Alas! I am home!

Greetings my dedicated readers!


(Times must never change!)

I am home, rested, and alive! As I look back at my week in Hoopeston ("Huupstun") I feel so incredibly lucky to have so much support along the way. Now that I have had a few days to rest up, I feel like the luckiest little girl in the world. I cannot say thank you enough for the support felt from people who traveled to Illinois, as well as from all the way back in California.

Although I earned scholarships and gifts, the friendships and relationships I formed with so many people are priceless.

The very first day we arrived, our hosts were firm in letting us know that during this week in Hoopeston, we were to address ourselves as "Miss -State-". It was a funny feeling at first, but it was certainly enjoyed. In no way was this meant to diminish our current state titleholders, nor make them feel uneasy. Simply put, this town thrived off of the feeling that during their hometown celebration we were our state representatives and we were asked to respect their wishes. Now that I am home, I hang up my Miss California sash and proudly put back on my Miss Silicon Valley sash. This is going to be a fabulous year and I have so much to look forward to. Our beautiful Miss California, Kristy Cavinder, is going to dominate the Miss America stage, and I am looking forward to cheering her on from (my first ever attended) Miss America audience. Now I have friends from almost every state that I will meet in Vegas to cheer on "our girl" with. It is an absolute honor to return back to my state under such a beautiful, sincere, and talented representative. So thank you Kristy, for allowing me to have my fun for a week in Illinois and (kind of) sharing your title. Kristy sent me a wonderful letter of good luck and it sat next to my bed on my nightstand all week. It reminded me what we were all there for- to return next year and give it our all to hopefully someday become Miss California. Kristy's kind words were that extra reminder to stay humble and gracious the entire way.

As I am sure you are eager to know, so these were my final results:

- 2nd runner-up

- Friday Night Preliminary Talent Award

- Outstanding Overall Talent Award

I take great pride in so many awards and honors because I worked very hard for this past week, and it was nice to see a tangible reward for all of my preparations, especially because I know so many other girls prepared very hard themselves. The recognition is certainly appreciated and not for an instant taken for granted! The following information is not to boast what I earned, rather a special thank you to all who generously donated to my journey.

As Second Runner Up I received:
$200 Scholarship- Hoopeston Jaycees
$100 Cash- Hoopeston Regional Health Center
$50 Savings Bond- Harris Agency
$50 Savings Bond- Silver Brothers
$30 Cash- The Mane Place
Kathy Van Zeeland Clutch- Gift Baskets by Wilma (adorable, by the way!)
Custom made Sweetheart pin by Unger's Jewlery

As the Overall Talent Winner, I received:
$100 Scholarship- Hooopeston Jaycees
$50 Savings Bond- Houmes Quality Construction
Custom made Sweetheart pin by Unger's Jewlery

As Preliminary Talent Winner, I received:
$25 Cash- Hoopeston Regional Health Center


Thank you again, to all businesses and families who opened their hearts and arms to so many grateful young women. You will forever be in my heart.

Sunday: Nursing Home & Autograph Signing

Sunday:

After a wonderful morning spent at the Hoopeston Community Nursing Home, we headed off to lunch which was in the Nursing Home facility, at the Country Terrace. I had the privilege of meeting Pat Musk, the original lady whom the Pat Musk non-finalist talent award is awarded after. Mrs. Musk was once a wonderful organist, so it was quite an honor to get to meet her in person. I ate lunch with Polly, who actually lived in Hollywood for many years with her family. We had a nice chat about what California used to look like and how it has changed over the years.

I wanted to share a funny story with you- at least I think it is funny! While we were at the nursing home, we were singing songs for the residents. From God Bless America, to Amazing Grace, to America the Beautiful, we quickly began to run out of songs most of the girls knew! We slowly shifted into hymns, which fewer and fewer girls knew the words as time progressed. Eventually, I think most of us were pretty unsure of the tune we were singing and most girls started to lip sync and pretend like they knew the song. We were trying to keep a straight face and be professional because we were in front of a large crowd, but it became harder and harder to hide the fact we had no idea what to sing. Finally, someone spoke up and admitted that obviously we didn’t really know what we were doing, but it was apparent from the residents’ faces that they wanted an encore, so someone said, “well we might not know the names of these songs, but we know Christmas Carols (which happened to also be in the book)! So we proceeded to sing “Joy to the World”, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” and several other Christmas Carols! Who would have thought we would have had to depend on Christmas in September! But the residents seemed to really enjoy the music and we had some great laughs singing together!









The autograph session only lasted one hour, but it felt like so much more! People stood in line (some for quite a while) to get our autographs. Some girls brought their own autograph pads to hand out along with signing the program books. Mary McCaman so graciously donated custom "Miss California's 2009 Sweetheart" autograph pads and they most certainly came in handy! My hand definitely started to cramp, but it was worth every signature! I was so glad I had them because people would light up when they saw I had pictures to give them as a souvenier. It made me laugh when people would come up asking for multiple autographs… “Could I get one for my daughter, and my sister, and my mom, and my cousin?”

This autographing session was a reminder of how much of an impact this festival makes on this small town, but also to the families and friends of contestants who traveled so far to support 'their girl'. People were gracious enough to share their stories about how they come to watch every year- some have watched since they had been children and have grown up watching the National Sweetheart Pageant.

I also enjoyed meeting my new friends’ families. It is nice to see how much support is out there for each of us. Best yet, I was able to look out and see all of Team California sitting in the audience smiling back at me. I know it had been a long journey for them, and the nights were long, too; so to glance over every now and then, and notice that their smiles never faded made me feel so loved and so special.

My beautiful new friends; Miss Mississippi Danielle Smith, Miss Georgia Courtney Herndon, Me, and Miss Maryland, Mary King.


Part of the autograph line


Part of Team California: Stephanie, Bob, and Mary...


My new friend Megan, who I met at the school the day before..


Signing a photo for a fan- my mom!


Smiling for the camera with Miss New Hampshire's SH, Meghan Lamontagne


All smiles with my new buddy, Michael Nash, (AKA Miss Canada) board member for the Miss Indiana Pageant.


Long line of Misses signing away!


Meeting new friends















A special thank you to Team California for all of their support and love!


As we stood backstage, the top 5 gathered in a circle and held hands and we had a moment together to reflect back on our amazing week. Shannon, Mary, Devin, and Allison can confirm this next statement; all of our eyes were teary as we watched our fellow contestants switch sashes and give high fives at the end of the runway during the final parade of contestants to conclude the show. In fact, Mary and I were bending over trying not to let our mascara tears drip on our gowns. I couldn’t believe that in just a few short hours I would be heading for the airport and coming back to California. But at that point, all that mattered was that in just one short week, we made some friendships that will last a lifetime. I believe that it is when we least expect it, and we stop looking, that the best friends are made. We often find soul mates in fellow competitors- girls who we can relate to, whom share the same ambitions, similar dreams, and are on the same track as us- unfortunately, who often happen to live thousands of miles away. There are several girls who make me strive to become Miss California even more, so that I could hopefully share my Miss America experience with them next year.

Show Me Your Shoes!

Parade Day!

Today seemed like it went by extremely fast. It is interesting to notice during a vacation how quick time has passed by, and that became evident tonight. But nonetheless, today was such a fun day!

We woke up (yet again!) very early, but (yet again!) we enjoyed a delicious breakfast before the parade sponsored by the Jr. Women's Club at the United Methodist Church right next to downtown Main Street. I have never been in such a large parade before! The Illinois Corvette Club sponsored us and we each had our OWN Corvette and driver! Jack and Judy were such good sports and Jack wore the Minnie Mouse ears! For a town of less than 6,000 people, there sure were a lot of people there! The little kids were so cute. They would scream, “Jenna, Jenna, Jenna!” and then as soon as I would look and wave, they would bury their smiles into their hands and shrug their shoulders and twist around.












After the parade, we had lunch at the level 4 fire station. This means that the fire station has a response time of 5 minutes or less. This was extremely impressive, especially because ALL of the men are volunteers. How incredible and inspiring.

Posing with The Boys!


West Coast Girls!


All of the Troops. (I am on the top row)


Quick pose by the Fire Engine.


We had to say thank you to the man on the end for washing our dishes (he was the rookie of the gang, thus earned the privilege of washing all of the dishes!) These men are all volunteers.



After lunch at the firestation we had a few hours of free time, so we came back home and I packed and rested a bit for that night. Monica had a great dinner prepared and we munched on salads, this delicious fruit concoction with whipped cream and a lot of different fruits, vegetables and dips, and a lot of other foods. Monica must have known we had swimsuit that night! We stopped at Dairy Queen for a Blizzard, and I got one to eat after the show!

Tonight I had evening wear, on stage question, and swimsuit. Although I did not win a preliminary tonight, I was very happy with my performance and I was simply glad the competition was over! I wanted to congratulate tonight’s prelim winners, Miss Nebraska, Devin, for swimsuit, and Miss Oregon Cassandra Tolman, and Miss North Carolina Lisa Mace, for tying in talent. Miss Oregon sang the Operatic selection, "Nessum Dorma" and she gave me chills. Miss North Carolina is an amazing tapper, and tapped to the song, "It Don't Mean a Thing". As a matter of fact, ALL of the girls did a great job, and I am proud of everyone! We are almost done girls! I appreciate every moment and I am taking it all in! I need some rest, so I am off to bed, but I hope you enjoyed my update!




Some pictures from NIGHT 2 PRELIMINARIES:

Swimsuit:










Evening Wear:

Friday Night Preliminary

You’ll make mistakes; we all do but trust yourself and think for you.


Greetings from 'Huupstun'

We are all so tired by this point and I do not have access to internet that will accommodate updating pictures, so I am sorry I have not been able to update more photos! I am grateful enough to have wireless internet, but it takes about 15 minutes to load my blog every time I update!

First of all, I won a preliminary talent award! It was the most exciting moment ever and was extra special for a few reasons:

1) The look on my "teams" faces:
Stephanie looked like she might faint, Mary laughed and screamed, Ryan and Tricia, my paparazzi's whipped out the camera's to snap my reaction, my mom was screaming her head off, as Lee gleamed with pride, probably thinking, "oh my, what have I got myself into?" and then there were a few more people that I had not expected to be there!

2) I had some big surprises: Bob Arnhym surprised me and showed up to support me (that little devil, I even talked to him the night before and had no idea!) I had not seen him the ENTIRE show and noticed him when we finally came out at the very end of the show about 20 seconds before I won preliminary talent) My first ED's from Miss Stanislaus, Ron and Kay Williams, showed up from Texas (who I noticed after I won the award). I couldn't believe they all came so far to visit me. Truthfully, however, I am actually glad I did not see anyone until AFTER the night was over because I started crying like a baby when I noticed everyone. I am looking forward to seeing the video because I am sure you will be able to watch my jaw DROP in disbelief when I noticed them. I am so blessed and so loved- I cannot say thank you enough. Not only did I have these big surprises, but to recognize how much time, effort, and resources Mary, Stephanie, The Woods, and my mom and Lee poured into this moment humbled me.

3) The talent was so incredible- just incredible. My night began with my good friend, Miss Deleware, who is an incredible vocalist, and I closed the show. It is quite an honor to know that of all these amazing young women, I was awarded the top talent score. It is an honor that I will always be grateful for. I can go home happy!


Please enjoy a few pictures:

"Revolutionary"





Playing with all my heart


Preliminary Talent Winner!



Friday was a very eventful day!

We woke up and had breakfast sponsored by the Hoopeston Lions Club. One thing is for certain: we are not starving around here! We were split up into several groups and we visited various local area grade schools. I was paired with Miss Indiana, Miss Arizona, Miss Ohio, Miss Pennsylvania, Miss Kansas, Miss Florida, Miss Mississippi, Miss New York, Miss New Mexico, Miss Tennessee, Miss Kentucky, and Miss DC.

We had the opportunity to perform our talent, and as soon as I saw a piano, my hand shot up with excitement! I was ready to pounce on any opportunity to perform and practice my talent before preliminaries that evening! Miss NY and Miss PA also performed for the eager audience.

We did a question and answer session after we were done performing, and in all honesty I was asked some extremely difficult questions. (Thanks Kansas for screening them, too! ;)

One student asked me, "How do you make sounds on the piano?" and another student asked me "Why is your song called 'Revolutionary Etude' mean?" Followed with "why do they call it an 'Etude'?"

Now try explaining THAT to a auditorium full of 2nd graders! Great preparation for future interviews!




After the school tours, we went back to the Civic Center to have a full dress rehearsal with the Production Crew, and we had dinner with our host family. Monica had a DELICIOUS meal (too delicious, in fact) of tacos, salad, beans, and lots of vegetables and fruit, of course! I laughed after I ate a HUGE double-decker taco with homemade salsa and chips. It was delicious down to the very last bite!

"Say Hey, Say Hey, I Love This Town"

Swinging to the beat during our production number


Miss Colorado and I were last to announce ourselves during the parade of contestants, so we were able to walk off stage together!







Production "I Love This Town"