WE HAVE A NEW MISS AMERICA!!!!

Sorry for not posting last night – we had a wonderful day and a very late night! The show started at 6pm Pacific – but it didn’t air in Nevada until 9pm! That means we were able to go to the event, see the entire show, attend the post-event press conference, get some food AND be back in our rooms to see the final 45 minutes on TV! Such a fun, fun night!!!

In case you missed it, the new Miss America is Teresa Scanlan, from Nebraska! Earlier in the week – I posted that she would be the first runner up… but by the end of Friday, I was pretty well convinced that she could win it all! I thought it would come down to Nebraska and Hawaii – but when it was Nebraska and Arkansas at the end, I just kept thinking “They can’t really crown a ventriloquist, can they?”. So excited with the judges choice – and with the way she handled herself all night long…

Just a few fun facts about the new queen… SHE’S 17 – and the youngest Miss America since they instituted an age requirement in 1921… She’s the first instrumentalist since Debbye Turner (who happened to be one of the judges) and the first piano player since Kellye Cash in 1987 (who sang AND played the piano for her talent. Debbye Turner played the Marimba)… She’s the middle of 7 total children, 3 in front of her and 3 behind her… She was homeschooled through her Junior Year, and graduated from Scottsbluff High her Senior Year… Her hometown in Gehring, NE… her grandparents immigrated from Croatia… She was accepted into Patrick Henry College and had to ‘defer’ when she was named Miss Nebraska… she’s be ‘deferring’ again now that she’s Miss America… She tried to be Nebraska’s Outstanding Teen 3 different times and was told she wasn’t ‘Teen enough’… so she entered Miss Nebraska as soon as she could… won it on her first try and went on to become Miss America… and she’s not afraid to take a position on an issue… watch the press conference to see what i mean!

Additionally, here are a few random thoughts for those of you who still care about my random thoughts…

1. My love/hate relationship with North Carolina continues (see previous posts about multiple years of not doing a very good job when it comes to assessing Miss North Carolinas)… the lovely girl wins Talent and then doesn’t make the Top 15. One of these days, I’ll get it right.

2. In the ‘Where Did She Come From’ category this year — Miss Washington. Mom asked Saturday night while we were waiting for the show to start, “Who’s Jackie Brown” and I said… “I have no idea.” We even saw her perform Talent on Thursday night and weren’t super impressed. I hate it when someone’s not even on my radar… it’s a good thing I had a parade picture of her – ’cause otherwise, i wouldn’t have even had a clue!

3. Oklahoma… My sister picked her out early – but by the time I saw her on Friday a the Parade, I thought “This girl is tired and has given up”. I now see that she is just REALLY laid back… she was bouncing to the music when they were announcing the Top 5… that’s just her. I misjudged her personality… glad Cori got it right!

4. We saw 6 of the girls perform their Talent on Thursday night – and let me say, they ALL performed BETTER on Saturday night during the live broadcast than they did during Prelims. I’d much rather have it that way than the other way around 🙂

5. I was LOVING the press conference with Miss America immediately following the show… Everyone in the room just started falling more and more in love with Teresa (you can see it on my Facebook page) the more she talked. She’s very poised and prepared. I call her Refreshingly Capable and Confidently Independent. If I had a young daughter, I’d see Teresa as an outstanding, positive role model! 🙂

Hope everyone enjoyed these crazy posts — it’s my pleasure to bring you such thought provoking commentary mixed with captivating dither (LOL!) Honestly – thank you to my friends who indulge me each year when Miss America rolls around… and thank you to my “New” friends who’ve just discovered that I’m a bit of a kook when it comes to Miss America. Hoping we have something fun to talk about the next time we see each other! 🙂

If you’d like to see more of Teresa Scanlan, be sure to set your DVR’s for Fox and Friends and The View for Monday — She usually hits Regis and Kelly on Tuesday as well.

Until next year – when we crown a new queen… And we all have the honor of playing this guessing game one more time… I’ll be practicing my wave between now and then… hoping you’ll be practicing your vocals… so we can all sing together… “There She Is…”

Thanks again friends 🙂

crl

Oh My Goodness!!! Yesterday was a HOOT!!! There’s no other word to describe it! We had a Freaking Fabulous Time at the Miss America Show us Your Shoes Parade!!! This parade was a ‘first’ for Vegas… and is hopefully a new way to continue the Atlantic City tradition of a parade on the boardwalk each Friday. This was a ‘walking parade’ rather than girls riding in the back of convertibles… but it was just as effective! The complete album is on my Facebook page – but here are a few of my favorites…

It was a GREAT Time!!!

Now – today is ‘Business Day’… which means you and I need to make some PICKS!!! I’ve attached a form for you to use – feel free to click on the form and hopefully you can print it. If not, it’s super simple… just pick your top 15, then your Top 10, then your Top 5. We’ll give 2 points for each correct Top 15 finalist, 3 points for each correct Top 10 pick, 5 points for each Top 5 pick, and a ‘bonus’ of 10 points if you correctly pick the winner! The person with the highest point total wins the Vera Wang Princess Gift Set!!! There are 3 different ways to get your picks to me… either respond to this blog in the comments section, or send me a Facebook Message, or send me an email at carrie@world-changers.com. I’ll compile the results and announce the winner later this evening (or technically – tomorrow morning!!!).

Beyond the million parade photos i have on my Facebook page – Miss America hosted a press conference yesterday afternoon with nearly 50 Miss Americas – and the video is on Miss America’s Facebook page and I’ve posted it on my Facebook page as well.

Beyond that – I’m not sure if there’s anything else going on in the world today!?! Will try to get my picks in this afternoon — make sure you get your picks to me before the show starts where you live (I think it’s 8pm across the country) on ABC! In fact, I’ll be at the Show at 5pm Pacific — so I’ll know who wins before they even broadcast it on TV out here!!! I promise I’ll keep it all a secret 🙂

YAY FOR PAGEANT GAME-DAY!!! Get those picks in quickly!!!

Whoooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooo

crl

We have WINNERS!!

All kinds of fun tonight! A wonderful opening number and the girls have it down pat after several days of performances! It’s what i call a “Miss USA style Opening Number” – and is worthy of Network Television. I can’t wait to see the final night live as well – I can only imagine the emotions and reactions of the girls who make Top 15 – and then Top 10 and finally, the Top 5. But I’m WAY ahead of myself!

Here are tonight’s results!

Swimsuit = Oklahoma (an incorrect pick)… BIG SHOUT OUTS to my sister who spotted Oklahoma early on and stuck with her when I wasn’t overly impressed. Oklahoma’s daddy played NFL football and she originally wanted to be an Olympic swimmer when she grew up. When she hit the runway, it was like, ‘BA BOOM!’ She stunned the crowd when she came out because she’s so long, tall and lovely. Oh, and she’s blond! )

Talent = Nebraska (a correct pick!)… Get ready for Nebraska… this girl could win it all! She’s only 17, but she’s incredibly well spoken, super calm and has got it together! She wants to be a Supreme Court Justice one day – and she played the piano tonight without any background music. She’s impressive! But she’s 17. I’ve already gone on record with my family that she’ll be the First Runner Up. We shall see…

So – Tomorrow is the “DSW Show us Your Shoes Parade” at Paris… and there’s a press conference with all the Former Miss America’s… and they’ll announce the Quality of Life Winners. I’m looking forward to seeing the ladies in a little more ‘casual mode’ tomorrow instead of ‘competition mode’. Plus – c’mon… Who doesn’t love a parade of SHOES???

Now don’t forget — it’s now time to put together your list of contestants! Top 15, Top 10 and Top 5 — I’ll post an official form tomorrow (but you don’t have to print out the form – just email me a top 15, 10 and 5). And just as a reminder… I’m giving away a Vera Wang Princess perfume set to the person who gets the most points this year — I may also include a few items of ‘sparkle’ straight from Vegas as well!

Again – really excited to be here!

Wish you were here!!!

crl

Let me start this post by saying… 4am wake up calls come even earlier when you’re giggling with you grandmother, mom, aunt and sister until midnight!!! We all gathered in a hotel room last night preparing to fly away this morning to VEGAS for this year’s 90th anniversary of the Miss America pageant… so far, we haven’t lost anything or anyone – and we haven’t been chastised for being too loud, which is a big plus for this group!

But enough about us! Let’s talk about the Winners from last night!

Swimsuit = Alabama (a correct pick!) Seriously – this girls has a Rockin’ Body and is the second brunette to win Swimsuit (see previous post about no perky blonds winning the crown this year).

Talent = Rhode Island. My ‘Almost’ pick… but almost certainly doesn’t count when it comes to the crown, so this means I’m still 50/50 (2 correct picks, 2 incorrect picks). Rhode Island sang “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin — and this girl is a super smarty pants! She’s a graduate of Brown University and studied International and Caribbean Affairs. I ‘almost’ picked her simply because of the fact that she should have a killer interview… but it is Rhode Island for pete’s sakes which is about as much of a pageant state as Vermont. Gotta go with the gut more.

All kinds of updates continue to be available at AbbyBollenbacher.com… she has pictures galore (and I’m blogging from an airport without much time to post pics)… Abby’s blog is fantastic – but just remember, she’s originally from Ohio, so she’s a little partial. 🙂

Will do my best to get some research going for tonight’s picks! SO EXCITED because we’re all going to the Preliminary show tonight and will see it IN PERSON!!! Also – this afternoon I’ll get my press passes and will certainly pass along any inside scoop I discover!

Honestly – I keep asking myself if this is really happening? Are we really going tonight? Does anyone have a way to record all the pithy yet exceptionally insightful comments were going to be making to each other while the girls walk across stage? Aren’t you happy you’re NOT a part of our entourage? 🙂

So Tired and yet – So Pumped! So Long for Now!!!

crl