Training for a 5k

Every year,  the city has a charity run to raise money for the The Talbert Family Foundation, which provides financial help to families who suffer from cancer.  A nice boy in my grade at school, has Leukemia,  and this year I am running to raise money for his family. The run is 5 kilometers long on the streets. Most of the course is set on hilly streets, and so I have to get into better shape to prepare for the race.  The race will be on the morning of Nov 11.

To prepare for the race, I have been running 3 days a week.  I have been trying to find places with many hills so I will be prepared. This weekend, my mom took Hannah, Michael, my dog Romeo, and I to a the mountains above our home for a run. I am not sure exactly how long the trail was, but I think it was around 5k. The trail was perfect to train on because there were many steep mountains. I ran until the trail ended with Romeo panting and running beside me and then turned around and ran back.  It was a very enjoyable run because I was able to see beautiful views of our whole city below.  Even though it is October, we had a  gorgeous clear sunny day with not even a single could.  Hannah and Michael, brought along their bikes and biked with my mom running slowly behind them. My siblings complained most of the way back because it was too difficult for them to pedal. They ended up having to carry their bikes most of the way.   For me, it was a great way to spend the morning exercising.

Have you ever trained for some type of activity?

What do you like to do for exercise?

New Piano Pieces

My sisters and I learned a couple of pieces over the summer and so my mother recorded us.  I played Prelude Op 38. by Dmitri Kabalevsky and Sonata No. 9  Hob. XVI/4 by Joseph Haydn.

Dmitri Kabalevsky, a Russian composer was born in St. Petersburg in 1904. In 1918, Kabalevsky moved with his family to Moscow, where he studied at the Scriabin Music School. At the age of 18, Kabalevsky began to compose for piano. His early pieces were practicies for his young students. He entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1925 to study piano.  His career as a composer ended in 1987 when he passed away.  Prelude is jumpy, fast, and loud.   Kabalevsky's preludes are a set of 24 piano pieces, and each piece is based on a folksong and is written in a different key. It was composed between 1943- 1944 and dedicated to Nikolai Myaskovsky, his teacher.

Joseph Haydn is an Austrian composer who composed in the Classical Period in the mid 1700s.  Haydn composed many wonderful Sonatas and Sonatinas. In a previous post, I played a piece by Haydn.  To get more information about Haydn and to listen to me playing more music by this composer visit this link. The piece that I am playing below is a happy, light, fast piece.  It is so fast that if my fingers get tired or get stuck on a note, then I mess up the whole entire song.  Hope you enjoy it!

 Which piece did you like better?

Blue Danube Waltz

My sister Hannah has been working on a piano piece called Blue Danube Waltz by  Johann Strauss all summer long. Strauss is an Austrian composer who composed  Blue Danube in 1866 in honor of the Danube River that flows through Vienna.  He was  known to compose light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King."

Strauss was born in St. Ulrich, a city near Vienna, to Johann Strauss I, a composer of dance music. His father did not wish him to become a composer, but rather a banker because they were poor family. Nevertheless, Strauss Junior studied the violin secretly, and when his father discovered his son secretly practicing one day, he gave him a severe whipping, saying that he was going to beat the music out of the boy. Fortunately, this did not discourage the young musician from learning the violin, and today we can enjoy many of the pieces he composed.

Hannah is six years old, and enjoys playing the piano as well as the violin which she just started a month ago.  This piece is 6 pages longs and is taller than her. She hopes you enjoy listening to her play.

Did you enjoy this piece?

Visiting the LACMA museum

Over the summer,  I went to Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) museum for the first time.  The is an art museum in Los Angeles, California.  LACMA was established as a museum in 1961.  LACMA is huge and there are many buildings  although most of the time we spent in the fine art section.  We didn't have time to visit every building but maybe next time we can see some of the exhibits. In the fine art section I especially enjoyed three paintings that I describe below. In the same building we also went to see Egyption antiquities which had a very interesting mummy.



The first painting that I enjoyed was called Miss Charlotte Papendick as a Child and this painting was painted in 1788.  It was painted by John Hoppner who lived during 1758-1810 in England.  He painted it with Oil on Canvas.  I really liked this painting because she had a gorgeous dress and Charlotte looked like she came from a wealthy family.  I also liked the scenery that the artist painted as a background.











The next painting I really enjoyed was called Jean as a Huntsman and this painting was painted in 1910.  It was painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir who lived during 1841-1919 in France.  He painted it on with Oil on Canvas.  Renoir painted in the  impressionistic period. When you look at the painting up close, it looks blurry, but from far away it is beautiful Unlike Miss Charlotte Papendick who looks like she is from a wealthy family, painter during this time painted common things.  I really enjoyed this painting because it had an adorable beagle next to the boy.  I also liked the scenery that the artist painted. Jean looked like he was hiking to the mountains.







 The last painting I enjoyed was called Two Girls Reading and this was also painted by Pierre- Aguste Renoir.  This painting was painted during 1890-1891.  I liked this painting because it reminds me of Sarah and I reading together.  We would read together in bed and sometimes we peek at each others book.












After the paintings we went on to look at the Egyptian antiquities   section.   I had never seen a mummy before but it was quite an experience.


























After the museum we visited my great grandfather who is 95 years old.  We call him Old Grandpa  and he doesn't really mind this title.

 What is your favorite type of paintings?

Junior Lifegaurd

 Over the summer,  I tried out to train to be a Junior Lifeguard, a program run by the fire department.  I was tested in the pool, and I had to swim 100 meters in a 1:50 seconds.  I had to stay after swim team practice every day and train extra hard to become fast enough to make the time.   There are real lifeguards at the beach training us everyday.  One of the lifeguards is my swim coach who helped me pass the timed swim test.

I had to wake up early every day to arrive at the beach by 8:30 every morning and stay until 11:30.  At the beach, we were divided in three age groups.  I was placed in group C. During our training,  we learned how to save people who may be drowning, paddle, surf, and swim in the ocean.  Swimming in the ocean was the scariest part.  I was always worried about stingrays (and I saw one), sharks, and other kinds of sea animals.  Although I did enjoy swimming with the dolphins.  They would always put on a show for us.  It was incredible!  I also loved to surf.  For the first time this summer I actually stood on a surf board and caught a wave!  It was hard at first, but then I got the hang of it.  I also was allowed to tour a lifeguard tower and a lifeguard station.  We also learned how to use the cans that the lifeguard swings in the air to use if they need to save a drowning victim.   The other Junior lifeguards and I practiced saving each other. We had competitions as well.  We competed against different junior lifeguard squads form all the local beaches.  I especially did well in the running and almost always placed in the top ten. 

In addition to the instructors, we had helpers called Cadets.  They are in the highest group and have been doing Junior Lifeguards for 6-7 years.  They are not experienced and old enough to be an instructor but they are fabulous helpers for us.  My favorite one is Kourtney who is in the picture with me together with my instructor Sherri.

On my last day, I received a Junior lifeguard badge which my Grandma sewed on a one of my favorite sweaters.  I also received a certificate saying that I have finished my first year of junior lifeguard training.

Have you trained in something interesting?

Moving On

Saying goodbye isn't always easy when you like something very much.  I recently decided that I would say goodbye to ballet and move on to focus some of my other activities.  It isn't that I didn't like ballet, it was just because I had too many activities, and I was only doing ballet once a week.  I have been doing ballet for 2 and a half years.  I appreciate watching the real ballerinas perform. They make the moves look really easy, doing many turns and leaps. However, now that I have tried, I know how extremely hard it really is and how much they work to get their routines just right.  My favorite ballet teacher I have ever had is Eryka. I really liked her and she taught me many new moves.  She would always correct me and teach me new skills I didn't know.  She was also extremely kind.  I will miss her very much! I still enjoy dancing, and maybe I will stop by and take a few classes here and there. 

I also became close with the the receptionist Gabrielle and her little dog Seven.  Gabrielle named her dog Seven because she found her on the streets on July 7th which was also Gabby's birthday. Gabby would watch our class and encourage us to do well.  Gabby would sometimes bring her dog Seven, and let me hold her before class.  Seven now serves as the official Goodwill Ambassador of the ballet school. She is adorable!

Eryka and I

Gabby and I

Holding Seven

     

Have you started something and then decided not to continue with it?

Saying Goodbye

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A few days ago, my cousin Ben left to go to University.  He worked really hard to get good grades and always did all his homework. Ben is very kind, helpful,and charming.  I admire him because he works hard at school, goes to the gym every day to get stronger, and always cares about others.  I also admire him because he is the oldest of 3 children and takes care of his younger brother and sister. He takes them to school every day and helps them with homework.

This summer, Ben and I spent a lot of time together before he left.  We went for a run on the beach, and on the way back, he told me different stories about Greek mythological heroes such as Achilles and Spartacus, so the run isn't as boring.  He  also went boogie boarding with me after the run to cool down.  Once Ben started driving, he took me to different places like Sky High and Knotts Berry Farm.  He also bought us ice cream any time we wanted.  He even babysat my younger brother and sister this summer. He picked them up in the morning, took them swimming, fed them lunch, and played with them. 

Now that he is in University  I wish him to study well and make many new friends.  I will miss him very very much, and I can't wait to see him in December!

Sarah and Ben

 We love you Ben!

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Have you ever had to say goodbye to someone special?