There she is....Miss America!

We had a Miss America Watch Party on Satuday night full of fun, excitement and lots of great foods. Being an avid pageant watcher and having competed myself back in the day, I have found very few people willing to sit through a 2 hour production of any pageant on TV. But I have successfully found two: Melissa & Ryan - my bud's from Kansas City. Everyone else thinks it is torture (including Blaine), but for whatever reason, Melissa especially will step up to the plate and enjoy the occasion with me.

Pageants for me was more than prancing around on the stage in a swimsuit or pretty evening gown. I learned so much about myself and others during all of my years in pageantry. I learned how to think on my feet, overcame any shyness I could possibly have, met some incredible people and still remain friends with a few, learned that you win some but lose so many more and understood the true meaning of carrying yourself with pride - no matter the outcome. Sure there were tears and moments of regret, but those experiences taught me more than I could have ever learned in college about people.

Although I don't share many of my experiences with the world (because people can be very judgemental) and I am guarded at who knows what I did with my life prior to hitting the age of 27, all of these things shaped who I am. I have chosen not to share so many experiences with others just due to the simple fact that people like to judge you for petty things such as pageantry/modeling. I have experienced negativity more often than not, but I am proud to be me.

I am happy that I had all of those experiences - even if the ultimate crown never hit my head. It was never about the crown anyway - it was about opportunity and experiences. I didn't win Miss Missouri like I had hoped for so many years. But I did find the experiences and moments that shaped me, allowed me to grow into a very talkative person, taught me to walk in 4 inch heels down a set a stairs gracefully, showed me the many great things you can do with duck tape and butt glue, taught me to tease my hair to be as big as Marge Simpsons and gave me an incredible selection of evening wear that I haven't touched since but long to wear.

I have found that once a pageant girl, always a pageant girl - and I have grown to love and accept that. As I walked down the aisle on my wedding day ending my pageant career and committing to share my life forever with a pageant hater, my dad said to me "this time when you walk down (the runway), you will not be 1st runner up." Those exact words give me courage to this day. Sometimes you win, sometimes you become 1st runner up. In the end, it is about the journey.

Now here is a little something I vowed never to do. But I have a great, great friend that begs to see my old pageant tapes. Since that is NEVER going to happen - Melissa, these photos are for you!

Here I am in my first Miss Missouri Teen pageant. I am second from the right. (I lost to Melana Scantlin - you might remember her from the TV series Average Joe.)

Here I am in my final Miss Missouri pageant awaiting the results. The results didn't turn out like I had hoped.....

Can you believe that I have black hair here? (I am the one in the black dress.) In this lineup are two Average Joe stars (Melana Scantlin & Larissa Meek) and the girl second from the left went on eventually to win Miss USA and host shows on the Game Show Network.

(Momma Moore - quit rolling your eyes...... hee hee hee.)

So that's my pageant experience.