World Elite Pageant - An Earth Shaking Experience

If you don't know by now, I have a hobby that some people find strange for a woman of my advanced years.  I like to compete in pageants.  I know.  I am married.  I am 49 years old.  I have two adult children.  My days of competing in pageants should be over, but why do they have to be?  I am more than just wife, mother, teacher.  I am also Kelly and so I ventured to Columbia, South Carolina to compete in the World Elite Pageant.

Kiddo #1 and I had decided to compete in the Mother/Daughter part of the pageant AND compete individually.  She would fly out of Fayetteville, AR and we would meet in Atlanta and then fly together to Columbia.  Well, best made plans and all that.  Because of the bad weather in Atlanta and the eastern coast, there were no planes in Fayetteville so Delta cancelled her flight.  After being on the phone for 1 hour, Kiddo #1 finds a flight out of Fort Smith, which was then cancelled.  Finally she finds a flight out of Tulsa and made it to Columbia about supper time.  So far the weekend looks like it will run smoothly......right?

Pageant weekend is all about getting prepared and staying focused.  Friday night was an informal meet and greet with the other contestants who had arrived at the hotel.  Only a few of the contestants could make it to the meet and greet session because of all the travel delays but, of course, we had to take pictures.

 

After the meet and greet, it was time for some beauty rest before the long pageant day ahead.  The fault lines in South Carolina had another idea.  I was almost shaken out of the bed by this quake. 

So, with the World Elite Pageant already rocking my world, it was time to get the pageant underway!  Early morning rehearsals were quickly followed by the mid-day pageant which included Mother/Daughter, Photogenic and Talent competitions.  This was a FAST paced part of the pageant day so I didn't get pics of Kiddo #1 and I in our red gowns competing in Mother/Daughter since talent followed that closely and Kiddo #1 needed to get changed and stretched out for her dance.  I sang "St. Louis Blues" (ala Lencola Sullivan) and had a wonderful time.  Although we didn't win Mother/Daughter, I did win talent in my division and Mrs. Elite Ambassador (based on an essay written about my marriage to Bestie - this is a lifetime title!) and Kiddo #1 won the Community Service Competition.  Now the pressure was off because we would NOT be going home empty handed!

The afternoon pageant ran long, so it was a rush back to the hotel for interviews.  The interviews are one on one with each judge and last 4 minutes each.  It was very much like the interviews in the International Pageant system so we felt pretty confident.

With interviews behind us, we only had two more phases of competition to do Saturday night - self expression in style and evening gown.  We got a quick rest and then back to the Scottish Rite Center for the pageant.  The theme was "Olympics" and the opening number was to wear winter clothes and wave flags from various countries competing in the winter Olympics.  Kiddo #1 and I kept it simple.  Remember, we flew to the pageant and you are charged to check bags now, so we wanted to get the most out of our wardrobe and fur coats take up A LOT of space in a suitcase!!

The self expression in style part of the competition is like a runway modeling competition but you have to write the commentary that goes with your walk and explain why the outfit you are wearing shows your style.  Kiddo #1 related her dress to dance and I talked about how I had created the gown I was wearing by spreading out the fabric on the floor of the fabric store and cutting around it.  Yes, I actually sewed that dress.  I do have a BSE in Home Economics, I just don't like to use it.

 

This was actually fun!  Kiddo #1 and I were relaxed and having a great time.  The pageant was fast but not crazy fast so there was time to change but not time to get bored.  Next was evening gown and we were ready to rock it with gowns from Laine Berry and The Royal We.  Brooke's gown was designed by Laine in 2007 and still is a fantastic gown.  Mine came from The Royal We in Conway, AR where I was treated like a queen.

All the scores were in and it was time for crowning.  As in many pageants, there was time to fill while the auditors added up all the scores.  We had time to get a few pics backstage.

Some of my U.S. United and now World Elite pageant sisters - Laura Smith and Vicki Hedgecock West

Well, when the results were announced, here is what happened:

Brooke (aka - Kiddo#1) won self expression for her division

I won evening gown and self expression for my division

Brooke won Miss World Elite

I won Ms. Woman World Elite

THEN:

Brooke won Miss World Elite Champion (highest point total of all unmarried contestants)

I won World Elite Grand Supreme (highest point total of ALL contestants)

Wow, just WOW!!!

We didn't want to go home empty handed and we were definitely not!  This picture does not show it, but we got nice glass bowls for all the prelim wins, beautiful glasses for our division wins and huge glass bowls for the champion and supreme wins.  Our first question was, "How are we going to get all this home?" and that was before we saw the enormous gift bags we also got full of GREAT products and clothing.  Oh, don't worry, we found a way to fit it all in.  That's how we pageant girls do!

Brooke Chaney, Miss World Elite Champion

Christy Passoth, Ms. World Elite Champion

Me, World Elite Grand Supreme

This was a great weekend, even if we had not won so many awards and gifts.  The other contestants were very kind and I felt like we were just a bunch of girls having a fun girls weekend.  It is so refreshing to meet other women who just like doing pageants without all the cattiness that sometimes is associated with the pageant circuit.  Tamara Harvey is a great director and I encourage anyone interested in getting involved in pageants to check out the World Elite website.

Many thanks to Bobbi Burg and Laura Smith for their wonderful encouragement and to Starr Dawkins for doing a fantastic job on our hair and makeup.  I definitely felt like a queen.

How does Bestie feel about this?  He is pretty proud to be married to a pageant chick with such a big crown.  Yes, to him size does matter.  He does get shy when I ask him to take pics of me all the time at various events, but he still does it.  He even carries my crown and banner for me sometimes.  Just call him "Prince World Elite" or maybe "Court Jester" would be a more fitting title!

Who Needs a Stinkin' Gallbladder Anyway?

Some things are just associated with getting older - wrinkles, drooping body parts, and things getting out of whack.  I have always refused to get older.  I eat my vegetables, I exercise, I wear heavy duty moisturizer for goodness sake!  But all that could not keep me safe from something I always associated with older people - gallbladder problems. 

I tried to play it off cool.  I said my gallbladder was 'stoned, man'.  I joked it was caused by all the wild times I had in college.  But the reality of the matter slapped me in the face. I am now 49 and my gallbladder has decided to riot against me, so after several sleepless nights spent sitting on the couch in pain, I had to banish that enraged organ from my body.

Bestie came to the rescue and forced me to go to our family doctor who then referred me to a specialist who then said, "Surgery!"  The doctor was named Osam, but pronounced AWESOME.  How could I not have a great experience with a doctor named Awesome??

So I head in to the hospital after not eating or drinking since midnight.  Surgery is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and they start all the required pre-surgery mumbo jumbo.  I change out of my clothes into the designer hospital gown provided and experience the refreshing breeze up my backside since these gowns are designed for minimum coverage of the booty.  Why did I even worry about what underwear I wore to the hospital?  All anyone saw was the gown, which I must say was NOT in my color scheme.

My veins are small because I am now dehydrated so they blow out a vein in my hand before going for the big one in my arm.  Ok, IV finally in, check.  Now we need a blood thinner to guard against blood clots (old person now, remember?).  The blood thinner can't go in the IV.  It has to go in the fat of either the tricep or inner thigh and stings likes a hornet.  At least I have plenty of fat in both those areas for the nurse to use for her evil deeds and who doesn't love a hornet sting every now and then??  Blood thinner done, check.

Now let's add insult to injury.  Since it is in my records that I vomited ONE TIME while under anesthesia I now have to take anti-nausea medicine.  This medicine actually makes me nauseous!  Another shot and a patch behind my ear and I am dizzy and sick to my stomach and not enjoying my hospital visit anymore.  Is it too late to just go home?  Nausea medicine administered, patient now ill, check.

Bestie was the perfect nurse.  He talked on the phone, read seed guides, answered emails all while telling me I would be fine and giving me cool cloths for my head.  Finally the nurse came in with a sedative and I could have kissed her.  Where was this magic potion 1 hour ago??  Sedate me THEN do your evil deeds.  Why torture me first?  Now seeing Easter Bunny talking with the Tooth Fairy, high as a kite, check.

A ride down the hall, a few deep breaths in the oxygen mask and the next thing I know I wake up in recovery to loud noises and lots of pain.  Morphine!!!  Now!!!  Thank you, Janene.  You morphine goddess.  You sweet angel of mercy.  My new best friend.  Keep the pain killers coming and no one gets hurt.

I only had four small poke holes - 1 at my belly button (goodbye belly button ring), 1 just below my sternum, and 2 under my right breast.  Amazing they can pull an organ out such a small opening.  Amazing that such small openings can cause such a disruption to your daily life!

So now I am gallbladder free and as sore as a boxer who has taken one too many body blows.  The kiddos have gone back to college and Bestie is taking advantage of the good weather to ride his bike non-stop so I am enjoying the lovely weather while wrapped in a blanket in my backyard as I focus on not laughing or doing anything that causes my belly muscles to contract (coughing, sneezing, getting up and down, turning over in bed, etc.).  Just another indication of getting older but also of getting wiser.  I don't HAVE to be out running or biking right now.  I do HAVE to listen to my body saying, "Hold on little missy.  You are NOT ready to do THAT yet."

I have time to enjoy just being me and looking at this recuperation time as an opportunity to enjoy life at a slower pace as I readjust back to life with an empty nest - oh, and a missing gallbladder. 

The Last Day in Charleston and the Surprise Waiting at Home

Bestie and I stayed in Charleston as long as we could (Thursday - Monday night) trying to soak up the charm and eat as much good food as possible.  With all the walking we did everyday to see the sights we thought we could indulge on the food.

Breakfast at Another Broken Egg near the Market

Can you say FLUFFY pancakes??!!

 

 

A carriage ride through the historic area of town

Learning our history - Think this counts at Professional Development Hours??

Testing out a microbrewery - guess which one is mine......

Lunch at 82 Queen - Thanks Lewis Dean Morris for the recommendation

Now don't think all we did was eat.  We did eat, but we also learned a lot of history, shopped, enjoyed the sights and sounds of Charleston, visited a wonderful friend and took time out of our busy lives for each other. Times spent with my Bestie are some of the best times of my life.  Who wouldn't want to spend lots of time with their best friend?  My Bestie just also has other hidden talents he shares with me AND he pays when we go out so it is the best of all worlds!

When we got home, there were exciting things in the mail.

Brooke and I are competing in the World Elite Pageant in February and our sashes had arrived!  We will compete in our divisions and also compete as a Mother/Daughter team.  We are pretty excited.  Our crowns had arrived earlier and now we are excited to begin promoting the pageant and our platforms.

But that wasn't the only surprise.

My Holiday 50 Challenge medal also arrived!  This challenge, sponsored by Dirt in Your Skirt, encouraged runners to cover 50 miles between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.  I only have 10 more miles to go but the medals arrived early so we could share them with our families during the holiday season.  The 'medal' itself is actually wooden and smells divine.

Now it is back to the 'real world' and finishing up shopping and getting everything ready for both kids to be home (for a visit) and to enjoy being a full nest again during the holidays.  Bestie and I have already promised each other we will carve out time to be 'Kelly and Bestie' and not just 'Mom and Dad'.  Loving life no matter how full or empty the nest is right now - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

City of the Big Sweet Grass Basket - Charleston, SC

Have I mentioned before that I love Monsanto?  Breakfast for the spouses started, continued and ended with mimosas.  How can anyone not love a company that has this kind of hospitality?? Monsanto also gave all the spouses $50 coupons to shop at selected shops after breakfast.  I actually ended up with 2 coupons because I was tweeting for Monsanto during the meeting!  Jewelry here I come!

The most important things we learned about during the spouse's program were the Recognition Programs offered by Monsanto .  These programs have provided schools and community organizations with millions of dollars in grants - most focused on STEM areas.  All you need is a farmer to recommend your organization/school for the money.  Check out the website for more information.

All this information made us hungry, so shortly after shopping we were treated to lunch.  Notice I had soup and salad so I could enjoy dessert!  The square dessert was the best but I had to fight Bestie to have any once he discovered it was filled with chocolate and caramel goodness.

Sunday was ours to spend as we saw fit and we saw a LOT!

We walked around more of the town.

We found a club just perfect for Michelle Luebbering!

Walked along cobbled streets I had definitely avoided on my run.

Checked out the gorgeous mansions along the river/bay area.

Visited our favorite park looking for a wedding to crash (last time we were in Charleston and went by the park we were invited to stay for a wedding and even ended up blowing bubbles for the new couple as they rushed off to the reception - which were invited to as well!)

Shopped our way down King Street as part of Second Sunday

Listened to some great music in another part of the city and visited the Farmer's Market which has been rated as one of the top 10 in the nation by Conde Nast Traveler.

Had drinks on the rooftop (and then dinner at Ansons) with a great friend - Laura Smith, Mrs. U.S. United and her husband, Daniel

Notice Santa photobombing us in the background?? Classic.

In short, we lived life to the fullest.  Life hasn't ended just because we are done being 'full-time' parents.  It continues to get better and better as we celebrate the successes of our adult children and continue to redefine our relationship as we grow to love each other more and more.  Get out there and enjoy your day, your night, your life with the person/people you love the most!  Carpe diem, my precious sugar pie!

Monsanto takes us to Charleston, SC

As much as people may complain about Monsanto , I quite enjoy this agricultural company.  First of all, they employ Bestie and help pay the bills around here.  Second, they take Bestie (and his favorite companion - ME!) on trips periodically.  These trips are a working vacation so don't think they are squandering money (they are actually very fiscally, environmentally and educationally responsible).  Monsanto believes in a balance between work and family and includes spouses as much as possible in order to increase employee satisfaction and productivity.

Anyway, Bestie and I headed out to Charleston from different locations.  Bestie has been in St. Louis all week at Monsanto HQ for a meeting and I had been at home, but our flights met up in Atlanta.  Well, actually that was the plan.  Delta Airlines did their best to make me late.  Engine trouble in Little Rock led to arriving late in Atlanta.  With only 3 minutes to make my flight in Atlanta I was a running fool through the airport, but I made the connection and flew into Bestie's arms  - then we sat on the airplane for 2 hours because of, you guessed it, engine trouble! Gotta love Delta and their old aircraft.  No worries, we played with a new app (see pic) and did a lot of reading!  At least we were together so we could catch up on the week and hold hands like newlyweds.  Notice Bestie's facial expressions below.  He is besotted with me and I with him.

Arriving LATE in Charleston we were starved, but most restaurants were closed by this time and we were NOT going to Waffle House.  The Concierge at the Charleston Place Hotel (thanks Leah!) call The Leaf and they agreed to stay open and feed us.  This was some great food and just set the stage for the rest of the weekend filled with GREAT Southern cooking.

The Charleston Place Hotel was wonderful and beautifully decorated for Christmas.  What a treat!

The next morning, Bestie had to spend time working registration, so I got out and saw some of the sights in Charleston on a quick run.  Again, the concierge was extremely helpful and provided me with a map for a quick run that passed several beautiful spots and provided a relatively flat course.  The weather was perfect and the sights glorious!

For those who don't already know, Charleston (Fort Sumter) was where the War of Northern Aggression started, so there are tons of cannons and balls (he he) all over.

Bestie had a break to take me to lunch so we went to SNOBS (Slightly North Of Broad).  This was a recommendation from our bartender at The Leaf and the food turned out to be wonderful.  

The great thing about Charleston, SC is that it is such a walkable city and that is just what we did after lunch.  I said it was because we could use the exercise but it was really because Bestie looked so good I wanted to show him off to this town and let them know I get to take him home with me!

For those of you who don't know Bestie, he thinks about four things, in no particular order - sex, bikes, Razorbacks, and boats.  Walking along the river/bay area was the perfect afternoon for him as long as we also noticed bikes, talked about Razorbacks and then had sex when we got back to the hotel.  Yeah, my life is so terrible.......(smile).

More of our adventures in the next blog post.  Life with an empty nest just keeps getting better and better!

Mud Running "Nerds"

Oh yeah.  It's Mud Run time again and this year Bestie and I could actually be there.  We agonized over what to wear as costumes then hit upon the idea of being running "nerds".  Now, those of you who know us KNOW we are really cool people so dressing up as nerds might be hard for us, but we are champions at costuming.  A quick trip to Goodwill netted us some fantastic finds for our inner nerds and, by race day, we had made the transformation.

Now, first of all, the Mud Run is not your typical 5K.  The course is 3.1 miles (5K) more or less.  There are no timing chips and not even a timer at all.  You may be told the 'right' way to go or you could be sent off on a wild goose chase.  There are shortcuts you can take if you are so inclined.  Bestie and I did the whole course because we are nerds when it comes to following the rules of the race.  At the end of the race there is a mud pit you must traverse in order to get to the finish line.  Considering the temperature was in the 40s on race day, getting in cold mud was not my idea of fun, but I did it and so did Bestie.  We conquered the mud hill and the pit and completed the entire course with style.

Needless to say, we discarded our clothing after we were done since we were totally coated with mud.  Bestie had brought warm water in insulated containers so we were able to wash off comfortably and without too much problem.That is how thoughtful Bestie can be and just another way he is good about taking care of me.  No one else had warm water because they don't have my Bestie.

It was a fun race, but I don't see us doing it again.  We are about too old to play in the mud, so I think we will leave this 'race' to the young folk and look for races that are more for us old folk.

The race started a great weekend spent with my Bestie as we continue to live the life of empty nesters and find ways to continue enjoying our lives together.

Food Truck Festival or Flood Festival - A Toss Up

The Little Rock Food Truck Festival was all I heard about for weeks before it actually happened.  Bestie loves to eat 'food from a truck'.  We have been known to turn around or stop short in order to pull into a parking lot where a truck is set up purveying food.  I tend to be a little more selective and go for the trucks that look spic and span but Bestie will eat from any food truck, even the ones that have weird substances dripping out of them.  He says those are the ones with the best spices and flavor. Ok....

Knowing this, it was understandable that we HAD to attend the food truck festival in downtown Little Rock even though the weather was threatening storms.

 

Local merchants got in the act and showed off their wares.  Main Street is going through a revitalization effort and there are lots of old and new businesses there.  Bennett's Military Surplus has been there for years and had a lot of people dressed up in the 'fashions' they have to offer.  Kiddo #1 was home with us and we had to get a photo with this camo dude.

We had been at the festival for just a few minutes when the rain started.  It was just sprinkles so we continued looking for the perfect food to have.

This is my favorite food truck.  The shrimp and grits are to die for!

This was the perfect food truck for Bestie.  The rain had picked up and Bestie wanted to see ALL the trucks available before making a choice so we continued down the street.  Amazingly, we did see a lot of people Bestie grew up with and they love food trucks too.  Maybe it was something in the water in his hometown.

 What had been a gentle shower suddenly became a downpour.  Kiddo #1 and I huddled under an umbrella as the water began to rise into the street.  Hardcore foodies staying in line to get food.  Some of them didn't even have umbrellas but that did not deter their desire to try the truck.

You see the water did get fairly deep near the sidewalk.  Thank goodness we all wore flip flops and the rain was warm.

So the rain was an excellent time to check out some of the local entertainment.  These entertainers were in a studio on Main near 6th street.

The rain showed no signs of letting up so we stepped under an awning to escape the torrential downpour.  The name of the store seemed pretty 'cool'.

Even though the rain would slack up, it would return with more strength the next time.  Because we couldn't decide on a food truck and we were soaked, we decided to go do brunch in the neighborhood.  Ever hear of The Afterthought and Vieux Carre?  You might want to check them out for jazz brunch sometime.  We were dry, the food was good, the drinks were better and the music was perfect.

So we hit the Food Truck Festival and got a nice brunch in the neighborhood where we could watch the rain from the comfort of the dry.  Sounds like a successful weekend to me! Plus, Kiddo #1 got leftovers to take home with her.  Bonus!