The Fallbrook Avocado Festival

Once again what a busy weekend this has turned out to be.  My Saturday started out with my Daughter competing at a Pageant.  She won best hair, 3rd alternate for back cover, and overall tiny queen for Desert Pageants.  This is a great system that I discovered as a judge back in 2004.  All of the desert queens have a chance to participate in community service and other activities to stay involved and give back to their communities.  They have been around for 14 years but unfortunately after being diagnosed with a rare eye disease (Macular Telangiectasia), the director Stephanie Gregory is retiring from pageantry.  I know so many young ladies out there are going to be saddened to see the pageant come to an end.  The director Ms Stephanie runs a true natural pageant where everyone walks away a winner.  She doesn't believe in only crowning one girl who is the prettiest, has the most expensive dress, or the best hair/make-up/flippers, she believes in giving as many crowns to as many deserving young ladies as possible.  In my daughter's division alone all 5 of the kids walked away with a crown and a tittle with my daughter winning the overall crown.  So many girls in the high desert area have grown up and become role models in this pageant system which has instilled so many values in these young ladies that they may not have gotten anywhere else except from participating in activity such as a pageant.  So a big THANK YOU for everything Ms Stephanie and know that you will truly be missed by so many!

After a busy Saturday morning my next stop was the Orange Muffin Festival in the city of Redlands.  This event is a fundraiser for Plymouth Village, a continuing care retirement community.  Over 12,000 muffins were made and sold this day (wow) and they were completely out by the time I arrived at noon.  This event has continued to grow over the years from its first go round selling only 575 muffins.  So I guess I will have to wait to try again next year for some delicious orange muffins :(

After attending a few more family events this weekend it was time to make the drive down towards San Diego to go to the city of Fallbrooks 25th Annual Avocado Festival.  Of course the very first thing I spot when I arrived to the festival was ... not avocado's but the Miss Fallbrook Pageant Queens of course.  So after stopping to pose for a picture with the girls wearing the only green shirt I own in honor of the avocados in the blistering heat, I was off to explore what this event had to offer.  I expected to be completely overwhelmed with a feast of avocado based foods but I was surprised to see only a few selections.  There were tons of booths that you see at your typical fairs and festivals including various restaurants, artists, community organizations and more.  There was also a kids zone complete with rides, a bounce house and plenty of stages for entertainment including the Little Miss and Mr Avocado Pageant.  One aspect of the festival I must applaud the organizers for was including several booths for organizations signing up attendees to become registered voters.  So many US Citizens fail to become involved in the political process by doing something as simple as voting but they continue to complain about the state of the economy, health care, and more.  So bravo to the citizens of Fallbrook for working hard to make their voices heard!

Mrs California United States Pageant

And the new Mrs California United States 2011 is......Christy Van Der Westhuizen!  OH MY GOODNESS were the first words out of my mouth followed by a very loud screaming sessions.  I am so elated that my pageant buddy Christy just won this coveted title and a chance to go to Las Vegas to compete for the Mrs Untied States title.  Now Christy and I go way back to a time before marriage and kids, a time long ago before I aged out of the Miss America system.  We were even roommates some years back in Mazatlan, Mexico where we both competed in the Reina Del Pacifico Pageant.  Over the years we have kept in touch, both continued to compete and to cheer each other on.  I couldn't be more proud that night when they called my old rommie's name.  I have no doubt she will do very well at the National Pageant and maybe even fall in the footsteps of two of my dear friends and role models, Andrea Preuess and Janice McQueen-Ward whom have won the National Mrs Unite States Pageant.  Christy truly did shine on stage but she also had some tough competition and a tough judging panel to impress including another pageant buddy of mine from back in the day Toay Foster-Ortiz, a former Miss California USA and Local MAO title holder.  But I must not only send congratulations to Christy and all the contestants for a job well done but also to the pageant director Janice McQueen Ward.  This was a classy, well organized, model pageant for any director to aspire to recreate, so bravo to Janice for a job well done!

Fashion NIght Out - Heir Intimates & Childrens Store

March 26, 2010 the Promenade on the Peninsula Shopping Center presented it's "Fashion Night Out" event.  It was an evening full of the latest spring fashions, fun, modeling, prizes, refreshments, and my all time favorite DISCOUNTS!  The event was complete with a Fashion Show, Trunk Shows, Mannequin Models, Raffles, and demonstrations from stores including The Gap, Gap Kids, Black House White House, Heir Intimates, Hier Children's store and more.  I  had the pleasure of opening the fashion show and bringing in Spring. After all of the models were done gracing the runway I went to work greeting guest and handing out complimentary seed packets for everyone to take home and plant their own seeds of spring.  Once the festivities were over I got to hang out at the hier intimates store and check out some of their collections as well as the trunk shows that showcased the accessories collections of Ambiance by Bernadette and the awesome collection from private arts which featured intimate apparel with real works of art transposed onto the fabric.  It was a lovely evening complete with good eats, champagne and did I mention the discounts? Stay tuned next month I will be back at Heir this time at the children's store on Earth Day planting seeds with the kids from the local communities.

(the models behind me in the windows are live people not fake manniquins)

North America Pageant

Another day in the Life of Ms Earth 2011 finds me in the city of Las Vegas to judge the Miss North America Pageant.  The North America Pageant systems prides itself on promoting self-esteem in their contestants.  The pageant is open to just about all ages (including petite titles for the shorter women) and men ages 18 and up.  They compete in various competitions including interview, speech, formal wear, and modeling, and optional competitions include swimwear and talent.  Women came from all over to be a part of this competition including Canada and the Dominican Republic.  The competition was fierce and even the Canadian competitors, whom most of them spoke English as their second language, all brought their "A" game to the pageant stage.  But of course in the end some standouts took home the overall titles, and as a judge in this competition I can tell you every division was super close and they all really did deserve to win the top prize. 

Congratualtions to all of the new North America Royalty: MS Queen - Heidi Burton, MISS Queen- Catherine Boucher, TEEN Queen - Karla Jimenez Sano, MS PETITE Queen - Terry Lea Kafides, PETITE TEEN Queen- Kalyn Niccole Braun, MR King- Dellonnie Shelby

My Vacation - The Disney Wonder

All Aboard the Disney Wonder Cruise Ship! After taking a bit of a break from my blogging activities it’s time to catch you up on all my adventures.  February brought on a well needed week long vacation and a cruise to Mexico.  My Daughter and I set sail from Los Angeles for a trip to the Mexican Rivera including stops in Cabo San Lucas & Puerta Vallarta.  What an adventure we had! Besides living with all the Disney characters and all the latest Disney movies in 3D at your fingertips we embarked upon quite a few adventures on our trip.  We had a chance to set sail with pirates and go to a deserted island were all the kids got to hunt for buried treasure.  I went on a canopy adventure that included zip lines, mountain climbing, crazy bridges and even a virtual tight trope.  We had an opportunity to hold a real live wild animal, a baby lion. And lastly no cruise is complete unless I get to participate in what else but the guest talent show.  Food, Fun, and Excitement were all the center of our week.  Check out some of the pictures from our adventures as well as Ms. Earth’s Appearance with our Dinning Servers who hail from Finland.

Dinning Out For Life International - A fundraiser for AIDS Service Organizations

What are you doing on April 28, 2011 or better yet where are you going for dinner?  Well here is your chance to go out to eat and have a portion of the proceeds from your meal go to local AIDS service organizations.  This is a nationwide fundraiser which is now produced in over 55 cities throughout the United States and Canada.  All you have to do is go to www.dinningoutforlife.com and search for your city to get a list of participating restaurants.  So check it out, have a delicious dinner and support AIDS project funding.

31 Cents Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins

It's time to head on down to Baskin-Robbins in honor of supporting our Nations Firefighters!  On Wednesday April 13th, from 5pm to 10 pm you can head on over to your local Baskin-Robbins and participating stores will lower the price of a scoop of ice cream to just 31 cents, what a deal!  The Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation is donating $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), and at some locations, you may also have an opportunity to make a donation to your local fire charities.  If you cant make it there in person you can still make a donation by texting NFFF to 50555 to give a personal donation.The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation remembers America’s fallen heroes and assists their families. The organization also provides firefighters with training to prevent deaths in the line of duty and offers the public information to prevent fires in our communities.To learn more about the foundation visit www.firehero.org.  This is definitely a worthy cause and great way to get a sweet treat while supporting America's Hero's!