Welcome to my world

2025

2025-12-31T20:54:00.000+01:00

2025 was a big year.... a wedding and I turned 40....BIG CELEBRATIONS!
Turns out ...my body does not like big celebrations and I had big flareups and pain on those days.

WORK
I love having my own company....just look at the variety of jobs I get to do.
-Personal Trainer at World Class
-Coaching at my own office
-MC at weddings, DJ, bingo and dance gigs with Happy Studio
-Conference Director at ICF Iceland Coaching Day
-Moderator at HR day
-Murder Mystery and Singalong at Hótel Kríunes
-Taught Empowerment at Mímir

Travel
Tenerife for Easter
Copenhagen to surprise and celebrate my sister´s 50th birthday
Otherwise just to the countryside to entertain or hotel stay with my love.

Morgunblaðið (talking about my coaching business, from hopeless to hope)
Vísir (talking about our wedding)
DV 1 og 2 (talking about burnout, our love story and aron´s epilepsy)
K100 radio station (talking about our Zumba class to support UNICEF)

FAMILY
My son went off epilepsy meds and is blossoming, talking and singing so much. so grateful.
My step daughter is always creating something new (art). She´s so talented.
Halldór has started doing Crossfit and loves it. That and badminton. So fit!

OTHER:
Started Pilates with my friend Þórdís and going to the spa with my other friend. Love it so much.
Also started taking advanced dance class for myself, reminds me of the good old days.
Been taking it easy and working less and LOVE IT! Slow down and enjoy!
Health is number one so I learned a lot this year what works for me.

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2024

2024-12-31T18:09:00.007+01:00

2024

Work / Projects

I did personal training and group training at World Class.
I coached clients at my office at Sundaborg 7.
I taught Zumba and Jallabina at World Class but stopped in May.
I taught at Mímir: personal empowerment and communication, and health promotion.
I held lectures: “Who Am I,” “Burnout and stress at work,” “Return to Happiness,” and a motivational pep talk.
I created a summer challenge and check-ins, and launched my self-care membership subscription in September.

Gigs / Events

Hen parties, first dance (bridal waltz), dancing, and DJ gigs at weddings.
Attended the “Ég 2024” event by Ásta mentor coach.
Acted in a Fullþing advertisement.
50’s dance party at Gaukurinn with Happy Studio.
Murder Mystery with an event company and Hotel Kriunes.
Garðabær Children’s Culture Festival with Happy Studio.
Hosted events with Happy Studio at Hotel Kvika and Harpa.
Sang with Sigga Beinteins while I was hosting Hörpu Magnús’s birthday party.
Master of ceremonies and DJ at Mannauðsdagurinn (HR Day) at Harpa.
Halloween Murder Mystery at Hotel Kriunes.
Singalong pub quiz at Hotel Kriunes.

Viðtöl
Viðtal í Ísland í Dag
DV
Harpa kann að halda partý (veislustýrði)
Of margir boltar á lotfti
K100
Kvíðakynslóðin

Rás 2

Travel

Paris with Halldór.
Crete with the family.
Borgarnes.
Hveragerði.
Laugarvatn.

Illness / Health

A Crohn’s flare-up, and daycare illnesses hit hard.
Aron had a severe seizure around Pride, caused by illness.
I had surgery in September that fixed terrible hemorrhoids I’ve been dealing with since having Aron. Then I got a really rough on-and-off illness on top of that and was very sick. Grateful everything turned out well in the end.

Other

I said goodbye to President Guðni and Elíza at Bessastaðir and personally thanked Halla Tómasdóttir at an FKA meeting, because I won an essay competition as a teenager where I wrote about my future company. It’s incredible to have that company today and think back on it. Proof that entrepreneurs like Halla—through Auður in the Power of Women and FrumkvöðlaAuður—matter.

Family

Halldór graduated with a Master’s degree in Industrial Biotechnology. So proud of him.
Módís started in the youth division at Norðlingaskóli.
Aron moved to Grænudeild (the Green class) at Blásólar preschool.
So proud of my family.

Grateful that everyone is healthy and doing well.

2023

2024-01-01T18:51:00.000+01:00

2023

-I formed my own company Anna C ehf

-I got my own office in Reykjavík

-Got my ACC accreditation as a Coach (Internationally Certified)

-Graduated from Akademias as a Certified Online Marketing Specialist

-Raised money for Líf, Chrohns association and Hugarafl

-Grandma died, grateful to have seen her and that she saw Aron before she passed away

-Aron got seizures and ended up in the hospital. 3 ambulance rides this year.

GIGS:

-Public Speaking gigs about stress to coaching to AI tools for VR, Dokkan, ICF and SVÞ

-DJ, MC at weddings, bingo and most fun singalong and dance entertainment with Happy Studio

-Murder Mystery gigs at Hótel Kríunes and for event companies

-Taught wedding dance and of course our regular zumba and jallabina classes at World Class

-Personal training and group training. Love it!

Travel

-Greece to see my Cashmere mafia friends (Webster Alumni)

-Hella with Frikki for a Happy Studio gig

-Hveragerði for a gig and romantic getaway with my love

-Hotel Ranga, romantic getaway with my love
-Cabin getaway with friends

Podcasts

Family

Halldor is doing brilliantly in his master studies and Modis as well in school, and always creating something. Very artistic. Loves playing Roblox with friends. So grateful for them

2022

2022-12-26T15:51:00.006+01:00

2022 was the year I became a mom
Kudos to all the moms out there and parents in general. No joke dealing with postpartum and thanks to lack of sleep my nervous system is a mess and my anxiety has started acting up again. I was diagnosed with Chrohns after a lot of pain that I first thought was just postpartum. Turns out it wasn´t. Now I get medicine, a shot every two weeks. November was hell, between my pain and Aron picked up every flu and was so sick he had to go to the hospital. It was so hard. So after my and Aron´s sickness I just focus every day on gratitude. Every day that is not in pain is a good day.

PERSONAL

- We named our baby boy Aron Benedikt Claessen Halldórsson in a ceremony at Hótel Kríunes where Páll Óskar and Monika sang and played and Palli gave him his name. I sang and mom gave a speech.

-Maternity leave, where i took care of Aron and slept between. Grateful for my love and his support.

-published an online Burnout and Relationship seminars on http://happystudio.teachable.com

-became the first Zumbini teacher in Iceland, and had a pop up class at Dans og Jóga

-got diagnosed with Chrohns disease and got medicine for it.

-started work again as a personal trainer, dance teacher and entertainer.

GIGS:

-Danced for Haffi Haff in Eurovision Semi Final for the song "Gía" (English Volcano)

- Murder Mystery at Kríunes

-Danced at a book release party

-Haffi haff gig at a kindergarten and a birthday party

- Happy Studio gig at MEKÓ Barnamenningarhátíð
-Happy Studio gig at MEKÓ Moroccan day
-Happy Studio gig at fjölmenningarhátíð Harpa

-MC at a wedding

-DJ gig at Mannauðsdagurinn

-Salsa gig at a birthday party

-Country gig in the countryside
-Gig at Víkurskóli and a birthday party

-Taught a bachelor Michael Jackson moves
-Christmas Bingo host during the holidays

-"I Wanna Dance" by Svala and Haffi Haff music video

and more....

See youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCog86Vq61STB8NuKtr4faPQ

TRAVEL:

-Almeria with the family

-Vienna to see my best friend Alexandra, Marco and their baby who live in Mexico

-Cyprus to see the Claessen family, with a layover in Poland

-Paris for a romantic getaway, a year after our engagement

Heilsuvarpið

Hemmi frændi

Fréttablaðið

Taking care of a baby, especially newborn is a full time job!!!!!
Make sure you take care of yourself and your relationship.

Grateful for family and friends for their support.

Enjoying my time with my family

2021

2022-04-22T01:50:00.002+02:00

2021

Had a baby boy on my birthday, got engaged to my love Halldór on top of the eiffel tower in Paris, France and we moved into our dream home in Norðlingaholtið.

Worked as a personal trainer and zumba instructor at World Class, finished Hot Yoga and Body Reroll Teacher training, codependency- and happiness coaching.

Gigs at Kramhúsið and with Friðrik as well as murder mystery nights at Hótel Kríunes

Got Covid while pregnant.

Interview in Vikan, Rás 2, etc.

Travel: Paris-France, Grímsborgir, Hvanneyri, Akureyri, Húsavík, Egilsstaðir, Vík, Jökulsárlón.

Other:

Helicopter ride to the volcano

ATV ride in Vik with the family

What a year! 🎉So grateful 🥰

2020

2020-12-30T21:17:00.001+01:00

The year started out great, I played gong at an seminar, was an assistant at a show Búkalú and acted in Hatari´s new music video. Did a gig for Alþingi and for 100 kids in the countryside. Did gigs at Kramhúsið and taught a group Latin/Ballroom dances weekly alongside my normal zumba and jallabina classes at World Class.

We in Dans og Kúltúr organized an epic Roaring 20´s party. Went on the radio and were featured in the paper because of it: https://www.frettabladid.is/lifid/orjufanlegir-dansfelagar/

Traveled to Mexico for my best friends wedding and met all my friends there. Such a beautiful ceremony.

Tried Ayahuasca and boy did the world change.... LITERALLY

I came home and there was COVID.

From live classes to zoom

From lots of gigs to none
From live classes to zoom

We in Dans og Kúltúr were suppose to go to Dubai but Covid changed that.

My job was changed in an instant

So I changed my focus and studied

Became a

PERSONAL TRAINER

Yoga Nidra Trainer

Absolute Training Trainer

added NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming)

and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

Did live dance classes on zoom and posted videos on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCog86Vq61STB8NuKtr4faPQ

In the summer there was no cases so we were FREE .... for a while

So I saw two concerts, Dúndurfréttir with my dad and Aldamótatónleikarnir with friends.
Went for some cocoa and dance spiritual ceremonies. Did my weekly therapy.

Actress Anna was in full swing

ACTING:

Teygur commercial

Hatari music video

Leynilögreglan

Ráðherrann

Verbúð

and another "V" TV show I can´t remember the name of

Wrote articles on Vísir.is:

https://www.visir.is/t/2082/Anna%20Claessen

Was a featured guest at the podcast Þín Eigin Leið:

https://open.spotify.com/show/6vbEpjxaMPUUGq5gPSOxgi?si=gSdLH9r5SpOnwxKeVilOAw

Blue Lagoon offered Ielanders a special deluxe deal so me and Oddrun went and pampered ourselves.

Traveled to Hvammstangi to go to my first Sveitaball and saw Paparnir and Stuðmenn .

Traveled the countryside with Þórdís to Akureyri, mývatn, Ásbyrgi and of course JaJa Ding Dong bar in Húsavík. We stopped by at the beerbaths for some refreshment. Really fun trip.

Surprised everyone at work and sang with Ingó veðurguð at their summerfest.

Became a personal trainer and taught dance along with working in the spa.
Did coaching and hypnosis.

Then came second wave of COVID

Adaptability. The rules changed every 2 weeks, so my job changed that way as well. A personal trainer, dance teacher and an entertainer working in a spa, all my jobs were out. So surrended and RESTED! Finally working on my burnout for real. Doing absolutely nothing and that was ok.That was my job!

Best part of 2020

Met the love of my life Halldór and got to know what its like to have a family of my own. Him and his daughter welcomed me with open arms. I moved in after only a couple of months. So grateful.

2020... it was the worst of times...it was the best of times.
A time to reflect on your life. At yourself!
It all depends on how you look at it right?

2019

2019-12-31T17:59:00.000+01:00

2019

Year of firsts
The year I did something new every day
The year I started playing guitar
The year I started writing again for a news outlet
The year I also worked as a DJ and Karoke Host
The year I did a show of my own at Hótel Kríunes
The year I started writing again on a popular web site
The year I spoke in front of a room full of people and told my story
The year I learned a lot, NBI, Reiki, Gong, RTT and assisted twice in Dale Carnegie
The year me and my best friend Frikki organised a trip to Morocco and dance parties at Hard Rock
The year I tried out comedy at Gaukurinn and Secret Cellar

Travel

-Thailand

-Dublin, Ireland

-Morocco

-Romania

-Vienna, Austria

-Cyprus

-Rome, Italy

- Finland

Got enough of traveling and finally had the feeling I wanted to stay in Iceland and make a life there

Diplomas

-RTT hypnosis

-Gong (sound healing)
-Facebook/Instagram marketing

-Reiki
-NBI

Acting

Blindspot

Agnes Joy
Gullregn
Pabbahelgar

Samgöngustofa ad

Blue Lagoon Retreat Ad

Worked as a CEO for the Icelandic Dance Sport Federation until this year and I´m proud to say I helped dance get more covered in the media. We have AMAZING dancers and they deserve even more coverage in the future. They are not only winning here in Iceland but abroad.

MEDIA
Sporið
K100
Bylgjan
Fréttablaðið
Útvarp Saga
Hringbraut
Mannlíf
Stöð 2
BURNOUT! I was interviewed on Stöð 2 regarding my burnout.
Created a group in the process: https://www.facebook.com/groups/356382358366879/
and I´m coaching several clients to help them from burnout to balance.

ARTICLES
Started writing articles on Vísir.is
https://www.visir.is/t/2082/Anna%20Claessen

Learned a lot, be careful about what you write about or you´ll end up on DV (gossip outlet).
Which I did. Learned a lot and wrote about the experience.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

-Choreographed the main Pride song and danced alongside my idols

-Dans og Kúltúr

So proud of everything me and my best friend Friðrik have done with Dans og Kúltúr. First of all our trip to Morocco. Despite Wow air going under we found a solution and had a wonderful layover in Belgium. We moved our dance parties from Gaukurinn to Hard Rock and celebrated Culture Night and Halloween among other events there with great success. 1001 nótt, 17.júní, menningarnótt, Pride, Reykjavík Fringe and travel to Finland´s Laahti fringe are among a few of the events we danced in.

On Halloween both me and Frikki went out of our comfort zones and performed as other characters, me as Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit

-Singing

Did gigs at Hótel Kríunes, Alþjóða geðheilbrigðisdaginn, Hugarafl and more.

-Zumba and Jallabina
Taught dance classes at World Class and took part in several charity events.
Proud to help raise money for good causes.

Ended the year with a zumba event with these fabulous instructors Javi and Daði (from Allir Geta Dansað) and our ZIN Iceland representative Ísabella

-Assistant Coach in two Dale Carnegie Seminars
Grateful to meet these amazing people and learn from them.

MY WORK FINALLY ON SPOTIFY

My LA podcast Entertainment Drive-Thru, where we interviewed people in the entertainment industry. Honored to interview and get to know these amazing people.
https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ga0VGmfMllwALiT1bDqa7

Anna and the Bells: I´m really proud of our songs so I put them up on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pI0BwgEWFnt7XUZEzegbY

PERSONAL

It was a really difficult year personally. Went on meds last year when I felt like the world was collapsing and finished this year without meds. Very proud of myself! Went off with a help of RTT, Hugarafl, friends and above all my own strength. Been working on myself a lot. Proud of it!

Thankful for my friend Oddrún who told me to do a blood test and doctor for giving me an iron injection. After that I completely changed my diet with a help from a trainer. I started working at the spa in World Class. They have a amazing food there. Really helped me in changing my diet.

Family

My brother had a baby, a beautiful girl named Elva María Claessen
Another girl in our family. Celebrated in our childhood church, Seljakirkja.
Thankful for my family

2018

2019-01-09T14:24:00.000+01:00

2018

Travel:

-Spain x3 (Salou, Sitges and Barcelona we organized, Salou with family and Salamanca for Aga’s wedding with friends)

-Bali x2 (first by myself then with the family)
Ubud, Nusa Dua and Seminyak
-LA x2 (So grateful for my friends there who let me stay with them and spent the day with ❤️)
-Denmark (Roger Waters Concert, BFF weekend trip as well as layovers to see my nieces)
-Mexico (surprised my bff for her bday)
-Singapore (with family)
-Thailand (Pattaya with the family)

Acting
World cup commercials (2x)
Blue Lagoon hotel commercial
Norwegian commercial
Flateyjargatan
Ófærð Season 2
Áramótaskaupið
Venjulegt Folk
Pabbahelgar (2x)
Valhalla murders
Verliebt in Island
Agnes Cho
1918

Featured in
Morgunblaðið
Útvarp Saga
Stöð 2

Taught beyonce and did gigs at Kramhusið, zumba and jallabina at World Class, taught aqua aerobics for seniors as well as 3 charity zumba classes to support great causes

Got my diploma in Executive Coaching at the University of Reykjavik

Sold out our dancetrip to Spain and organized multiple dance shows at Gaukurinn with my bff.

Became CEO of the Icelandic Dance Sport Federation (DSÍ) after working at Hotel Kriunes

This year has been tough, so tough i broke down more than id like to admit, but i always allowed myself to rest and heal and then pulled myself up, worked on myself and surrounded myself with people that lift me up. Im proud that i was able to do all this despite the pain and grateful to the people who helped me through it

Met amazing people, some who have become my best friends ❤️ so grateful to all the people in my life, my family and friends here and around the world, just know i love you and miss you and you always have a place in my heart ❤️

Thank you to everyone i met and worked with this year, Friðrik Agni Árnason World Class Laugar, Kramhúsið, Margrét Erla Maack - Miss Mokki Gaukurinn, Dansíþróttafélag Hafnarfjarðar Dansíþróttasamband Íslands Íþrótta- og Ólympíusamband Íslands - ÍSÍ, Salsa Iceland, osk.is Lærðu að elska þig, Hotel Kríunes Optimized Performance K-Iceland Festival MARIO & YANA Háskóladansinn Dans Afríka Iceland and all the others, especially those who booked me for gigs, attended my classes, was on our show or came on our trip....its been a pleasure.

Heres to an even better 2019 🎉

2017

2018-01-10T01:45:00.003+01:00

2017

Changes

-changed jobs, centerhotels to ikea to my own

-created dans og kultur, website, shows, trips

-studied coaching at HR

-sold the apartment and bought a new one

-learned jallabina and started teaching

-sang with my girl group

-got to know the amazing salsa community at salsaiceland

I am super proud of our project Dans og Kúltur which was born in january and by the end we had a website, trip, shows, coverage in k100, Frettablaðið, vikan, útvarp saga and we’re planning even bigger things. Thank you Frikki, Asa and Sigrun for everything and Gaman Ferðir and Gaukurinn for working with us.

Travel

-alicante with family

-stockholm with frikki to get jallabina licence

-london with family

-albir with frikki

-munich meeting friends

-barcelona/cambrils/sitges, our own dance trip

-new york with frikki and met andreea

Its been a challenging year to say the least but im grateful for the people in it which showed on my bday when half the people were people i met this year. Met friends i havent met in many years,reminds me how lucky i am to have friends around the world.

2017...we’re sooooo OVER!!!!

2018 here i come

-coaching

-teaching dance at World Class and Kramhusið

And a couple other secret things on the horizon

🎉HAPPY NEW YEAR 🎉

2016

2017-02-26T19:04:00.000+01:00

TRAVEL

-Los Angeles, CA, USA

-Mexico City

-Alicante Spain

-Vienna, Austria

-Budapest, Hungary

-Prague, Czech Republic

-Boulder, Colorado

-London, England,

-Sibiu, Romania

CONCERT:

David Gilmore

Black Sabbath

WORK

-CenterHotel Plaza

-CenterHotel Arnarhvoll

-CenterHotel Miðgarður

RECEIVED:

Strong Certificate

EXPERIENCES

ATV and FONTANA SPA

SNOWMOBILING

HIGHLIGHTS:

Meeting my friends after 8 years as well as traveling with both our families

2015

2016-01-02T00:15:00.001+01:00

WORK
-Graumans
-Catering for SES
-Taught Zumba and Dansparty classes at World Class Iceland
-Hostel Village
-CenterHotel Plaza

CONCERTS
-Dead Heroine
-Dikta
-Vintage Caravan
-Agent Fresco
-Dúndurfréttir
-Borgardætur

TRAVEL
-Michigan, visited Dan´s parents and friends
-Denmark, visited my sister and her family

VISITS
-Ligia and Andrew
-Ryan
-Sam, Rachel and Ezra (aka jellybean)
-Ásdís, Ragnald and the twins Helene and Viktoria

IN LOVING MEMORY
-My grandpa Kjartan who passed away this year

INTERVIEWED ON ENTERTAINMENT DRIVE-THRU
-Melissa Joan Hart, Ed Asner, Steve Vai, Cherie Currie, John 5, Atticus Schaffer, Naomi Grossman, James Durbin, Jean Louisa Kelly, John Roberts (Linda from Bobs Burgers) Richard Grieco, Mackenzie Aladjem, Gary Pihl, Steve Morse, Jamie McShane, Phil LaMarr, E.G. Daily, Max and Mike Portnoy, Periphery, Dikta, Roddy Chong, Lauren Shaw, Paul Rugg, Dana Gourrier Linda Taylor, Agent Fresco, Roger O´Donnell, Charley Koontz, Jonathan Freeman (voice of Jafar), Derek Meers, Aristocrats, Margo Rey, Chris Borders, Ginny McSwain, Oliver Vaquer, Greg Howe, Jeff Scott Soto, Robert Clotworthy, Lauren Ash, Neil Napier, Ari Stidham, Lori Alan, RB Botto, Ben Von Wong, Caitlin O Connor, Neil Morse, 311, Jennifer Hale, TrueRivals, Vintage Caravan, Shelley Regner, AudioNation, Michael Grimm, Almost Kings, Nate Adams, Amabadama, Allie Gonino, STASH, Alanna Ubach, Koffin Kats, Kristen May (Flyleaf) Pip, Stryfe, Chris Wyse, Heloise, Nothing More, Jack Griffo, Judy Stakee, Árstíðir, From Ashes to New, Autumn Skibinski, Lego Guys, Dankrupt,Elvina Beck, Joe Boyd, ABC Family Freakout cast and Teachers cast and more....

ATTENDED
-Self Defense Class
-Zumba Gold and Zumba Basics 2 Seminar
-NAMM as a media professional for Entertainment Drive-Thru

SUCCESSES
-Bought our very first home in Iceland
-How to Get Away with Murder episode I was in aired
-Acted in Icelandic, French and German films
-Starred in a music video "Crazy Horses" by Vintage Caravan
-First gig in Iceland with Anna and the Bells
-Became a Zumba Gold Instructor
-Interviewed by the Immigrant Entrepreneur
-Cover and 4 pages in MAN magasín in Iceland

2014

2014-12-31T13:22:00.000+01:00

2014

VISITS
-My family visited in January, finally had Christmas food I hadn´t had in 3 years!!!!
-Alexandra, Minna and Ligia came to visit us in Los Angeles

DAILY LIFE
-Comedy at the Comedy Store and Flappers
-Saw Book of Mormon, Little Shop of Horror and Vagina Monologues
-Thousand game nights with Steve, Mike, Hanna and more
-Saw our friends rock out with their bands
-Sex and the City Night with Moa
-Drinks with the Disney Girl Group
-Hiking with the Bucks

WORK
-Left Sugar Factory, PartyStaff and LA Fitness to focus on our company
-Side work: Quiz Up, Paid Audience Work (SRO/BTS), Special Events Staffing, Universal, Graumans and background work (How to Get Away with Murder)

TRAVEL
-Las Vegas with Alfredo and Ligia
-Michigan, visited Dan´s parents and friends
-Norco, visiting Dan´s extended family
-Iceland, Dan´s first visit, radio/magazine interviews, sight seeing, meeting friends/family
-Boston, visiting my relative Thor and sightseeing. Loved BOSTON!
-Florida, Two houses with my family, my love Dan and best friend Frikki. Amazing trip!
(Universal and Disneyworld)

SAW
Cameron Diaz, Celine Dion, Queen Latifah, Wayne Brady, Michelle Williams, Mike Epps, Lisa Edelstein, John Payne (Asia), Jon Lovitz, Andy Dick, Stephen Merchant, Dana Carvey, Pauly Shore, Jeff Garlin, Bill Burr, Bobby Lee, Chris D´Elia, Whitney Cummings, Brent Morin, Ron Funches, Paul Adelstein, Cast of 10 Things I Hate About You (David Krumholtz, Susan May Pratt, Andrew Keegan and Joseph Gordon Levitt, that´s right), Viola Davis and the Cast of How to Get Away with Murder and cast of How I Met Your Mother (except for Jason Segel/ Neil Patrick Harris)

ATTENDED
Queen Latifah show
The Real
The Chase
Sex Box

SUCCESSES
-Formed our company/podcast Entertainment Drive-Thru (Listeners in 125 countries)
-Released the song "Show Me Love" by our band Anna and the Bells
-The song got played for the first time on the radio
-2 Radio interviews on Bylgjan and Kaninn in Iceland
-Articles in Frettabladid and Vikan
-Passed the Driver´s Test!
-Became a certified bartender

We´ve lost friends and roommates but we also met some amazing people.
It´s been a really challenging year but also amazing. That´s LA for you!

Iceland - Boston - Florida - LA

2014-10-12T08:38:00.002+02:00

WHAT´S UP DOC

ENTERTAINMENT DRIVE-THRU
We have listeners in 115 countries and have been listed in New&Noteworthy and What´s Hot section. With almost 150 episodes, we are very proud of our show. We changed it from daily to weekly so we wouldn´t kill ourselves and could pursue our other passion: music

Success Story at MI: http://mi.edu/student-life/success-stories/dan-anna-zerin/

Interview with Modernpreneur:
http://www.modernpreneur.com/14-music-industry-changed-musician-can-benefit/

ICELAND
Dan´s first visit to Iceland so showed him all the main places and bars of course. My best friend Frikki got married, I was his maid of honor/best woman. Had a Zumba Masterclass. Did 3 photo shoots and interviews, including 2 radio interviews, one where Anna and The Bells song "Show Me Love" was played on the radio for the first time. What a feeling!

Best of all to meet my family and friends back at home. I hadn´t seen them for a while.

VIKAN

FRÉTTABLAÐIÐ
http://www.visir.is/islendingur-kennir-folki-ad-na-langt-i-hollywood/article/2014708059993?fb_action_ids=10100956155544088&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=top&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

BOSTON
We stopped in Boston on our way back to LA at my relative Thor´s place and saw Boston Commons, took a tour of Sam Adam´s Brewery and walked along the Freedom trail. Of course we had tons of Clam Chowder and stopped where "Everybody Knows Your Name"=Cheers. I fell in love with Boston. What a beautiful city!

FLORIDA
Family vacation! Even Frikki was there for the Zumba convention so it felt like the whole family was there. Loved getting to know my nieces, I hadn´t seen them since they were little. We spent the days swimming in the swimming pool, shopping, eating at restaurants and going to Universal and Disney World. The Harry Potter World at Universal was AMAZING!

OTHER
-networking events, my favorite by far NARIP events
-Asia Launch Party feat. John Payne
-seeing our friends in concert
-networking and BBQ at The Piano Bar
-became a certified bartender after Bartending course at ABC Bartending School

ITUNES, SPOTIFY, BANDCAMP, ETCHear and Buy "Show Me Love" on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp
Think Jessica Rabbit meets Joan Jett :)

Has gotten radio play and on different podcast. Great response so far!

LYFT
Love Lyft so much I became a brand ambassador.
Take your first LYFT ride FOR FREE ($25) ...You´re welcome!
https://www.lyft.com/invited/awesome100

Hello 2014

2014-04-28T10:02:00.001+02:00

"Time flies by when you´re having fun".....

or in my case, when you form your own company :P

Dan and I formed our own company called Entertainment Drive-Thru, a daily podcast where we interview today´s most inspiring people in the entertainment industry.
www.entertainmentdrivethru.com

After a month we´ve had listeners in over 60 countries, 6 out of 7 continents and listed in New&Noteworthy in Music, TV&Film and Business! Really happy with the success!

Here´s the tidbits of my year so far

-been hanging out at the Comedy Store, hanging with friends and scouting for interviewees

-My family visited and after 3 years missing Christmas finally had Claessen Christmas appetizer with my family. So happy to be with them and my amazing husband

-Zumba conference with my mom and sister, so great to see them

-My best friend Alexandra visited, we were both crazy busy workaholics but at least spent her birthday with her and cocktails at Roosevelt like we do :P

-Minna visited from Finland, we went to a music business seminar at The Cool School, so awesome!

-supported my husband and friends and saw them perform

-Ligia, my Romanian friend came all the way from Germany to see us. Was a workaholic but thanks to our friend Alfredo we took Ligia to Vegas and had a blast, including seeing Celine Dion, playing Sex and the City slot machine with a cosmo in hand and strip club (when in Vegas :P )

-Sex and the city and wine with my girl Moa...gotta have girls night

-Saw Jeff Garlin perform at Flappers with Dan, Steve and Mimi

-Left the catering and Sugar Factory job, it was too much work. Want to focus on my company!

-Thousands of game night with Hanna, Mike, Steve and other good friends. So thankful to have them

Been workaholics lately but try to go out regularly and at least have game nights with friends. Super excited for Crystal and Jeremie moving to LA and hopefully we´ll find a house together. that´s the next step, as for the podcast, amazing guests on the way!

Love my job thought, meeting so many people, getting so much advice and exciting things happening.
STAY TUNED!

Goodbye 2013

2014-01-07T09:23:00.000+01:00

2013
-got engaged on New Years Eve at Disneyland....1.1.2013
-March 21, 2013 I married the love of my life and became Mrs. Anna Zerin
-Graduated with my husband, band and family all there....Mr&Mrs. Dan and Anna Zerin
-Mini honeymoon in Solvang, Santa Barbara
-2 weeks in Michigan, West Bloomfield and Kalamazoo with Dan´s family and friends.
-Kevin and Eric moved out and Crystal moved in.
-Was a model for E! makeup school
-Interviewed Allan Rich (wrote Whitney Houston´s hit "Run to You") for MI Express
-Zumba Fitness Conference with my mom, Zumba Fitness, Zumbatomic, Zumba Toning, Zumba Sentao and Aqua Zumba
-Got interviewed by Frettablaðið, an Icelandic newspaper
http://www.visir.is/anna-claessen-lifir-drauminn-i-hollywood/article/2013706259993
-Raised money for our band Anna and the Bells
-Got the Green Card
-Worked for Sugar Factory, Quiz Up, LA Fitness, Party Staff and Mary Kay
-Gamenight with friends...always a blast!!!
-Got to be a zombie in HARRP´s music video "Dead To Me" and film behind the scenes.
-The following people came to LA: my whole family, Alexandra and Emelie
-First Jewish Wedding and first baseball game ever....thanks Jacqui and Mark :)

-Went to the following concerts:
HARRP (Dragonfly, Viper Room, The Roxy, Loaded, Ireland 52's )
Jónína (Genghis Cohen) The Evening Guests (Skinny´s) Lonely Trees (Art Show Downtown) Arson Strike (Rainbow) Dead Heroine (King King) Brooklyn&The City Stones and Joan Jett!

-Saw the Sound City Players and Paul McCartney shut down Hollywood Blvd with an epic concert. IMAGINE everyone on the BLVD singing "Hey Jude" and "Jessie's Girl"

-Met Dave Navarro, Peter Dobson, Rosamund Pike, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme and Jay Chandrasekhar and saw Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jon Voight, George Lucas, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Diane Keaton, Angela Lansbury, Jake Gyllenhall, Judd Apatow, Matthew McConaughey, Octavia Spencer, Bill Hader, Pharrell, Kristin Chenoweth, Gena Rowlands (Notebook), John Goodman, Joan Jett, Chris D'Elia, Bobby Lee, Ashton Kutcher, Michael C. Hall (aka Dexter), Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey

-Our band Anna and the Bells is currently recording its first EP at Stage Red Studios.
Can´t wait to hear the final product....stay tuned on www.annaandthebells.com

Birthday, Christmas and New Years

2014-01-07T09:10:00.001+01:00

Birthday

What an awesome birthday...me and my man Dan took our own tour of Dash, Greystone Manor, My Name is Earl, Grey´s Anatomy and Back to the Future. Got a Sprinkles cupcake from an ATM and had Burger King where Doc Brown´s house (from Back to the Future) used to be. When I came home he gave me my awesome present....a Minnie Mouse Snuggie and hat. It´s soooo adorable and comfortable! Ended the night at Blue Palms Brewhouse, him with the best beer in USA and me with a cosmo. I survived the rockstar age of 27 and think 28 will be an awesome one.

Dec.21
Saved Dan's friends from LAX and we took them to their friends in Hermosa Beach where we went to a British pub Underground as well as hung out with his friend.

Dec.24
Celebrated Christmas by skype-ing my family in Iceland at noon and then had Filet Mignon and red wine with my husband while watching White Christmas (starring Dan´s favourite actor Danny Kaye) and Jingle All the Way (90´s). Merry Christmas or as we say in Iceland "Gleðileg jól!"

Dec.25
Spent American Christmas (Dec.25) working at the Sugar Factory with fun co-workers selling tons of couture pops. Ended the night with my husband Dan and our awesome friends Bunny and Kent, who cooked a delicious meal for us (glazed ham, with green bean casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, mashed potatoes, fudge, and chocolate torte). Topped it off with game night. Reminded me of Christmas at home. Great day!

Was working at the Sugar Factory during the holidays and on New Years Eve we went to Viv/Alex´s place for a little party. Hard to top last year, where Dan proposed at Disneyland so I was just happy to spend the new year with my husband happy in love. Happy 2014!!!!

Sept-Dec 2013

2013-12-31T09:49:00.001+01:00

Dan´s birthday
-Dan´s favourite actor is Danny Kaye so I took him to his exhibition at Walt Disney Concert Hall. We took Glenn with us and did a Halloween movie tour as well. To top it off we ended the night with a party for Dan, with his closest friends. I gave him an autographed picture of Oasis, since Noel Gallagher is the reason he became a guitarist, a beer sign that he loves and finally Nightmare on Elmstreet on Blu-Ray, since Robert Englund (Freddie) is his other favourite actor. Great day!

We celebrated our 6 month wedding anniversary, so we had dinner at Maggianos where we got married. We ended the evening with playing Anna and the Bells acoustic set at Sheddys. So fortunate to have a partner in life and music.

Thanks to Jimmy Kimmel....Paul McCartney shut down Hollywood Blvd with an epic concert. IMAGINE everyone on the BLVD singing "Hey Jude"....needless to say I got goosebumps. I wanna write a song that means that much to people and everyone loves.To top it off, my tweet about meeting my husband at Jimmy Kimmel was shown on Screen.

Catering
I got a job at PartyStaff (a staffing company) after a quiz, class and an interview I was ready to go.

Catered the following events:
-Hairstyling event for Wolfgang Puck at LA Live was fun, my first gig, learned a lot
-Reagan Library Presidential Center in Simi Valley at a Pro Life Convention. Interesting to say the least. Such a beautiful area and there's an actual helicopter and a plane inside the venue.
-Tender Greens during Fashion Week for the mayor. Short shift and quick. Nice speech mayor!
-Bravo event at BLVD.. it was cool, they had a dancer in a swing over a pond and guys on stilts.
-UCLA for parents weekend. The campus is stunning, made me wanna study there.
-Californian Lutheran University Thousand Oaks...toughest shift. Communication is key people!
-California Science Center where we catered inside where they have the spaceship the Endeavor!
-Governor´s award was amazing. The room was decorated like the Oscars and I saw Tom Hanks, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jon Voight, George Lucas, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Diane Keaton, Angela Lansbury, Jake Gyllenhall, Judd Apatow, Matthew McConaughey, Octavia Spencer, Bill Hader, Pharrell, Kristin Chenoweth, Gena Rowlands (Notebook), John Goodman among others....SURREAL!!!! Governors Awards was breathtaking.For a girl who fell in love with Hollywood through movies and especially the Oscars....this was heaven.
-Thanksgiving was spent at a home party. Enjoyed meeting people but it was really hard.

Zumba at LA fitness
Got my own regular class on Thursdays 8 pm at Beverly/Wilshire but substituted at:
-Downtown Macys, North Hollywood and La Cinega were a blast, sooo many people
-Westwood was similar to Beverly Hills, but at least the people there really liked me.
-Hollywood El Centro had dedicated people. Appreciate it.

Got a job at Sugar Factory as well as writing questions for an amazing app called QuizUp. I´m focused on that right now as well as teaching Zumba.

Driving Test in L.A.
Failed the first written test and passed the second time. Turns out there are a lot of different rules in US then in Europe. Then it came to the actual driving test. Despite having driven for 10+ years in Iceland I had to take a drivers test....and FAILED TWICE. They are insanely picky here and I feel they don't test on things that actually matter. I feel they should take you on a freeway and parallel park. Here its all about the little things and they fail you easily. Now i'm just getting my confidence up and studying to make sure i pass the third time. Third times the charm!

Hello San Francisco
Had a blast visiting Dan's relatives in Grass Valley. they have the most beautiful ranch with horses. The area reminded me of a western movie. Had lunch with them in Napa and then off to Berkeley and Oakland to visit family and friends. So happy to hang out with my in-laws...i missed them.

Rockstar husband and friends

Saw Moa rock out with her band Dead Heroine at King King. I´m so proud of her, she´s been playing in the Kiss girl tribute band called Priss. Our friend Steve also rocked at The Rainbow. Crystal also did her first gigs outside MI with her band Brooklyn&The City Stones. So proud of her.

Harrp promoted their music video and performed at Ireland´s 32 right before Halloween so everyone dressed up. It was awesome. Dan dressed up as Rob Zombie and me Minnie Mouse. We said Rob Zombie stole me from Disneyland :P

They also rocked out at the Roxy and Viper Room. I´m so proud of my rockstar!

Met Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme and Jay from Super Troopers after their show at Flappers.They were so nice and Steve talked to us for a long time about Iceland. Apparently he's been there twice.

Saving my birthday, Christmas and New Years for next blog....until next time :)

Zombie in HARRP - Dead To Me (Official Music Video)

2013-10-08T12:38:00.001+02:00

My husband, rockstar Dan Zerin, is the guitarist in this amazing music video "Dead to Me" by Harrp (www.harrpmusic.com). I had the honor of filming behind the scenes and being a zombie, you can see me vaguely in few of the scenes (mostly at the bar). So proud to be a part of it!!!

Just in time for Halloween.... Walking Dead what.... "Baby you are dead to me"

Zombie Beauty Consultant recording an album

2013-09-20T21:30:00.000+02:00

Joined Mary Kay as a beauty consultant.

Spend my spare time doing facials with friends and get paid to do so...how awesome!

www.marykay.com/annazerin

Meeting friends
Met my girl Mina, who I haven´t seen since Vienna 2008. Great to see friends you haven´t seen in a long time. Especially as kind and positive as her. Check out her group on fb Happy Smiley Days, https://www.facebook.com/groups/520089904712372/

My best friend Alexandra also came to L.A. on a business trip. I only got one evening to spend with her but it meant the world to me.She was my bridesmaid at the wedding. Miss her so much!

Crystal´s boyfriend Jeremie came to visit from N.Y. Best time Ever!!! We all got along so well. Never seen Crystal so happy. He was there for her final showcase, which she rocked!!!!!!!!!!Check out her band Brooklyn and the City Stones on https://www.facebook.com/Bkstones

Amazing couple as you can see on the photo.

Zombie in a music video

Got to be a zombie in HARRP´s music video "Dead To Me" and film behind the scenes. A fun sleepless weekend. Should be out around Halloween. Stay tuned:

Like: www.facebook.com/harrpmusic
Follow: www.twitter.com/HARRPmusic
www.harrpmusic.com

Recording

Our band Anna and the Bells is currently recording its first EP at Stage Red Studios.
Can´t wait to hear the final product....stay tuned on www.annaandthebells.com

Otherwise enjoying my time with my husband and friends.

First Jewish Wedding

2013-09-20T06:07:00.002+02:00

Dan´s best friend Jacqui asked him to be the man of honor at her wedding so we headed to Michigan

Boy did they take care of it´s guests.

My first baseball game ever.

-Took us to a baseball game...Detroit Tigers vs. White Sox!

It was more entertaining than I thought, between the beer, hot dogs and tons of games on the screen,

I had a blast.

Took us to lunch at Maggianos, reminiscent of our wedding, since our reception was held at a Maggianos in L.A. They also had cocktails and dinner.

We had rehearsal dinner, where I got to play the bride. Finally got to walk down an isle. At my wedding the only walk I did was through the metal detector at the courthouse. The whole wedding party had a blast learning all about the rituals. Great group of people.

First Jewish Wedding

The wedding was held in a hotel in Troy, Michigan

The couple, parents and bridesmaids/groomsmen got together in a room where the couple signed the Michigan wedding license as well as the jewish one.

Then the ceremony started like a normal one, walking down an isle to a Chuppah, symbolizing the home they´ll build together. The rabbi spoke of love and marriage and finally pronounced them husband and wife. It was beautiful. The reception was the best, dancing the Hora and other dances, one group dance i´d never danced before. I taught Dan Jive and we danced the whole night. Such fun!

We also got the chance to hang out with Dan´s parents, his sister and friends. I love visiting Michigan. His parents always take such good care of us and his friends are hilarious.

Thanks Mark and Jacqui for letting us be a part of your special day.
Thanks Dan´s family and friends for always taking good care of us when we´re in Michigan
Love, Anna

GOT THE GREEN CARD!!!!

2013-08-13T03:21:00.000+02:00

Officially a US Permanent Resident...

After 4 months, lawyer, biometrics, social security office visit, interview and way too much money.

I love USA but their system is hard for foreigners, which is why i´m overjoyed to be able to live and work here and spend the rest of my life with my husband :)

Anna and the Bells Promo

2013-07-13T09:39:00.001+02:00

In the News

2013-06-28T17:03:00.000+02:00

Got interviewed by Frettablaðið, an Icelandic newspaper (see frong page and p.30 )
http://vefblod.visir.is/index.php?s=7187&p=154513

and online
http://www.visir.is/anna-claessen-lifir-drauminn-i-hollywood/article/2013706259993

All promoting our Indiegogo campaign
http://igg.me/at/annaandthebells/x/3419180

Thanks Hanna at Frettablaðið. Refreshing to finally have a good article written about you.

Be a part of our first EP and music video

2013-06-04T01:50:00.002+02:00

Be a part of Anna and the Bells first EP and music video!

Check out the awesome video and perks

LIke, share, donate and tell everyore!!!!

First 100 to donate get a anna and the bells sticker
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/be-a-part-of-anna-and-the-bells-first-ep-and-music-video/x/3419180#share

April-May 2013

2013-05-20T10:06:00.001+02:00

April-May 2013

While waiting for a Green Card, I am not allowed to work or travel outside the States.
Until then, I enjoy the time with my husband, friends and work on our band Anna and the Bells

Been to the following concerts

HARRP (Dragonfly)

Jónína (Genghis Cohen)

Evening Guests (Skinny´s)

Lonely Trees (Art Show Downtown LA)

So fortunate to have such talented friends. An honor to know them.

I´m gonna miss Jonina, but she left to Iceland

-Kevin moved out and Crystal moved in. So happy to have a friend, female roomate :)
We also switched rooms so we finally have the big room. Finally my own closet.

-Crystal gave me her guitar, a white daisy rock guitar. Its´wonderful!

First song I learned to play....."Smelly Cat" by Phoebe Buffay...yes i love Friends that much!
have been learning the open chords lately and my picking technique.

Gamenight with friends... played Cranium with Martha, Crystal, Steve and Dan. Such fun!

Brendan invited us to another Flavin family gathering. Celebrating his birthday with drinks and a scavenger hunt. Gotta love Brendan´s family with their fun and games.

Met Martina and Moa for some wine. Nothing like a girls night.

Speaking of friends, I skyped with my friends Ligia and Aga in Vienna, Austria. I´ve missed my girlfriends around the world so much. It´s hard to keep in touch because of the time difference but when we do it´s like no time has passed. That´s good friends.

New good friends are hard to find, so it´s special when you do. Annalee did the makeup for my wedding so I stopped by her place with an Icelandic easter egg and the rest of the money I owed her. I introduced her to my husband, Dan, and she introduced me to hers, Henry. We talked for hours and ended up staying for dinner and drinks. It was one of those nights you didn´t want to end.

We met them a month later at Annalee´s concert with Lonely Trees. Great concert and then we went with them to Little Tokyo. Had drinks at a karaoke place and then had some Ramen.

Michael, Dan´s dad, came to town for business, so we went out to Taylors, a steak house in China Town. Loved the atmosphere and service. Also caught up with his friends at another restaurant.

My friend Emelie also came to town all the way from Sweden.

We caught up with cocktails at Cabo Wabo and shopping at Amoeba.

With all this time to spare, I became a model for E! makeup school. I´ve been really fortunate to have some great makeup artist, first Ieva and then Monika. Both wonderful people.

Our band Anna and the Bells celebrated

-no 1 on reverbnation, 2,500 fans, 9,000 twitter followers

We have some big plans for Anna and the Bells

stay tuned on www.facebook.com/annaandthebells