My Very Pink Christmas!

This really has nothing to do with being Mrs. New York US but I wanted to share it because I am so very excited! I first saw a pink Christmas tree in Kauffman's (now Macy's) 5 or 6 years ago and fell in love. I would of bought it then and there but it had already been sold.

Since then every Christmas I talk about how I want a pink Christmas tree with pink lights. To which both my husband and my boys always reply "No way! That's nuts. Christmas trees are green not pink."

This year Steve and I went to the mall in Buffalo supposedly to do some shopping and have dinner. Much to my surprise he really was taking me there to get my pink tree!! I was grinning from ear to ear. It is 7 1/2 feet tall and has over 750 pink lights on it.
A disclaimer does come with this picture as I live in a house that was built in 1860. We are in the process of renovating it and those curtains and wall paper came with the house. Let me tell you they are worlds better than the large yellow and orange daisy's that were in my kitchen.

Surprisingly enough, my sons took the fact that we were having a pink Christmas tree quite well. My oldest just smiled and laughed about it. My youngest told me that he did not care as long as Santa would deliver to a pink tree.

Website Photo and Autograph Card

Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. Which is what happened when Sheila and I tried to take a photo for my appearance cards and the home page of the website. I felt so bad having to tell Sheila I did not like any of the pictures she took well enough to use. I was hoping it was just me being silly but when your best friend tells you that you look like the Joker from Batman you need to listen. Thanks a lot Lisa! lol

I booked an appointment with Excess Studios to have my photo taken. I knew they did beautiful work as they were the very generous sponsors of Jacquie Wilder (my friend and 3rd runner up) and had taken amazing photos of her. http://www.excessstudios.com/

The day I had my pictures taken the weather was terrible! It took me well over an hour for a 40 minute drive. The trip was well worth all my trouble as they did an amazing job once again and I have a beautiful picture for the homepage for the website which was important to me as I think it is strange enough that my face will be the first one you see for the next year. I didn't want to scare any one away before they were able to enjoy the rest of the Mrs. NY US website.
Since I was in a bit of a time crunch to get my appearance cards done for my appearance at Fantasy Flight I used some of my crowning photo's for my appearance card.

I don't think it turned out too bad!

Crown Plaza Hotel and Hospice

Sheila and I met at the Crown Plaza Hotel our host hotel for the pageant to take some photo's and introduce me to some of the hotel's wonderful Staff. Everyone I met was so nice and they made me laugh as no one wanted to have their picture taken with me because they said Sheila had made me look too good. Monica Rapini, Meetings Manager & Stephanie from the sales staff both took the plunge and posed for a picture with me. I think they both look amazing!

We were also trying to see if we could get some nice head shots and a photo for the website with out all the fancy photography equipment. Sheila started out doing my make up very soft and light. Sheila is an award winning make up artist and amazes me with her talent every time I have the privilege of working with her.
The lighting on this day however was not on our side. The beautiful make up Sheila spent an hour on did not translate well in the photo's and my very pink lips ended up looking quite red. I love this photo with the nutcracker as I think we look like brother and sister since our make up is almost the same. LOL

After we were done at the crown plaza we traveled to Niagara Hospice to deliver the check for over $500 that was raised through the "Gift of Love" baskets at the pageant. This organization holds a special place in Sheila's heart as they were there for her when she need help with her parents. They were very grateful for the donation! One of the people I had the privilege of meeting was Dr. Lori. She was very excited to hear that the pageant would like to make Niagara hospice it's charity of choice.
http://niagarahospice.org/

Winterfest in the Village of Oakfield

Dec 1st, 2007 was Winterfest in the Village of Oakfield. There were tons of activities that took place all day. There was free chili, a meet and greet with Santa and a scavenger's hunt to name just a few. One of the businesses that participated was the Caryville Inn located on Main Street in Oakfield. Not only do they have the best food and atmosphere in Oakfield but they are were one of my generous sponsors for the Mrs. New York United States pageant.


I was not able to participate in the day's activities since my oldest son had a basketball game which lasted most of the day. Plus it was pretty cold as well and I am not a huge fan of doing anything that requires me to be cold. lol The Caryville did invite me to come down and help out with the drawings for the prizes from the scavenger's hunt. Players had to find all of the businesses listed on a card and visit each of them for a punch on their card. When you had visited all the businesses you returned your card to the Caryville Inn to be entered into the drawing for the grand prize which was a trip for two to Toronto.

While I was waiting to draw the grand prize name and announce the winners of all the drawings I was able to visit with Miss. Kendal a bit. She brought her scrap book with all of her beauty pageant photo's in it to share with me. She is a beautiful and very smart young lady!

The mayor of Oakfield, Ray Cianfrini enjoyed all the activities of Winterfest. Ray was also one of my very generous sponsor as he and his son own the Cianfrini Law Firm located on Main Street in Oakfield.

I also had a chance to chat a bit with Betty one of the owners of the Caryville before the drawing. She was kind enough to help me pronounce the winners names so I said them correctly.

At 6PM I reached into the fish bowl and pulled out the winning ticket.

The winners name was Laura and she was very excited to have won the trip for two to Toronto! Her husband was equally as excited and they thanked me repeatedly for pulling their name. I was happy that the person who won was present to claim their prize.

Betty was also very kind and asked Steve and I to stay for dinner on her! Thank you!

Miss New York And Miss Teen NY USA pageants

My first official appearance as Mrs. New York 2008 was at the Miss New York USA and Miss Teen New York Pageants. http://www.missnewyorkusa.com/I was attending as a sponsor, a coach and as Mrs. NY US 2008. Meemie's Jewelry which I am the owner of and designer for is a sponsor of both the Miss and Teen NY USA pageants as well as the Miss and Teen NH USA pageants. http://www.meemiesjewelrydesigns.com/

I made the 4 hour drive with my good friend Amy who was Mrs. NY US 2001 and the owner of Les Belles pageants. http://www.lesbellespageants.com/ Also joining in on the fun was Maureen and one of Amy's beautiful winners Heather Knowles. We had a blast in the car ride and took the map quest route there. It was quite an interesting ride as map quest sent us down a road we affectionately named the "Road of Death" I am not sure I have ever traveled a road with so many drastic hills and twists and turns. We were lucky the weather was good and it was not dark out.

We arrived in time for the Miss New York USA finals show and were met in the Lobby by our girl Theresa Hallatt. I coached Miss Theresa for the interview competition and Amy took care of the runway and wardrobe. Theresa was really excited as she had won the pageant's "Style Award" the night before. She looked beautiful in her evening gown and was ready for the show to start. I learned a valuable lesson at this appearance. That you need to re-apply your make up when you get to an event if you have driven in a car for over 5 hours. LOL


We were able to grab a quick bite to eat before the show with Lori, Mrs. New York United States 2007 and her handsome Mr. New York hubby, Don. It was a real treat for me to get to see Lori again so soon after the pageant. Normally I only get a chance to talk to her via email because of the distance between us.

Lori is now the director of the Miss Long Island and Miss Long Island Teen pageants. http://www.lipageants.com/ Her winners will then compete at Miss and Teen NY USA. I think it is going to be wonderful for them as I am sure that Lori will make sure they are totally prepared for the tough competition that is seen each year at the state USA pageant.

I was blessed to be able to have VIP seating during the show and was able to watch Theresa up close. She was competing against 130 other women who's ages ranged from 18-26. We were all excited and proud when her name was included in the top 20 who then went on to compete in the swimsuit competition. I wish my photo's were clearer but she looked amazing in her swimsuit!

I was also honored to be announced to the audience for the very first time as Mrs. New York United States 2008. Lori was announced as Mrs. New York US 2007 as well. After the top 20 it was time to narrow the field to 15 women. We were excited once again as we heard Theresa's name called in the first group of women. She now was able to compete for the top 5 spots in the evening gown competition.

When the top 5 were called we were all disappointed (only a little bit) that Theresa was not among them. She did an amazing job and we all are very proud of her. It is a real accomplishment in my opinion to make the top 15 out of 130 women your first time competing in that system and only being 18 years old. I am confident in a few more years we all are going to see that crown placed on her head!

After the show we took a few more pictures and quickly headed out as we had a long trip back. (longer for me since it is another hour to my house after I picked up my car at Ames. LOL) We avoided the road of death this time and took the express way all the way back. I can't wait to go back again next year!

My Adventure Begins!

Wow, I still am in shock that I was chosen to be the next Mrs. New York United States 2008. I was blessed to win this amazing title out of a group of 16 amazing contestants. My first duty as Mrs. New York was to attend the Awards breakfast that always takes place after the pageant each year. It was my job to help pass out the awards along with Lori who was the outgoing queen.

Much to my surprise I was also blessed to be given the highest score in interview, swimsuit and the evening gown competitions. I guess the judges missed my knees and how badly they were shaking. lol

The very beautiful and articulate Jackie Wilder was the 1st Alternative in Interview.

Casie Runner and Lisa Wickman tied for 1st Alternative in Swimsuit. They both looked smoking in their swimsuits!

Casie Runner and Segal Magori – Goldstien tied for 1st Alternative in Evening gown. Casie looked amazing in her yellow gown. I loved Segal's gown it looked very regal and she looked like a queen in it.

Judith Berman won both the Community Spirit & Civic Award. Judith was really thoughtful as she brought each contestant a folder full of beautiful, inspirational readings. Thank you!

Melissa Sheehan won the 1st Alt Civic Award. She and her hubby have the most beautiful baby girl. She takes after her mommy!

Angelia Bryce-Thurton won the Hostess Award which I thought was very fitting. She is the epitome of what a good hostess should be! Warm, Kind, Intelligent and Beautiful both inside and out!

Sheila McKinney was awarded the Directors Award. She was very touched and became a bit teary eyed as she hugged Sheila. It was easy to see why Sheila won this award! I just love the pink suit she is wearing.

Everyone that attended the breakfast was treated to a great meal. I loved all the fresh fruit and the pastries. Now that the pageant was over I was able to have one.. Ok well really 5 but nationals is quite awhile away.


I really liked the awards breakfast the next day after the pageant. Usually after the pageant ends you rush around packing up and going home. If you are lucky you see a few of the women you made friends with over the weekend as you left. The breakfast was nice because everyone was able to get together, take pictures, trade info and see each other one last time before we all had to go back to our lives.


Even the judges were invited to attend. Bruce Danley was the head judge and he was just a delight to converse with. His smile and enthusiasm really put me at ease during my personal interview. All the the judges were amazing in their own right.

One of my favorite prizes (aside from the crown, sash and the amazing honor I had been given as that in itself is prize enough) was the pink basket. I LOVE pink!! So this was perfect for me. The funniest part was going through all my prizes after the pageant. My youngest son was getting upset with all the "girly" stuff that he just gave up and started asking for anything he liked. He walked away with my very pink back massager as well as a very large and very pink bar of pomegranate soap.

Photos taken after the pageant!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from after the pageant.

With our distinguished panel of judges.

The pageant was blessed to have the national titleholder Mrs. United States, Stephanie Hunt in attendance at the pageant! Mrs IL Amy Gregorio came as well to watch her good friend Lori give up her title.

With my new Director, Sheila Strassburg.

I was really blessed as my best friend Mrs. Lisa Mulvey who is also the reigning MA 30's Beauties of America 2008 came up to support me at the pageant. This one of the few times I saw her out of her PJ's the whole weekend.LOL Love you sweets!

With my Daddy.

With Maureen.

With my hubby and now Mr. New York.

I have to say a special "Thank You" to my Aunt Ann. She not only watched my boys all weekend but she made sure they were dressed so nicely as well.

With Mrs. NY US 2007 and Mrs. NY US 2001.

With the very Beautiful 1st runner up Casie.

With My Girls!

The top 6.

A hug from Lori.

Queens with Kristin who did amazing and was the 2nd runner up.

Oh the "PAIN"! I love these pics as they perfectly show how my feet felt as I took my 4 inch heels off after the pageant.

These are my most favorite photos from after the pageant. It was really special having both my boys in the audience while I was crowned. They both were really excited and I got this very special hug from my oldest son Matthew. His brother Stephen was already asking "How are the pools in Vegas?" LOL