Volunteer Center of Mason, Lewis & Thurston County

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!!

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.