Hello Again Everyone!!!

After returning from 4 solid days of rain in California… I have given
myself over to my laptop in deep and complete research of this year’s Miss
America contest. In fact, my husband has noticed that I seem to be sitting
in one spot for what he calls ‘5 hours at a time’… That’s because I’m
intensely dedicated and fully committed to discovering all I can about the
53 beauties vying for this year’s crown.

Yes – I said 53… Which is a bit much if you ask me… But I guess you
can’t really un-invite Miss DC, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands to the party.
Don’t cha know there’s a 14 year old girl out there who can’t wait to be
Miss Guam in 5 years. 🙂

OK – So! Warning – this is a lengthy email… But I have full confidence in
your ability to press on… Don’t get weary… It’s all worth it.

I’ve learned some interesting tidbits and insights into this year’s
competition… The first of which is… There is a PRE-SHOW on TLC THIS
COMING FRIDAY NIGHT before the big event on Saturday night. So – go set
your DVR’s and Tivo’s in order for you to get a glimpse of the girls on
Friday night before the show. If you can’t make it Friday (or your VCR is
broken) – I’m guessing TLC will re-air the program prior to the actual
pageant on Saturday night as well.

Anyway – it seems as if you and I will once again get the chance to choose a
girl or two to compete in the Top 12 (or 15 – I don’t know that answer yet
either)… I received a ‘tweet’ from Miss Indiana about how this will go —
hopefully I can explain it appropriately… There are 3 competition groups
at Miss America – which is how the judges determine who the Top 10 will be.
Each girl is is in 1 of the 3 groups… And they’ve asked THE GIRLS to
choose 4 ladies from their group only – 4 girls they would like to see
become Miss America. So – do the math – that should give us 12 girls (3
groups x 4 picks).

It’s my limited understanding that the public (aka you and me) will get to
choose a few girls from that group of 12. I have no idea how — maybe by
carrier pigeon but I’m guessing by texting or going online. And again – I
have no idea how many we get to choose… But somehow, a few ‘extra’ ladies
will make it into the Top 12 (or 15 – I really don’t know).

Can I just say, it’s a good thing they’re presenting this option this
year… Because Group #3 is JAM-PACKED! If you ever have a daughter who
makes it to Miss America, please remind her to choose group #2 – as it is
typically a less-competitive group (everyone either wants to knock it out of
the park from the beginning or be the biggest star at the end). I’m already
having a difficult time picking from Group 3 ’cause it’s LOADED and there
are some good girls who could easily have advanced if they were in a
less-competitive group. Hopefully this ‘Top 15’ (or 12) will get them in!

OK – a few other items to note!

1. This is the most diverse crowd of ‘Talents’ I’ve seen in a long time…
Beyond your typical vocalists, piano players and ballet dancers, we also have
the following… baton twirling, an oboe, trumpet, hula dancer, violin AND
viola (apparently they’re different), a dramatic monologue, and Irish
step-dancing. Now that’s variety! 🙂

2. There are some TALL GIRLS in the pageant this year… Miss Alabama,
Ohio, Rhode Island and Montana are all 5’10 plus! The other funny thing is
that several of the girls have the same ‘look’ this year… Long dark hair
on a slim frame means Miss Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas and Puerto Rico all
look a lot alike! For the record – Miss Puerto Rico is the most photogenic
of the group – hands down!

3. My favorite factoid of the year thus far… Miss Georgia – isn’t even
the REAL Miss Georgia!!!! She was announced as the first runner up the
night of the pageant… But the next morning at the ‘congratulations
luncheon’, the board announced that the girl chosen had DECLINED the
opportunity and therefore the first runner up was taking her place!!! No
word on whether or not the winner simply wanted to scholarship money (and
not the job) or had naked pictures in her past… But fascinating to say the
least!

Tomorrow – we’ll talk about the Quality of Life Winners as well as the
JUDGES (which is quite a diverse group)… And seriously – the coverage of
this year’s event is the best I’ve ever seen — so make sure you check out
the following!

VegasDeluxe.com/blogs (Robin Leach’s blog – not for little kids because
c’mon, it’s Vegas and it’s Robin Leach. Scroll down and look for Miss
America photos and stuff – he’s got a plenty!)

AbbyBollenbacher.blogspot.com (she’s stepped it up this year and has LOTS of
great pic’s… Apparently when you’re a former queen who’s an out-of-work
actress, you have time on your hands you can do this kind of thing all day
long.)

MissAmerica.org (of course, look under contestant profiles)

TLC.com (has a 2-3 minute video of each girl that the TLC folks shot
professionally rather than the girls shooting it themselves… REALLY lets
you see who’s likely to excel in the interview competition and who’s a
bimbo.)

OK — That’s your LONG EMAIL for today… If you only get 30 minutes
tonight after the kids go to bed, go to TLC.com’s videos and write down a
few of your favorites… That’s the biggest bang for your buck in the
shortest period of time. 🙂

HERE WE GO!!! Only 6 days away!!! MISS AMERICA 2010 is about to be
crowned!!! I’m blowing kisses to all of you and double-checking my
waterproof mascara right now!!!

crl

Can you believe it?  Once again, we’re nearing the end of January… Which
means it’s that special time of year when we all gather around the
television as we prepare to crown a NEW MISS AMERICA!!!

I’m certain that each of you have been chewing your nails in anticipation of
seeing the girls in Vegas this just two short weeks!  Ok – well, to be
perfectly honest, it kinda snuck up on me this year.  After all – there is
no “pre-show” on TLC this year… So there’s no way to catch the girls and
their personalities until the final night of competition (Perhaps they
realized how good we all were at picking the winner last year and they
wanted to bring back the element of surprise!).

However – there are new opportunities for information this year… For
example, I’m desperately trying to discover who’s heavy on twitter so I can
get information as it happens from Vegas.  Can I just say – I won’t be
following Perez Hilton – that’s for sure!

I must tell you – having the pageant at the end of the month is not good for
my professional life (I’ve got budgets to hit you know) – AND – top it all
off with the fact that I was asked to host a fundraiser on behalf of our
radio station on the very same night as Miss America!  How unfair is that?
🙁  Yes – that means, even though every one of YOU will know who our new
Miss America is before I do… At least I will have an excuse for watching
the pageant in my royal purple Tadashi gown and fancy earrings!!! 🙂

So – those are the initial highlights… And my way of reminding you all to
arrange your schedules so you are near your TV on Saturday, January 30th
(yes – that’s the same day as the K-State/KU game in Manhattan… The one
where ESPN Gameday is coming to town… Just another reason why I’ll be
wearing a PURPLE gown that night – and boy, my Tivo is going to be BUSY!).

As always – rules of the game include…

1. Please forward these emails to anyone and everyone you know who can
handle and of course fully appreciate my nerosis when it comes to Miss
America.
2. Feel free to respond with your own thoughts or comments on my thoughts
and comments.
3. Don’t just take my word for it – take a few moments to double check my
favorite websites that give a bit of ‘inside scoop’.
4. If Miss Vermont wins anything this year it will be considered beyond
comprehension… Much like watching Miss America without chocolate.

Can’t wait to get another update to you… The girls arrive in Vegas on
Thursday, January 21st – but I’ll be in California at a Manager’s conference
until Friday night… So you probably won’t hear from me for at least a
week.  But you have plenty of time to check things out on your own… 🙂

MissAmerica.org
AbbyBollenbacher.blogspot.com
And of course every state has their own site where you can learn more about
your favorites.  Also, I’m guessing TLC will have some new stuff up on their
site before long too.

Until we meet again —- start practicing —–  “There she is…..”

🙂 crl

HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!

The big day is FINALLY here!!! Tonight, we’ll have ourselves a new Miss America!!! Whooooooo Hoooooooooo!!!!

Before I get started, I must say that I appreciate the encouragement I’ve received from those of you who have told me to “hang in there” after the Vermont Episode… I was about ready to throw in the towel last night, but I have decided to PRESS ON and go with my gut for tonight!

Before I give you my picks – please know that the Reality Series has thrown a slight wrinkle into the overall choices this evening… But nothing too overly significant. One question I keep hearing is “what if a girl with a Gold Sash gets voted in by the public and they numerically qualified for the Top 10?” My understanding is… They are going with the public’s choices as the “official choices” and then filling in the gaps with the judges choices. Therefore, the 4 “People’s Choice” winners will reflect the wishes of the public and if they also qualified for the Top 11, then the next highest score from the pageant will advance to the Top 15… NOT – the next highest set of votes from the public. I’m not sure it’s really going to matter – but thought I’d explain anyway.

OK – I’m confident of my Top 15, Top 10 and Top 5… It’s the Winner I’m not so sure about… Here we go!

To 15 – Oklahoma, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, Alabama, New York, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, California, Connecticut and Michigan.

Top 10 – Oklahoma, Florida, Indiana, Georgia, New York, California, Virginia, Mississippi, Michigan, Connecticut

Top 5 – Georgia, Indiana, New York, California, Mississippi

Winner – I’m choosing Georgia… Although I’m personally hoping Indiana pulls it out. Kind of a “head vs. heart” thing.

Please note – I have not included Vermont out of my own personal protest. I’m sure she’s a lovely girl – but I don’t really care.

There are several others that I don’t think have a chance at all, but I’ll keep those thoughts to myself. Even though I’ve obviously violated the “if you can’t say something nice…” motto — I should at least stop while I’m ahead (lol).

The big event begins tonight at 7:00pm central… And I’ll be faithfully watching all the festivities from my California home. I did discover that we’re all watching it live, together – so feel free to email me or call if you have thoughts that you’re desperate to share (although I prefer commercial breaks – smile ). I’ll be online checking out a few “live blogs” from around the country… And wishing I had joined “twitter” prior to this whole thing taking place (if you don’t know about twitter yet – it’s amazing – google it!).

That’s it!!! Thanks for reading — I’ll be sure to send up a follow-up email tomorrow after the pageant happens — and you still have time to send me your picks!!! If you win, I’ll brag on you to the whole email contingency 🙂 Best of Luck!

crl