October Appearances

These are the GORGEOUS 5 Carat Diamond earrings I wore all evening-

Thank you Stuller Jewelers!

Washington Parish Fair- it was in the 50's and we were OUTSIDE!

Did I look cold? I WAS!

Mosely and Hollard Fashion show- these were the other ladies modeling

Council women from the district they were so welcoming!

I'm a Good Kid Too- event with Miss LSU

The winner of the diamond necklace raffled off that evening.

Virginia Alexander and his BEAUTIFUL purse, I believe he said was made from silver and gold- he is designing one for me to carry for the Krewe of Rio Mardi Gras ball!!!!

Diamonds and Champagne Gala- the lady of the house Anna Cefalu far left

Miss Camila City Pageant- Prelim to Miss LA USA/Teen USA-judges and winners

Even though the month is not over I thought I needed to update! At one point I had NOTHING on my calendar and it seemed to magically POOF get real busy, real fast- which I love. Right after I returned home I was asked to judge the Miss Camelia City pageant a prelim for Miss LA USA and Teen USA- it was a great night and I can't wait to see the girls compete at the end of the month1 I had the wonderful opportunity to participant in the Diamonds and Champagne night to benefit the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra. This included a live jewelry auction, to which I doned a pair of 5 CARAT diamond earrings. I tried to convince Tim I needed them, but he wasn't buying- literally! A great time was had by all. Also in October I attended the " I'm a Good Kid Too" camp and recognition ceremony in honor of children who were making the right choices in life, despite their circumstances. It was a wonderful morning in Baton Rouge with the kids and several of the council women from that area. I was then asked to partake in the fashion show for Mosely and Hollard for Women at the Lafayette Decorators Showhouse- this boutique was gracious enough to sponsor my interview suit for Mrs. LA and Mrs. America! They are a fabulous store check them out! But what truly made this special was my Dad and Step-Mom are the builders of the beautiful home the style show was held at- plus my family was there! Lastly, I was honored to return home to Washington Parish and emcee the Washington Parish Fair Queens contest. There were 17 young ladies competing that night- it was a packed fair grounds on a beautiful fall night! What more could you ask for? I was able to spend time with my Mom and reminisce of days traveling as fair and festival queens- and see a few people I had not seen in probably a good 10 years! I have one more appearance this month and the rest of my time is spent with Gabe and work! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Mrs America Slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The above slide show is a great synopisis of my Mrs America experience, but it is rather long. Although I did not make top 10, I had the time of my life! This was the most incredible group of women/friends that I will have forever. Louisiana did walk away as the state costume WINNER! Thanks goes to Rebecca from the Lafayette Krewe of Rio for loaning me her incredible outfit. A little side note- the zipper BUSTED in the costume as I was dressing for competition and beautiful Mrs Illinois safety pinned me in the dress! She was a lifesaver, she kept me from lossing it- she has a beautiful spirit about her!



A very special thank you to my family- you will never truly understand the gratitute and love I have for each of you. This would NEVER have happened without you ALL! To the family that traveled to Tucson- Tim, Momma, Lindsey, Dad, Sylvia, Brandon, Matthew, and Christian words cannot express how awesome it was to have you there cheering me on- the flags and signs were fabulous! Louisiana definitely had the best cheering section! Mom and Lindsey thanks for keeping me calm and helping with hair/make-up and EVERYTHING else I needed. Dad and Sylvia- you 2 were my rocks as I prepared for this journey I don't know that I would have made it without you both. And lastly to Tim my Mr. Louisiana- I love you more than you will ever understand, your smile alone speaks volumes- Thank you for the dress to wear on my Big Day at Mrs America- it was the talk!



To all at home who were unable to travel with me- Thank you thank you thank you for all your cards, flowers, text messages that kept me going this week. My wonderful in law- Greg and Lettie I am so blessed to have you, you keeping Gabe at home meant I didn't have to worry, especially on his birthday. I love you both.



I am thrilled to be home back to normal being a wife, mom, co-worker, friend, and still Mrs. Louisiana! I look forward to the rest of my year serving my GREAT STATE!

Jen

Prelims!- ENJOY

Here are some pictures from preliminary competition tonight! Enjoy

Interview Day

OK well I have exhausted 3 sets of batteries and 2 cameras! We have had long days and sorry for not posting. I went to pull pics from camera tonight and well you must have battery to take them off-so NO pics still. I will post the rest of my pictures from my time in Arizona when I return home Wed. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement- Interview went FABULOUS today and I really enjoyed the conversations I had with all of the judges. Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers coming as prelims are tomorrow. My family will post on facebook so be on the look out!

Day 3 Mrs America Rehearsals/Shopping Adventure/Dignitary Dinner

Roommates are the BEST!

Dinner in the Presidential Suite

The Jennifer's- there are 6 delegates named Jennifer!!!!

LSU vs Washington Saturday night- GEAUX TIGERS!!!!

Mrs Hawaii and I all smiles!

Former USA girls

Girls from the SOUTH!

Mrs Missouri and I both have Cache sponsorship!

Today was a long day with an early morning workout followed by rehearsals all morning. We received our competition swimsuits today I have an aqua blue one-piece with sarong. We enjoyed a wonderful outing to a great shopping area complete with red carpet treatment- strawberries and champagne. I had a wonderful time shopping with my roommate as well as Mrs. Vermont and Mrs. Kansas. Mrs Vermont got the deals of the day! Our cocktail dinner was lots of fun and everyone looked gorgeous. We presented a gift from our state to the CVB President of Tucson Johnathan Walker. I had a great basket with lovely wine glasses, red wine, and of course LA pralines! A great time was had by all!

Day 2 Mrs America- Rehearsals/Habitat for Humanity/Dinner

Diane Tucker- Mrs America and Mrs World

Dinner Time!

Group Photo's are fun 51 women all trying to be still and smile!

These are the Gardeners with the HATS!

Push Hard Mrs WV- that ground was tough!

Holding my tree that we planted

Rehearsals- what fun!

Vermont, LA, Mississippi, and Tennessee

Today was the first day of rehearsals and it wasn't that bad- I am sure I will have forgotten it by morning :) Frit and Frat are the funniest choreographers and make us all feel comfortable. We were also fitted for our opening number dresses- I will be wearing GREEN! Lunch came and then we headed to plant trees with Habitat for Humanity Women at Work! It was really neat to do this, thank goodness my roommate knew what to do, poor tree had it been just myself! Did I mention we did this at 3PM in Tucson (105*) Can you say HOT HOT HOT! It was a wonderful experience even in the heat. We then boarded back on the bus and headed to the hotel to QUICKLY change clothes for dinner out in the city. We ate great mexican food and enjoyed visiting with the ladies. Now its off to bed with prayers of sleeping/breathing (allergies) can't wait for my medicine to arrive tomorrow-THANKS MOM!

Day 1 Mrs America Registration and Orientation Dinner- Sept 1

Mrs LA and Mrs WV Roommates!

These are the lovely ladies I shared dinner with at Orienation.

Registration receiving our official sashes

Breakfast with Kentucky and Pennsylvania

All the delegates have arrived and are looking gorgeous. I had a great early morning workout to start my day and then a lite breakfast with some delegates. Then, Mrs. Alaska, Texas, Kansas and myself all made a wal-mart run this afternoon for necessary goodies! When I returned my sweet roommate Mrs West Virginia had arrived and we got a chance to visit and get to know one another before dinner. Then it was off to the first true event- Orientation Dinner. We all introduced ourselves and listened to a brief overview of the days ahead. Dinner was yummy and the conversation even better. Mrs Florida received a beautiful handbag for competing in her state title a record 8 times before winning! It was a great day and am looking forward to what lies ahead!

Mrs. America Arrival Tucson, AZ Aug 31st!

Dinner with Alaska, DC, Texas, Indiana, myself, NH, Arkansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Illinois!

All 6 boxes arrived safe and sound- PLUS some cheery flowers!

The Wonderful AA crew from Dallas/San Francisco!

Mrs Texas- Melissa

Leaving LA for Tuscon!

I am here! I left Shreveport at 11:25 and met up with Mrs Texas and Mrs Nebraska for the rest of the journey to Tucson. We had a car waiting for us at the airport and it was FULL of luggage from top to bottom. The resort is beautiful and the staff has been super! They brought all 6 of my boxes up to my room. I also had some cheery flowers waiting on me- Thank you Sarah and Ellyn- that made my day! After checking in with all the family and 2 hours of unpacking. I freshened up for dinner with 9 other delegates. It was a great time to relax and get to know some ladies before everyone gets here tomorrow. We met up with the official photographer took some shots and even met some of the Mrs America staff and Mr Marmel. This is so sureal that I am actually here- I am enjoying every minute of this GRAND adventure!!!!

UPS-off to Mrs America!

You counted right- 3 boxes, 2 baskets to be boxed, and 1 tubb for a total of 6 Items shipped!!!


A HUGE thank you goes to the UPS store -Line Ave in Shreveport for shipping all of my boxes to Tucson for the Mrs America pageant. You are simply wonderful. Thanks Dee for taking such good care of my dignitary gifts and the 4 other boxes! Mr. Preston I can't wait to be a part of the Grand Opening of your new store!

KSLA- news at Noon

KSLA noon news team! They're the BEST!

KSLA news anchor and former Mrs LA 2007 Najahe Hall and myself


Former Mrs LA Najahe Hall asked me to do an interview on her noon news show in Shreveport to promote Mrs. America. We had a great conversation about MENC, skin cancer prevention, the upcoming pageant, and of course my family. KSLA provided the public with a quick look at the Mrs. America website and the Mrs. LA web page! It was so wonderful to be able to spend some time with her and to share with the viewing audience my excitement for the upcoming event.

Chick Fil A - MENC fundraiser- Aug. 20th

Gabe had a Blast!!!

The wonderful crew at Chick Fil A in Shreveport!

THANKS a Million!

Chick Fil A was gracious enough to have a spirit night for MENC. We had a great turn out and lots of fun was had by all! Thanks to all who came out to support me and MENC. Gabriel had a wonderful time playing and seeing the Cow- thanks Miss Sarah for all of your help!