Haley’s Blog

I was having serious issues trying to find a song for this round (Semifinals) of Valley Idol, and I was up until 11:00 last night trying to find one with my dad. I finally found “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles! I am so excited for the performance this weekend! I was origianlly doing “Don’t You Wish It Was True” by John Fogerty, but the Valley Idol administrators couldn’t find the backtrack, since the music when you sing at the performances is kareoke. I was a little dissapointed but I found something I liked and that’s “Love Song”! The performance is this weekend, and along with Rebecca, Catie, and my friends Emily and Avery, I perform on Saturday!

Photo credits-S o u n d s by unlimited

Get ready for the 8th season of American Idol!

Have you guys ever watched American Idol? Well, I do. I watch it as much as I possibly can. I don’t really have a show that I always watch (except for Hannah Montana because that has Miley Cyrus in it), but when American Idol comes on, I can’t turn it off.

This season they have a new judge. Her name is Kara DioGuardi. I think that she is a good addition to the judges. What do you think? I also have heard some really great singers, and, well, some really not so good ones. The past winners from seasons that I have watched were Taylor Hicks from season 5, David Cook from season 7, and I’m hoping that someone good will win this year!

If there’s a contestan that you think is completely awesome, tell me about it!

…yes, today, American history has been made! The 44th American President-Elect has become the 44th American President! And there are some exciting news: in class today we watched half the ceremony when Mr. President-Elect Barack Obama became…

Mr. President Obama!

Today the ceremony was very meaningful. A prayer was said, and song was sang, oaths were taken, and a new President took the throne! This meant changes for the whole country. As the first African-American President of the United States, there is major news about this all over the world. Though there may be challenges throughout his time as President, he will do a great job by making life better in U.S. for everyone.

This day let history be made, as the news spreads worldwide, and for his time as the first African-American President, and the 44th President of the United States of America. 

I want to hear your opinions on America’s new President!

Photo credit: Barack Obama’s Official Portrait by BL1961

The real date of Malanka is January 14th, but our date of Malanka is on the 17th. That’s because it is the closest Saturday to it. Why? Because I do Ukrainian Dance, and we do a huge performance for New Year’s!

The dances in the show are:

1. Pryvit: A traditional welcoming dance with all our dancers. It is multi-regional, so there are many different costumes. There is also bread and salt, wheat, and towels carried on at the end to welcome you; that is a traditional way to welcome someone to your home or wherever.
2. Transcarpathian Dance: Done by the eldest dance class, intermediates, which is my class. We’ve split the eight girls that learned the dance last year into two groups of four, and that is the one I am doing. We wear long white skirts with red vests.
3. Bukovanian Dance: Also done by my intermediate class, the ‘Buko’, as we call it, is done by the other half of my class who’s learned it. They wear black skirts that are striped and are much tighter than the ‘Trans’ skirts.
4. Poltava ‘Friendship’ Duet: A poltava dance, done by fellow intermediate Emily and I. We wear the Trans skirts with no vests and a poltava sash. We can only do it if we have been approved by our instructor.
5. Junior (Poltava) Kozachok: A dance in which girls wear flowy blue skirts and flowery headpieces, while boys wear baggy blue pants and golden-yellow sashes. This is done by the Junior One class. My mom is the instructor for that class!
6. Junior Hutsul: My brother’s class is Junior Two, and they are doing a Hutsul dance. My brother wears a white shirt and pants with a sash that is different colors: orange, brown, green, etc.
7. Celebration of Seasons Dance: The beginners class which is instructed by my mom is doing a dance that celebrates the four seasons. Old Ukrainian folklore-there are spirits of the forests, and there are spirits of the water. Well, with amazing costumes that my friend Innana’s mom made, my mom put together a dance that is beautiful yet still has a Ukrainian touch to it!
8. Poltava Shawl Dance: My class has done another-the Intermediates are at it again! This time with a Shawl dance. We dress in black with a poppy and ribbon in our hair and we dance with shawls. It is quite beautiful.

I (obviously) can’t wait for Malanka!

Photo credit: scholz

These are not dancers from my dance group.

Wow! 2009 was coming, and boy, it sure came fast! Something that I would want for this year? Hmm… I would want to be able to help our earth, make it a little more environmentally friendly. If I could have anything for this world, I would want friendships. Friendships are one of the keys to peace, and that’s why I would want friendships. I’m not talking about friendships like between two people, or three or four or five, or however many people are friends, that’s not what I mean. I mean between countries. If countries could be friends, than there would be no war. If there was no war, there would be peace. And if there’s peace, we have a happy, and healthy world, filled with joy, where everyone can be themselves. To do my part by making friends, I will go to blogs and learn about people, as well as in school, and other places. I hope that my small resolution will help our world one step at a time. To share your New Year’s Resolution, go to the new blog, and comment on the third post. Maybe someone has similar ideas to you!