April Showers....isn't it May yet??

After days of constant rain, I am ready for the sunshine..and an opportunity to wash my car! Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the rain we get because I'm sure that we need it...but nothing beats the sun!!

Let's back up a week..orrrr two. On April Fools Day (AKA Trish's birthday!) I went down south to a fellow Methodist Church to perform and speak at a Bible Study. Being Methodist myself, I already had the correct hymnal and played a few hymns to get the group warmed up! I spoke a bit about my year, my medical mission trip to Guatemala, Miss America, why I started competed, etc..then proceeded to perform a classical piece as well as El Cumbanchero, my Miss America talent piece. I loaded up my things and traveled up to Philadelphia, barely beating the rain! I was interviewed on Comcast SportsNet about my involvement with the Children's Miracle Network and about CHOP's (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) affiliation with CMN as well. Seeing as the Children's Miracle Network is the national platform for the Miss America Org, I was pretttty familiar with it!

The next day, I got my butt kicked in the gym by Trainer Dan. The day after my workout with Dan, I got a text from Bob and Melanie, the coordinators of the Miss Delaware Golf Tournament. They asked me how it went at the gym (meaning, did you get a hole sponsorship), and I proceeded to text them back: "it went well, but I am SORE!" haha not exactly the answer they were looking for.

I joined Bill Yoast, the coach from Remember the Titans, down in Laurel for their Community Walk event on Saturday. He was such a nice man! and I really enjoyed sitting next to him to sign autographs all morning. He even called Herman Boone on the phone so that I could talk to him! Apparently he was relaxing in Florida while Bill and I tried our hardest to shield ourselves from the unrelenting wind!

The next week (last week), I forgot I was Miss Delaware and felt like I was a teacher! I was in schools all day most of the days. The first day of "teaching" was at Towne Point Elementary right in Dover for Dental Presentations. They were having a Science and Math Day. A couple of the kids and I were caught on video and shown later that night on the news, but as usual, I missed it and heard about it later haha.

Lord Baltimore Elementary was the next destination..and as promised..I've posted a picture of one of the classes (funny faces and all!). This school had some of the most well-behaved students I have ever seen, so kudos to them! I had a great day with the kids presenting for Right Decisions Right Now. They even convinced me to eat lunch with them in the cafeteria..and it just so happened to be their Easter Dinner lunch special that day. It made me miss the dining hall at UofD hah..well...maybe just UD. I could do without ever eating in a dining hall again.

Thursday came and I was visiting North Georgetown Elementary School for their Tobacco Fair. I had a Tobacco Exhibit set up with experiments ranging from tar build-up, to restricted breathing. Every seven minutes, I would get a new group of kids to present too. We did this for a couple hours and then I got to speak with the exhibitors next to me! I took a break, set up my Character Counts presentation material, and then spoke about good character to the entire 3rd grade.

The Mr. DE 2009 "Mangeant" was held on Saturday night. I arrived a few hours early to help, rehearse, and visit. I was one of the judges and also performed that night! The pageant was so funny, and the talent was incredible!! Judging it was a tough job, but I had fun with my fellow judges panel members. Congrats to Andrew Knopf, our new Mr. DE. It was a very late night, which required a 20oz coffee for the way home. Great minds think alike, because I saw Mandie (MDOT 08) and her parents in wawa afterwards too hehe.

Oh, and Ashley FINALLY had her baby!!!! Little Madalynn!! 7lbs 2oz.

Sunday was Easter so I started the day off in church. It was a little more crowded than usual, and since I was busy visiting in fellowship hall beforehand, I got to the sanctuary late and almost ended up without a seat!..oops! The service went well and reminded us all of the true meaning of Easter. Afterwards, I went to the hospital to see Ashley and baby Madalynn. She is too cute! and so tiny! I got to hold her and shared the visit with Kirsten, her husband Jeff, and her two sons Brighton and Ben. It was great to see Ashley, but I must say, I was far more fascinated by the size of the baby's fingernails!!..incredible.

That afternoon, we had a FULL HOUSE at home! Some of my mom's side, some of my dad's side..all together for Easter. It was so nice to see everyone!

Monday was another day of Golf Tournament work with Melanie and Bob. These are all-day affairs!! We were a little less successful that day than we had been in the past, but we still came out with more donations and sponsorships than we started with, so overall...success!! I learn more about those two (Bob and Melanie) when we take the Golf Tourney outings than any other time..they are too funny! Melanie even made me an Easter Basket!! She's too sweet =D

I was working in the dental office yesterday and met three young boys who's mom knew I was Miss Delaware...she told them that she had a surprise for them at the dental office hehe I was their surprise! The one guy, Nick has spoken to and seen me a couple times in the past, but would never believe his mom that I was Miss Delaware! Here are the incidents:
He came into the dental office in the past and his mom said, "You know who checked you in, right? Nick answered, "no, who?" She said, "That was Miss Delaware." He responded with a cool "Yeah right mom."

Then in church one Sunday just after the service, a little guy (Nick) came up to me and complimented me on my coat. Of course I thanked him and we chatted for a little while. Afterwards his mom again said, "You know who you were talking to, right?" and proceeded to tell him that I was Miss Delaware, but again, Nick told his mom that he didn't believe her.

Well, a few weeks later in church, I was asked to perform the prelude on the piano. In the middle of me playing, Nick got up from his seat and walked out of the sanctuary. After the service his mom, AGAIN, said.."you know who was playing the piano, right? That was Miss Delaware." He still, still didn't believe her!

When he came into the dental office yesterday, his mom told him that I was his surprise, so I signed him a photo hoping that he would finally believe her! haha He did! We even had a picture taken of the two of us on his phone and he kept coming to the front desk to visit throughout their appointments and as his mom checked them out. I guess he'll believe his mom next time hehe.

Last night, I was presented with a Tribute in Levy Court. They were very kind and wanted to honor me for my success this year. I also watched as Madison was honored for her incredible community service accomplishments through her involvement with Diabetes awareness, research, and fundraising. She is such an inspiration to young kids, teens, and even adults! She has been working with this cause since the age of five!..FIVE! She's now in eighth grade and has been presented with the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to join other honorary community members. She certainly has a bright future ahead of her!

Tomorrow I'll be trying on outfits in Belle Boutique to get ready for the Fashion Show this weekend. There will be pictures of the event to follow, but if you're interested..it will be held at the Duncan Center in Dover on Sunday at 2:30pm!

I officially have less than two months until I crown my successor and pass on the JOB of Miss Delaware! Someone's life will be changing dramatically in two short months!!


Here are a couple plugs for upcoming Miss Delaware events!!!!

MAY 3RD - "AN AFTERNOON WITH MISS DELAWARE" CELEBRATING GOD AND COUNTRY
FEATURING: GERALD HOCKER AND THE JAMBOREE BOYS
ALL 4 HIM
MISS DELAWARE (ME)
CHELSEA BETTS (MDOT 07)
2PM
GEORGETOWN MIDDLE SCHOOL, GEORGETOWN, DE
CONTACT SUSAN COLLINS (302.732.9366) FOR TICKET INFO


MAY 31 - MISS DELAWARE GALA
DUNCAN CENTER, DOVER, DE
11AM-2PM BRUNCH


Talk to you soon!! :)

Picking up from where I left off last week, I was able to visit North Dover Elementary School in Dover for their Super Science Day! Being a Biology major and science nerd, I was really excited to have fun with the kids for an event like Super Science Day. My duties for the day revolved mainly around my Dental Presentations, something I absolutely love doing. I was presenting to the kindergarteners and the 2nd grade! The classes were great audiences and the kids seemed to have a good time.

The following day, I embarked on countless stops around Kent County with Bob. We were looking for Door Prize donations and Hole Sponsors for our Miss Delaware Golf Tournament, and were very successful! If you're a golfer, or know one, we are having a Miss Delaware Golf Tournament on May 20 at Jonathans Landing in Magnolia. All proceeds benefit our scholarship fund!!! I might even be playing (oh boy..). Sadly, I worked at a golf course for years and still don't know how to golf! I'm working on it though..

This past weekend brought a whole slew of pageant outings! I was at the Miss Delaware's Outstanding Teen (AKA my little sister :D ) rehearsal in the afternoon, and then shot up to Philadelphia with George to attend the Miss Philadelphia pageant! Their director, Kevin, was one of my judges at Miss Delaware so I must say, I'm a fan!! Congratulations to Ryan, the new Miss Philadelphia! She and the other 15 contestants did a great job and offered a high level of entertainment with their talent presentations!! I was also able to reunite with Kendria, Miss Pennsylvania, and Julia Rae, Miss Pennsylvania's Outstanding Teen! Both are beautiful ladies and I always enjoy bumping into them!! We got to sit next to eachother down in the front row and updated eachother on our travels. Kendria had just been vacationing in Florida!..SO jealous!!!

I also got to meet John Bolaris!! He is a four-time Emmy Award Winner for his work as a Meteorologist and show host! He was very friendly, and was kind enough to take a picture with me. Along with John is the owner of Bec-Fin, the epitome of "fine dining." The restaurant is located in Philadelphia and holds long-standing awards from Mobil Five Star and AAA’s Five Diamond. Georges Perrier was very nice and invited me to come dine at his well-known Bec-Fin. Hopefully I'll be able to head up there sometime soon!!!

Sunday morning came way to soon!..seeing as I got home very late the night before from the Miss Philadelphia pageant. Regardless, I was up early, loaded up my car with gowns and cocktail dress, curling irons, hairspray, various lipsticks, jewelry to match each dress, my crown and sash, and many other "necessities" for the evening, stopped for the usual Some Guy's whole-wheat-double-toasted-with-a-little-bit-of-butter-bagel, and was on my way down to Georgetown for the Miss Delaware's Outstanding Teen 2009 pageant!..the crowning of my new little sister!

The morning was much less stressful for me than for the 19 contestants, as they had interviews very early, and anticipation of the pageant all day! I was so excited for them! and to perform with MY teen, Mandie Debus. I performed the "Feather Theme" from Forest Gump as she danced effortlessly across the stage. I can't wait to see the dvd of the performance! However, I must admit that my desire to never watch the dvd of the rest of the night may prevent me from ever seeing our joint performance. I will explain. Aimee and I were co-emcees for the evening and in our dressing room beforehand, we talked about how we always plan our filler when we have to emcee. We both stated that we always prepare more filler than we could ever need and then we proceeded to coordinate our filler so we would have seamless transitions if time needed to be (bought?) purchased? hah. The whole pageant went very smoothly with filler being needed only when the piano had to be moved on and off the stage. Later in the evening, I came back-stage early after a dress-change and heard Aimee talking about something semi-random, will you. I asked Kyle if she was buying time and he said "Yes, I think the computer crashed." I decided to help a Miss Delaware Sister out and go buy time with her..trying to keep the attention of the audience as they anxiously awaited the results of the entire competition, all the while the contestants smiling (probably painfully at this point) endlessly on stage. Aimee and I were blowing through our planned filler topics pretty quickly, and then noticed that the contestants were now exiting the stage (not supposed to happen since we were supposed to be announcing the Top 5). Time was passing ever so slowing as the audiences eyes stared into ours, the spot light shining down like a heated beam illuminating only the two of us, and the auditors scrambling down below the stage as they tried to resolve whatever problem/glitch had occured. Well as you know, the pageant community is very tight-knit and so talking about myself or my platform is almost like playing a broken record..they've already heard it!! I just kept thinking..calm, cool, and collective..just chat with Aimee..but we continued to run out of things to talk about. Mandie joined us, but again, we had already used our fillers, talked about Miss Delaware, Miss America, Countdown to the Crown, couldn't think of any jokes, advertised for our upcoming events, recognized the titleholders in the audience, announced the 50/50 winner, announced the Silent Auction Winners..and still..STILL, no Top 5!
Finally, at some point, I saw someone walking toward the stage with what appeared to be an envelope, so we talked for a couple more mintues while the contestants came back out onto the stage and..ON WITH THE SHOW! Whew!! Do you see why I may never watch that dvd?..my most dreadful and embarassing emceeing job. At least I wasn't alone, I suppose.
The end result?..Danielle Marshall is my new Miss Delaware's Outstanding Teen! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!

So after a very long weekend, and nightmare of an emceeing situation, I got to sleep in on Monday!..ha ha ha NOT!!! hehe I was down in Georgetown by 9am to travel all around Sussex County with Melanie collecting more Hole Sponsors for our Golf Tournament. We were very successful, but Sussex County is much more spread out than the other two counties in Delaware, so it took longer to reach less businesses. It was so much fun getting to know her though!..oh the stories!!

Today? Very similar to yesterday. I was with Bob traveling all over Kent County again getting my sponsors for the Golf Tournament. As usual, we started getting pretty tired after lunch but continued until we had reached all 35-40 businesses that we had planned on approaching today!

I'm just getting ready for a busy day tomorrow. Piano performances and Children's Miracle Network Telecasts..should be fun!

"..and we can't slow down, 'cause more is best, it's all an endless process.." Rascal Flatts

Since the last time I posted, I've seen everything from local pageants to St. Patrick's day and much in between. From the busy weeks, which I love by the way (I function better when I'm busy and almost overwhelmed), I started wondering when everything started being such a race, competition, and a sacrifice of much-needed rest. There is a song that perfectly describes this.."Mayberry" by Rascal Flatts:

"Sometimes it feels like this world is spinning faster
Than it did in the old days
So naturally, we have more natural disasters
From the strain of a fast pace
Sunday was a day of rest
Now, it’s one more day for progress
And we can’t slow down ‘cause more is best
It’s all an endless process."


Don't get me wrong, I'm all about striving to be the best and reaching for full potential, but I just wonder at what point we started thinking that slowing down will only put us behind. I guess this goes to explain that when you drive a lot by yourself, you get to thinkin'.



Once the snow melted a few weeks ago, I was back on the road, back into schools, and back to being Miss Delaware, however I must say that I enjoyed the few days off. My brother may not agree because 1) I was stuck in the house with him and I get cabin fever pretty easily so the poor guy had to deal with me and 2) I was the reason that the four-wheeler got stuck in the snow and had to be pushed out because it stalled w/ a low battery (hehe). What would I do without my litte (bigger) brother!?

Friday (Mar. 6) welcomed me with classrooms of young children at The Little School in Dover. I made a few more dental presentations to the classes that had missed Dr. Sean and I the first time. The morning went well, but the attention span of 3 year olds is much shorter than I could have anticipated. You live and learn....and..skip lots of pages in the dental cartoon book!!
That evening I was in Georgetown and was the opening performer for Chelsea Betts' Alzheimers Awareness recital. I unpacked the piano, set it up, performed, thanked the audience, packed up the piano, and booked it back up to Milford for the local pageant! I thought I would be late, but somehow, some way, I was early, and was able to emcee the whole night! The local pageant went very well; great talent, great gals, and a beautiful new 2009 titleholder! Congrats Stephanie Bailey!!!!
I wasn't sorry to see my bed that night!

Saturday brought another great day of hanging out with local contestants backstage! We always have so much fun back there finding wigs and making jokes. I only had to perform, so I relaxed and enjoyed the pageant once it started. I spoke with the judges prior to the contestant interviews and had met a few of them before! They were a great panel!! The new titleholders that night were Lorin Walls and Kristina Maynard. Congratulations girls!! We couldn't end the weekend of local pageants without going out to eat! so we all met at AppleBees and enjoyed a delicious dinner. Kristina's mom even treated us all to mini desserts! (woohoo!) I love dessert!



I joined many supports of Locks of Love on Sunday at a large event that even held a fashion show. Many local boutiques including Lady's Image sponsored the outfits, gowns, and tuxedos for the models in the fashion show. They did a great job! and some of the volunteers even had their hair cut off in bob styles right on the runway!..donating their hair to Locks of Love.

Since Dr. Seuss' birthday was snowed out, my appearance at W.B. Simpson Elementary School was rescheduled for Monday. I spoke to the students about why reading was so important and how it has helped me. Then we went over some goals that the students have, and why reading would be essential in reaching those goals. To conclude my appearance, I performed on the piano for the kids, and then handed out signed photopads as the students exited. Many awards were given out for reading accomplishments and we were even treated to performances by the unicycling team at the school!! Now THAT'S talent!!!

As soon as I left the school, I booked it up to Philadelphia to meet a few local titleholders at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. We had a tour of the whole facility, something I had never taken part in even though I've visited the hospital numerous times! The hospital is fantastic, ever-growing, and ever-improving to provide children all over the world with the best possible care. Then we visited with a few patients, and helped out with their Spa Day! The girls loved it!!

I was picked up by Bob Kuhling (my EDs husband) the next day to visit golf courses all over New Castle County (there are tons!). We had many donate foursomes for our Miss Delaware Golf Tournament that will be held on May 20! Lucky for me, Bob drove because I snoozed the WHOLE way home in the passenger seat!..not much of a navigator! Fortunately, once you get to Route 1 in Delaware, you can always find your way home.

I was back on my school territory on Friday to visit the Easter Seals Volleyball Tournament. Easter Seals is and excellent organization that provides care and independence to those with disablities.

Saturday brought yet another baby shower, as promised! We celebrated Tish's baby shower with excellent food, friends, family (well, her family), gifts, and games! It's always nice to see the ladies from the dental office is clothing other than scrubs hehe.

I performed my Miss America piano piece, "El Cumbanchero" in church on Sunday. It was definitely not the type of Prelude they were accustomed too, but I'm pretty sure that they enjoyed it. If nothing else, it spiced up the service with it's spanish inspiration and powerful tune!!

It was time for our Miss Delaware fundraiser on Monday! It was held at the Georgia House in Milford and I'd say it was a success. I, along with other local titleholders, volunteered to "waitress" for the evening while supporters dined in the restaurant. I also performed at various times throughout the night. My mom is originally from Milford so she was able to visit with friends that she grew up with. My Aunt Brooke and cousin, Breck, were even in town from Florida and were able to make it to the dinner!! I was so glad to see everyone and am so fortunate for their support!

Saturday was SO much fun!! I went to the Heart Ball! The local titleholders and I arrived really early, so Kayla and ran out to Wawa to get some food and redbull!! Redbull would not be in business without my support of their products. My recipe for success: big smile and redbull! haha Just kidding..but, it never hurts! The Heart Ball was an event for the America Heart Association and there were all sorts of attractions like silent and live auction items, hors d'oeuvres, DJs, and a dance floor!! Does it get any better?? I had a great time, and plan on going next year!

This past Monday was spent at the University of Delaware recruiting contestants for Miss Delaware. If we put out the opportunity to compete, maybe we'll have more girls participate. Sometimes a lack of awareness or opportunity reduces the potential of any organization, so I was trying to make the information accessible. It was a fun day and I got to meet new people, but also saw some of my friends that I don't get to see very often =D

I got to spend lunch with members of the Absolam Jones Senior Center in Wilmington. I spoke to them about my year as Miss Delaware, performed for them, and then visited with all of them; chatting with and getting to know them a little better. It was a great afternoon, and some of the ladies are thinking of arranging a bus to take them all to Miss Delaware in June!!

Unfortunately, it was brought to my attention last night that Sue Kuhling my Executive Director, who has been by my side since I won Miss Delaware last June, was resigning. I support her decision, I'm sorry to see her go, but I know that I will always have a friend in her and she will always be a part of my life. I would not have wanted anyone else to accompany my family and I at the Miss America Pageant.


I have a lot to look forward to for the rest of this week and am actually, at this very moment, preparing a dental experiment for the five dental presentations I have in line for tomorrow. It should be a fun day! Anything that deals with dentistry is right up my alley..if only I could get to sleep!

I've also introduced myself to Twitter..if you don't have one, get it! I haven't quite caught on to why it's so enticing, but I'm sure after a few days I'll figure it out! Something tells me that I just don't have enough time to be a successful "tweeter" though..ugh, we'll see! Talk to you soon!