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!