Miss Winter Park...Week Two

Week two of my reign as Miss Winter Park was very eventful and filled with many appearances! On Tuesday, March 1st, I woke up before the sun was up and went to a local Ihop to help promote Children's Miracle Network during Ihop's National Pancake Day. I was so glad that I had taken the Children's Miracle Network Tour at Arnold Palmer Hospital the week before because it helped me promote CMN the best way possible! I was able to answer many questions that people had about the organization

The following day I met with my sister queens, executive director, members of the Miss Winter Park board, and some of our moms for dinner at Olive Garden. It was the first time that we all were together since the pageant. We made small talk and then talked about our game plan for the year. We discussed some big appearances that we wanted to make and about how to reconnect the people of Winter Park to the pageant. Oh! I also coined our team name that night: Team W.P.C.B! (Winter Park, City Beautiful) Below is a photo of us making our team sign! Hehe!

The rest of the week was packed with school work and then the weekend FINALLY came!

Friday, after class, I drove home to Kissimmee, picked up my sister, and went to visit my Lola Doray at Plantation Bay Nursing Home. We came just in time to have dinner with her. My favorite moment of the evening was when she winked at my sister and I. I winked back. Unfortunately, Samantha doesn't know how to wink so my Lola Doray then tried to teach her how to do so. It was the most adorable thing to watch :-)

Saturday morning, Sara (Miss City Beautiful) and I went to the XL106.7 Studios to help out the crew with Operation Princess Project. This project was started by Jayde from the Johnny and Jayde Morning Show. They hosted an evening gown drive where they collected over 3000 gowns. The Saturday that Sara and I came to help, was the day that girls from all over Florida came to find a FREE prom gown! As we know, prom gowns can be very expensive and this was a wonderful way to help make girls' prom dreams come true.

Miss Winter Park...Week One

Hello Again!

The past 3 weeks since I was crowned have been filled with so many appearances as Miss Winter Park and in order to catch you up I am going to divide the weeks into three separate blogs.

The day after Miss Winter Park was my 24th Birthday! As you can probably guess, winning Miss Winter Park was the best birthday gift ever! I spent the day with my family and took some time for much needed rest.

That following Wednesday, February 23rd, my sister and I took a Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Tour at the Arnold and Winnie Palmer Hospitals. Our tour guide was Amy Moyer. She brought us to the Neonatal Unit where most of the CMN goes towards. She expressed to us how much of an impact CMN makes on nonprofit hospitals such as Arnold and Winnie Palmer. For example, the incubators that are used in the neonatal unit cost about $118,000 each and CMN was able to provide over 20 for the hospital.

Amy took us to visit some of the playrooms where we had the opportunity to meet a few of the kids. One of my favorite parts of the tour was when Amy brought us to the Trauma Unit. CMN was able to provide $1 million to Arnold Palmer to develop this unit. Amy informed us that it takes the trauma team approximately 45 seconds to move the patient from the helipad to the trauma unit. How amazing! The room is kept at 88 degrees to keep patients warm while they are receiving all the necessary procedures. This CMN tour was very informative and it has given me a greater perspective on how important it is to promote this organization as much as possible.

That following Friday, February 25th, I went to a H.O.P.E. event sponsored my Morgan and Morgan. Allison Kreiger, Miss Florida 2006, has been working on her H.O.P.E. platform for 10 years now and it continues to grow. Allison has been very inspirational to me. Her work ethic and love for her H.O.P.E. organization are truly commendable.

The next day my mom, aunt, sister, and I ventured to Gainesville to watch the Miss Gainesville Pageant. Before arriving at the venue where the pageant was held, we visited my cousin Mara who was voluteering at a local elementary school. She and a team of people were giving the school a makeover. Mara took us on a tour of the school to show us all of their projects and paintings. On the basketball court was a map of the United States...of course I had to take a picture next to Florida :-)

Then we were off to the pageant. The pageant was a blast to watch! Congratulations to Myrrhanda Jones, Laura Beard, Olivia Stacy, and Ashley Innis for a job well done! I also got the chance to see my director, Ross Amkraut, and Rachel my sister queen. Diana Kelly, who is a beloved friend, was giving away her Miss Gainesville title that night. It was very emotional for me because this will be the first time in a long time that Diana won't be at Miss Florida with me. I wish her all the best and I am so thankful to have her in my life.

Well that concludes week one of my adventures as Miss Winter Park! I can't wait to share the next two with you!

Love,

Kristina

Miss Winter Park :-)

Hello Friends!

There is so much to catch you up on! On February 19th I was crowned Miss Winter Park! I was so overcome with joy when they called my name as the new titleholder. My sister was also crowned minutes before me as Miss Winter Park's Outstanding Teen! Many of family members were there to support us which made the night even more memorable. The pageant was a blast and I made a lot of new friends!

Also crowned that night are my sister queens, Sara York and Rachel Strever. They were crowned Miss City Beautiful and Miss City Beautiful's Outstanding Teen. They are the sweetest girls and I am so glad that we are going to have a whole year of experiences together.

Oh I can't wait!

Hello all!

I am so overwhelmed with excitement for this weekend and the month of February that I just HAD to gush about all of it in this post!

I am competing for the title of Miss Orlando this weekend. I cannot wait till Saturday morning when I will be back in "Pageant Land." I love everything about pageants...the preparation, the anticipation, the chance for the judges to get to know you, and the chance to be on stage. Miss Orlando will be the first local I have competed in this "Pageant Season" and I am anxious to compete...not out of nervousness, but rather for the thrill of competing again after 6 months. Another reason why I am particularly excited about Miss Orlando is because my younger sister, Samantha will be competing for the title of Miss Orlando's Outstanding Teen this weekend. We will be dancing the opening number together, which is a first for us.

The weekend after Miss Orlando is the SUPERBOWL!!! Now, a tidbit about myself...I never watched football prior to this season, but I was sucked into the football world by a Packer fan....need I say more?

The following week I will be taking a tour of the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. Just today, I contacted the hospital and asked if there was a way to take a tour that highlighted all of the things that Children's Miracle Network has been able to provide for them. I told the woman that I spoke with that I competed in the Miss America system and she was familiar with the partnership that we have with CMN. She was truly delighted to hear that I wanted to visit the hospital.

And to top off the month of February, I will be celebrating my birthday on the 20th! So, needless to say, the month of February is going to be a GIANT celebration!

Until next time!

Kristina

New year, new hair, new beginnings!

Hello All!

My, my, my...It has been a looooong time since I have posted a blog. There is so much to fill you in on, I don't even know where to begin!

Right before Thanksgiving I cut off all of my hair! Now I am sporting a super short bob and I love it! My Thanksgiving was "stuffing" to say the very the least. The very next day (Black Friday) my entire family and I went shopping (One of my ALL TIME favorites hobbies!)

The second week of December, right after finals, my two friends from the Sweetheart Pageant came to visit me here in Sunny Florida! Well, in reality, it wasn't too sunny...it was rather cold, but to the two of them it was warm...considering they are from Kansas and North Dakota. For those of you that don't know or remember my older blogs, I went to the Sweetheart Pageant in September 2009. All of the first runners-up from each state are invited to Illinois to compete for a national title. I met Jaci Stofferahn (North Dakota) and Alex Miller (Kansas) at this pageant. It was so awesome to see these girls again, almost a year later! The three of us, along with some friends went out and about in Orlando.

Well, my winter break was most definitely a fun one! Christmas was absolutely wonderful! I spent it with my family and the day was filled with laughs, song, and lots of FOOD!!!

The night right after Christmas, my family and some friends hopped into my mom's big ole Red excursion and went on a road trip to West Virginia for some skiing at Snowshoe Mountain. What was supposed to be a 16 hour trip, became a 20 hour trip due to the huge snow storm that took over most of the Northeast! Fortunately, we made it safely to our destination and enjoyed 2 days of skiing. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I was skiing like a pro! I went down a black diamond called the "Widowmaker." The name alone should be enough of a description of how steep this slope was!

We returned from our trip just in time to ring the New Year with the rest of my family. Happy belated New Year everyone!

In two weeks, my sister and I will be competing for the titles of Miss Orlando and Miss Orlando's Outstanding Teen. This past saturday, we and a few of the other contestants went to a recording studio here in Orlando, to record a few lines of "We Will Rock You" for our opening number. It was the first time I had ever stepped foot in a recording studio before and I was in complete awe of the place! That night, my family celebrated my little cousin, Danielle's 6th birthday. All of the girls congregated in my aunt's bedroom to watch Miss America. Congratulations to our new Miss America, Teresa Scanlon!!! Oh and I must add, that I watched the Packers vs Falcons game wilst watching Miss America...Haha! Way to go Packers!!! I see the Superbowl in their midst!

Last, but certainly not the least, my parents celebrated their silver anniversary on the 14th! Twenty-five years! Last night, we had a big celebration as Maggiano's (A restaurant that I recommend to everyone!!!) We all had a blast!

I promise not to wait too long to post another blog!

Until then,

Kristina

Pageant Season has finally begun!

Hello Friends!

It sure has been a long time since I have posted anything...I apologize! School has been very hectic!

Pageant season has finally begun and I cannot wait to witness what the year will bring! I attended the the Miss Daytona Beach pageant on October 17th. It was so nice to catch up with pageant friends and watch the girls compete. Congratulations to Kalen Dennis, Dasha Gonzalez, and Victoria Williams for winning their brand new titles!

On Thursday, October 21, I visited my high school, Bishop Moore Catholic High School, to watch my sister in her Drama Club's Concert called "Varsity Spotlight." It was a showcase of all of the performances that the Drama Club would be taking to District Competition. My sister opened the show with her solo musical performance of "Astonishing." She performed beautifully!

The next 2 days were very busy, as I was asked to emcee the Little Miss Apopka Pageant. There were two competitions. The first one was for girls between the ages of 4-7 and the second one was for girls between 8-11. They were so cute to watch and need I say talented? I was completely blown away by the amount of talent that the girls had!

In about 2 weeks, I will be crowning the next Miss Apopka. It is always a bittersweet moment when you give your title away. I can't wait to see who is crowned!

Until Then!

Kristina

First Youth Group Meeting for the New School Year!

Hello Friends!

Today my youth group met for the first youth group meeting for the 2010-2011 school year. Everyone was so excited to see familiar faces!

We played ice breakers, conversed about the topic of the day, and shared our summer stories.

The topic of the day was "Time Travels." I shared the following Bible verse with the kids:

"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered-how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath." -Psalm 39:4-5

We talked about how short life is and about how time flies. We discussed how to make the most each day and how to live our lives to the fullest.

I am so excited to see what wonderful experiences youth group will bring this year!

Until I write again!

Love,

Kristina