Miss America

Hello everyone!

I hope the holiday season is finding you well.

I wanted to bring your attention to Mallory Hagan, Miss New York 2012, she will be competing next month for the title of Miss America 2013.

At Miss America 2011, Claire Buffie Miss New York 2010 brought home America's Choice.  

I believe that we have the power to do the same this year!

Please take a minute out of your day and 

VOTE NEW YORK!!

Election Day

Well as many of you know, yesterday was Election Day.  

This election was a special one for me, because it was the first time that I was able to vote in the presidential election and so I did! I made sure that I didn't go to the polls as just a voter, but an educated voter.  I think it's so important for all Americans to be educated voters, after all, we are deciding who the next President of the United States will be.  

Funny story -- since it was my first time voting...of course I wanted an 'I Voted' sticker!  I felt like a little kid wanting that piece of candy for a job well done.  Anyways, after I casted my vote, the seat of the "sticker lady" was empty (insert gasp face here)!  So again, like a little kid my mom went and found me one.  So, I got my sticker and I have my mom to thank for that.

Fast forward to today November 7, 2012.  

President Obama has been chosen as our President for a second term!

I don't feel that it's right for me to get into the nitty gritty details of what my political opinions are.  However, I will proudly state that "I voted for President Obama".  

I hope that everyone reading this blog (that is of age), exercised their right as an American to vote.  

This isn't a right that is given to every country and we need to embrace our rights as Americans.

The Liebster Blog

Recently, some of my Miss America friends have been participating in "Liebster Blog Awards."  I'm not usually one to jump on to do these things, but this is different.  So what's a Liebster you ask?  It's German for sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome (takes breathe) and the Liebster Award is a pay it forward type system to other up and coming bloggers.  I love blogs, whether I'm the reader or the writer, it's something I truly enjoy and this Liebster Award is great for encouraging more networking throughout the blogosphere.

I want to thank Chelsea Brumagen, author of You Don't Need a Crown to be Miss America for nominating (tagging) me for the Liebster Award!

Here's the rules for receiving this award:

• Each person must post 11 things about themselves
• Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer
• Choose 11 people and link them in your post
• Go to their page and tell them
• There's no tag backs

So lets do this!  

Here are 11 things that you may not know about me:

1.  I-am-addicted-to-coffee....I'm not proud of it, but I've come to the conclusion that caffeine  is imperative for my survival.  Miss Empire Rose runs on Dunkin' 
2.  I'm a social media guru.  I'm very grateful for growing up in a generation that can be defined by social media...although I think we can all agree that sometimes social media isn't on our side, but for the most part I love being able to connect with friends and family in a fast and easy way.
3.  I wish I grew up in the Victorian age.  I know that this is contradicting to no. 2 but I'm obsessed with the Victorian age and would give anything to have the opportunity to travel back in time.
4.  I can be a gamer at times.  By a gamer, I mean I love playing The Sims and I once beat the Harry Potter game on the PlayStation (the very first playstation).
5.  I used to be extremely shy, I think that's how I became a gamer in a way.  The Miss America Organization has helped mold me into the person I always wanted to be and it's really helped me break out of my shell (my nickname used to be turtle)...enough said.
6.  My Great-Grandma lived to be 104 years old!  On her 102 birthday, she said on national television that eating oatmeal everyday for breakfast is the key to living to be over 100.  Find out more about my Great-Grandma here.
7.  I've been in a relationship for what will be 7 years in April!  
8.  I love to bake and I must say, I make a pretty good pumpkin roll.  I used to make cupcakes for almost every occasion when I was in high school...and I did a presentation on 'How to Bake and Decorate Cupcakes' in my speech class for college.
9.  I once had black hair...yes black.  I don't think I need to explain much for this one.
10.  I'm very superstitious...I even believe that putting shoes on a table is bad luck.  (don't do it!)
11. I really want a sloth.  One that even talks to me like in the Ice Age movie would be even better.

Here are my answers to Chelsea's 11 questions for me:

1. What's at the top of your bucket list?   At the top of my bucket list is to become Miss New York and at the tippy top is Miss America...I know that I can check off almost everything on my bucket list by becoming Miss New York, or better yet Miss America.
2. If you were an animal, what would you be?  Hmmm...an elephant?  I always wish I had the memory of an elephant.
3. In the spirit of Halloween, what's your favorite candy?  Hands down, the pumpkin shaped Reese's Peanut Butter!
4. Did Santa wrap your Christmas presents, or no?  Every single one on my wish list :)
5. Have you ever broken a bone, if so which one?  I broke my pinkie toe dancing and my middle finger doing a back handspring (I took my driving test with a cast on my middle finger...not good)
6. Favorite kind of coffee?  Medium mocha almond iced coffee with cream please!
7. If you had $100 and you could do anything with it, what would you do?  As much as I'd like to buy a new pair of shoes...there's others that need it more than me.  I would donate it to Keelie Sheridan, a former Miss Brooklyn who recently lost almost everything due to the flooding from Hurricane Sandy.  Here's how you can Help Joe and Keelie.
8. Favorite color?  This one is always a hard one...it's between a pastel yellow and coral.
9. Tell me about someone or something that has influenced you to become who you are today?  Like I said before, the Miss America Organization has helped mold me into the person I am today.  But I can't complete this answer without mentioning my parents who have been there for me since the day I came into this world, without them I wouldn't have been able to be a part of the Miss America Organization...and well I wouldn't be here in the first place without them.
10. If you were elected president, what's the first thing you would do?  Having been a part of a family that struggled in the past as far as jobs go, I would definitely do something along the lines of creating jobs for the American people.
11. Who is your role model?  I have a few...Miss America, Audrey Hepburn and Lauren Conrad. 

Tag you're IT:

• Jamie Lynn Macchia, Miss Staten Island 2012
• Stephanie Accardo, Miss Richmond County 2012
• Danielle Trumbull, Miss Empire Star 2012

Here are my questions for you:

1. If you could be anybody, who would you be?
2. What's your favorite outfit look like?
3. Favorite TV show?
4. Favorite book?
5. Describe yourself in one word.
6. What's in your purse?
7. Do you believe in ghosts?
8. What's your favorite holiday and why?
9. Where do you see yourself in 30 years?
10. We all support a cause, what's yours?
11. You're at Starbucks, what do you order?

Good luck!

Happy Halloween!

It's that time of year again, my favorite time of year to be exact.  I absolutely LOVE the fall season and everything it brings with it and leads up to.  The holidays are extremely important to me, because it reminds me of how lucky I am to have a wonderful family.  

As for today's Halloween activities, I've planned to go with my dad to the Fulton County Historical Museum after classes, because on my way to school I heard all about it's hauntings on Fly 92.3 (I'm a firm believer in paranormal activities).  After that I'm going trick-or-treating with my two wonderful nieces, Avery and Julia and I cannot wait, it's my first time being able to go with them since I don't have a work schedule to interfere!  

On a more serious note, my thoughts are with all of those affected by Hurricane Sandy.  I can't describe how fortunate I feel to not have been affected by the storm, other than a few branches here and there.  Recently for Miss New York, I was in Staten Island for a week and it breaks my heart to see all of the damage that Hurricane Sandy has caused.  I'm wishing everyone a safe and speedy recovery, and just remember that even though you may have lost items that contain a lot of memories, nothing can take away the memories you have in your heart.

I hope everyone has a wonderfully spooky Halloween and is safe for trick-or-treating tonight!

Miss New York

Hello everyone, I apologize for the delay in posting a blog about my experience at Miss New York.  Truth is, I couldn't come up with a way to write about my experience that week, I feel that words won't even be able to do it justice.  I'm sure you're all wondering about it and I'm a big believer in telling stories in pictures...so that's how I've decided to share that week with you!

But first, I just wanted to express how blessed I am to have been given the opportunity to compete for my dream and honored to have stood on that stage with the 25 other beautifully talented women.  The week went by so fast, but it was an experience of a lifetime and one that I will cherish forever.  A special thanks to everyone that helped me prepare for Miss New York, including Kathleen Piccirillo, Janet Murphy, David Curtiss at Progressive Fitness Training, Alayne Curtiss at Make Me Fabulous, Capital Region AFSP Board of Directors, and of course my parents (I love you!) - thank you all so much for helping me feel better than ever about myself!  Also, a huge thank you to the Miss New York Organization for making Miss New York week and the pageant so memorable - it literally wouldn't be possible without you!  A huge congratulations to Miss New York 2012, Mallory Hagan, your journey to becoming Miss New York is a prominent example of where persistence can lead you, you're going to have such a fabulous year and I can't wait to see how great you're going to be at Miss America in January!!

So, without further adieu...ENJOY!

Introduction 

Lifestyle & Fitness

Lifestyle & Fitness

Coney Island

Evening Wear

Coney Island

Talent

First Day at Miss New York

Talent

Settling in with all the girls

Departing the hotel

Mr Empire Rose at Mr New York 

Ready to go!

Parents at Visitation Night 1

The Empire Rose Group

Miss Empire Rose Princess

Jan & Poppy on the final night

Miss Empire Rose Outstanding Teen, now Miss New York's Outstanding Teen 2012!

Colleen (Fulton County), Kaitlin (Miss New York 2011), and myself at the Gala

OH and Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Miss New York Week Begins!

Contestant Voting!!

Miss New York 2012 is right around the corner and I need YOUR help!!

Vote for me as your favorite contestant to help secure me a spot in the Top 10!!

Here's how:

1. Visit www.missny.org
2. Click under my photo
3. Choose 1, 10, 25 or 50 votes
4. Click ADD TO CART
5. Choose your preferred way of payment

Thank you for believing in my dream and helping me get one step closer to making me the first Miss New York to advocate for suicide prevention and awareness!