Cross- Country Road Trip!

Hello everybody… I can’t believe the summer is over already! I would love to share with you all the end of my summer, it was incredible. On the 17th of August my family, Aaron, and I went to Wildwood, NJ for a few-day family vacation. While we were there we walked on the boardwalk, played glow-in the dark mini-golf, spent time at the beach, parasailed, went on a dolphin watch, and spent an evening at Cape May. It was great to spend quality time with my family; we all had a lot of fun! At around 8pm on Wednesday evening, Aaron and I left for our cross-country road trip. I have to say, it will be tough to describe the most amazing adventure of my life in just a short blog entry, but I will do my very best… So we drove straight through New Jersey, to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and then to Arizona. We made our first stop, 36 hours later on Friday, at the Grand Canyon. We set up our campsite and began to explore. While we were there we went horseback riding, watched an IMAX movie about the Canyon, sat around the campfire, stood 2 feet away from huge elk, and obviously walked along the Canyon to see the beautiful view. Pictures cannot even display the beauty of what we saw there, it was amazing. On Sunday morning we left for California! It took us about 9 hours to arrive at the campground we were staying at located right in the middle of LA and San Diego. Much to our surprise, when we arrived at the campground we found it to be no more than a parking lot. Literally, we paid to set up our tent on the pavement with the highway as our view and a power plant next door. After seeing that, we looked at the beautiful beach and then headed out to find a hotel in San Diego for the evening. A very generous employee at the hotel we went to gave us a Jacuzzi suite with a 52” television and surround sound.. for the same price we paid to go camping! We decided to stay in San Diego for the next four days. During that time we explored the beautiful city, spent a day at Sea World, went on a dinner cruise in the harbor, visited San Diego University, and of course I found the Gold’s Gym! The weather there was beautiful 75-80 degrees, and that’s how it is all year around. Unfortunately, on Thursday, it was time to start our journey back to Connecticut. On our way back, something went wrong with the car. Not to mention we were in the desert- 115 degrees! We stopped at a small mechanic in a little town and everything was okay. Then we headed to Vegas! Las Vegas was amazing and exceeded my expectations. I was in awe looking at all of the buildings, people, and lights. We went to a Tournament of Knights dinner show that was so entertaining. Then, before we left we wondered around the city for a couple of hours. I wish we could have stayed longer. The rest of a trip seemed as if it took forever. At about 4am in the middle of nowhere in Utah, we almost ran out of gas. There were no gas stations for 150 miles and we were gliding in neutral going 20mph on the highway with no cell phone service…for two hours! Fortunately we did make it to a gas station in time! We went through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. We stopped in Ohio for a couple of hours to visit Aaron’s grandparents and then we hit Pennsylvania, New York, and finally Connecticut. Arriving home at about 1:00am on Sunday, just in time to begin classes in Massachusetts on Monday!! We traveled across the country in ten days and we definitely made the most of our time! It was an experience of a lifetime and I’m happy to share it with all of you!

Update on my Summer :)

Hello again :) My summer after Miss CT has been wonderful so far, despite the rain! I am actually at work right now at my college where I am the secretary for the Dean of Students. I have been spending a lot of my time in Vermont this summer with my boyfriend, Aaron (Mr. Litchfield County.. hehe) and his family. It is so beautiful there enjoying the outdoors. We have been kayaking, hiking, strawberry picking, and even offroading! His mother teaches Zumba classes in Rutland, VT, which is an exercise dance class that I love! We also surprised his parents with a new puppy... Her name is Ava and I love to spend time with her.. She is just too cute! This past week I traveled to Tybee, Island Georgia with family as well. I was able to meet little cousins Madelyn and Julia and the rest of his extended family as well. We spent time at the beach, went on a dinner cruise, and learned a lot about the history of Savannah, Georgia. Aaron and I also plan on driving across the county to California to go camping before the summer ends. We want to visit the Grand Canyon and make a few stops along the way. I'll keep you updated if we follow through with the plan! :)

I have also been spending a lot of time with my family when I am actually home! My mom and I went to the Miss Masschusetts pageant in Worcester, MA. It was really exciting to be able to see how another state organized their show. All of the contestants did a wonderful job. I was even able to visit with Sharalynn and Luis, Stanley, and John Snow for a while. Sharalynn was the perfect representative for Connecticut.. she looked great!

Recently my family and I took a day trip to Kent Falls. We had a picnic, hiked about the mountain, and swam in the waterfall. In three weeks we are headed to Wildwood, NJ for a few day vacation.
Last friday I met with my Litchfield County family in Watertown. We all took a trip to go see Maggie's play, Aladdin where she played the part of the Genie. Maggie was so great!!! We were all so proud of her, and of course she had the biggest cheering section!
As you can see my summer has been very exciting! I look forward to many appearances coming up.. including the many fairs in Litchfield County and other events.

Miss Connecticut!

Hello everybody...there is definitely a lot to talk about! My experience at Miss Connecticut this year was incredible. Kirsten and I had our send off party the week before we left for New London. The church hall in Watertown was filled with our friends and family who all came out to support us. We modeled our wardrobe, performed our talents, and visited with our guests. The following weekend we depearted for New London as a limo pulled up to my house. Kirsten and I felt like royalty driving to Miss CT with Phyllis :).. From the time of arrival until the day of competition, our week was filled of preparation and events. We rehersed the opening number with Billy each day (which was always exciting!) and learned our walking patterns for the stage. There was a lot of time to really get to know everybody. I got to spend time with those who I have known from the past and I had the opportunity to meet and get to know others that I didn't know as well. The competiton was really enjoyable for me.. I truly had a great time on stage. I was able to sing the Carrie Underwood song that the lovely Patty May helped me to prepare, I wore the gown that Meghan from the Wedding Embasy worked so hard to create and make perfect, and I walked confidently into my interview with the yellow suit my mom and I picked out in NYC. I was so excited to find out that Kirsten and I both made the top 10 finalists on Saturday night :). I was very excited to see the 5 finalists and watch Sharalynn and Acacia get crowned as well. I was very proud of the both of them and both recipiants were well deserved of the title. The week couldn't have went on without the hostesses, production team, food-prep crew, and all of the volunteers. The Borad of Directors did couldn's have done a better job putting everything together and creating such an amazing experience for all of us girls. With the hard work of everybody, the show came out great. Thank you. The Litchfield County team had the most spirit yet again :) The moms/families, Phyllis, Ron, Ashley, Frank, Tara, Maggie, Brianna, and everybody always keep a smile on my face. You have all become my best friends. (AND CONGRATULATIONS TO ASHLEY AND FRANK!!) Thank you for the beautiful signs and decorated hats (haha). Love you all. I am so proud to say I am Miss Litchfield County!

Memorial Day

Our Memorial Day consisted of a entire weekend full of fun! First and foremost, I would like to thank Ashley and Countyline Nissan for letting me use a 2010 yellow Spider to drive in for the parades. I was sure to make a stop at Nissan on Friday to give a sincere thank you! Sunday was the Woodbury parade that took off at 2pm. I was able to meet many Girl Scouts, karate kids, Veterans, and many in the community. Tara, Brianna, Maggie, and Kirsten all looked beautiful in their festive dresses. And Frank did a great job of driving my car… I didn’t even fall off once J. There was a ceremony after the parade that we were sure to stay and listen to. It really made me think of how lucky we are to live in our country and have the freedoms that we have today. It made me think of my good friend Matt Lavoie who was recently driving a vehicle that was hit by a road side bomb and he is undergoing many surgeries to recover.
On Monday we began with the Torrington parade. I absolutely love the town of Torrington and there was so many people out to watch the parade on this beautiful day. I was able to see the mayor, Ryan Bingham, that I have known for quite some time now.. along with the Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. The ceremony after this parade was also very nice.
Afterwards, we headed to the Harwinton parade to conclude the weekend. Before the parade took off, we had a picnic with the whole Litchfield County Crew- all friends and family. There was a grill for burgers and hot dogs and everybody brought a side dish. We had a blast, as always, socializing and enjoying each other and the beautiful weather. The town of Harwinton was also very pleasant and it was great to meet more people from the Litchfield County Community. One woman had even told me that she heard me on the radio this past week.. That was very exciting!
Thank you to everybody for the weekend.. We have some wonderful memories.. Happy Memorial Day!

Interviews- WZBG & Cable 5

On May 19th, I had a radio interview at 97.3 WZBG with Dale Jones. I talked about myself, my issue of concern, the Miss Connecticut Program, and how I feel so lucky to be a part of Litchfield County. Thank you to everybody at WZBG, it was a wonderful experience and a perfect way to be acquainted with the community.

On May 21st, myself along with the rest of my lovely court had an interview with Carol Moore on cable channel 5. We all were able to talk about ourselves, our issues of concern, and what the Miss America Scholarship Program is really about. I was also able to play a song that I wrote on my guitar. On Friday, we all gathered at Phyllis’s house to watch ourselves on TV! Everybody did such a wonderful job and it was a perfect way for people of Litchfield County to get to know us. Thank you Carol and Channel 5.

Quick Update.. End of School :)

Hello everybody...just a quick update on my life..
I finished my sophomore year at Western New England College, which is very exciting! Time is just going by so fast… Both semesters this year I received at 4.0 GPA, which is really an accomplishment considering all of the time and effort that I put into my studies. My cumulative GPA is now a 3.9.. so I am on my way to reaching my goal of graduating with the honor of Summa Cum Laude. At the end of this semester I also entered some of my work into a Media Festival. There were many on the judging panel that included Deans, Professors, News Directors, and TV Broadcasters and Journalists. I was thrilled to receive 1st place for News Reporting out of several entries in the contest. I also received 3rd place on a music video that I filmed and edited. At the end of the school year I was also asked by my public speaking professor to speak at a local high school on the dangers of using cell phones which driving. As Vice President of the WNEC dance team, at the end of the year I was proud to be involved with putting together our annual show. This year our show was to benefit the Lung Association in memory of Coach Pearson that passed away recently at my school.
This summer I plan to focus on competing in Miss Connecticut at the end of June, which I am very excited for. I am spending much of my time at the gym and I am also beginning to work. I plan on continuing my summer job as a paraprofessional for the Special Education summer school program in Bristol, and I also waitress at a diner. I am going to be volunteering at LARC (Litchfield County Association for Retarded Citizens) and I am also going to be teaching disability awareness lessons in Elementary schools around Litchfield County. I am looking forward to having beautiful sunshine.

Presenting the Single Ladies! CT Talent Jamboree

One of the things that makes this year so special for our Litchfield County group is that everybody is like family.
For the past couple of months.. Phyllis, Ashley and all of the Queen Moms (Tara’s mom: Colleen; Maggie’s mom: Dawn; Kirsten’s mom: Shelly; Brianna’s mom: Liz; and my mom: Bonnie) have all gathered every Friday night to prepare for the Miss CT Talent Jamboree. Colleen choreographed a dance to Single Ladies and they all took turns having the rehearsals at each others’ houses. I was lucky to sit in on a few when I was home from school… I have to say they spent the majority of the time socializing, laughing, and eating- but when they were productive, they were really great!!
The day of the show was very exciting. The Single Ladies, who called themselves the “LC Should-Have- Beens,” were in their attire and ready to perform after their months of hard work. Kirsten and I, on the other hand, practiced our duet together that morning for the first time because we were unable to meet before. However, I have to say it came together very well! Tara performed her Irish dance and Brianna did a lyrical solo… both were wonderful as always. The Single Ladies stole the show. The audience held up signs and gave the loudest applause. We were so proud J.
We celebrated afterwards at El Sombreros for dinner, where the Single Ladies presented and encore of their dance for the restaurant. I am so thankful for being surrounded by such amazing people that make me smile and show so much support. Congratulations on a great job!