Pageant Recap

It is all over. I can honestly say that I had a great time and am very glad I did this all. I didn't win any awards but I met all my personal goals I wanted to and made some fairly profound revelations about myself. As promised I will give an honest recap of my opinion one the whole matter. (This may be lengthy but I promise it is interesting.)

I guess it didn't occur to me before that pageants stay in business because they are just that... a business. The person that wins the title is the one that the heads of the business thinks is most likely to promote more business. Somehow (perhaps because of vanity) people are willing to pay a fair amount of money and work very hard to apply for this position, that if they win, they will work for free for a year. There is a lot of prestige that comes with the application and title, so for many it is worth it. In the mean time many good causes get publicity and work done for them for free. However, I think that many (not all) contestants would not do the work without it being part of the pageant. I can say this all because I did it and I don't regret any of the work I have done. There are some really strong, amazing women in the pageant system and I am lucky to now have many as my friends.

Besides the work there is a ton of financial responsibility that comes with a pageant. By the time the average contestant competes she has often paid for professional pictures, a graphic designer to do her advertisement page, expensive hair styling, a nice interview suit, several hundred dollars on an evening gown, fitness wear/swimsuit, an opening number dress, several pairs of shoes, several pairs of 4 inch earrings and other accessories, makeup, spray tan, fake eyelashes, fake boobs, spanks(or other slimmers), and several professional outfits for meetings and rehearsals. For those who are serious about pageants there are interview coaches and image consultants to teach you how to compete. Contestants are encouraged to find sponsors to help cover the cost but that too adds up to more work.

As in most competitions it is rare to find someone who excels the first time they compete and pageantry is no exception. The gal who won the title on Saturday, Melanie DeMure, Mrs. Sun Valley, has done pageants for many years and has already been Mrs. California International. It is not unusual for women to compete in a couple pageants a year. There were several women who in my pageant who had already competed in four or five pageants previously. I guess practice makes perfect.

All in all, I am very pleased with my performance. I lost 13 pounds putting me at my high school weight even after having four babies. I bought all my modest, competition clothes on clearance and did not feel out of place with the other women on stage. I represented myself well even when the answers weren't what the judges were looking for. And I made some seriously cool friends.

Thank you again to all my friends and family who have encouraged and supported me on this crazy learning experience.

Tired of rehearsing (9:30 am to 10:30 pm):

pageant friends:

My page in the program:

Evening gown:






Fitness wear

Interview Day:

With Kiwanis Club (my biggest sponsor):

Vote if you want

If you go to this website you can vote for me for a pageant popularity contest. Not a big deal, but you can if you want. I can't wait to see everyone on Saturday! Wish me luck!

http://www.tftj.com/News/Poll_Vote.htm/213

Cold Feet

For as long as I can remember I have experienced a biological phenomenon that I have yet to read about in any text book or medical journal. I am therefore naming it pedipolarism. The symptoms are as follows; whatever I have done in a day and whatever time I choose to go to bed, simply because I have decided to go to bed, my feet become freezing cold. And because they are cold they will, by natural response, seek another source of heat (usually my husband's legs) to reach a thermal equilibrium. I have decided to do some very scientific research, by posting this to my blog, and see how many other women suffer from this uncomfortable diagnosis.

Catwalk

Here are a few pictures of my fist (and only) fashion show. It was at the Karcher Mall and was, of course, for the pageant. I am happy to say, I didn't fall, even when my four inch heel went through a crack in the runway. It wasn't as nerve wrecking as I was anticipating.

The Case of The Missing Mouse

A few posts ago I mentioned a bazaar happening at our house. We had set some mouse traps only to find that the next morning one of the traps had completely disappeared. There was a smudge of blood along one of our baseboards but the trap was gone. We even pulled out the oven to see if the mouse had somehow dragged the trap under there, but all we found were hairballs, crayons and general nastiness (as if that isn't gross enough with out looking for a mortally wounded, half dead mouse). It grossed me out all day so when Paxton came back home I had him pull out the oven again but I wanted him to look behind the cabinets. So, he went and got a flashlight and crawled into a corner behind our lazy susan. Back there, he found a lemon sized hole chewed in the drywall and a bloody trap sitting outside of it. I guess the mouse had been caught in the trap, somehow dragged the under the stove, behind the cabinets where it got stuck at the hole in the wall. Then somehow it got rid of the trap, crawled in the hole and died somewhere in the walls. So, I am supposing that somewhere we have (not skeletons in the closet) but skeletons in our walls. There also was a suspiciously bad smell coming from a room on the other side of the house that Paxton suspects was the remains of the mouse. For someone who likes their house neat and organized, that very though makes me want to gag. I don't think there is a moral of this story, nor is it useful in anyway. However I hope it is enough to scare away any other mice that should contemplate entering our home. Seriously, seriously gross...

Here fishy fishy...

While we were in Utah for my sister's wedding we decided to tryout the Living Planet aquarium in Utah. It was really cool. The kids had a blast and were talking about it for days. Even if you ask Bryce about it now he will say, "I got to pet a sting ray but they took off the stinger and they feel kind of like hot dogs." Anyway, if you are around there I would definitely recommend it.
There was a medium sized shark tank:

And a ray pet tank:


This was some kind of eel:

This is a clown fish (or a nemo). These have always been my favorite since I was a kid and would go snorkeling in the Red Sea. They are really playful little fish and aren't too shy.