Cats and Boyfriends and Novels

My house is freezing and I love it, however, my cat keeps leaving me to go snuggle with boyfriend! I'm on the couch now trying to write for NaNoWriMo, and it just isn't happening. I want to whine and procrastinate. I have no drive. I "say" I want to write, but it is just bleh. I'm SO behind on the word count because I have been busy with school and operas and boyfriend and then I'm just tired! I can't stay up super late unless it's like once a week. And I have to have nothing major in the next morning because I am uber zombie girl without sleep.
I just value sleep more than anything....breakfast, showers (jk), novels, homework...(again, just kidding).


How do YOU make yourself write everyday? I like my story but I am LAZY right now!


And I would rather watch youtube while snuggled on the couch than write.

Oh and the 4 cups of coffee today didn't help :(


Happy note- my cat is effing adorable! AND we made a fire last night and roasted marshmallows :) Then I passed out on the couch for approx and hour while the boyfriend watched things on youtube. I never even heard him.

SO, NOW I WILL WRITE...SERIOUSLY!!!


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

Strength Isn't Easy

I need to be writing again. I firmly believe that it will help me, it has helped me so much in the past.

Also, my friend Austin wants me to blog about him. So, here you go Austin. You're officially on the internet for ever and ever in a documentation on blogspot.

But seriously. I wanted this year to be about strength, physically and emotionally. I've kind of sucked at both lately. (Sorry to whoever reads this and actually knows me, I'm gonna get real on here, that's the whole point of my blog). Some see crying as a solution, and I know that chemically speaking it can be helpful, but for me I would love to cry less.
What?? Alexandra Anne cries a lot? But...she's so perky and smiles and cracks jokes and sings and is just super joyful.

Yeah.
That's the thing though.

I'm an excellent mask-wearer.
Sometimes the mask is my ideal, I'm not just faking happy for other people, I truly *want* to be happy and joyful. So I adopt a persona that reminds me of my happy past. But so often, I just want to hide in my room and not give a mask of any kind to anyone.

I am blessed, and I am doing well overall, I don't mean to sound miserable.
But I haven't been taking care of myself, not truly.
I'd rather take care of YOU and YOUR problems than constructively deal with my own. I would assume that we're all guilty to that to some degree (unless you're just that selfish and egotistical, then all you care about is yourself, so you must be good to go).

I'm in love with music, it's what gets me through my day and is what has taken me all over the country. I think right now I need to focus more on God and my faith walk, while still staying passionate to music.

This post is a little...sporadic I suppose. I'm being raw and real, ya'll, just writing down what's going on in my head.

To keep this post from being entirely self-centered, here's where you come in: I *know* I am not the only person who feels this way. I want to share and connect with my online readers.
And I want to get better.

Read James 1:2. Actually, I recommend reading that whole chapter. I did.

I set out to make 2013 my year of strength. Time to make this happen!

xoxo,
alexandra anne

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

Going For A Ride

EDIT: Written by my lovely sponsor Emily!! :) :) :) Check her out at Love Woke Me Up This Morning

They always say you should write what you know.

I've tried that - and it doesn't work. Not for me at least.

I'm not quite sure what it is. Maybe I feel like what I know is too boring. Maybe I just don't know how to make it sound interesting and entertaining.

Seriously though - dragons, fairies, and unicorns are much more fun. That's part of why I write fairy tales. If you get stuck in a boring spot, just throw in a dragon and you have an adventure.

However, I feel the real reason is that I don't know how it ends. When you write fantasy and re-tell fairy tales, you can come up with an ending. You can make everyone "live happily ever after" or put some dark twist on "happily ever after."

With real life, you don't know how it ends.

In real life, you don't know if they "get the girl" (or guy... depending on who you are). You could land the job or get into the college you want, but those might change along the way. You'll get bumps in the road and never really understand why they happened. You can travel to far away places, but you come back home eventually. The family drama may or may not stop. The friendship and relationship drama may or may not stop. You might have kids along the way, but you have no idea how they're going to turn out.

In real life - you don't always know how it ends.

While sometimes that can make it work with writing what you know. Write stories based on your own experiences. But what happens when you can't tie up the story in a pretty box and put a bow on it and say "and that's how I figured it out?"

At the same time... isn't that the beautiful part of this journey of life? The not knowing?

Yeah, there are times when we get frustrated not knowing what's going to happen. It's stressful when you aren't sure which path you should take next and where you're going to end up.

But that's all part of what makes it exciting.

Whenever I think about maybe changing my life and I'm not sure what to do I have a friend who is always telling me "You can do anything!"

Usually I roll my eyes and respond with "That's too many options. It doesn't help me at all."

At the same time ... you really can do anything.

That's all part of life.

Sometimes we just need to chill and pick a path. Doesn't matter what path. God will be with you either way.

Source

Just pick one and go.

Because it can always change.

That's life.

You don't know how it ends until... well... it ends.

Just enjoy the ride.

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