Joke #1: What was Camelot famous for?!
(ans. at the end of the entry! :)
I can’t believe that it has already been a month since pageant week!! It has truly been a whirlwind. A month filled with the meeting of phenomenal sponsors, shopping, making new, very dear friends within the Miss Washington board, moving out of my beautiful Bellingham apartment in the heat of the summer, shopping some more, laughing and on it goes!
I was so honored to have my first official Miss Washington appearance at the Auburn Noon Lions club. They were my very first sponsor in 2007 when I competed for Miss Auburn and it was more than wonderful to be able to return to the club, thank them for their amazing involvement, and show them where the investment that they made three years ago had taken me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart my fantastic fellow Lions club members!
After the stop in Auburn I was off on a running start with a visit to the Mac makeup store, Brotherton Cadillac, our wonderful hair sponsor Jill, and of course, Miss America paperwork! Having been doing my makeup since 7th grade, I thought that I had a pretty good grasp of makeup tricks and techniques. That was until I met Rachel, a sponsor, makeup artist, and wife of one of this year’s judges, Brian Michaels. She went out of her way to meet Peggy and me and help me develop the look that was just right for me. I left with 7 new shades of eye shadows, brushes, moisturizer, foundation, toner, mist, and brush cleaner (which was later an unfortunate casualty… I’ll explain more later :). It was such a fun day and could not have fallen at a more perfect time.
The very next day we met bright and early for a photo shoot at Brotherton with my beautiful, brand new 2010 Pontiac Vibe in gorgeous victory red! Peggy, Papa and Mama WA, and I spent over 6 hours with Brad, Roger, Brian, and Marcus capturing the most beautiful pictures with the “Victory Vibe”. It was unquestionably the hottest day of summer and we would not have gotten as fabulous a shot had it not been for the effort of everyone there. Peggy manned the hairspray, my mom the crown and sash, dad had the water, Roger shaded me from the harsh rays of the sun in between shots and directed it with precision when needed, Brian had the expert eye and Marcus captured all of this on his high tech camera. What a blast!! I was overwhelmed by how I was treated there. I had heard Janet gush for a year about their generosity but was still completely blown away by their level of service and care. I will never forget how special and truly QUEEN-LIKE everyone there made me feel that day.
Not 24 hours after driving the Vibe off of the Renton lot, I watched it disappear in the side mirror of Peggy’s car for the Bite of Seattle and the Miss Tri-Cities pageant. As excited as I was for my first public appearance and to visit my first local as the new Miss Washington, I leaked a tear or two over leaving behind my new, fuel-efficient treasure! Of course, those sad feelings didn’t last long once the trip was underway. How could they with the company of the most hilarious, Mike and Peggy Miller?! The visit to the Tri-Cities was fantastic. I had the opportunity to meet my very first Miss America, Kellye Cash, visit with the new Miss Texas, and meet the first member of the Miss Washington class of 2010.
We arrived home from the weekend trip mid Sunday afternoon. We departed for Oregon the next day at 7 in the morning, not my or Peggy’s best time of the day to say the very least! It was all worth it though, when we finally arrived and met Barb, a Color 1 consultant. She spent two wonderful hours helping me discover the colors, prints, patterns, and fabrics that were just right for me.
From Barb’s home we left to meet up with Bob and Bev White, long time Miss Washington supporters and volunteers. As usual, Bev was cracking Peggy and me up the entire time and fed us delicious Taco Salad and homemade pie. It was so nice to see them in their new beautiful home, doing so well and just loving life! I cannot wait for another getaway to Oregon to see them again!
Tuesday brought a wonderful break from traveling with a refreshing evening with my friends, family, and Miss Auburn members. Thanks Lona and Anne! It is truly impossible to put into words how appreciative I am for each of these people in my life. I wouldn’t be reaching my dreams without the support network that I have been blessed with. I will be constantly reminding myself of this throughout the year!
Two days later the Decision to Donate movement kicked off in Seattle. It was a joy to be a part of and to hear stories from families of recipients, of donors, and from medical professionals speaking of the miracle of organ, eye and tissue donation. It was overwhelming and affirmed my intense desire to promote awareness and registration for donation. WA-MA came with me to this event and drove with me up to Bellingham right afterward to pack up my college apartment. That of course was after we had to drive back down to Auburn to get my keys that I left at my parent’s house! My mom thought it was an accident; really I was intentionally extending the trip so that I could drive my absolutely FABULOUS car some more! In the end we made it up to Bellingham around midnight and spent all of the next day packing, cleaning and loading up the truck. It must be noted that that day was one of those ridiculously hot days we were so fortunate to have this summer. That wonderful heat wave UNfortunately continued through all of the next week while I unpacked and got settled in. Okay, that can be the end of my complaining! I really was totally thankful for the beautiful home to move into, the help from my mom to set up and organize my new space, and as hard as it is to admit, the beautiful weather that we have had :)
Well I believe that this pretty much catches us all the way up to my departure to Florida, where I am now as I write this. Sorry for the length of this entry! Life was a little hectic and I was slow to sit down and get started. I commit to never letting that happen again… well I will at least do my very best!
Anyone figured out the joke yet?!?!?!?
Its knight life!!!
Always with lots of love and laughter,
Devanni Partridge
Miss Washington 2009
