Fall Fun

Wow! I have been a slacker. No updates in the last several months. I managed to slip in a wonderful pageant in September, over Labor Day weekend. I competed in the Ms. America Pageant in Ontario, CA. First of all, what an amazing title...I knew I had to compete. And after I talked with the director, Susan Jeske, it made up my mind. Susan is straight forward, very pageant savvy, and intelligent. I liked her mission and her goals, so I signed! That was less than a month before the pageant.

On pageant weekend, I was delighted to reconnect with Shannon Morgan. I had met year several years earlier at the Mrs. united Nation Pageant but didn't have a chance to get to know her very well. I am so glad I had this chance. She is truly a gem. But lest I stop there...I was so thrilled to meet so many women at this event. Many faces that I have seen or read about on line but had never actually met. And it made me happy to just visit with them. Everyone was supportive and encouraging and kind. And I was fortunate enough to receive 4th Runner up. That really made me excited. Though I have competed a lot, I haven't placed a lot. It was such a thrill to be among the outstanding women in the court. And those who didn't make the court as well!

What is next? I am sure there is another pageant in the near future. After such a great experience, I am fueled up to do some more? Why do I do them - everything I just said above. It is fun, invigorating, and refreshes my belief in the goodness of human nature. I live in LA so sometimes it is easy to forget that most people have a kind heart and giving spirit. Everyone is in a rush, thinking only of themselves, and particularly rude. I try to distance myself from that, but it isn't always easy. Pageants give me the chance to celebrate the good, the positive, the uplifting. So here is to the future pageants in my life!! Have a glorious fall!

Summer Update

It has been a great summer in general. Work has been busy, the weather is great and my garden is thriving. I have a bounty of fresh tomatoes and am enjoying putting them in a variety of dishes...or just eating them off the vine!!

My mom is healing well after her heart failure followed by a fall which left her with a broken wrist and hip. Poor thing. She has had such a rough year with my dad's death and now all these health issues. but her spirits are picking up and I am so proud of her. She has even managed to lose 40 pounds, some form good eating, some from loss of appetite. But we keep talking about the importance of good nutrition for good healing and recovery. I love her so much.

As some of you know, "mom" is my step mom. We are so close and I love her so much. She has been such an important part of my life. Her words of wisdom, her encouragement and simply her love have made a huge difference throughout my life!! My biological mother is not part of my life, but I wish her well. I just found out she was hospitalized for acute diverticulitis. Last year, she was also diagnosed with colon cancer. So she is having some struggles with her health, and I am keeping her in my prayers. All these things reinforce my change in eating to vegetarian choices. I am a prime candidate for colon related issues. I knew I better start caring now!!

As far as the pageant front, I am still considering my options. I was set to do the United America pageant, but I might have a time conflict with that pageant as well!! It is frustrating because I love pageants and feel like I have missed out on meeting some great people since I haven't been involved lately. I also have this drive to use a title to impact LA. This is a huge city and people are so "indifferent". Everyone is caught up in their own world and I am finding it hard to get anyone to listen. In the past, pageant titles have helped open ears and maybe, that would help again. So what is a girl to do? The opportunity will present itself!!

I had the honor of performing the wedding ceremony for my dear friend's Tanya and Jeremiah. Officiating weddings is wonderful but when it is someone you know and love, it is hard to describe the honor. I feel so blessed. While I was in Spokane for the wedding, I stayed with my dearest friend Leah. Not only did she open her home and heart to me, but she threw me a surprise party. No one has ever thrown me a surprise party. It was so special!! I had the best time. It is such a blessing to have such wonderful friends. I am muy blessed!!

Change in Events

The new date for Ms US Globe is May 2010....very exciting. But, sad for me. I will be out of the country for that month and will not be able to attend the national pageant. It just broke my heart. I have wanted to compete at the globe pageant for years, but only now have things fallen in place. And now out of place. I know everything happens for a reason so I am at peace. I will be spending time with family, and after what has happened over the last few years, I realize nothing should take priority over that. As many of my friends know, I almost died several years ago. I sustained a heart attack and stroke after suffering anesthesia complication. The road to recovery has been very difficult. As I struggled to regain, strength and endurance, I gained quite a bit of weight. I finally now have the lung and heart capacity to exercise and get back on track. Last October, my beloved dad died after an 8 year battle with cancer. And of course, the divorce. So the Globe pageant gave me some direction and inspiration. Of course, I don't need a pageant for that, but I love their message and cause and that helped fill me with hope.

I am considering a different pageant this year. Probably one I am familiar with and have competed in before. Pageants offer so much and miss being part of them. I have been criticized in the past for my involvement. Because I have tried repeatedly and not won, many feel I should give up. But there is more to competing then winning the title. And I hold that in my heart. Yes, I would love to win a national title some day, but I love the friends and people. Two of my best friends I met through pageantry and I cherish those relationships so much.

On a different note, my family has grown. I have adopted a new puppy. She is about 8 months old...supposedly an akita-shepard mix. I don't really see the akita, definitely the shepard, but I see some sort of hound. She has the body habitus of a greyhound, though some of that maybe because she is starving. She is terrified of everything but has been slowly warming up. Finally, she has eaten some full meals and come to me for "love time" when the other dogs get praise and affection. With her sweet disposition, i think it will only be a matter of time before she adapts. The other 2 puppies are fine. Bernie ignores her most of the time. But I think she has a soft spot for him. Tatum is more aggressive and wants the new baby, Shauna, to know who is boss. I love them all!! I wish I could have a farm full of rescue dogs....someday.

I have a quiet weekend planned. My garden is doing so well. I think I will have enough tomatillos to feed half of the San Fernando Valley. At least to donate a lot to the food bank!! Have a Blessed and peaceful month!!

March of Dimes and Mrs CA United States.

What a wonderful weekend this was. It was a glorious day on Saturday for the March of Dimes in Simi Valley. Esther, Frank, Isabella and I headed out for the 5.5 mile walk early on saturday morning. It was the perfect setting, the right number of people, and a great walk. It got pretty hot during the walk, but that was okay. The event was a success.

That evening, I headed to Santa monica for the Mrs. California United States pageant. The program is run by former Mrs. United States, Janice McQueen Ward. She is an elegant and beautiful lady who did an excellent job with the show. It was organized, ran efficiently, and overall, classy. Being from Woodland Hills, I was thrilled to see Mrs. Woodland Hills win. But the other contestants did a great job as well. Andrea Preuss, former Mrs. America and Mrs United States served as the Mistress of Ceremonies. She did and outstanding job and I was able to talk with her after the show. she is classy, kind and humble...a true lady.

The judging panel was impressive in their own right. Stylist to the Stars: Sean McCurdy, Countdown to the Crown star and celebrity stylist Noah Alexander, and actress/stuntwoman Kimberly Estrada. Kimberly was also humble, kind and fun to talk with. And Sean was a doll. He is a celebrity in his own right.

Wishing everyone the best and happiness to boot!!!

Miss Teenage California Pageant

Last weekend, I attended the Miss Teenage California pageant here in Los Angeles. I have not attended this pageant before and I was so surprised and impressed. First of all, they had 165 contestants. There were so many lovely and impressive ladies. What impressed me most was listening to their speeches about their career and educational goals. It gives me so much hope for the future. All the young ladies had impressive aspirations. Many included medicine, physics, and entertainment.

As Ms. California Globe, I was treated very well and gived a seat up front. Everyone seemed so professional and concerned with the ladies. By the end of the afternoon, I saw an amazing court with a darling winner. I talked with several of the young ladies and continued to be amazed by their speakign abilities and kind hearts. My hat off to this outstanding system. I will recommend it to any young lady I meet!!

Walk Now for Autism

It is another beautiful spring day. My garden is floursihing. I can't believe how much easier everything is to grow in California as opposed to Washington. It is great fun to try and grow different veggies that I knew wouldn'tsucceed before. And this home garden will make my vegetarian living so much easier this summer. I have enjoyed finding new recipes and trying new dishes. I have discovered that altering meat recipes isn't as easy as I thought it would be. But that's okay!! I love the challenge.

This weekend, I did a march for Autism at the Rose bowl. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I had a great time. I was actually surprised how many people were part of the walk. It must be inspirational to those with children with autism. There were so many resources available. I have spent quite a bit of time researching the link between vaccinations and autism, as well as other diseases. My training is in traditional medicine, and I have, quite honestly, accepted what I was taught without questioning. The researc I have done has opened my mind to further research. I don't embrace anything without data, but the data isn't supporting everything I learned in school. Very eye-opening!!

I had a lovely time on the walk, accompanied by my dear friend esther and her darling daughter Isabella. We followed the walk with a little shopping and a delicious organic/vegetarian breakfast. Esther is Sevemth Day Adventist and is helping me eat healthier and providing me with great resources and inspiraton!! Thanks Esther!!!

Food Bank and Photo Fun

Spring is off to a gorgeous start. The weather has been beautiful and my vegetable garden is off to a wonderful beginning. I am trying a few new addtitions this year as I have been adjusting to the long growing season of California. I have added banana trees, tomatillos, and am trying to grow papaya.

Already established in my yard and many surrounding yards are citrus fruit trees. So I went on a mission to gather fresh fruit and bring it to the local food bank. They were so excited by the arrival of oranges because they rarely get fresh fruit. the staff was delightful and very grateful.

This past weekend, I was able to do some preliminary photos for head shots and Ms. CA. We tried to get some photos the first night, but it turns out, the ones taken in natural light the next day were far superior. And it is always fun to get made up and be playful.

I am entering my third week of being vegetarian. For the most part, it has been much easier than i anticipated. I am enjoying my meals and having fun trying new recipes. But I don't think I will try to simply subsitutue tofu in meat recipes anymore...didn't quite work as I anticipated.

Leah's Pic

Oops, forgot an actual pic of miss Leah during her visit.

Green Life Style Film Festival

Hi friends:

Just wanted to add some photos and updates. Of course, I had my wonderful visit with Leah. A few weeks ago, my dear friend, Leslie Birkland did the first part of her Murad infomercial. We had a nice visit and I got to see her son, now a young man!!

And this part weekend I volunteered at the Green Life Style Film Festival. What a great event!!! Everyone was so open, warm, and friendly. I was able to purchase some great environmentally friendly products, good health products, but the best part was the opportunity to watch some of the films. I was truely inspired. My favorites were the short film "Homegrown Revolution" and the two films "Curing Cancer" and "Healing Cancer from the Inside Out."

"Homegrown Revolution" is a short about a family in Pasadena that has converted their 1/10 of an acre lot into a homestead. They grow almost all their own food and live a healthy lifestyle, incorporating solar power and alternative fuels. They are able to grow enough food to feed themselves as well as provide food for local restaurants. As many know, I am an avid gardener and last year decided I would only grow food I could eat. Nothing like flowers or other non-edibles. I rent a house, so I can not change the landscaping of this home, so all my plants have to be grown in containers. This limits me slightly but this year I am trying to expand. I am including banana tress and papayas. Who knows, but I will keep you posted.

The other two films dealt with cancer and some amazing facts about cancer research and healthy healing. As many of you know, my dad died of metastatic colon cancer a few months ago. And my mother had colon cancer as well. So my risk is definitely increased. So I was particularly interested in what these films had to say. First, I had no idea of the intricate connections between the American Cancer Society, American Medical Association, and major pharmaceutical companies. To say the drug companies have a big hand in cancer research is an understatement. The Board of Directors for ACS includes many drug company officials and AMA members. The research is geared towards drug "cures" and not towards healthy living options and natural approaches. I spent a lot of time after the festival researching the data, and it was surprising. Though chemotherapy does increase survival, it is very minimal if you look at the actual survival versus relative survival. The statistics and stunning. Nonetheless, the money is in drugs and that is what the focus of research is.

On a positive note, the films explored healthy diet and natural treatments as a potential therapy. The survival rates were the same and the side effects were very different. With a change to a plant based diet, the risks of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes drop dramatically. Not a little, A LOT. This means making a change before cancer strikes. So....I am trying to change my diet to be more plant based, thus mostly vegetarian. It will be a challenge, but I am excited about it. Fortunately I have several friends who are vegetarian, so they can help me adjust my recipes. Now, I am not saying I won't ever eat meat again, I am just trying to eat healthier for my future. And growing my own fruit and veggies will help!!!

Next on my agenda is helping with some additional films, volunteering at the food bank again, and helping at the second part of the Murad shoot. Hope everyone is doing well. Happy Spring!!!

Good Search and WIN

Hi Friends:

I just want to encourage everyone to help raise money for worthy causes by using this link to Good Search. If you do any shopping on line, just access the hundreds of online stores via Good Search and shop as normal. It doesn't cost you any extra but the stores make donations to different non-profit organizations. I am raising money for the Womens Inspiration Network (WIN in Newport Beach). If you want to support a different organization, please do so, but don't waste this opportunity to help those less fortunate. Almost every store you can imagine (or at least every type of store) has a link. It is so easy. So if you are shopping, please shop through this link!! Happy President's Day!!

Miss Hollywood, Southland and Southwest Pageant

Hello to Everyone: I hope your new year is going well. Just wanted to pass on an update from the MAO local I attended. Lots of beautiful and talented ladies. The open pageants are so much fun because all the talent and beauty and brains are in one place. I am sure the judges had a hard time!! But it was so much fun. Hopefully i will be able to attend the Miss LA pageant next month. I met and chatted with a beautiful and articulate lady, Miss Crown City. She was truely a delight. Well, have a wonderful week and stay safe and warm.