Mouse-Hunting in Florida...

Disney World.  The land of an obnoxiously large castle.  The land of mice that run around wearing outfits calling themselves Mickey and Minnie.  The land of the 8 dollar (good grief) Tinkerbell key chain! THE LAND OF AWESOMENESS!!!!

Last week, I went to Florida for the Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant with my mom and one of my sisters.  The trip started out great even though we had to leave at 4 in the morning.  I was feeling upbeat, had stretched, ran around my living room (because there is so much room for activities) and felt like I had successfully packed enough (which never happens. EVER.).  The day was going really great.  The plane ride was smooth.  I had my ray-bans on. I had my Glamour and Marie Claire magazines....AHHHHH this is the life....then we landed.

Guess what didn't show up.  One of our bags.  In it was packed my flat iron, curling iron, makeup, and ALL of my sister's clothes.  

Now, normally, this wouldn't bother me.  I have come to not like (believe it or not)  wearing a lot of makeup and, most times, I don't mind my hair going crazy....

...even though that is how my hair looks on a GOOD day...fail.

HOWEVER....this was one week I HAD to look halfway decent.  There was filming for Miss America, filming little youtube videos and pictures GALORE.  How could this happen to me?!?!?!

Okay...putting all drama aside....the bag did show up 6 hours later....that dumb thing just decided to board another flight to Orlando.  What a loser.  It showed up just in time! God, if that was you playing a joke on me....that was literally the most not funny joke EVER.

That week, I wore heels 20 out of 24 hours and wore a dress.  It was like an abridged (massively) version of Miss America!


Sidenote - Heels are very cute.  Not only do they give you a height boost which in turn gives you a better view of the room you are in, but it also elongates your legs which makes them look lean and mean.  However, some heels are the WORST!  Sure you may walk in Bebe and try on 6 inch nude platform pumps that are the greatest thing to happen to this fashion world, but the thing to do is to save them until the last day...unlike me.  Bebe heels = not so comfy.  Bebe heels = the worst blisters. Ever.

BEAUTY IS PAIN. BEAUTY IS PAIN. BEAUTY IS PAIN.

Goodness, as much as I try to tell myself...it doesn't work.  It is like telling yourself that broccoli tastes as good as a hamburger.  Just...no.

Anyway.... the week was a blast.  My  little "sister", Tori, did absolutely INCREDIBLE.  She is one of the most beautiful dancers I have ever had the privilege of watching.  She did absolutely wonderful and I have never been so proud.  She is doing such a fabulous job as Miss Delaware's Outstanding Teen.  Love you, girl!!!

Not only were we there to root for our girls, but the 53 Miss America contestants got to film in Disney for Miss America and Disney promotional commercials, listen to talks by Miss America and the Miss America board members and so much more.  The most memorable part, in my (and I am sure many of the other girls would agree) opinion, was when we listened to a talk by Colonel David Sutherland of the United States Military.  I am usually pretty good at holding it together at funerals, sappy movies and things of that nature, but hearing him talk about losing his best friend right in front of him, the devastating effects that war can have on these soldiers, and when he ended his speech with "I am Colonel David Sutherland of the United States Military, and I WILL DIE FOR YOU," - there was literally not one dry eye in the room.  Incredible speech from an incredible man.

One of the other crazy experiences of the week was riding on the Tower of Terror.  Check off the bucket list?  I think yes!  I was really excited for it and Miss PA, Julianne Sheldon,  was really pumping me up!  The ride was great until...the end...  Who got stuck when the ride broke down for a good 5 minutes in the pitch black.  This girl...along with about 20 other Miss America contestants.  Perfect.  Making memories?  Yes.  On the bright side, one of the girls had Twizzlers and water in her bag so we could have lasted for a couple days...

Overall, the week was a blast.  I had a wonderful time getting to know the girls, meeting the current Miss America (who was FABULOUS and so incredibly gracious and humble) and getting a feel for the Miss America pageant in January.

A huge thank you to my Uncle Bob, Stan and Calvin Wilson for taking my mom, sister and I to Universal Studios after the pageant was over so that I can now check off 2 items on my never ending bucket list...one, to go to Harry Potter World and two, to go on the Jaws ride.

Sidenote - I have wanted to go on this Jaws ride for years and years...and after I rode it and a little boy started crying...I knew that it lived up to the hype...


ENJOY SOME PIX :)

LOVE my girl, Tori!! So proud of her!!! :)

PS.  THANK YOU to the people in my life who are so supportive of what I do during my year and remember that I am the same person with or without a crown.  I am SO lucky to have people like that in my life, especially now.


Also, I am starting to raise money for Children's Miracle Network!  Click on the link to the left side of the page ("MAKE A DONATION TODAY") and search my contestant name to help out!  Every little bit helps! :)

Stay chill and go on the Jaws ride whenever you can,
Maria Cahill

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Proverbs 37:4

All watermelon eating contests are NOT created equal.

WOWZERS!! I am way behind on blogging! Me, procrastinate? Never! .....

The past couple of weeks have been pretty insane...surprise, surprise.  I had an appearance at the Georgetown Festival of Hope.  This appearance was INCREDIBLE.  I got to meet SO many people, especially kids.  I came in 2nd place in a watermelon eating contest...second to an older gentleman who kept looking at me and laughing into his watermelon because 1. I was funny looking or 2. I was just entertaining while I shoved watermelon in my face.  I feel that coming in second should either win me free food for a year or at least earn me a silver medal...although I would prefer the former...

Sidenote - I like watermelon.  I really do.  I like eating it. I like smelling watermelon scented things.  I like spitting the seeds out at people. When someone asks me to join a watermelon eating contest, I get very excited.  I did a contest like that at the Delaware State Fair and ate that piece of watermelon as fast as I could.  This time, I expected my enthusiasm to be the same....UNTIL......I found out that this contest, instead of eating one piece of watermelon the fastest, it was to see who could eat the most watermelon in 5 minutes.........UHHHH.....

 How I looked before the contest....

How I looked after......

GROSS.

NEVER.AGAIN.

  At the Festival of Hope, I met this one little girl who gave me my first ever silly band (an elephant! YES!).  She came from an extremely bad home situation but was still so incredibly optimistic.  She gave me one of her bracelets so I would not forget her.  Talk about something tugging at your heart strings!!!  I just wanted to take her home, especially when I went to leave and she hugged me for a good couple of minutes and wouldn't let me go.

 Right after the festival, I drove to Milford where I was able to emcee the first pageant of  the season with the wonderful and talented, Bliss Soucek.  I crowned Chelsea Betts and Alyssa Murray (love you both!)   I was so proud of both of them! One pageant down, a million more to go! 


The next morning I was off to Cape Henlopen High School to speak at the Free to Breathe 5k walk/run (or in my case, a "sit there and watch"...). It is extremely inspirational to meet people who are so passionate about fighting lung cancer.  The stories of how their families have dealt with lung cancer was very moving.  Afterwards,  I was supposed to go to a parade, but is was rained out!  BOO!  What to do instead?  Head to a diner with my driver, Donald!

The next day was a HUGE appearance for me!  For anyone that doesn't know, Extreme Home Makeover is in the middle of filming here in Delaware!!  I had the opportunity to Irish Dance in a fundraiser concert, hosted by Telly Leung ("Wes" of Glee who was also in "Rent" on Broadway) in front of so many people!  There were cameras filming and, while I am not sure if they will air this concert on television, be sure to check out upcoming episodes of Extreme Home Makeover on ABC (the same channel as Miss America....woot woot!!)  What a phenomenal experience!  Being Miss Delaware has opened up my life to so many fantastic opportunities!

1. My "DelawareToday"  magazine cover shot (and article) is on stands now.  Pick yours up today! (....that was my way of being super convincing...).
2.  If you reside in Mobile, Alabama, listen for me on the radio tomorrow!
3. Happy day-after Birthday to my now 14 year old brother, Jack.  What a bro.
4.  Thank you to Bill Sammons of 88.7 the Bridge for the book "Jesus Calling."  This is a wonderful book of daily devotions that I got a chance to read while co-hosting.  So glad to have a copy to call mine.  Thanks SO much again, Bill!
5. stay tuned to read about my trip to Florida and more! Check back in the next day or two to read about my experience at Miss America's Outstanding Teen!



Stay chill and never eat massive amounts of watermelon. EVER.
Maria Cahill


"But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."
Jeremiah 20:9

Brrrrr it's cold in here! Must be a blizzard!

Hi.  A lot of exciting things have been happening!!!

A recap of my week so far, first?  Why, sure!

I had the great opportunity to attend the Delaware Electric Co-op with my business manager, Susan, and her husband, Gene.  When I was told this was going to be a large event, I had no idea that they actually meant HUGE.  It was just hours and hours of shaking hands, meeting adults and children, and taking pictures....and I LOVED every single minute of it.  These types of events, where I get to meet hundreds and hundreds of people, are the reasons that I love my job.

Sidenote - If you are 5'8'' and wear heels on top of that....that makes you incredibly tall....oh well. 

The good thing about high heels? The air is better up there...and you can see for miles.
The bad thing about high heels?  You are so tall that if it starts raining, it hits you first and you get soaked before anyone else. 


Eating fried chicken at the Co-op! :)
Photo courtesy of Dave Chambers



Thank you to Chuck for the earrings and bracelet and to Bliss for letting me borrow your dress :)

Me and Bliss :)

Today was Miracle Treat Day at Dairy Queen locations all around the country.  One dollar from every Blizzard sold went to Children's Miracle Network hospitals.  If you didn't get your Blizzard...shame on you.  Next time, get chocolate chip cookie dough like me!  YUM!  I went to the Middletown, DE,  Dairy Queen and got to meet people, talk about CMN and Miss America, and sign autographs.  The best part was talking to a man about Ireland (because it rules) and finding out that it was his birthday!  He told me that talking to me was the best birthday surprise he ever got.  The simple things, people...the simple things.

A lot of people I have been meeting have been commenting on the fact that they read about me in 'The Dialog.' For anyone that has not read that article...help yourself... http://www.cdow.org/dialog.html

---click on the box in the middle, then scroll down to the last page---

**One of the most heartwarming moments of my year so far was receiving a letter from a man who has a stepdaughter receiving spinal surgery.  He said he couldn't wait for her to be well enough to read my story.  I was completely touched and it makes me realize that there are people out there who appreciate what I am doing to spread the word about faith and family.  "I can do all things in Christ who strenghthens me..."

A HUGE SIDENOTE (that has nothing to do with anything) - Throughout this entire year, my goal is to show that not all pageant girls are the same.  I do things differently than most.  My goal is to appeal to the younger generation that might have a preconceived notion of pageants or the Miss America Organization.  We are fun and we eat (a lot), but we wear a crown, get scholarship money for education, and speak about things that we are passionate about.  So what if I crack a joke or ten?  If you can't tell by reading my blog....I refuse to take life too seriously.  It is just too short for that.   

Good golly, that was the most serious I have been in a long time....enough of that! 

 I have an AMAZING events coming up!

HERE IS THE BIG NEWS FROM MY LAST POST!!!!

While many people have read it on facebook, I am going to be a part of Extreme Home Makeover!!!!!!!  I am going to be performing at the pep rally at Cape Henelopen High school!  It will be filmed as part of the episode featuring a family from Delaware!!  This is such a huge opportunity for me and for the promotion of the Miss America Organization and I absolutely cannot wait!  For anyone that wants to attend the pep rally (it's free!) or help volunteer in any way, visit  http://schellbrothers.com/​extreme/ for more info! :)

Other SWEET events coming up/in the works!

-- a clothing designer (Spaceboyclothing.com) contacted me to help with their Delaware themed clothing line by putting my signature on their shirts! YEAH BUDDY!!! The project is still in the works, but it is AWESOME nonetheless!!

-- in talks to be on a radio show in Mobile, Alabama!!!

-- off to Orlando, Florida,  next week to root for Tori in Miss America's Outstanding Teen (and I am also filming for Miss America)!

--going to be in a full feature spread for Wilmington University magazine (shooting at the end of the month)

Last by not least...

Here are some of the pictures I promised from the Delaware State Fair!  Check out the rest on my facebook page!

Just kissing goats...

and holding chicks...

and riding bulls...

and making new friends along the way :)

Stay chill and eat cookie dough Blizzards (or just the cookie dough...),

Maria Cahill

"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit."

- Matthew 12:33