I made this myself.

I packed, I ironed, I folded, I organized, I re-ordered, I zipped, I steamed, I I ironed some more, and I finished my packing almost a week before my departure. It is debatable whether this was extremely nerdy of me, (do I have nothing better to do?) or whether I was just prepared. You can decide. I think it was probably a combination.

I looked around my living room and realized my mom would faint if she was not living in Idaho because she would see how I was utilizing her model-home-esque downstairs. Sorry mom! (But don't worry I picked it up!)

I received calls from my Sweetheart sisters who gave me loads of encouragement. I couldn't sleep at the thought that in just a week I would be sitting on a bed opposite of Coreena in our hotel room giggling about our experience that day over  pillow talks and friendship. Who can close their eyes at the thought of the fun about to come? Not me. I made my daily "Summary of Tony's Summaries" and I was content with the way my day went. Tomorrow I am leaving for Santa Clara to have mock interviews at Mary McCaman's house and of course, eat too much food, and confirm that my Executive Director Joyce approved all of my selections for lunches, appearances, and weekly Miss California events. It's almost here!

It’s finishing that makes a winner.

Several months ago I came into contact with two wonderful volunteers by the name of Sandi Gaertner and Joel Rubnitz who were part of a team coordinating the Silicon Valley Duck Race. It seems like a lifetime ago when we first chatted and discussed what was going to happen in the upcoming months. And now here I sit blogging after the event. It is in moments like this that I realize how quickly time passes by.

The Duck Race moved up to the top of my list of favorite appearances because I have never met such a large group of volunteers who were so genuinely appreciative for my presence. My cheeks burned from smiling so much when I walked out to my car. What exactly is a duck race, you ask? The Silicon Valley Duck Race is a fundraising event for many local non-profit charities. Participants purchase (adopt) a duck and a portion of the proceeds goes to the charity of their choice. 15,000 ducks raced to the finish line. Don’t worry- there were no ducks harmed in the making of this race… they are specialized rubber ducks designed for racing. It was quite a site to see! More than $20,000 in prizes were given out to the people sponsoring the top 57 finishers. Between the games, jump houses, food, face painting, live music there was no possibility anyone didn’t enjoy the day under the warm California sun and the natural beauty of Vasona Park. There was something for everyone and it was all for a great cause.

The families were so gracious and the kids were simply adorable. One little boy came running up to me practically out of breath and motioned for me to “come here” his chubby little hand pressed against his mouth, eyes gleaming about to tell me some big deep dark secret. I plop onto the grass as one of my shoe falls off. I shrug my shoulders and smile, turn my head to the side, and put my hand up to my ear ready to receive this important story he is about to share with me. “I… I… um, I…” (giggles and giggles) “I have a hearing problem! Ahh!” And he runs ten feet away whips his head around from behind his dad’s leg and smiles proudly for his recent confession. I assume he has an actual hearing impairment and I say quite loudly, “Well who cares about a silly little problem like that when you have a face as cute as yours?!” He beams from ear to ear. Some people walking by slowed down to see why this girl with a tiara is talking so loud. He boldly steps out from behind his dad and runs back to my side again motioning to “come here!” to hear his secret. “I went swimming and now da waataw is stuck in my ewa” Oh. Great, now I was yelling at a child with swimmers ear. Another little girl tugged on her mom’s T-shirt and says, “Mommy, why is that lady wearing a crown?” the mom tenderly bends over and says to the six-or-so year old, “Katie, she’s a princess! Do you want to take a picture with her?” She thoughtfully looks me up and down, scrunches her nose, and casually says, “Um, no.” and turns around and walks the other way. I can appreciate the honesty. An adorable baby decided to throw up on my black shirt. Everyone gasped and relentlessly started apologizing. I smiled, took a napkin rubbed some off, halfway rubbed some in and said, “Naaaah, it’s okay! We all do it, and it kind of accents my shirt.” If a little vomit bothers me, I’m getting in the wrong profession becoming a Pediatrician…Next stop was meeting Devin Setoguchi from the San Jose Sharks. I proudly stood by and watched the crazed fans go wild when he arrived. I kind of enjoyed watching from the shadows because I could sit back and watch how truly excited these Die Hard Sharks Fans were. It was a while of “Devin!!! You’re the greatest! Devin! You rock! Devin! I’m your biggest fan!”… and then a crooked head turn as their eyes would land on me and say, “Who are you, the duck queen?” Sure, I sure am if you would like me to be. : ) For those who DID know who I was, I signed autographs and talked with the kids. I heard about pets, and favorite toys, and siblings, and everything in between from my little darlings. Then, Devin and I got to ride around in an old “Yellow Taxi Cab” to the waterfront where we got to climb through the marsh into the middle of the stream and count down the “drop” of the ducks.

Devin Setoguchi and I before our old fashioned taxi ride!

 We even got to get the crowed pumped up by starting a “quack”-off. Naturally, I was all for this wonderful idea, but I am not too sure how comfortable a “Shark” is quacking… I am certain I was much more excited about this than Devin was (think Anaheim Ducks). With the throw of Devin and my arms in the air, the 15,000 ducks were released down the noodle-lined river. We had to be careful not to touch any of the ducks as they sailed past us. After the majority of the pack made it through we had to pick out the “stragglers” which jumped the barricades and got stuck off to the sides. As I picked a duck up from the side near the audience, a brown eyed little boy shrieked, “That duck is a loser! He didn’t win!” Automatically I became defensive of my poor little sidelined friend and without even thinking I blurted out, “It’s finishing that makes a winner! He’s going to cross that finish line and that’s what matters.” A wave of laughs from agreeing parents trickled down the crowds of people. That was my lesson for the day.

Thank you to the countless volunteers who made this event such a success and for those who were so gracious the entire day

Getting a hug from a small princess

With Peanut, my favorite little man of the day

Be better than you were yesterday

• People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. 
• If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.  
• If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies; Succeed anyway. 
• If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you; Be honest and sincere anyway. 
• What you spend years creating others could destroy overnight; Create anyway. 
• If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous; Be happy anyway.
• The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. 
• Give the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give your best anyway.

I think every day is made up of tiny little tests. Some are tests of character. Some are tests of fortitude. Others are tests of friendship. And if you're lucky, you will pass with flying colors.

One Proud Mamma Hen

 

I am sitting on the couch, my hands literally so nervous and my palms completely sweaty that it makes it somewhat difficult to type. I am never as nervous competing as I get when I am cheering for a friend competing!? CONGRATULATIONS to my Sweetheart sisters on their first nights of prelims!

Alex Miller (Kansas): Double Preliminary winner for Swimsuit and Evening Gown
Kari Gai (Missouri): Prelim Talent winner
Jennifer Neal (Iowa) tied for Evening Gown and Swimsuit

Jaci Stofferahn (North Dakota), Susannah Higgins (Alabama), and Carly Economos (Deleware) are also in the mix for Miss America 2011 hopefuls, so please keep them in your thoughts! Sending you all "loves and hugs" ladies! Miss you!

Mock Interviews and Dresses Galore

Sunday concluded or started my week, depending on if you are a glass half empty or half full kind of person; including mock interviews and fittings for wardrobe selections for non-competition outfits at Mary McCaman’s home. As ususal Mary had a wonderful spread with too much food and too many selections to choose from. Mary, I love you even when you put delicious looking donuts and cookies on the table in front of me before I go try on tight fitting dresses. I happily stocked up on pineapple and watermelon and the delicious Chinese chicken salad… and well, sorry for whoever gasped… “Where did all the pineapple go?”……….. :-D No one ever leaves the McCaman home hungry and if you do it’s your own fault. I was drilled on questions in my mock interview on current events, my platform, my goals, my reasons for involvement in the Miss America Organization and everything in between. I left with a smile on my face for the amount of constructive, yet positive and uplifting, advice I received.

There is one other thing I want to address and then we will be done talking about it. Last week, we lost a 2010 Miss California contestant due to a foot injury. Felicia will not be able to fulfill her duties as Miss Santa Clara 2010 and has stepped down after a heartbreaking foot accident. It is a bittersweet moment because although our hearts go out to Felicia and we are keeping her in our thoughts and prayers, there is a wonderful, sweet, beautiful, and talented young lady honorably stepping up. I had the privilege of getting to know Melissa Bowling earlier this year at a fundraiser for the Miss Santa Clara Auxiliary and then watched her compete at Miss Santa Clara. And all I can tell you is that her sweet personality backstage matches her charming on stage charm, and she is one powerful singer- she will certainly be a contender. She fits in perfectly already. We welcome Melissa to the family, but Felicia will still always be our 2010 sister as well. You should see her Miss America Rhinestoned cast… admittedly, I was slightly jealous. Please keep Felicia in your prayers but welcome Melissa who is working double time to arrive in Fresno surely at her best.

I drove back home to catch my brother, sister, and mom before they all left me to go back to their homes. My brother, sister, and I stopped by my Dad’s House to enjoy our step-mom’s delicious potato salad, and Renee’s usual complete spread of homemade goodies. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for Turkey Sliders since everyone had to get ready to take off. Next time… Now that the hurry up and wait of the day has settled down and I have nestled into my comfy bed, I realize there are 25 days today… it’s now starting to feel surreal. Until next time…

Wedding Bells

Yesterday my beautiful cousin Shannon (now) Katuszonek was wed to my new cousin Paul in a picture perfect ceremony at the River Mill in French Camp, California. We stood beneath a stunning oak tree surrounded by multi colored rose gardens, plush greenery, ivy covered gazebos, and vintage pillars. Although I lost the pool betting that Paul was going to cry like a little girl, luckily Shannon was there to hold him up because I am pretty sure he was going to faint due to his leg tremor. Maybe he was just really good at covering up those tears. My heart couldn’t help but smile at the look of genuine love between the two of them. It was a fairytale moment. I want my husband to look at me the same way I will remember him looking at Shannon.

It was a long day as our hair and make-up appointments and the usual female primping started at 8 AM at Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mike's ranch. I learned a lot from Shannon that day. I learned exactly how I want to be on my wedding day. I sat in suspense secretly waiting for a break down or a meltdown over something that went wrong… but that million watt smile of hers never left her face. She was ecstatic with her hair, she loved her makeup, she didn’t seem to mind the minor tuxedo disaster mix up, nor that the event planner was, in my opinion, kind of crazy, nor that we went completely off schedule and started running late. She sat back with her mimosa smiling at the slight chaos surrounding her. There was no Bridezilla moment- I was expecting a great comical story to share with their kids someday. Family members from all around the states came in to join the festivities, and we sat around giggling through the morning enjoying Aunt Cindy’s delicious omelet casserole, fresh fruit, sparkling cider, and the much appreciated warm California day. I asked her why she was so calm and she said it was easy because nothing could go wrong as long as she got to kiss the man of her dreams that afternoon. (Insert actual choked up tear here).

 A picture I took of my beautiful cousin

  

Wedding Bells and Missing Cells… there was something else that happened during the reception, but it was a sacrifice I am alright with to let go, in surrendering to getting a wonderful new cousin to add to our crazy clan!

Somewhere during the bouquet toss and The Eagles Hotel California someone decided that my old LG phone seemed quite captivating and they wanted it. I was sitting at the head table, so I am still a little surprised someone was bold enough to take it from the front of the room. And the worst part? I didn’t even catch the bouquet… but then again, marriage doesn’t need to be on the horizon for a Miss California contestant anyways, right? Well, wherever you are little phone, I hope your new owner appreciates Stefani’s Sadie puppy’s chew marks on the corner, and the large pink splot on the screen from being overheated after a day in the car, and the scratch across the camera, and the fact the calibration of the touch screen is way off… oh how you will be missed. I don’t care what they say… my phone was a champ. So what if I needed to remind myself the reasons not to throw it against the wall when it didn’t work, or when it dropped my calls 5 times over again- for I did not have to upgrade to some nonsense “data plan” or spend $400 on anything starting with an “i”. Perhaps I was outdated, perhaps I was slightly poor, perhaps I wasn’t up with current times and the trends but then again that is debatable as obviously SOMEone thought I was way cool with my puppy chewed beat up LG. Whoever you are I hope you enjoy and find better use out of it than I did. Now, I get to go even more retro with my even OLDER brick of a phone! No worries, for those trying to get a hold of me I promise to get my old phone reactivated by Tuesday at the latest.

In spite of of the minor phone incident I had so much fun catching up with my family- brother and sister who live in San Diego and my mom who came in from Idaho, cousin Andy from out of state, and all of my family. My cousin Aaron and his band, The Dispensers, rocked the night away with classics from The Eagles, to The Beatles, to modern bands and everything in between. If you are looking for an AMAZING band in the Central Valley, please contact me for their information. This is not a family member being biased, I promise they are phenomenal. We all danced the night away until the lights in the hall came on.

Although I didn't catch the bouquet, Ryan caught the garter. He and Paul were so funny. Paul's like, enjoy my wife's sweaty swamp leg garter, man. And Ryan's like, I don't care man- this is pure sweat of good luck, and THROWS his hands in the air like he just scored a touchdown on Superbowl Sunday. I hope that picture turned out because their faces were priceless.

My exhaustion set in before we even reached the valet walking through the maze of paths through the gardens and illuminated flickering lamps. I closed my eyes when I sat down in the backseat for just a split second and when I opened them I was staring at the garage. Oooh, 6 AM was going to come around way too quickly to get up to get myself ready for Mock Interviews. And it did. But only after fond memories of a day I will never forget. I love you, Shannon and Paul. You guys are two of our best friends- I cannot express enough how proud I felt to be standing next to you both. You are beautiful and genuine and I hope my fairytale dream wedding is exactly like yours.  And I hope that someday my maid of honor is awesome as my cousin Liz! You kind of rock at that job.  I need to stop being around all these beautiful brides, I'm feeling a little depressed about myself... Now go make me some beautiful babies. I want some mini cousins to play dress up with! Liz and Jim are going to need some company anyways for the girls! I banking on a girl. I totally won't lose that bet, Paul. You're going to cry like a baby and she's going to have you so wrapped around her finger that it will be pitiful to watch.

Cheers and goodnight from one lucky, happy, blessed, smiling little girl.

Pain… pure, excruciating pain.

I did something this week that I have never done before… I had nails “put on”. I remember vivid as day sitting down to start my piano lessons on Mrs. Keller’s baby grand piano bench as a young child. The inspection would start. “Are your nails long today?”… The answer was often yes, and I would cut them before we started our 45 minutes of scales, arpeggios, chord progressions, and performance with my hands able to stay in perfect rounded form, nail tips pointing down towards the keys. So, after forming the habit over 20 years of clipping my nails short, I realized this week that I wanted to have presentable short length “pretty” nails. Did you know how confusing simple little nails are??!?! Acrylic? Gel? Pink and white? Tips? Color? French?... my eyes practically welled up with tears when the manicurist asked me which option I wanted. Her thick accent was not a factor- it was these American words that were foreign. So I did what any 23 year old would do… I wanted my mommy. Fortunately, with the advice of my mom, I additionally gathered advice from my Sweetheart sisters at what to choose, my friends, her friends’ ideas, and anyone who was willing to share their input. I confidently marched back into the salon the next day knowing exactly what to say, yet speaking with slight meaningless understanding… I still had no idea what to expect. Well, what all of my little darlings may have forgotten to disclose was how painful getting nails is. Now, the process isn’t that bad, I might describe it as uncomfortable if you are not used to it, but it is the after effects that kill. There was a part of the day that I kind of just wanted to cut my fingertips off. I thought it probably would have felt a little nicer. But there is light at the end of the tunnel for my fellow never-had-nails readers who may be considering the plunge (okay, so what if I am probably less than ½% of the American population over the age of 15… I know someone else is out there). The good news is the pain subsides. For the most part. Ask me again next week… the other good news is I have 3 weeks to take these puppies off if they don’t work out. There’s nothing like planning ahead!

Tans, pedicures, girl time… Every Bride’s dream week.

Mary and I after practicing our Bridesmaid/ Flower Girl duties. I discovered something through the Miss California a few years back that I think no girl should have to live without. Well, in this day and age, perhaps no man should live without either? You can decide.

If you are amongst those who crave for that sun-kissed glow and complexion, here is a word of caution. Tanning has been found to have a number of negative effects and disadvantages, causing serious medical conditions. The majority of these are skin related problems because our skin comes directly in contact with the harmful UV rays of the sun. So, in case you are thinking to go for tanning, to acquire the California tan, think again. Though sun rays are very vital for the growth of human cells and provide some essential elements to be included in daily diet, such as Vitamin D, overexposure is always harmful. Overexposure to sun and the harmful UV or ultraviolet rays from tanning lamps leads to aging because it breaks down the elastic tissues in the skin. You can form wrinkles, and freckles, and cataracts. Every tanning session sucks out the youth from our skin and we think we are looking beautiful. What an irony? I am not against tanning. But yes, I am against tanning for more than what is recommended.

So, for the rest of us who don’t like to throw our youth away, my hidden treasure is Kelly Richardson from Sonoma Tanning. (And now Darby from Golden Mist Tanning). Kelly Richardson is the one to thank for the tanned bodies at Miss California every year. She not only donates her time, services, and product to offer free personalized airbrush tans to all contestants, but she also offers a friendship and words of encouragement to all the girls. She has been a true gift, as I often get drowned out from the abrasive stage lights and look pale. Those can turn fair colored skin like mine in normal lighting to “is-she-sickly-looking”? For those like me who have concerns of developing one of the most common forms of cancer, Melanoma, which is caused by tanning, she comes in and offers us an alternative to obtaining healthy, radiant looking skin without any side effects. Kelly has turned into not just “Kelly from Sonoma Tanning” but rather someone I consider a great friend over the last few years. Her selflessness is testament to the kind of generous and sincere people who volunteer in this organization.

So you could imagine my excitement when my blushing bride cousin said she wanted to opt out of sun tanning for her wedding and had set up an appointment to have a mobile airbrush tanning service tan all of her bridal party. I had to halt her in her tracks. I immediately called Kelly and asked who her closest liaison to my area was. And boy did I luck out because Darby from Golden Mist Tanning was very close. Darby also helps Kelly at Miss California airbrush the dozens and dozens of girls. I was excited because I did not know she lived so close to me.

While the weeks flew by, as soon as this week arrived the days crawled by. On Thursday the whole Bridal Party met at the QueenBee Nail Salon to get Pedicures and then we did a caravan back to my house to get our tan on. We snacked and sipped lemonade, and laughed at some hysterical stories. We all came out with glowing natural looking skin and smiles of satisfaction. I loved these girls, everyone was so funny about the lack of shame you have to have when tanning. There are only two days until THE BIG DAY… and then I realized that reality sets in because then my next milestone will be Miss California in just a few weeks. Already? Here's to practicing me NOT falling and ruining Shannon's pictures. I promise to do my best for you!