Well...I'm back

Hello, Everyone!

Happy New Year!

To be honest, I deliberated for a long time about whether or not to keep blogging or if I should quietly close this place down.
The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. Or the flesh just doesn't seem to have much free-time these days. Lol.

But I'm not ready to say goodbye to this little corner of the internet. I still have so  much I want to share and so many things I'd like to do here. So I thought I might as well see if I can give it another go. Even if it's only now and then. After all, it's my blog, I can do what I want, right? Hehe!

So here we go, the first post of 2017 and hopefully the first of many!

New year...I love the start of the year! I love how fresh and crisp it is. Like getting a new notebook and you want to fill it up with all kinds of cool things, but you also want to take the time to just enjoy all those clean, empty pages.

I've always been a bit of a 'new years resolution' girl. I like having a goal or two for the year. I usually have something I want to do and need a nudge to actually do (like boxing classes) and something that's more about getting closer to God.

My two main goals this year are:

• Trust God.
• Create music:

I'll do a post a little bit later about the fist resolution. :) For now, this is more just a thoughtful sort of post that in a roundabout way deals with the second resolution. Apologize in advance for general cheesey-ness. Sometimes you just gotta!

Over the last few months I've been full to overflowing with inspiration and dreams and a longing to do things and create things.

It seems that everywhere I turn right now, I keep seeing things that make me want to create, things that make me want to share how much beauty I see in the world. Things that remind me with sharp clarity how much God must love this crazy old world...Things that make me dream.

I believe that God gives us talent, and dreams to go with them, for a reason. Even if we never do anything big and important with them, I think we are meant to use them.

Now I'm going to ramble for a minute.
 I know that our main purpose in being on this lovely little planet is to earn our Salvation and make it to Heaven. That's what God wants first and foremost from all of us. And that's what really maters.

And perhaps what God asks from us sometimes is to give up something we love. To realize, perhaps, that a particular dream we had isn't what He wants for us.

But I also think that our talents, our dreams are a gift from God. And I think God wants us to use them unless He says otherwise.

I mean, when you give someone a present, doesn't it just make you so happy when they actually put it to good use? It makes you feel like your present meant something to them and they value it.

I'd imagine it must make God happy when we use His gifts well. Even if it's just in some small way.

Maybe talents are the tools God has given us to help other people.

Think how many times you've been in a tough place and you read that one book  that gave you new hope, made you feel a tiny bit stronger. Or you've had a really bad day and then you hear that one song that just makes you feel peaceful again. That's such a wonderful thing, isn't it?

And how amazing is it that God, who has created such beauty and light, and filled the universe with mystery, saw fit to give His creatures the ability to create as well?

For me, writing music is something I really want to pursue. I want to write lyrics that share a little bit of who I am. I want see if I can create something beautiful. (Even if I am the only one who thinks it's beautiful! Lol)
I also want to create cover songs that are my version of the song. This is tricky because even though I usually have a fairly good idea of what I want my music to sound like, I don't play nearly enough instruments to make it happen. And the ones I do play I'm not super great at.
But hey-ho, a goal is a goal and I might as well start somewhere.
That's my music goal this year.

What is your talent? What's something you love and really want to do more of? Maybe now's a good time to start! Even if you're taking baby-steps. It's worth it.

As far as this blog goes, I still want to do what I was going to do last year. I want it to be primarily a blog that deals with music.

• Sharing songs
• Talking singers, songwriters, and musicians. 
• Maybe sharing my stuff.
• Other music-related things like books, movies,etc.

Anyway, I realize that was a complete information dump. I sat down to write and realized it had been so long that I had no idea where to start or how much to stick all together in one post. Kudos to you if you made it all the way through! You brave soul! Haha!

2017! Let's make it a great one!

God Bless,

Amy

"It's a bird! It's a plane!....No! It's a blog post!"

Hello everyone!

It is June.

JUNE!!

*Laughs maniacally* 

I have lost the handle I used to think I had on my life. 

I. Can. Not. Get. Organized. To. Save. My. Life.

The longer I've been away from blogging, the harder it's been for me to write again. I've opened my laptop a couple times with the best intentions in the world and just sat there like:

After Memorial Day slipped by and June slapped me over the face a few times, I was like, "Right! Time to get back on the proverbial bike and...and...Ride it,dang it!"

So here I sit.

(Side note. It's rather disturbing to be gone from your blog so long that you actually forget what it looks like.I just sat there like, "When did I make it blue?...That will have to change....What on earth did I do to the formatting? That will also have to change..." Awkward.)

And the best thing to do, it would seem, is to sort of fill you on on what's been going on in my life. Not to worry, it wont take all that long. *Sneer*

In order of awesomeness:

Number One:

I am taking the singing class at the college this quarter! *Dances*
There's an issue with how many times a person can sign up for the same class and I had definitely maxed out on my repeat-ability...
But the teacher was offering the class at a time that I could get to without having to make adjustments to my work schedule... and some of my other sisters were enrolled so I thought, "What the heck, I might as well try to sign up"
Mysteriously, I signed up without a hiccup! It was like a fabulous little miracle, all wrapped in tissue paper with a giant bow on top!

Two words; Private Lessons.  

Also, solos. It's been forever since I've had the chance to perform and I'm very,very rusty. *Snarls*
(I'm toying with the idea of posting my class solo, as bad of quality as it will probably be...what do you all think?)

So yes. That's my number one big deal.

Number Two:

I bit the bullet and bought a guitar! *More dancing*

Meet Murdock. He is fabulous and has a full, rich voice. He is the bomb-diggety!

In case you're wondering, no, I can't really play the poor dear yet. I want to. I practice. I get frustrated and eyeball my fingers accusingly.
"Oh evil fingers! You betrayed me! Bend, dang it! BEND!"
Then I usually end up putting on my gloves and hitting the punching bag for a while.

Perhaps I exaggerate.

I love to  make noise on the beautiful contraption, and my sister is surprisingly patient with me. I'm pretty much like this:

Watch the video. Do it. Click it. PLAY IT!

Happily, I have found a channel on youtube that seems like it's going to be very helpful in my learning. The fellow is really easy to watch and he explain things really well and...he reminds me of a goofy Rory Williams. Seriously.

Similar, yes?

Source

Number Three:

This one is futuristic, but I'm excited about it so it makes the list. So there.

I'm (hopefully) taking a hand-to-hand combat class and a knife fighting class in August this year! 

IT'S TERRIFYING AND WONDERFUL! I'll get to HIT things!  

I'm still working out the details. I'm actually a timid little thing and don't want to go without a sister...or a friend....or an acquaintance. Somebody...

BUT HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT!

Number four:

I am almost done with my floral design course and if all goes well, I will find  myself with a pay raise. *Pulls out the ahooga horn*

That will be glorious! That will be fa-hab-u-lous!

Three things. That's the extent of my news in three months. 

Could be worse.

As far as my hopes and dreams for this blog in the future, it's vague still, it's very Hit and Miss (see what I did there) and it's still a work in progress.

But I'm planning on a post a week. That's my goal. I have goals. *Pats self on back*

Now I'm shall leave you with a song. Because that's what I feel like doing. Ha. 

I don't know what it is lately, but this song has been my thing. It's my, "I'm off work, time to turn up the music and head home, singing at the top of my lungs," song. 

It is so much 'the thing' right now that I wrote out some of my favorite lyrics. 'Cause I do that. 

Now shush, and listen. 

God Bless and I'll be back again really soon!
Amy

Happy Wednesday!

Hello, Peoples! 

After the half-baked blog change I pulled a bit ago, I've been thinking more and more about my blog and what I want to do with it. 

As I said in my last post, I have several work-in-progress posts just sitting there and absolutely no desire to finish writing them.

I want to have some sort of direction with my blog. Some clear goal or purpose...or something. As it is, I basically have no idea what to write about and the longer the time between post the more frustrated I get with it. That's no good! That's rubbish.

I might take a tiny bit of a break from here. A real break to get myself back together and ready to post again.
It wont be a long break. Not much longer than my lack of blogging in general, but this time it will be deliberate and therefore I will benefit more from it. That is my sincere hope anyway! *Grin*

Some of the things I'm thinking about focusing on around here are;

1.) Music. I'm sort of doing that already, but I'd like to have a clearer goal there as well. Something I'm toying with is posting some snippets of my work-in-progress song lyrics. I'm just not sure if any of you really want to read bits and pieces of my lyrics. And I'm not sure if I'm ready to share them. But I'm toying with it.

2.) I'd like to start sharing cooking/baking things again. I spend a great amount of time in the kitchen and I love it. Who doesn't like food?
So maybe recipes will start sneaking in here.

3.) Boxing. Yes. I finally said it out loud. Boxing is one of my favorite things and I might start sharing that a bit more. (I figure since it's part of my header now, it wouldn't surprise anyone.:)Would you like that?

4.) Hair related stuff. Because I'm pretty good at hair. And I like hair. And I like the idea of doing tutorials. But again, do you want to see hair again? Perhaps more importantly, will I have time to do hair related things around here?
That's what I'm mulling over. ;)

So I shall take a break and do some thinking and planning.
What do you think of that plan? Sounds good, right?  

Life has been really good around here, on an entirely different note. My brother-in-law and sister came for a visit over the last week which resulted in much merriment and noise.

 My brother-in-law had a job interview in the near-ish vicinity and we're all praying like crazy that he gets it. The Midwest is very far away and having them closer would be the greatest thing since the invention of running water.

My crazy-awesome brother was insane and showed up to my place of employment and handed Treskie and I the keys to a fabulous Land Rover. 

Meet Jarvis

Who gets a CAR as a random surprise present??!!
That was one of those things that just make  you think, "Holy cow, I am unbelievably blessed." And it's wonderful and overwhelming at the same time.

Quite frankly, life has been full of a lot of little, wonderful things. 
Hikes and music and beautiful flowers, and actual writing inspiration. It's awesome.

Friday I head off on a mini-vacation to visit my bestie and celebrate her bridal shower. Bridal showers are fun! But it's so strange to think that when May comes, she's going to be married. Growing up is so weird!

Take care and I'll be back! Not soon, but I will be back! Rather like Arnold Schwarzenegger. *Wiggles sunglasses*

God Bless!
Amy

Song of the week

Hello all.

I have COME!

So.

What now?

Okay, fine. I'm trying to organize my thoughts into some semblance of order. And failing.

Movies, blog stuff, music stuff, cooking stuff...Where to start?

I'm going to use the good ol' numbering system. See how things go from there.

1.) I have become sucked into the world of Agent Carter over this last week.

I regret nothing!
Honestly, I had my reservations about the show. I mean, Peggy is the cutest person ever. She and Steve were perfect.

I was worried that they'd ruin her. I was afraid she'd turn into a "I don't need no man." sort of person. I was afraid the show would be way over the top.

But...It's NOT!

It's gloriously post WWII,

You get a lovely mix of espionage, character development, and fights. Really good fights!*Cheers*
Red fingernails, the cutest clothes ever, awesome script, awesome acting...and to top it all off, fedoras! (See what I did there?)

Source

Jarvis. I had no idea I would love him! His little face! His adorableness! *Dies*

Source

*Ahem* It's (so far) a delightful show. I am enjoying it hugely. Thank you Marvel.  You are so very good to your fans! You deserve a medal for all your good work. (Joss Weden, please be kind! No killing of my favorite people, okay? Leave Jarvis alone!)

2.) After all the fabulous 1950's fashion, I had to paint my nails red. It was an absolute necessity.

It lasted the grand total of one day. *Le sigh*

If any of you have tips on how to get fingernail polish not to chip, I'd be all ears! 

3.) I have recently started watching Kitchen Nightmares.

It was a whim one evening. I didn't realize it would be an addicting type of show. I really like Gordan Ramsey. He's a very sweet fellow, once you get passed the swearing. (There's quite a lot of swearing. Enough that I wouldn't actually recommend it to anyone. So...view with your own discretion. You've been warned!:) 

Anyway, with all the cooking and whatnot I was in a mood, So today, being my day off, I spent a goodly portion of it in the kitchen. It was a blast!

I made a lovely Italian dish...A chicken ragu with gnocchi, to be exact. I needed to make gnocchi. I just watched Unbroken a few days ago (Unbelievable! It was an amazing movie!) and there is a fair amount of talk about gnocchi. It preyed on my mind. So I made some! And it turned out so nicely! There's nothing quite like the feeling of having your meal turn out the way you wanted it to! 

I'm not proud or anything, just...

It was pretty fab.

And since I love being in the kitchen, I made Biscotti for later on this evening.

Italians have the best food, you guys. :)

4.) My blog needs a new name, I think. I started this place back in...2011!? Gosh. 

Anyway, I feel like the name isn't really me anymore. Or it is, but not the way it comes off. Does that make sense? 

I don't think it fits the blog. 

So! I'm going to toss out a few new titles and see which one you guys like best. And please feel free to suggest some new titles as well. I love feedback!

Idea number one: Beneath the Surface. 

Just cause it sounds cool. 

Number two: Music, Magic and Mice

It's catchy?

Number three: Sing as if no one is listening.
Sort of pretty, right?

Number four: Raindrops keep falling on my head.
That is sort of a 'me' song.

This is hard. No wonder I haven't changed it yet! Golly dang! What is my blog type?

Ah, got it!

Number five. Hit and miss.
That describes pretty much every hobby and endeavor in my life! Including my posting! Hahaha.

Tell me which one you like, or suggest a new one! DO IT!

Okay.

Now for a song, shall we? Just so I don't have to think up a different title for this post. *Grin*

I'm too tired and in too much of a hurry to post the lyrics. But this is a really awesome song, so you should take a moment and listen, okay?

That's all for now, peoples!

God Bless,

Amy