Mrs. Pacific Northwest

Please visit my new blog!

2011-03-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

I won!! I am now Mrs. Washington 2011!! I am starting a new blog and will be working to update it soon here is the new link:
Mrs. Washington 2011

Mrs. Washington Pageant Practice 3/6

2011-03-06T20:18:00.000-08:00

Today was our last practice before we all head to Moses Lake this Saturday for the pageant! Carla Richards Mrs. Washington 2010 graciously organized and led it for us. The Lakewood YMCA donated the practice room that was perfect to use, lots of room and mirrors to watch what we were doing. We worked on our opening number and our bathing suit walk. The music is so awesome this year it is going to be a fabulous program.

My Son Cameron and his girlfriend Klesey came to help out. Cameron was in charge of doing our voice recordings for the evening gown portion. He is so talented with audio video equipment I knew I could rely on his expertise. He got a little hungry after working so hard so he left to get a snack... well he shows back up with a box of doughnuts!! Seriously he brings a box of doughnuts to a pageant practice!! We had fun taking some pictures with his doughnuts. Mrs. Washington 2010 does not have to worry about being on stage in a bathing suit so she enjoyed a doughnut for us!!

BLE Carnival

2011-03-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my son and I were back at Black Lake Elementary volunteering for the annual carnival. This event is something the kids and families look forward to every year. It is a very big source of revenue sponsored by our PTA. The great thing about BLE is we always have lots of volunteers who are willing to help and give their time.

Tickets were sold to everyone and then they used the tickets for playing games, food or other fun activities. When they wone games they would get a different ticket back. These tickets could then be turned in for prizes. Jordan and I manned the Nemo Bean Bag toss game. This was harder than it looked but we gave them lots of chances and let them move closer so they had a better chance getting the bags through the holes. We were so busy we didn't have time to take any photos!

BLE Spaghetti Feed for World Vision & Food Bank

2011-03-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

The annual Black Lake Elementary Spaghetti Feed is a tradition for the 6th graders. They were going to use the money raised this year for their space camp that is coming up in a few weeks, however due to our fabulous Christmas wreath sale we already had enough funds. Therefore, they decide to focus on helping others. Students were totally in charge of this event! They cooked, provided entertainment, bussed the tables, were the servers, hostess/hosts, clean up crew, etc. Very few parents were needed to help but a few of us were there doing our part. I was so impressed with how well everything went. These 6th graders were so responsible and took this seriously. My son Jordan was a server, he wore a suit but by the end of the evening he shed the tie and jacket! I was a server in the kitchen, I helped oversee the spaghetti scoopers! I had to get my gloved hand in there and scoop some spaghetti & pass plates but really these kids kept things moving so well, it was easy.

The monetary donations were about $500!! Plus lots of food for our local food bank. The money raised will go directly toward helping Pakistan through World Vision, six months after devastating floods, the needs are still great.

Peter G. Schmidt Elementary with Music Teacher Mrs. Williams

2011-03-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

What a funtastic day I had at Peter G. Elementary! This is the last school I will be visiting for Music In Our Schools Month. I met Mrs. Williams and her 6th grade classes when they performed at the Tumwater Youth Program hosted Tree Lighting event. I was the MC for the event inside the fire station where several choirs performed. It was a great opportunity for our community to see music education in action. It also gave me a great opportunity to share with them the importance of music education and how they can be advocates for it.

Mrs. Williams is one of those teachers that everybody loves!! She is full of life and energy. The music she picks for the kids to sing is fun and lively. She also teaches them movements as well so when they perform it is very fun to watch. The 6th graders performed Don't Stop Believin while we waited for the parade to start. Yes that's right a crazy hat parade! Today the entire school and staff were celebrating Dr. Suess's Birthday by wearing silly hats. The entire school participates in a parade that winds through all the class rooms. I wore my crazy hat...my tiara and joined in on the fun. This school knows how to have a good time!!

I started out the day with Mrs. Peirce's 2nd grade class. After sharing my message about the importance of music education the students performed a few of their Cinco De Mayo songs they are practicing for an upcoming performance.

Miss Clayton's 5th grade class and Mrs. Center's 3rd grade class spent the whole time talking with me about Music Education and lots of questions about the pageant.

Mr. Colgan's 4th grade class played their recorders for me. 3 songs that they will be playing for their parents at an upcoming concert. They sounded amazing and I could tell they had been practicing!

The last class of the day Mrs. Knutzen's 1st grade were wiggly and a very active group, after all it was the end of crazy hat day who wouldn't be wiggly!! After we talked about Music Education they sang a few farm songs for their upcoming "Moosical"

I had so much fun at Peter G. It's the only school that had a parade while I was there!! Mrs. Williams is a wonderful and talented teacher and I am grateful for people like her who inspire our children to be creative and express themselves.

Lacey Elementary School Mrs. Kelley

2011-03-01T17:25:00.000-08:00

What a great way to start of March with Music In Our Schools Month by visiting Lacey Elementary. Mrs. Kelley is the fabulous music teacher at this school, and I got to spend the day with her. Her classroom is full of all kinds of instruments and fun information. You can't help but feel the music in the air in this classroom! Mrs. Kelley is very talented and can play many different instruments to accompany her students. She also directs a 4th, 5th and 6th grade choir early in the morning. The choir came in during the 1st grade class to sing a few songs. They were awesome!

I was given the chance to share with each class the importance of music education, what opportunities there are available to them and what types of jobs they could have someday in music. Each class had lots of input and great questions. I was asked lots of questions about the upcoming pageant as well.

One class got me to sing for them, I did the Birthday song by the Beattles. In another class I participated in a folk dance and a rythm clapping song, was that ever challenging. I even played a few other music games with the adpative learning class. It was another fun filled day in Music class!!

These are the classes I visited with today:

5th Grade Miss Penrose
4th Grade Mr. Tuttle
3rd Grade Mrs. Martins
Adapted Learning Mrs. Folks
1st Grade Mrs. Tamanaha
2nd Grade Mrs. Deming

March is Music In Our Schools Month!

2011-03-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

March is Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM)...

and Music In Our Schools Month means advocacy!

Music programs nationwide are in danger. State and local legislators are attempting to make up for funding shortfalls in this difficult economy by cutting education budgets, and music programs are often the first to be considered. Advocacy takes place on many fronts, and advocates for music education need to learn to speak to different audiences, each of whom has a key contribution to make. Now’s the time to get involved and do your part to ensure that America’s students have access to a comprehensive, sequential music education taught by exemplary music educators!

March has been officially designated by MENC: The National Association for Music Education for the observance of Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM®), the time of year when music education becomes the focus of schools across the nation. MIOSM began as a single statewide celebration in 1973, and has grown over the decades to encompass a day, then a week, and then in 1985 to become a month long celebration of school music. The purpose of MIOSM is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children – and to remind citizens that school is where all children should have access to music. MIOSM is an opportunity for music teachers to bring their music programs to the attention of the school and the community and to display the benefits school music brings to students of all ages.

The celebration continues to grow each year, reaching more and more students, teachers, musicians, and music supporters. Schools and communities throughout the country and overseas celebrate MIOSM with concerts and other activities based on the year's theme. Classrooms, concert halls, civic buildings, clubs, parks, libraries, and shopping malls are just some of the arenas in which the public can observe the processes and results of music education.

MENC, representing more than 75,000 active, retired, and pre-service music teachers and 60,000 honor students and supporters, is the sponsor of MIOSM. In addition to announcing the theme for the year, the organization is responsible for communicating ideas to support state and local MIOSM celebrations, providing awareness items such as T-shirts, posters, and buttons, and coordinating programs such as the World's Largest Concert.

MENC's 52 federated state organizations (representing each state, the District of Columbia, and Europe) play an active role in the observance, securing governors' proclamations, enlisting the support of chief state school officers, and establishing organizational structures to help reach individual music educators. MIOSM chairpersons with each state organization provide the major thrust for the MIOSM celebrations, with the goal of involving students, administrators, parents, civic groups, and community members. Other national arts and education organizations also lend their endorsements and support to the programs through publications and events.

MIOSM and the events surrounding it are the ideal opportunities for increasing awareness of the benefits of high quality music education programs in our nation's schools. MENC hopes that teachers, students, and music supporters alike will find ways to join in on the celebration through creative activities and advocacy. Learn more about how MENC works to support music education, and visit MusicFriends to join other advocates working to insure that music is part of a well-rounded education for all children.

For more information visit MENC

Olympic View Elementary Mrs. Hancock's Music Classes 2/22

2011-02-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

What a fun day I had with Mrs. Hancock at Olympic View Elementary. I was able to share with each of the classes the importance of music education and the opportunities that are available to them throughout school and as a future career. Each class had great questions and input in our music discussion.

Mrs. Hancock's room is full of instruments that each class has the opportunity to play during their time in music class. She also puts together fun programs that the students perform during assembly's and for parents. These types of programs are done as something above and beyond what is required of a music teacher. Show your appreciation for your music teacher by supporting the arts programs when you vote and let them know how much you care about what they do!

Here is what the classes did on Tuesday:
Mrs. Saecho's 3rd grade sang and danced The Cotton Eyed Joe and practiced other country songs.

Mrs. Vaurnice's 1st grade class were singing song's from all over the world including Africa, China & Japan

Miss Brown's 6th grade class played the Xylaphones

Mr. Jone's 4th grade class played the recorders and sang Native American Songs

Ms. Kendig's Kindergarten class learned about smooth and sharp music sounds

Mrs. Dahlen's 5th grade class played the Xylaphones

Mrs. Knapp's 3rd grade class sang Country songs and practiced their Shu Fly Song for the assembly

Mrs. Washington Pageant Pratice 2/18-19

2011-02-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

We are down to our 3 week count down till the new Mrs. Washington will be crowned! This past weekend we had 2 practices for our opening number and our bathing suit walk. So for anyone who has never done a pageant before, you may not know how much work really goes into it all but not only does it require hard work, sacrifice and confidence you've got to be able to dance and walk around on stage in high heels!
It really is a lot of fun. The ladies this year are fabulous. What a nice group. It's small with only 8 of us competing but it sure makes it easy to get things done. Our director Pam Curnel made up a sassy routine to perform and it only took us a few run throughs to get it all down. I am getting so excited for the big event!

2011 MENC-NW Conference

2011-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Thursday I attended the advocacy workshop at the MENC NW Conference. Mrs. Washington Carla Richards and Mrs. Thurston County Dionne Tartar also attended. The workshop was hosted by an impressive panel of experts. Each spoke about the importance of how we need to advocate for Music Education to be supported in our schools. With budget cuts continually affecting our children's education this is a serious threat. Music education provides an important part of education that must not be ignored. I have seen first hand what it does for children and what an impact these teachers have on their lives.

I learned so much about how to help our teachers, talk to school boards and rally support. There is so much we can all do it just takes educating yourself and stepping up to get involved. It was an honor to meet MENC president Scott C. Shuler who took the time to talk with us pageant ladies for quite awhile. He has a wealth of knowledge is very approachable and easy to talk to. He will be visiting schools with our current Mrs. America in West Virginia during the Mrs. America festivities.

South Bay School Mrs. Gerard's Music Classes 2/10

2011-02-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

South Bay Elementary is my old school, it was so much fun to get to hang out there all day yesterday! Mrs. Gerard is such a fun teacher, I wish she could have been my teacher oh so many years ago! The school layout is the same but it has been totally remodeled! This is another one of those schools that has great teachers with great commraderie and enthusiasm to educate our kids. I was so impressed with these teachers. Teaching is a challenging job and truly they are partners in parenting to our children. I have the utmost admiration and respect for what they do, especially when they go above and beyond.

I spent the day in music class with seven different classes that rotated in. Some of the kids I had met last year and wow how they have grown! We talked about the importance of music education in their lives and how it makes their brains function better. We also dicussed all the opportunities with band, orchestra & chorus as they continue on through school. We brainstormed on jobs that had to do with music and how music is used in advertising and entertainment. These kids are smart and had very thoughtful questions and insightful answers.

A fun part of the day was letting the kids try on my tiara! Even the boys had fun trying it on. I challenged one class to ask a question to the next person to try it on, had them answer and expand on their answers as if they were doing an onstage question at the pageant. Another class worked on the special wave used in parades. We had fun discussing what to do if you don't win and how to challenge yourself to achieve more and "Unlock Your Potential". These kids are full of life and energy, they are all thinking ahead to the possibilities that lie before them!

The classes I visited with today were:
Mr. Mcintosh's 6th Grade
Mrs. Laverty's 4th Grade
Mrs. Seldomridge's 5th Grade
Mrs. Jenson's 3rd Grade
Miss Weldon's 2nd Grade
Mrs. Blair's 1st Grade
Mrs. Miller's 2nd Grade

Seven Oaks Elementary 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th grade classes

2011-02-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

I spent Tuesday at Seven Oaks Elementary with music teacher Mrs. Hathaway. She is an amazing teacher that brings so much fun and energy to her music classes. The kids just love her and she loves them, it's evident in the time and effort she puts into teaching them. I was able to get to talk with the classes about the importance of music education and the opportunities that are available to them throughout their school years. We also discussed what kind of jobs they could have some day that were involved with music.
Mrs. Thompsons 6th grade class was working with the Marimbas. I got to join in and played the big bass Marimba.

Mr. Boginskis 3rd grade class was full of questions and we had great discussions about music education.

Mrs. Andersons Kindergarten Class was in the gym working on motor skills while listening to music. Coins were tossed out on the gym floor and they had to use their hands and feet to slide them over to their spot. The goal was to get 20 coins. I got to help them with their counting skills once thy collected all their coins. They were so cute!

I got to watch a play performed by a speical reading group that Mrs. Hathaway leads during an empty class spot. What fun they get to have while learning. Mrs. Hathaway had an oscar winning performance as wags the dog!

Mr. Koch's 4th grade class was very talkative too with lots of questions and interesting ideas.

In Mrs. Giebelhaus's 2nd grade class we did a music education talk to start out class but they also got to practice their songs for an upcoming performance in which they represent the dogs!

In Mrs. Edwards class we also talked about music education, then they got right to work on their songs for the same performance as the 2nd graders, but this group will be the monkeys!!

Lastly Mr. Kerry's 5th grade class finished off the day. We spent the whole time discussing music education and then they got a few questions answered about what I do in the Mrs. Washington Pageant.

I of course was exhausted at the end of the day! Teachers are amazing and super heroes in my book! I will be visiting Southbay School later this week my alma matter!!

Kelly Unlocking her Potential...

2011-02-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

While in California for my tradeshow I had to manage getting my workouts in. The hotel we stayed at had access to the Bally's Gym. Which was great except on the weekends it didn't open up early enough. I asked at the front counter where the stairs were thinking I could go up and down the stairwell to get some cardio in. They pointed to the stairs between the escalators & I thought seriously that's not very big and it's inside the building where everyone is passing by. They said there was another lady going up and down the stairs for the last hour!! I walked over to take a look and there was Kelly running up and down those stairs. I asked her if this was all there was and she said Yes, we had a laugh about it. I went to look around for more stairs and thankfully found this indoor mall that I could walk around and go up and down a larger stair case. I thought about going back to tell Kelly but it looked like she was almost done.
The next morning the gym was still closed. I started my walk around the indoor mall and out comes Kelly! We spent the next hour sweating and talking together. She was working at the trade show too! We talked about our families, jobs, excercise, & nutrition. I learned that Kelly had lost an amazing 110 pounds! She did it all on her own no surgery or medications. Her journey is amazing. She works out so hard doing weights and cardio everyday. She's even run a few marathons!! She totally changed her eating habits and now eats healthy clean, whole grain, unprocessed, no preservative organic type of foods. She feels and looks fabulous. She is living proof of how unlocking your potential can change your whole life. It was an honor to get to know her.

Ms. America 2011 Pageant

2011-02-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

While in California for my trade show I was able to attend the Ms. America Pageant. My friend and pageant sister Laura Hunter was competing for the title this year. It was a great show with many amazing women. Laura made it in the top 12 and answered her onstage question perfectly!!
The winner has an amazing story, she was in a car accident and was in a wheelchair for 11 years! Now she walks with a cane. Laura said she was a wonderful person as well!

Simply Swank CHA Winter 2011

2011-02-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

This slideshow personalized with Smilebox

As part of the craft industry we belong to the Craft Hobby Association. The annual Winter trade show is the biggest event of the year. Store owners and buyers come from all over the world to shop for products to fill their stores. This was our 5th year as an exhibitor. We had a fabulous time meeting with our current customers and meeting many new ones. I taught soldering classes all day long in the booth while my business partner Melissa wrote up sales and answered questions.

There are so many businesses like ours that were started by creative women who had a vision to do more. Taking their passion to another level and sharing it with everyone. We are excited for the new opprotunities that were presented to us at the trade show. Right now all these future ventures are top secret but will be revealed as soon as we secure the plans!

Mrs. Washington Pageant Meeting 10/23

2011-01-17T21:25:00.001-08:00

We had another fun meeting to prepare for the upcoming pageant. Beth Kovacevich Mrs. Washington 1996 hosted the workshop in her beautiful home. Kristal Grimstead Mrs. Washington 2003 also was there to help out. We had a great time getting to know everyone better and hear their stories of why they are running for Mrs. Washington 2011. We have such a diverse group of amazing women who truly want to make a difference.

Seattle Wedding Show

2011-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Seattle Tamara Deporter and I helped out at the Seattle Wedding Show for our designer friend Irina. Irina is the owner of Ateile Coutoure. She creates amazing beautiful original works of art. She specializes in wedding gowns. She is an inspiring woman who works hard and treats everyone she meets with such love and care. It is truly important to her to bring out the best in people by creating clothing that will help them to feel beautiful and confident.

The show was bustling with blushing brides! It was fun to get to chat with them and listen to their excitement on their upcoming weddings. The fiances that attended were so sweet and you could tell so many of these couples were head over heels in Love! As Mrs. contestants it was fun to be an example of successful married women. Brides need to remember there is more to marriage than just the wedding!

Christmas Meals with Volunteer Center of Thurston, Mason & Lewis Counties

2011-01-03T08:49:00.001-08:00

December 23rd my son Jordan joined me in delivering meals to homebound seniors in Olympia. The meals were all prepared by volunteers and delivered by volunteers. We went to an apartment complex downtown that is managed by Chere. She helped us with a list and kept any of the meals that we could not deliver for the recipients to pick up later. The building has 6 floors so we had a few other volunteers help cover the building. All of our meal recipients were home for us to give them their meals. We met many wonderful people who were grateful for the delicious meals. One of our favorites was "Larry the Fox" as he is called. We spent quite awhile chatting with him. He has lead a very interesting life and is an amazing artist.
When we were done delivering the meals my son told me how great it made him feel to do something to help others. I am very proud of him for working with me without complaints! He is such a sweet caring boy. I hope he will continue to work as a volunteer throughout his life.

Leavenworth Washington

2010-12-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

Our family went to beautiful Leavenworth this past weekend for a snowy get away! It was so fun to be in this winter wonderland. We experienced the tree lighting, went tubing, took a snow hike and ate lots of yummy food. It was a very fun family weekend that was surprisingly very relaxing. We played games in our condo and even watched a few holiday shows. I didn't want to leave. I am so grateful for this beautiful state that we live in.

Mrs. Washington Meeting 12/09

2010-12-22T08:56:00.001-08:00

Our State Dirctor Pamela Curnel and her husband Dr. David Curnel met a few of the Mrs. Washington Contestants for lunch in Seattle. The beautiful Westin Hotel was decked out in festive decorations. We posed for a photo in front of this beautiful gingerbread house. Mrs. Seattle Tamara Deporter, Mrs. King County Derozette Banks, Pamela Curnel, Mrs. Snohomish County Jessica Riggs, me Mrs. Pacific Northwest Lisa Bluhm and Mrs. Emerald City Anna Hiatt.

Tumwater Tree Lighting Festival

2010-12-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

Make a free scrapbook

Tumwater Youth Program is a wonderful organization in my community that provides entertainment and support to the youth in our area. They rely heavily on volunteers and community involvement. I got involved as a volunteer when my oldest son started Junior High. I chaperoned the Junior High Dances. It was so much fun. You really get to know your kids and their friends when you can observe them hanging out in a social situation!!
I offered to help out with the tree lighting ceremony this year at the cookie decorating station but was asked to be the MC for the event instead! I am not one to shy away from a microphone so of course I said yes. It was so much fun! It gave me a chance to talk about my platform "Unlock Your Potential" and the importance of music education.
The choirs that performed were vibrant and joyous! Their teachers and directors did an awesome job training them. After visiting so many schools last year for MENC I learned about how much these teachers go above and beyond for their students. These teachers are passionate about music and in return they inspire their students to be passionate too. I am grateful for the wonderful music programs we have in the Tumwater School District.
At the end of the event we all went out in the pouring rain to light the tree. Our Tumwater Mayor Pete Kmet gave me the honor of flipping the switch, (after assuring me I wouldn't get electrocuted in the rain) after the count down I flipped the lever and there was a slight pause but then the lights went on whew!!
The antique fire truck could be heard coming down the street and Santa was riding on top. We finished off the evening with meeting Santa. It was a great community event and I am proud to live in the wonderful city of Tumwater!

Yelm Christmas Parade 12/4

2010-12-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

The Yelm Christmas Parade is an annual event that brings the community out to celebrate the Christmas Season. The parade ends in the Park with lots of booths with free food, photos with santa, and games for the kids. Mrs. Thurston County Dionne Tartar joined me in walking in the parade and handing out candy to the kids. We happened to be in line right behind a group of goats! They were adorable but we did have to watch where we stepped!!

Volunteer Center of Mason, Lewis & Thurston County

2010-11-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

Today I volunteered at the Volunteer Center to make phone calls to the elderly people in our community who will be receiving holiday meals on November 24th & December 23. So many of the people I talked to were so grateful to be receiving these meals and they look forward to having a visitor as many of them are alone without family.

Every year volunteers prepare, assemble, and deliver Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to homebound seniors in Mason and Thurston Counties. This meal provides both good nutrition and an opportunity for us to visit with local seniors who look forward to the one-on-one attention they receive during the holidays. It only takes a couple of hours, but it makes a big difference.

Last year, volunteers delivered over 450 meals at each holiday. This year, we're working to top that. I will be delivering meals on Nov. 24th in the Olympia area assisted by my sweet niece Rickie Sue. I look forward to being able to visit and brighten their day!

Coming to TV Soon!

2010-11-15T19:06:00.001-08:00

I just found out that I will be featured in an infomercial for a workout program called Chalean Extreme! I was videotaped exercising and being interviewed. My before and after photos will be shown as well, my before is not so pretty! When I took the before photo it was early in the morning I don't think I even combed my hair and I have no makeup on! I took the photo for my own reference never expecting it to be seen nationally!! But the good thing is I have an after photo! Before I started doing the pageants I had really gotten out of shape and gained weight. I have always struggled with my weight ever since I was a child. Gaining and loosing weight is not healthy for you. I really wanted to get off that diet rollercoaster. I started working out using weights and got back into running again. It took a lot of work and discipline but it certainly paid off.
Chalean extreme is an awesome weight training video it's like having a personal trainer. I highly recommend it and everything I say in the commercial is totally true! It is a complete program that you do over a 3 month period. There are several sets of videos so you never get bored. The music and instruction is great and it gives you options for higher or lower intensity. Chalean is a great motivator. One of my favorite tips from even as simple as it seems, is to get up in the morning and put your workout clothes on. That way your ready to go and you are less likely to get settled in and not do your work out!!
Don't ever give up on yourself, if you desire to loose weight and get in shape then why wait make it happen. Set a goal for youself a special date, an event or a competition. Something that helps inspire you to reach your goal. I never thought I'd walk on stage in a bathing suit and heels in front of people! When I did it was so rewarding knowing how hard I worked to achieve my goals. I wished I could go back in time and tell that chubby girl, overweight mom that I used to be that she would someday not be that way. I will always need to make an effort to stay in shape and not gain weight, but someday I hope it comes more naturally to me. I still really haven't quite reached my goal yet of loosing more body fat but I am on my way!
If you want to try Chalean Extreme or learn more about great exercise programs you can visit my coaches website here: Melissa Wood Beach Body Coach

MV T-Birds Championship Season Party 11/14

2010-11-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

My son Jordan's football team is just plain awesome! They have been undefeated for 3 years now and have also won the League Championships. I was the team co-ordinator along with another players mom Shelly Dillworth. My husband Allen did the photography for the team and each week I would send out a picture slideshow for the families to watch. It was a big hit and the boys loved to see the amazing action shots my husband got. He also had some fun with editing funny things into the pictures. I put together a photo memory book and a slideshow that we watched at the party. It turned out so great if I do say so myself! I have some amazing programs in my Mac computers that make me look like I am quite talented!! It did take many hours to complete but the boys, coaches & parents were thrilled. They each got a copy to take home.

Mrs. Washington Meeting 11/13

2010-11-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

Chung Himple Mrs. Washington 1999 was our host for the meeting today. We worked on interview and pageant walking. She was an amazing hostess and so helpful with her suggestions and insights. Chung was one of our judges from last year so she was the perfect person to help give us educated input!

Mrs. Oregon Pageant 11/7

2010-11-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

I attended the Mrs. Oregon Pageant with Dionne Tartar Mrs. Thurston County, Tamara Deporter Mrs. Seattle and her lovely daughter Megan. It was a great pageant. The women did an amazing job. They even had a small interview on stage talk about keeping cool under pressure! The winner was April Droesch. She will represent Oregon well.

Ben Franklin Holiday Open Houses 11/6

2010-11-15T18:48:00.000-08:00

What a crazy day! I drove so many miles. I was invited to the Holiday Open houses for Redmond Ben Franklin & Bonney Lake Ben Franklin. I spent a few hours at each store demonstrating the art of soldering. It is such a pleasure to get to talk one on one with people and inspire them to be creative. Many of these people will be making their holiday gifts this year which will save them a lot of money. A homemade gift is so thoughtful and is treasured for many years.

Mrs. Washington Pageant Meeting 10/23

2010-11-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

Our pageant season started off with our first meeting. I got to meet 2 new contestants and visit with old friends. We had a great time discussing pageant related things. Our director Pamela Curnel got us all up to speed with new information books and updated us on all the things that will be coming up.

Cindrella's Closet 10/17

2010-11-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite places to work is Cindrella's closet. It was my day to work in the shop. I met a new volunteer and had a great time getting to know her too. There were several donations brought in. We had ladies who are volunteering for the Seattle Art Museum gala come in and get dresses for that event. The shop has moved to a new location and it is bigger than ever! I can't wait to start doing workshops for girls at the shop soon!

Miss Washington USA pageant 10/9

2010-11-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

I attended the Miss pageant with former Mrs. Washington Beth Kovocavich. We had a great time going out to eat and having girl time, we were almost late for the pageant! But we made it and it was so fun to watch these amazing young ladies. The teens also competed too. So many intelligent and talented ladies who are making a difference in their communities.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk 10/9

2010-11-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

The making strides against Breast Cancer walk was an amazing event to help raise money for the fight against Breast Cancer. I attended with Mrs. Washington Carla Richards and Dionne Tartar Mrs. Thurston County. It was a short rainy walk but so beautiful through downtown tacoma. There were so many groups representing family members, friends, and survivors themselves. My Mother and Aunt are both Breast Cancer survivors. I personally am at double the risk for getting breast cancer myself. I am grateful for the technology and advances that have been made to battle this disease.

Olympia Fall Arts Walk

2010-11-15T18:27:00.000-08:00

Olympia is an artistic wonderland! Tons of beautiful artwork can be found in buildings, galleries and stores. There are many places to create as well. We also have a vast array of music that can sampled many different places. We wandered around the area listening to different bands. So much talent to twitness. My favorite ended up being a surprise to me. It was a band called British Invasion. They were a tribute band for the Beatles. Wow were they awesome. The guy who represented Paul McCartney was spot on! They were awesome. I didn't realize how many Beatles songs I liked. We had a great evening in Olympia!

Mrs. America Pageant September 6 & 7 2010

2010-11-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

I was fortunate enough to get to go to the Mrs. America pageant to cheer on my dear friend Mrs. Washington 2010 Carla Richards. I traveled with Mrs. Washington 2009 Elizabeth Larson. It was in Arizona and it was crazy Hot! The resort was fabulous and it was so much fun to be around all the royalty. The ladies each wore their state sash all the time, it was required. We'd see them running to and from practices with curlers in the hair and sometimes slippers on! These are real women. They were all so beautiful, talented & accomplished.
Carla Richards was amazing on stage. Her grace and elegance is definitely a gift! She shine up there and made Washington proud for sure. She accepted the Music Education award on behalf of our state on stage in her bathing suit! Her costume represented the Seahawks and was designed and made by our own Director Pam Curnel. I loved it!
At the end of the pageant Mrs. Connecticut Shelly Carbone was crowned the 2010 Mrs. America. She was just lovely on the inside and out. I sat behind her family during the finals night and it was so fun to watch their reactions. One of her boys was so excited his hands were clenched and he stood there just hanging on every word till she was announced. How sweet.

Blog catching up!!!

2010-11-15T18:11:00.000-08:00

As the saying goes time flies! Football season has been jam packed keeping our family busy! I've been busy being the team coordinator and it has been a blast! I love football.
I've also been making appearances and keeping up on my volunteer duties. The following posts will be a big catch up session. The actual post date wont match but I'll post the real dates with each post.

Olympia's Farmers Market

2010-09-04T14:00:00.001-07:00

After attending Harbor Days we had to go visit the Farmers Market. What a beautiful bustling place! The vegetables and fruits were amazing. We bought tomatoes, carrots, apples and black berries. All organic and so tasty. We enjoyed lunch at the market too. The market runs from April to December and is a wonderful gathering place for all of us locals!

Olympia Harbor Days

2010-09-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

Harbor Days is an annual festival where tugboats return to the southernmost tip of Puget Sound for three days of entertainment, food, art, history, and a last farewell to the summer. Vintage, working and retired tugboats are moored at Olympia's Percival Landing. Many of them are open for tour on Saturday of the festival. On Sunday the tugs leave shore to participate in the Annual Harbor Days Tugboat Races, out in the deep channel of the bay.
My mom, dad and son Jordan joined me down at Percivals Landing to see the tugboats and visit the many local artists booths. We got to tour the 100 year old tugboat that has been restored by the South Sound Maritime Heritage Association and is docked at the harbor. The South Sound Maritime Heritage Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and public awareness of the Southern Puget Sound's maritime history. There is a rich heritage to the sights, sounds, and events that have taken place along the banks and in the channel of Budd Bay and points north. From the early ferry boats that linked Olympia to Seattle, to the working waterfront that helped launch Washington State's economy, the South Sound left many stories to tell, and memories to protect

Thurston County Youth Football League Jamboree

2010-08-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

The kick off for our County League Football starts with our jamboree. All teams come throughout the day and play 15 minutes each offense and defense against different teams, two teams at a time on the field. It is a crazy day with tons of people coming and going. My husband is the official team photographer and I am the team coordinator. We volunteered to work the gate taking $1 donation entrance fees and marking people hands for re-entrance. We were so busy the time flew by!! It was so much fun, I saw many people I went to school with it was like a reunion!
Our T-Bird Major Varsity team did great. We can't wait for the games to begin. This is a team who has played together many years and have been undefeated for 3 of them and also have won the championship for 3 years in a row!

Send off Party For Mrs. Washington

2010-08-30T10:58:00.001-07:00

Saturday we got together to celebrate our new Mrs. Washington. She is off for a week to compete for the title of Mrs. America. She modeled her fabulous wardrobe and she looked amazing! We are so proud to have her represent our state. Many former Mrs. Washington's attended to wish her well.
Carla is an amazing woman she is truly a Queen! I will be going to cheer her on for the preliminary and final nights. I am so excited for her. Our state won the MENC appearance award! From a combined effort from all of us delegates they totaled all of our appearances that were MENC specific. I am proud to have helped contribute to our effort and I firmly believe in what MENC stands for. Carla will get to receive the award on stage for everyone to see. It is truly an honor.

Sand in the City 2010

2010-08-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

Sand in the City is and event to raise money for our local Hands on Children's Museum. Tons of sand that is stored and recycled every year is brought in and teams compete against each other to build the best sand sculpture. There are also tons of fun things for kids to do playing in the sand box, arts and crafts, games and much more. They also host a gala and parties in the evenings for adults. As a volunteer I helped greet visitors, handed out information and collected donations. It was a beautiful but chilly morning. My children grew up visiting the hands on children's museum and having birthday parties there. It is a great place to learn, create and have fun. So many volunteers give their time and talents to enrich our children.

Vacation Time!

2010-08-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

Create your own free digital slideshow

Our family headed off to Florida for a well deserved Vacation. We stayed at the Portofino resort at Universal Studios. We've been here several times but the new Harry Potter area was new to us!! Staying at the resort allows you to get in to the park an hour early and thank goodness we did! We had to wait in very short lines and got to see and do everything each morning before it got too hot. When we would leave the Harry Potter area there would be a huge line of people waiting to just get in there and then once those poor people got in they had to wait in long lines for each ride or exhibit. Even the stores to shop in had waiting lines! It was crazy! We love the Harry Potter books and movies and it was so much fun to be in Hogsmeade and Hogwarts and feel like you were really there.
Our favorite drinks were the Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice! Butterbeer tastes like gingersnaps and butterscotch. It is so yummy! The froth is made seperately and that is the part that tastes like butterscotch. It does not melt in the cup and once you drink it down you slurp up the froth. I can't imagine what chemicals are in there but wow it sure tastes good!
After we spent time at the park in the morning we would go back to the hotel and swim in the pool but even that did not cool us off, the water was too warm in the pool! We took showers at least twice a day because it was so humid!
We spent one night in Disney World at the Beautiful Swan Resort. We had some points racked up so it was a free stay. We are not Disney Fans....I know some consider that a sin but it's true. So we did not go to any of the Disney parks we just hung out at Downtown Disney, Disney Boardwalk and the pool!
We had a great time as a family with only a few scuffles between the boys. I hope they will have fond memories of our time there. I am sure they will go back someday with their kids!!

Cinderella's Closet Ballroom Blitz

2010-08-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Our fundraiser for Cinderella's Closet raised $1015!! It was a horribly Hot night in the Ballroom, but we still had a great time. My son's band Friday Farewell opened and they rocked the house! A little too loud for the older crowd but still entertaining. Our band The Replay finished out the night in the sweltering heat! Thank you so much to Mrs. Washington 2010 Carla Richards for coming and supporting the event.

Unleashing her potential Sandra H.

2010-08-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

I met Sandra at the CEF golf tournament. She was a cheerful volunteer helping to make things run smoothly. I found out she is a 20 year survivor of Hodgkins. She decided to celebrate her 20th year by doing a 20 in 20, meaning she is working towards being a part of 20 cancer related events this year. She just signed up to be a part of Team in Training which will run a 1/2 marathon in January. She has never done something like this before and is really not sure what she is in for but, she is forging ahead and working toward an amazing goal. She is able to bless other people with her experiences and understanding, and what a great way to celebrate by giving back to others.

Ironically(to me), she asked me what I mean when I talk about unleashing your potential, when what I heard from her was that that is exactly what she was doing! Sometimes unleashing your potential is not intentional or pre-thought out. Anytime you step out of your comfort zone and try something new you are unleashing the potential that was there already wether you knew you had it or not. You can grow from these experiences and often they will lead you down a new unexpected path. When trials or tragedies come into our lives it is difficult to see what good will come of it, especially when we are right in the midst of it. I know in my life there has always been good or growth that comes from those trials.

Congratulations to Sandra I am inspired by her and example and I wish her all the best!

CEF Golf Celebrity Classic

2010-07-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day at the Snoqualmie Ridge golf course! We had a great turn out and everyone had so much fun. It was so well run I didn't feel overworked at all!! Everything ran so smoothly. We set up signs and silent auction items, registered golfers, and helped out with whatever was needed. This event raised over $30,000 for Gliblastoma Brain Cancer research and support.
Mrs. Washington Carla Richards even played on one of the teams with actress Stephanie Zimbalist. Stephanie said Carla was an awesome golfer! There was a group of 20 men who came all the way from Minnesota. They came to support the cause and their friend in the group who just recently underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor. They were having so much fun and you could sense their support and love that they have for their friend. They all chipped in and donated another $7,500 to the fund. It is so touching to see people helping people.

CEF Golf Pairing Party

2010-07-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday night I helped the Chris Elliot Fund organization with their golf pairing party. I was invited by Tamara DePorter Mrs. Seattle. Names were drawn to pair up the golfers with their celebrity for their team. I got to meet several talented celebrities! Among them were Stephanie Zimbalist, Tom Parks & Nesby Glasgow. They were all very nice people who were glad to be able to help support the cause.

Pacific Northwest Mushroom Festival

2010-07-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

I spent Sunday Morning with Renata Hanson Founder of Cinderella's Closet at the Pacific Northwest Mushroom Festival. This is the 3rd year for this great community event. I helped Renata hand out information for the upcoming Ballroom Blitz Fundraiser and general information about the organization.
The Hawks Prairie Rotary is in charge of this event. The proceeds are donated to several organizations including Homeless Backpacks. There were lots of great demonstrations and mushroom's to be eaten! The guest chef presenting in our tent made this delicious creamy mushroom recipe with basil and garlic, it smelled and tasted so good! I was invited on stage to help hand out the samples to the audience.

Mt. Rainier

2010-07-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

We took a trip overnight to Paradise at Mt. Rainier with my in-laws LeRoy and Bertha. It was our Christmas present to them this year. We had a great time. The weather was perfect!! There was still so much snow left that we could not do all the trails we wanted to at the top. We managed to find some great trails closer to the bottom. One was off the beaten path, our favorite kind to find, it had a beautiful waterfall.
It was really great to have no telephones, internet, or TV available. We had a great time as a family playing a rousing game of ticket to ride that I totally mastered much to my sons dismay. It was so exciting at the end we were actually standing up to play!

Lakefair Grand Parade

2010-07-18T13:52:00.001-07:00

This free slideshow generated with Smilebox

Lakefair is a huge part of my community. I have grown up watching the parade and participating in it over the years. It was great to be able to be in it again with my family. Our newly restored Camaro made it fun for my boys to participate. Being in a parade is very time consuming. You have to wait around for hours before you ever get on the parade path! It was a beautiful day and we were so fortunate to have a nice shady spot to wait it out in! Having been in the Moses Lake parade for the past couple of years I knew what to expect. We brought chairs and a picnic dinner to tide us over. We also had time to walk around and meet many other parade participants too.

Our family came to watch us and cheer us on. I realized how great it is that being in the pageant allows for events that bring my family together but the sad part is usually I don't get to hang out with them. Maybe after I win (wink wink) I can get one of my sisters to run for the title!!

I was very impressed with the volunteers and the quality of the parade. Everyone was friendly and helpful. There were so many people there, it was packed. Chairs are set out days in advance just to secure a spot! They had several PA announcers along the route announcing to the crowd each of the parade participants. TCTV was there with their film crew filming it live! It was fun to get emails from friends saying they saw us on TV! We won first place in our division which was non-motorized other! They presented us with a trophy at the start of the parade. We were surprised, I assumed it was for our awesome car but since it was non-motorized it must have been for Mrs. Pacific Northwest!! My husband was teasing me and said now he has a trophy wife!!!

Scrapbook Expo Puyallup

2010-07-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went to the Scrapbook Expo at the Puyallup fairgrounds to demonstrate how to use the Simply Solder Art kit. I was invited by Judy owner of Scrapyard 329. Judy is a great example of someone who has "Unleashed their Potential" by using her passion to create beautiful things and applying it to a business that allows her to share that passion with others. Judy travels around the country setting up a store for the weekend along with other vendors. She sponsors classes and creates amazing samples to show people how to use the unique products she sells in her booth. We are honored to have her selling our products in her booth. Judy focuses on cutting edge products that keeps her customers excited and inspired to take their creativity to new levels.
Along with the Scrapyard 329 business Judy has another full time job when not traveling. She is a wife and the mother of two wonderful children. I enjoyed getting to know her better.

Seattle Brain Cancer Walk

2010-06-28T14:34:00.001-07:00

Saturday June 26th I joined Mrs. Seattle & Mrs. Washington in the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk. We were part of team CEF, our team came in 2nd place for most funds raised!! The entire walk raised over $400,000!! It was a big event with more people than ever this year.
Many of us walked in honor of someone who has brain cancer or has died from it. Their names were written on special signs and then we pinned them onto our shirts. My son Jordan came too and we were walking in honor of my Aunt Penny who is currently fighting brain cancer.
There were several patients their who had brain cancer and they joined in as well. We met a man named Randy who has brain cancer and was being pushed by his family in a wheel chair. Despite what he is going through he had a smile on his face and hope for a cure. We were honored to have our picture taken with him.
The tent of honor had letters and photos of people affected by this disease and it was very moving to read about their experience and their lives. All ages are affected by this serious disease.
Upcoming events for the CEF are a golf tournament, gala and auction. I will post more information about that as the dates and details are final.

CEF featured on New Day Northwest

2010-06-25T10:46:00.001-07:00

The Chirs Ellliot Fund (CEF) was featured on New Day Northwest yesterday. Mrs. Seattle's platform is based on CEF and curing Glioblastoma brain cancer. As a pageant sister I support as many charities and events as I can. Tamara DePorter has become a dear friend to me and I see her passion and dedication for this cause. I was able to help out last year with the charity and got to meet the founder Dellann who is an incredible woman. She has taken a tragedy in her life and used it to make a difference. She is truly and inspiration to everyone.
Actress Jean Smart is an amabassador for CEF. Her sister died of brain cancer this year and she is also passionate about bringing awareness and a cure. She is in town this week to help with the CEF walk on Saturday. New Day Northwest interviewed her and Dellann for Thursdays show. Mrs. Seattle, Mrs. Snohomish County and I Mrs. Pacific Northwest were the cheering section in the audience for them. It was fun to watch a live show and Margaret Larson is so gracious and nice to talk to.
This Saturday I am joining the CEF team to walk for a cure. Mrs. Washington contestants and families will all be out helping to raise money and awareness.

Mrs. Washington Pageant 4th Runner Up!

2010-06-25T10:41:00.001-07:00

My second try at the Mrs. Washington title and I made it in the court! 4th runner up! Last year I was 5th runner up, I am slowly making my way towards that crown! It was a fabulous experience and I plan to continue to run again this year. There is so much more I want to do and accomplish. Being a part of the pageant really helps me to stay focused and work hard for my goals. I plan on doing even more this year in the schools and implementing my mentoring program. I'll be posting more pictures of the pageant soon!

Guest Speaker at St. Martins University

2010-06-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was invited by Professor Don Conant who teaches business classes at St. Martins University, to speak to his masters business class about my own business Simply Swank. As the 2009 Business Woman of the Year I was honored to be able to share my expertise in the area of Entrepreneurship. I shared with class how I got started, the process I went through and what I have achieved to this day with my business. The class was very diversified with all types of students from different backgrounds and with different goals. They asked many great questions, and Professor Conant did a great wrap up highlighting how my business model worked for me and the difference between other types of businesses. I learned a few things too!

Moses Lake Food Bank

2010-06-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Mrs. Washington Pageant is about Making a Difference. This year we have been supporting the Moses Lake Food Bank. We held an online auction for gift baskets that did very well. My company Simply Swank donated a great Soldering basket. A big thanks goes out to Julie from Oklahoma who won the bid at $225! I custom made her 2 soldered necklaces as part of her win! I also taught a soldering class and donated part of the proceeds to the MENC and the rest went to the Moses lake food bank. The money earned was added on to the total amount raised for the auction for a total of $375!

Along with volunteering at the food bank we also have collected food to donate also. I collected 6 bags full of all sorts of great food. After working in the food bank sorting donations I got a good feel for what types of items they needed. They sure seem to get lots of cans of beans! It feels great to help out and be a part of the community in Moses Lake.

Cinderella's Closet 1 Year Anniversary

2010-06-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Renatta & Mary Ann for making so much progress in one year for their non-profit organization. We had a mini party and meeting to discuss the past and the future. It has come so far from 20 dresses to over 300! More plans are in the works for the coming year. It's more than dresses for dances it is building confidence and self esteem in women. As one of the Fairy Godmother's we get to mentor and build up these fabulous ladies.
We are planning a benefit concert for August 14th to help raise funds. My band Pre/Emptive Apology will provide the music and the Urban Onion will be providing the space. It is all still in the planning stages more details will come as we secure our plans.

Hanging out in Moses Lake

2010-05-31T19:43:00.001-07:00

While we were in Moses Lake we had some down time in which we decided to hang out in our hotel room watching Miss Congeniality! We had a good laugh and picked up some pageant tips on what not to do!

We ate breakfast at Sporty's a popular hang out. The hospitality and food was delightful. We also celebrated Mrs. Camano Counties Birthday!

Michael's Bistro is another favorite place to eat while we are in Moses Lake. They have a Red Velvet Cake that has my name on it.. I'll wait till after the pageant to eat that!

Mrs. Washington Memorial Day Parade

2010-05-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

The Grand Twilight Parade is a big event in Moses Lake. This year most of the contestants who attended walked the 4 mile route. It was so much fun. We handed out candy, free bowling coupons, bracelets and stuffed animals. The kids loved it! By walking the route we got to mingle with the crowd and burn off some extra calories!!

Mrs. Washington 70's Dance Performance

2010-05-31T19:26:00.000-07:00

Every year Moses Lake Spring Festival hosts an amazing lip sync contest. This is the second year the Mrs. Washington Contestants performed a dance routine while the judges tallied the scores. Our dance routine this year was to 70's music. Pam Curnel our director choregraphed the entire dance. It was a lot of fun and challenging... especially due to the fact the music was mixed up right in the middle of the routine!! We had to improvise for what seemed like hours but it was only a minute. Then our music was restored and we finished in a blaze of glory!

Moses Lake Food Bank

2010-05-31T19:04:00.001-07:00

Thursday May 27th a few of the Mrs. Washington contestants along with Pam Curnel our state director and her daughter Melissa, went to the Moses Lake food bank to volunteer. We bagged potatoes and onions and sorted boxes and boxes of food and household items. It was a lot of work! The volunteers who work here on a regular basis really work hard and care about meeting the needs of people.

Fashion Relief for Haiti

2010-05-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

To end my busy weekend Jessica Riggs Mrs. Snohomish County and I went to a fashion show fund raising event. It was called Fashion Relief. We received the VIP treatment. It was so much fun. The designer and models were amazing. The event organizer shared her story about her own family touched by the New Orleans flooding. She has many different causes that she works to support and is a very giving person.

Dance Recital Starring Mrs. Pierce County

2010-05-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

After the soldering class, Mrs. Seattle and I headed down to Tacoma to help hand out programs at the YMCA dance recital. We were invited by Carla Richards Mrs. Pierce County. Carla is an amazing dancer and is part of an adult dance group through the YMCA dance program. It was great to get to watch her and the other dancers perform. All I could think about was how can incorporate dance lessons into my busy schedule!!

Mrs. Olympia Irene Schade & Mrs. Washington Beth Larson were also there handing out programs at this performance.

Soldering Class for MENC & Moses Lake Food Bank

2010-05-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

May 22nd I taught a soldering Class at the Redmond Ben Franklin Store. The proceeds for the class fee's are being donated by my company to the MENC and Moses Lake Food Bank. We had a sold out class! My usual helpers could not come so I sent an SOS out to my pageant sisters. Tamara DePorter, Mrs.Seattle answered the call! She was amazing!! She helped me set up, helped the students and actually had time to solder something herself. Since it was standing room only, that's how she soldered, standing up!

The class was so much fun as they always are at this store. Kim and Ria two fabulous managers at the store actually came to take the class too. Most of the students were beginners and made necklaces but we had 4 advanced students including Kim and Ria who made soldered Tiaras. They turned out fabulous. I wish I would have thought to have made sashes for them to wear with them.

The rest of the students did an amazing job as well. They all were very handy with their soldering irons. I truly enjoy being able to teach and share my passion for creating art. I usually have time to talk and get to know all of them personally but since I had no soldering helpers I just quickly ran from table to table helping them with whatever they needed. We still got to chat and laugh as we always do.

Last Soccer Game for Poison!

2010-05-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

Coaching my sons soccer team "Poison" was time well spent! I got to know the boys and had a lot of fun. It was a tough season. We started so late and we only had one player for a sub. The boys all got a lot of play time! They learned new things and improved on their skills. Humility was one of the lessons learned as winning was not our specialty!
I am very proud of all the boys and thankful to Coach Tim and the parents as well.

Capital City Marathon, 1/2 Marathon & 5 Mile

2010-05-16T13:20:00.001-07:00

Today I volunteered for the Capital City Marathon, 1/2 Marathon and 5 mile race. I had the pleasure of running the marathon twice and now it was my turn to help out. I have to say I was completely jealous of all the runners. I have been dealing with a knee injury and it is slowly getting better but I am not sure if I will be able to compete in long distance events anymore. It is an amazing accomplishment for these runners. It was great to get to be right there at the finish line cheering them on and handing out their commemerative coaster. Yes, a coaster they thought they would try something new this year instead of medals....it didn't go over very well! Next year I think the medals will be back. It was kind of awkward to hand someone a coaster after running so far!! It isn't about the prize though it's the satisfaction of knowing you made it!

I had many friends who ran in the race. I am pretty sure some of these friends called me crazy when I trained and ran it! I am so glad to see they are choosing to exercise and challenge themselves. Irene Schade Mrs. Olympia ran the 1/2 marathon with her daughter. We posed for a photo together, she said I was looking prettier than her right then but I told her I would rather be sweaty and ran the race!!

Kids 4 Kids Haiti Fun Run

2010-05-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

This picture collage customized with Smilebox

My church New Bridge Community is awesome! They really strive to be a part of the community around us and participate in events that are important to the people. They hosted their first kids fun run today to raise money for orphaned kids in Haiti. The kids ran a marked out course in different age groups. It was a hot day but they all made it through. The younger kids had to have an adult accompany them, I got to run with my niece Tehya. She is a fast little gal! We had to do 6 laps and 3 laps into it she was ready to quit! I used all my positive talk to keep her going but it might of been the promise of ice cream at the finish line that really got her through!

Tomorrow is the Capital City Marathon, a big event in our area. We have runners doing the 5K, 1/2 marathon and full marathon. The service was dedicated to the runners tomorrow. I will be helping to hand out medals at the finish line. Due to a knee injury I do not get to participate in the run but hopefully next year! I Ran the Capital City Marathon 2 years in a row. It is an awesome experience.

Mrs. Washington Dance Practice

2010-05-12T10:00:00.001-07:00

Thank you to the Bellevue Four Square Church for providing a place for the Mrs. Washington 2010 contestants to practice. We had 10 contestants show up and practiced our 70's number and our opening number. It was a small room but we did pretty well with arms and legs flying everywhere! I have to admit I do love to dance so I really enjoy getting to practice and perform the routines.

Simply Swank at Craft Warehouse Meridian, Idaho

2010-05-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

While in Idaho I stopped by the Craft Warehouse a store that caries my Simply Swank product line. Craft Warehouse is an amazing group of stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. They are stocked full of fabulous things!! The bead department is huge in this store and the manager is so friendly. She has been in charge of this area for many years and really knows her stuff! Simply Swank products are a special feature this month at the store and the display samples were beautiful. I plan on going back sometime in the fall to do classes.

Real Soccer mom's don't just bring the snacks... they coach the team!

2010-05-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Make a picture slideshow

Being the mother of sons I get to support them with their sports teams. Not only do I love to cheer them on, and I might add Loudly, I like to get more involved. I know traditionally mom's will be the team coordinator or bring the snacks and I have done my share of those jobs as well but I like to do more than that when I can. I have been a volunteer football coach and this year a soccer coach. I played soccer for 6 years when I was younger and also a recreation team as an adult. I have made sure it is okay with my boys and the other male coaches before I have taken on the role of coach. I enjoy being able to help guide them and most of all encourage them in their efforts. I am not a softie I can be tougher than the guy coaches! I love that I get to be right in the action of it all on the sidelines. It also brings me closer to my boys and their friends.

Today my son Jordan scored a goal! It was very exciting. He held his position and was in the right spot at the right time. Our team has only enough players for one sub so they get pretty tired running the whole field. They are doing great and having fun.

Horizons Elementary 4th, 5th & 6th grade classes

2010-04-30T07:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I spent the morning with another group of students at Horizons Elementary. The music teacher Mrs. McElroy is new to this school and has been working very hard to decorate her room and get instruments in the classroom. She was able to acquire instruments from other teachers in the district and now has a set of recorders for the students to use in their rotations.

Mrs. Trotters 4th grade class were practicing on their recorders and taking tests when I arrived. The classroom was full of excitement and noise! They are doing recorder karate a fun program where as they test they get new colors or belts to advance to a black belt just like karate.

Mrs. Ambrose 5th grade class was so well behaved. We talked the entire class period! They were a very musical group with most of them being in band and orchestra. They told me all about their instruments and love of music. They had great ideas and answers to the questions I gave them about music.

Mrs. Kirkland's 6th grade glass was very inquisitive as well. They had lots to share and came up with some very interesting answers and questions. They even got me to sing for them!

It was another fun day at a great school with an amazing teacher who is working so hard for her students. We are blessed to have teachers who are doing such a great job for our kids!

Family Photos

2010-04-28T12:43:00.001-07:00

This slideshow made with Smilebox

We finally got some new family photos taken. The last portrait we had my youngest now 11 was sitting on my lap! Emily Timmer was the photographer. She has a great eye and a unique style. We had a lot of fun with her in downtown Olympia and then Tumwater Falls Park.

I am so proud of my beautiful family!

Mrs. Idaho America Pageant 2010

2010-04-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

Customize your own scrapbook

I traveled with Elizabeth Larson Mrs. Washington 2009 to Idaho for the Mrs. Idaho pageant. My dear friend Cherie and her husband Ross drove us around where we needed to go! Thank you both. I stayed an extra time to spend time with my friend. It was a fun and sunny weekend. Idaho is beautiful.

The Mrs. Idaho pageant was great. Outstanding women who did an amazing job. The winner was Heidi Parsons. I was able to get to know Mrs. Oregon 2010, she is a sweetheart and truly beautiful inside and out. We got the royal VIP treatment with front row seats and an introduction. The staff and director did an outstanding job.

Cinderella's Closet Fashion Show Arts Walk 2010

2010-04-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

A digital photo album by Smilebox

Arts Walk is a big deal in the Olympia area. It is a weekend full of art and activities. Cinderella's closet a new non profit organization that loans dresses to women and girls hosted their first arts walk fashion show. The ballroom was donated by
the Urban Onion. Founder Renata Hanson organized and directed the event and did a fabulous job! Music 6000 loaned a microphone and PA system to use for the night as well.

The girls wore dresses from the boutique and modeled them throughout the evening. I also wore a dress and shoes from the boutique as well. Mrs.Thurston County & Mrs. Ballard also came to help out. My son volunteered to be the MC and worked the music too. We handed out information and spoke about what the organization is for and how people can get involved. The girls did a wonderful job and were full of confidence and grace.

2010 Kid's Fair Moses Lake

2010-04-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

This photobook created with Smilebox

This was our second year to have the kid's fair at the Walmart in Moses Lake. It was so much fun. We had face painting, nail spa, golfing, digging for dino's, massages, and lot's of prizes. It was a beautiful sunny day.

The Mrs. Washington Pageant Contestants visited the Radio Station to have a voice recording to be played during the pageant. We also had a practice for our 70's dance routine and our opening number. The routines are booth very cool and will make a great show!

Talent Show

2010-04-15T17:40:00.002-07:00

Customize your own free scrapbook design

My son Cameron has been playing drums on his own for several months. He is very good at it like his dad. I encouraged him to get some kids together to form a band. He found out a friend of his, Kevin is pretty talented on guitar. They soon started practicing together. He invited his friend Amanda to sing since she sings in women's choir at THS. They added Gust in as another guitar and then lastly talked his friend Kelsey into singing backup!

Kevin had a talent show at church he signed them up for. They really only had two weeks notice to put their song together. They practice in our extra garage that is not attached to our house so we don't have to hear them! I bring the kids to our house after school, feed them and let them do their thing! They are fun to have around.

My husband and I have to be their roadies! The kids did the loading and unloading of all the instruments and sound system it is quite a job. My husband drove the trailer over and I helped cart the other band members over. During their sound check one of the pastors asked them to turn the sound down a bit! The crowd was very excited and impressed with the whole set up. when they started their song Amanda encouraged the crowd to come up and dance by the stage. They eagerly did!

The band was awesome they played and sang so well. They had great stage presence and were very professional. They are excited now to do more shows and learn more songs.

Olympic View Elementary Mrs. Hancock's Music Classes

2010-04-15T17:40:00.001-07:00

Create a scrapbooking design

What a great day I had visiting Olympic View Elementary. Mrs. Hancock is a wonderful music teacher. Her class is full of instruments and lively posters. She is very creative and is passionate about music and her students! I hung out with her in the class room for several classes but their was field trip today so some of the classes were gone. She arranged for us to go around the school and visit various classes that were not scheduled for music that day.

Mrs. Baydo-Reed's 6th grade class was the first class of the day. They were so quiet I do no think they were even awake yet! They livened up when they started playing the folk tale song off to the village.

Ms. Bircher's 4th grade class sang and performed some songs on their recorders.

Next we visited Mrs. Loyer's 1st grade, Ms. Brown's 6th grade, Ms. Rajcich's 4th grade & Mrs. Harris's 2nd grade classes.

After lunch we went back to the music room for the 6th grade girls Tinikling dance practice for the upcoming multi-cultural night performance. This is performed with long poles that are moved in a rhythmic motion. The dancers jump across and in between the poles while they are moving. It reminded me of double dutch jump rope moves. The girls made up their own
routines to perform.

Next we visited Mrs. Knapps 3rd grade and Mrs. William's 1st grade classes.

Lastly it was back to the music room for 3 more classes.

Mrs. Silverman's 1st grade class played sang and played some fun music games Lucy Locket and Elephants on a Spider Web!

Mrs. Kendig's Kindergarten class started out with the Macarena Months song. This is just like the Macarena dance put the lyrics are the months of the year. It was so cute! Then they played sound effects to words in a story "Bedtime at the Swamp". It was very fun.

Mrs. Storedahl's 3rd grade class ended the day by singing a Portuguese lullaby and performing an Irish dance that was very lively!

The students were very well behaved and had great questions for me. They even got me to sing a song for them! I was so tired at the end of the day. These teachers do amazing jobs!!

Lacey Elementary

2010-04-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

Make a scrapbook

I spent the day at Lacey Elementary with Music teacher Cheri Kelley. She is yet another amazing teacher. She is very passionate about music and relating to her students. Her classroom is full of life, fun and energy. I learned many new things about music education and how the school system works.

In Mr. Mile's 5th grade class they demonstrated their percussion circle and played some fun beats. In Mrs. Trinidad's 4th grade class I joined as they sang the Geoduck song that was such a fun song but a total tongue twister. In Mrs. Penrose's 6th grade class I sang Amazing Grace with a few of the students then we all sang the National Anthem. There was enough time that they demonstrated the Sword Dance an English Morris Dance that celebrated the awakening of the earth.
During recess I watched a few girls practice their talent show dance to Hoe Down Throw Down, those girls can move!
Miss Smith's 3rd grade class played the Farmers Dairy Key game. Mrs. Friend's 1st grade class sang and used the Rainbow Hoops, at the end of class they performed a round of the green grass grows song. Lastly, Mrs. Sampson's class worked on movement response and I joined in to play the Boom Whackers!

It was a busy day! The students were full of energy and had lots of great questions. We discussed music education and careers they can have in music and generally anything that had to do with music!

Poison Game 2

2010-04-11T20:55:00.000-07:00

This free digital slideshow created with Smilebox

This weekend my boys U11 soccer team that I help coach played their 2nd game. They lost 2 to 0 but they played a great game. There were not enough of our players at the game, since some of them went away for spring break so we had to borrow a few from the other team. Our team has not had very many practices because we got a late start and we only have one player to spare! The boys get a lot of play time in the games. I saw a big improvement in their team work and ball control. I was very proud of them! The weather was great and they had fun.

Bridal Boutique Fashion Show

2010-04-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

A slideshow by Smilebox

Bridal Boutique owner Omayra hosted a prom dress fashion show. Donations for Thurston County Food Bank were taken as admission. The models were all High School girls from around the area. They looked like super models. The dresses were fabulous!

Irene Schade Mrs. Olympia spoke on stage before the show and shared about why she was competing in the Mrs. Washington Pageant. She did an amazing job and offer great words of inspiration. She represented our pageant family well.

My son Cameron came too since his good friend Kelsey was one of the models. Her mom Tammy helped with hair, makeup and other odd jobs! Kelsey did a great job walking in 5" heels, I think she is ready to do pageants!!

Oregon International Pageant

2010-04-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

I finally got the chance to go watch a pageant live! Yes, it is true I have never seen one live, I've only been in one live!! The Miss Teen, Miss & Mrs. all competed on the same stage in their own categories of course. It was like 3 pageants in one. The director did an amazing job and it was fun to watch.

Mrs. Washington Elizabeth Larson, Mrs. Olympia Irene Schade, Mrs. Thurston County Dione Tartar and of course Mrs. Pacific Northwest (me) were all in attendance. We met several other pageant winters from various pageants as well.

Meeting with Governor Gregoire

2010-04-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning the Mrs. Washington contestants enjoyed breakfast with our State Director Pamela Curnel. Her husband Dr. David Curnel was in Seattle for a press conference with the Governor to announce a new industry coming to Mosses Lake. After the press conference we were able to go in and meet the Governor. She has supported the Mrs. Washington pageant for several years and is proud of the married women in Washington representing our state. In this picture: Jessica Riggs Mrs. Snohomish County, Me Lisa Bluhm Mrs. Pacific Northwest, Irene Schade Mrs. Olympia, Governor Gregoire, Pamela Curnel State Director, Tamara DePorter Mrs. Seattle, Mosses Lake Representative.

Happy Anniversary! 22 Years!!

2010-04-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Today is my 22nd anniversary to my awesome husband Allen. As you can guess I was married young at only 18 years old! I would love to say it has been all bliss but reality is there are good times and bad times, more good than bad though! It takes a strong commitment and a willingness to get along. When we took our vows oh so long ago we meant forever. I am very proud of our marriage and hope that our example will encourage others to also make their commitment forever too.

Horizons Elementary 4th & 5th grade classes

2010-04-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

April 1st I visited Horizons Elementary again. This time I spent time with Mrs. Olson's 4th grade class, Mrs. Boyd's 5th grade class and Mrs. Petre's 5th grade class. After our music discussion and question and answer time the students showed me what the new instruments they were learning to play. The glockenspiel, xylophone and bongos. They each took a turn and rotated through the instruments. At the end of class they listened to an African gospel group to open their ears to a new kind of music.

South Bay School Mrs. Gerard's Music Classes

2010-03-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

This free slideshow made with Smilebox

What a fun day I had at South Bay Elementary! I was able to hang out with 7 classes 1st through 6th grade! They were full of energy. They asked many interesting and thought provoking questions. We talked about music education, music careers and all the opportunities they have with music. Of course they asked about pageant stuff too! They were very interested in my band and what songs we play. We also discussed the music they like to listen to as well.

We played a few games but the real fun was trying on the crown! At first it was a dare for one of the boys but soon we found that most of the boys wanted to try it on! I even taught them a pageant pose! They were quite good! Almost everyone got a Music Just Imagine tattoo on their hand or arm but a few had to have them on their foreheads or other weird spots!!!

Ms. Gerard is a fun and passionate teacher. All the students love her and her music class. My big thanks to her and all that she does!

Cinderella's Attic Network

2010-03-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

This digital scrapbook made with Smilebox

This is a new Non-Profit Organization that has been started by Renata Hanson. She is an amazing woman with lots of energy and ideas. This has been her dream to provide this opportunity for girls and women. Having 2 daughters of her own she knows what it is like for a girl to go to a prom and get all dressed up. Her goal is to provide nurturing and esteem building experiences for girls and women by lending them everything they need to look and feel beautiful for any special event or dance.

As a volunteer I get to work the boutique. Helping to take donations, organize the dresses and accessories, help girls who come in to have a wonderful experience. This is very fun for me since I only have boys at home!

Tumwater Highschool Community & Electives Fair

2010-03-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Today Tumwater High School held its first Community and Electives Fair. The purpose was to expose students to elective opportunities and areas of community service. I helped staff the Chorus booth in my continuing effort to support Music Education. I got to talk with the students in choir already about their experiences. They all agreed their teacher Mrs. Osgood is an amazing teacher and she has made their experience even greater.

One senior I talked to told me that her music classes are what kept her coming to school. It has made her high school experience so much more meaningful and fun. She also shared that the choral classes are such a melting pot of students that it was a way for her to meet all different types of students that she might not ever get to know outside of chorus.

The students staffing the table were able to get lots of other students to sign up for the choir classes. Another senior helped other boys make the decision to join by explaining the guy/girl ratio 2 girls to one guy! That was an obvious selling point!

MENC article about ...Mrs. Pacific Northwest!

2010-03-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

I am honored to have been featured in a web story by the National Committee for Music Education. The Mrs. America organization supports the MENC. We were given an assignment to visit schools in an effort to promote music education. I was the music director for my local vacation bible school for 10 years. This was a big community event that hosted 1000 kids each summer. I have always loved music and working with the students. So the challenge to visit schools was an easy one for me and one I looked forward to.

I contacted many music teachers at schools in my area and got a great response. I shared my experience with the staff at MENC and they asked to do a story about it. Here is the link to the MENC Web Story

Seven Oaks Elementary 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th grade classes

2010-03-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today March 22 I spent the day back at Seven Oaks Elementary with Music teacher Ms. Hathaway. She is an amazing teacher. It was an exciting day and I learned many new things. Of course I came their to inspire the students but they also inspired me with their positive attitudes and abilities. I played the flute with Ms. Cryders 3rd graders and Ms. Henry's 3rd graders. Ms. Koch's class sang their Martin Luther King song for me, it was beautiful. I played the Recorder with Ms. Koch's class. It was a little more challenging than the flute, the students thought it was funny when I squeaked my notes!

During lunch I helped Ms. Hathaway work on some choreography for the 2nd grade classes upcoming music performance. We had fun making up the motions. After lunch Ms. Raymond's 1st graders came in. Wow they are a lively bunch. They sang several songs that will be sung in their upcoming spring musical. We then helped them learn their choreography to their skunk song. It was very funny.

Next Mrs. Roth's 2nd graders came in. After practicing their songs we worked them on the choreography for their milky way rap song. As we taught them the moves we had them help make up some new parts. They were quite talented. Their homework was to go home and makeup some free form moves! I can't wait to see what they come up with.

Lastly Mrs. Kerry's 6th graders came in. They are playing the Marimba's. Mrs. Hathaway taught me a small part on the Marimba last time I visited so of course she put me right in with the students to do my part. I had already forgotten how to do it but the students were eager to show me how. I thought I finally got it right and then they informed me I was playing the wrong part! They didn't make fun of me too bad!

Homeless Backpacks Benefit Concert

2010-03-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

March 20th the band Pre/Emptive Apology, that I sing in along with my husband who plays drums and other friends who sing and play guitars hosted a benefit concert for Homeless Backpacks. Thanks to generous donations we raised over $1200!! Homeless backpacks provides food for after school and weekends for homeless kids in Thurston County. It is a totally run by volunteers and is completely non-profit.

Mrs. Snohomish County Jessica Riggs, Mrs. Washington Beth Larsen, Mrs. Seattle Tamara Deporter & Mrs. Olympia Irene Schade came to help work the door for us. They greeted everyone with their beautiful smiles. They even got to dance a little too! The concert went very well! We are glad to use our talents to help others.

Boston Harbor Elementary 4th & 5th grade classes

2010-03-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

March 18th after spending the morning at Horizons elementary I headed over to Boston Harbor elementary. Mrs. Watson's 5th grade class, Mr. Barber's 4th/5th grade class and Mrs. Robinson's 4th grade class. After my little speech Mrs. Richart the music teacher had them sing several songs. One of the classes used the MENC music books for some classic songs like Clementine and Danny Boy. The students were excellent singers and full of enthusiasm. They even let me sing along with them!

Horizons Elementary 5th, 6th grades & Chorus

2010-03-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

March 18th I spent the morning at Horizons Elementary. I met with 4th Grade Mrs. McCuston's class, 6th grade Mrs. Regester's class, 6th gradeMrs. Cameron's class & the 5th & 6th grade chorus group. Mrs. McElroy is new to Horizons school. She has been busy assesing the students to see what they know. It was fun to take a break and have a guest for them this week. These classes had great questions for me they would make great pageant judges! Mrs. Cameron's class was very funny!
The 5th and 6th grade chorus sang a song they were working on for me. It was beautiful and the girls are very talented. They were working on their choreography and they had some great moves. They will be performing at an upcoming assembly for the school.

KGY 1240 Interview with Dick Pust

2010-03-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

This morning I was interviewed on the Radio for the Mrs. Washington Pageant. Dick Pust has been a local DJ for many years and happens to be a friend of my parents. He asked me lots of very good questions I think he would make a great judge for a Pageant. I brought my son Cameron and his friend Kelsey as they were out of school this morning. It was very comfortable chatting with him, it was easy to forget there are people out there listening. I have a tendency to talk fast because I have so much to say, but I did my best to slow it down!

This photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

Roosevelt Elementary 4th and 5th Grade Music class

2010-03-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Roosevelt Elementary and spent time with 3 different classes. The students were very fun and energetic. They sang and african song that had dance moves with it as well! I sang along and took pictures of them doing their thing! Mrs. Richart is their music teacher. She travels around to several schools in the district. I will be following her around this week to other classes. Mrs. Richart is an amazing teacher who puts a lot of time and effort into each of her classes. She produces several musicals with her Junior High kids each year.

South Bay School Mrs. Gerard's 3rd Grade Class

2010-03-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

My second visit was to South Bay Elementary my Alma Matter! Wow the school has sure changed since I was a student there. This time my visit was with the 3rd graders. We had a great time together. We talked about how important music education is and how much fun it is. I got to put Music tattoos on everyone and then they sang and played some songs for me. I even got to join them in a song game. Music class can be so much fun thanks to amazing teachers like Mrs. Gerard!

Seven Oaks Elementary

2010-03-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

My first class visit for music in our schools month was at Seven Oaks Elementary, Mrs. Hathaway's 6th grade class. I had so much fun! I got to talk to the kids about the importance of music education in their lives and many other things! They were very respectful and well behaved. Mrs. Hathaway even got me to sing for them! They were a great group of students, bright and energetic full of questions! After the class was over Mrs. Hathaway taught me and my son Cameron (the photographer) how to play the Marimba. What an amazing teacher she is, it is obvious she loves what she does and cares about her students.

A digital scrapbook by Smilebox

March is Music In Our Schools Month

2010-03-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

The Mrs. America Organization has a strong and continuing commitment to MENC: The National Association of Music Education working everyday to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music for all students!

In an effort to promote and support music education in our schools, each contestant raises funds and volunteers at various schools and music events in our community. I personally am very passionate about music. I am a vocalist and percussionist. I along with my husband and friends practice and perform as a band. I have also been the music director for our local vacation summer school for 10 years. We have an average of 1000 kids within our community who attend each year.

The MENC has dedicated March as MIOSM: Music In Our Schools Month. I will be visiting school music classes in Thurston County to share some words of inspiration to the students. My message is simple, to the let students know the benefits to them to be part of a music program and to encourage them to pursue more music classes throughout their education. The students will be filling out a card that says "What music means to me..." I will be using these cards to make a poster collage that will be displayed in their classroom for all to admire!

Little Miss Washington Pageant

2010-02-22T19:45:00.001-08:00

The search is on for the 2010 Little Miss Washington!
June 19th, 2010 1:00 pm Moses Lake High School Theater

This is a no makeup all natural sweet little girl pageant!
The purpose of the pageant is to provide guidance and assistance for young girls in developing their self confidence, self esteem and educating them about charitable an community service. All proceeds go to the local food bank.

Go to www.littlemisswashington.com for more informationan and a application

It's been awhile...

2010-01-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

Everyone always says how time flies, I get tired of hearing it, but it sure is true! I've been so busy through football season and the holidays with my family and friends. I have had no time to blog!!

The whole month of January I have been working overtime in my business Simply Swank to get all my new products done, samples made and the booth built for the Craft and Hobby Association Trade show. Often times people are curious how you set up a trade show booth so I tried to take some photos with my iphone during set up. The photos are a little fuzzy but you can see in the photo box below a little of how it all goes together. You basically start with an empty space that is 10x10 and build it within that space. We actually built this booth ourselves me, Melissa & Nanette from scratch about a week before it had to ship! The whole booth weighed 600 pounds! That is small in comparison to other booths. It turned out pretty nice!

The show was very successful for my company. We have many new customers, several chain stores and new distributors. Our products will now also be sold in Tahiti, Italy, Germany, Sweden, & Mexico! I have also been offered to write some new books! I am excited to show more advanced techniques for art soldering and new project ideas.

We taught a class to 50 people, with amazing help from our Swanky Volunteers. It was very fun and not one accident with all those hot irons being used! The class sold out as soon as registration opened up for classes! Next time we will have to do more than one class!

It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. We feel blessed to have such great customers and colleagues who make being in this industry worth wile!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2009-09-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

2009-09-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

September 26th I supported the Auction and Fund raiser for Pugetsound Keeper Alliance at the Fish Brewing Company.

The Fish Brewing Company is dedicated to keeping our Puget Sound clean. Fish Brewing company supports Puget Soundkeeper Alliance through donations tied to sales of Cleanwater Organic Pale Ale. As well, the Soundkeeper Alliance is sole beneficiary of Fish Brewing’s annual Oktoberfest. Puget Soundkeeper Alliance which is a team of dedicated staff and citizen volunteers whose mission is to stop pollution from entering Puget Sound. The Alliance uses the power granted to citizens to sue under provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1972 to stop polluters in their tracks.

2009-09-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow