MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hello everyone!

This is just a quick blog wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!  I hope y'all are spending time with your family and friends and are enjoying each other's company.  I hope you're eating good food, giving and receiving wonderful gifts, and spreading the Christmas spirit!

So, as kind of a little Christmas Card to all of you, I sang C-ute's Aitai Lonely Christmas!  I know it's a depressing song, but I'm hoping none of you are lonely like the girls are in the song. xP

Please enjoy!

And when Christmas is over, I'll be posting a review I've been working on.  It's a bit different than the usual J-pop reviews I do, so please look forward to it!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

<3

It's a great feeling

When you're in the car and you're singing your own song!

x3

I was singing "Let's Live" in the car today on the way back from the library.  It makes me so happy that I can write my own lyrics and make my own melodies, even if I suck at reading music. XDD

And of course with the help of Chris's awesome instrumentation.  Even listening to the instrumental makes me super happy.

It's like...this is my song.

IT'S SO CRAZY!

I wonder if this is how music artists feel when they write songs...or maybe they've gotten used to it.

I dunno.

This is my first song so it's very special to me.

Don't worry, you'll get to hear a preview soon!

How does this Friday sound?

Or maybe Thursday?

Sometime this week, there will be a preview!

And I'm hoping to release the setlist for our first concert this week as well!

It's a super fun setlist, full of high energy and dancing!

It's a setlist that shows off all of the talents of the ElectroCute members.  ^--^

I'm hoping that someday soon, we can have a concert that is only made up of ElectroCute songs!

That day will make me so happy!

But that also means I have to write A LOT of new songs! XDD

....Actually...

I've already started on the lyrics for our second single! xP

It's got a different feel than our first single.

But I guess that doesn't mean much since y'all haven't heard any of "Let's Live" yet. xP

But!

This week, you'll hear a preview!

I hope you're excited!

I'm excited!

I'm excited to hear what everyone thinks of the song.  Please tell me your true feelings about it, yeah?

Anyway, I need to finish my last bit of homework and go off to bed!

Nighty night everyone, and sweet dreams!

<3

ElectroCute's 1st Single Announcement!

First of All, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  I hope you all eat a lot of delicious food today, even if you aren't American! XD  Delicious food is good for the soul. xP

ANYWAY, here is the announcement of my first music group's (as a producer and a performer) single, "Let's Live!"  This announcement is taken from the KiraKira Moe Show Official Blog.

I mean...I still wrote it, but I'm putting it here!

"Hello Starshines!

Kaya here, with a HUGE announcement!

Electro☆Cute will be releasing their first single in Mid-January!!

We’re all so excited for it!  The song is titled “Let’s Live” with lyrics penned by Kaya and composed by Christopher Escalante, video game composer and voice actor!

Pre-orders for the single will start during Ikkicon VII, and the girls will perform the song during their concert there on Friday, December 28th.

More details on the single’s release date, and previews will come as Ikkicon approaches.

Stay tuned!"

I hope y'all are excited!

Right now, Chris has finished composing the track, so I'll be recording a demo to send to the rest of the girls so they can finish learning the song.  Mayu is working on choreography at the moment, and I'm discussing the MV shoot while Keiko puts our ideas onto storyboards. 

IT'S ALL SO EXCITING!  I can't wait for y'all to hear it!  

Birthday Paaaaaaaaaaaartaaaaay!

Hey y'all!

It's been a busy week!  Cinderella has been in tech since last Saturday so I haven't had much time to blog, so I've just been updating my Facebook Page (which you can find on my contact page) with tweets and such.

ANYWAY.  Last Friday was my birthday, and I have some fun pictures from the celebration!

First off, here's what I wore on my birthday!  I went all out with a mini hat, sash, and a magical birthday wand! XDD  Oh, and I went and voted with all of this on.  I take my duty as a US citizen veeery seriously. XDDD

HELLO.KITTY.BIRTHDAY CAKE.  Mama ordered it for me.  She's the best!  I took this before I went out to dinner, I couldn't stop staring at it. XD

Then it was off to Fuji for a hibachi grill dinner!  We started off with a salad...

The sexy sauce!  (Seriously, the chef called it that).  If they sold this in bottles, I would buy soooo much. XD  Seriously, this stuff is SO good.  It makes an amazing vegetable dip too.

Friends!  I love my girls!  From the left, we have Terri, Micki, Lisa, Julia, and Kelly!

This was my delicious hibachi-cooked meal!  Salmon, two jumbo shrimp, fried rice, and plenty of vegetables!  It was suuuuuper tasty!  The chef was really funny too.  He joked the whole time, and has lots of different props to play with.  I hadn't laughed that much in a long time!

Then the waitstaff brought me ice cream and sang a birthday song for me!  They even had a little Taiko drum! 8D

Then we went back to Micki's apartment for cake and movies, where our other friend, Naomi, joined us.  Before we ate the cake, I had to get a picture of the side, the flowers were just too cute!

Everyone say caaake!

It was red velvet cake!  So good, but so rich!  None of us could finish our slice. XD

We watched Magic Mike and Moulin Rouge that night. XD  Both super sexy movies, for different reasons.  It was very enjoyable.

By the time we finished Moulin Rouge, it was 3am, so I had to go back to my dorm and go to bed since I had Cinderella the next morning.

But this was probably the best birthday ever!  Just good food, good movies, good friends, and LOTS of laughter!

<3

I'll be back to normal posting midway through next week, so I'll see you next time!

Birthday Giveaway!

HEY PEOPLE!

So before I go out and start the birthday party tonight, I posted a giveaway video on YouTube!  Check it out!

I'm giving away a poster of SNSD's Taeyeon in her costume from "The Boys" album promotions.  Since I'm getting all of these awesome gifts for my birthday, I wanted a chance to give one as wel.  ^--^

If you watch the video and read the description box as well, you'll know the rules and how to participate.

So please do participate!

Party posts will come tomorrow, as well as some reviews and such that I've been procrastinating on! XD

Love y'all!

<3

二十歳

It's officially midnight on November 2nd, so today is my 20th birthday!

If y'all don't read kanji, the title of this post is "Hatachi," which means 20 years old in Japanese.

It's weird to think about being an adult.

But I'm seeing this as a chance to turn over a new leaf.

I'm starting a new chapter in my life, a chapter where I start to take control of my life, where I make my own choices, and live for myself, and not for other people anymore.

I've been stuck in this pattern of making choices in my life for other people, be it family members, friends, or teachers.  Since I'm stepping into adulthood, I want to make sure that from now on, my choices will be for myself.  I won't feel tied down to other people's expectations, since over the past year, I've learned that my expectations for myself are the most important ones.

I want to keep my compassion and caring for other people intact, since that is an important part of being an adult and a human being in general, but I've neglected caring for myself for a long time, and the time has come for that to change.

So I've made a few lists:

Things I'm letting go of

Things I'm stepping into

With this new chapter in my life starting, I wanted to give myself a vision for the coming year and beyond.

Things I'm letting go of:

*Trying to please everyone at the same time
*Taking my life in a different direction to please others
*Feeling like it's my fault when others get angry
*Beating myself up over and over again for minor mistakes
*Shutting myself away from the world instead of asking for help
*Trying to solve everything by myself

Things I'm stepping into:

*Making major life choices according to what feels right to me
*Going after what I really want in life, not letting others' visions get in the way
*Building a new kind of self confidence that doesn't rely on the support of others
*Asking for help when I need it, instead of trying to take on the world by myself
*Loving myself and caring about my needs just as much as I care about others

I've written these lists on sheets of paper, and after all of my classes are finished for the day, I'm going to go outside, rip them to pieces, and let them blow away with the wind, as a promise to fulfill these goals starting today.

I hope that my first year as an adult will be a successful one.  One where I achieve many goals, learn a lot of new things, and love myself and others unconditionally.  I hope to spread positive energy all around me, and to have that energy inspire many new things.

I also hope to take this opportunity as a new adult to revive the childlike creativity in myself.  I not only want to mature as a person this year, but I also want to stay young at heart.  I want to be able to have unlimited imagination, to have a world inside myself where anything is possible, and to have curiosity for everything around me.

I feel that if I approach the world with a childlike curiosity and have an adult like process to apply my new worldly information, that I can do anything I set my mind to.

I know that all of this is a life-long process, but as a new 20 year old, I'm ready to accept the challenge and to enjoy the struggle.

And to the 19 year old me, thank you for making the new discoveries you've made in the last year.  I know it's been a very difficult experience, but now you can rest.  The 20 year old me will take over from here, and I promise to make you proud.

One last picture of the 19 year old Kaya:

Thank you everyone, for all of your continued support up until now.  Your support has helped me through a lot of difficult decisions and situations, and I hope that you will continue to support me this year as well.  I'll do my best to be true to myself so I can have my best life and do my best work! <3

20TH YEAR LET'S GO!

Last day of Teenagerhood/Halloween Candy

So it's officially after midnight on November 1st.

Which means my 20th birthday is tomorrow.

WHAT!?

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!?

Wasn't I just a freshman in high school yesterday?

Seriously man...

I have no clue where the time went.

I'm still not used to this whole being an adult thing.  

I mean, it's not like turning 20 is going to make me change immediately.

Becoming an adult is a process.

But still, I don't want to lose my inner child.

I think there will be parts of me who are always 5 years old anyway.  XDD

But more on that on my actual birthday.  

SWITCHING TOPICS!

Yesterday was Halloween!

It was so much fun!

Like a child, I ate lots of candy.

But, like an adult, I also gave out lots of candy.  

See?  I can do a little of both! XDDD

I enjoyed giving out candy and making people happy.

I chose to give out Dum Dum pops this year.  

It reminds me of when I was in elementary school, since they always had Dum Dum pops in the library.  I would sit down and read and suck on a Dum Dum pop.

My favorite flavor hasn't changed.  

Butterscotch. XD <3

It was cool to see what flavors everyone else picked, and if they still had the same favorite, or if they were trying something new.  

New flavors that everyone seemed to like were blueberry and mango.

They're so strong!  I was surprised by the amount of fruit flavor in them!  I wonder if they used real fruit juice...

Anyway.

This is just a personal blog.  

Nothing much to do with idols or KKMS.

But sometimes I just need to ramble out to someone.  So yeah...

...but actually, the Dum Dum pops gave me a cool idea for KKMS.

More on that later. ;)

What's your favorite Dum Dum flavor?  Did you ever save enough wrappers to get cool prizes? XD

Electro☆Cute!

So, as all of you know, I run an organization called the "KiraKira Moe Show," which runs like an idol company.  During this past Summer, we had 29 uncategorized members running around and performing at conventions.  

I do consider all of my girls debuted as idols once they join the Moe Show, contrary to other idol companies that place them in groups to debut.

BUT.

I do want to create smaller groups and promote them.

SO.

The first group to come out of the KiraKira Moe Show is:

Electro☆Cute!

The group is made up of four members:

Mayu

DOB:  02/04/1997

Hair color:  Blonde

Eye color:  Blue

Strong Point:  Dance

Member Color:  Baby Blue

Hazel

DOB:  06/04/1992

Hair Color:  Brown

Eye Color:  Brown

Strong Point:  DERP, Positivity

Member Color:  Emerald Green

Keiko

DOB:  10/27/1994

Hair Color:  Red/Brown

Eye Color:  Blue/Green

Strong Point:  Energy!

Member Color:  Cherry Red

Kaya--Leader

DOB:  11/02/1992

Hair Color:  Honey Brown

Eye Color:  Blue/Green/Hazel

Strong point:  Vocals

Member Color:  Bubblegum Pink

Electro☆Cute was announced on the KiraKira Moe Show Facebook Page on July 31st, with the members revealed one by one.  

We released our first dance cover on YouTube which was a cover of Pinku Project's "Pinku Invasion!"

A second dance cover was released about a month later, which was a cover of Danceroid's "Baby Maniacs."

We will be having our first live concert at Ikkicon VII in Austin, Texas on December 28th.  The title and setlist of the concert will be released at a later date.  

Currently we are working on our first single, which will also be announced at a later date.

We hope you look forward to our original work, and if you can come to our live, please do!

We'll be working hard from now on, so please support us!

Miss Electricity is over...

So I got cast in "Miss Electricity" two and a half weeks ago...

It's amazing to think we put on an entire show in two and a half weeks.  

And we did three shows this weekend...

and now we're closed.

WHAT?

It's like...what happened!? XDDD

But I'm glad I got the opportunity to be in the show.  

I finally found the fun in acting again, since that's what I did the show for...for fun.  

My other castmates were so wonderful too! O_O  So much energy!

Thank you for all of your hard work.

Oh!

And the hard work of the crew, and the stage managers and directors too!

I'll post a full cast picture when it gets uploaded by my directors.  ^--^

Anyway, here are some of my personal pictures:

This is my first costume as "Mom."  Mom works as a nurse so I'm wearing scrubs.  They were super comfy. xP

And this is my other costume as "Mrs. Waldo."  Mrs. Waldo is the main character's schoolteacher.  I didn't like this costume as much since the sweater was super itchy!

My mom and grandmother came to see the show on Saturday before leaving to go back to Texas this morning, so this is a picture of me at their hotel room.  It was after the show, so I do look a bit tired. XD

This picture is of my show make up!  Lots of blush and dark lippy!  I used more wine type colors for my make up instead of the pinks that the rest of the cast was using since I had to look older onstage.  What do you think?  

A mother and daughter (who was around 6 years old I believe) came and talked to me after the show.  The mother asked her daughter:  "Does she look old enough to be a Mommy?" to which the girl replied "NO!"  XDDDD  It was totally cute.  I had lots of people come up to me saying that I played a good mama.

I'm glad I was able to convey my character convincingly, even though I'm not the best actor in the world. xP I'm glad my hard work paid off!  Yay!

This picture was taken when strike was over.  Strike is when we all take down the set and clean up the theater.  I was happy when it was over, since I had gotten quite hungry. XDDD

Anyway, I'm happy that I did the show, and I feel accomplished now that it's over.  

So now I have a week off before I jump into Props for Cinderella! 

I'll make sure to enjoy the time off I have after classes. <3

So Much Better!

So I had been worrying about how I'd been doing during rehearsals for "Miss Electricity," so I set up a meeting with Denise today to talk about it.

I'm not going to burden y'all with everything that she said, but her words were really reassuring, and I feel a lot better now.  I feel a lot more confident in my performance skills, and I now know that my hard work isn't going to waste!  

I just have to remember to "enjoy the struggle."  She says that a lot.  It's like, yes, the play is a lot of work, but it should be fun!

After talking with her, I was thinking how cool it is that I get to help create something new!  A new work of art for people to watch!  I'm very grateful to her for casting me in the show.  

I'll have to tell her that (again). XD  Because I really am.  

Even when I didn't have faith in myself, Denise had faith in me, and cast me in the show!  Now that I can start to get my faith in myself again, I hope that I will have more opportunities to hone my skills in many areas, including acting.  ^--^

Anyway, I'm sorry for being all mushy and stuff, but I'm just happy that I'm not a complete idiot like I thought I was.  LOL. 

I have rehearsal again tonight, so I'm going to keep working on my lines now.

Please keep supporting me, and I'll continue to try and support myself!

<3

Here's a picture from rehearsal last night:

Myself and the Narrator weren't in the scene they were working on so we were running lines outside the theater.

Ahhhh...

Just got out of the shower and into bed.

<3 

Feels great!

Today I tried my costume on at rehearsal!

It's so fun! XD  I feel like such a professional in it!

But I can't show it to you yet. x3

I'll post pictures after the show is over.  

The costume signifies a very important job, which is why my character is always organized and clear and sharp!

Wearing the costume made me feel as though I'll be able to channel the character better.  Now I can see what kind of direction Denise wants me to go with her.

I'll do my best to convey a working mother!

Anyway, they were working on scenes with just the children characters, so I was let out early.  I was able to have a long conversation with my mom.  It was so nice to be able to laugh and talk with her finally.  It had been about two weeks or so since I'd been able to do that.  

I miss her when I'm away.

But!  She's coming up for the show, so I'll see her in another two weeks!

Right now, I'm gulping down water like crazy!

But I feel very refreshed.  Clean and hydrated.  Yay! <3

I'll finish the videos I'm watching on YouTube, and then it's off to bed!

Night y'all, sweet dreams! 

<3

Hacking on thru

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~i! 

I'm so glad it's the weekend!

I'm taking this opportunity to rest up.

Even though we've only had three rehearsals,

we're working hard. xP

We've been blocking the show, and now we only have 11 pages left!

I'm hoping we'll get that done on Monday so we can get to learning the choreography!

Here are the Directors for the Production!

It's just the back of their heads since I don't know how they feel about having their faces posted online.

On the right is the head director, Denise!  She was my Acting I and Beginning Movement for the Actor Professor last year.  I love her so much. <3

On the left is Mikey!  He's a co-director of sorts.  He's just a few years older than me.  He's also the head of getting the show out to children in the area, and he's coordinating a special performance for children with disabilities!  He's such an amazing person!  He can act, direct, manage...I feel like Mikey can do anything.  I want to be like him when I grow up. x3

And here are our Stage Managers!

Again, the back of their heads. xD

On the left is Rachel, and she's the assistant stage manager!  She's my age.  ^--^  

She's also someone I look up to.  She's SUCH a hard worker, and you can tell, since she's improved a lot in her performance skills since last year.  It's good that she's trying something new by stage managing.  Rachel, I'm looking up to yooooooou!

...but she doesn't know it yet. XD

And on the right is Britney, the stage manager.  This is my first time working with her, but she seems like a very nice person.  Thank you for all of your hard work, Britney!  She's bringing some children from a large foster home to watch the show!

As for me...I'm worried about my acting still. T___T

I know it takes a long time to block things, and get things the way the director wants onstage physically, but sometimes my mind starts to wander off and worry about what I'm doing wrong.  

I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to do this performance well, since I look up to all of the people I'm working with, and I want to be on the same level, and impress them.

Especially Denise.

Her approval means a lot to me.

I mean, she's the one who cast me, so I know I have her approval,

but, but

I want her to be proud of my performance.

And I want to be proud of my performance.

And, I also want to have fun!  Since that's a big part of acting.  Why do it if you don't have fun, right?

I'll continue to work hard on my role, and I'll do my best to have lots of fun while doing so!

Now I have to go and finish memorizing my lines!

<3

Miss Electricity

Fuuuuu~~

I'm tired.  XD

So, I had an audition yesterday, and I GOT CAST!

I'm so happy!

The play that I'm in is a Children's Show called "Miss Electricity"

If any of you are in the central Illinois area, it would be great if y'all could come see it! <3

Anyway, I play the main character's mother and teacher.

The character I play reminds me of my mother.

I give some speeches in the show that my mother has given me. xP

Here's a plot synopsis from the back of my script:

"Ten year old Violet is determined to show the world, not to mention the cool kids at school, just how special she is.  With the help of her assistant Freddy, she sets out to break a world record, but becomes accidentally extraordinary when she's struck by lightning--twice--and gains control over all things electric.  Under the name Miss Electricity, Violet zaps her way through circuits, bullies, and tests, but could lose everything when the power goes to her head."

Sounds cool right?  I really love it, it's so so super cute!

And there are five dances in the show!  I'm so happy I get to dance too!

Here is a picture of the cast in the end pose of the dance we learned today:

My legs were in a strange position, so I put hearts over them. XD

We call this one the "bully dance."  I'm not playing Violet's Mom in this scene, but a dancer kid at her school. 

I like that I get to do multiple things in this show! <3

Here's a tired Kaya after rehearsaaaal.

x3

It's time for me to take a hot shower!

I'll work hard on my acting skills, since I haven't done a play in about a year!  I learned a lot from my professors last year, so I need to make sure I use what I learned well, and to learn a lot from this process!

Miss Electricity, FIGHT!

Cinderella

Hello everyone!

It seems that August is now over!

Whaaaaa--it went so fast! XD

But now it is September, and I'm now scheduling a very important event with my colleagues!

I, Kaya, am the Props Master's Assistant in Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella!"

I'm so excited!

It's my first time being a crew head ya know!

I'm curious as to how I'll handle this authority position, since I'll be helping with designs and be telling our props crew how to make things.

Although, really,

I was put in this position to keep Liam organized. XD

Liam is the props master. He's the one who's had experience in art and in building things, so I'm in charge of organization and paperwork.

But I'll be helping with art stuff too!

I'll just be doing more simple things than Liam does.

OH!

Also, on October 1st, I get keys to the props shop and the theatre! 8D

It's very exciting.

I'm humbled that Barbara (the designer for the show) trusts me with such responsibility!

I'll do my very best to see that everything in Props Land goes smoothly!

Here's a picture of the script!

I made a props list for it the other day. It's 4 pages long! Now I just need to update it with how each prop is used and such.

To be honest, I'm kinda nervous. XD I've never done this before.

But I'm sure it'll be a good experience, and I'll learn a lot!

I'll do my best as Assistant Props Master Kaya!

<3

Cooking Adventures: Chicken Curry Rice!

Hello Everyone!

Chicken curry is one of my favorite foods, and it's super easy to make!  In this tutorial, I'll be making the Japanese style curry using curry blocks.  

For this recipe you'll need:

A package of ground chicken (or beef, pork, whatever you like)

About half of a large onion

Garlic Powder (or minced garlic, which I prefer, but didn't have at the time)

One package of curry blocks.  I love the S&B mild sauce.  It's so super delicious!

You'll also need rice, salt, and pepper.

First, make your rice according to the directions on the package:

While your rice is going, chop your onion into small pieces.  If you like your curry chunkier, bigger pieces is fine.  Smaller pieces cook faster though.

Next, put a little over a teaspoon of olive or vegetable oil in a large skillet.

Swirl the pan to coat.

Now throw in your onions!

And add your minced garlic or garlic powder to the mix.  I add a lot because I love garlic!

Now you need to saute this for 10 to 15 minutes over medium-high heat until the onions become somewhat translucent.  I know, it's a long time to push onions around in oil, but it's so worth it!  It allows the flavor to be absorbed by the meat and the curry better.

DON'T FORGET TO TURN OFF YOUR RICE WHEN TIME IS UP.  Leave the lid on until the curry is ready.

When your onions look something like this, it's time to add in the chicken!

Whee!

Break up the chicken into very small pieces as it cooks.

When almost all of the pink is gone from your chicken:

Like this

Add about two cups of water to the pan, and turn the heat to medium-low.

Take out your curry blocks

And chop 'em up!

When the water in the pan has reduced, and it starts to boil around the edges like this:

Add in the curry blocks and melt them into the mixture

Let the mixture simmer, some more, and stir constantly, you don't want the curry to burn!  When it is thick and shiny like this:

It's ready!

Lay out some of your rice in a bowl

And pour some of your curry on top of it

Dig in y'all!  

I hope y'all enjoyed this cooking adventure, and if there are any other recipes y'all want to see, let me know!

Enjoy your curry! ^--^