Tag: pageant

Slow Blogger Here…

It has been a whirlwind year. I feel like 2018 now way more than half finished has seriously blown past me.

The garden center attempted to stay open all year for the first time in our history and although we saw a few familiar faces now and again, we have decided that for January and Early February in the future we will likely be closed. This gives Andy and I a much needed mental and physical break before hitting the busy stride of the Spring/Summer Season.

I have done a little cooking and baking but really not much. I’m thinking about working through a couple of cooking or baking series for you all… maybe a fall cookie week, or eggs many ways ( I love eggs)… I’m still kicking around some ideas, and am open to suggestions if you have any. Otherwise my poor kitchen has been a revolving door of the plain old usual, nothing fun to report for now.

This Wednesday my husband and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. We made our annual trip to Las Vegas for some fun. I’ll put together a separate trip post to share with you. I also have a couple of reviews on some of the places we visited while we were there that I’ll share too.

This past weekend was the annual Jackson County Relay For Life. Our team met our $1000 goal, and I am anxious for the final team meeting to see where the final tally lands for the event overall. It’s always a fun and inspiring time, and we really enjoy participating.

And, finally it’s PAGEANT WEEK! Our daughter Brianna is competing as a top ten finalist in the Jackson County Teen USA pageant and I could not be more excited for her! I love pageant week! She has rehearsal daily this week, and Friday night is the big night to cheer her on! She’s a bright beautiful girl and I’m sure she will do great!

My New Year’s resolutions are doing ok…. lol. I think I might actually be turning into a morning person believe it or not, I continue to work out fairly regularly, and now if I could jut make some time for some of my hobbies I’ll be a happy camper. I think that is all I have to report on for now. Let me know your thoughts about a cooking/ baking series for this fall I think if I provide myself with a specific thing to do it will force me to actually do it lol. I’ll post a vacay update, and those reviews soon. Thanks for continuing to support my blogging adventure! Bye for now!

Summer Recap

It’s been awhile since my last post, practically all summer actually! So, I thought I would provide a recap of everything you might have missed. 

We hosted our annual 4th of July party and as usual a ton of fun was had by all. Jordon and Keegan won the cornhole championship cup, although Amber and I sport them best, and the fireworks were spectacular! 


Andy and I made a couple quick trips to Port Clinton OH, and Put In Bay this summer. A great mini-vacay destination if your ever looking to go. The island is a relaxing spot to tool around on golf carts, hang out at the park, hike a bit, and enjoy the Lake Erie views.

Brianna’s pageant took place, she did a fabulous job! Taking 4th runner up, people’s choice award, and the elegance in evening gown award! She looked stunning, and brought home $600 in scholarship prizes! Good job Bri! 


After the pageant we attended the Jackson County Relay for Life event in memory of our son Logan. Jordon and Brianna along with a ton of their friends did a great job holding down the fort for us overnight so the grown ups could get some rest. Our Relay event is 24hrs and each team is supposed to have a member on the track at all times. The kids walk all night and then crash the minute we get back in the morning. 


Andy and I celebrated our 19th Anniversary this year on August 8th, and celebrated this past weekend in Las Vegas (my bags made it all the way there and back woohoo!!). We stayed at Planet Hollywood, a nice resort the room was very nice and had a great view of the Bellagio fountains a no added cost upgrade btw. The casino layout was congested and difficult navigate though compared to other places that we have stayed. Oh, and it’s very LOUD in this casino even in the Restaurants. Don’t let it stop you though, Gordon Ramsey’s BurGR is fantastic (more on that meal later)! 

I think that about brings us up to date! We’re prepping for back to school now for Brianna, and I have a few great new recipes to share soon too. Hope you alł had a great summer! It’s almost Fall y’all!! 

How bout a pageant update! 

So last time I updated on the pageant world we had just gotten our head shots back and we’re preparing for Gala…

Gala is an evening dinner event for the girls, their families, and the sponsors. It is at this event that the ladies are paired with their sponsors for the pageant. It is a very exciting night for the girls. As a reminder our daughter Brianna is one of the top ten contestants competing for the title of Miss Jackson County Teen USA. She has a very good friend, Celia Napoletano, who is competing for the title of Miss Jackson County Rose Queen. These pageants are part of the Miss USA competition and if they win they will move on to the state level competition for their respective age groups.

Brianna and Celia have grown up together in the pageant circuit, and they were both so badly wanting to be paired with the same sponsor. As each teen contestant is paired with a Miss contestant as a mentor through sponsorship….Hopefully I’ve connected all the dots here lol.

Gala did not disappoint! Celia is now Miss JTV and so of course Brianna is now Miss Teen JTV!

I am so immensely proud of these two! And I know they will do a great job representing JTV, owned and operated by Bart and Karen Hawley.

Since the gala, the contestants participated in a sash making party. Preparing hand made sashes to display during the Rose parade this coming weekend.

And…We went shopping for gowns!!! My favorite part lol!

She did choose a favorite but I’m not letting cat out of the bag just yet. Stay tuned! Up next her appearance tomorrow on JTV, and the Rose Parade!

Time for Head Shots! 

As I mentioned a few posts ago, Brianna is a participant in a local pageant coming up in August, and leading up to the big night there are a few events that she will be a part of. Today was the first step! Time for Head shots!

But first…Let’s take a selfie…

Head shots are important as they will be used as your first impression, and an introduction to a lot of people. Both those who come to watch the pageant as they are presented in the program book, but also to the judges!

It’s important to look professional, approachable, and natural. Light makeup, easy hair, super simple.

The photographer in this case a friendly acquaintance who does a great job by the way! Will give a little guidance but it’s really up to the girls to provide the image they want to portray. They were all given the same dress code. Black tank top, blue jeans, and tennis shoes.

Side note…Brianna is VERY picky…She tried on 8 tank tops before choosing this one.

The end result will be spectacular! I can’t wait to see more!

Next up is the Gala, where she will be given her sponsor sash, and meet her Rose Candidate mentor. I’ll post more soon! Thanks!!