3 SquaresVT Challenge: Part 1

As the holiday season and winter come upon us- it is easy to forget that many of our friends and neighbors may be approaching a difficult time. 

“1 out of 8 Vermonters live in “food insecure” households- they are unable to fully meet basic needs at all times”

I grew up in a single parent household and we were below the poverty line. With the assistance of food stamps and WIC- my mom was able to feed me and my younger sister. There was a period in my life where I refused to eat spaghetti because we ate it so often at home- which I later realize that we ate it so often because it was cheap, fast and filling. Food insecurity is no stranger in my life. 

I am now lucky that I have food to eat and a warm roof over my head. I still see the effects of poverty and hunger as a nursing student. Fletcher Allen was one of the first hospitals to include food insecurity in the intake form- thanks to one of my awesome clinical instructors who wrote her dissertation on food insecurity! Many of my patients fit the description for food insecurity and more will qualify as the benefits for food stamps decrease this year. It is so important for patients to have proper nutrition to speed recovery and prevent illness in the future. 

I heard of the 3 SquaresVT Challenge in conjunction with Hunger Free Vermont and thought that it would be excellent to participate in- in appreciation of where I started and where I am now- but to also raise awareness about this issue that is in our community, especially during a season where food seems plentiful. 

“The purpose of the Challenge is not to emulate the reality of food insecurity for Vermonters - many of whom may rely on a variety of programs and resources to meet their families’ needs - but to instead draw attention to the experience of living on a strict food budget allotment and how that may or may not change your daily life both physically and psychologically as a participant.”

My parameters are these: (check out the full set here)

• I have $36 to spend for the week on food (about $1.72 per meal). 
• I have to start from scratch and eat only food that I purchase during the challenge. 
• Fast food and dining out must be included in the budget. 
• I may not eat food that I already own. 

Technically- the challenge is from November 17-November 23... but I am starting a day late. Late enough today, that I had already bought breakfast on the road so instead of $36 for the week I now have ($36-$4.79= $31.21). 

So for the next seven days- I will be participating in this challenge.

There are some challenges that present as think through the upcoming week: 

1. I am in college and my schedule is busy- It can be hard to have time to cook meals (which are cheaper than buying). 
2. I have food sensitivities- and that tends to make grocery shopping more expensive. 
3. I spend a lot of time on the road- which means I need to pack meals for trips.
4. Fruits, vegetables and meat are expensive! I want to try to be as nutritious as possible on a budget.

Ideally- I would be able to meet all of these food groups on a budget

The Challenge Begins: Grocery Shopping

I had written out a list of the groceries that I wanted to buy with the money that I had left. I bought about half of what I had written down- due to budget constraints. I spent much longer than usual debating the benefits of buying in bulk vs. individual items, fresh vs. frozen veggies, how to best get a span of nutrients while buying filling food, and consciously passing up buying unnecessary items I would normally throw in my cart, like a seltzer water (That’s $0.99 cents that I need! Especially with the breakfast deduction). 

This is what I bought at the grocery store: 

Red Potatoes

Carrots

Onion

Celery 

Peppermint Tea

Chicken 

Brown rice

Lactaid 

Oatmeal 

Eggs

My food for the whole week...

Total: $30.23

$36 - $30.23- $4.79 = $1.21left 

Right now I have the beginnings of a soup stock boiling on the stove and brown rice in the rice cooker. I have a feeling that I’ll be eating much of the same food for each meal- with some variety in spices. Already- I can tell this is much harder than I initially assumed. Almost half my food is going into the soup! 

Check back in a week and see how I fare! Am I going to fail and be forced to buy more food? Or will I succeed?

You can join the challenge or donate to help feed our community.

Thanks for reading! 

Goal: 251 Club

There is this cool club called the "251 Club"- because there are 251 towns/settlements/villages in the Green Mountain State. 

The last time that a Miss Vermont accomplished the 251 Club during her reign was Hannah Nelson in 2000. I think that it is time to try to accomplish this again! 

There are some really intense die hard people that take photos at every town and make sure that they explore- because I don't have a full year as Miss Vermont and I only have about 5 months left to accomplish this- I am going to count the towns that I have already visited and towns that I go to during in a non-official capacity (I can't be Miss Vermont all the time!). 

Here's my statistics so far: 

Considering that I decided to accomplish this in the last few weeks- I've gotten a relatively good start. 

It is also apparent that I tend to go to areas around my hometown in Central Vermont and then up near college. I'm not just Miss Vermont for part of the Vermont! I want to visit all of it! This is why I am posting this- This is a call to everyone to help me figure out ways to get to more areas (particularly the Southern and North Eastern part of state). 

Sometimes I forget that people don't realize they can invite me to attend events! I have this really awesome woman, MCJ, who takes care of my appearances for me so I can focus on juggling lots of other things in my life. 

Here are some events that I have been to since coming home from Miss America (well the ones that I have photos of... I'm working on remembering to take them- I just get so involved with talking with everyone I forget!): 

Komen Race for the Cure in Manchester

Walk for Alzheimer's at the Shelburne Museum 

Epilepsy Foundation Casino Night in South Burlington

Oktoberfest in Bennington

21st Annual Opera House Talent Search in Enosburg Falls

Women's "We Can" Expo in St.Albans

This weekend I am making my way down South for an appearance- one more town I can check off the list! I have 75% more to go on this list before April and it can happen with some teamwork. If there is an event that you would like to have me/Miss Vermont at- let me know (or let MCJ know, more accurately).

Thanks for reading! 

Post-Miss America: The Quick & Dirty Rundown

Almost three months of no activity on this blog... Well, that doesn’t look very good. 

I have been busy though! Some of you may have heard that I went to a little thing called: Miss America. 

After a fun dinner and games at Chickie's & Pete's 

The unveiling of the Miss America statue

Finals night

Turns out that prepping for Miss America in three months while working and being a student is not easy. Since I’ve been home, I’ve gotten right back into the thick of things. Unlike many of my (probably smarter) Miss America sisters- I did not take a year off from school. I drove back the day after finals and was on the Children’s Miracle Network floor in my scrubs at 6:45am on Tuesday. Rough. 

It has taken me weeks to finally feel like I have my feet under myself again and can once again juggle school, Miss Vermont, volunteering and a job. Now I can get to things that do not have influence on my ability to graduate- like thank you cards, replacing the windshield wipers on my car and blogging. I have big plans to procrastinate in the future by blogging- no more of this once every three months things! 

Let’s get a few well known facts out of the way: 

1. The women at who I spent two jam-packed weeks with are amazing.

Rocking out to Guitar Hero

With some of my sisters

Relaxing between shoots for the live show

A really tough job: riding the ferris wheel

2. I was sleep deprived for two weeks- but that just increased the bonding.  

3. Atlantic City TURNED IT OUT for us. I’m very sure that is the only time in my life when I will have a police escort that stops traffic (well- make that pretty sure, we can’t count anything out yet).  

At the Phillies vs. Braves game             

4. I am so thrilled for our new Miss America, Nina!

Miss America 2014

There isn’t much of an expectation for Vermont to make a huge splash at Miss America. I wanted to be the first person from Vermont to make finals at Miss America- but that wasn’t in the cards for me (Looks like it’s up to my successor!). After the initial feeling of disappointment- I looked around the stage and saw the other amazing women I had the privilege to share the stage with that didn’t make finals either- and I felt much better about the whole scenario. It’s cliche- but every one of those women who were going to change into their “non-finalist outfit” with me were qualified to be Miss America- and their states are lucky to be able to welcome them home. 

Opening Number

Prelim Night 1: On Stage Question

Prelim Night 2: SS & Evening Gown

Prelim Night 3: Talent

Show us your Shoes Parade

Then I remembered- I’ve been in more pageants than I’ve watched. So I settled in to watch the show. Let me tell you, live television is a whole different beast. During commercial breaks people were screaming and cheering for their contestant. I was lucky that I could see my “Vemront” (Yes, the letters were switched and that’s what it said on national TV... who cares! I had fans there!) crowd to the left of the stage. 

It was so cool to see the days of rehearsals come together to make the fastest pageant I’ve ever seen! I totally forgot that I was a contestant and was watching the show, completely enthralled. I guess I got a little too into it because after the show I looked at my phone and had some text messages from my adored friends that said things like “stop sitting like a bro”. My response? “I wore jeans specifically for that purpose!”. But I digress... 

It was a wonderful end to my pageant career to hold the hands of my Miss America sisters as we all held our breath to see who would be our next Miss America. I was thrilled when Nina became our first Indian-American Miss America- I watched her win at Miss New York earlier that year (and what an amazing welcome I was given there!) and I knew that she was ready and capable of being a spectacular Miss America. My mom knew she has something special from the beginning because after prelims in visitation she told me “Miss New York absolutely rocked it in swimsuit. She was just having the time of her life out there, waving to the crowd and smiling- tomorrow when you do swimsuit, try to do what she did because it was perfect”. She sure knows how to pick a winner. 

Miss America 2014

I need to do the obligatory shout-outs right now: 

I have to give special thanks to people who traveled to Atlantic City to cheer me on- My mom (who disliked pageants until the Miss America system changed her mind), my boyfriend, Sam (who drove to Atlantic City after class and had the student body of the school he teaches at vote for my People’s Choice Video), Rylee Field (who was in my top 5 at Miss Vermont), my roommate, Ashley (who has lived with three Miss Vermonts so she is all over this), Alice McDermott (a former Teen Contestant and future Miss Vermont Contestant) and Brenda (Sam’s mom- a surprise bonus to the crowd!). Miss Vermont 2010, Caroline Bright, was definitely bursting with excitement to finally be able to watch me at Miss America- and she was all over making sure I had everything I needed backstage (she knew the security guards- she had them when she was at Miss America!). Last, but not least, Middlebury Rugby showed up in full force with Dan Khan, Connor Burleigh and Hodge (Dillon, you were missed). 

Dan, Ashley and Sam

I was really hungry...

I have to give extra special appreciation to Emily Millman and Maia Menzel- two of my nursing classmates who took notes for me for two weeks to make sure that I wouldn’t fall on my face if I had to return to school. They also missed a day just to watch me! I’ve spent much of the past few weeks that I’ve been back catching up on work on Emily’s couch. She has a great couch. 

Maia and Emily

Anyway, I have five more great months ahead of me, to fill to the fullest before I crown Miss Vermont 2014 on April 26th at the Barre Opera House. I am so thankful for the experience, meeting new friends and sisters and especially glad to be able to come home and represent Vermont. There really is no place like home. 

Thanks for reading-

Jeanelle 

p.s. All photos courtesy of the Miss America Organization facebook page- check out more photos here 

Operation Wardrobe: Magic and Fabric

Hello from Greenville, South Carolina! Home to the Peace Center and the ever-awe-inspiring and amazing Gregory Ellenburg! Greg is an incredible sponsor and friend to the Miss Vermont Organization and each year he makes spectacular custom clothing for competition at Miss America.

I am sitting in my room in an absolutely beautiful hotel, the Westin Poinsett. All of my luggage is packed up around me and it is my last day of my four-day visit here. I knew that this would be a really exciting part of the prep for Miss America, but it was better than I imagined. Greenville is quaint, has great food and everyone is so nice! It’s like Vermont with more high heels and southern accents.

The hotel I stayed in- special thanks to Laura Hall who helped make that possible

Homework and Dinner set up in the hotel

Then, of course, there’s Greg. Talk about a magician, genius and gentleman. He has been the most gracious host to me during my time, when in reality I should be kissing the ground he walks on because he and his staff and spending endless hours working on my clothing. That is on top of helping other girls prep for Miss America’s Outstanding Teen, Miss Teen USA as well as some of my Miss America sisters. I think the black coffee I saw perpetually brewing is a good indicator of how hard everyone is working and I appreciate them endlessly for their dedication and skills.

Where the magic happens

One thing I have come away from this visit is this: I really need to learn how to sew. I can knit, but who cares about that when Greg can walk into the back room, cut a piece of fabric and have a rough garment for me to try on for fitting in 10 minutes?! Project Runway, eat your heart out.

The process of making a custom wardrobe goes along the lines of this: I start out with a unfinished idea of what I want and then try to explain it... usually, very poorly.

For example, I was trying to figure out what I wanted for my evening gown- I’ve never had anything custom made for me before this year, other than birthday cake from my mom (love her, but this is a little bit more exciting than a cake).... I wanted to make sure that I was going to show up in Atlantic City looking like Miss America, but I tend to be low key and since this is a pageant, I wanted to make sure I was going “big” enough. I sent Greg some images of gowns with “Uh, well I sort of like this dress... but also this dress.... but maybe this dress which is nothing like that dress.... help?”.

How I imagine his thought process went...

To illustrate what he was dealing with- This is an actual quote from an email from me to him: “Secretly, I want to wear pants... But is that too hard? I have this thing where I really like wearing pants because if someone happened to start having a heart attack it’s much easier to take care of them in pants than a dress... I think that might make me weird. Or useful. Probably both.”

That is pretty much me in a nutshell. Always thinking practically. I’m pretty sure I’m the only contestant who made a clothing decision based on the possibility that someone would need medical assistance and I would feel most comfortable in pants... but hey, that’s who am I am- so I’m going to own it.

I do have to mention this- because all pageant die hard fans are thinking “SHE MENTIONED SOMETHING FROM HER WARDROBE?! GIVE ME THE DETAILS WOMAN, I’M DYING HERE!” Sorry, generic person I made up, that’s all you’re getting. I will be wearing pants in a phase of competition but I won’t reveal more than that because I’ll be unveiling my wardrobe at my send off on August 31st. Gee, looks like you’ll have to show up to see it...

Anyway, my overall point is, Greg is like a therapist that uses textiles rather than guided imagery. He took the mess of ideas and designed things that I feel like Miss America in, but more importantly they are very much who I am. While pinning, cutting, clipping things onto me, he helped gave me advice and helped me to see that I shouldn't count myself out automatically because I come from a small state. I can’t wait to show up in Atlantic City with my new wardrobe and perspective!

With the artist (because my clothes should be on display)! 

These have been the most relaxing days of this summer. I love being inundated with pageant people and clothes (good luck to all the other titleholders I met while in the shop!). I’m in the Miss America mindset now. I was even able to sleep in while I was here! Priceless. Also- I think that I was made to live in hotels. This is the most work, sight seeing, email correspondence and R&R I've gotten all summer. I love everything about them. 

Jeanelle = Eloise Status

I must do a final pass of the hotel room before checkout (‘tis that time) and then head to Greg’s for one final fitting before I make the trip back home. I just had to share with everyone how wonderful and thankful I am for being able to have the privilege of this experience- I just couldn’t keep my excitement to myself.

So excited to check this off my Pageant Prep "To Do" List

Next blog will be back from home in Vermont! Thanks for reading!

The Bat-Mobile and Independence Day Festivities

Life has been going 1,000mph since my last post and I keep on saying to myself “I’ll write a new one when I finish this next thing”... Then I start a new project and repeat it to myself again. 

This morning, as I took the dog out after going to see the fitness sponsor, I realized that it is also my responsibility as Miss Vermont to keep everyone updated on what I am doing. This is just as important to do as any of my other job requirements. So tonight, I took a break from my ever growing email inbox, phone calls and scheduling to take some time to hold up my end of the deal and say what I’ve been up to.


First of all, I would like to announce this very exciting update: The battle with paperwork is (almost) finished! The majority of it is sent in and can be checked off my “To Do” list. It is a huge relief and I have to give millions of thanks to everyone to took the time to read, re-read, edit and then read again (for good measure) all of my paperwork. 

Katie (Miss Vermont 2011) staying up until the wee hours of the morning to help me with my paperwork 

A 1:30am action shot 

That was a large focus of the past few weeks but there have been other perks of being Miss Vermont... Like 4th of July parades! Which is much more interesting to read about than paperwork, trust me. 

On July 3rd, Chloe and I went to Montpelier to ride in the parade in our state capitol. It was particularly special to be able to share the experience with two of our Preliminary Titleholders: Rylee and Nina (Nina is also Miss Vermont’s Sweetheart!) both of whom are from Montpelier.

Chloe, Nina, Me, Rylee, Local Celebrity 

Our stylin’ rides were sponsored by Cody Chevrolet and it started to really sink in that I am Miss Vermont when the magnets with my name (spelled correctly!) were placed on the sides of the car. What an amazing feeling! It just got better once all the cars started moving. The parade was PACKED! I wish I had the presence of mind to take a picture of the crowd while we were driving through town- it was really a sight to see.

Chloe and me with our awesome Car Sponsor who looks spiffy in his blue shirt!

So official!

Chloe being adorable. 

The next day, I went to my hometown parade in Rochester, Vermont which was very exciting for me. 

I’m going to go on a little tangent and tell a side story about getting to the parade: I was driving the back roads to Rochester and unfortunately with all the rainfall- part of the road had washed out. Right as I was driving towards town, the road was being closed off to the public. I felt panicked because I knew that if I had to turn around and drive back to the other route, I would never make it to the parade in time. I rolled down my window and asked the construction worker: “What if I told you I was Miss Vermont and I needed to get to a parade in Rochester? I can show you my crown if you want proof...” and he replied “I already know who you are, you can drive through here, just make sure you go slowly!”. THIS WAS AWESOME. Not only did someone recognize me sans crown and sash, I GOT TO DRIVE THROUGH A CLOSED OFF ROAD. I felt pretty cool to be the only person driving on that road and I owe a sincere “Thank you” to that man because I was able to make it to the parade with time to spare. 

Back on track to my main point- I couldn’t wait to go back to the area where I grew up and where I was going to have home turf advantage, so to say. A family friend, Joe Massimino, was my driver and it was a big moment to be able to ride in the Bat-mobile. Yes, the Bat-mobile. It’s sleek and black and a convertible. I’ve seen this car drive around town many times but have never had the privilege of being a passenger in it! Joe spiffed the car up, put am American flag on the back, attached little flags to the antenna (eat your heart out Mr.President) and the magnets were the finishing touch, of course. 

Securing the crown to my head with intense focus next to the Bat-mobile

Hometown reppin' in Rochester 

It was incredibly hot and humid the entire week so while we waited for the lineup to start we took refuge under some shade and caught up on life. It really made me appreciate the importance of small towns and the incredible relationships and friendships you build with the people in your community... And shade. It made me really appreciate that too. 

Once the parade started, I had a blast going through the center of town where I saw SO many faces that I recognized- many of them people who have supported me every year that I’ve competed in Miss Vermont. I have the best and most dedicated cheerleaders. After the parade, I walked around the park and caught up with old friends while the barbecue started to get fired up. It was no surprise to see Governor Shumlin in town to join in the festivities and we stopped and chatted for a few minutes before he went to get some grub (we really do have delicious barbecue). 

As the afternoon came to a close, I gathered up my traveling companion, the dog (who apparently really dislikes parades so she had to stay by the church and watch from afar), and headed back to Burlington- feeling so blessed and excited the whole drive back. I also felt a little sweaty and dehydrated.... but that didn’t matter compared to the overwhelming positive reception by my community. 

Traveling companion, Jessie

I feel so lucky. I have a feeling that I am going to be saying this often, probably every day for the next year. Vermont is really an amazing place. 

Being Miss Vermont is a once in a lifetime experience in which I am going to learn skills that will help me throughout my life. 

I also will learn things that I never considered before. For example: One thing that I have discovered throughout these Independence Day festivities is this... waving is harder than you think it is. I have to admit I am unsure of proper parade waving etiquette. I don’t know if I should only to a single hand wave or if I am skilled enough to do a double? Do you wave with fingers open or closed? Are there periods of rest that should happen or is it a constant wave? These are all things that I’ll figure out after I have more time as Miss Vermont, but it never crossed my mind that I would have to consider the mechanics of waving before this happened. Like I said, lifelong skills. 

Parade advice

Anyway, this respite from my list of things to accomplish tonight has been wonderful and a nice way to reflect and process this whole experience. I hope that everyone had a great of a holiday as I did. 

I must get back to the emailing/phone calls/scheduling but keep an eye out in the next week for more posts! In the meantime, check out this article that was published in my hometown paper (maybe why the construction worker recognized me?!): Rochester's Achee is Miss Vermont

Thanks for reading! 

My First 5.25 Days as Miss Vermont 2013:

I know the first thing you are wondering is, “why 5.25? Why not six or five?”- I am thinking of it in that way because technically I didn’t become Miss Vermont 2013 until about 10:00pm. It’s actually less than 0.25% of a day, but I am rounding up because we shouldn’t get too technical here. 

As many people know, I’ve competed for five years in this program. I always told people I came back each year because I loved the spectacular young women I competed with and because of the scholarship money I could put towards my education. Looking back on the past five summers, I have to also mention the development and growth that this program helps participants learn. I have obtained so many important skills that if I hadn’t won on that fateful Saturday night, I still would have felt like I had won in a different way. I have gained confidence, public speaking skills, fundraising ability, made professional connections, received money to help fund my education and met some of the best friends that I will have for the rest (not kidding here) of my life. 

As an example of how the Miss Vermont Scholarship Program has helped me become a successful young woman (yeah! one of the four points of the crown!)- I give you this fun fact about me: 

I am the 2013 Vermont Truman Scholar. Not many people know what this is (hey, I didn’t even know until the fellowships advisor give me the low down) but it’s “kind of a big deal” as Ron Burgundy would say. Here’s a quick summary of what the Truman is: A scholarship and the legacy of President Truman for Junior undergraduate students who are committed to serving in government/nonprofits/education/public service and who show “exceptional” leadership (you can visit their website here for more information). The foundation thinks that Truman Scholars are so great that they are willing to give us $30,000 to put towards our graduate education and then we have the honor of calling ourselves “Truman Scholars”. I was able to meet the other 61 people chosen to represent their states and I am so in awe of each and every one of them. These are the movers and shakers of the future. While I was in Missouri at the Truman Library I made a funny comparison: being part of a Truman family must what it’s like to be part of the Miss America sisterhood...

My Truman class at the Truman Library!

Which brings me back to my point of, whoa- I just won Miss Vermont! That just happened! I feel so blessed to be able to have so many different people that I call family and I am excited to be able to add my Miss America class as another. When I think about it, I feel like this:

Only a dancing polar bear could accurately describe this feeling

But this is getting too sentimental. Let's lighten it up a little. Here's what my life has been since Saturday night!

Saturday- post crowning: I went back home with my mom, my embarrassing amount of luggage and enough presents and flowers to open a store. I immediately put on my pajamas (Miss Vermont tradition) and sat in the living room with some of my closest friends celebrating (mostly them celebrating and me thinking “Am I dreaming? This must be a dream.... Gee, I hope I wake up tomorrow for interview and remember this feeling”). I’m sure that it will be one of my favorite nights of my year. You just can’t beat having people who love you who are there to share in your happiest moments.  

Hearing my name called as Miss Vermont 2013 

Huge smile as I walk towards my Outstanding Teen

Hugging one of my best friends who came from Massachusetts to watch me! I was definitely sobbing before this photo...

Miss Vermont 2010 and Miss Vermont 2013- Finally sisters! 

Taking a photo with an incredible panel of judges

Monday- Outstanding Teen, Chloe Johnson, and I had our official business meeting to go over information about Miss America’s Outstanding Teen and Miss America. We both got helpful and wonderful feedback from our judges panel (Shout out to: Angie Rodriguez, Stacy James, Marianne Kennedy, Alex Nagiba and Jeffery Jew!). After eating a delicious brunch hosted by the Sheraton Burlington, Chloe and I made our way to Walmart to go see what Miss Vermont 2012, Chelsea Ingram, was doing to support the official swimwear sponsor of Miss America, Catalina. It was exciting to see what my year ahead would be like as we posed for pictures with people and signed our (first!) autographs. Chelsea also taught me how to properly secure the crown to my head because I was afraid if I looked down it would fall off (no judgement people, I’d never put one on before! It's a pageant superstition). When the appearance was finished, I headed home to tackle my Miss Vermont email, calendar and paperwork. 

Chloe, Rylee and me at Walmart supporting Catalina Swimwear

Tuesday- Chloe and I arrived bright and early at the official hair sponsor, Scherdiva Salon, to be glammed up for some photos and our first televised appearance on our local news station WCAX. It was humid as all get up, but luckily Robert and his team worked his magic and I had fabulous Miss America hair. WCAX’s morning news anchor, Molly Smith, was there to interview us and she is fabulous and so friendly. Molly made my first official interview as Miss Vermont a breeze. Chloe and I had fun chatting at the picnic table outside the studios and we taught Molly a few skills she could bring to a pageant stage (see the interview here). When we finished at WCAX, Chloe and I headed to Up Country Photography to get some photos done and make sure that Chloe had her official headshot ready to go for nationals! It was a lot of fun to be primped and photographed (Robert was there to spray away straggle hairs with his magical humidity resistant hairspray). I felt like a hollywood star and I can’t wait to see the photos. After a long but fun day, I returned home to do more paperwork. 

Chloe and me at Scherdiva Salon before heading to WCAX. 

Behind the scenes at Up Country Photography

Wednesday- I had a regular day as “Jeanelle” and went to work (although the Assistant Manager did write “Miss Vermont” on the daily sheet instead of my name). It can be easy to forget amidst the eyelashes and autograph cards- that all of these girls who are now "Miss States", including myself, are just regular people. Even though I am now going to Miss America... bills still need to get paid, I still struggle with brushing the tease out my hair and I am a hardworking nursing student. I'm really just a regular and relatable person. After my regular day at work I returned home to do... (you guessed it) paperwork. 

Thursday- That’s today! It’s an office day- work on paperwork, confirm appearances for Independence Day parades, write a blog post so people don’t think I’m a hermit (I swear once my Miss America paperwork is submitted, I WILL get off the computer). I did teak a break and went to see the official Miss Vermont personal training sponsor, Poulin Performance, where I learned something interesting about my ribcage- but that’s a whole other blogpost. 

My makeshift "office". I really needed some Vitamin D

Now that we are all up to speed and have a better understanding "A Day in the Life" or more accurately "5.25 Days" in the life of a Miss Vermont, I'll leave you with these thoughts: 
1.  I am so excited to be a representative of this amazing state, but I am more excited to meet the spectacular people who live here! So if you see me around town, please, say “hi” and introduce yourself. 
2.  I am thankful that I really enjoy office supplies, organizing and filling out paperwork because the last few days could have been a struggle. 
3. I need to do updates/posts more frequently because this year is going to be filled with incredible things and this is quite a novel! 

So everyone, please follow my year on Twitter (@MissVermont2013), facebook (Miss Vermont Organization page) and if anyone has any questions that they have always wanted to ask a Miss Vermont (I know you have them and it’s ok!) you can email me at missvermont2013@missvermont.org. 

It's time to take a break from the computer screen and cook up some grub. Thanks for reading! 

Your Miss Vermont 2013
(I just had to do it!)