Keep on walking...

It's not a race to this career. It's a slow steady walk. Although, i feel like I have been trying to play catch-up for so long that even though it is walking I feel completely out of breath sometimes. I remember a few years ago when i had graduated from my undergrad, I was working at E-Children, I was happily in love and married, and yet felt no passion for life. I thought, "well, if i'm not going to believe in myself and my dreams, I might as well just have babies...and I can do it all at a discounted price!" Yes, a discount that Heidi got good use of! It was anna that lit the fire under my butt. Nicolai, so encouraging and supportive would've helped me get to the moon had I told him I wanted to be an astronaut. But he was in the same stage as I. Except being a man with his temperment, he just didn't go into the depths of despair and gain 20 lbs as i did. Well, Anna said, "You have education. You better stop being an idiot and USE that education."

I told someone this week that when someone challenges me like that, i often get a very deep gut reaction of nausea, because i know now I HAVE TO do it. It's strange that the same reaction I get to being challenged is often the same reaction to doing the right thing in a situation where i've done something wrong and need to make amends. Hmmm...there must be a clue in there somewhere?

The same type of thing happened a few weeks ago. From another Anna type...but this time, BreANNA. She said, "Mia, stop being stupid and go talk to Ted about becoming Countess understudy." I instantly felt sick and started crying. I had so badly wanted to get Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, and they didn't cast an understudy. I had entertained the thought, but was afraid for some reason to take the step and ask for it. Well, with my "it's now or never" attitude I stood up wiped my eyes, took a breath, and marched down to Ted's office. He wasn't there of course. So I camped there infront of his door. I wrote down my speech..."Hi Ted. I noticed you didn't cast an understudy for Countess and I was wondering if you might consider me for the job." Julie came down and I practiced it on her. Ted showed up. I gave him the rehearsed speech, and he didn't even hesitate to say yes...

Amazing.

So here I am. That was 3 Falls ago...I'm sure glad i found the passion. I've seen what living without passion was like for a brief moment. I did not enjoy it. It sucked me dry.

And the lesson that I've learned...listen to the people you love and trust. They can sometimes see the Road clearer than you can.

Thanks to all of you...

*mia*

A Road of Persistence

It's been a long time since I've written on here. I've gotten rid of Facebook. I just felt really done with the whole thing...too much exposure and so i thought hmmm...i might as well start again on the blogging. For whomever may read it. Mainly my fam and closest friends. Anyway, I am going to be heading back to school in a week and a half. I am excited for the year to start up again and to face all of the exciting adventures and challenges that inevitably will come my way.

I'm on a road of persistence and testing the waters of impossible.

I've started reading The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Peale. It's pretty great stuff. Similar to the idea's Laura W. shared at her class in the spring at UWO. It's amazing to me how strongly the mind affects the body. I'm trying to stay completely focused on the positive and move forward in that direction.

Well more on this later...i just wanted to remind all of you that i will be writing on here now! Instead of FBOOK.

*Mia*

We're gonna float down the Elbow!!

We're gonna go float down the ELbow! SO FUN!! We are excited a bit! :)

Home again Home Again

For all of you haters out there who don't believe in our blog (brett! Shawn!). Just thought i'd post something...actually you probably don't even know that we have this new blog! oh well. Anyway. I am home from being away for a month in NYC. Actually it was about 3 weeks ago that i got home. It was an incredible time and i'm so glad that i went there and experienced everything NY had to offer. Towards the end of the trip i was getting pretty homesick. I missed Nicolai so much that i just wanted to get home. I think I learned that a month feels a little long still to be apart for that long so if we can just do 3 weeks in the fall that would be better. I think that's what i can handle. ALthough shorter would be preferable...I am now preparing for recitals and for heading out east here in about a month and a half. It's quite unbelievable that i am going still. I feel overwhelmed by it most days and am unsure how it will go. I keep reminding myself that i felt this way for NY and that i did a great job there. I made friends worked really hard learned as much as i could...and that i don't think school will be any different. That i can definitely make it out there...

Nicolai is doing well. His business is in the thick of things. Lot's of mowing and he enjoys having a "stay at home wife" for the summer. I'm cooking and cleaning and baking etc etc. He enjoys all those things. We are just enjoying each others company so much and trying to soak up as much time as possible.

The other day i was getting a perscription from the pharmacist and as i was leaving the guy said "you look like a mormon, are you a mormon?" i was like "no" and he said "are you sure you are not a german mormon?" and i was like "i'm sure". If anyone can understand why he would ask me this that would be great! HA! how random and funny. I don't think i looked particularily mormon. in fact i looked pretty much the same as i do everyday. but maybe i was giving off that joseph smith vibe...anyway, i thought that was really funny!

ok Bye!

Banff...Bentley...Beers...

IT was a great long weekend! Mia got to do a seminar with Richard Armstrong at the Banff Centre of Arts! That was awesome! she learned so much about movement and using your whole body for singing instead of just the voice! Then we went to visit bud and stef at the rcmp headquarters by priddis! we stayed the night and had a wonderful time with them Mia didn't drink any beers but Nic and Bud enjoyed a few...stef and mia stuck to cookies and milk..yummm! then off to bentley it was great seeing the fam again! Rosanne's belly is growing and we can't wait to meet the nugget nephew or neice! so excitecd!

that's it for now!! yay!
m and n

MANHATTAN and SPRING CLEANUPS!

Spring is here and opportunity is in the air! Yay! Nicolai made a trip to Bentley to get his equipment and he has serviced it and is almost ready for spring cleanup season. This means for us early mornings, grass stained clothes, a touch of hayfever and for Nicolai working off a little bit of that winter weight that seems to rear its head every winter! ha! He's excited for that! Mia is continuing with teaching. She has a competition next weekend to sing in on Saturday! Hopefully, her songs get memorized and she's ready. She has also started working at e-children again. One thing she thought she'd never do. Instead of doing the retail this go around she is doing the stock receiving and organizing of the back storage room. She loves this way more, and is feeling way more productive as she begins her shift at 7:00am. It's nice cause she gets to choose her own hours and days, but will more than likely work close to full time there in the summer.

Also, she found out that she's been accepted into the Summer Voice Program at the Manhattan School of Music! It's all of June. 8She's trying to figure out the logistics of how it will work, but is hoping that she'll get to go and it'll be a trial run to see if being apart from her one and only Nicolai is doable.

Plans in the works for this summer:

*Home renovation plans...
*August Recital before leaving for school'
*Proarts recital with Laura Styler-Jones on August 12 at noon

I think that's it for us now!

And there is a snippet...

WE ARE SOOO EXCITED TO BE AN AUNT AND UNCLE AGAIN TO ROSANNE and DEVON'S UP AND COMING LITTLE ONE! WE CAN'T WAIT TO MEET HIM/HER!

NIC&MIA

"I like London, London, London..."

So...Mia is IN! The long and the short of it...She will be doing her Masters of Performance in Voice at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario! YAY!

More details to follow...

Nicolai feels: I feel like we are in the place that God is calling us to. Short separations leads to long lasting victories.

Mia feels: wooooooooo!!!! I feel like this is Lord's doing and let His will be done! And Praise Him for sharing in the desires of our hearts. I can't wait to fulfill my promise to Him many years ago in Australia...to Sing...no matter what...I will Sing!! Call me Levi the Viking! You know if you want to...

The Drosts