Long Beach Press Telegram

The Fri. before I left for New Mexico I had a phone interview with staff writer, Adam Pringle, of the Long Beach Press Telegram. Here's a link to the article: Click here

Downtown Santa Fe

After our workshops, mom and I walked around downtown Santa Fe. It is such an adorable town with lots of little boutiques and galleries in which to get lost. We especially loved the old architecture. One such place is St. Francis, an old church on "Old Santa Fe Rd". After we walked a bit we had a scrumptious meal at an adorable little restaurant called Cafe Pasqual's...the ambiance was too cute, Spanish influence, reminded me of my days in Spain...ah memories.

Official HG America Conference

Today marked the official start of our workshops with Heart Gallery America. There were 26 different galleries represented from all over the nation, @ 80 or so attendees. The new board was voted on (see attatched pic) and we discussed all different facets of making our local galleries successful from fundraising to venue selection, to learning about dealing with press & media. It was a wealth of information but we definitely feel better equipped to go back to our communitites and implement the new tools we were given. Workshops are set to continue again tomorrow but I'll be missing the first set due to an interview I have with a local talk show.

Chimayo', New Mexico

After hiking Bandelier, we took another detour an hour or so over to Chimayo'...a small town with a famous church that supposedly had an apparition of Christ and became a healing spot. In a small room to the side of the main sanctuary is a hole in the floor filled with dirt. People would kneel down and smear the dirt all over their bodies. One woman took her shoes off and got into the hole to really make sure her feet were covered. It was such a colorful place, in more ways than one...aesthetically and colorful people and was an enjoyable pit stop along the way...and yes, I was trying to figure out how I could rescue that puppy!!

Bandelier National Monument

Today was our day off to explore Santa Fe...of course those of you who know me understand my need for being an adventurer. Mom and I took off on a wild goose chase, no map, just some shaky directions from a local, to Bandelier National Park. It took about an hour and a half to get there but we found it and it was totally worth the drive. The scenery was beautiful, the weather amazing...off in the distance was a huge black cloud that rumbled the entire time threatening rain but it never opened up on us. It definitely added to the ambiance of this place. We hiked around three hours and then headed out to Chimayo', which was another goose chase all on its own...but that's the way I love it!!

Santa Fe, NM Heart Gallery Garden Party

What a day! It began at 4:45 am. when I got up to get ready to head out to the Long Beach airport with my mom for Santa Fe, New Mexico. We arrived with plenty of time, checked in our luggage, boarded our plane, headed out to the runway and then....the engines turned off??? The captain came on informing us that all planes were grounded as there was a major storm moving through Phoenix, the aftermath of hurricane Dean... and he had no idea when we would be able to depart. Two hours later, yes that's right, two hours of sitting on the tar mack, we finally headed out for Phoenix. Unfortunately, we had a connecting flight that we missed due to the delay which ended up putting us in too late for me to make my first appearance. I was bummed that I wasn't able to get there in time for the public plaza event, but alas, what can one do? Fortunately, I at least made it for the second event, which was the garden party held for all the galleries across the nation to kick of our first ever Heart Gallery of America conference. It was in an amazing gallery, with tasty food, marimba players and other entertainment as well as different speakers, including yours truly. It was a wonderful networking event and I met many of the movers and shakers that founded the gallery. I'm tired but the trip was well worth it!! Tomorrow is a free day and then we head into workshops Mon/Tues.

Aerial Tram Palm Springs

After Fri. nights talent show we were all whisked away in Limos to take the Aerial Tram of Palm Springs to the Peaks Restaurant where we enjoyed our dinner. The pictures of the tram ride didn't turn out as it was very dark. I can say this... the ride was an absolute hoot! Every time it dipped at a crossing point all the ladies would scream...since you couldn't really hold onto anything we were all teetering about in heels but that made it even more fun and memorable. The food was fantastic, lots of yummy finger foods of all different types of cuisine. The views were amazing on the tram, it actually rotates as it is ascending/descending. Greg and I want to go back and ride it during the daytime although it probably is scary since you would really be able to see everything...thank you Eddie for creating such a special night for me & all of the contestants!

Cal. Intl. Talent Showcase

Tonight we held the first ever Peterson Productions Talent Showcase. Twelve of the contestants from the different divisions, Teen-Miss-Mrs. performed. Acts ranged from singing & dancing to Karate & Hula. Hillary Gushwa won the $500 cash prize with an outstanding piano performance.

Mrs. Cali group photo

On Fri. afternoon I took pictures with the ladies vying for the title of Mrs. California International. Although our numbers were smaller this year, it was a competitive group of ladies.
Here are the ladies in order of the group shot:
Kari Jackson (Bakersfield), Natalia Miller (Desert Hot springs), Melanie Demure (El Dorado Hills), Tiffany Garvin (Folsom), Me, Helene Morris (Fullerton), Vicki Trudel (Rancho Cucamonga), Stevi McShane (Sacramento), Tamala Kelly (San Gabriel), Janice McQueen Ward (Santa Monica).
The two girls with me in the pictures are my little proteges :-) Actually, Rachel was a former 8th grade student of mine that contacted me a year or so ago interested in doing pageants. I've had such a wonderful time mentoring her...and not just in regards to pageantry. She choose the platform "Abstinence Education - you're worth the wait" and I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments leading up to this week. Kelsey decided just two weeks ago that she was going to participate...she's never done a pageant let alone seen one! But, she really wanted to try it out for the experience and I was very proud of her courage going into something so foreign and without the help of any family. Though she didn't have the family support that most teens have she had my whole family as well as Rachel's rooting her on and I think she realizes she's going to be able to accomplish whatever she sets her sights on.

CBS 2 "Eye on the Desert" interview

Mary and I kicked off the start of the California International Pageants with an interview on CBS 2's entertainment show "Eye on the Desert". We had fun being interviewed by the shows host, Patrick, about our year, platforms, and the upcoming pageant this weekend. I can't believe a year has already flown by...where does the time go??

The website is up!!

The Nat'l website is finally up and running...please take a look at it if you have time. I am excited to be a part of the festivities in Santa Fe, New Mexico this coming Aug 25-29th where I will be given time to address all the galleries from around the country. I'll also be participating in workshops to learn more about making our own gallery here in L.A. more successful as well as working alongside my sister to launch The Fresno Heart Gallery...Heart Gallery of America
Below is a video that uses photos from our heart galleries to give you an idea of the impact a picture can have...

The Royal We Prize Package

I came home today and had another fun surprise awaiting me on my doorstep. A big brown box from The Royal We was delivered to me full of super cute T's, tanks, hat, adorable "queen" undies, a jogging suit & robe. All the items are embroidered with crowns & Queen. This "queen" business is too much fun - I love it! If you get a chance, check out their website, they have lots of fun things for all of us Queens out there :-)

King for the Day...Happy Birthday Greg!

Pageantry Magazine Article

A month before I left for the Mrs. International pageant I had the opportunity to do an interview with Tanya Hutchison, a columnist for the magazine and former Mrs. California. The magazine comes out quarterly and this is a sneak preview of the article in which I was featured.
click here to see the article.

Why your mom told you to never run with a fork...

I couldn't resist posting this - compliments of my sis-n-law forwarding me this as an email - (and no it's not a pic of my sis and nephew...who knows who these two are?) but wow!

A special surprise

After a long day of interviews & traveling, I came home only to find the most beautiful bouquet of flowers from my new directors Mel & Mary with a card saying, "Welcome to the family"...what a wonderful surprise.

CBS Channel 2 News - Palm Springs

I've hit the road running...Greg and I got back Mon. evening from Chicago and literally fell into bed. Tues came a bit too fast and I got a call that CBS invited me to be a part of their news cast early Wed. morning. I didn't even have a chance to unpack so I grabbed wardrobe from Mrs. Intl, jumped in the car and drove out to Indio where I stayed the night so I could get up bright and early (4 a.m.) to prepare for a 5:15 a.m. interview. I really don't know how anchors do it - and look that good! Dennis Cooke, producer of Mrs. Ca Intl went w/ me and was interviewed on the upcoming California pageants. We were put on three different segments so I ended up being there for 2 hours...Note the little dog - he was brought in by animal control as Wed., once a month, they promote doggy adoption...Dan Ball, the anchor, is going to be my co-host for the upcoming Mrs. California Intl pageant Aug 18/19th in Palm Springs so the pageant will have more coverage to come!

Hope you have the time...

...and yet another slideshow from Kimberly a.k.a. Mrs. Alaska - these include shots of her and Idaho arriving, North Shore Performing Arts Center & our orientation.


Mrs International 2007

Cocktail dinner Pics

As you can see, Kimberly, Mrs. Alaska, was busy catching shots of all of us - I'm so glad, b/c she preserved so many fun memories for many of us.


Mrs International 2007 Day 2 Cocktail Dinner

More Pics from Gurnee Mills-compliments of Kimberly

So my good friend Mrs. Alaska - Kimberly was the photographer extrodinaire during pageant week and has been sending me all these great photos...enjoy!


Mrs International Gurnee Mills

Wrigley Field of Dreams

You can only imagine how excited Greg was to know he would be able to see Wrigley Field while we were in Chicago. The Sunday after my pageant Greg miraculously produced tickets nine rows back from the dugout. It's amazing what that boy can accomplish when he sets his mind to it :-) We had a wonderful time, eating nachos, Chicago dogs, Lemon chills, peanuts...let's just say my stomach was not prepared for such a sudden change in diet. It was a neat experience though, unlike our newer fields, Wrigley has a charm that makes you really feel like you're a part of the game. Greg's excited he'll get to see it again...next year!