Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope it is a wonderful holiday filled with lots of great food and most important lots of quality family time. Enjoy the day!!!

Long over due update!

Well, it certainly has been quite a long time since my last update!

The last time I updated this blog was the day before I left for pageant week....it is so funny for me to reread that entry and to think about the great mix of emotions I was feeling!

I obviously did not win the title of Miss New York 2008 but I had the most amazing time during pageant week! I had so much fun meeting each of the girls and worked extremely hard at rehearsals and appearances. It was surprising how kind all of the girls were and how I felt that we all actually cared about each other. We all remarked at one point how it didn't even feel like we were going to be competing against each other! I was so honored to have been awarded with one of the preliminary talent awards as well as 4th runner up. It was the first time Miss Greater Rochester has ever made Top 5 and has ever won preliminary talent!!! Miss Brooklyn Leigh-Taylor Smith won the title of Miss New York 2008 and I know she will do a fabulous job representing our state. She is a very kind, charming, ambitious, funny, and beautiful girl and I am glad she is such a strong representative of all of the 2008 contestants.

I was really sad for the experience of competing for Miss NY to come to an end. I had the best time preparing, I really honestly did! For the first couple weeks after the pageant I didn't quite know what to do with myself haha It took a little bit of adjusting back to a "normal" life.

My first trip back to Rochester after the pageant I made an appearance at the Park Ave Festival. It is certainly a festival that Rochester loves and it seemed to have had a great turn out! I was at the Progressive Remodeling booth and I enjoyed passing out Miss Greater Rochester postcards and talking to the various festival enthusiasts who passed by!

I also made an appearance at the American Red Cross Ride for the Red in Wayne County. That was such a great fundraiser for the American Red Cross and I was really glad to have the chance to make an appearance out in Wayne County. After all, I'm not "Miss Rochester" I'm "Miss GREATER Rochester" as in the entire Greater Rochester area!

At the end of August, back in Rochester, I was interviewed on the Livingston On Line Radio Show with David Parish. Melanie also joined me in the interview and she and I talked about how fantastic the Miss Greater Rochester Organization is. It is an organization that I truly believe in and I am so thankful for all the opportunities that have come my way as a result of being a part of the Miss Greater Rochester Organization.

The first weekend of September, back in NYC, I made my way to Brooklyn, NY for Leigh-Taylor Smith's homecoming celebration! I braved the fierce winds and rains as a result of Hurricane Hannah and went to Leigh-Taylor's party to offer her once again my congratulations at being Miss New York.

This past weekend I returned home to Rochester once again and appeared in the Columbus Day parade in downtown Rochester. I rode in style sitting in the back of a beautiful convertible with three of the pageant title holders from the Monroe County Fair Pageant. We could not have asked for more beautiful weather and I was thankful for such a strong turnout!

Sorry for such a delay in my posts. I am soooo busy right now as it is my last semester in college. I'm trying to fulfill all of my regular academic credits at NYU as well as give a strong showing at each agent/casting director meeting I have at my studio. It is a very busy, crazy, and slightly overwhelming semester but it's nothing I can't handle!

Thank you all so much for your support!!!

Here I go.....

I haven't documented my last couple trips home to Rochester mainly because I have been so incredibly busy!

The past two times I was in Rochester I spent the time raising money for RAPA Theatre by participating in the Walk for RAPA. We raised $3000 for my childhood theatre, the theater that I credit my beginning and successes in the performing arts. I also appeared in the 4th of July parade in Irondequoit and had a great time making a festive appearance.

Both of these trips home were dominated by my efforts in preparation for Miss NY. While I'm in NYC I am working so hard on my own, hitting the gym, staying up on current events, etc but when I am home in Rochester I spend a lot of time with my directors finding outfits, fittings, hair appointments, rehearsing, and just preparing in general.

After over 5 months, yes FIVE months, of preparation I leave for Miss NY tomorrow. I simply cannot believe it! It's so weird how you look ahead and forward to something for so long and then all of a sudden it's right there in front of you!

I feel ready. Calista and Melanie have done SO much to help me prepare and I know I have met them half way with my efforts as well. I do feel ready. I feel excited and thrilled for such an amazing opportunity and can't even imagine what this week has in store! Of course I am a little nervous as well....because I don't fully know what to expect. But as they said at workshop, I'm going to "expect the unexpected!"

I'm going to go to Miss New York and represent the Greater Rochester area as it should be represented. I am so proud to represent Rochester and all it has to offer and I can't wait to talk about the city and all the work I have done as a title holder.

Worst case scenario...I come in dead last. But hey, I'm still Miss Greater Rochester and I will return home and continue being the best title holder I can possibly be for the rest of my year. And that's pretty fabulous in my eyes!

"Here I go...and there's no turning back. My great adventure has begun! I may be small but I've got giant plans to shine as brightly as the sun!...I'll be astonishing at last!!!"

appearance on Long Island

Even though I'm Miss Greater Rochester I stay in NYC during the summers (as well as during the school year obviously) and work and basically just enjoy the city. My close proximity to Long Island allowed for me to attend the Miss New York appearance at Melville, LI's Costco as they tried to raise money for CMN.

I attended the appearance with Miss Long Island, Alyse Zwick and Miss Southeast New York, Marina Montes. I had a really good time getting to know these girls, as well as the current Miss New York Elisabeth Baldanza, as we all posed for pictures with the local shoppers. Each picture was a donation of $5 for the Children's Miracle Network and I believe we raised a great deal of money for such a good cause!

I'm really glad I had the chance to make this appearance because it allowed me another opportunity to proudly wear my crown and sash as Miss Greater Rochester. I love every chance I get to go out into the public and meet with all kinds of people and to promote organizations, such as Miss America and CMN, that I truly believe in. I also was able to get to know two of the girls I'll be spending pageant week with. Additionally, I had a chance to talk with Elisabeth and learn more about her and the Miss NY title.

It was a great day!!!!

I had a fabulous time this last trip I made to Rochester, NY!
The timing of the trip could not have worked out better. I picked the weekend of May 9th because I had just finished up with finals and moved into my new apartment in the East Village. So I wanted to take a short trip home before I began working full time in the city. But it worked out so well because not only did it allow for me to be home for Mother's Day but I was also home for the Lilac Festival as well! I actually was the Lilac Festival Queen in 2004, it was the first pageant I ever competed in, so it is always so nice to go back to the festival and visit with everyone I worked with during my year as queen. The festival is one of the many things that make me so proud to call Rochester my home because it is such a great combination of food, music, art, and family fun that really brings the entire community together. And of course, the beautiful lilacs! Rochester is the flower city after all!!!
The best part of appearing at the festival as Miss Greater Rochester was all the little girls who kept coming up to me with their parents because they thought I was a princess :) Definitely being a role model to these young girls, as well as to the rest of the community, is one of my favorite parts of being Miss Greater Rochester.
My next trip home is schedules for June 12th. In the mean time I'm working hard in nyc in preparation for the state pageant (less than two months away!!!!!) and looking into a couple different projects and volunteer opportunities that I would like to get involved with on my returning trips to Rochester.
stay tuned for more!

Miss NY 2008 Workshop

Wow, what a weekend!

I had such a good time at the pageant workshop....after a couple months of thinking about and preparing for the state pageant it was wonderful to actually be doing something for it with all the other girls I'll be competing with. The girls are absolutely outstanding. I was so impressed with what a diverse, intelligent, beautiful, and ambitious group of girls the 2008 contestants are. One thing is for sure, the judges have their work cut out for them this year!

Saturday, the first day of the workshop, was primarily an information session. We heard a lot about the pageant and the directors' and producers' visions. We spoke with Elisabeth and Bethlene on their experiences as Miss NY and we got to know each other a little bit! I like that the vision for the pageant is very glamorous and fashion forward....I can tell that Miss NY is trying to keep up with Miss America and in turn with the times by trying to keep the competition hip, trendy, and modern. After all, it's all about finding an "It" girl, right?!

On Sunday we all participated in the "Reality Check." We were told to "expect the unexpected!" haha It was fun, actually! All the contestants performed their talents and I can honestly say everyone was very strong. I was really impressed with the passion and beauty in the other girls' performances. Being a theatre major, I especially enjoy the talent portion of pageants. It's always my favorite to compete in and my favorite to watch! The "judges" gave constructive criticism and I'm definitely looking forward on getting to work on my talent and making it as good as it can possibly be. After we performed our talents, we picked our contestant numbers. I will lucky number 8! The last part of the "Reality Check" was changing into our swimsuits. Again, the directors gave very good constructive criticism and spoke on the importance of being physically fit and healthy. We broke for lunch, and returned to learn various model walks and moves as well as part of our opening number. Since learning some of these model walks I find myself judging myself and my steps as I try to gracefully strut down the streets! haha

The workshop was such a positive experience and it only made me more excited about the coming pageant. I'm so honored to be among this amazing group of young women. I cannot wait until July!!!!!

back in Rochester

I had another really awesome weekend in Rochester. I came home on Friday March 28th and went straight to an event at Shadow Lake. The fundraiser was for the Center for Disability Rights and it was a celebrity bar tending/silent auction event. Kinda cool that I was there as one of the celebrities! :) Anyway, I walked around that night with Mrs. New York and we sold raffle tickets, roses, and desserts! It was a really nice night and is always touching to see so many people get together to support a good cause.

The next day I went to the Home Show at the Convention Center. I was stationed at the Progressive Remodeling Booth, as Progressive Remodeling is a major sponsor of the Miss Greater Rochester Organization. I just spoke with different people going by and passed out fliers for Progressive Remodeling. Definitely the best part of the day was the little girls who were with their parents and would get so excited when they saw me with the crown. They thought I was a princess! haha

I spent the rest of the weekend with my family, which is always something I enjoy doing. My timing worked out really well for this trip because I was able to attend my aunt's retirement party and saw a lot of family and family friends I haven't seen in a long time.

That's all for now!