A new outlook on pageantry!

What an amazing, eye opening experience I had this weekend. Miss Manhattan 2011 and Miss Manhattan Teen 2011 took place on Friday and Saturday. It started out as an ordinary pageant, but Saturday my perspective on the event made a complete 360.


I was not a contestant in the pageant, a judge or just an audience member. I was the contestant coordinator! It is great seeing all angles of pageantry. It brings new perspectives to the table and allows you to appreciate all the different jobs within the world of pageantry.


Friday the interviews took place. While my mom had the pleasure of being in charge of time in the interviews I had to sit outside and provide the girls with all instructions and lighten the mood! Although I loved being with all the girls it  would have been interesting and a learning experience to sit in on the interviews! But since I will be competing at Miss New York USA in November and many of the girls from Manhattan will also it would not have been fair for me to listen in on their interviews.


Friday finally came to an end and my mom and I drove back home, only to drive back the next day! Saturday went much like the day before. We picked Rene up and made a couple stops then drove to the location of the pageant. We arrived at 5:00 pm and the pageant began at 7:30pm. As we began to set up Rene realized he forgot to pick up the flowers!!


For those of you who do not know, the pageant was also a benefit for a beautiful little boy name Sebastian. Due to heart complications he passed away at only 4 months old. All proceeds were donated to Sebastian's family and to the Ronald McDonald House (which was a huge support system to Sebastian and his family).


Okay.. back to the flower crisis! Rene sends myself and Sebastian's Aunt Melissa to go and pick up the flowers. Now you must understand, we were on the East side and the flowers were all the way on the west side!! There was an hour and half till the pageant started, I was not dressed for the pageant and it was rush hour!!


In the 2 hours I was in the car with Melissa, yes you read correctly 2 hours, I came out with a new perspective on why we were all at the pageant. Myself and many of the competitors felt it was just another pageant and an opportunity to compete at NY USA at no expense. But we all lost sight of the fact this pageant was a benefit. Everyone involved in the pageant impacted Sebastian's family and the charities affiliated with the pageant in one way or another. We gathered in Sebastian's honor and memorialized him and all the individuals who did not have the chance to live a full life.


At the start of the car ride all I cared about was getting back to the pageant to support the girls and be able to relax and enjoy all the hard work that went into this benefit. By the end of the car ride all I cared about was getting Melissa to the benefit so she can enjoy the moment with her family and make it back in time for her speech! Even though we missed the first 30 minutes of the pageant I was able to get Melissa back to the event 5 minutes before she presented her speech... Sebastian must have been by our side the whole time.


At the end of the day only two girls walked away with the title, but as a whole we have changed the lives of many individuals by successfully raising over 2,000 dollars!!


Congratulations to all the contestants for being part of something so much bigger than just a pageant and a huge congratulations to Gunjan Sewhani the miss winner and Lisa Drouillard the teen winner.





Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

Angelina Ballerina= One of the best children's book!

Last week I had an amazing opportunity to work a book signing with Katharine Holabird, the author of Angelina Ballerina!!

It was such an honor to be a part of the event and meet the author. I grew up on Angelina Ballerina books. To think that 15 years ago I was reading Angelina Ballerina and collecting the dolls... and children today are doing the same thing!!

The series is truly a classic. The morning before the book signing I was determined to find my Angelina Ballerina books and dolls. I desperately wanted to get these items signed by the author! I tore apart the basement hunting for these items, but my search failed.

At the book signing Angelina Ballerina made an appearance and danced with all the children. Then while Katharine Holabird read her most recent story Angelina acted it out in dance! It is great to see a book that teaches young children about the arts and incorporates it into everyday life.

Katharine Holabird and Angelina!

After reading her new book Katharine Holabird sat down to sign books while Angelina posed for photos with her #1 fans!!

Angelina and Myself!!

Angelina Ballerina has developed into so much more than just a book. From a TV show, to DVDs, games and even a a musical beginning October 2, 2010!!

The Vital Theater, in New York City, is producing Angelina Ballerina The Musical. The musical will be in Canada in January 2011. Finally, tour dates are too be announced!

For those of you who are not familiar with Angelina Ballerina it is about a young mouse who has her heart set on becoming a prima ballerina. While some encourage Angelina to follow her dreams others doubt her. To find out if Angelina follows her heart and accomplishes her dreams you will have to read or see the play at Vital Theater!

Here is the link for ticket information: http://www.angelinaballerinathemusical.com/index.html



Katharine Holabird and myself!!
(not the best photo, but better than nothing!)



Miss Westchester 2011 and Miss Weschester Teen 2011 is...

On September 5, 2010 the first annual Miss Westchester and Miss Westchester Teen was held at the White Plains Performing Arts Center. This was not a typical pageant for me because my friend Kelly was competing. It was her first pageant ever! A couple weeks prior to the competition her grandmother passed away. From the looks of it she was not going to compete. But a few days before the pageant I get a text from Kelly stating she will be competing! I was extremely happy that she was following through with her commitment, but I was a bit nervous. Could we pull this off in such short notice?


The pageant was 2 days (Saturday and Sunday). The night before the pageant Kelly and I got together in hopes to be able to pull together her wardrobe for the pageant. I still was doubting we would be able to pull this together on such short notice. The interview outfit was the easiest part, then the swimsuit and then the gown. The hardest part out of everything was finding a pair of shoes to go with the gown. After an unsuccessful shoe hunt at her house we went to her neighbors where Kelly checked 3 closest before finding the perfect shoe for her evening gown.

Kelly's Official Head Shot

Saturday were interviews and a press conference. Both were not open to the general public. Finally Sunday was here!! As we sat in the theater waiting for the show to begin I was clueless on what to expect. The house went dark. The stage lights slowly brightened, revealing both the teen and miss contestants dressed in black cocktail dresses, and posing on a platform. The contestants performed intricate walking patterns and fun dance moves. The next phase of competition was every competitors worst nightmare... swimsuit. I was praying Kelly would not trip and fall. The announcer says, "Next contestant is Kelly Martin..." As I held my breath and crossed my fingers she walked to the center of the platform and down the stairs. She then hits 3 points on the stage and walks off. She stood tall proud and maintained a smile! I was impressed. Then the next phased of competition was evening gown. She once again maintained grace and beauty. Finally, on stage question. Kelly interned with fox news and dreams to one day be an delivering entertainment news to homes across America (Below you will find a video on air). I knew she could speak well, but being her first pageant I did not know if it would throw her off. She picked her question out of the fish bowl and has the perfect answer short, sweet and too the point!


After all phases of competition the judges scores were tallied up and awards were given out. Although Kelly did not walk away the winner, she was still the winner in my eyes. To have the courage to get on that stage for your first time and only preparing the day before is incredibly inspiring to me.


The winner of Miss Westchester 2011 was Christina DeLeon and the winner of Miss Westchester Teen 2011 was Samantha Gold! The rest of the results and contestants head shots can be found on http://www.westchesterpageants.com/


Congratulations to all the contestants, the directors and the staff! It was a fantastic pageant and I truly enjoyed being in the audience.

Mud Mask Madness @ the Oakes-Ramos Residence!

Thanks to my good friend we will now be doing weekly spa treatments at my house! Everyone is taking part!! My puppy even wanted too, but my mom yelled at me when I suggested painting her toe nails.

In this economy not many people can afford visits to the spa.. So why not bring the spa to your house?! While judging National American Miss NJ myself, Tammy, Rene and Mama Kennedy all gathered and did mud masks. Since I am preparing for Miss New York USA in November Rene sent me home with the mud mask (and many other goodies) so I can start taking proper care of my skin!

The product we are using is Villainess Soaps- MUD! which can be found on www.villainess.net. First, you clean your face with Mary Kay Time Wise 3-in-1 Cleanser. Then create the mask and apply it. The mask stays on for no longer than 15 minutes. Then take warm water and a wash cloth and wash off the mask in a circular motion. Next, you use Evian Facial Spray. Once you spray it on your face you wait a couple seconds then dab it away. Finally, you moisturize your face with Mary Kay Time Wise Age-Fighting Moisturizer and Mary Kay Time Wise Night Solution.

My Mom, Step Dad and I notice an immediate improvement in our skin. If I have a blemish and I do this regimen the blemish is completely gone the following day!

Not only is there a dramatic increase in the quality of our skin, but we have a complete blast having a home spa! It is a great bonding opportunity!! From this point on we will continue to have a weekly at-home spa!

My beautiful Mom! I want to look like this at 55 w/ out any make up on!

John haaaadd to join in on the fun! Be jealous <3

Big Lu enjoying his mud mask!

Mama getting the royal treatment!

Judging National American Miss NJ

It was another successful pageant for National American Miss! I was honored to once again be part of the distiguished panel of judges. There were many talented females from the great state of New Jersey (which is also my home state).

The pageant took place in New Brunswick right next to Rutgers! Since I grew up in New Jersey and my mother went to Rutgers I was fairly firmiliar with my surroundings. In the area there is this phenominal place called Stuff Your Face! I have not been there since 5th grade and I was excited to go back. Stuff Your Face is famous for their stromboli's, but I had a major blonde moment and told everyone they were famous for their wraps. For some reason I kept thinking a stromboli as a wrap lol! Everyone was prepared to eat wraps, but once we looked at the menu we only found 1 wrap! On the positive side everyone was blown away by the orgasmic taste of their stromboli (aka wrap haha). Since stromboli's are obviously not healthy I decided to try and find the most healthy stromboli available.. The Turkey Club stromboli hold the bacon. No bacon made me feel that I was not completely breaking my diet! Oh the life of a pageant contestant haha!

While at the pageant I also saw many good friends of mine and was able to catch up with them on my down time. It is great to see how pageans create such strong, long lasting relationships!

Great job to all the state finalists and a big congratulations to the new National American Miss NJ titleholders!

Can you spot me in the crowd of Ellen's?

My last post reminded me of a dance job I did for ACR! We all had to dress up like Ellen DeGeneres and dance like her!! I think it was the most fun I have had dancing in a while. We all had an amazing time and it was for a great cause! Our Ellen dance routine was choreographed by Jim Cooney.

Here are some photos from the event:

Animal Cruelty

People never buy your significant other video games! My boyfriend John and I enjoy playing video games together, but the other day I bought him Madden 2011. He has been hiding in his room all day playing online. I finally got him to watch a movie with me (Death at a Funeral-- which was stupid funny, but made me laugh) and during the movie he says "Have you posted on your blog about today?" I answered, "No but will probably do it after the movie" and responds, "Good I was hoping you would say that. Now I can play a game of madden." One game generally turns into five games!!

Anyways, today was very interesting. While we were going to register for college classes there was a dog running through the streets. We got out to try and help but the dog was very scared of people. We then saw the owner running after the dog and he asked us to keep and eye on the pup. When the owner got near he yelled her name and the dog saw him and jetted off. The owner than turns around and says "What ever if she wants to come back she will." My boyfriend and I looked at each other extremely confused. Many people drive recklessly on these roads and we feared the dog would get hit. We got back in our cars to find the dog running in the streets again. This is when I said enough is enough and called the local police to try and get their help. At this point we noticed the dog was running funny. A woman outside picking weeds told us this happens all the time. Matter of fact it was the 2nd time today the dog ran away. 

The dog continued to wander. We hopped back in our car and found the in a older woman's yard who had 2 dogs of her own. She saw us whistling for the dog and came down to speak with us. At first she seemed angry, but we explained it was not our dog and we were only trying to help. That is when she joined us in trying to get the pup. The pup started to warm up to us, but we did not want to pet him since it looked like he had some type of wounds on his back, his ear looked deformed and so did his leg. We tried everything we could to keep the dog in one place. That is when 2 young kids drove by sad that was their dog. He violently picked the dog up and got into his car. The older woman walked up asking what was wrong with the dog's back. The teenager had no response. She then kindly said, "If you can not care for your dog you are more than welcome to bring her to my house and I will take care of her." The teenagers did not acknowledge her and just drove off.

I was very angry at this point. I thought quickly and copied down the car make and license plate. We then got back into our cars to go home. We then got on the road where we initially saw the dog. I thought to myself the dog must live somewhere close. My boyfriend then spotted the same car that picked up the pup. I then wrote down the house address.

My immediate thought was call the ASPCA or a local shelter. When I got home I researched ASPCA to find out what I should do. It listed ways to spot animal abuse and everything I witnessed was on the list. The website continued to say what one can do if they feel an animal is in danger. I followed the website and called my local police station and was sent to Dog Control. I pray that this pup is rescued, gets treatment and is sent to a loving environment.

Something my boyfriend and I debated through this entire scenario was is it our responsibility to step in and help the dog? Is it even our place to pry into someone else life? My end thought was if we do not speak up for this pup who will? What would you have done? I for one could not even fathom the poor treatment this dog received.

2011 Miss Long Island USA and Miss Long Island Teen USA

This weekend Rene and I took a road trip to Long Island for Miss Long Island USA and Miss Long Island Teen USA! Before getting to Rene, I had a bit of a detour. As I went through a toll on the Garden State Parkway I realized my car was not driving correctly. I pulled over to find my tire was flat and I was driving on the rim. In my stilettos and dress I had to change a tire! You would think someone would pull over, but nope! It was not until I started to crank that jack that an officer pulled over to help me. Finally I was back on my way to pick up Rene. We finally arrived at the pageant during intermission. At least it is better than nothing! Lori produced another great pageant and was a wonderful emcee. Jamie and Leanne looked amazing as always. Both girls had an amazing year and truly deserved every minute of it. I am very lucky to have both of you in my life and I love you girls to death! A big congrats to Marina Montes Miss Long Island USA 2011 and Kimberly Taft Miss Long Island Teen USA 2011. I watched Marina compete last year and she had such a grace and beauty to her. Kimberly and I have been friends for some time now and I could not be more pleased to see her win! She is extremely determined and hardworking. I could not think of a better Miss Long Island Teen USA 2011! After the pageant finished Rene and I decided to go and pig out at Friendly's. What better way to end the day with food and ice cream!

National American Miss New York

Two weekends ago I had the honor of judging National American Miss New York! I had such an amazing time. Not only did I meet some amazing people, but I also fell in love with the system. It was great to see girls making friendships that will last a lifetime and helping each other during competition. NAM reminded me of why I began in pageants. I started out in ACP which is very similar to NAM. These pageants have taught me and many other competitors that a pageant is not about who takes home the crown, but how you can better yourself. If each year you take the constructive criticism given to you and improve yourself than you are truly the one winning. At the end of the day no two girls are alike and we all are essentially competing against ourselves.

Congrats to all the judges on a job well done and to all the contestants who participated in such an amazing event! Also a big thank you to all the staff for making the event run so smoothly! Here are some photos from the event: