jaina: (Default)
 

The end of 2018 means the end of my fourth year of Irish dance! Some highlights and memories from this year:

  • 9th place in trad set at Oireachtas!!! I cracked the top 10! This was a very different competition compared to previous years, because we finally got an age split in the Western region. I was in the Under-40 category, and the level of competition was so high! Lots of people who hadn’t come to Oireachtas in the last few years, lots of people who used to dance as kids, lots of amazing dancing going on. And as always, lots of mutual support and friendship, because the Western region adults are so fabulous. I was just happy to recall, and to be top 10 was SUPER exciting! There were 4 of us from my school in our competition, and we placed 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th. We were really happy.
  • I GOT A SOLO DRESS FINALLY!!!!! I love it with my whole heart. It’s exactly what I wanted, and it’s beautiful and flattering and I glued eighteen million rhinestones to it so I sparkle like a rainbow disco ball. 
  • I FINALLY won Novice single jig! I almost cried when I saw the results, seriously. That just leaves hornpipe as my only Novice dance. I won it once this year, but there were only 4 people, and the other times I wasn’t even close. But part of the reason might be…
  • I switched to competing both slow hornpipe and treble jig starting in June. This was rather a scary leap to make, but I felt like they looked decent enough to compete, and I wanted to feel more challenged. I really love slow hardshoe and it’s fun to see the progress I’ve made with it. 
  • I hurt my left calf over the summer– the same place I tore it in 2015. It sucked, but I worked with an awesome physical therapist who showed me where I had serious muscle imbalances and how that was impacting my dancing, and helped me figure out how to activate other muscles when I dance so I’m not putting so much strain on my calves. It means a lot of work to retrain my muscle memory, but it’ll be worth it if it helps prevent injury. I pretty much had to skip all 3 fall feises other than teams, my novice dances, and the specials, and that sucked! I want to compete!!!
  • One practice in July, Rori asked us what we wanted to work on, and Bethany said “I want to do a birdie!” and I said “I want to do an axel!” pretty much completely out of the blue. Rori kind of blinked at us, but she put them into our reels and slip jigs so we could try them out. I LOVE AXELS SO MUCH. Because of my injury I didn’t compete soft shoe this fall, so I’m excited to debut the steps with axels added at our feis in February!
  • A bunch of the adult team members went to Ulta together to get a makeup lesson on how to do our team makeup this year. It was really fun and a bit silly and definitely pretty extra, but if you get the chance to have a former ballroom dancer named TylerRyan show you how to do fabulous dramatic eyes, take that chance!
  • We switched to a new 8-hand this year- we had done Trip to the Cottage for the past 3 years, since I first started dancing, and now we are doing the 8-hand reel. It was a fun challenge to learn it, and I got to keep my top gent spot. We got 2nd at Oireachtas (out of 3) which was exactly what we deserved, and more importantly we danced it the best we could and I had a really great time onstage. It made up for the 4-hand, where I got a cramp in my toe right as the music started, and we ended up 4th of 8. :(
  • Oireachtas as a whole was really fun. A lot of the other adults went wine tasting (it was in Portland), but Bethany and I basically lived in the convention center for 3 days and watched as much dancing as we possibly could. One of our U15s recalled for the first time after many years of competing, and it was so exciting to be there for her and support her as she danced her set.  
  • Even with all the missed competitions, I had great solo results overall this year! I won a special for the first time (reel) and placed top 3 in 4 others, plus I had 5 Prizewinner first places!
  • And oh yeah, not related to Irish dance competitions, but a bunch of us from my school did a Doctor Who Irish dance entry for the San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade called Time Lord of the Dance and we won a bunch of awards and got a standing ovation. Best performance experience ever. 

And now goals for 2019!

  • Learn a new trad set- after 4 years of competing St Pat’s, I think it’s time. Multiple people have told me I need to be dancing Garden of Daisies with my dress, so maybe? It’s a pretty one. 
  • Become a full prizewinner! Moving Novice hornpipe up is going to be difficult since there’s such tough competition in that dance for some reason, but hopefully at our feis and the St Ambroses, we can get at least 5 people and I can actually perform hornpipe the way I know I can.
  • Place in the top 10 again in trad set at Oireachtas, or, if we get an adult championship and my teachers approve, I would like to compete in the championship. 
  • Continue working on technique (turnout/cross/straight legs/pointy feet) and also work to keep my core and posterior chain engaged during dance, not leaving my calves to do all the work. 
  • Work on flexibility, hopefully to include flexibility class at the circus center, with the end goal of improving my clicks. 
  • Practice at home twice a week.
  • Get back to the gym for strength and cardio training at least twice a week, or find some videos I can do at home.
jaina: (Default)
*tap tap* is this thing on?

I wrote an overview of my year of Irish dance for my tumblr and I figured, why not post it here too? I'm lazy and attempting to copy the pictures over directly from Tumblr...we'll see if any pics post!
 

2017 was a pretty great year for me, Irish dance-wise. I started learning Irish dance in the first week of January 2015 (at age 33), so this is the end of my third year of dancing. Some highlights and memories:

  • I got 11th place in adult trad set at Oireachtas! Out of 52 competitors, and with at least five ex-champs ahead of me. I worked my ass off to improve my St. Patrick’s Day– I had a bad result at the last feis before WRO, and I used that to push me to practice and polish all the little bits of the dance. And it paid off!
  • I survived being top gent in our 8-hand. You guys, I was terrified of being top gent. The same person has been top gent for our team for ages but she couldn’t do teams this year, and when the teachers told us our positions I was so freaked out that I would screw up and let the team down. I definitely messed up a lot at first but I kept practicing and trying to give 100% at every practice. And not only did I survive…
  • …WE WON THE 8-HAND AT OIREACHTAS! This has been our goal for so, so long. We never beat Cleary and this year we beat them twice, once at a feis (which won us a giant perpetual trophy) and once at WRO. It was the most amazing feeling. I’m so happy that the Western region listened and finally split the adult teams by age (average age U40/40&O), because it gave a level playing field– the teams of ex-champs who are now adults competed against each other, and the teams of people who started as adults competed against each other. It was awesome. Our 4-hand also got 2nd out of 8 teams!
  • I moved up reel and slip jig to PW, leaving only single jig and hornpipe in Novice. I’m consistently placing in the top 4-5 in all my PW dances now, and I got my first PW first place (in reel) out of 14 competitors! Also I won my first sash at a feis, in a treble reel special!
  • I learned my first slow treble jig and slow hornpipe. And I learned the prizewinner reel and slip jig for my school– the same ones the kids do. They need serious clean-up, but I know the steps! I also learned Jockey to the Fair and started on Three Sea Captains.
  • I worked a lot on my technique– straight legs, crossed knees, pointy feet. I found out there were a couple things I’d been doing wrong basically since I started, so I’m working to undo those bad habits.
  • My fitness level is finally getting back to pre-baby levels. At the 2016 Oireachtas I barely made it through our 8-hand and there was no way I could’ve done double run-throughs. This year I was ready to dance it through as many times as we needed.

Goals for 2018!

  • FITNESS. Strength training 2-3 times per week consistently, drilling steps at home (waiting on my new practice pad!), and start working on flexibility.
  • Keep working on technique. When I watch the kids do my steps, I know what they can look like. I don’t want to look like an adult Irish dancer. I want to look like an Irish dancer, period.
  • Compete the 2-hand and 3-hand I learned this month at our feis in February!
  • Get hornpipe and single jig to PW! This is really dependent on getting 5 people at a feis, but when we do, it’s time for first place! No more Novice seconds!
  • Get my slow HP and TJ to a level where I feel comfortable competing them. Right now they’re messy as heck. Given the choice between a clean, simpler dance and a messy, harder dance, I’ll do the simple one every time…but what I really want is to do a clean, harder dance.
  • Podium in trad set at WRO 2018!!! My best dance friend did it this year, and she’s only been dancing a year longer than me. Maybe with a new set, maybe not. I’ve done SPD for three years now and I love it. See above re: clean, simpler dances.
  • And…finally get a solo dress! I have way too many ideas and I need to just pick one and go with it.
  •  
 
jaina: (Default)
Well I guess we're all moving over to dreamwidth now. I'm glad I imported all my entries a few months back. The difficulty is finding everyone again. I only have two of my old LJ friends on my reading list here.

(In case anyone is wondering, I'm brightcupenny on LJ, formerly jainamsolo.)
jaina: (Default)

I did it!!! I learned the whole single jig tonight, which means I accomplished my goal of learning all 4 soft-shoe dances one week early!! Plus I stayed for an hour after to learn one of the team dances and the lady I was dancing with said I should ask to be on one of the teams that enters the regional competition in November! Yay! Also I got my ghillies (shoes) plus my cape and brooches for my performance outfit tonight! Exclamation points!

jaina: (bones - baby!!!!!)
Oh man I totally thought I was done with the 2013 recaps (aka the year before last) and then I remembered I hadn't done a Costume Year in Review!!! So here it is, the last of the 2013 recap posts (before I start the 2014 posts).

In 2012, here's what I said I'd make in 2013:

1. Rebel Pilot for me! Still nope. Maybe in 2015?
2. Sekrit SDCC Masquerade costumes (there will be many costumes, mostly alike, let's put it that way) YES! Our "Tatooine" Masquerade went swimmingly.
3. Scarlett's "shantytown" dress for a GWTW group at D*C. Yes, the trim is insane. Yes, I'm going to start early. Really. Group didn't happen.
4. Mayyyyybe Rapunzel? I keep almost doing it. Nope! Not yet!
5. Whatever else comes up! As always, so many things came up!

So here's the stuff I made/put together/bought/otherwise acquired in 2013!

1. Captain America running costume

IMG_4206 . 725226-1024-0028s

I made this for the 2013 WDW Marathon, since Ron had originally planned to be Tony Stark for that race. It's become one of my favorite running outfits!

Lots more under the cut! )
jaina: (bones - baby!!!!!)
I know, a TV show episode reaction in my livejournal? Who am I? But I typed some stuff as I was rewatching 2x08 on cwtv.com (trying to help boost viewing numbers) and I think this is really the best place to put it vs facebook or tumblr. I honestly don't know if anyone still reading this even watches The 100 or is caught up through the S2 MSF so, you know, feel free to skip, esp if you are Maggie and aren't caught up yet, because spoilers. Uh also if you like Finn you should probably skip. Giant effing spoilers for The 100 2x08 'Spacewalker' (ugh even typing that name makes me mad) )

Okay, all that said though, if you aren't watching The 100 YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING THE 100 because on the whole it's a pretty killer post-apocalyptic funtime teen drama. If you like: 1) post-apocalyptic stuff, 2) kids-on-their-own, 3) team-as-family 4) characters being Team Mom and Dad, you might like this show. S1 is all on Netflix and it's only 13 eps. My recommendation is to watch through the first 4 eps, and by then you'll either know if it's for you or not. Don't stop after the first 2 because 3 and 4 are much better.
jaina: (bones - baby!!!!!)
Hello internet! Time for the write-up of this year's Princess Half Marathon weekend! Follow the cut for 60+ pictures, the running Avengers, and Indiana Jones being chased by a boulder with legs )

My fifth Princess Half Marathon weekend was a lot of fun! While I'm glad I did the inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge, I don't think I'll be doing it again. Racing two days in a row sucked, plus it took up a *lot* of time. We spent way less time in the parks than usual, which was a bummer. But we had a good time, met some great people, and laughed a lot, and that's always a great thing.

But I would like it if the weather gave us a break next year.
jaina: (bones - baby!!!!!)
Quick post to wrap up this weekend's race: my third San Diego Half Marathon. It was not my greatest race, but I definitely learned stuff!

And I took lots of pictures! Clicky to see, plus race report. )

So, big lesson from this race: DO NOT neglect pre-race nutrition and hydration. I was overconfident and too casual about my prep, and as a result, my body was completely wrecked for Sunday and Monday both. Despite that, I did mostly have fun, although I'm bummed that my foot really started hurting around mile 12 and is still pretty painful. :(

Race stats:
Chip time: 2:09:30
Pace: 9:53
Overall: 2669 out of 6031 (top 44%)
Age group: 217 out of 632 (top 34%)
jaina: (bones - baby!!!!!)
Look at me, writing a post about my weekend before the weekend is even over!

Tinker Bell Half Marathon 2014-- a Star Trek tea and a superhero race! )

Race Stats:
Chip time: 2:14:03
Pace: 10:14/mile
Overall: 1269/11490 (top 11%)
Age Group: 238/1997 (top 12%)
jaina: (bones - baby!!!!!)
No seriously, I just have to say this about Game of Thrones this season:

Obv spoilers for Storm of Swords )

Also )
jaina: (bones - baby!!!!!)
Year in Reviews continue! I will finish them before 2014, I swears! This time: Costume Edition!

Here's what I said I'd make in 2012:

1. Rebel Pilots for Rogue & me Only Rogue's got made this year.
2. At least one and hopefully more historical dresses & underpinnings! I have fabric for 18c, Regency, and mid-1800s. Nope. Every year I say I will...
3. Superhero/princess mashup (maybe?) Group didn't happen.
4. Whatever we do for SDCC Masquerade Yep! Project Runway: All Star Wars!
5. Ravenclaw robe Nope.
6. Amber's USO Girl Amber has elected to defer this costume for the time being.
7. Possibly Pink Power Ranger for a D*C group? Group didn't happen.

So then, what *did* I make? Well...

1. "Indy Anna" Jones

Indy Anna SDCC edited copy SMF_0128

My brother has always been the junior Jones in our family (except for when our dad is Indy and Sean is Shia LeBoeuf)-- but this year he couldn't come to Comic-Con. So I filled in! This costume was a snap, because Dad and Sean both own multiple copies of all the Indy accessories, so they just lent me the smallest hat, belt, bag, etc. I had originally planned on making some Katharine Hepburn-esque pants, but ultimately decided on a skirt. So I made a half-circle skirt out of some tan wool, and bought a shirt and boots. I didn't get to do my hair in a fun 30s style because I had to change into this one in the parking garage after wearing Maleficent that morning. :P At Dragon*Con we finally got our whole Indy group together for the very first time, huzzah!

Click me for the rest of the list! )

And now, planned costumes for 2013:

1. Rebel Pilot for me!
2. Sekrit SDCC Masquerade costumes (there will be many costumes, mostly alike, let's put it that way)
3. Scarlett's "shantytown" dress for a GWTW group at D*C. Yes, the trim is insane. Yes, I'm going to start early. Really.
4. Mayyyyybe Rapunzel? I keep almost doing it.
5. Whatever else comes up!
jaina: (Default)
(cross-posted from my blog)

skirtandshirt

Last year, J9 asked me if I would make a shirt for Ron. She'd already made a skirt for herself out of some TARDIS and Dalek fabric that she had bought from Spoonflower, and she figured there was probably a shirt's worth of material left. There was-- just barely! I gave Ron the shirt when I saw him at Christmas, and all was well, by which I mean my mom was kind of horrified by it, but Ron loved it. They wore their matching outfits to StellarCon in North Carolina (ADORABLE!):

IMG_6417

I looked at the pile of scraps I had left, and I thought, "I bet if I pieced these, I could make a skirt for their daughter. Then they would ALL match!" And then, because my mind seizes up when I try to design something original, I scoured the internet for pictures of colorblocked and patchwork skirts, and I drew sketch after sketch until I was finally satisfied it wouldn't look terrible. I really didn't have that much of the Who fabric left, so I picked up some coordinating solid cottons at Jo-Ann. And so-- skirt!

all the rest of the pics under the cut! )
jaina: (Default)
(Cross-posted from my blog)

A few weeks back, my friends and I had a fabulous, silly, incredibly relaxing girls' weekend in the mountains of North Carolina. The main event was a tea party on Saturday, and of course we had to dress up in our very best historical finery. And by "our," I mean "Janine's," because we were all wearing her dresses! (The Regency dresses were made by [livejournal.com profile] elvishtard and the chemise dress was by Hollie, whose LJ name I don't know.) I'm working on my first Regency dress, but it's not finished yet. Hopefully by Costume College!

We hosted the tea party at the bed-and-breakfast where we were staying, the Andon-Reid Inn. This place is amazing, you guys. If you're ever looking to vacation in western North Carolina, this is absolutely the place to go. The rooms are gorgeous, the three-course breakfast is unbearably delicious, and the owners, Rachel and Ron, are warm and generous beyond compare. Rachel took care of all the food and preparation for our tea party, even going so far as to research the proper kinds of sandwiches to serve!

We spent the morning dolling ourselves up. Conley was wearing Janine's new 1780s chemise a la reine, while Janine had loaned me her white-on-white striped Regency gown. I don't have proper Regency underpinnings yet, but my Laughing Moon Silverado corset worked well enough to allow the dress to sit nicely. My hairpiece was originally bought for Padme's family gown-- it worked perfectly for my Regency hairstyle! J9 just curled my front hair and tied a ribbon around my head, and I was good to go!

2053

More pictures of rampant silliness and tea parties under the cut! )
jaina: (Default)
(I posted this over on my blog, too, so if you follow me there, this will look familiar!)

The first three weekends of April were Star Wars Weekends at Legoland California, and the 501st and Rebel Legions were again invited to troop the events! Legoland is always great fun, so I was happy to get Leia-ed up and join my fellow Legion members. I ended up trooping both the opening and the closing days and had an awesome, if slightly exhausting, time at both. :) While I didn't take any pictures, Rachel and Lesley got some awesome shots!

It was really cold on opening day. Really cold.



We always start off the days at the park entrance, to take pictures with guests:

IMG_0306

Tiny pilot is tiny!!!

IMG_0324

Many more wacky pics under the cut! )
jaina: (Default)
Hey, does anyone want this Narnia movie poster that I got at SDCC 2005? (The picture cut it off, but underneath the title it says "Comic-Con July 2005".) It's like 27"x40", or whatever the standard large movie poster size is. Yours for the cost of shipping (which I have no idea, I'll probably have to send it Priority Mail). Leave me a comment if you want it!

photo
jaina: (Default)
Hello world! Name change completed-- I am known known as BrightCopperPenny (or BrightCuPenny where necessary) across the internets. You'll still see me as JainaMSolo in a lot of places, but all my major accounts have been switched over.

I'll still answer to Jaina if you call me that, of course, and I will still throw down with any girl who claims that she's Jaina and I'm not (I've got a book acknowledgement that disagrees with you), but it was time for a change.

So here's where you can find me!

My website: brightcopperpenny.com (also bright-copper-penny.blogspot.com)
My Etsy shop: Bright Copper Penny
On LJ: [livejournal.com profile] brightcupenny
On Twitter: @BrightCuPenny
On Tumblr: brightcopperpenny
On Pinterest, though I haven't used it much: BrightCuPenny
On Instagram (iPhone): brightcopperpenny
And in the near future, on Facebook! Stay tuned for that.
jaina: (Default)
YOU GUYS. LUCAS IS BACK. HE'S BACK AND HE WENT STRAIGHT TO SAMI AND THEY'RE TALKING AND BEING HONEST AND BANTERING AND HUGGING AND SAYING THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. IN THE SWEETEST WE'VE-FINALLY-LOOPED-BACK-AROUND-TO-BEING-BEST-FRIENDS-AFTER-ALL-THE-SHIT-WE-PUT-EACH-OTHER-THROUGH WAY.



THIS IS BASICALLY MY REACTION:


(And not because I just chloroformed someone.)

I CAN'T EVEN PROCESS THIS YOU GUYS. I just...it's hard to explain if you've never fallen in love with a soap couple. I've been shipping these characters since 1997. That's literally half my life. It's close to half of *their* lives. Soaps have a lot of issues (shit, I haven't even watched Days regularly since 2004 because I couldn't stand it), but they are unrivaled in the amount of history that can be brought to a single scene, just because their characters have been on for *so long*-- it's amazing.

I honestly thought I had this out of my system. Like I said, I haven't even watched since 2004. But then I watched today's show (and Monday's, since they air a day ahead in Canada and the Canadians are a kind and generous people) and I wanted to hop up and down with how excited and happy and thrilled I was. Seriously, in just these two days, we've gotten more than we used to get in *years.*

So basically, HEARTS. HEARTS IN MY EYES.

Scenes from today's and Monday's shows under the cut, plus screencaps. So technically spoilers for Monday, I guess )
jaina: (Default)
It's still early January, so this post is barely late at all!

Here's what I made in 2011!

List with pictures under the cut! )

So what's the plan for this year?

1. Rebel Pilots for Rogue & me
2. At least one and hopefully more historical dresses & underpinnings! I have fabric for 18c, Regency, and mid-1800s. I feel like I should make a 19-teens dress, too, even though I don't love the style, because a) everyone is doing it, and b) HELLO DOWNTOWN ABBEY OBSESSION.
3. Superhero/princess mashup (maybe?)
4. Whatever we do for SDCC Masquerade
5. Ravenclaw robe
6. Amber's USO Girl
7. Possibly Pink Power Ranger for a D*C group?
jaina: (Default)
I finished a costume! Not for me, although I wish I were tiny enough to fit it because it's pretty stinkin' adorable.

I made a Tiny Wonder Woman for [livejournal.com profile] eliz's little girl. She wanted to be Wonder Woman, but not, you know, with a bustier and a swimsuit bottom. So, inspired by [livejournal.com profile] luminousbeing78's Tiny USO Girl, I designed a little ruffly dress. I'm really happy with how it came out!

All together (the bracers go on her forearms; I just safety pinned them to the sleeves for the picture):

IMG_7794

A few more pictures, plus details about making it )

fnarrrrrr

Oct. 24th, 2011 05:29 pm
jaina: (Default)
Today, I:

- Arrived at work (on ~3 hrs sleep) at 7:40 for an outreach only to discover there was no outreach and I didn't actually need to be there until 11:30. (Partly my fault; I should've double-checked the email I got.)
- Found out my laptop's hard drive is dead and they don't know how much data they can save. (And yes, we have an external hard drive backup, but it's developed this charming behavior where it will show you that it has files and folders in it, but when you try to access them, it says, "What files? I have no files.")
- Discovered a nail in my right rear tire, which they can't patch because the tires are too worn. So I need new tires.

Today, you are FIRED.

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