Welcome to my Blog!

I am Lisa Bluhm Mrs. Pacific Northwest 2010-2011. I am competing in March for the title of Mrs. Washington. The Mrs. Washington Pageant is about making a difference. As a contestant I volunteer my time and talents to serve charities and organizations. I am also an active participant in my community. I am passionate about many different organizations and leave myself open to be able to support or participate in as many as I can.

My platform is called "Unlock Your Potential". It has always been my passion to inspire and encourage others to discover their goals or dreams and then teach them the steps to achieve success. When I hear people say I could never do that, I am not talented or anything that is negative towards their capabilities I feel called to action to help them see they have the potential to do or be anything they want to be. It may not be the same goals or dreams someone else has but their own personal challenges that lie within them. Once they realize they have the potential and they can achieve their dreams they are on their way to achieving success in their life. It can be as simple as getting their house organized or running a marathon. I am able to use my personal experiences in trials and triumphs as examples to encourage and inspire them on their journey. Throughout the year I will be featuring different peoples stories and sharing how they have unlocked their potential. Will you be one of them? Contact me with your story I would love to hear about it!

It is my desire to be Mrs. Washington so that I may represent the married women of our state. I consider it an honor and a responsibility. I take this role seriously. With my 22 years of marriage and a lifetime of experiences I am ready to continue fulfilling my role as a leader and a mentor. As Mrs. Washington I will have the opportunity to reach out to even more people in our state sharing my platform and have more opportunities to volunteer and bring awareness to non profit organizations that make our state so great.

I have unlocked my own potential in many areas of my life. Competing in marathons and triathalons, leading women's groups, leading children's groups, coaching teams and starting my own business. After being a stay at home mom for several years I took my passion for creating soldered art and shared it with others. My company Simply Swank llc was born! I developed my own technique and product line that is now sold in stores globally. I am also the author of Simple Soldered Jewelry and Accessories, the host and instructor of Simply Solder DVD and am currently writing a new book.

Friday, April 30, 2010

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

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!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Family Photos

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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

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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

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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.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

2010 Kid's Fair Moses Lake

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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!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Talent Show

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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

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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!!