On my last post, I left off on Monday night after my Glory of Christmas show... Tuesday morning I woke up bright and early and danced on "Good Day LA" for a segment on the Glory of Christmas. After that, I danced in two "Children's Day" shows where we put on the Glory of Christmas for thousands of school children absolutely free... it is always one of my favorite shows to perform in. I felt like I had come full circle and it was a surreal moment for me during the first show because my elementary school came to watch... I so vividly remember sitting in those chairs and longing to dance the role that I currently have. I was very grateful and humbled by the experience!
After the shows, I ran home, showered and got ready for the next event! By 6pm, I was in Los Angeles at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony for Loyola Marymount University. ASLMU (the student government of LMU) put on a wonderful evening complete with a horse-drawn carriage and an ice rink! All the money they raised went towards the Make-A-Wish Foundation and I spoke on behalf of the Foundation and also shared my favorite "wish story".
Wednesday was another bright an early morning as I went to Palm Desert to get my hair done... thank you Lorraine... wonderful as always! As soon as I got home, I changed and went to a birthday dinner for my mom (Happy Birthday mom!) and then I was off to Glory of Christmas shows...
On Thursday, we had our bi-monthly G.E.L. (Growing Exceptional Ladies) meeting and I thought I would share a picture with you of some of our girls that are involved this year! They are wonderful!
Friday morning I was on my way to Oakland for several events in the city. Linda Ontiveros picked me up from the airport and we went to Mary's closet. I cannot express how grateful I am for Mary and the Santa Clara Auxiliary! They are so very generous and I really appreciate all that they do for the organization and for me! After we visited Mary's, we headed to Linda's house for a makeup lesson. She was wonderful and it was a great hands-on experience. Thank you SO much for all of my wonderful makeup! To check out her products, visit Lindaontiveros.com
Friday night I attended the tree lighting ceremony in Jack London Square in Oakland. It was a great and we even got a sneak peek at two of the great floats that will be in the parade today! I was joined by Miss Rosa who is the host of a PBS Kids show as well as Tina from PBS kids. I had the honors of pulling the lever to light the trees. This was a much different tree lighting than earlier this week because I lit several palm trees rather than a traditional Christmas tree! I guess that is Christmas in California :) After the ceremony, we had a wonderful dinner at the Waterfront Hotel in the Presidential Suite. The parade staff and several honored guests were in attendances and it was a very fun night!
This morning I stayed in my pajamas until 10am taking a midterm! I am two weeks away from finishing school, so it is really crunch time!
Before the parade, I attended a VIP reception where there were hundreds of kids and many different characters including characters from Looney Tunes, Star Wars, etc. We took lots of pictures and I even got to visit with Santa! After the reception we headed to the mustang convertible for the parade! What a wonderful parade! There were numerous giant balloons, several floats and a bunch of convertibles with characters riding in them. The streets were lined with bundled up children and happy families waving and cheering. The parade will air in 145 different countries and you can visit the Oakland Holiday Parade website for more details!
With Jonathan and Wayne at the reception
The elf that walked in front of our car!
Before the parade
With Miss Oakland's Outstanding Teen and Miss Oakland
Anyways, I have to go take another test for school... thanks for reading!
Countdown to Miss America: 45 days
Instead of a quote, I have decided to change it up for Christmas... so...
Favorite song of the week: Christmas Shoes By Newsong
