U.S. United Pageant Time

It was a weekend of fun and excitement in Atlanta, GA as I traveled to compete in the Ms. U.S. United Pageant.  Most people think of pageants as only for young women, but I beg to differ.  Pageants are designed to promote health, fitness and inner beauty among women and children of all ethnic groups while producing positive role models for the community.  The goal of pageants is to develop women that will promote self-confidence, self-worth, moral, academic and social support for our youth.  They also publicly recognize women who have obtained personal, professional and community achievements.  Can you tell I am a supporter of quality pageant systems?

I participated in the pageant as Ms. Arkansas U.S. United Woman.  The areas of competition were interview (35%), personal introduction/platform statement (15%), outfit of choice - runway fashion (25%) and evening gown (25%).

Orientation was on Thursday evening and I got to meet all the other contestants.  To say I was a little nervous would be an understatement.  These were some BEAUTIFUL women and they had long lists of accomplishments.  Several were veterans in the pageant world so I began to feel like the new kid on the block and I hoped I could remember everything I had learned years ago when kiddo #1 was involved in pageants.

I grabbed this dress out of the closet at home on a last minute whim and I was glad I did because it was a good choice for orientation. 

After orientation and workshop, we had rehearsal to learn the opening number.  It was difficult to remember all the dance steps since I am NOT a dancer, but I had some great ladies around me who made it fun even when I made mistakes.

Wilson had infinite patience teaching me all the dance steps.

Interview was EARLY Friday morning.  I joked I looked like a Pan Am flight attendant.  The interview flew by and I felt really good about it.  Interviews don't usually make me extremely nervous because it is just a conversation between me and the judges and I can usually talk a blue streak to a stranger.

On my way back to my hotel room I met another contestant who had forgotten her beige pumps.  Well, her foot was the same size as mine so - you guessed it - I gave her my pumps to wear for her interview.  At the elevator I met another contestant who had lost all her clips for her crown, so - again, you guessed it - I gave her mine.  At this point I didn't have a lot more to share without getting indecent so I hurried to my room!

The national platform of the U.S. United Pageant is Breast Cancer Awareness, so there was a Pink Gala on Friday night.

One of the other contestants (Miranda Perez from Georgia, but now living in Tennessee) was a Phi Mu too so we thought it was great to get a pic in our pink dresses since pink and Phi Mu go together.

Saturday morning was more rehearsals.  Here I am with Laura Smith from South Carolina who was a great source of advice for me during the weekend.  She ended up winning the Mrs. U.S. United title!

So far the competition had been great fun, but the stage portion of the competition was just about to get started on Saturday night.  More about this in my next blog entry.  To say I am tired is an understatement.  Driving to Atlanta and back and no sleep and very little time for food during competition weekend has done a number on me.  Maybe I am too old for this?   NOT!!!!!









Getting in the Pageant Frame of Mind

This was Miss Arkansas week.  Congratulations to Amy Crain for winning Miss Arkansas 2013 and to all the other contestants who did a spectacular job.  The production number was fantastic, the evening gowns were wonderful, and the show seemed to flow very well. 

I attended the Miss Arkansas Judges Seminar and also met up with some of my friends who work with the pageant.  It is always great to see old friends and catch up.

With Melanie McGarrah Moore - Miss Arkansas 1996

NW Arkansas Field Director for Miss Arkansas Organization

Now Bestie stayed at home with our son (kiddo #2) because kiddo #2 had just had all four wisdom teeth removed and was not feeling well.  Poor baby is still pretty swollen today!



I'd say to just call him "Marlon Brando" or perhaps "Godfather".  Just look at those puffy cheeks!

Bestie wouldn't have gone with me to the pageant scene anyway.  This is another one of those times where we don't have to enjoy what the other does enjoy.  Bestie is a Razorback fanatic - he wears red almost every day, we have Razorback items to decorate the house, his clothes have Razorbacks on them - but we don't have to go to the games together.  In fact, I try not to go to the games with him because that is a way to preserve our relationship.  He gets so caught up in the game he doesn't even know if I am there anyway.  I set up the tailgate, prepare great food and drinks and make sure everyone enjoys their time at the party.  I stay at the tailgate 'to guard it' and prepare for the hoard to descend on it after the game like a swarm of locusts, devouring everything in sight.  With these roles clearly defined, our relationship is intact, he enjoys the game, I enjoy time to read and relax a bit.

Pageants are the same way.  Bestie would be miserable if he had to attend them (and he also has a tendency to misbehave if the results don't go his way), so he makes sure I have time to go, encourages me to judge pageants when I am asked, gasses up my car, even buys me clothes and shoes to wear and then he stays home to ' guard the house' until I return. I am competing in the U.S. United Pageant this weekend and Bestie will be in constant contact with me, but he will be at home and that will be the best arrangement for my sanity (and his).  He supports me 100%, but he knows this is my time and he is letting me go be a girl for the weekend.  It works out fantastically.

Empty Nesters!  Enjoy your shared times with your spouse, but also enjoy your alone times.  Having interests outside the together time is part of a strong relationship. 

Did I mention Razorback football starts August 31?  Don't worry, Bestie is counting down the days.



Alaska - The Last Frontier

Yes, that is how Alaska looks in the summer - at almost 11 o'clock at night - clouds, rain, and light.  Sunrise about 4:00 a.m. and sunset about 11:00 p.m. but it started getting light about 2:00 a.m. and wasn't ever 'dark' until about 1:00 a.m.

Bestie Boy took me on an Alaskan Cruise for our 25th anniversary.  I know we have been married 26 years, but Bestie and I couldn't go last summer so we postponed the anniversary trip until this year.  It was - in a word - FANTASTIC!  Bestie had gone all out in the planning and thought about everything, even the side of the boat to have our cabin to get the most views of glaciers.

 Bestie (with a Slim Chickens cup) and our cruise ship in the background

Royal Caribbean Cruises - Radiance of the Seas

God love Bestie, he got us a cabin with a balcony.  I truly felt pampered being able to sit on the balcony outside our room, wrapped in a blanket, watching whales jump and play in the ocean.  I highly recommend an Inside Passage Cruise to Alaska for everyone.  Just beautiful scenery and the cool temperatures in summer were a WELCOME break from what we have here in Arkansas.





A glacier outside Seward, AK

Here in Arkansas, we have boats at our docks.  In Alaska it is a different story.

Looking for Wi-Fi?  Go to your public library.  Just another service offered by libraries almost everywhere.

Why, thank you!

Bestie had planned some great sight seeing adventures for us.  In Ketchikan we went sea kayaking and saw some wonderful wildlife.  The number of bald eagles we saw was incredible. 

In Icy Point, we went whale watching with Floyd and saw orca and humpback right next to the boat.

Floyd

In Juneau, Bestie Boy went on a sea plane ride over the glacier while I went to scope out where Sarah Palin had lived. In the afternoon we went on another wildlife tour and to the Mendenhall Glacier and Falls.  Juneau has NO ROADS leading out of it.  The only way you can get to or out of Juneau is by plane or boat. The entire area where people live is only 55 miles long. How do people live like that and it is the state capitol?? 

Alaska Governor's Mansion

Sarah Palin really COULD see Russia from her house!

In Skagway, we didn't do a tour but chose to climb a beastly mountain instead and just take in some of the local sights.  Yes, I did get in the lake that day.  It was HOT climbing the mountain and you only live once.  In Seward, we went to see another glacier up close and personal and caught the train to Anchorage.  The cruise was over but we still got to enjoy Alaska by land.

Alaska is known for wonderful seafood but Bestie also found other items he enjoyed.  We specifically had to find a Mexican restaurant in Anchorage because Bestie was "about to die for some spices and grease".



World's Best Bloody Mary - the menu said so!

Brew

Bestie had to try them all

A big highlight of the trip was getting to see kiddo #1 who is spending the summer in Alaska on a pharmacy school rotation.





Kiddo #1 glad to finally find a Wal Mart in Alaska.

So, empty nesters in Alaska.  Cliché?  Probably.  Worth every joke about being old people going on a cruise to Alaska?  Yes!  We are older, but we are also wiser and we are certainly better.  As the Tlingit people of Alaska say, "Tsu ye' ikhwasatin" (see ya!)



Comfortable in Comfort, Texas

Comfort, Texas is located a mere 55 miles (or so) outside San Antonio, TX and it is definitely the picture of small town America.  It is in what Texas calls the "Hill Country", but what I would say are more gently rolling rises. 

The town is known for its antique shops and wineries.  There are some really fabulous stores there and the local B & B's are quaint.  The houses are very well kept and it seemed like a perfect place to be a hometown if you want to live in Texas.

Great sandstone buildings all beautifully restored

High's Café - a treat and a half

Comfort Public Library - Wi Fi

I wasn't in Comfort, TX to see the houses or shop antiques or eat at High's or visit another public library (I did these things - don't get me wrong - but that was just a wonderful bonus).  I was in Comfort to attend the Dinah Zike Academy and learn how to be a trainer of trainers for Foldables.  Don't know what foldable are?  They are a great learning tool for students.  Foldables divide data (or concepts, ideas, skills) and make them visual or graphic with a kinesthetic integration.  In other words, it takes boring notes and worksheets and makes them interactive for students so they learn better!

I learned more than I have ever learned in a three day workshop. The teachers involved in this training were fantastic and I was able to gleen lots of ideas to use in my classes at UALR this fall. I am now listed as a consultant and practitioner for Foldables and I will be moving on to become a specialist and intermediate trainer.  Be looking for me at the Dinah Zike booth at conventions from now on talking about using Foldables at all grade levels and all subjects!