Play by Play of My Evening...

Whooooooooo Hooooooooooooo for the Final Night of Miss America Competition!!!! :)

I realize that you’re not waiting on a play by play of my evening last night - but it’s my obsession, so I'm going to go ahead and share...

4:45pm - getting ready for Glass Slipper Ball – my Fabulous Purple dress hangs in the doorway of bathroom
5:00pm - KSU/KU game starts - I'm not even trying to watch while I figure out what to do with my hair...
5:45pm – Ready for the event, I walk downstairs... River runs up to me and says he wants to marry me (aawwww!) :)
5:48pm - get in car drive to ball - rehearsing script (out loud) as I drive
6:30pm - arrive at ball, meet people, given new script (of course) and more rehearsing takes place
7:30pm - after receiving multiple text updates about game, I go looking for a bathroom... Only to stumble on to the hotel bar - with the game on TV
7:32pm - meet K-State grads in town for the weekend at the bar. We’re all fixated on the TV – they in their jeans and me in my gown
8:10pm - I begin to wonder if my table thinks I'm lost or am trapped in the bathroom. I don't care. I'm not leaving in the middle of overtime.
8:30pm - Heartbroken, I skulk back to my table... Strangely enough, multiple people are NOW complimenting my purple dress.
8:45pm - on stage... Introducing a dance troupe who ironically, is dancing to Liza Minelli’s “Ring Them Bells” (this is for Mom, Cathy and Grandma)
9:20pm – finally eat something. I can’t eat before I’m on stage
10:45pm – saying goodbyes and preparing the leave the event. Sponsor is thrilled --- tells me I’m hired for as long as they do this event. I once again refrain from having the conversation stated in earlier post :)
11:15pm - arrive home. Turn on Tivo'd Miss America with JL by my side :)
1:00am - Miss America 2010 is crowned (on my TV) :)
2:00am - in bed - tired , but not sleeping. The girl I chose finishes as 1st runner up and my team lost a heartbreaker in overtime. Being the bridesmaid in both areas is not how I anticipated the evening would end. :(
2:25am - Mental note... next time, be sure to buy 'lucky shoes' to wear with the Fabulous Purple dress. :)

Picks for 2010 - Final Post Before the Big Event!

Oh - My - Goodness. It's here - it's finally here!!!!

TONIGHT WE CROWN A NEW MISS AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Someone remind me again why I knowingly volunteered to emcee an event tonight... ? Maybe because I just wanted to avoid the conversation with the client... “I’m sorry... I’d love to host your event, really – I would! But you see, that night I’m going to be... Ummmm, well – it’s kind of a tradition that I always... How can I explain this... I’m going to be busy... watching Miss America...”

And that’s why I’m emceeing.

Actually – it should be a great time --- just a REALLY late night for me... It’s possible I won’t be home until midnight and will then turn on the TIVO (and NOT check twitter, facebook, texts or voicemail) to watch everything until 2am. I thought about just going to bed and watching it tomorrow morning... But I highly doubt that happens.

Also – I think I finally understand how the whole “people’s choice’ contestant thing is gonna work... I think the judges are going to pick 12 girls – then the next 3 highest vote getters from last night’s program will be in the top 15. This certainly makes a whole lot more sense than any other scenario I’ve thought through... But don’t quote me on it. I wish they would’ve explained it this way earlier --- then again, I may be totally wrong, so whatever!

That being said – i’m giving you a new Top 15 list and my final selections as well. Here we go!

New York
Oklahoma
Michigan
Arkansas
Virginia
Oregon
California
Florida
Iowa
Minnesota
Ohio
Texas
Hawaii
Massachusetts
North Carolina

Yes – I’m going with North Carolina. That state ALWAYS sneaks up on me – and based on the amount of press she’s getting, I’m putting her on my list. She’s also got her real estate license which means she can ‘sell’ herself among other things. North Carolina has had 2 Top 5 finishes in the past 5 years... And I never see them coming. I’m hoping she doesn’t let me down tonight. :)

Now Top 5
Michigan
Arkansas
Virginia
California
Oklahoma

And the Winner...
California

California has been on a roll recently as well... They made Top 10, 5 of the last 6 years and the year they didn’t...the girl won the preliminary talent award. I’m going with her to win the whole thing tonight.

Final Note – the reigning Miss America will be wearing something brand new tonight that she hasn’t worn all week --- Katie Stam became engaged to her boyfriend of 4 years Brian Irk last night, on stage at the Evening of Dreams gala. Pictures are at Robin Leach’s blog... Vegasdeluxe.com/blogs/luxe-life. So cute.... :)

And here’s the run-down for tonight’s show... It appears there’s another ‘new element’ that’s a big secret until the show actually takes place... Hmmmmm.... Straight from Robin Leach’s blog...

Here’s the running order of tomorrow night’s telecast: After the parade of all 53 contestants, Mario Lopez is introduced as host and makes his welcoming remarks and introduces the judges. At that point, look for a totally new and unexpected twist that will affect the entire show. TLC will have kept the startling, unknown segment, a secret from everybody. Immediately afterward, the 15 semifinalists will be announced, and 2009 Miss America Katie Stam is introduced for the final time, along with Outstanding Teen 2010 Jeanette Morelan.

Then come the four competition segments of Lifestyle & Fitness, Evening Wear, Talent and the onstage question that cut the candidates down to a final seven. Katie takes her final walk as Miss America, and the four runner-ups are announced. That will leave three contestants onstage, and one of them will then be crowned 2010 Miss America.

There you go! I’ll get everyone an update tomorrow afternoon in case you miss it... Or haven’t cared... :) I’ll also do my best to get a photo of the PURPLE gown I’ll be wearing tonight at the ball. And yes – I purposely left Puerto Rico OFF the top 15 list as I think she’s a total bimbo and guessing Rush Limbaugh gave her a 4 out of 10 in interview.

Until then – Thanks for making this a fun year for me.... We’ll see if California can pull it out or not... :) And Go Wildcats!!! (Sorry Nathan, Amy, Nicole and other friends of mine who have poor taste in collegiate athletic teams).

:)

crl

Final Prelim Results for 2010

Ladies and Gentlemen…

Here we are – the Preliminaries are complete, 6 winners have been selected… and TONIGHT starts the official Countdown to the Crown!!! If you can’t watch tonight’s TLC Special called “Behind the Curtain” then be sure to Tivo it – or kick the kids out of the house early on Saturday night so you can watch the 1 hour special PRIOR to the big show. If memory serves me – the official pageant starts at 6:00pm Mountain, 7pm Central and I have no clue what they’re doing on the West Coast (sorry SanFran Amy). Therefore, the pre-show is an hour AHEAD of the time I listed above. I know, I know… The K-State/KU Basketball game starts at like 5 Mountain… so I understand completely if you watch the ballgame and then watch the RE-BROADCAST of Miss America starting at 8pm Mountain, 9pm Central. Usually I watch the first broadcast – then I watch the whole thing again… but I understand the splitting of priorities :)

That all being said – let’s get to the results of last night’s competition!

Thursday Swimsuit Winner = Miss Oregon
A drop dead beautiful body on this gal… she wasn’t on my radar because she’s a bit short and hasn’t been getting very many photos. For the record – sometimes the swimsuit winner is given to the woman who looks the best in swimsuit… but sometimes, it’s also given to the girl who was absolutely amazing in interview. The trick is to know which is which… In this case, I would venture to bet Miss Oregon gave a good interview – but I can’t promise you that’s the case. I didn’t pick her… bummer.

Thursday Talent Winner = Miss Michigan
Now this one is tricky. I really like Michigan… she was one of my first thoughts for Top 10 – she’s very articulate, tall, beautiful and she’s not a ‘pageant girl’ (meaning she had never been to Miss Michigan before and won it on her first time). Her platform issue is also very interesting… Families Facing Substance Abuse… she’s working on her MBA and wants to be in Sports Marketing. So I was drawn to her – but she won talent last night with a LYRICAL DANCE!!! Not ballet, not a perky tap routine or clogging… but a regular, lyrical dance! No offense to the dancers in my audience, but let me break this down for you… usually – when a girl’s talent is ‘Lyrical Dance’ that’s code for “I’m brilliant, I’m beautiful, I have a great body, but I have no talent so I’m dancing”. SERIOUSLY! I have NO IDEA when the last time was a girl won Talent on a lyrical dance! This isn’t QUITE as bad as Vermont winning talent last year – but it ranks right up there!

Some may say I’m just cranky that I went 3 for 3 again this year. You might be right. Very disappointing. However – I’m not giving in and I’m not giving up. It’s the end result that counts.

OK – So here’s how this will work… I’ll send you my Top 15 list before 5pm (if you’re playing along at home, please do the same). Normally, we’d also make you choose your Top 10 and Top 5, but because this is all a little weird (I’m still not sure I understand how the whole selection will work) – let’s do this. Send me your Top 15. That’s all – Then after tonight’s show and we learn a little more about how this will work, you can send me your Top 10 and Top 5 – and of course, don’t forget to send me the WINNER!!!

So just top 15 today by 5pm Mountain… I’ve included the contestant groups to help you as well – remember, each group will have 4 girls nominated from it… so you might want to split your picks fairly evenly amongst the groups :)

I’ll get you my picks --- if they aren’t to you all by 5pm mountain, it’s because my sales meeting ran long and I promise I’ll send them asap :)

So EXCITED!!!! Can’t Wait!!!! And do you realize only ONE BLONDE was a preliminary winner????

Crazy!

crl

Second Prelim Results for 2010

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Another GREAT night of preliminaries last night --- and another set of winners from last night!

But first – let me tell you who won the Quality of Life awards described earlier this week :) Straight from the VegasDeluxe website...

“Miss Oklahoma Taylor Treat won first place and $6,000 for her platform “Engaging Students Through Service Learning.” Miss New Hampshire Lindsey Graham was first runner-up and the winner of $4,000 for “Speaking Out for Mental Illness,” and our Miss Nevada Christina Keegan was second runner-up and the winner of $2,000 for “Rape Education & Recovery.””

Fabulous! Now – back to the on-stage competition!

As you remember – I was really torn about Talent, but not too concerned about Swimsuit. How did that strategy work???

Swimsuit Winner = New York
A correct pick! That makes two brunettes who’ve won swimsuit thus far... New York is a dancer which means she has to be long and lean and a somewhat ‘safe’ pick to win swimsuit.

Talent Winner = California
One of my “Top 7” but not in my top 4 which means I missed this one. However, I’m happy to have missed it because on Monday – someone asked me for the early scoop (before any of the competition began) and I chose California. She’s currently at USC studying to be a pediatric surgeon. There were 53 contestants at Miss California this year... And only her second year competing. Not saying she’s our winner here – just saying she’s got loads of potential :)

Alright! Couple of housekeeping items.... Don’t forget – you’ll need to send in your top 15 picks by 5:00pm FRIDAY – THAT’S TOMORROW!!! The ‘behind the curtain’ special starts tomorrow night on TLC and will include 12 girls that were selected by the ladies competing. I did find out that they aren’t allowed to vote for themselves... Nice touch. One minute I think it’ll work and the next minute I’m totally annoyed by the whole system. Just give the girls who earn the right to be in the Top 15 the chance to win! I hate it when people change the rules in the middle of the game! Oh – and I’m pretty sure Clinton Kelly from “TLC’s What Not To Wear” will be a part of tomorrow night’s show! :)

Also – I’ve done a little research... The last Miss America who won the whole thing but DIDN’T win a preliminary was in 2005 (aka – the final year they were in Atlantic City before the whole ‘make-over’ in Vegas). AND – that was the year they had the dumb idea of a ‘Talent-Off’ where only 2 girls performed their Talent and then the final selection was made. Considering Talent is worth 35% of the whole competition, you’d think someone would figure out that potentially the 2 WORST talents would make the stage if you save it for the final competition. And that’s what happened. Thank goodness we didn’t crown the jazz dancer that year. Anyhoooooo -

Something to keep in mind. And honestly – I think I’m stalling on making tonight’s picks. So – here goes nothing.

Thur Swimsuit Picks = Louisiana, Rhode Island, Virginia and Illinois
If Virginia wins, she’ll be the first DOUBLE preliminary winner since Kate Shindle in 1998 (I think – let me double check that one). I’m only picking one blonde in tonight’s group... This is the middle group’s turn at swimsuit tonight... The one I told you to make sure your daughter chooses if she ever makes it to Miss America.

Thur Talent Picks = Kentucky, DC, New Mexico and Mississippi
I’m still kinda bummed that I missed last night’s Talent pick, so I’m hoping to redeem myself. All girls are vocalists – Kentucky’s platform is Autism Awareness which I think could be a very interesting National topic... The other girls all won preliminary talent at their states.

Should I get both of these picks correct – I will have my best year ever (no pressure). However, please let me state for the record that Miss Vermont is performing her talent this evening... So nothing is a given (please refer to last year’s emails regarding how my Grandma Doe can walk on the stage and win Miss Vermont).

Ok – so DON’T FORGET — Top 15 due tomorrow by 5pm! And don’t forget to include the ‘nice factor’... My sister says Hawaii has that whole ‘I should be Miss Congeniality’ vibe going for her... She’s on the LOADED night – but may pull out a Top 15 finish because she’s so stinking fun! :)

And – I’m afraid we have no winners for our trivia question sent earlier this week... You can still email me your answers along with your picks if you wish.

I’ll try to get tomorrow’s update out sooner than later – so you have ample time to choose your Top 15 before 5pm. :) Oh – and LOTS of pictures are attached to this email --- many, many more at VegasDeluxe.com... I just chose the ‘good shots’ :)

WE’RE ONLY 48 HOURS AWAY FROM A NEW MISS AMERICA!!!!! Whooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooo!!!!

crl

First Prelim Results for 2010

Whooooo Hoooooo for stimulating information in your inbox! Lord knows there wasn't anything 'stimulating' on your televisions tonight! :) You gotta admit - Miss America updates are a whole lot more fun than people standing up and down clapping their hands off while we hear the same promises we heard this time last year. But I digress...

OK - so - today's email is about two things... How yesterday's prelims shaped up and what the thoughts are regarding tonight's competition! So let's get to it!

Winners from last night include...

Swimsuit = Puerto Rico
My first correct pick of the week! Seriously - this girl is totally gorgeous! I have no idea if she's got a brain in her head - but boy, she's a beauty!

Talent = Virginia
Another correct pick! Honestly - from the beginning I thought Virginia might win talent on such a poorly talented night. Virginia was the 4th runner up at the Miss Sweetheart pageant in 2006 (Remember - Miss Sweetheart is the National pageant for all the 1st runner ups from across the country... To figure out who's the winner of all the losers). All 4 years she competed in Virginia, she was in the Top 5. Quite a 'dark horse' to possibly win the whole thing.

Yay! So that means I'm starting out strong by going 2 for 2! Let's see how tonight's picks go...

Swimsuit: Kentucky, Oklahoma, New York, Arkansas
Kentucky is a gorgeous blonde, OK and NY are both ballet dancers and Arkansas is last in the whole group. This is kind of a crap-shoot... I’m not completely certain of today’s Swimsuit picks – we’ll see how it all comes together.

Talent: Florida, Ohio, Delaware, Minnesota
Originally, I had SEVEN different states listed and am truly conflicted about how to narrow it all down. Here’s telling you who’s NOT on my list – just so I can feel better about the whole thing! Texas – fabulous, but the first to perform... Really hard to win from that position. Iowa – she’s brilliant. A Harvard grad who’s in Med school now in Iowa – but I’m guessing her violin is going to be “classical” and the only “classical” things I’ve seen win talent are opera singers. California – she’s getting all kinds of photos... And is a ballet dancer... And I think if she makes the top 15, she could be in the top 5.

Now – here’s why I’ve chosen the 4 states I’ve chosen... Florida is the Irish Step Dancer... Ohio WON Miss Sweetheart in 2007, Delaware seems to have that ‘spunk’ and wants to be on Broadway and Minnesota was a Season 5 American Idol finalist. I’m gonna be annoyed if I miss this one – only because I’m putting so much effort into tonight’s talent pick. Time to Move On...

Otherwise – there are LOTS of photos at AbbyBollenbacher.blogspot.com AND at VegasDeluxe.com (on Robin Leach’s blog, click on the right hand side of the photos to see MANY, MANY more!). Some of you have asked why I don’t do a blog about this... Let’s just say... A blog is much more ‘permanent’ and ‘public’ than these lovely emails that I hope get destroyed every year by a massive and collective pushing of the DELETE button. I trust each and every one of you with my own private obsession – no need to display it to the whole world :)

We’ll let you know how it all turns out... In fact, I’m headed to twitter right now to get the early scoop!

Thanks for your patience --- we’re one more day closer to seeing a new queen crowned right before our very eyes!!! :)

crl

Fifth Post of 2010

It's here - it's here - IT'S HEREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

The first night of preliminary competition starts tonight!!! So exited I can't hardly stand it!!! I want you to know that I haven't checked twitter or any site that would tip my hand when it comes to picking tonight's winners... And BOY has it been HARD!!!

But I found the strength to somehow persevere. I know so many of you are depending on me (thanks for the responses via email) - I simply must rise to the challenge. No slacking this week!

OK - SO - here's how this works (cause yes, there are a few rookies on this list and others who are blonde):

There are three groups... And each night, one of the groups is on stage in one of three areas... Swimsuit, Talent and Evening Gown/on-stage question. So, my job is to pick the winners in Swimsuit and Talent (they don't give an award for evening gown/on-stage question). Swimsuit counts for 15% of a contestant's score, Talent is 35% of their score, the on-stage question is 5% and Evening Wear is 20%. Their 10 minute private interview with the judges that took place behind closed doors yesterday and this morning is worth 25% (and we don't get to learn much about that - unfortunately - since it's my personal favorite part of the competition and where I had a tendency to kick patootie).

Alright - I've stalled long enough... It's time to MAKE SOME PICKS!

Swimsuit: Texas, Puerto Rico, Ohio, Tennessee. This is the group that is LOADED with good girls and I’m telling you – points could get split ALL over the stinking place. Puerto Rico is a former Miss World and Miss International contestant and is getting tons of pictures taken of her. She’s gorgeous! Ohio, Tennessee and Texas all won prelim swimsuit at their states and are long, lean ladies. Moving On...

Talent: Virginia, Indiana, South Dakota and Louisiana. I could also go with Utah, but I won’t. Honestly, there’s not much talent tonight – so I’ll be disappointed if I lose this one. I’ve picked 3 vocalists and a piano player... We’ll see.

Otherwise ---- here’s the scoop on how the Top 12 (or as we have been affectionately calling them, the Top 15) will be decided --- very different from past years! At-home viewers on Friday night on TLC (during a show called Behind the Curtain) will learn the 12 contestants that the 53 have nominated to be among the final 15 on the Saturday broadcast. Then you and I will vote for our favorites. It’s my understanding that those votes will be placed in a 1-12 order. If our votes are the exact same as the judges’ votes (hardly), then the next 3 highest point getters will balance out the final 15. So viewers and judges could agree on say 11 girls, and then America would solely choose four, or America and the judges agreeing on all 12, and then the next three judges’ picks would be on deck (if you don’t get it – re-read it a few times...). BASICALLY – if a girl WASN’T chosen by her own peers in that Top 12, she HAS to be one of the top choices of the judges. I really think this is meant to screw those ‘mean girls’ who are catty, cunning and overall crappy. Considering our reigning queen Katie Stam was one of the ‘people’s picks’ last year, I’m hoping they can repeat this kind of winner. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about who might end up in the top 12. I mean, c’mon... Of course you’re going to vote for yourself... Which only leaves 3 votes going to the remainder of your 18 person group! This also means that girls who are ‘really nice’ might get in – despite the fact that they’re 15 pounds overweight and can’t sing their way out of a paper bag. Wonder if anyone at the National level thought about that! :)

So – that will adjust how you choose your top 15... AND it means your votes are due by Friday at 5:00pm Mountain Time... Cause if you don’t hand in your picks by then – you’ll know who these 12 girls are and you’ll be cheating (which is most certainly not allowed in a pageant – HA!). Mark your calendars... Your Top 15 list is due FRIDAY AT 5:00pm Mountain!!!

Whew! That’s a plenty! Tomorrow, I’ll give you the news on who won the preliminary competition and give you my picks for tomorrow night’s swimsuit and talent winners. So glad you’re following along --- Oh! On Robin Leach’s Vegas Deluxe blog, there’s some really cute pics of Miss Louisiana and Miss Indiana holding a football representing their upcoming Super Bowl teams... For the record, Miss Louisiana has had 3 ladies named 1st runner up – but never a winner. Indiana’s first winner was just last year – and they’ve also had 4 ladies named 1st runner up. Also for the record – both of these gals have a shot at being in the top 15 this year :)

Ok – The End! Go to Bed! Tune in tomorrow when we learn who our first preliminary winners are! I’m headed to twitter to see if I’m even close!!! :)

Cheers ~

crl

Fourth post of 2010... i didn't have much time that year to find photos...

Fans, Fanatics and Fairly Amused -

Ok - so there's just too much to talk about in one email and I’ve got much studying to do before the on-stage competition begins tomorrow (interviews started today). So – you’re getting another update today (Yay!) I should take a poll and see how many of you have gone to TLC.com and reviewed the contestants videos before I send this update – but I trust that you are working diligently and if you’re not, then you’re laden with guilt. Works either way for me (lol).

Ok – so here are the “Quality of Life” finalists... Side-note... They could use a bit of a branding lesson and call it something else – but because they didn’t graduate from the Jimmy Lakey school of branding, we’ll go with it. For those of you who don’t remember what the Quality of Life award is all about... This is the award given to the contestant who seems to have done the most with her platform issue. What’s a platform issue you ask? Well – it’s a specific cause that each contestant chooses to dedicate their reign to should they win. Previous winners have championed everything from Pediatric Cancer to AIDS research to Internet Safety. This year’s group has all kinds of interesting “issues”... With a majority of contestant choosing something about ‘advancing the arts’ but there’s also fun stuff like “suicide prevention” and “rape awareness”. Heavy stuff indeed... Not sure if Miss America is ready for that kind of thing – but we’ll see.

Here they are...

Miss Alabama Liz Cochran, “With Every Beat: The Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease”;
Miss Iowa Anne Michael Langguth, “Good for You! Promoting Community Service, Wellness and Engagement in the Sciences”;
Miss Kentucky Mallory Ervin, “Autism Awareness”;
Miss Minnesota Brooke Kelly Kilgarriff, “Music: The Building Blocks of Education”;
Miss Missouri Tara Osseck, “Education and Prevention of Eating Disorders”;
Miss Montana Brittany Marie Wiser, “Suicide Prevention Education”;
Miss Nevada Christina Keegan, “Rape Education & Recovery”;
Miss New Hampshire Lindsey Graham, “Speaking Out for Mental Illness”;
Miss Oklahoma Taylor Treat, “Engaging Students Through Service Learning”;
Miss Tennessee Stefanie Wittler, “Ronald McDonald House and Children’s Miracle Network Charities.”

Usually, they only announce 7 finalists for the Quality of Life award... This year, there’s 10 finalists. Another ‘interesting’ tid-bit and once again, I have no clue why. Seems to be a theme this year.

So tomorrow I start my quest of choosing the preliminary winners! Last year I was only 3 for 6 which I think was my worst finish ever (thank you Miss Vermont)... I usually finish 4 for 6 and a good year would be 5 for 6. That’s the goal for this year – 5 for 6. I’ll give you 4 ladies I think will win and then pretend like I’ve narrowed it down to 4 by giving you a couple of other ‘maybes’. Swimsuits are easier than talents to choose... And nobody ever put me up to this kind of ‘selection’... It just makes the week go by faster :) The majority of my research comes from TFTJ.com... If you care to put me to the task this year and make your own selections. :)

Oh – and I found a bit of trivia for each of you... Which Miss America is said to have the phrase “There she is... Miss America” printed on her birth announcement? If you know the answer – let me know! :) That’s more fun than listening to a podcast anyway :)

OK – Update Number 2 is through... Tomorrow is the big on-stage competition day! Whooooooo Hooooooooo!!!!!! :)

crl