Hockey- The Greatest Sport Ever!

The Beautiful Nationwide Arena

Only one more day till my reign officially begins!!! 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here we come! I celebrated New Year's Eve in Columbus, Ohio. I spent all afternoon shopping at Polaris Mall with John and then that night I made an appearance at the Bluejacket's game. (For those that don't know, they are a NHL hockey team) I absolutely LOVE hockey, so for me this was a dream come true! My Dad got me a Jacket's jersey for Christmas with the name Miss Ohio on the back and the #10 for 2010. I guess you could say I was well dressed for the occasion.

I had 3 different interviews to do that night. The 1st one was for the Bluejackets website. Brittany interviewed me for that and she was awesome! She made the interview fun and it felt like there was no pressure. The next interview was with the FSN Ohio channel for the pregame show. That went really well too. Lastly I had an interview with the Jacket's announcer for the big screen inside the arena. I was pretty thrilled to hear there were a bunch of UC fans in the audience. Here's the link to watch my interview with Brittany:

http://bluejackets.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=-7&id=55906&cmpid=rss-whatshot

After walking around the arena and getting a tour of the "behind the scene's" areas (weight room, locker room, etc.), I was taken up to the suite boxes to meet a few people with the Bluejackets. Soon the game started and I was ready to go down to my seats to watch it! The seats were awesome and we were about 7 rows from the ice. The camera crew even followed me around to my seat to get some footage of me watching the game. (Which felt just a little weird) The game was awesome.....until we lost in overtime. :( Still I had the best New Year's ever! And now it's time for my greatest year ever! 2010!!!!

Merry Christmas!! :)

Christmas Day- creating my Wii character :)

Opening up gifts

Christmas is finally here! I can't believe how fast time is flying by! I spent Christmas Eve at my house with my mom's side of the family in the afternoon. There were so many family members that stopped by that I haven't seen in a very long time. My cousin Mendee came with her twins! They were so cute!

For dinner I went to John's mom's house. She made a huge Honeybaked ham and I tried pecan pie for the very first time. We played a little bit of Wii and then it was time to open presents. I had gotten John's mom a Thomas Kinkade prayer book and his family gave me this super soft chocolate brown blanket.

That night we went back to my house for our family tradition of the kids giving out their presents to the family. I'm always excited to watch my family open their gifts that I got them. It was a great day, but now I was ready to pass out!

At 7 in the morning, I was woken up by my 13 year old brother and 4 year old niece begging me to come downstairs and open presents. I had gotten several great gifts that I absolutely needed; a luggage set, a digital camera (I usually use disposable ones or my mom's), and a Blue Ray DVD player for my TV that I got for my birthday. My family also got a Wii system! But the biggest surprise was that I would get a puppy after Miss USA!!!! (Unless I win of course) I have been begging for a puppy forever and am so excited that my parents finally said yes!

We then spent all morning hooking up new electronics and cleaning up the house. For dinner we went to my grandma's, to visit my dad's side of the family. My grandma had a huge dinner with turkey, ham, and her homemade mashed potatoes! They are amazing I must say! I had a wonderful Christmas and was so glad I got to spend it with all my family.

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

With my great aunt, Marie

My grandma picked me up tonight for the Cottingham Retirement Home tree lighting ceremony. My great-aunt Marie is a resident there and it was nice to get to visit her. Residents and their families were all sitting around the ballroom while the choir sang several Christmas carols. Several individuals sang solos and during the song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," a couple literally danced around the Christmas tree! It was so sweet.

After the singing, ornaments were put on the tree to represent the residents and their families. The tree was then lit and boy was it beautiful! There was a reception after where I got to meet and take a few pictures with all the residents. They wished me good luck and promised they would definitely root for me come May 16. They all were so kind and sweet. I had an absolute great time visiting them!

A Room Full Of Amazing Women

I was invited this evening to the St. Bernard Women's Club Christmas Dinner Party. I arrived to a room full of women in the City Municipal Building and was quickly talked to and congratulated by all these women. They sat me at the head of the table with their President and we were served dinner right away. When we were through with eating there was a special surprise from the barbershop quartet, Smooth Transition, who sang the song "I've Got a Crush on You", while holding my hand. You could say I turned a little bit red. I was then asked to give a speech about my win and everything leading up to that moment. As I began I talked about wanting to do the pageant for some time and my journey to become ready for it. I became just a tad emotional at one point where I talked about wanting to make everyone proud: my family, my city, my work, and all the kids I coach. I felt that I just couldn't let anyone of them down. I had gotten so many people involved with this experience and I didn't want to come back home feeling like I had failed them. I felt my eyes start to water as I said these things and that's when all the ladies stood up and started clapping. It was another great moment where I felt that my city of St. Bernard was behind me 100%. After my little speech, Smooth Transitions then sang several more songs. (They were absolutely amazing!) At the end of this wonderful dinner I was given a pink poinsettia and a beautiful fiber optic angel ornament. I had an absolute great time and love all the support that these great women have given me!

The Little Engine That Could

I was requested to come make an appearance at the Barnes and Noble in Fields Ertel for the Mason Community Players today. The Mason Community Players are a group of talented individuals (young and old) who put on plays every year in the Mason area. Today 10% of sales at the Barnes and Noble went to that organization to help pay for costumes, equipment, scenery, etc. They had a booth set up at the entrance where I had mostly stayed and greeted customers and talked about the different raffles and prizes to help support the group. The prizes were tickets to different shows coming up in 2010.

There also was a little set up by the children's section of the store. They had coloring contests, face painting, and snowflake making there! Cinderella and Santa Claus even stopped by to visit all the kids. I had a lot of fun with the children, even though they seemed more excited to see Cinderella than Miss Ohio!

Another event that they had going on at the Barnes and Noble was a book drive for all the kids at the Children's Hospital during Christmas time. People were allowed to buy books and donate them. I bought, "The Little Engine That Could" and signed it for that special girl or boy. I wish I could have given it to them personally and got to meet whoever ended up with the book. I guess it's just one of those things I'll never know. But whoever they are, I hope it may have brightened their day.

The Barrel

Posing with Pam and Scott

"Thanks for calling Cracker Barrel Sharonville. This is Amanda. How may I help you?"

CINCINNATI :)

Cracker Barrel closed early tonight for our yearly Christmas party! Almost all the employees came and brought a dessert with them to be judged by our GM, Scott, in the dessert contest. I was unable to make or bring one because I worked all day. We had this great buffet of Cracker Barrel food (roast beef, chicken tenders, skillet potatoes, you name it, we had it!). Santa was even there for all the children.

Earlier in the week a woman from Home Office came to interview me and take some pictures of me at work. Everything was later posted on the Cracker Barrel website and published in the Cracker Barrel Newsletter. Here's the link: http://www.crackerbarrel.com/mediaroom.cfm?doc_id=1348

It was so awesome to get my work involved with this year. I have been working at Cracker Barrel since I was 17 and it has become a second family for me. I love all my fellow employees, managers, and regular guests. I really feel that I have shown that a small town girl that works at Cracker Barrel can to make her dreams come true! I hope I can be an inspiration for other people (girls, boys, women, and men), that they too should always believe in their dreams and never give up on what they truly want in life.

The Holidays Always Seem To Bring People Together

Inside St. Bernard City Hall

At the tree lighting

Miss Black Ohio 2010 and I

I can't believe it's already December and Christmas is right around the corner! St. Bernard's Xmas Celebration was today and most of my family went. We had an absolute blast! The St. Clement Choir sang a few carols and Mayor Burkhardt lit the tree. The Coca Cola polar bear was there and so were Santa and Mrs. Claus. In the Municipal building, they had this great train display and the Eagles had coco and cookies for everyone young and old. Kids could sit on Santa's lap and have their picture taken. Mrs. Claus would then give them a bag full of goodies afterwards.

Later on in the night they had horse drawn carriages take residents around St. Bernard. I was unable to get a ride because I had to leave early for a Miss Ohio appearance. The appearance was for a Stop Aids Benefit in downtown Cincinnati. I went for a little while and mingled with all the guests. I even got to meet Miss Black Ohio 2010 there. I had an absolute great night. There was a silent auction there and many different people from all over the city dropped by. It always feels so good to see so many people gather for such a great cause!

Turkey Time :)

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Today was a very crazy day for me. It was one that was nonstop and pretty hectic. I woke up this morning to a nice big breakfast made by my very loving mommy (my sister and I had to go to work, so she decided to make breakfast instead of dinner). We had bacon, sausage, Pillsbury cinnamon rolls- my favorite, oranges, potatoes, toast, ham, and all that other good stuff!

From there I had to rush and get ready to go to lunch with John's family. We met everyone at the Manchester Inn in downtown Middletown, where we had a huge buffet laid out with prime rib, corn, mashed potatoes, pasta salad, rolls, and of course turkey and dressing. It all was so good but then I had to rush out of there because I had work from 3:45-8pm. When I arrived at Cracker Barrel in was pretty crazy. All night it was packed but afterwards I got to go home and pass out for about 3 hours.

When I woke up about 11:30 at night, it was time to get ready to go out. I am a huge bargain shopper (when I mean huge, I mean HUGE!) and cannot miss a great sale on Black Friday. At midnight the Monroe Outlet Mall was open and I had to be there! After getting a couple things, I then went to Waffle House for a quick breakfast before I got started at the other places. I headed off next to Target and then from there to Wal-Mart. I was starting to get exhausted from all this running around and waiting in these very long lines. I then went home to have another quick meal and headed off to the Kenwood area where I stopped at Barnes and Noble, Toys R'us, and the mall.

After that I was finally finished for the day. I must say though that it was a lot of fun and very rewarding with all the gifts I purchased at extremely low prices. So in the end my crazy shopping trip was all worth it!

A Visit To Williamsburg

This morning I left with my mom to Williamsburg Elementary, where my Aunt Reggie is a teacher. I visited with the 3rd through 5th graders and talked with them about eating healthy, staying active, and how important school is. After my discussion the kids got to have a question and answer session with me and boy were they excited!

A lot of the girls asked me about my favorite singers, movies, and songs. They also asked me about my favorite store and what kind of dresses I get to wear. They loved seeing pictures of me in my gown at Miss Ohio. I was surprised though to see all the boys with their hands raised! They were equally excited as the girls to ask me questions. They tend to have questions more about sports and my favorite teams. One of the questions was, "What is your favorite comedy movie?" (That was an easy one to answer- anything with Adam Sandler in it!)

We had to end the questioning after 20 minutes; they literally asked me about 40 questions! They were a little upset and disappointed that I had to leave and couldn't stay for lunch with them. But before I left I signed a bunch of pictures for each one of them and even a couple for their family members.

20 Years Young

Playing Deal or No Deal at Chuckee Cheese for Adria's 4th Birthday (The game was getting pretty serious!)

Today I am 20! I can't believe it's already another birthday. John took me out last night to the Golden Lamb in Lebanon and my family taking me to Jax's Grille on Newport later tonight. Then were going to Gameworks to have a little late night fun! For my birthday I got some really funny gifts. My sister and niece bought me a Dip 'N Dots maker (I love ice cream!). But the funny thing is this machine doesn't make real Dip 'N Dots ice cream, it makes flavored water that you have to freeze!

I am absolutely obsessed with the Twilight Saga and have been a couple years before the movies even started filming and so my brother got me a New Moon jewelry chest and John got me the Edward and Bella Barbie dolls. Finally my parents brought out this big box and I really had no idea what could be in it. To my surprise it was a flat screen TV! I already had a TV in my room but it was a 9" box that only played VHS, so I bet you understand how excited I was! What I love about this TV is that it was the perfect size for my room (about 24") and it could be mounted on my wall.

I had a lot of fun this birthday and before I know it, it will be time for my next one!

The Final Race

With my running buddy, Adrianna

Dancing!!!

With some of my girls

About to give a little last minute motivational speech to all 500 girls!

The Coaches

After the appearance at Bob Roncker's, I became very ill for about a week and a half. I was unable to make any other appearances as Miss Ohio for awhile (for the sake of not getting anybody else sick). But early this morning I had the Girls On The Run (GOTR as I refer to it) final 5k race! I coach the GOTR program at Corryville Catholic and have been so excited for this race for awhile. My girls have been working very hard all season for this and I felt that they were truly ready.

I arrived at Sawyer Point (downtown Cincinnati) to the race with my crown and sash in place. Immediately when I got out of my car and was still in the parking lot, girls and their parents ran up to me and asked for photos. It was such an awesome feeling to be seen as this role model for all these girls (there were 500 girls there). Finally I got to my team area and saw all my little girls and the other coaches. Everyone had a smile on their face and was so excited for the race. There was a DJ playing some music by the Black Eyed Peas and then the Cha Cha Slide came on. Of course I had to dance!

Before the race began, I was asked to give a pep talk to all the girls. I told them how proud I was of all of them and that today was the day that they all had been working so hard for. The race was finally about to start and I got in line with my running buddy Adrianna. The race seemed to go by so quick and before I knew it, the finish line was in our sight. Adrianna and I sprinted as fast as we could for the finish. Everyone was screaming for us and yelling "Go Miss Ohio!" (I decided to wear my sash during the race) When we had crossed the finish line, Adrianna was so excited! We were the first ones done from our team! We then went to stand by the finish line and cheer everyone else on.

When my whole team was done, I had to say my goodbyes. I would not get to see them till next fall for the next season. But I did promise them to visit their school before I leave for Miss USA...and I always keep my promises!

The Girls On The Run Cincinnati even did a coach profile on me in their monthly newsletter. Here it is:

Coach Profile: Amanda Tempel
Amanda first learned about the Girls on the Run when she was in the 5th grade at St. Bernard Elementary and her mother signed her up to participate. The experience not only introduced her to competitive running, but also inspired a desire to be a coach herself. Today, Amanda is not only a student at University of Cincinnati and an active runner, but she’s also Miss Ohio 2009 and a dedicated Girls on the Run Coach.
"I started out helping my mom coach the St. Clement track team when I was a freshman in high school and have done so ever since. I love coaching and one of my long-term goals is to become a head coach for a high school cross country team one day. I also became interested in coaching the GOTR program because the program did so much for me when I was younger and wanted to give something back to it. I wanted to be someone that all of these young girls look up to and to look to for help during such a confusing time."
Be sure to root for Amanda at the Miss USA competition on April 18, 2010 on NBC!

The First CUT

Today I had an appointment with Michael at Salon Bastille in Downtown Montgomery (my hair sponsor). I decided, well Melissa and Michael decided :), that I needed to go a bit darker but keep the color natural. Of course I needed a trim as well! Michael also added some layering around my face. The results were amazing and I love my new Do!!!!! Thanks Michael, you really can work wonders!

A Day At "The Playground"

Picking out the prize winners!

At the St. Bernard Employee Appreciation Dinner

With Bob Roncker

As most people know, I am a runner. Running is a huge part of my life and it has done so much for me. Through running I have learned to always see myself as a winner and that if you want to get something out of it, you have to put the time in. Bob Roncker helped me become a better runner when I was a junior and senior in high school. I did his summer cross country camp and always went to his store to get my new running shoes. Bob is also a sponsor of the Cincinnati GOTR program and donates brand new shoes for all of the girls.

When I won Miss Ohio I knew I wanted to work with him and his store Bob Roncker's Running Spot. Today I went to the Running Spot in O'Bryonville for their grand opening of their new floor called "The Playground." No there is not a real playground on that level. Instead it was named so for the reason that the kinds of people that shop there are very active in everyday life and tend to multitask. I was so excited to be a part of this experience and to get to meet all of these different runners from all over Cincinnati. I signed a few pictures and wore this black casual dress that they picked out for me and that they sell in the store.
I even got some cute workout clothes for Miss USA! All the employees were great, especially Bonnie!

Later that evening I went with my mom to the St. Bernard Employee Appreciation Dinner. My mom works St. Bernard at City Hall and my Dad is a St. Bernard police officer. This was the first time they held a dinner like this and it was awesome! They had a DJ and dance floor set up at the municipal building and we were served buffet style completed with a huge chocolate fountain! It was nice to be surrounded by fellow St. Bernardians, a lot of who I've grown up with my entire life. There was even a raffle where I was asked to be the one to draw the winners. I drew my own ticket and won tickets to a Miami University hockey game! And if you knew me, you would know that hockey is my absolute favorite sport!

Finally we ended the night doing the Electric Slide, Cupid's Shuffle, and the Cha Cha Slide. I had an absolute blast! I promise you this; St. Bernard is one of the greatest places to live!

Oh and Mike, I won't forgot our promise if I win Miss USA.... 5 Fingers!

Roger Bacon Open House

Getting ready to leave for the RB Open House

Today I had to wake up bright and early to get ready for the Roger Bacon Open House. I graduated from Bacon in 2008 and when they found out I won Miss Ohio, they asked if I could come and talk to perspective students. When I arrived everyone was so thrilled to see me! I first started out just greeting parents and students coming through the door. Later on I went around to different classrooms, to the Fogarty Gym, and the Auditorium. I got to see a bunch of my former teachers once again. Mr. Mueller (my former chemistry teacher) had an experiment set up where you could catch bubbles on your hand and then he would light them on fire! Of course I had to try it!!

When I went up to the auditorium to see all the different clubs, I saw Erin and Brandon, 2 former students that I graduated with. I was so excited to see them and talk to them about how so much has changed since high school. One of the girls I coach for Girls On the Run was there with her older sister too. Her parents said that they didn't believe her at first when she told them that Miss Ohio coaches her, but now they do!

I then went to the gym to see my old cross country coaches. Coach Ryan and Coach Feitchner both congratulated me on my accomplishments and were proud to see how far I've come. While I was in the gym I had my picture taken for the Evening of Excellence so that it could be raffled off. I had a great time at RB and it brought back so many memories. I'm so happy I got to see everyone and hope to make some more appearances there.

Trick or Treat! :)

Judging The Costume Contest!

Happy Halloween everyone! I can't believe October is almost over! A month has almost gone by since I've been crowned. Time is really flying by! Well tonight I had the privilege to get to judge the St. Bernard Halloween costume contest. Before going down to the park to judge, I had to get ready. I ended up dressing sort of like a witch. My niece was Snow White and my brother was Paul Stanley from KISS. When I arrived I had several pictures taken with all the little goblins [aka children :)]. There were 4 age groups we judged and the awards were best, funniest, and scariest. I also gave out special candy to my personal favorite boy and girl in each age group. The contest was a lot of fun, but now it was time to go get ready for all the trick or treaters!!

My mom took Adria and Bubba out Trick or Treating, so John and I decided we would hand out candy. John dressed up as "death" and I wanted to be Mike Meyers (But really I had on the Mike Meyer's jumpsuit and wig with Jason's mask). It was funny because kids couldn't figure out which one I was! I had a really fun night, even though I didn't scare too many kids because most of them realized right away that I was a woman. But when it was all done, I grubbed on candy! I mean it is Halloween right?

Special thanks to Mayor Burkhardt for all the candy ice cream cones! (They are my favorite and they're made in St. Bernard!)

Meeting Miss Michigan

The Magazine that came out at the end of the year (I'm at the bottom right of the big "C")

The cover shot!!

"A Beautiful Rivalry"

With our war paint :)

Last Night I left St. Bernard to go up to Columbus, OH. While I was driving, I was getting pretty nervous. The closer I got to downtown, the faster my heart was beating! This would be the first time I would meet my sister state, Michigan; the first time I would meet another girl in the Miss USA competition! I didn't know what to expect. I was just hoping that Rima, Miss Michigan, and I would get along. I was told that every year Ohio and Michigan had to become like sisters because they spent so much time together and were both owned by Proctor Productions.

When I got to the Westin Hotel at 7pm, I immediately got my room and hung out until 9pm, when I had to meet everyone in the lobby. I got downstairs, but no one was there yet. Soon Eric, the photographer, and his assistant arrived. But they didn't introduce themselves right away. I was actually on the phone with my mom, telling her that I made to Columbus safely. I soon realized that there were these 2 men staring at me and whispering. When I finally got off the phone, they were still looking straight at me! I felt a little weird, until they finally came up to me and introduced themselves as the photographers. Roopan, publisher of C-Magazine and Anna Melomud, Miss Ohio USA 2007, arrived shortly after. Now I had to just wait for Rima. When she finally came down, a weight was lifted off my shoulders! We immediately hugged and got to talking. She was the exact kind of person that I was hoping she would be. We soon started taking paparazzi shots entering the hotel. Then the photographer said to do a funny shot, so we started pushing each other on the luggage cart. We were having so much fun!

After the photographer got his shots, we all went to dinner in the hotel. We talked to Anna about the Miss USA pageant and Roopan about tomorrow morning. He said that we were going to shoot with a red and yellow Lamborghini, but they weren't able to get the yellow one. :( Rima and I joked that the red one still had 2 seats! After dinner we had to go straight to bed, for tomorrow would be a long day!

In the morning I got dressed and checked out of my room. I then met Rima in the lobby where a chauffeur was waiting for us. He drove us to Eric's studio and when we arrived breakfast was waiting for us! We had to eat now because we didn't know when we would get a chance to eat again. After filling up our stomachs, Rima and I went straight to hair and makeup. Our hair stylist made us look like Victoria Secret models for the first shot and the makeup artist kept it very clean and natural. We then were styled in our OSU and Michigan jerseys and Rock and Republic Jeans. The theme of this shoot and magazine was "A Beautiful Rivalry." I was dressed in scarlet and gray for OSU and Rima was in blue and gold for Michigan. The magazine is to come out right before the OSU vs. Michigan football game.

For the shots in the jerseys, we fought over the ball and did the Heisman pose. The makeup artist even put the black liner under our eyes! There was even a point where they wanted Rima and me to face each other with other noses barely touching while glaring at each other in the eyes. It was so funny! It was hard not to stop laughing. After that we did a shot of us arm wrestling and let's just say Rima and I really got into it! It was now time to change up our clothes and hair and makeup. They gave us these crazy fur coats and had us jump in these shots. When we were shooting Melissa walked in. She really liked the direction the magazine was going and how cool the pictures were turning out. This was the first year they used Miss Michigan and made it a duo shoot.

It was now 2pm and we finally had lunch. There was only one look left to shoot and that was the evening gowns. We both had on these beautiful BCBG dresses and had crazy hair and makeup. The theme for this shot was tug-a-war. Once again we were having a blast working together! When we were finally done shooting, we had to do an interview together for the magazine. It went really well and when we answered the final question, we realized that the day was finally over! There was a car waiting for Rima and I to drive us back to the hotel where we said our goodbyes. I knew it wouldn't be long until I see her again. I absolutely cannot wait till the magazine comes out and hope the pictures turn out great!

Rima, we have to buy those Ray Ban sunglasses for Vegas!!!

Back to my Alma Mater

Visiting Roger Bacon

In Mr. Mueller's room with all the girls in that class

My picture in the Cincinnati Magazine. (I ended up buying those boots, love them!)

It was another exciting morning today because I had my Cincinnati Magazine Photo Shoot! It was for the Winter/December Issue of the magazine and I was shot in 2 different faux furs. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

After I was finished with the shoot, I decided to stop by Roger Bacon High School and visit with all my old teachers. The first one I had to go see was Mr. Mueller, who had been begging me to stop by for quite some time. Brandon, the new enrollment officer, came down to the class and asked if I could take pictures with some of the students. He then wanted to know if it would be possible for me to come to the RB open House and talk to perspective students. I immediately said yes! It was such a thrill to be back to the place where I called home for 4 years of my life. A student at RB, Nick, then did a quick interview and took me around school to talk to all the students and teachers. I had a couple of guys beg to carry my bags for me in Vegas. The teachers also let the students take out their phones, which is shocking because they have a no cell phone policy, to take photos.

It was so nice to see all my teachers and hear them congratulate me. I had a lot of fun going back to RB and hope it's the first of many times visiting! Once a Spartan, always a Spartan!

Fox19 Morning Show

This morning I had my long awaited interview with Shelia Gray. When I arrived I immediately had my hair and makeup done. Melissa arrived a little bit later. I was really starting to feel the pressure and was starting to become overwhelmed. I didn't know what questions Shelia would ask and was quite nervous about that. I also was terrified about it being live and having all of Cincinnati watching me. I could mess up at any moment or my brain could just freeze up! I knew that as long as I just kept true to myself I would be fine.

When it was finally time for me to go on air, my heart was racing. At first I slipped up a couple of times and you could tell I was nervous. It just shows you that I am normal and do not have as much experience giving interviews on live TV. But further along in my interview I became more comfortable and confident. Shelia helped me along too. She had told me to just focus on her and not worry about the cameras.

Shelia asked me several different questions about my education, the Girls On The Run Program, and what I would tell girls that were looking into getting involved with pageants. She also asked me about how it felt to have won, what I was doing now to get ready for Miss USA, and why I had gotten into pageants. I believe the interview went well. It is a starting point for me and now I know what I must improve on to be fully prepared for Miss USA. Next time you see me, I'll be even better that before! :)

Glad to be back home...and with the crown!

My Grandma and I

The Mayor of St. Bernard, Bill Burkhardt

At St. Bernard City Hall

Today I had the honor of being introduced at St. Bernard City Council by Mayor Burkhardt as Miss Ohio USA 2010. It was only a month ago that I was there telling them that I would be representing St. Bernard in the Miss Ohio USA pageant. Everyone was so excited to see me! Several of the St. Bernard Senior members were there, as were lots of close family and friends. Mayor Burkhardt gave a speech about my success in the pageant and that I will be representing Ohio in the Miss USA pageant. He then offered me the key to the city and said that they would be putting a banner up on Vine Street to congratulate me on my win.

I then gave a speech thanking everyone for supporting me. I was so happy to make St .Bernard apart of this great year! After the speech I signed a few things for the city. One of them was my sash saying St. Bernard. Another was this picture taken of Mayor Burkhardt and me before the pageant. He wanted me to sign it when my mom first gave him the picture but she told him no, to wait after I won Miss Ohio.

After the council meeting, the different representatives came up to me to tell me congratulations. So many people told me that they wanted to come to Las Vegas and root me on! There's even a St. Bernard joke saying that they'll take the Dial-A-Ride on a road trip there! It was such a great moment to see the people of my city so excited. I feel like I really brought my little hometown alive! I really hope to make them proud at Miss USA and even bring the title and crown back home.

After we left City Hall, my family and I went to LaRosa's! It might be the last time I eat pizza for a very, very long time!