Tucson Bound

It is time to put all my hours of preparation to work! I had a relaxing morning getting ready. John loaded all my bags into the car and dropped me off at the airport. I can’t even begin to tell you how nice it is to only drive 35 minutes to the airport, instead of 2 hours! Alyssa, Mrs. Oklahoma was already waiting at the gate when I arrived. Samantha, Mrs. Kansas, joined us a little while later. We all 3 feel very fortunate to have Tracy as our director. Mrs. Ohio was also on our flight. The flight crew was very sweet to all of us and they even wished us luck over the PA system.

We were in a little bit of predicament when we tried to fit all or our luggage, 4 titleholders and Mrs. Ohio’s travel companion in the minivan. Alyssa and I pretty much sat on each other’s laps for the 45 minute drive from the airport to the hotel.

We stepped out of the van and were immediately grabbed by the photographer for pictures. This is why they tell you to always be ready! When we went to check in to our rooms, they had us on opposite sides of the hotel. We were supposed to have adjoining rooms. It took some time for them to rearrange us, but it was well worth the wait to be next to Alyssa and Sam. We checked in with the Mrs. America staff and received our sashes, competition swimsuits, opening number dresses and shoes.

Audrey, who was Miss AZ when I was Miss DC, and her mom brought me a steamer later in the afternoon. We had free time, so I was able to join them for a bite to eat. The 3 of us are all business partners with Rodan + Fields Dermatology, the Doctors of ProActiv. If you are looking for a way to Change your skin and Change your life, check out my websites; for products http://www.blogger.com/www.spatterson.myrandf.com and for business opportunities http://www.blogger.com/www.spatterson.myrandf.biz.

We attended an orientation dinner where we had our first chance to meet all of the ladies. Everyone was full of energy and all dressed up. We had a chance to introduce ourselves and meet everyone on the Mrs. America Board. You could feel the excitement in the room. I am very impressed by how composed and beautiful all the ladies are! After dinner, we headed straight back to the room. We have an early wakeup call in the morning.

Packing for Mrs. America

I am finally packing for Mrs. America. I shipped my state costume, the Yellow Rose of Texas, and state gifts earlier this week. I was hoping to send some of my wardrobe also, but it just didn’t happen. I think the biggest part of the room in my suitcases is being taken up by shoes. Every pageant girl knows that you can’t take 3 pairs of shoes to the pageant. I think I am taking 3 different pairs just for stage.

After a lot of thought and careful consideration, it looks like I will be able to fit everything into 2 suitcases that will not be overweight. I am carrying my competition gown and interview outfit on the airplane. I have never lost my luggage, but I didn’t want to chance it and have a first. I feel like I have everything together. If I forget something, I know that I can have John bring it out with him.

I have to say that practice does make things a lot less stressful. This round of packing was much easier then when I packed for Miss America.

The Lash Lounge

The Lash Lounge is one of the awesome sponsors for Mrs. Texas. The owner, Anna Phillips, sponsors Mrs. Texas with a full set of lash extensions and a fill. This was the perfect thing to have for Mrs. America. I made my appointment and went to the Lash Lounge in Plano. I have never had eyelash extensions before, so I had no idea what to expect. The store is beautiful! In less than an hour, I walked out with an incredible set of long, luscious set of lashes! I am really looking forward to not having to glue fake lashes on my eyelids at Mrs. America.

I highly recommend visiting the Lash Lounge. They have 3 locations in the DFW area. Check out their website, http://www.thelashlounge.com/.

MLS Training

I am at the Collin County Association for Realtors today for 4 hours. They are teaching us how to use our local MLS. This was the last piece to the puzzle that I need to finish to be an official real estate agent. I can’t wait to start listing houses!! This is going to be an awesome career for me.

Premier Hair Studio

I am starting the final stages of my Mrs. America prep work. Today is hair day!!! One of my fabulous girlfriends helped me find a great hair studio here in McKinney. Sandi Ortiz at Premier Hair Studio was kind enough to squeeze me into her extremely busy schedule. Sandi not only fit me into her schedule, she blocked out 3 hours to make sure my hair was perfect. I am so thrilled with how my hair turned out that Sandi has a new regular client. I cannot thank Sandi enough!!!

If you are looking for a great hair stylist in McKinney, please check out Premier Hair Studio. They are located at 6150 W Eldorado Pkwy Ste 200, McKinney, TX 75070 and their phone number is (972) 540-0085.

Pilates Reformer

John and I joined Lifetime Fitness Center in Allen. It is nothing short of amazing. I don't know how you could get bored at this gym. I took my first Pilates Reformer class tonight. I have done Pilates mat work for many years, but I have never used a reformer machine. It kicked my butt. It has been a while since I left a workout and felt absolutely exhausted!!! It makes me want one of these in my new workout room upstairs :-)

Orange House Closing

We had to drive back down to Orange last night. We closed on our Orange house today. It was surreal to sign the closing papers at the title company. We are in awe of how fast we were able to move and sell our house. God definitely has a plan for us!

North Texas State Fair Parade

I had a great time in the North Texas State Fair Parade this morning. Sonya Apple, one of my beautiful Mrs. Texas competitors, invited me over to take part in the event. Her husband, Matt, was our driver. Bill Utter Ford was kind enough to donate the white Mustang for us to ride on. The people in Denton are wonderful. We loved the Sonic girls behind us who shared some of their candy with us. It was a great way to spend the morning!

Dr. Nancy Weise

I am sad to see my mom go today. I can’t even explain what a help she was to John and me. There is not one box left in our house that needs to be unpacked. There is no way you can tell that we moved in 6 days ago. I am extremely impressed with the work we have done!!!

I was invited to a wonderful event tonight by a former Mrs. Texas contestant, Kathy Hatfield. Red Oak Drug and the Grand Spa in Dallas hosted Dr. Nancy Weise. She spoke on the connection between health and hormones. Dr. Weise is an incredible speaker who was able to break down the technical side of hormones to a basic level for everyone to relate to. Kathy did a fabulous job coordinating the event.

1st Day of Training

I started my first official day of training at Keller Williams McKinney today. It is giving me a real feel of our new life. I absolutely love my office!!! The people here are incredible, welcoming and full of energy. It feels like I have been here for months already. The training sessions are perfect. They keep them short, sweet and to the point. They also alternate instructors so you get a feel of many different styles and personalities. I feel very blessed to be a part of this office.

My Big Helper

My mom was sweet enough to fly all the way from Florida to help us unpack. She came in on Saturday and went straight to work. We started on the tall stack of boxes in our living room. By the end of the night, we could see across our house without boxes blocking the view. We tackled a room at a time. My mom is full of energy and extremely organized. You could see immediate results with each room we worked on. Penny Lane had to be right in the middle of everything. She is going to be a lonely cat when grandma goes back home!

Moving

Yesterday they finished loading the last of the boxes on the truck. By 1:00, the movers headed out to our new house and John and I ran around town trying to tie up some loose ends. Both of our cars were packed to the roof! Our last stop in town was to pick up Penny Lane. She was embarking on her first road trip since we picked her up from the breeder. She was definitely not excited about being locked up in her kennel, but handled the drive pretty well.

We got to the house and unpacked the cars and set up our cots for the night. We gave Penny Lane a tour of her new home. She was more adventurous than we expected her to be. It didn’t take much for us both to pass out. The drive back and forth to Orange has worn us both out.

The movers were knocking on the door by 8:30. They were ready to get that truck unloaded! Before we could blink an eye it was 8:00 at night. Everyone was exhausted and the last few boxes had made it in the house. We thanked the movers for all their hard work. When the door shut, it finally started to sink in that we were in our new house! What a week!!!

Closing on Our House in McKinney

We are the proud new owners of our house in McKinney. We drove up last night and stayed in Dallas. I got early this morning to hit the gym for some much needed stress relief. By noon, we were sitting at the title company ready to sign away. It was the most painless, easy closing ever. We were in and out in less than 30 minutes. We headed straight to my office to pick up the keys to our new house. The ladies at the office could not have been happier for us. I really feel like this is going to be an awesome office to work at.

It was a weird feeling walking into our new house. It was completely empty and ready for a new family. After we unloaded some boxes, we walked from room-to-room. It took everything we had to get back in the car and head back to Orange.

Packing

Packing has officially started. They arrived first thing this morning and got to work. We were amazed at how quickly they were able to pack everything up. Reality was definitely setting in that this was happening!

Red Cross of Orange

Today is the Red Cross’s Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser. The coordinator for the even allowed me to take over one of their beverage tents out on the golf course. I asked some of my ladies from my fitness class and my family if they would give up their Saturday morning to help me out. They were sweet enough to say yes.

The Red Cross is especially dear to our community because of their relief efforts after Hurricane Ike. They offered 3 meals a day, water and much needed supplies to the community. These families were struggling with their houses going under several feet of water and losing almost everything they owned. In return, this was one of the most successful fundraisers they have had and I was honored to be a part of it. My husband even had a chance to fill-in for a friend last minute.

TV Commercial

I shot my first TV commercial today. We went over to the TV station in Beaumont. I haven’t been on a new set since I was in LA for Miss America. They put me in front of a green screen with some serious lights. I ran through the 30 second script a few times. We all felt comfortable with the flow, so we started filming. After 3 takes, they said they had it! It was fast, easy and a lot of fun. I am a little nervous to see the finished product! Maybe this is the start of a new part-time career. LOL

Last Day of Class

Today is my last day of class with all my ladies. It has been a great journey with all of these ladies and I am truly sad to say goodbye. They have allowed me to become part of their lives. I know my mornings will not be half as special without seeing all of their smiling faces!

They surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a card signed by everyone and a gift card. I will treasure that card and pull it out anytime I am having a rough day. I exchanged emails with the ladies and I plan to keep in touch with them.