Author: ekbaer

Cabaret 2019!

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Woohoo! Once again, I got the opportunity to be a part of my acting studio’s Cabaret! I had so much fun playing some fiddle music – I performed Cotton-Eyed Joe! This was a special treat for me, as I mostly play classical music! Special thanks to my wonderful violin teacher Mr. Crane, who arranged the violin music and created the soundtrack.

I also sang I Could Have Danced All Night. This is such a special song and I got to be like Audrey Hepburn aka Eliza Doolittle for a few minutes…šŸ˜ŠĀ I also had the honor of working on this piece with Ms. Ashlyn, a wonderful dancer! Mr. Don joined us for the second performance and made it very funny.šŸ˜ŠĀ Here are the recordings:

 

 

 

I would love to hear what you think!

The Most Magical Christmas

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I had the most magical Christmas this year, and I would love to share a little bit of it with you!

This winter, I got to visit my grandparents in their little village in the Czech Republic! I usually only go in summer (check out my blog ā€œAdventures With My Grandparentsā€), but this year we decided to visit for Christmas, as well. And let me tell you, Christmas in the Czech Republic is so wonderful. People spend a lot of time with family and friends. They bake gazillions of different kinds of cookies that they share and exchange with others ā€“ it is a very sweet-smelling tradition! We made about a dozen kinds of cookies, and the family thought we were seriously slacking off. I guess we will have to do better next time! šŸ˜Š Another and perhaps the most important tradition is watching fairytales. They are loaded with the best actors in the Czech Republic, and no, they are not animated or baby movies. These fairytales are so magical and special.

Most days, the temperatures hovered right around freezing. And the crazy thing is, my grandpa and I went bike riding nearly every day anyway! We would ride out into the woods, and we found lots mushrooms (though we didnā€™t eat any, as they were ā€˜edible, but not tastyā€™)! Check out some pictures of these cool mushrooms in the slideshow.

While inside, I often baked with my grandma. We made lots of yummy treats, most notably gingerbread cookies (there is a picture in the slideshow). But we also made Christmas breads, linzer cookies, and other kinds of cookies. The scent of the doughs and ingredients filled the air with a beautiful, sweet aroma.

A lot of my extended Czech family came to visit us, which was really nice. There is something very magical about having most of your family in one room. I am sure you agree. My relatives would always bring Christmas cookies they made, and quite frankly sometimes we almost ate the whole box in one sitting! Czech cookies are really delicious.

And then there was Christmas Eve (that is when we celebrate Christmas) – the most magical day of the whole trip. The celebration started in the afternoon when we all went to the little chapel in the middle of my grandparentsā€™ village. It was getting dark and really cold but it did not stop anyone from joining in. Nearly everyone from the village was there, and we all sang Christmas carols. We soon returned home and had a delicious Christmas dinner ā€“ most people still eat the traditional fish and potato salad that evening. Christmas is not a big culinary feast. It is a day to appreciate the people in your life and things that really matter. After dinner, we sat and more or less patiently waited for the bell to let us know that it was time to come to the tree. Finally, it rang, and we all rushed into the living room where the tree was lit up and wrapped in beautiful packages. We opened our presents and we all were very happy and grateful.

But there was a surprise yet to come. I told my grandparents that I had one more gift ā€“ a little surprise I had been preparing for a while. It is a famous song from the most beloved Czech fairytale. I had prepared and recorded the piano part that we then played on their TV while I sang the song for my grandparents. I even had a costume that looked like it was from the movie! My grandparents were shocked! My grandma was so surprised she had hard time breathing when I started, and my grandpa was crying. My grandparents did not know where to look first ā€“ at me singing or at the TV where I played the piano! I think they liked itā€¦. šŸ™‚ What a wonderful evening.

P.S. After I sang the song, we watched the fairytale from which the music came! šŸ˜Š

Here is the recording of this song:

 

 

I was only able to play this thanks to my wonderful piano teacher Ms. Irina. She is an incredible pianist, teacher, and friend to me. Thank you, Ms. Irina!

My grandma’s birthday also falls around Christmas time! We celebrated with a delicious French cake drizzled with raspberry sauce – my Mom made it. The cake wasĀ so delicious! Check out a picture in the slideshow.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season yourself. Feel free to share how you celebrated in the comments section! Happy New Year!

CDA – The Charity I Support

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Recently, I have picked the charity that I am going to donate all of the proceeds from my book to! It is called Childrenā€™s Development Academy (CDA). It is a school that supports early education for children ages 1-5. It is specifically for children whose families cannot afford to send them to the regular pre-k and preschool. Recently, I had the honor of visiting the charity. The director, Ms. DeCan, took me on a tour of the school and showed me where the kids study and play. They do have a wonderful playground to enjoy! Then I had the most wonderful time with the young students in all three pre-k classrooms! The kids were so happy to meet me and eager to hear some ofĀ  my poems. They were so engaged in a lively discussion afterwards.

The CDA is such a special place and I look forward to visiting many more times in the future!

I would like to thank everyone who has purchased my books or who has given a donation to this wonderful cause. This would not be possible without you. THANK YOU!

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If you would like to learn more about the CDA and its mission, you can follow these links:

CDA Website

CDA Facebook

Tower of Talent 2018

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This past weekend I performed at the 5th annual Tower of Talent – a fundraiser for Childrenā€™s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). It was my second time participating in the event.Ā  This year, I had the honor of working with a very talented vocalist Jasmine Handmaker. She has such a beautiful voice and she did such a wonderful job at the event! We performed One Moment in Time together. My wonderful violin teacher arranged a violin part just for me – thank you so much, Mr. Crane!

I am really glad that I was able to perform at the Tower of Talent again and support such a worthy cause. This event is put on under the patronage of the generous and wonderful Greenbaum family. You can check out the recording at this link:

Violin

 

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Adventures With My Grandparents

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Wow! I canā€™t believe that summer is over. I am still reliving the memories of being with my grandparents in the Czech Republic. I had so many wonderful adventures with them, including bike riding, roller-blading, mushroom picking, baking, and climbing up into my tree house:

My grandpa and I would go out into the woods on our bikes and when we reached an area with a certain set of characteristics we would stop and look for mushrooms. We brought a ginormous backpack with a bucket inside of it, and that is where we would put the mushrooms. We ran around the woods, sifting through mushroom after mushroom, looking especially for the squishy yellow ones ā€“ because they are soooo good! We would pick them all up, hop on our bikes and ride on to find a new location, and so on and so forth. Once we came back to the house, my grandma and I would start chopping the mushrooms up and then she would lay them outside in the sun to dry. We found so many mushrooms that they should last all winter long.

In the evenings, my grandparents and I would go out to the playground area across from their house. I would roller blade and my grandpa would ride his bike. One night we created a show that we later performed for my parents. My grandma was the ā€˜judgeā€™, and my grandpa and I would ride around and do tricks. What a blast we had! We could not stop laughing.

While at home, my grandma and I would bake wonderful treats for the family. My grandma is a fantastic cook and baker and makes everything from scratch! We made kolache, fruit cakes, gingerbread cookies, and most importantly fruit dumplings. Oh, you never heard of these? Look them up! So yum! I love my grandmaā€™s fruit dumplings, and therefore we made them almost every day.

I spent my birthday with my grandparents, and to celebrate, my grandma made me a big gingerbread cake, which was delicious! We decorated it together and then put it away until my birthday, as to avoid the temptation of eating it immediately! (because I would have)

We would often venture out to a nearby medieval city. There, we would just stroll around, stop at a vibrant cafe for a treat or we got soft-served ice cream. I developed a new taste for mixed soft served (vanilla and chocolate together). You might want to try it when you get a chanceā€¦

We also went to the city for my birthday dinner, and we ate at my favorite Greek restaurant. We go there every year – it is a real treat!

A couple of years ago, my grandpa built me a ā€˜tree houseā€™ in their yard. I love to spend time up there playing games, eating treats, and hanging out with my grandparents. I have to climb a really tall ladder to get up there because it is quite high off the ground. It is my own special place. I always have the fondest of memories from that tree house and cannot wait to be perched up there again.

I had a such blast with my grandparents – they are the best! And I am so excited to see them soon!