pinterest, and had way too much fun giggling at life. 

Sometimes, we just need to giggle. Laughter is the best medicine, right? 

There *is* a time for tears, of course. For me, that time was Thursday. I was sick, and had to leave a voice lesson because of it. Honest to goodness, I called my momma and cried my heart out. I know it's not my *fault* for being sick, and that it isn't the end of the world. But I was tired, and felt weak. I miss home, a lot a lot, and I'm very close to my family. They get me. We're all a little crazy ;) 

Laughter and tears both have their place, and sometimes they can be back to back or simultaneous! 

These are the thoughts on my mind this Saturday :)

xoxo,

alexandra anne <3 

Travel Apologies

I'm a bad blogger this week. And a bad emailer! I apologize for the lack of posts, my dearies. BUT, I have a legit excuse. Was in Houston (booyah!) all weekend and just got back yesterday. Filled the past 24 hours with cleaning, snuggles, singing, church, cooking, and opera attendance. I move into my dorm in just four days! Thursday I'll be there!

I promise to write more, and to do an orientation post :)

Speaking of orientation, tomorrow is my dear boyfriend's orientation at Northrop Grumman. Bigwig company picked my engineer boyfriend to do super cool robotics stuffs. I wish I had the brain for that, because the ideas fascinate me! I'm a super proud girlfriend :)

Hope ya'll are good! How's life?
Email me any time, I promise I DO get back to you eventually ;)

Here's a quickie pic to give you a tease for my orientation post.

GO COOGS! 

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 

Insta Tuesday Time!

Linking up with Jane at Taingamala for some instagram funness!

Let's see what my week has looked like in instagram pics! :)

Took my siblings to the park, and here I am sitting under a weeping willow; while I am not a "tree hugger" I DO love love love trees! I just love pretty nature :) :) :) My dream home is in a land with lots of trees.

Rockin the workout clothes and amazing headphones; this is how I study ;) 

Paleo friendly brownies! I really need to make a recipe page or a recipe post. 

New jeans from khols! They fit SO great! Which is saying something, because I have the silliest body. Small waist, shapely buttocks, and huge thighs (best friend calls them thunder thighs, well, they ARE strong!) so finding jeans is an adventure full of pain. But, I succeeded in my quest XD 

Speaking of quests, I love tabletop games! This is our group of pathfinder characters, I play with the guys every Sunday, and my character is the rogue on the right sporting a hooded cape and a longbow. Nerd to the core, right here.

Gotta love when the neighborhood pool is empty! :) Took my siblings, quite lovely!

Kiiiiiiiiiiind of obsessed with rings lately; this one was an early birthday gift from my momma.  My birthday is four weeks from tomorrow! 

LOVE this dress. Wore this on the "surprise" picnic boyfriend took me on last week. So comfy, and very girly ;)

 

What has your week looked like? Link up with Jane!
I'm headed to Houston tomorrow, so I'm SUPER excited. Hoping to get some awesome pictures (when I travel I tend to forget to take pictures...it's sad) and I'll instagram them for next week!

xoxo, alexandra anne 

Birthday? Hmmm

My 19th birthday is 4 weeks away, which means I only have 56 weeks left of being a teenager (yup, this girl counted).

I always get excited about my birthday because I love to have another year to better myself! Each year we get is a blessing! Super awesome, don't you think?
Also, there are sometimes those things we call "birthday presents," have you heard of them? I never focus on them, but when I do receive something, I'm all giddy inside. See, if I don't *expect* anything, then I'm pleasantly surprised always :) nice system.

Here's my problem:
Last year, I was away from my family on my birthday. They were still in Italy and I had moved back to Alabama to start school and voice lessons. I was very very saddened by this...and now, this year, I will be away at school by the time my birthday comes around. New city. Not knowing anyone. I don't want to go into this birthday negatively, but it does kind of bring me down a bit when I think about all the people (my family) I'll be missing on that day.

So, I ask my readers a question: what do you recommend I do to cure my upcoming birthday blues?

Houston ladies, any ideas what a college chick can to do celebrate in H-town?

Alabama friends, I sure would love to hear from ya'll. Maybe just a letter even? (I'll give you my address if you private message me)

Thank you for putting up with my brief moment of bummed-out-ness.

<3
xoxo, alexandra anne

Disney Love

Some nights, it's just up to Disney to provide wonderful music and lovely memories
As a 90s kid, this means my first movie in a theatre was Pocahontas. I also was obsessed with The Lion King and Cinderella. :)

Oh yeah, and Mufasa's death still makes me cry....

But seriously, the music in some of these movies was just amazing! I still listen to it, and I'm a "young adult." ;)

What Disney movies are you still obsessed with?

Oh My Silly Brain

I'm kind of very very grateful for It's Ok Thursdays and Thursday Thoughts; I love to write here. Writing is so soothing and therapeutic. I get all of it out of my system, and get the chance to talk to others about it. (On that note, please feel free to private message me anytime! I love getting emails and making new friends :) that's another great thing about blog world!)

So first:
I ate at Chick-Fil-A for their appreciation day. Can I just say, take a chill pill ya'll! *Good for CFA for sticking to their beliefs. *This is a free country, we're allowed to have differing opinions. *If you like the food, eat it. If not, don't. Simple as that. *Fact: I don't even always agree 100% with what CFA spends their money on, BUT, I am ok with that. It does not affect the lemonade that went in my belly this afternoon. ;) So, let's just stop hatin'.

NOW

It's OK:

*That I re-watch old Desperate Housewives episodes....

*That I dressed like a cowgirl (I mean, that's not the intent, but that's what my friend said I looked like)

*That I move to Houston in 21 days (and in two weeks, orientation; YIKES YIKES YIKES!)

*That a year ago I came home from Italy...and still miss it so much that my heart aches...(I cannot accurately express what goes on inside me when I think of Italia. It changed my life, that is all I can say)

*To be super excited for my relationship hitting the 10 month mark ;) (I am quite the "date" snob; I love remembering dates and counting down to things, if you haven't noticed already...)

*To be looking at wedding dresses and engagement rings to calm myself down in the evening

*That I love taking walks in my neighborhood because we have a beautiful lake and...wait for it..swamp. :)

*To trust God in new friendships! (He is SO good)

*That the military is now paying for 70% of my college tuition (thank you Post 9/11 bill)

*That I ate a PB&J sandwich before bed (BUT it wasn't really PB, it was almond butter :) :) :) all natural, and so yum!)

*To love someone more than words can express :)

Guess what ya'll? It's ok :) 

xoxo, alexandra anne 

Where Has Last July Gone?

Top 10 Tuesday-

Last day of the month- yikes! This means we're entering a huge month for me; I'm about to move to Houston! Eeeeeee! (That eeeee involves many emotions...I can't quite explain them all ;) )

I'd like to share some Top 10 Loves with ya'll :)


1. Give Your Heart A Break by Demi Lovato- I am loving this song, and listening to it way way way too much.

2. Felicity- did you used to watch that show? My mom did, when I was little. Now I'm of the college age, so I've been watching it a lot this week (I've been sick, tv time has increased).

3. Apples. Granny smith, if you please. They're kind of my favorite, especially sauteed in olive oil and cinnamon. YUM.

4. Pizza. Tonight is pizza night, and I am super stoked. Like, it's jump around crazy stoked. I'm 2 years old and just got my pony. It's that serious, ya'll.

5. Emails from friends- especially the super long ones that catch me up :) I love getting flooded with emails, I feel loved. (My love languages in order are: quality time and words of affirmation, then physical touch).

6. Houston! Super excited to move, for classes, to make new friends, to travel again, to get out of this house (sorry, I'm getting cabin-fever), to be a student with the wonderful Hector Vasquez (just got confirmation of my music major status yesterday, I grinned so so much), etc!

7. Diet Mountain Dew. It's probably terrible for me, but it gives me the fizz and caffeine I need desire

8. Red nail polish- it's summer, so I like to go crazy with cool colors.

9. Scripture- my verse-a-day on my phone's bible app really really helps me out! It's a great way to start the day, and gets my heart in the right place.

10 Pictures of loved ones! My grandmama sent me the pics from my recital :) Have a great week ya'll! Enjoy some pictures ;)

My siblings chillin outside :) 

Kate and Daddy- it was so nice having him home!

Singin me some classical; oh how sassy? 

My duet partner Nathan :) We sang "The Prayer." <3 

Singing my encore piece; "He loves me, he loves me not." ;)

Sooooo many people came! I freaked out for a bit...but was truly blessed by my friends as audience members :)

Lookie!! I babysit this cutie :) :) :) Her baby (9 month) sister is hiding a few feet away. <3 Love those girlies (she was totally checkin out my pearls ;) a true lady in the making!)

My handsome feller, always there to support me and my crazy operatic endeavors.  <3 <3 <3 

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 

By the way....it's ok!

Hey ya'll. Found another linkup, and I quite like it! Yay for positive reinforcement! :)

Today I am convinced that it's ok: 

To dance like a dork while cleaning my room

To wear my new ring from my daddy on my ring finger (haha, I don't care if it looks like I'm engaged, I promise I'm not!)

To love completely without falter

To be in love with opera

To argue with my family about who gets to read a new book in our house first ;) (nerdy family means scrounge for new lit!)

To be slightly obsessed with instagram ;) 

To have too many shoes (but what girl has just the right amount of shoes anyway?)

To already have a bag for Houston even though it's 6 weeks away 

To be sad about friendships ending

To celebrate the love I see every day

To be obsessed with coffee ;)

To totally jam out to orchestral music 

To ask for God's forgiveness :) (He DOES forgive! isn't that great?)

<3