Seven Lies About Homeschooling - Video

One of my One Year Adventure Novel (OYAN) friends posted this on forum and I thought it was awesome. =D

Pointe!!!

As can be assumed, I'm loving pointe right now. There is nothing more fun than jumping up onto your toes, feeling the little bit of pain (okay...a lot sometimes LOL) and dancing around. It makes me feel like a fairy or something, because when I'm on pointe, even though I can't do much yet, it's just like I'm in a different world. Nothing else is going on--it's just me and the music.

(Note - that's not me. =P)

Sentimental stuff aside, I wanted to put a little information about pointe up here, that way you all understand why and how I'm standing on my toes.

The padding I use to keep my toes from hurting too much is called an Ouch Pouch. These are just small, gel filled pouches that look weird (as you can see above). While they aren't very thick at all, there is a huge difference from dancing with these on and without them. 

This is the information that was on the box when I got my pointe shoes. They are Bloch Axioms, size 5.5 and obviously...pink. 

This is what my shoes looked like before I started dancing in them and before I sewed the ribbons on. A few pictures down you'll see that there is already some dirt from the floor and rosin (a powder that dancers put on their shoes to keep them from being slippery) on them. But they're still pretty. 

As you can see on the box (the part of the shoe I'm standing on) there is some dust from the rosin and some other stuff that I'm not quite sure where it came from. This position is second and it's, in my opinion, the hardest position to stand in, just because your weight is spread out so far over your feet.

Ballet has been around for a long time. Historians say that it started in King Louis XIV's court and it has progressed since then. Pointe shoes have stayed pretty much the same though. Years ago they were made out of cardboard and glue and still today, it's what they are made out of. Although there is a new brand, Gaynor Minden, that has made it's shoes with materials very similar to whats in athletic shoes such as sneakers, many teachers prefer their students to use traditional shoes. The belief behind this is that it will build more muscle and cause the dancer to rely more on their body to do the work, rather than the shoes.

This is all on pointe for now...I'll be writing more soon and posting more pictures as I progress. 

You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban

I absolutely love this song.

New Years Resolution

I usually don't make New Year's resolutions, but this year I changed my mind. I decided that for one of my resolutions, I would like to learn this variation from the ballet Giselle. I've already started on it and it's actually not that hard of steps, just getting the timing right is the hard part. =P

Merging blogs

A while back, I started a blog for my horse, Kezi. Since then I have picked up this blog and my Anatomy of a Creation blog. Posts from Kezi's blog will now be published on here, along with the rest of my posts.

~Katie

Pointe Shoes!

I know what you're thinking. There is no logical progression at all to this person's blog posts! Well...that's just me. My mind bounces from one thing to another without stopping to consider if it has anything to do with the last thing. =P

On Monday the 28th I got...*drumroll*...pointe shoes!!! Below are pictures of my shoes, the padding I wear and information on the shoes.

Ouch Pouch on my foot

Ouch pouches...pretty weird shape right? =P

Information on my shoes. 

Prettyful

Me standing in coupe (sp?) holding onto my sister's bunk bed. =P

1860's Dress (Post 1)

I was bored this afternoon and decided to start on a project over Christmas break.

(I'm making the red dress)

The fabric I chose for the project is olive green and I'm assuming it's 100% cotton. We got the fabric a while ago, so I couldn't find the information on it. The lace is going to be white and I decided not to make the bonnet for it. 

I'll be posting updates as I make it! The fabric is in the washer right now, so hopefully there will be another post tomorrow!

Moonbeam now available in eBook format!

Moonbeam is now available on Lulu in eBook format! Click here to go to the Lulu page. This is the same book that I self-published a few weeks ago. Please pass the information on to anyone you think might be interested.

I could have danced all night!

I just got home from the Christmas Celtic Ball. So much fun!! I went with my Dad and to quote My Fair Lady, "I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night and still have begged for more!!". It was absolutely exhausting because of all the bouncy Scottish type dancing, but I enjoyed it. =) (Oh and in case you're not sure who I am, I'm the girl with curly hair wearing the black dress/tiara. My hair is usually straight but my friend managed to curl it!! =D)

Fireplace + Friend + Christmas tree = picture moment!!

Playing volleyball.

Picture by the Christmas Tree.

Group picture. 

Moonbeam - Self Published and for sale!!

*drumroll* I published my first book today!!  It's the novel that I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year and submitted to the novel contest. Moonbeam is now for sale on Lulu.com for $10.99.http://www.lulu.com/...onbeam/18715556 If you've read the book, I would appreciate it if you could leave a review/rating on the page. The cover art was done by my awesome friend/adopted big sister. I'm just so excited that I don't even know what to do except give you the link and ask you to check it out!!  *bounces*

Synopsis:

Moonbeam lives in the magical land of Glaucio. She is the daughter of the Fiona, lead mare of the main herd in the land. When Fiona is brutally killed by Abaddon, the villain, Moonbeam is thrust into command of the herd. She must battle against Abaddon and his evil forces using her innocence and the gift from an older horse, Daryn. Abaddon wishes to kill Stardust, the stallion in charge of all the land. If he succeeds, Glaucio will be cast into 300 years of darkness, evilness and despair

Excerpt:

I never finished my sentence. A malicious laugh followed by a pathetic whinny reached my ears. My heart skipped a beat. I looked at Ellipse and her eyes were wide with fear, as I’m sure mine were.

Looking around the corner, I saw something that I wish I had never seen. My mother, Fiona, lead mare of the herd, lay in the middle of the clearing. Her coat was bruised and blood dirtied her pure white coat. She was breathing heavily.

I looked around for the one who had committed this treacherous deed and saw him. My legs almost collapsed beneath me. Out of the trees came the most dreaded horse in all the land. Abbadon.

“Come in here Moonbeam and see what I have done,” He invited, his lips curled up in an evil smile.

Lowering my head, I jogged towards my mother. Stopping beside her, I inspected her wounds more carefully. Her eyes were laced with pain and I could sense her silently pleading me to leave. I again looked at her wounds. Pain gripped my heart as I discovered she wouldn’t make it.

“Oh the poor dear,” sneered Abbadon, “You’ll just have to learn to live with disappointment now, won’t you?”

“Why? Why did you do this? What right have you to come and kill…” a lump caught in my throat, “kill innocent horses?” I finished, still keeping my head low.

He snorted maliciously. “I see you have learned from our last encounter, Moonbeam. You now keep your eyes down.”

Everything inside me told me to strike out and injure him, but somehow I restrained myself. After a deep breath, I responded, “You didn’t answer my question, but yes. I have learned. I have learned how evil you really are!”

Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to pass the link on to anyone you think might be interested. If you'd like to also pass on the excerpt/cover art/synopsis, please email me at princess00kacia @ gmail dot com.

~Katie