WGN talk Radio, Chicago

This afternoon I was on the Steve Cochran show on WGN Radio. For those of you who haven't been to Chicago, the studio is right on the corner of The Tribune Tower, a Gothic building located on Michigan Avenue. WGN Radio (720 kHz) broadcasts from the building, with ground-level studios overlooking nearby Pioneer Court and Michigan Ave. As you can see from the pictures Greg and his parents came down to watch (and listen)- they actually have a speaker system that projects the show into the plaza so passer byers can hear it. When Dan, the interviewer found out that Greg was outside he insisted he come in and do the show with me. Reluctantly, Greg came in and we had a blast! They even put us on for two segments of the show talking about Go Red for women, Foster care and what it's been like for Greg being "Mr. International" :-)...of course the crown was tried on too.

Union League Boys and Girls Club

The new PR firm is doing such a wonderful job of keeping me very busy this week at Mrs. Int'l. One of the appearances was speaking at the Smart girls program at the Boys & Girl's club on the west side of Chicago. I truthfully can say I have never gotten such a reception as these girls gave me. You would have thought Julia Roberts came into the room. I was able to share some encouraging words with them and hopefully inspired them to continue pursuing their dreams. Of course the crown made quite an impression and each lady tried in on as it was passed around the room. I think that's my favorite part about the crown - letting little girls try it on b/c the look they have when they are wearing it is priceless. After that we made crowns which they each decorated and insisted I autographed...I always think inside "who am I" that they would want my signature but the teacher said they rarely get visitors at their club and this was really special for them. I bet they didn't realize it was truly special for me too!

Mrs. International Week

Unfortunately, you won't see very many pictures of my week due to me completely destroying my digital camera right before I left. I forgot to take the camera out of the baby bag and the spray sunscreen cap came off and just sprayed its little heart out all into my camera and the rest is history. We didn't have enough time to go out and buy another so Jay & Tre loaned us their brand new camera (what true friends they are) although they did mention it was totally under warranty so not to worry if we broke it ;-) Being that it is much larger than the little one I had, I wasn't able to tote it everywhere with me so I'm relying on others to email me their shots and I'm ordering some. With that said, enjoy the few I did take.
Pictures: I had to take pics of these beautiful bouquets b/c I wanted to remember them and the wonderful people who gave them to me. When I arrived in my room there was a wonderful bouquet from Mel & Mary, the directors of Mrs. Int'l. Mrs. New York, Lori, sent me such a sweet bouquet to congratulate me on a great year. These ladies were truly thoughtful and I had a great time getting to know them. Mary and I took a picture in the Lobby next to the banner with all the contestants pics. We took a group photo in front of the theater before heading to our dinner party that evening.

Chicago here we come!

I can't believe it has already been a year and my time has come to bid adieu to my title of Mrs. Int'l. Our dear friends Izzy & Audrey became certified as respite care providers specifically for us so we could rest assured that our little girls were well taken care of and able to stay in their own beds each night while we were gone. What a blessing they are to do this for us!
Every now and again, Greg enjoys watching those travel/food channels with the top 10 destination deals...well, on one such episode it was all about top hot dog destinations, and being that Chicago is known for its hot dogs, Greg took note of where we "had" to go. After we deplaned and picked up our rental car, Greg had the address plugged into the Magellan and we were off to find Superdawg. Thank goodness for GPS because we found it no problem. And in case you were wondering if those shows do an accurate job of listing the tops in their category...yes, it was Super! (So good, we stopped there on the way out...but that's for another post)

One final appearance

Other than my upcoming week at Mrs. International which is less than one week away...I had my final appearance as Mrs. Int'l at a "Go Red for Women" luncheon in Los Angeles. The day was filled with an expo where I had my finger pricked to find my "numbers" - cholesterol, LDL, BMI, etc...there were booths offering heart healthy samples of snacks and pamphlets to inform of heart disease being the number one killer of women. After the expo, I was invited to be a guest at a wonderful luncheon, along with my mom and Eddie Peterson, the director of the California Int'l pageants. They had several inspirational speakers but the one that truly stood out to me was a young lady (17 yrs. old) who suffered from a stroke at age 15. She had insight beyond her years and gave an amazing recount of her story. Kate Jackson (former Charlie's Angel) also spoke as she also faced a major heart surgery. It's been a pleasure to partner with the Go Red Campaign...I've definitely learned a lot myself and encourage you to visit the American Heart Association for more information on a Go Red Campaign in your area.