Tag Archives: pageant

Here I Go Again – In Pageant Central

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I’m so excited to tell you that I’ve entered a pageant! I thought I was finished competing after Mrs. International in 2016 but that little bug will not go away.

So which pageant now? I’ve entered the Ms Arkansas Senior America pageant. It’s scheduled for June 2-4 in Hot Springs and is for woman aged 60 and over.

Not only am I excited to compete again but I’ve never been to Hot Springs yet in our travels around Arkansas so I’m looking forward to that as well.

The pageant honors the “age of elegance”. I’ll be competing in an interview with a panel of judges. There is an evening gown competition during which I will present my philosophy of life statement. The last portion is TALENT! I am going to dance and I so love the idea of entertaining the pageant audience. This is the first pageant I’ve done that had a talent portion.

I’m competing for the first time in a state other than Florida! Yep, every single other pageant I have ever done was held in Florida. I’m also competing for the first time with a green wardrobe. It might sound like a minor detail but I love green and it’s my favorite color. Even with this being the case, I rarely wear green and so it will be a nice change to wear my favorite color.

I’ve been busy getting everything together that I need and practicing. I’ve nearly got everything together and I will be super prepared by the first of June.

The winner of the pageant will go on to the National Senior America Pageant which will be held in Hershey, PA in September.

We’ve got our hotel rooms booked and I booked tickets for my friends and family. I’m super excited about this one and I will let you know what happens!

Miss Belize Universe Pageant

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We found out we were going to Belize and they told us that the day after we arrived was a national holiday. I took to Google to find out what the holiday was and found that after almost ten years, they were once again holding a Miss Belize Universe Pageant!

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Of course, I wanted to go. David talked to the people there and they secured tickets for us. I think this was a good idea because at the pageant they mentioned they had sold out quickly.

It was fun to attend a pageant in another country. The entertainment was awesome. There were no artists I’d ever seen but everyone else in the building seemed to be very familiar with them and their works. 

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It was the standard Miss Universe preliminary pageant including an opening number, 

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Swimsuit competition.

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Evening gown competition. 

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And onstage questions.

In addition, each girl had to create a national costume based on the theme Made in Belize. This was my favorite part of the pageant as the costumes were amazing! I thought it was cool that, not only did the contestant win the prize, the prize was also awarded to the costume designer. 

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It was really, really hot in the PAC  (they are going to be getting an air conditioner upgrade soon, I understand) but other than that, I really enjoyed seeing Rebecca Rath of Dandriga crowned Miss Belize Universe 2016.

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I picked her as the winner  from the opening number. She just lit up the stage. I look forward to watching her at Miss Universe!

 

Half Clown

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Back in ‘April, I did an appearance with Fire Marshall Tom in the Safety Zone at the Adkar Shrine Circus. As well as being fire marshall, Tom also serves as Huffy the Clown, an educational clown. So it wasn’t strange that all the clowns at the circus stopped by to talk to Tom while we were there.

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The more I interacted with these fabulous folks, the more I thought, “these are my people” and “I need to be a clown”. At that time, we were tentatively supposed to move overseas so I told Tom that I would let him know once I knew for sure. 

At the Mrs. International Pageant a few months later, we each had to introduce ourselves at Orientation. Each table of contestants received a different question and we then had 30 seconds to answer it. The question for our table was “What is one item on your bucket list?” 

Well, I don’t have a bucket list but I do have a Goals list and at any one time there are over 100 items on it. I was the fourth person in line. While I waited I was trying to think what one thing on that list would be at all interesting to my sister contestants and pageant staff. Then it came to me:

Glammie the Clown!

I was happy with my idea and waited for my turn. I told them how my granddaughter already calls me Glammie so I want to take it a step further to become a clown of the same name. I told them that my big, wide clown shoes would be my favorite shoes ever. (I didn’t know how true this would be prior to wearing 5″ heels for 11 hours a day!) Glammie the Clown was very well received and over the course of the following week, many of the other girls told me how awesome they thought it was.

Now, I’ve been back from the pageant for a month or so and I realize that I need to get moving on this clown thing. I finally connected with the Gentle Jesters group last Tuesday and was able to go to their monthly meeting that night. They gave me all kinds of great tips and told me how it works. They had an event yesterday and told me I could come as a clown or come to observe. sickle_cell

Since I have no  clown items, I said I’d come to observe. I made my way to The Supporters of Families with Sickle Cell Disease Back to School Bash where I essentially served as a clown intern or clown in training. I learned how to make balloons into dogs and swords. Then I was thrown into face painting. 

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I’d watch Lucy paint several faces and I just wasn’t sure I could do it. So I asked the first little boy, what he wanted me to paint on his face. He said, “A lion.” OMG how do you paint a lion? So I kind of winged it and when I was finished, I handed him the mirror and he got the biggest smile on his face. It was so awesome! I’m glad that Lucy made me paint faces because I was pretty sure I couldn’t do it and it turns out, I was wrong. 🙂

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I’m so excited to be a full clown. Glammie the Clown will be making her debut on September 10 and the Claremore Community Center. Stay tuned!

 

Texas International Pageants

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It was so fun to attend another of the International state pageants. Lyndzee and I drove to Texas on Sunday.

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We met up with our friend, Denise, and her four year old, Caitlin. Caitlin has been obsessed with pageants for at least two years now. She knows exactly how she will wear her hair and what her dress and earrings will look like when she’s finally able to compete. 

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I don’t think I know another four year old that could do so well sitting in a pageant audience but I was confident in Caitlin. She was enthralled. 

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She wanted to meet and take photos with all the queens she saw. 

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She chose her dress that she wore and the outfit her mom wore. 

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The pageant was great. It was nice to see two of the three International title holders and watch the new queens be crowned. Although I didn’t get a chance to stick around (we had to get back to Oklahoma!) to meet the new Mrs. Texas International, I look forward to meeting her at Nationals in July. 

Congratulations to the new Texas International queens! 😀

The Akdar Shrine Circus

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This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be able to hang out in the Safety Station with Fire Marshall, Tom Hufford, and the Tulsa Fire Department.

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There was SO much safety information to share and I was so happy to be able to share concussion safety information. 

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Over the four days, I spoke to so many people and it was gratifying to hear them thank me for sharing the information because they had no idea that concussions were so bad. My goal and my mission is to share with as many people as possible that a concussion isn’t “just a concussion”. The Safety Station was a great place for me to share this message. 

The clowns were a blast, too!

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Many thanks to Tom and the Tulsa Fire Department for letting me hang out with them at the circus!

Beauty Secrets from a Clown

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I’ve spent the past couple of days hanging out in the Safety Station with the Tulsa Fire Department at the Akdar Shrine Circus promoting my platform of concussion safety for kids.

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It’s a circus  so, of course, there are clowns. I love clowns. So happy and fun! 

The first clown I met and actually spoke to was Noze. We had a deep discussion about lipstick. Because, you see, he has the most fabulous, sparkly, red lips!

I asked him, “So where do you get your lipstick?”

He looked at me as if he was sizing me up. Trying to decide, should I tell her? Finally, he responded, “I make it myself.”

“Really? How do you do that?” I asked him, with excitement. I really need to have some of that lipstick and couldn’t wait to learn how to make it.

“Well,” Noze said, “I use red lipstick, then I put glitter glue on top of that, and then add red glitter.”

Hmm…. I was thinking. Glitter glue. Glue????

“So how do you get it off? How long does it take?” I asked him.

“I just use baby oil. It takes me an hour to put my face on but it takes me one minute to get it off.”

Whoa! That’s incredible! I was completely intrigued and clearly better informed for having had this conversation with Noze. Now, I’m off to buy some glitter glue. 😀

Trunk Show!

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I was super excited to drive to Lawton, Oklahoma and visit my dress sponsor Crowning Around. They were holding a trunk show with the latest designs from Tony Bowls (my favorite!), Sherri Hill, and Ashley Lauren among others. 

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I was looking forward to nailing down the final details for my custom Tony Bowls competition gown for the Mrs. International pageant next July. I was also hoping to get the remaining pieces of my wardrobe figured out.

First, I have to tell you how awesome the customer service is at Crowning Around. Lawton is three hours away from my home in Tulsa and a five hour flight from my home in California but I’ve never received such amazing customer service at any other shop and it was worth the drive to know that they would be doing their very best to help me with everything that I needed. I wasn’t disappointed!

It was so great to visit with Cynthia who helped me find the items I was looking for. She’s so kind and helpful and I feel like I’ve made a lifelong friend. I was also excited to see Victoria Wiggins, the new Mrs. Kansas USA. I met Victoria when she was a teen and competed in one of our Oklahoma International regional pageants. I’m super excited for her new title and I love how she bent over backwards to help me over the phone the first time I called the shop last month. 

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All in all, it was a fabulous day. I’m excited for the sponsorship, I’m excited for the awesome wardrobe, I’m excited to have new friends! Thank you, Crowning Around!

 

 

Mrs. Southwest International 2016

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If you’ve been following along, you’ve seen that I’ve made a couple of appearances in the past month wearing a new banner. Yes, I’m Mrs. Southwest International 2016 and I’ll be competing at the Mrs. International Pageant in Jacksonville, FL next July. I’m excited!

I’ve loved the International system for a long time. I directed the Oklahoma pageant from 2006 until 2011 when we were told we’d be moving to Saudi Arabia. I reluctantly gave up my directorship. While I was directing, I was the only female director who’d never competed. At my last director’s meeting, the other directors suggested I should compete. I demured.

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But the idea remained in the back of my head. The competition age for Mrs. International is from 21-56. As I get closer to 56, I realize that I’m running out of eligibility to compete in this pageant. I discussed it with my husband, who agreed I should compete. I also have the strong encouragement of many friends, so I entered.

What I love about the Mrs. International system is the requirement to have a community service platform that you’ll promote throughout your year. I’ve been promoting walking for health for the past 10 years and that will be my pageant platform as well. I’ll be aligning myself with the Start! Walking Now program with the American Heart Association. I’ve been working with the AHA since 2008, mostly with the Go Red for Women program but, as happened the other day when I joined them at the Capitol for the tobacco rally, whatever they need my support for, they have. I love the message of the AHA. There are so many simple things we can do to ensure our heart remains healthy and knowledge is power! If you can share that message, and let people know what they can do, you help them.

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I’m really looking forward to this year as Mrs. Southwest International and the culmination of the year at the pageant next June. If you’re interested in competing for Mrs. International, many states have preliminary pageants you can participate in. You can find them at the Mrs. International website. If you decide to enter, let me know! 🙂

Promised Post Pageant Donut

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We stumbled upon Psycho Donuts on one of our morning walks a month or so ago. I loved how the outside was decorated. We didn’t go in but when I got home, I investigated a little further and decided that after the pageant, I was going to Psycho Donuts and have a donut. 

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This morning, in a radical departure from my normally ultra healthy diet, we indulged.  It was truly difficult to decide which one of these amazing donuts I wanted to try. I asked the man in front of me if I could take a photo of his box and he said, “Sure”. 

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After we ordered, he ordered 6 more! It really is a tough decision.

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We decided on the Rocky Road (David) and the S’Mores (me)

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They were served up by this very pleasant health care provider. 🙂

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We also had a cup of coffee. I had the dark roast which was excellent and David had the lighter roast. 

Oh yum!!!!

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We grabbed some napkins for the sticky deliciosity.

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Sat at a cute table. 

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It was amazing. Afterwards, I was buzzed to the max, ready to walk another 1397 miles. David just wanted to sleep. 🙂 

Although it’s not in my usual repertoire of food choices, I’m glad we tried Psycho Donuts. It was awesome! 😀

White Shorts Are Just So…White

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A couple of weeks ago, my pageant director made a change in the wardrobe requirements for the pageant. She had originally said we needed denim shorts for an event where we would wear our pageant tee shirts. I was happy with that because I saw that the contestants last year had to wear white shorts and white shorts are not something I wear. Ever.

White shorts are just so … white.

And see through.

But the wardrobe change that came forth was white shorts instead of the denim shorts. Along with that, white shoes. I don’t wear white shoes. Ever.

Except walking shoes but those get dirty so fast they are white in name only.

This change threw me for a bit of a loop. Being new to San Jose, I wasn’t sure where to find a store that I could buy white shorts from. Now, after searching for white shorts, I’m a pro at finding any store in a 50 mile radius. And I think I can get there without using GPS. Bonus points.

By yesterday, I was really running out of options and the pageant is two weeks away. I have two pairs of white shorts here at the house. One that I ordered online that doesn’t fit and one that is my plan Z if I can’t find plan A.

My biggest problem is the fact that my waist is so small compared to my hips. There is always a HUGE gap in the back when they fit everywhere else. I went into one store last week. I saw there on a rack, “Gapless Waistband!” I was so excited!

“Get me into a dressing room with a pair of those shorts!” I told the sales lady.

I rushed to try the shorts on seeing the finish line of my white short search looming in the near distance. 

I put the shorts on, zipped them up, and… probably the biggest gap I’d seen in any pair of shorts I’d tried up to that point. In fact, it was so big, I actually came out of the dressing room to show the sales lady.

“You see? This is what I’m dealing with,” I said as she sadly shook her head.

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So yesterday, in one of my last ditch ideas I thought of Lane Bryant. Over the years of being overweight, I shopped at Lane Bryant a lot. They have cute clothes. They also have long jeans that are truly long. They start at a size 14 which is where I am right now. 

I went in and walked up to a lady folding shirts. 

“I need your help urgently to save my life,” I said.

“Okay,” she replied, not looking up from what she was doing.

“I have to buy a pair of white shorts for a pageant I’m competing in in two weeks. I’m not having any luck and I hope you can help me.”

She finally looks up. “We don’t have your size here.”

OMG! Did I just hear what I thought I heard??!!! She doesn’t have my size.

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Stunned, thrilled, happy, excited, I trailed after her as she went to get a size 14 off the rack and take it to the dressing room. I never told her what size I was but size 14 is the smallest size they carry. 

The shorts fit, they look good. Woo hoo! While I was trying to calm down because of the fact my search for white shorts was finally at an end, I completely forgot what she had said to me earlier until after I left the store.

I paid for the shorts, thanking her profusely for saving my life.

She said, “You’re beautiful. Good luck in your pageant!”

I thanked her again and left. As I was going down the elevator, I remembered again what she said to me about not having my size. 

White shorts purchased + being told at Lane Bryant “we don’t have your size” = day made! 😀