Lifey Update

Hello, Everyone!

I'm going to just jump in with all my cool and groovy news!

Cool and groovy news 1.) Lill' ol' me finally owns a firearm! *Squeeee* This is a big, exciting thing. It goes bang and I love it.
I've been interested in owning a gun for a long time. At least five years. I'm sort of  a slow mover when it comes to doing stuff. But here I am, the proud owner of a sleek, black gun.
In October/November-ish, I'm hoping to take a 4 day handgun class from the same place I took hand to hand combat and knife fighting last year. Which is part of the reason I finally bought the thing. I want to train with my own weapon. :)
I still need to name my gun. But I haven't settled on a worthy name yet. Ideas are welcomed.

Cool and groovy news 2.) This timid potato signed up for a year of boxing classes! 
Honestly, it's both way fun and way terrifying. It was one of my new year resolutions (See? Slow mover!) and I was like, "It's now or never!"
One of my sisters signed up with me, (Because this timid little potato couldn't do it alone) and we've had...4? or Maybe 5 classes so far.
Picture this: 7-10 young, athletic fellows... All of whom know what they're doing... Some of them training for real fights. And two small girls who have very little idea of what they're doing and somehow manage to look dainty even with boxing gloves on.
Class starts: *Teacher* "Time to jump rope for 10 minutes"
*Me* "Okay..." Jump jump jump....
I0 minutes later...*me dying a little* (Oh, and thank you, giant wall mirror. I now know that I look like a rabbit when I jump rope.)
*Teacher* "Let's shadow box!"
*Me* "Yes lets. I can do this!"
*Teacher* "Time for some sweet boxing combinations!"
*Me* "Yay! I totally love this!"
Sweating and lots of heavy breathing....
*Teacher* "Let's do 150 crunches!"
*Me* "WHAT?!" *Writhes on the floor. Dies...*
*5 minutes later*
*Teacher* "Awesome, hour's up! See you next week"
*Me* "Oh yes, for sure!*

But actually, the Teacher is very nice, as are the rest of the students, and they're all very polite and encouraging to us two, nervous girls.


Thus ends my cool and groovy news...

Otherwise, Summer has been pretty nice this year. The weather's been lovely and I've snuck in more days at the lake this year than I managed last year. I've also managed to burn almost every time I've gone out. *Sigh* The price I pay for forgetting sunscreen.

There was one particularly awesome day a couple weeks ago when we spent the day at the beach. We swam for ages, built a really loppsy sandcastle, had snacks and chatted about our favorite old Disney Movies. (Moonspinners! Such the best!)

Erm...It looked cooler in real life. Just saying...

I finally took my sister's suggestion and read The Virginian. (Well...I'm almost finish reading it.) It is so delightfully Wild West! I love cowboys and that part of American history, but it's tricky finding good books in that time frame.

The Virginian nails it. NAILS IT.

I settled down on my day off to just binge-read it, and after the first couple chapters, I went to get my cowboy hat out of the closet. :) 

So, you know, if you want to read something really good, go find The Virginian. IT'S GOOD!

Also, I'd like to say that I was sort of trying to be really 'on it' with recording a song for my channel this month. I recorded two songs. And I filmed video for two songs. 

And I hate both of them. They just didn't mesh. They refused to work. They're loathsome. 

So I'm not going to post either of them. *Broods*

It just hasn't been my month with music. It makes me feel angry. Like, I should be getting better at making videos with all the practice I've been having. But I sort of feel like these last two attempts were some of the worst quality things I've done. 

It took a great amount of self control not to drop-kick my laptop out the door after the last one. 

So...Fingers crossed for next month, eh?

Lately I've been having so much inspiration for writing music, arranging music, and an idea for a musical that I'd like to write (HAHAHA!) but finding myself without the know how to make it happen. Why don't I have any musician friends to do all the hard parts for me? You know how awesome that would be? Like, here I have a melody and some lyrics. Could you please come up with a piano, drum and possibly guitar part for it? Thanks. Oh yes, and if you could please put it down in musical annotation that would be the best!

So, since I failed epically with recording a song for this month, I'm going to just leave you with a song that I heard for the first time a couple days ago. Because this is kinda epic.

I must go now. I need to prep for dinner and maybe have a snack.

God Bless!
Amy

Song of the week

Hello, Everyone:

Some days are just really long...

Some weeks are just really long...

And during those sorts of times I have some music that I refer to as my 'soul' music. It's the music that I connect to the most, that makes me feel like my very soul is touched by music.

There's one song in particular that I've been very into lately. It's in Italian (Okay fine. It's an Il Volo song...) and I listened to it while I read the English translation and I sort of fell in love with it.

I've sat her for the last 20 minutes trying to figure out how to make columns so that I could have the English and Italian side by side...
Alas and alack, blogger doesn't have that feature. Or I'm just to dense to figure it out.

So you'll have to settle with just the English translation while you listen to the Italian. Capisce?

(Oh yeah, and the music video is kinda purdy. :)

I'm here

Look at me

Me with you, I feel that

There's no other way that isn't ours

It's a breath with no ending

I'll be there if you want

If you'll be in danger

I'll protect you

From the evil you'll witness

I'll be there for you

I'm here

Live me

Every day

Until the end

I am a rather hopeless romantic I think. These lyrics are such a perfect description of marriage to me. I love how this song is kind of a 'no matter what, we're going to get through it together' sort of thing. 

Source

There's never another way

That is not ours

The emotion between us

Has no end

I'll be there if you want

If you'll be in danger

I'll protect you

From the evil you'll witness

I'll be there for you

To defend your mistakes

Don't let the world change you

No, I'll fight for you

No, I'll be there for you

I'm here, I'll be there

I'll be there if you want

You'll see it will be beautiful

I'll protect you

From the evil you'll witness

I'll be there for you

I'm here

Live me

So yeah. This song gives me all the feels. All dem. On my more emotional days, I may or may not get a bit teary. (Though I've been known to get teary over lots of things, including lame motivational quotes so... )

Was this post a bit sappy? Well yes, yes it was. But I don't care!

Let me know what you think. Love it? Hate it? Come on! Talk music with me!

God Bless,
Amy

Lyrics...

Hello, Everyone!

So...I've decided it's time to do something new and scary. I'm going to share some lyrics that I've written.

Look at me, being all brave and stuff!

These are just sort of a work in progress, but I am slowly getting the melody together. (With a little help from Treskie ;)

Anyway, let me know what y'all think, okay? 

You Cry

It breaks me.

I'll Try

To help you through,

It's not the End,

I promise.

There is a future 

For you.

And it's hard to remember

When life was better,

And days were not covered in shadows.

This battles been hard,

We've all got some scars. 

And healing takes time,

Just Remember...

This darkness will go away,

It always does,

And I'm not 

Leaving you alone.

Trust a little while longer,

Stay strong,

This darkness cannot last forever.

Just hold on...

That's the first part anyway. Feel free to let me know what you think. If you like this, maybe I'll go ahead and start posting my lyrics more often. 

Take care and God Bless!

Amy

It's a better place...

Hello Everyone!!

I'll tell the world, I'll sing a song

It's a better place since you came along

Since you came along

So, lately I've been lucky enough to have a whole bushel of new music to get all emotional over. This is a big deal for lil' ol' musically addicted me.

Sometimes I go for months without finding any new music, but over this last year I've been finding good music all over the place...so much so, I almost can't keep up with it. (Here meaning, I don't have enough time to learn all the songs backward and forward. Usually if I love a song I want to be able to sing along to it...)

Your touch is sunlight through the trees

Your kisses are the ocean breeze

Everything's alright when you're with me

Anyway, there's something really sweet about this song. It's just simple and catchy and makes me feel really content.

And I hold my favorite thing

I hold the love that you bring

But it feels like I've opened my eyes again

And the colors are golden and bright again

There's a song in my heart, I feel like I belong

It's a better place since you came along

It's a better place since you came along

I love the line that 'the colors are golden and bright again.' It reminds me of evening walks when the world turns soft and gold.

I see the whole world in your eyes

It's like I've known you all my life

We just feel so right

So I pour my heart into your hands

It's like you really understand

You love the way I am

And that's all for now! What did you think of the song? Love it, hate it? Come on, talk music with me!

God Bless,

Amy

Lifey Update:

Hello Peoples!

Let's just skip the part where I grovel about not blogging and try to explain why I haven't. That is getting old, is it not? ;)
I can sum up in three words: Life. Get's. Busy. 

Moving on quickly!

Let's just head in with a life dump, shall I?

It's been a really fast year so far. Like, here we are at July (What the freak?) and I feel like I can't catch up with myself!

February brought Disneyland in all it's wild, hectic glory.

March was just March. Though there were a few lovely walks in March. Complete with gorgeous, swampy meadows.

April brought my brother's wedding and a visit with my sister and her freakin' adorable family.

(The only picture I took on my phone! #woops)

(She just had her baby 2 weeks before they came out!)

May brought a lot of work, (Mother's day at a flower shop...) and more meadow-y walks.

(Because I will never not love dandelion fuzz.

 It's basically magic on a stem. :)

Then June hit with some days at the beach, wedding craziness at the shop and finally a visit to see my friend.

My best friend and her husband had their first baby this June and I'm the Godmother. It was a blast going out for a week and visiting, holding that baby as much as I possibly could, and just being there.

She sleeps like a tiny boxer and it makes me so happy.

And she's got so much hair!

Paint night. (I mad dis. #beautyandthebeast)

We did some shooting. 

And took a beautiful evening walk.

Everything was so golden. 

And this series of pictures are my favs. :)

That brings us to the 4th of July, which was very pleasant and involved a trip to Barns and Noble, Hobby Lobby, and a very nice BBQ.

Other than that, I've been juggling work, hobbies and other trivial things like doing laundry, cleaning the bathroom and watching fun TV shows. 

Right now I feel like I have so many things I want to do and just don't have time for. I'm plugging away at trying to learn guitar, and though it's coming along, it's definitely tedious.

I want to write and draw and make music. I want to be outside and just sit by the water and listen to the waves and the birds. I want to do more self defense things and go on hikes. I want to cook new dishes and try my hand and making pasta from scratch. I want to learn more about guns and shooting. I want to learn about cars: How they work and how to fix/understand mine.

I want to spend more time with God and less time worrying about things I don't really have any control over. 

This year I'm really antsy to have my own home, to create a place that's mine, to have a family and start that part of my life. And that's something that I have to leave to God and His timing.

And it's really hard.

Anyway, I did manage to upload another song to my channel. #ItShouldHaveBeenInJune. 

I was all set to post it in June and time got away from me and I failed on that one! Lol. But it's finally up and I'm even hoping to have another video up this month as well.

Let me know what you think and maybe leave me some suggestions if you have any songs you think I should sing. ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

God Bless,

Amy

We are Love

Moonlight draws your colors in the dawn

While the sound of silence in the wind feels

Like an empty song

This seemed like an appropriate song to head back into the blogging world with. Mostly because they're currently the lyrics on my new header and I want y'all to have them in context. :)

It's no secret that I'm the tiniest bit obsessed with Il Volo....Oh wait. I haven't blogged in ages and there's no way for you to know that. So it probably is a bit of a secret!

Well, stick around, my friend, it won't be for long!

As the rain begins to fall down

Like a million tears

And the heaven shining

Through the clouds, girl

I can feel you here

There really isn't an Il Volo song that I don't like, but this song just grew on me. I listened to it  the first time like, "Ah, that's so pretty!" but it did get a little lost in the shuffle (literally. My mp3 shuffle) of my top ten Il Volo songs. Top Fifteen? Twenty? 

Never mind that. Skip (Look at all these so not intentional puns!) *Ahem*...skip to me listening to it again. And again and again and again. 

Don't you ever lose me

I could never lose you

Can't you feel?

We are love

Like the Earth and ocean

We're the same devotion you and me

We are love

I love the lyrics so much! They melt my lil' heart like an ice cube in direct sunlight. Puddles, people. Puddles.

Not convinced yet? 

Sunlight burning deep into the eyes

And it blinds the sadness of a tear so

We can see the skies

When you're ever feeling lonely

And life just gets you down

Hear the beating whispers of my heart

I know you've come around

Oh, and this song has the fabulous bonus of a really nice music video. Which you absolutely must watch, if for no other reason that to have little Italians with incredible eyes stare soulfully at you. 

I will always need you

If you ever need me, can't you see?

We are love

Like the Earth and ocean

We're the same devotion you and me

We are love

Lift you hands, let's your feelings rise

We're like a river flowing to the sea

You and me

Yeah, so...

This music...It's silly to say it makes me feel safe. But it does! 

What did you think? Love it, hate it? 

Do you have any music that makes you  feel safe? Come on, talk music with me!

God Bless,

Amy

Song of the Month--Via Dolorosa

Hello, Everyone!

Just a hasty post to say, "Look! There's a new song on my channel!" and to let you know that I'm going to start blogging again!

It's been ages, (and I do mean ages) since I posted seriously.
(Oh, you noticed? Was it because I left in for vacation in August 2015, and apparently never really came back?) 

Over the last two or three months I've been contemplating whether I should drop my blog all together, start a new blog, or just pick back up here.

I decided that this little blog has been around a while, as sad and neglected as it's been, and I'd rather not just toss it to the winds. So here I am. The problem was, I couldn't decide how to proceed for a long time. What the heck could I write about? What direction should my blog take?
I'd really liked the idea of Hit and Miss, but it just wasn't working for me.

Then Treskie said, "Just do music."

And that seemed like a good idea.
*Cue changing things around on my blog, trying to figure out what exactly 'just do music' would entail, and making Treskie design a new look for me.*
The header will be bigger...just as soon as I figure out how to make it bigger. 

I think right now I'm still in the figure out how this whole thing is going to work stage, but hopefully it will be awesome. Because why do less than awesome?

Thank you all for sticking through the postless months!

Now, enough of my soliloquizing. Here's the song for this month...

As usual, I'd love to know what you think!

Are there any songs about the Passion that you love? Or maybe something for Easter? Talk music with me!

God Bless!

Amy

Can't Help Falling in Love

Hi there, Everyone!

In anticipation of Valentine's Day, Treskie and I got together and did a cover of Can't Help Falling in Love!

Let me know what you think!

God Bless,

Amy