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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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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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

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

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

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.