It's the Final Countdown!

Heyoooooo

So last time I checked in, March had just begun! Ian started his new job, spring break was finally here, and I was frantically preppin for my senior recital. Let's go from there!

Senior Recital 

So wow! That happened, and it was insane. And super fun. You know you've grown a lot when you get to your senior recital and you don't have a single meltdown over the music (unlike my junior recital where I was literally forgetting entire songs from anxiety HA). Instead, I had a little freak out over my makeup, which I was not happy with at all but eventually put my vanity aside and kicked butt. I went out there, had fun singing some beautiful music, and then celebrated with my friends and family! I had an AMAZING turn out, I think the organ hall was almost full! So probably a solid 50 people showed up. Even my grandparents came out from Boise for the weekend, AND my dad came in from Utah. I felt pretty darn loved. Plus, the reception was beautiful thanks to my mom and mother in law. I had been planning every detail for months and it was even better than I had anticipated. A huge weight came off my shoulders that night and I could not be prouder of myself! Sure, there were some mistakes (I'm just going to forget that I even sang Willow Song for the sake of self-esteem and forgetting that crash and burn hahahaha) but overall it was about 90% where I wanted it to be, and I'll take that win. Anyway enjoy some peeectuureess.

The rest of the weekend was filled with general conference, Easter, and family. It was one of the best weekends ever!!


End of Semester

The rest of the semester was simply filled with me scrambling to learn my part in opera scenes that I had unwisely been putting off with my recital. Looking back, I should have and could have been more prepared, and I have learned from it. We had a super fun scene that was hilarious and chaotic, which made up for the fact that our scene didn't come together musically 100%, ever. haha and I mean that in the best way possible! I was told we were really funny, and that makes up for it. Oh well. It was a good experience regardless of a seamless performance, and everyone else in the show that night was phenomenal! I'm so lucky to know so many talented people.

I was also working with Anne on picking out the "fun" stuff, aka AUDITION ARIAS! FINALLY! I love concert and recital music, but let's be real, this is the music I've been waiting to dive into! And boy, have we!

Other than that, the rest of my semester was pretty laid back. Kind of anti-climactic leading into graduation, with hardly seeing anyone until the day of! Speaking of which...

GRADUATION Festivities!!

So back in February, I was notified that I had been nominated and selected to sing the National Anthem and alma mater at undergraduate commencement! Kind of a pretty big deal, considering this was for the entire undergraduate graduating class of 2018! It was held at Chase Field, where Ian said roughly 12,000 were in attendance?? INSANE. I have never performed for an audience that large, let alone in a venue this large either, LET ALONE BY MYSELF! It was a crazy day. I went to work, met Ian at a public park, drove to Chase Field and practically missed sound check because I hadn't received any email on what I was supposed to do that day (turns out the lady who was supposed to send it to me, forgot hahahahah /cries). I'm already a stress ball, so this kinda added to it. Fortunately the gal who was like "my person"/escort/buddy was super calm and really nice (her name was Melissa) I made it to sound check where I learned that singing in that large of a space with that many speakers can make even the most competent and confident musician feel like a total GOOB. Fortunately the sound guys were also SUPER nice and gave me inner ear monitors/pack, and I felt like a total pro. After sound check, we went up to the Audi Diamond Level and were fed dinner and I felt SO COOL. You don't understand. I was on Cloud Nine! I was referred to as "The Soloist" all night and I didn't mind one bit. +50 to ego, right there. Anywho, Melissa and I make our way to the field, and I got to hang out in the dugout with Sparky for a hot sec, and then go below the field as we wait to start the procession. I got to be on the stage on field for the whole ceremony! Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm prepared, though I was a little nervous and it's time for the National Anthem and I had to nudge Michael Crow to let me through and I'm freaking out because maybe I was accidentally super rude to the president of ASU and I couldn't hear anything because of my earbuds and I get to my spot just to realize when the brass choir started that my ear buds WERE NOT EVEN ON and had to sing the National Anthem with no monitor but fortunately the ear buds themselves blocked out the reverb and I was with the timing and wasn't off and it was fine but I still was internally freaking out.

PHEW. Sorry for the run-on but it had to be done.

I then remembered to turn my pack on for the Alma Mater, which was better but I made up the words because that's just how it goes. By that point, everyone was screaming so nobody even noticed. But me.

I noticed.

heh.

I'll still considered it a success cuz they paid me $150.

Anywhere here's some more peeeectuuurresss.

 I almost forgot I did a pre-show interview so I'm now just waiting for Ellen to call me

It was definitely a 10/10 experience.

Then actual convocation came around 2 days later, but just for Herberger! It didn't feel real, but it felt very real at the same time. It's an odd experience! Part of me couldn't believe it was happening since I've been in school so long, I never thought I'd be finished! But the other part of me was like HECK YEAH I AM DONE AND I SO DESERVE THIS! Anyway, that ceremony wasn't nearly as exciting but I got to walk to it was worth it. My parents took me to lunch afterwards and we just hung out the rest of the day! Pretty good day.

HERE ARE MORE PHOTOS OF MY FACE

betcha didn't know I could float with no legs

So many wonderful experiences and opportunities, and even better people and relationships. /sigh They tell you it flies by, but you don't believe it till it does. 💗

Anyway.

Long story short, I did it.🌟

I think this is a new record...

HEYOOOOO this is a new record! It's been over 6 months since my last blog post. Wowza! Well much has happened since the beginning of August!! Let's dive in, shall we?

SCHOOL

Last semester was incredibly busy, trying, and amazing. I grew a lot over those few months, both as a human being and a singer. One of my highlights was being in the chorus for "The Bartered Bride"!! Honestly, I wasn't sure how much fun I was going to have at first but we hit the ground running and it was a fantastic run! I made SO many new friends and had an absolute blast!!

So many wonderful people all in one pic

My dance partner, Josh! SO glad we became friends! He made the show so much fun! He and I had a fun little "yodeling" bit during the circus scene. He learned the accordion just for the opera! I got to sing some high notes, so that's always a good time. haha


YOUNG WOMENS!

YW in Excellence

I really started to get my bearings in my calling over the last few months of the year. I've been in YWs for over a year now, and I can tell I have grown up a lot. We had a successful YW in Excellence, as well as New Beginnings (and when I say successful, I mean that we pulled it off without anything catching on fire LOL).

We helped with the ward Christmas party, had a Halloween party, had an etiquette dinner with the YM, have gone to the temple, and have gotten to know the girls  and I LOVE them SO! I love my calling! It's definitely hard and I'm being stretched, but it's a good kind of stretch. 

YW in Excellence

Ward Christmas Party Photo Booth

FAM BAM and FRIENDS!

I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by people who love me and support me just as much as I do them!! My mom and step-dad moved to Alabama tho in October, which kinda sucked a lot, but they've visited a lot since and they are coming down for my recital in a few weeks. ❤ One of my closest friends Taryn was Gilbert Days Rodeo queen and I got to go the rodeo for the first time since I was probably 12 and see her rock it as a real-life QWEEN!

she is too cool, guys 

We also do a lot of sangin' together, my friends and I. I kid you not, I'm drowning (in a good way) in talented people and I will never complain about it!

At the Gilbert Community Center singing for some crazy kids and their moms who are there for the free carbs

THE HUBS!

Ian and I celebrated our FOURTH anniversary in September! I would have loads of pictures BUT we didn't want to spend $20 on them because WE GOT TO SEE DOLPHINS for reeeaaalllsss It was magical!! Such beautiful and intelligent creatures! We got to get in the water, play with them and pet them. It was so cool. If we were rich I would have bought a whole album but alas, I am not. 

I have a hard time believing that we will hit the 5 year mark in 6 months! 6 months from today, to be exact! I don't feel old enough to celebrate that many years yet lol but here we are! Well, we will be. haha I love that human. He's the best one, in my opinion. 

Speaking of him, the Marine Corps Ball was great as per usual. We had some gorgeous pictures taken by Allie and had an overall good time. This was probably the most fun I've had at one yet!

 *swooooooons*

The rest of the year, including New Years and Christmas was wonderful as well. Since this year was technically my family's year to have us but they were in AL, we had Christmas Eve at Katie's house and then Christmas morning just the two of us at home. It was different, but a good kind of different. I made a yummy french toast bake that we ate after we exchanged gifts. It was a relaxing morning before heading down to Tucson to see Ian's extended family. My dad also came into town for a few days, which was fun! We shopped, went to the movies, and ate out (which all three things are such treats!). I love being able to have room for him to stay when he comes. Our New Years party was a hit, as always. We played games, enjoyed each other's company, and welcomed in what has been the best year yet!!

NOW! 2018!!

I've been in school for the past few months, frantically finishing learning my music/memorizing before my recital in 3 weeks! I was taking some online classes, which had me run ragged for the first 8 weeks of the semester, but thankfully those are over! I auditioned for grad school a few weekends back, and I nailed it!! I honestly have never walked out of an audition feeling to genuinely good about my performance before, and it was a good feeling. Cross your fingers ASU gives me money!😉 I also got a new job!! I work for a CPA/financial adviser in Mesa as an administrative assistant. I get paid to answer the phone, manage his schedule, and miscellaneous duties (especially during busy tax season!). It's a low stress job, which is a first for me haha, and my boss is super nice and very flexible with my schedule. I think I'll be sticking around for a while! I am learning so much about real-world stuff and so far this has been the best job I've ever had. Ian also started a new job this week working for a company that installs gates (all kinds!) and so far he likes it. Verizon was draining him of any motivation and drive left in him, and even though it was a little scary to have him quit without anything lined up, he's been much happier and that makes me happy. We've bonded a lot more since he's been happier and more relaxed---the person I married! 

Anyway, lots of good things in store for this McHardy clan. I can't wait for my recital, I can't wait to graduate, and I can't wait for the opportunities heading our way! Thanks for making it this far, lovelies!!! Till next time! 

Summer Shenanigans 2017

Hey y'all. Currently jammin to some new music from Superfruit and I thought "I should write another blog post"! It's been about three months so I'm due for another one anyway.

So here we are. :D

Last time I checked, it was about a week or two before the summer workshop I did started up and lots has happened since then! So we'll just go through it.


CGCC SUMMER OPERA WORKSHOP!
Huzzah! This definitely took up a good portion of my brain space this summer. Twice a week for a few hours I went to a workshop held at the community college I used to go to and it was seriously so much fun! I strengthened some friendships I already had as well as made some new and valuable ones! I definitely came out of it a better performer than what I was when I went into it. It was also exciting to be coached by people you have never really been coached by before. I knew Jen and Jeff already because I had gone to CGCC but neither of them were my voice teachers and I don't think I ever sang in one of their masterclasses over my time there, so it was a new and educational experience for me!

I wasn't sure what to expect at first because there wasn't a definitive structure that was given to us beforehand so I went in a little nervous. I was certain there was going to be scene work because I knew there was going to be a performance at the end to show off what we had worked on, but beyond that I had no idea! We all started the class by taking turns singing a prepared aria (naturally) and then we got some coaching on a new aria of our choice. All the arias I had had already been coached with either Dale or Robert so I didn't want to do any of those, so the only one left was one I had been given ages ago and had been pretty difficult for me to do in the past. "Prendi, per me sei libero" from Donizetti's Elixir of Love. Greeeaaattt. It's exposed and way different than what I normally do EVER, but it is so beautiful which were all reasons exactly why I wanted to go for it. It still has a lot of work to do to make it truly perform-able as part of the whole role, but the improvement I made was satisfactory with all things considered. We were also put into scene groups and originally I had two scenes I was part of but one was dropped to my relief (they had me as Gilda in the Rigoletto quartet and I about passed out because that ish is like waayyyy out of my depth fo reals like call back in 5 years thaannnkss) so I was left with The Impresario Trio, which was much easier to swallow. BUT MAN that is a flippin marathon to get through! We had even cut out like a solid minute of it and it was still effin hard. It felt good in my voice which was a #blessing but figuring out how to pace myself was the real trick to singing it. Once we got the hang of it, it was my favorite thing to sing! I am all about the over the top crazy and kooky characters, and Madame Herz/Goldentrill was right up my alley. The performance went swimmingly and we all received wonderfully positive feedback about just about everything. I'm glad my voice teacher and her husband were able to come see what I had worked for.

The Impresario Trio (Logan, Me, Stacy)! 

Me:"A dog, Joe"

 Logan: "Enough about the dog, Susan" 

Stacy: "It's not a dog...hehe"

Logan *might* cry

The letter read "To whom it may concern, Nemorino is now in the army, k? lawlz, Belcore"

"My ears are ringing"       "I know, just smile through it"

Lots of laughs were had for sure and I learned a bunch. I think this was the perfect way to spend my summer, especially since this is the first summer program I have ever done!

{Girls Camp 2017}
I'm grateful that my first girls camp as YW president was ward camp. It was a wonderful experience for everyone involved and I feel like I really connected with my girls. They are so special, intelligent, beautiful souls inside and out. I would do anything for them! We held it up at Camp Brentwood about 30 min outside of Alpine, AZ. It was about 5 hours away, but it was so worth it! The weather was gorgeous the entire time, and we even got some rain! My camp directors and cooks went above and beyond in their assignments and I couldn't have picked anyone better to execute the best girls camp I've ever been to! I also got to know my first counselor and secretary much better....what happens in the tent stays in the tent. ;)

We went on a beautiful hike and stopped at this small river/creek, we had a luau with a whole roasted pig(!!!), made adorable crafts, grew spiritually together and had the best time. That was just a portion of everything we did and I won't ever forget it. :)

our little set up, the girls' tents were further down

BATTLE BUNS!

The Kakamora came and attacked us with water balloons. ;)

Luau Time!

Aside from the workshop and girls camp, I have just been hanging out at home. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to do whatever I want for once, instead of being restricted by summer camp and the madness and stress that came with it. Yikes. It is a double-edged sword though, with so much freedom comes much boredom majority of the time. That was the only draw back...I can only watch so many movies and clean my kitchen so many times. haha

I did have fun outings though, like Wet n Wild with Kelly and Brent. Guys. My life has changed. That's my new favorite place! It's way the heck away, but it's so worth it because it's so much fun!! Ian and I made the mistake of thinking we'd be alright without water shoes or waterproof flipflops but we ended up getting small blisters on our feet by the time we left. We even had to cut the day short because of it! The pavement is HOT! Sorry guys. Next year though, we'll invest in something to protect our feet. ;) 

Now I'm just waiting for school to start in about two weeks...Getting that chorus music learned isn't that difficult, it's fairly repetitive and we only sing for like two minutes at a time. I'll have it all memorized by next week. 

OH I got a new job! You're looking at Studio 3's newest voice teacher! I'm pretty excited to start. It's like part part time, only two nights a week! I have 3 students so far who want to do a trial lesson next week, so that's exciting. Teaching privately will give us an extra $200/month with just 3 students, so it's definitely a good thing. I feel sometimes I'm not qualified to do this, but then I remember I've been at this for 4 years now and some choral ed students start teaching well before they're graduated so it should work, right? RIGHT?! Gah. It'll give me experience regardless, so that's the up side. My students also won't be over the age of like 16 so it's not like I'm teaching people my age. LOL I got this....?

Anyway. That's been the summer shenanigans I've been up to over the last few months. Hope you all have had an enjoyable summer! Goodbye, my lovelies!

Decemburrrr

Hey y'all. It's been a while up in here so let's get to it!

Last time I checked, we had done the anniversary post...yes! That is correct. Well, let's do a month play-by-play!

Rest of September:

After our anniversary, was my birthday! Since I'm in school it's not like we can do anything super crazy, but we went to Serrano's for dinner, which was delicious. Did we do anything after that? Gosh I don't remember. I'm becoming a party pooper for my birthdays. I don't like spending that much time over it.

October:

Because I'm *that* exciting, it was a crazy blur. 17 credits worth of classes will do that to you. Well, the first of the month was general conference, which was obviously wonderful. I spent my time between sessions decorating, which was super cute.

The next weekend after that, my brother-in-law Max got married to his childhood sweetheart! It was the sweetest thing. They've known each other since they were like 7 or something like that. Bri is the sweetest and it was a beautiful day!

That led into fall break, which was a nice little break till the semester came down hard. I was mainly focusing on getting all my music learned for my recital, as well as working at rehearsals for the student lab production of Cendrillon {Cinderella} at school. Not to mention auditions for Mozart's The Magic Flute were coming up, and apparently it was custom to have the callback material learned before callbacks to show you're prepared and serious! Just add that to the list of music I had to have learned and memorized, sheesh! {By the way, I totaled up how many songs I had to have learned and memorized over the whole semester and it came out to 14. No wonder I couldn't retain anything by the last week of classes} Nevertheless, I did my best to learn the Papagena duet (since Papagena was my first, albeit very bold choice in a role that I preferred). Also, because I am not that wise of a person at times, I didn't take some advice that I had received to learn the 1st Spirit's callback material as well, and lo and behold, I got a call back for 1st Spirit in addition to Papagena. I had to learn 13 pages of music in one day! God Bless Hope Douglass, for she saved me that day. I mustered through the callback, though I definitely could have handled myself better. I take myself way too seriously at times. My Papagena callback went well, though I couldn't remember the words at some points and the music stand my audition partner and I were sharing was further away from me and I couldn't make out the words! Oops. I thought overall it wasn't bad, but I didn't think Papagena was realistic since I was competing against two grad students and another senior. A very long 3 days came and went, and Taryn texted me at like midnight telling me to check my email and LOOK WHAT I FOUND:

I could hardly believe it! I was half asleep and thought my eyes were playing tricks on me! Fortunately enough people auditioned where they could double cast the principals, so here I am on the docket! I am so excited to be part of this production, and to have a fun role! 

In the excitement of auditions and callbacks, which were held on 10/30 and 10/31, we did not celebrate Halloween this year. Which is cray, but honestly with these results, I didn't mind one bit. 

November:

The first weekend was the Marine Corps Ball. This time around was so much fun! Especially since I'm starting to remember people and we had an awesome group at our table. It was held at a Double Tree Hilton way up in North Scottsdale, and it was huge! Wayyy bigger than the last few years, which was awesome because we were so smooshed the last few times. The food, as always, was to die for. I even tried the salmon on my plate and it was actually really good! The dessert was so fancy.

This was like a chocolate mousse with a crunchy crust on the bottom. Noms.

This was a key lime cheesecake! So good!

THEN, literally the next day was the dress rehearsal for Cendrillon, and the following day the actual performance! Talk about a busy weekend! Cendrillon was a such a fun experience and was perfect as my first opera. I was La Fee (fairy grandmother) and I hammed it up, per usual. I made so many new friends and got to know people I met before way better. It makes me sad that I don't get more time here to hang out with these special people!

 These hooligans.

THEN my life went in to hyper-recital mode. All but one of my eleven songs were new this semester and I was working as I hard as I could to get it ready by November 23rd. GUH. But I made it to that evening with relatively no problems, except a minor meltdown about parking (I know, I'm such a loser haha). The recital started and I did it! It was actually super fun, and I was super relaxed, even when I had to make up a few words in my French songs. I DID IT! We had yummy sweetbreads courtesy of my in-laws and all in all it was a good night. And I couldn't have done it without my amazing accompanist Hope. She rocks my socks. And I REALLY could not have done it without my amazing voice teacher Anne Kopta:

 She is amazing and has helped me grow so much over the past year! I just love her.

 Also, I felt pretty that night sooooo shameless selfie time.

And my poster, that I designed myself with the help of Google.

My recital was the day before Thanksgiving, so I got a nice long break to relax after surviving the majority of the semester! We had Thanksgiving with my family and some extended family at my parents' new house and the community clubhouse. Yummy food and good company. The following week was the last week of classes, meaning wrapping up my finals (because my instructors were awesome like that and I only had to show up to one final during finals week!) and attending dress rehearsals for the Holiday Gala concert at ASU Gammage. I will never get used to singing on Gammage stage. It is so much fun. And the concert was a major success! Even after all the craziness, I managed to come out on top!

Straight A's, baby!

In other news, I bought this beautiful wooden table off of Facebook! It needs to have a major overhaul in sanding and repainting, but it will be nice to finally have a kitchen table again!

I have been majorly enjoying staying up late and sleeping in to an ungodly and unhealthy hour, all while systematically deep cleaning my house. Well, now I am because I have been helping my sister Ashley pack and clean her house in preparation of their move to Alabama. At first I wasn't too keen on her leaving, but I know that is where she and her family are needed right now. It was kinda hard to say goodbye, but I plan on visiting her this summer! 

Also, in another crazy turn of events, I joined Mary Kay! If you don't already have a consultant, come to me! There are reasons why I decided to join, which are valid and I feel like this will be good for me. And I'm excited to make extra money while I'm at it.

 Almost all my Christmas shopping is done, I just need to order Ian's gift and I'll be set. I'm also trying to muster the motivation to clean our room and bathroom but...I don't have any excuses. Thanks for reading, my lovelies!