way to fast. And even though I only had a three day work week, it didn't seem to last long.
On Wednesday and Thursday, me and the kids drove down to Douglas. We went to attend the funeral services for my beloved uncle. Sadly he did pass away on March 17th. One day after he was taken off of life support. I still can not control my tears. I am tearing up just writing about it. The show of support for him on these two days, only re-enforced my belief that he was a great person. Stories of his generosity and kindness was all that was heard. A political niece who spoke at his funeral mass gave an amazing speech about him. It read almost the same as the one my sister read a few minutes after her. And here we thought that he only spoiled us. How selfish were we? He was just a kind and gentle man to everyone he knew. He will be missed.
On Saturday, I attended the Miss Tempe/Miss Mesa Pageant. It was a walk back to the past. My old pageant days. Yes, I to was a pageant girl. Back, back, baacckk in the day. I was 16 years old, and was encouraged by a friend to compete for the title of Miss Douglas Teen. I did, why not? And..........I won. Then, the pageant bug bit me. It bit me bad. I let it consume my life for a good twelve years.
After I gave up my title for Miss Douglas Teen, I was scheduled to run for Miss Douglas. I opted not to. I waited for the next year, and decided to get married instead. A decision I do not regret I may add. (Don't start to freak Buddy)
After I got married, I was asked to produce the local Miss Douglas Pageant. I did that for a few years. Then right after Kai was born, I was asked to be the local Executive Director. That was crazy. It consumed my life, and after moving up to the Phoenix area, I continued to direct. Miss Ahwatukee and Miss Ocotillo. I loved directing, but it was very time consuming. So, in order to salvage a little bit of my sanity, I quit cold turkey. I blocked e-mails from State staff, I ignored phone calls, I just dropped off the face of the earth. I knew that if I answered, I would be sucked right back in. That was seven years ago.
Fast forward to now. Even though I quit cold turkey, I would be a liar if I said that I didn't still know what was going on in the pageant world. Thanks to the good ol Internet. Hey, I can't help myself. I went to ten Miss Arizona pageants only missing two because 1. It was a few weeks before my wedding. 2. Because I was close to having Kai, and my feet were so swollen I couldn't travel. I went out to Atlantic City to see Miss America, and I can't even count how many local pageants I went to.
At the beginning of the year, I was approached to help coach a young lady from TDA. She was going to compete for Miss Tempe. First of all, let me say that I would have never done it, if I didn't believe in the Miss America Organization. And, I would have never encouraged her if I didn't feel that she would be perfect for this organization. This young lady represents everything that is good about it. She is smart, talented, beautiful, and she is a go-getter. For the past few months, we worked on her wardrobe and just a little educating about the pageant system. Other than that, she did the rest on her own. And now, I am happy to say....she is the new Miss Tempe.
Jennifer and Kai
Jennifer with Miss Arizona and other local title holders
Jennifer with all of her TDA family that attended.
On Wednesday and Thursday, me and the kids drove down to Douglas. We went to attend the funeral services for my beloved uncle. Sadly he did pass away on March 17th. One day after he was taken off of life support. I still can not control my tears. I am tearing up just writing about it. The show of support for him on these two days, only re-enforced my belief that he was a great person. Stories of his generosity and kindness was all that was heard. A political niece who spoke at his funeral mass gave an amazing speech about him. It read almost the same as the one my sister read a few minutes after her. And here we thought that he only spoiled us. How selfish were we? He was just a kind and gentle man to everyone he knew. He will be missed.
On Saturday, I attended the Miss Tempe/Miss Mesa Pageant. It was a walk back to the past. My old pageant days. Yes, I to was a pageant girl. Back, back, baacckk in the day. I was 16 years old, and was encouraged by a friend to compete for the title of Miss Douglas Teen. I did, why not? And..........I won. Then, the pageant bug bit me. It bit me bad. I let it consume my life for a good twelve years.
After I gave up my title for Miss Douglas Teen, I was scheduled to run for Miss Douglas. I opted not to. I waited for the next year, and decided to get married instead. A decision I do not regret I may add. (Don't start to freak Buddy)
After I got married, I was asked to produce the local Miss Douglas Pageant. I did that for a few years. Then right after Kai was born, I was asked to be the local Executive Director. That was crazy. It consumed my life, and after moving up to the Phoenix area, I continued to direct. Miss Ahwatukee and Miss Ocotillo. I loved directing, but it was very time consuming. So, in order to salvage a little bit of my sanity, I quit cold turkey. I blocked e-mails from State staff, I ignored phone calls, I just dropped off the face of the earth. I knew that if I answered, I would be sucked right back in. That was seven years ago.
Fast forward to now. Even though I quit cold turkey, I would be a liar if I said that I didn't still know what was going on in the pageant world. Thanks to the good ol Internet. Hey, I can't help myself. I went to ten Miss Arizona pageants only missing two because 1. It was a few weeks before my wedding. 2. Because I was close to having Kai, and my feet were so swollen I couldn't travel. I went out to Atlantic City to see Miss America, and I can't even count how many local pageants I went to.
At the beginning of the year, I was approached to help coach a young lady from TDA. She was going to compete for Miss Tempe. First of all, let me say that I would have never done it, if I didn't believe in the Miss America Organization. And, I would have never encouraged her if I didn't feel that she would be perfect for this organization. This young lady represents everything that is good about it. She is smart, talented, beautiful, and she is a go-getter. For the past few months, we worked on her wardrobe and just a little educating about the pageant system. Other than that, she did the rest on her own. And now, I am happy to say....she is the new Miss Tempe.
Jennifer and Kai
Jennifer with Miss Arizona and other local title holders
Jennifer with all of her TDA family that attended.Jennifer will compete for the title of Miss Arizona on June 19th in Chandler, AZ. She will do an amazing job. As for my part......support! That is it! I will help with what I can, but Buddy, I can promise you that I will not get roped back into pageants. I will help Jennifer with anything that she needs, but after Miss Arizona it's cold turkey for me again. I make you that promise. : )
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