Where has the summer gone....

WOW....I must apologize...its been a while since I updated this blog. I traveled out to Las Vegas at the end of July for the National Pageant. It was such an amazing experience. I met some fabulous women. It was a week filled with action. I was exhausted at the end of the week. We were able to mingle out and about in Vegas and I made some lasting friendships. Mrs South Carolina was crowned our new Mrs United States. My husband Eddie and my boys were able to join me to help cheer me on. My husband and I had celebrated our 14 year wedding anniversary in April and have been kicking around the idea of renewing our vows for a while now. So we did it Vegas style. We visited the Elvis Chapel and had the King renew our vows for us. It was a blast for all of us and the boys enjoyed it as well. With Elvis's blessing we are sure to have many more happy years!!

After I returned back to Maine...I had to rest my cheeks from all the smiling I did for the pictures in Las Vegas. I got back into the swing of things....I had an event at the Baileys Island Tuna Tourney Awards Night. I helped hand out the awards to all the winners. Let me tell you there were LOTS of awards! Had a beautiful evening out at Cooks Resturant on Baileys Island. I was happy to help out and honored that they had me.

I then helped out with an auction to help benefit the Southern Maine Community College Scholarship Fund. The auction was put on by the Sturdavent Island Tuna Tourney and the amount of money that was raised was pretty impressive. It was nice to see people being so generous for a good cause. It was a lot of fun....my feet were screaming by the end from all the walking in my heels!!

In the next coming weeks I will be making appearances at schools throughout the state. I hope to spread my message to the youth and to those in the position to make a difference in youths at risk lives. Remember...I was one of those kids that struggled at home with two parents that battled addiction and mental illness. It was largely due to the guidance that my teacher/coach gave me that made me so much of who I am today. My friends parents also took me under their wings and let me know that I could break the cycle with the choices that I made for my life. I am sooo thankful that I was able to break out. I want to do that for a child that needs the encouragement to take the right path and be successful in life.

I have had a fun summer with my family and representing Maine as Mrs Maine United States. I hope that everyone understands that I will do my best to keep up with this blog. My family will ALWAYS come first though and when time allows, I promise to update as to what is going on in the day and life or Mrs Maine United States!!!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

This has been a busy month. Full of preparations for Nationals and getting my message out here in Maine. I leave in 4 days for Las Vegas and things are coming together. Suitcase is just about packed, dresses are hanging and excitement is brewing!! I have been blessed with a lot of support from the community, family and friends. Along with my other sponsors I also recieved sponsorship money from Central Distributors (a wine distributor that services our store) and also from Oakhurst Dairy here in Portland. Thank you so much for generosity!!

Last weekend I attended the Mrs Massachusetts America Pageant in Newton, Massachusetts. The delegates were all beautiful and represented Massachusetts well. I received a very warm welcome and it was much appreciated. Tomorrow morning I will head into South Portland to hangout with the Coast Morning Shows (93.1)Tim and Eva. I am looking forward to it and I am sure it will be a lot of fun!!

The local papers www.inthecourier.com wrote a really nice article about my journey last week. It has been so much fun preparing for the "Big Stage" in Las Vegas. I hope to make Maine proud and to not let down all of those that have supported me and stood behind me. Thank you all.....xoxo!!

I went and cheered my softball team on last week also. It was so nice to see the girls. We were trying to figure out how long the Radleys team has been around and I think we figured around 10 years. They are a wonderful group of ladies and I consider them all friends...and I cant wait to get back on the field and join them.

Thats about all I have to write before heading to "Sin City". I am looking forward to this experience and to meeting some amazing women.

Stay tuned..................

Sponsors

I have been blessed with an amazing amount of support. Please patronage these businesses. They have supported me beyond my wildest dreams.....Thank you so much for your generosity. I hope to make you proud!!

Preparations and having fun.....

It has been such a busy few weeks for me. Not just with preparations for nationals but with end of school events for my kids and our family vacation...its been crazy. I was able to visit my youngest sons classroom as "Mrs Maine" last week. I volunteer in their often but the kids hadnt seen my crown yet. They were so cute and excited. I brought the little girls tiaras and the boys crowns. They ate some cookies I brought while I read a story to them. They asked lots of questions about being Mrs Maine. This is truly one of the funnest things to do....just being able to be up close and personal with the kids is great!! Thanks Mrs. Ly at Blue Point for having me.

Last night I attended the Miss Maine America pageant in Brunswick. Wow, it was a great show. I am new to pageants and don't have a lot of experience...but it was a great production with wonderful delegates. The talent portion was just amazing!! It was fun to meet other title holders also. The new Miss Maine Susanna Stauble is a student from the school where I teach....Westbrook High School. Actually, I am at Westbrook Regional Vocational Center that is attached to WHS.....just to clarify :) She was amazing and she will have a wonderful year...I am sure.

Preparations for Nationals are coming together. It is just about a month away. I received emails that my opening number dress as well as my evening gown have been shipped. I am anxious to get them....and hope they fit!! This week I hope to finalize travel arrangements for both my family as well as myself and tie up some loose ends. I am actually glad that the National pageant is held in Las Vegas...we may be able to stay dry for more than a day!!! It has been raining nonstop here forever!!! Until next time!!!

Memorial Day Parade Old Orchard Beach

So the ladies at my favorite bank (Saco and Biddeford Savings) had asked me to ride in the parade with them. I wasnt sure how I felt about it. Our business is in Old Orchard and I didnt want people to get the wrong idea of me. I was afraid of people just thinking I thought that I was just a pretty lady and was good to look at. That isn't my reason for this journey. I have such an important message that I want to share. But, anyway...there I sat on the back of Bernice's car as her and Carolyn drove me through the streets of Old Orchard Beach. It was pretty cool. Everyone was very receptive and yelling my name!! It was a lot of fun!! We had a few laughs as Bernice a few times stepped on the gas a little too aggressively and almost put me in the trunk!! We ended up at Memorial Park where there was a ceremony. Chris Cash who was killed in Iraq was honored by his mom. She has done such a great job in preserving his memory. It was all and all a great day. A bonus was the sun was shining!!!