What Mia has been up to

Hello Family, I hope you're all doing well. I for one am really struggling. I can't find a job and I've been feeling so frustrated and I've been praying and praying but nothing has worked out so I'm thinking the right thing just hasn't come along yet. So I have been finding ways to fill my time. Cleaning the house, making sure we always have clean laundry :'D making dinner, going to the library. But it hasn't quite been enough!!! So yesterday I bought a community garden plot. It's pretty decently sized and I love it so much. I spent 4 hours weeding it yesterday.

It was full of thistles. All that green stuff? Thistles! I rode my bike to walmart and loaded up my basket with plants and then came back and go to work.

 I planted 5 tomato plants, 3 peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, beans, zinnias and Lettuce. I'm very very excited about. I also stopped and agreed to let one of the city council women take a picture of me after I planted. 

It's actually bigger than it looks here. In the back the beans, zinnias, and lettuce are in three long rows. It about 15-20 feet long.

Everyone in Rexburg is busy getting ready for the eclipse in August. They're telling everyone to make sure they have food an water because they're expecting the population to quadruple for a week. So they are trying to make the city as beautiful as possible. Apparently this is one of the best spots in the country to see it. I go brave and sent the City Council women an email asking if they needed any other help! Hopefully I hear back from her. So today I planned to go work out in my garden more but I am really sun-burned so I'm hiding indoors all day. This happens every year at the beginning of the year. I think, I won't get burned just a little tan... then I'm fried and regret everything and make an oath to wear sunscreen for the rest of the year which I will. I was wearing my giant sun hat all day so my face neck and shoulders were in perfect shape! I was also wearing gardening gloves which protected my hands. (thistles remember?) So from my wrists to my biceps I'm fried.... good thing I was wearing long pants!!!! Anywho today, not going outside so I biked to the library and was busy sitting there feeling sorry for myself when I had an idea! There is a family history lab right behind the tabernacle next to the library. Now the best cure for feeling sorry for yourself is thinking about someone else so I dragged myself over there and awkwardly walked in and was like um... could you help me find some names to take to the temple? Now their were about 5 old people in there and I felt a little out of place but they were so helpful! I was able to find 17 names that need some kind of work done!!! I'm excited to send them to you guys!! Anyways... thats what I'm up to. I hope you're all doing well and I love you!

Summer Music!

Family!!
This summer I'm singing at the Harrower Opera Workshop in Atlanta and I wanted you guys to hear some of the music I'm doing! It's really awesome. 

Scenes:
Die Zauberflöte (Act II quartet) by Mozart- Second Spirit (The middle voice)
The middle kid in the beginning of this cracks me up. He is so cute.

Il Matrimonio Segreto (Act I trio) by Cimarosa- Carolina (The high voice)
They're pretty sassy ladies. The plot (since classical period operas are always too convoluted to shortened the plot...):

We are in the household of Geronimo, a wealthy citizen of Bologna; he has two daughters, Elisetta and Carolina, and a sister Fidalma, who runs the household. He also has a young secretary, Paolino, who is secretly married to the younger daughter, Carolina.

Act I

Paolino is working to arrange a marriage contract between Elisetta and his patron, Count Robinson, hoping that as soon as Geronimo's older daughter is well married, his marriage to the younger one will be acceptable. Count Robinson has written a letter expressing interest - tempted by Elisetta's substantial dowry - and Geronimo is thrilled to think that his daughter will be a Countess. Fidalma confesses to her niece that she is in love, too, but only reveals in an aside to the audience that she has her eye on Paolino.

When the Count arrives he is disappointed to find that it is not Carolina who has been offered to him. He tells Paolino that he will be content with a smaller dowry and sends him off to arrange the match. Carolina doesn't dare tell the count that she is married, so when she admits she has no lover it excites him further; she tries to convince him she has no desire or qualification to be a countess, but he continues to pursue her. Elisetta accuses them both of betraying her, and the commotion attracts Fidalma who joins Carolina in trying to calm Elisetta; everyone tries at once to explain his or her feelings to the confused and exasperated Geronimo.

Act II

Geronimo insists that the Count must honor his contract and marry Elisetta, but the Count refuses. When he offers to accept a smaller dowry with Carolina's hand instead, Geronimo is delighted to save face and money - as long as Elisetta agrees.

Paolino is distraught, and throws himself on Fidalma's mercy, but is stunned to find that she hopes to marry him; he faints, giving her the idea that she returns his emotion and making Carolina think she has been betrayed, but he promises that they will leave the house at dawn and take refuge in the house of a relative.

The Count tells Elisetta all his bad habits and physical defects, hoping she'll reject him, but she stands firm - and he finally confesses that he cannot abide her. Geronimo can't persuade her either. Fidalma suggests sending Carolina to a convent, and Geronimo agrees. Carolina is broken-hearted and tries to confess her predicament to the Count, but they are interrupted by her sister, her aunt and her father who are gleeful at having caught them together, and Geronimo sends Paolino off with a letter to the Mother Superior.

After a brilliant and farcical finale Paolino and Carolina finally confess they have been married for two months; Geronimo and Fidalma are furious, but the Count and Elisetta advise them to forgive the newlyweds, adding that they themselves will marry after all.

Turn of the Screw (Night Variation) by Britten- Governess (I come in highest and quiet at like 8 min. 19 sec. and come on stage at 8:53. The Governess is a big role in this opera, just not this particular scene.)

Whole Opera:
Dialogues of the Carmelites by Poulenc- St. Anne of the Cross (I'm a nun in the religieuse chorus)
So this opera is ridiculous beautiful and really emotional. The Carmelites were nuns living in France during the revolution and religious institutions were thought of as part of the bourgeoisie. They refused to give up their place as nuns and so were all sentenced to death. They died in the hope that others wouldn't. It's a true story and the sad part is, historically, Robespierre was beheaded shortly after them and the scary amounts of people dying stopped.

I'm also going to be working on stuff for my audition package- arias I might want for auditioning for jobs or young artist programs. Aaand stuff for my recital. So if there are any crazy songs you think I should do let me know? It can't be an aria. Cantatas and Oratorios are a small maybe. Mostly art songs. I feel pretty sure I'm doing this set by Libby Larsen (who's Minnesotan!!! And one of the most prolific and performed living composers right now):