Post 3--Shapes and Lighting

Although I've been working with watercolors for a while now, I still haven't really progressed much further than simple brushstrokes. Now that I have a good understanding of basic colors, values, and shading, it's finally time for me to move onto to painting objects.
According to Robertson, most shapes are round, square/flat, or cylindrical, and these shapes are paired together in various combinations to create various objects. The book provided photographs of cubes, sphere, and cylinders in various lighting; I used them as reference points when trying to recreate the pictures.

I began with trying to paint a cube with light from the front. The light from the front cast a slight shadow behind the cube. The further away from the camera, the darker the cube's faces because of the shadow that the light cast. In order to portray this shading using watercolor, "blend the paint... but use more values and blend it a little more smoothly" (Robertson 28).

It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted; the top face is too dark, and the shadow is barely distinguishable from the left face, but with a little more practice I'll be able to create better values to paint realistic objects.

Which type of lighting do you think would be most difficult to draw or paint and why?






Robertson, Jeanette. Watercolor 101: Techniques for the Absolute Beginner. New York: Sterling Pub., 2007. Print.

Yet More Questions

Chances are that you're here because you kinda understood my previous post, or you needed some more explanation about that post. To do so, I'll pose the question of "where/what is home". This was a question from the book that I found rather interesting. A couple responses the author recorded included someone's definition of what a home is not, how a house becomes a home, and what a real home is. These all seem to not get to the point, though they do achieve their goal of further defining what home is. This is due to home not having a so-to-speak true definition if you really think about it. This is not helped when you factor in the dictionary definition, which is a permanent place of residence, and especially one of family or household. But this definition does not satisfy some, as their families aren't the most friendly, or their general place of residence is also hostile or not quite what they need. This leads to another couple of lines in the book that interested me, "But your roots are in Germany,' one woman says to her. 'It's not my home,' she replies firmly and falls silent" (Phillips 60). Your roots cannot be the only idea that leads to a home. Of course, the discussion ends rather abruptly, without a definitive answer of course, simply more questions. I suppose that this question may raise some interest elsewhere, so if you have some kind of input, then feel free to comment about what a home is to you.

Post 2 New Guide to Skiing

Now that you have learned the first six steps of skiing it's now time to take the next level of mastering the sport.

#1 Find the sweet spot on the skis. When you find that "sweet spot" you'll now it immediately it feels comfortable and you feel that you make any movements that you need to make it down the hill.

#2 Learn to skate. Just like you're ice skating but you're on skis. This will help you keep speed when moving on a flat.

#3 Start to bring your feet together. Get in an athletic position with your knees bent and your hands on your front part of the hips. "Lock" your knees together this will help keep your legs tight and together. The tighter your parallel the easier it will be to grow in your skills as you get better.

 

Hot Chocolate Muffins

     As the weather gets chillier and 2015 comes to a close, what better way to bundle up with loved ones than some hot cocoa? Well, here is a delicious new twist to the classic toasty beverage, hot chocolate muffins. “A tasty breakfast treat for all the chocolate lovers out there!” (101 Breakfast & Brunch Recipes). I couldn’t agree more! 

     Ingredients: - ½ c. butter, softened -1 c. sugar -4 eggs, separated -6 T. hot chocolate mix - ½ c. boiling water -2/3 c. milk -3 c. all-purpose flour -2 T. baking powder -2 t. vanilla extract

          To start, blend the butter and sugar together in a large bowl; add eggs and beat until well mixed. In a separate bowl, dissolve the hot chocolate mix in boiling water and then add to butter mixture. Continuing on, sift the flour and baking powder in a different bowl and add to the butter mixture. Make sure everything is well mixed! Finally, pour the mixture into a greased muffin tin until ¾ full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until centers are tested done with a toothpick. (101 Breakfast & Brunch Recipes). After those toasty muffins have cooled down, you are able to add and decorate them as you wish. Top it with cream cheese frosting, cool whip, whip cream, or just plain with some scrumptious hot cocoa!

     The impact the reading has had on my cooking is deception of the straight-forward recipe. With each step, it got messier and messier. As a beginner, this was troubling in a light sense. I especially found it disorderly pouring the mix into the muffin tins. But, nonetheless, I enjoyed the mini challenge in keeping the flow of it all. So, how do you, or someone else, cope with a mess in the kitchen during this holiday season? Enjoy your break with your families and keep toasty!

     101 Breakfast & Brunch Recipes. Columbus, OH: Gooseberry Patch, 2012. Print.

Who was the father of financial?

Has anyone wonder who is Alexander Hamilton and what he does?

Alexander Hamilton was the father of the financial system. that part gets lost in the history books, but without the financial system, the political system never would have worked (Lynch 35).

Hamilton realized that the country couldn't get along without money, and to have money, it needed banks. It seems obvious today, but back then, banking was a controversial subject (Lynch 36).



What was Alexander Hamilton more famous for?

Hummingbird Pancakes

Hummingbird Pancakes

What makes the Hummingbird Pancakes so special, you ask? Trisha Yearwood says, "Hummingbird cake has been popular in the South since the mid- nineteenth century. It has always included some combination of bananas, pineapple, and pecans" (Yearwood, 25). The significance of various foods ranging from bananas to pecans has given its name to help it really grab the attention of food lovers to try the infamous Hummingbird Pancakes so they can decide whether it lives up to its names. And please it does not disappoint!

"First, heat a nonstick griddle. In a large bowl, combine the baking mix and the cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the half and half, bananas, pineapple, sugar, egg, and butter until smooth. nd the wet mixture to the dry, and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened, taking care not to overmix. Fold in the pecans. Then, using a 1/4-cup measure, pour the batter into the griddle and cook for 2 - 4 minutes, watching for the tops of the pancakes to start bubbling. Flip and cook for 2-4 minutes. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. Serve with sliced bananas and strawberries" (Yearwood, 25). 

Trisha insist that you skip the syrup and just top it with your "desired fruit, and dig in" (Yearwood, 25). The sweetness that the Hummingbird Pancakes make for your taste buds is so delightful you cannot oblige. The secret that I learned from the Hummingbird Pancakes that includes ingredients - pineapple, and cinnamon to give the pancakes sweet taste but yet a satisfying nectar treat. Who would've known what can come from a circle!

Questions: What other ingredients can you add to your own pancake recipe that will entice your tastebuds? 

Yearwood, Trisha. "Hummingbird Pancakes." Trisha's Table: My Feel-good Favorites for a Balanced Life. NYC, New York: Clarkson, 2015. 25. Print. 

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups baking mix (I like Bisquick)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups half and half

1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

3 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

Sliced bananas and strawberries for serving





Third Post: Flawless Concealer

Lauren Conrad swears by using under eye concealer stating: "this offers a big assist to your foundation in completely evening out your skin tone and addressing problem areas" (Conrad 87). For me, concealing the under eyes to hide dark circles is one of the best makeup tips.

Conrad says to "dab on concealer with either your fingertip or a brush" (Conrad 87). I opted for a brush to maximize the coverage and apply as much product as possible.

After setting with powder as instructed, this is the difference between the concealer under one eye (right eye) and no concealer (left eye). Applied correctly, concealer makes a big difference.

After concealing and setting both under eyes this is the result! What are your favorite under eye concealer tips?

Conrad, Lauren, and Elise Loehnen. Lauren Conrad Beauty. New York: HarperCollins, 2012. Print.

Big-Ass book of Crafts 2: Glitter Nail Polish

I love putting on nail polish but I could never find enough glitter in the polish. This would frustrate me all the time because I hated how my nails looked from the lack of glitter. So because of that I went directly to the section in the book on nail polish and decided to do this "art" project. Others like Montano's friend Kelly also felt the lack of glitter was an injustice and there should be something done about it (Montano 127).

This is an incredibly easy project. I personally love glitter. That is until I spill it everywhere and try to clean it up. It is so easy and I could find all the materials in the house. After I finished the project I did realize that the glitter stuck to the bottom of the nail polish container. This was mildly irritating, but after a few quick shakes it looks just like the sparkly nail polish you find in the stores. My sister is really into perfecting her nail and with her innate artistic abilities she can make amazing designs. So I did this project with my sister in mind and her passion for nail designs.

The materials were a small piece of paper, a bottle of clear nail polish, and loose glitter. 

"Step 1: Roll the piece of paper into a cone-shaped funnel

Step 2: Take the top off your nail polish, place the funnel in the mouth of the bottle, and pour in as much glitter as you can.

Step 3: Shake the nail polish bottle."(Montano 127)

What frustrates you so much that you wish you could change?

Montano, Mark. The Big-ass Book of Crafts 2. New York: Gallery, 2011. Print.

Calisthenics Post 2; Handstands

Complete Calisthenics; Handstands

Handstands are very good exercises because of the mandatory muscle demands to perform them. "Handstands literally place a demand on every muscle group in the body, from the hands, shoulders, back. and core, to lower body." (Kalym).

1. "To progress with the handstand group of exercises you must be completely confident when your body is inverted." It is best to start off handstands next to a wall for it will prevent you from falling over and hurting your neck or back. 

 

 

2. Position your hands from 6" to 1' from the wall.

3. Kick up into the air with your rear leg first and the other leg following it until you reach the wall.




4. Stand there as long as you can then when you are ready to come down, slowly let one leg to drop before the other.



5. Once you've perfected the handstand, you could also try handstand pushups. These are very complex and tough workouts so be careful!


Handstands are really nice workouts and build great strength and balance in your arms and upper body. I personally try to always plug variations of handstands into my upper body workouts. Not everybody, however, could perform handstands properly, so are you ready to become unique and different from everybody else?

North Pole Cupcakes- Kids in the Kitchen

For Christmas this year I decided that I wanted to make some delicious  cupcakes. An option that was available to me through my cookbook was North Pole Cupcakes. "The ingredient that makes the cupcake taste delicious is too use a smaller proportion of flour and a higher concentration of milk." (Baird 80) You use the creaming method which is basically what it says. cream the butter before using it. I learned how to do this in Creative Cooking class this year which has really helped me in this project.

The Cupcakes ended up turning out delicious and they where a big hit with my family.

On ball defense

Basketball Skills and Drills

Krause, Jerry. Basketball Skills and Drills. Human Kinetics, 2008. Print.

In this post the goal is to learn efficient on ball defensive techniques.

"On defense, players should use a sliding motion. They should keep their feet at shoulder width and use short, quick shuffle steps. This technique is called the push step, or step and slide. The lead foot moves in the desired direction from the force of the trail foot at the same time as a short, quick push step is taken. The force from the push step comes from a power push from the trail foot, which moves the body and transfers the weight to the lead foot, quickly followed by a pulling slide step taken with the trail foot to regain basic position, without bringing the feet together. Players should keep their feet wide at all times. Step and slide, low and wide, you can't get too low, you can't get too wide. The lead step and the pull and slide steps are short and the stance is kept low and wide. Players should learn to execute defensive starts and slides in side to side, forward, backward, and diagonal directions with the head level. Head bouncing show a player is rising out of the stance and a player loses advantage of the floor. The player reduces quickness of motion and wastes time and space. The head must be kept level." (Krause 23).

When playing on ball defense, players should slide with quick, and low movements. Players shouldn't bring the feet together or get out of his stance. Players should push with the opposite foot of the direction they're going, and they should always keep their head level.

When I was doing this during drills I had a problem with bringing my feet together so I would shrink and lose space. But overall my movements were quick, and since I'm already naturally quick, I could cover space fast.

1. Stay in a low, wide stance












2. Push off with the opposite foot














3. Keep head level












4. Also go backwards, diagonal, and forwards.

The benefit of this is any team can use an on ball defensive stopper against any good offensive player. The offensive player will not be able to create much space due the quick steps and low stance of the defensive player.

Post 2 - Irregular Verbs

In French, there are regular and irregular verbs.  Irregular verbs have "...special conjugation patterns"(Rodchester) that differ from the patterns of the regular verbs.
An example of one of these irregular verbs is être, which means to be.
You would conjugate this verb by first turning the verb to it's infinitive form; in this case, it is already in the infinite (être). 
(Infinitives "do not include a noun subject or a subject pronoun" (Rodchester).)
Then, depending on the person and whether it is singular or plural, you add the appropriate ending (shown below) to the given infinitive.

An example of a conjugation of être: 

"I am tall." translates to "Je suis grande."

"We are in the living room." translates to "Nous sommes dans la salon."

Question: Do you see any connections between the English and French present tenses? (Is the spelling similar? Are the two completely different?)

Rochester, Myrna Bell. Easy French Step-by-step: Master High-frequency Grammar for French Proficiency--fast! New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

nutrition and dietary supplements

         Pages 71-81

 If you are serious about volleyball it is important to take care of your body in order to do your best. In my book Volleyball Getting The Edge it tell you what to eat in order to improve your performance in the game. The timing and amount of the food intake is a big part of maintain a healthy body that can preform well. As a fifteen year old the recommended amount of calories is 1,800 sedentary and active calories should be 2,400. Typically an athletes has to eat more than other people in order to maintain higher energy levels. In the book it states " there are three main food groups to consider when choosing a healthy diet. carbohydrates, protein, and fats"

according to the book half my diet should be carbohydrates some of my favorite foods are pasta, and bread, however a healthier option i have taken up is apples. Apples have lots of carbohydrates that are good for a growing teenager. I found that   eating less pasta and more apples and healthy carbs made me burn more calories. While working out and practicing volleyball i found that i felt full from eating apples and other fruits versus eating pasta and bread. However after my workout i found myself more hungry than before. Just proving why volleyball players are always eating more.

Water or anything with electrolytes is good for getting energy while playing a game in volleyball. some others supplements that are healthy for volleyball payers are vitamin tablets, Creatine, or protein supplements. I noticed that i did not take any supplements but after reading this book  i decided to take supplements to see how they affected my performance. I noticed i had much more energy and was more focused in the game thus improving my performance overall.


Considering how much of America is obese how will this effect the performance of a player in ten years if we continue to eat the same foods we do now? 

Tour Guiding: Asking Questions

As I was reading The Good Guide, I learned the importance of asking questions to the audience. The book claimed that questions can further engage the audience the specific topics, and it is easier to comprehend the information presented (Grinder 74). Asking questions "invite thinking, comparing, and evaluating, and all of these thought processes contribute to understanding." (Grinder 72) The next time I volunteered at the Kent Museum, I gave a tour to two middle-aged women. At the kitchen section of the tour, I decided to ask questions about the objects in the kitchen so it would be easier to understand how things have changed in the way food was made and handled. I pointed to the green vintage ice-cream maker. "Do any of you know how this works?" I inquired. One of the women revealed that she did, and surprisingly said that she used to make ice-cream with her mother in the same way, mainly vanilla flavored. This led to both women and I to start a conversation and communicate about how food was made in the past versus how food is made now in the present.

How do questions help to measure other people's understanding of a topic?

Grinder, Alison L., and E. Sue. McCoy. The Good Guide: A Sourcebook for Interpreters, Docents, and Tour Guides. Scottsdale, AZ: Ironwood, 1985. Print.

Blending In/ Big City Caching- Bellevue

Geocaching can be a very suspicious looking activity if done in largely populated areas. That's why when I went to Bellevue this week I had to be quick when searching and retrieving the cache. I decided to take on the cache called "What's for lunch? It's in the news...". This was located in Downtown Bellevue right outside a popular Wendy's Restaurant.

When you take part in Geocaching, you feel that you are partaking in an activity that is full of fun and freewill, however, you must be aware of the people around you that have no idea what Geocaching may be. "Curious onlookers may wonder why anyone would so intently look around the same area when nothing appears to be there," (The Editors and Staff of Geocaching.com 83). The cache I found in Bellevue was located inside of a news box, which may look interesting to a common spectator when my head is inside the box looking for the cache. Below are pictures of where I found the cache.

As you can see, the cache was located in a very small container, magnetic to the inside top of the newspaper box. Be prepared to explain to spectators what activity you are enjoying and keep an open mind about how you look when searching for the cache. "Remain low-key. There is no reason to disturb anyone or make anyone wonder what you're doing," (The Editors and Staff of Geocaching.com 82). No one came up to me this time and asked, but it could happen and as a Geocacher you must be prepared for anything. I found it successfully and quick, a great day of caching!! Happy Caching and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

If you were to Geocache in a city and someone were to approach you curiously, what would you say to explain the activity you are partaking in?

Speed Training Post 2

Speed is an essential quality that is used all the time in the game of Soccer. by doing the speed training in the book Soccer Anatomy I have been able to increase my 40 yard dash time from 5.4 to 5.3. and i also have made my interval running much faster by doing an up and down for example. that is here you start by jogging one lap around the track then sprinting one 100 yard length then the next lap around sprinting two 100 yard lengths and so on and so forth until you sprint the full  lap and then you sprint 3 100 yard lengths and then 2 100 yard lengths until you jog a full lap.

Hip Flexor Stretch

Any kind of dance requires a lot of activity from the joints and muscles around the pelvis.In ballet, maintaining a high develope, controlling batement, and holding quick turns requires strong, flexible pelvic and hip muscles. This hip flexor stretch builds coordination and strength in these areas. Exercises like these need to be repeated daily in order to gain anything from them. Strength, flexibility, and coordination are maintained through a little bit of work EVERY SINGLE DAY. Take even a week without stretching or strengthening, and all your improvements may be gone.

Here's how this exercise works: 

1.) kneel on the right knee. Have your foot on the floor with your left knee at a 90 degree angle. Lengthen through your spine, keep hips in line

2.) Make a pelvic tilt through your upper body.

3.) slowly lengthen your arms into cambre position (note the right picture to see what this looks like if you're not sure). Hold this stretch for 45 second at minimum. Breathing deeply will help your balance.

4.) Slowly bring you arms back into your body, keeping your balance on your knee. Make sure to keep your hips square the entire time.  If this is too easy, try closing your eyes! (its hard....)

5.) repeat on the opposite side. Do ten reps on each leg.

wha la!! Hope you feel a little stronger :)

Happy dancing!!

Why must we  strengthen and stretch on a daily basis in order to to see improvement? What are good ways to motivate ourselves to persist in exercises everyday?




 Haas, Jacqui Greene. Dance Anatomy. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2010. Print.