Tag Archives: mrs. oklahoma

Knowing me, knowing you

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For the five years I directed the Mrs. Oklahoma International Pageant, I drove five Mrs. Oklahomas to the Mrs. International Pageant in Chicago.

Given how much “stuff” you need to compete for a week and the fact that Chicago is a pretty easy drive, it seemed to make a lot of sense. I always joked with the girls that the twelve (give or take) hour road trip with me was the prize they were looking forward to the most.

What I found was that this uninterrupted time with each other helped us to form a bond that would carry us through the year of her reign and beyond.

So I’m not sure why it is that I’m always so blown away when I receive a gift from one of these amazing gals that is just so right on the money.

We had a dinner last week to introduce the girls to Kristin, who is the new director for the pageant.

I wasn’t expecting any presents other than another opportunity to spend time with “my girls”, but Autumn, Mrs. Oklahoma International 2011, came bearing gifts.

First, there was a canvas wine bag with the saying, “So much wine, so little time!”

If you’ve been following me around twitter, facebook or in real life, you’ll know that I’m trying all kinds of new wines to try and get my fill since there is no alcohol allowed in Saudi.

Inside the wine bag, is a bottle of Middle Sister Rebel Red wine.

I am totally that sister down to the platform shoes! 🙂

Then came the hand painted Queen wine glass.

Of course we all know that I am the Queen. 😉

And last, but certainly not least, came the beautiful Willow Tree sculpture called “Grandmother”.

This just made me cry. Joyfully, of course.

The girls know me and Autumn is no exception. I love it and I love them.

Thank you, Autumn, for your beautiful, heart felt gifts.

xoxo Lauri 🙂

Brava!

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You know I love to read. I like to read all kinds of books and regularly go through the new books at the library pulling them off the shelf, look at the cover, look inside, maybe read the back or flap to decide if I want to take them home with me.

I end up reading all different kinds of books this way but if a book isn’t good, I don’t waste my time. Two of my mottoes in life are “So many books, so little time” and “Life is too short to read bad books”.

I particularly like books that draw me in right away and also books that have fabulous characters that I’d like to know in real life. Those books are the hardest to finish, though, because I never want them to end. I miss the characters when the story is over.

A book that falls into this category is Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. The story drew me in right away but I grew to love all of the amazing, colorful characters inside.

I wrote about this book on The Mrs. Oklahoma Pageant blog because in it, Aunt Tootie tells Cee Cee how to find her fire. The way she did this perfectly described how I would help a contestant in the pageant figure out what platform she should promote.

I contacted Beth and asked her if I could excerpt her story on the pageant blog and she graciously said yes. I was so excited! Later, she asked me if I could share my story on her blog on a page called Brava! She said it was a place where she highlights women that she admires.

Wowza. I was honored, humbled, excited!

I had written an article about the pageant from my perspective and submitted it to a local magazine here in Tulsa. They told me that it wasn’t really what they were looking for so it was just sitting in my computer without a home. I told Beth I actually had already written something and I sent it to her.

The week we were in Chicago at the Mrs. International Pageant, Beth shared my story on her blog. I cried. I finally got to tell people how I feel as the director of the amazing women who enter our pageant and Beth actually thought someone would be interested.

Beth and I have established a friendship that I treasure. If you get a chance to read her book, you should. It’s awesome and truly one of my all time favorites. Thank you, Beth!