Over the River and Through the Woods... Twice Now

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
-- Anne Bradstreet


I feel a big fat juicy blog entry coming on... Wait - time out... Alright, I'm back. I had to brew myself a cup of tea, crank the Christmas tunes, and plug in the tree. Nothing says "Christmas Cheer" like a six-foot-tall Douglas Fir of solid PVC, wire, and two-toned "never shed" needles. Which reminds me, my poor tree is in desperate need of a tree skirt - its scrawny feet are shamelessly sticking out and are lookin' pretty pitiful.

Well, plenty to report, so lets get down to business. When I last bid you adieu, I was halfway through an excellent weekend in Wenatchee. My final night at the Festival of Trees was more fun than a barrel of (Christmas) monkeys! Patti Belik and I attended the Gala Auction to benefit the Performing Arts Center and it was a hit. I was asked to perform White Christmas to kick off the dinner and then had the opportunity to do what I love best: rubbing elbows and schmoozing with the best of 'em! I helped egg on - er, encourage - patrons to graciously up their bids. Last year's auction brought in a little under $40,000 and this year, preliminary calculations estimate the grand total at a whopping $94,000! I'm so glad I was able to meet and greet all of the friendly folks from Wenatchee, especially our gracious host, Penny Carpenter and event administrator, Jennifer Bushong. Thanks for making us feel right at home!

After braving the snowy mountain passes back home (actually, Patti did most of the braving... napping was my pasttime of choice on this trip), I made a quick, albeit - important stop, at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Gingerbread Village opening at the Seattle Sheraton. Costumed little ones performed song and dance from around the world and I was the honorary "leader" of the group convened to select the winning confection. I encourage everyone who passes through downtown Seattle to check out these culinary masterpieces... these aren't your average gingerbread houses! I believe the winner was actually a delicate and ornate sugar-based globe adorned with people, monuments, and animals. Quite the Christmas site and certainly a worthy cause. Check out the photo albums below for a visual.

Peggy Miller and I can now check one daunting task off the to-do list: my Miss America wardrobe is officially complete! Whew! One trip to Luda's at FitRite, one evening at Belle Square, and two reduced-fat egg nog lattes later, we made it happen. This leads me up to Thanksgiving break. I hope everyone out there enjoyed plenty of time with family and friends, comfortabely lounged about, and ate entirely too much turkey and stuffing like I did. I was so blessed to have the time to visit and relax with all my favorite family members and hope that this whole holiday season will be filled with such treasured memories.

After a quick business meeting with my fitness sponsor, Callaway Fitness, I packed up and headed North. Then East. My ever-reliable Dad chauffered me out of Seattle to meet up with Patti Belik for yet another trip over the river and through the woods. This time, Destination: Leavenworth, Mission: Good Morning, America. It was a late night of traveling... and, of course, napping for me... but we arrived at the lavish and lovely home of John & Peggy Carpenter around 9 PM. After relishing in a tasty homemade dinner, we retired to bed only to rise about three hours later. Filming in Leavenworth started at 3 AM. Yikes! If you know me, you know I'm anything BUT a morning person. But this problem was easily solved by psyching myself out. You see, I'm convinced that 3 AM is clearly not early morning, but late night. I mingled with so many of the excited town members that morning. Snow covered the entire landscape, miles and miles of Christmas lights twinkled, and Christmas Cheer was in heavy supply. I know this sounds corny, but it really was pretty magical. In addition to meeting Father Christmas and St. Nicholas (who gleefully introduced himself as Bill), I met the Wise Men, half a dozen Santas, Good Morning, America host Sam Champion, and was greeted with a hearty and spontaneous, "We love you, Miss Washington!" from a couple dozen sweethearts from Cascade High School's choir who performed that morning. If you're out there, I love you too! Penny gave us a tour of Leavenworth the next day... well, actually, later that day and our last hour was spent enjoying a most scrumptious breakfast that was certainly not within the confines of the pageant diet but was well worth the guilt. Ha!

We're almost all caught up here. Over the past weekend, Peggy Miller and I were delighted to be accompanied to Oregon by Miss Washington Teen USA, Mandy Schendel. We met with the pleasantly proper Beth Hjalseth for some etiquette training. Apparently Peggy was sick of me nonchalantly putting my feet up on restaurants' tables and proving my talents at simultaneously chatting and masticating! Haha, I'm entirely pulling your leg. We received a one-on-one seminar on correct and proper professional and dining etiquette that I'm certain will come in handy in the future. We all giggled and squirmed in awkward delight at our newfound talents and know-how and we're anxious for some practice. We need it! Not that we're naturally rude or impolite, it takes talent to get through a meal "Continental Style." Thanks again for your patience and your hospitality, Beth!

I've spent a couple of sessions with my personal trainer from Callaway Fitness and I'm one sore cookie. But you know what they say, "Pain is beauty." Whoever decided that ought to be a rule of thumb, anyway? What a nitwit. Lastly, I returned today from a trip to the Yakima Valley. I was the official "tree-lighter" at the first annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at Yakama Legends Casino. As an enrolled tribal member, its always an honor to return home and spend time with fellow members of the Yakama Nation. The evening turned out to be an impromptu autograph and photo session, but I met plenty of starry-eyed young ones and that made my day. Thank you to the staff and patrons of Legends Casino for making this a special event for me.

Well, my tea is gone, the songs are all re-runs, and my tree is really soaking up the wattage on my next electricity bill, so I think, I'll call it quits for tonight. Tomorrow I have an afternoon photo shoot with one of my all-time favorite photogs ever, Mr. Duell Fisher from Team Photogenic. I'm so excited! Time with Duell is always a delight. I hope everybody is getting just as excited as I am for the upcoming holiday. Travel safely out there and my thoughts and prayers are with all of the Washington residents whose lives and comfort have been tremendously interrupted due to the horrendous storms. If I can be of any service or help, don't hesitate to let me know.

Now that the reading's done, feel free to peruse the photos! Some are FAR overdue. Just FYI.


Love & light,

elyse*


Good Morning America, Etiquette Training, & Tree Lighting
http://plu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027212&l=f5856&id=44902634

YW Miami, PLU Game, Pre-Miss America Reality Series, Wenatchee Festival of Trees &
JDRF Gingerbread Village
http://plu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027210&l=83332&id=44902634

Miss America Cruise & YWCA Miami
http://plu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027181&l=400b3&id=44902634

Miss America Cruise!
http://plu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027180&l=ce267&id=44902634

The Awesome Fire Truck, Yakima YWCA, & TACID
http://plu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025107&l=86155&id=44902634