HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! (HARVEST CORNUCOPIAS)

 

 

GORGEOUS NEW "HARVEST CORNUCOPIA" POSTER!!!!

 

I REPLACED THE "E" IN "HARVEST" WITH A MAPLE LEAF!!!!

 

NOTICE THE SECOND "O" IN "CORNUCOPIA" IS A PUMPKIN WITH MY FACE "CARVED" IN IT???

 

I LIKE TO BE AS CREATIVE AS POSSIBLE WITH MY ARTWORK FOR MY CONCERTS!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

 

 A GORGEOUS FLOWER 
& SOME DECORATIONS
 CREATE A CUTE TURKEY!

 



HUNGER GAMES: KATNISS, KATDEEN or KIRNISS?

 

 

KATNISS.

 

I REALLY LIKE THAT NAME, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES I TRIP OVER IT

AND CALL HER

KATDEEN EVERNISS

BY ACCIDENT!

 

OOPS!!

 

LOL!   :)

 

THE REASON WHY I LIKE IT IS BECAUSE IT IS PRETTY AND UNUSUAL.

 

MY MOM WANTED ME TO HAVE A NAME THAT WAS PRETTY AND UNUSUAL,TOO,

AND SO SHE CAME UP WITH

KIRA.

 

RELUCTANTLY.

 

SHE WAS CONVINCED SHE WAS HAVING A BOY AND HAD CHOSEN NOT TO FIND OUT WHO SHE WAS CARRYING, PREFERRING TO BE SURPRISED AT THE BIRTH.

 

SO, SHE HAD SOME GREAT BOYS NAMES, (I HEAR ALEXANDER WAS AT THE TOP OF HER LIST ALONG WITH A FEW OTHERS), BUT ALAS, NO GIRLS NAMES UP UNTIL THE LAST WEEK BEFORE HER DUE DATE.

 

THINKING IT WOULD BE WISE TO HAVE A GIRL'S NAME IN STORAGE (JUST IN CASE!!)

SHE CHOSE KIRA.

 

SHE HAD BEEN READING AYN RAND'S BOOK

 

"WE THE LIVING",

 

AND SHE WAS IMPRESSED BY THE HEROINE OF THE NOVEL. ESPECIALLY HER STRENGTH AND SPIRIT.

 

(A GREAT PLOT SYNOPSIS IS AVAILABLE ON WIKIPEDIA...HERE ARE SOME EXCERPTS FROM THAT WEBSITE. DO THEY SEEM SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR? BOY, SO MANY TYPES OF PARALLELS TO THE HUNGER GAMES INCLUDING A LOVE TRIANGLE TO BOOT!)

 

 

Kira Argounova, the protagonist of the story, is the younger daughter of a bourgeois family. An independent spirit with a will to match, she rejects any attempt by her family or the nascent Soviet State to cast her into a mold.

 

She plans to storm the male bastion of engineers, and show her prowess by building structures like a lightweight aluminum bridge. Kira's strength of resolve to fulfill her dream is asserted at various points in the storyline. Becoming a highly competent engineer would be Kira's carving for herself a niche in a society that has become characterless and anonymous, and whose primary purpose in life has been reduced to subsistence rather than excellence.

 

The severity of life in the newly Socialist Russia is biting and cruel, especially for the people belonging to the now-stigmatized middle class.

 

THERE USED TO BE FEW OF US

"KIRAS"

AROUND.

GROWING UP, I ACTUALLY ONLY KNEW OF ONE MORE GIRL NAMED

KIRA.

 

THEN A FEW YEARS BACK, IT BECAME ONE OF THE "HOT BABY NAMES" AND NOW WE ARE A DIME A DOZEN!

SIGH.

"KIRA" IS STILL PRETTY,

 BUT SLIGHTLY LESS UNUSUAL NOW.

SIGH.

 

THEN THERE IS THE STORY OF THE FRANKLIN PARK ZOO! THEY HAD A NEW BABY GORILLA AND HAD A PUBLIC CONTEST TO DECIDE WHAT TO NAME HER.

 

HERE IS WHAT THE FRANKLIN PARK ZOO'S WEBSITE HAS TO SAY ABOUT HER:

 

Kira is the offspring of Kit and Kiki, and she was parent-raised. She's been learning mothering skills from her mom, Kiki, by watching her care for her two younger sisters, Kimani and Kambiri.

Kira is described as the "peacemaker" of the gorilla group. She is very protective of her two younger sisters.

Her mother, Kiki, has been described as the group's queen, and Kira is definitely the princess. Zookeepers say she is just like her mother.

 

 

I SEEM TO REMEMBER THAT THEY RECEIVED THOUSANDS OF SUGGESTIONS BUT WHEN THE DUST CLEARED,

"KIRA"

 WAS CHOSEN!

YEAH!!!

 

I FOUND THIS OLD NEWSPAPER CLIP AT THE SUN JOURNAL'S WEBSITE:

 

 

 

SO, THERE YOU GO...

MEANS "STRONG WOMAN".

YUP.

ANY WAY YOU SLICE AND DICE IT.

 

OF COURSE, WHEN I AM ASKED MY NAME BY STRANGERS, THEY OFTEN INCORRECTLY ASSUME I SPELL MY NAME:

"KEIRA".

AS IN KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, OF COURSE.

 

MY STOCK ANSWER THAT ALWAYS ELICITS A SMILE IS:

"I SPELL MY NAME K.I.R.A, AS I'VE DROPPED THE "E" BECAUSE I FIND I CAN JUMP HIGHER WITHOUT THE EXTRA LETTER."

 :)

 

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT.

AS SHAKESPEARE SAID,

"WHAT'S IN A NAME? 

THAT WHICH WE CALL A ROSE

 BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD

SMELL AS SWEET"...

 

MAYBE,

BUT I'M STICKING WITH KIRA.

 

ALTHOUGH ONE CAN HAVE FUN WITH THE IDEA OF A...

"KIRNISS EVERMON???

 



HUNGRY FOR THE HUNGER GAMES!!!

 

 

HUNGRY, STARVED, RAVENOUS & FAMISHED FOR THE HUNGER GAMES!!!

 

"CATCHING FIRE"

COMING OUT SOON!!!

 

I ACTUALLY MISSED THIS AMAZING MOVIE LAST YEAR WHEN IT CAME OUT AND HAVE ONLY SEEN IT ON DVD.

 

THEY THINK OF EVERYTHING...

 

FOR THE RELEASE OF THE NEWEST MOVIE, THEY ARE DOING THE DOUBLE FEATURE OF PART 1 AND PART 2 ON THURSDAY!

 

AWESOME!!!

 

GUESS WHERE I'LL BE?

 

(PHOTO OF MY BAG I BOUGHT AT CAFEPRESS)

HUNGER GAMES: KEEP CALM AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!!!

 

(PARTIAL QUOTE FROM

THE HUNGER GAMES)

 

HOW PERFECT?...

 

COMBINING

"KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON"

WITH

"MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR"...

 

I DID MY OWN VERSION RECENTLY FOR MY AWARD-WINNING INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO:

"RAISING THE BARRE,

KEEP CALM AND DANCE ON"!!

 

 

 

 

THIS VIDEO WON

DANCE TEACHER

INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO OF THE MONTH, VIEWER'S CHOICE!!!

http://dancemedia.com/v/8633

 

 

I SHARE MY FOCUSING TECHNIQUES FOR DANCERS IN THE VIDEO.

 

I SURVIVED A "BALLET BLIZZARD", (WHERE AS A SNOWFLAKE IN THE NUTCRACKER), A TECHNICAL GLITCH CAUSED SNOW TO BE DUMPED DOWN ON ME ALL IN A HEAP INSTEAD OF SPRINKLING DOWN GENTLY THROUGHOUT THE DANCE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I DON'T KNOW IF THE ODDS WERE EXACTLY IN MY FAVOR JUST THEN,

BUT

"KEEPING CALM AND DANCING ON" ALLOWED ME TO

LEAP INTO THE NEWSPAPER!!

 

(The blog's first photo shows my cafepress tote bag)

 

 

FOOTNOTE:

 

WAIT!! 

PERHAPS THE ODDS ACTUALLY WERE IN MY FAVOR...

IF IT WAS JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY

"DAY AT THE OFFICE"

 ( A ROUTINE SNOW PERFORMANCE),

I WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO WRITE ABOUT HERE, WOULD I? CERTAINLY NOT THE "HEROICS" OF FORGING ON THROUGH A PERFORMANCE IN A "BLINDING SNOWSTORM", DANCING ON DANGEROUS SNOW HEAPS ON THE GROUND, ETC., ETC., ETC.!!!

 

WHICH JUST SEGUES US

INTO ANOTHER QUOTE:

 

"WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS,

MAKE LEMONADE"!!!

 

 



HUNGER GAMES: THE ONLY THING STRONGER THAN FEAR IS HOPE!!!

 

"HOPE. IT IS THE

ONLY THING STRONGER THAN FEAR."

(QUOTE FROM THE HUNGER GAMES)

 

WITH MY MOM'S ILLNESS, AND WITH ALL THE CHALLENGES I'VE GONE THROUGH IN MY LIFE, I REALIZE THIS QUOTE SPEAKS TO ME IN A REALLY POWERFUL WAY.

 

MY MOM'S DOCTORS THOUGHT SHE WOULD DIE IN ONE MONTH BUT SHE HASN'T!!

 

AS YOU MAY RECALL FROM MY EARLIER BLOG POST "MY GUIDING LIGHT", I FOUND INFO THAT DIRECTLY HELPED WITH HER MEDICAL CONDITION!!

 

EVERYONE TRIED TO TELL ME SHE WAS IN A "HOPELESS" STATE AND TRIED TO MAKE ME HOPELESS,TOO.

 

AS MY BLOG POST SHOWED, I FOUGHT AGAINST THE TIDE OF HOPELESSNESS AND FOUND NEW CONCRETE ANSWERS TO HELP HER...

 

WHAT A POWERFUL QUOTE FROM SUCH A POWERFUL AUTHOR.

 

THANK YOU, SUZANNE COLLINS, FOR ARTICULATING WHAT I WAS STRIVING FOR ON MY OWN.

 

(PHOTO SHOWS A WALL HANGING

 FOUND ON ETSY FROM STEPHIISHOP)

 

FRIDAY...DO YOU KNOW WHY IT'S CALLED FRIDAY???

DO YOU KNOW WHY IT'S CALLED

"FRIDAY"??

 

BECAUSE YOU ARE SO "FRIED" FROM DEALING WITH ALL OF THE

 STRESS OF THE WEEK!!

IN FACT, IT COULD EVEN BE PRONOUNCED
"FRIED-AY" AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED.

 

BUT NOT TO FEAR, BECAUSE AFTER "FRIDAY", THERE COMES

THE "WEEKEND"!!!

 

DO YOU KNOW WHAT

THE "WEEKEND" MEANS?

 

IT MEANS YOU WILL STOP FEELING "WEAK" FROM THE STRESS OF THE "WEEK"...IN OTHER WORDS THE "WEAK" WILL FINALLY "END"!!

 

THIS IS GOOD NEWS!!!!

 

THEN COMES "MONDAY",

BUT DON'T ASK ME

WHAT "MONDAY" MEANS,

BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA.  :)

 

THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS SHOW ME FEELING RELAXED:

 

THESE SHOW ME RIGHT

AFTER WINNING MY

NATIONAL DANCE TITLE!

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS!

 

 

FAMILY VACATION AT DISNEY WORLD!

 

 

RELAXING AT THE

BOSTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS

BEFORE MY WORLD PREMIERE

OF MY ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE

"POE BALLET",

THE TELL-TALE HEART,

A TRULY "POE-ETIC" BALLET!!!

 

 

 

RELAXING BEFORE MY UNIQUE CONCERT: ARIAS AND ARABESQUES,

"THE CARMEN SUITE".

(LIVE OPERA AND

MY DANCING AND CHOREOGRAPHY!!!!)

 

 

RELAXING AT

CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY

TELEVISION STATION

AFTER GIVING AN INTERVIEW AND PERFORMANCE AT THEIR TV STUDIO!!!

 

 

RELAXING IN THE STUDIO

WITH MY

 REGIONAL DANCE COMPETITION TROPHY!

I WON A TITLE AT

A REGIONAL COMPETITION

AND WON

PLATINUM AWARDS FOR MY DANCING!!!

 

 

RELAXING IN THE STUDIO

FOLLOWING THE PHOTOSHOOT

FOR MY

RISING STAR WEBPAGE

ON CAPEZIO'S WEBSITE!!

 

 

RELAXING BEFORE MY

SOLD-OUT CONCERT:

ARIAS AND ARABESQUES

"THE DIE FLEDERMAUS SUITE"!

I PERFORMED ON

THE PIANO DURING

THE DANCE FINALE!!!!

 

 

RELAXING IN THE PARK

NEXT TO

THE ACADEMY BUILDING

WHERE I WAS ASKED TO TEACH

CREATIVE MOVEMENT FOR CHILDREN. HIRED BY THE THEN

 DIRECTOR OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS DANCE FESTIVAL

FOR HER OUTREACH CLASS IN

THE ACADEMY BUILDING.

 

 

 

RELAXING WITH MY DANCE PARTNER!!!

WE WENT ON TO A STRONG PARTNERSHIP WHERE MY CHOREOGRAPHY SAW US RECEIVING MORE THAN 28,000 VIEWS OF US DANCING TOGETHER!!!

 

RELAXING AT THE

PROVIDENCE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER AFTER WINNING

A SPECIAL AWARD

FROM THE JUDGES

FOR MY "BEAUTIFUL TURNS"!!!

 

 

RELAXING AFTER MY SUCCESSFUL PHOTOSHOOT FOR

STUFF MAGAZINE'S

"ONE NIGHT IN BOSTON"

 (ONLINE EDITION)!!!

 

 

RELAXING IN SEATTLE

AFTER FINISHING A 2-WEEK

NATIONAL CHOREOGRAPHIC INTENSIVE WHERE I ENDED UP BECOMING

DANCE TEACHER MAGAZINE'S

EDITORS' CHOICE

VIDEO OF THE MONTH

FOR WORK I DID THERE!!!!

 

 

 

 

THE PURE JOY OF MOVEMENT-

THE BEST RELAXATION THERE IS!!!!