I am the most perfect orange

There are only about 9 days until the big pageant day. This will probably be my last post until after the pageant. I have many things that I need to do until the big day so I am having trouble finding the time to get everything done that I need to do. You would think as the pageant gets closer I would become more and more stressed. But it seems the closer the pageant the more calm about it I have become. I shared a little piece of an article with you not too long ago. It said comparing yourself to another contestant is like comparing apples to oranges. And you might be the perfect orange but if a judge is looking for an apple then you might not get it. The more I practice and perfect every little walk and pose and the way I present myself I realize how true this actually is. So I am perfectly confident with the place I am at. I know I am going to do a wonderful job and that I will be the most perfect orange that those judges have ever seen. But if the judges aren't looking for an orange than there is nothing I can do about it. Well, I am going to cut this post a little short because I have a lot of things to do tonight. I will be doing a little appearance tomorrow for a little girls whose birthday part theme is Miss America. I am really excited and think this will be loads of fun. I will keep you all posted and please send a little prayer for me on June 12th. And I would love you all to be at the pageant if you can make it!! It is in Dover DE on June 12th at 5:00 and you can purchase tickets at the door. Check out www.crownsofinspiration.net for more information. See you then! If you are coming please bring me a cupcake!!!

Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.

Well the countdown begins. It is 15 days until the big day and I have gone through all the different stages (worried then a little stressed and now we are in the crunch phase). But really through it all I think I am mostly just excited. This has been such a wonderful experience so far and I hope it continues onto nationals. I can't thank my director Siouxzan Moore enough for the amazing opportunity. I have grown as a wife, mother and woman and have bettered myself in so many different ways. Whether I win the title of Mrs. Delaware United States or not I will know I have worked so hard at it. And I have many things I will be working for even after the pageant is through. My Behind the Mask Campaign is just getting started and I have high hopes for it going forward. I know that without a doubt I am going to be the best titleholder (whether that is as Mrs. Delaware United State or as Mrs. Patriotic United States) I can be, I am ready for what lies ahead. So, anyway its difficult to post about anything else other than the pageant because it has been pretty all consuming as of lately and will probably be that way until the day of the pageant. Just this week I got my gown in the mail, it is fabulous and I am very excited to wear it the day of the pageant. Right now it is being altered to fit me better but I think that is the part I am most excited about right now, getting to wear my gown!! As much as I would love to share with you what it looks like, you should come to the pageant to take a look and see it in person! The website for pageant information is www.mppinc2006.com come out and cheer on me and my sister queens! I started my job at Joanns a few weeks ago and I am loving it. I have learned many new things and have already gotten many new crafts to do. I haven't had alot of opportunity to do an extensive amount of appearances due to the start of my new job. I was afforded the opportunity to walk in the Brain Tumor awareness 5k. It was a wonderful experience to listen to everyones stories and just be there as a support to friends. Well, for now I am going to leave you all. I hope you are all enjoying the wonderful weather we are having and are able to spend lots of time with friends and family.

We've had bad luck with our kids - they've all grown up.

I have had a very productive couple weeks. But the most important thing to mention is that my little man turned 5 years old on April 1st (yes he is an April fools baby)!! I can still remember waking up 5 years ago at 2am and heading to the hospital to 14 hours later finally meet my baby Landon. I can't believe how old he has gotten and what a little man he has become. Now there are trying days, but most days I just have to smile and enjoy this time. I know he is going to be a heart breaker because he sure has my heart in his little hand. Anyway, in honor of his 5th birthday we had a bowling birthday party with a superhero theme. I decided that I was going to make costumes for both of my sons for the party, but since I am a procrastinator I didn't start them until the night before. But I got all of them done (including 2 for my nephews) and they looked so much better than I anticipated. I am really proud of them they looked great. Alot of people came to celebrate and we all had a wonderful time. Everyone wore their superhero costumes (most of the adults wore superhero t-shirts, mine was supergirl). And the bowling was such a fun experience. I just can't believe that he is growing up, but of course that happens. On another note, one of my really good friends Shana Williams Mrs. Delaware is away in West Virginia for the national Mrs. America pageant. She has been keeping busy and has been looking great at the same time. I can't wait to see her and cheer her one. I know she is going to stand out! Good luck girl! Anyway, I have a new job! I am very excited about it, I am going to be a customer sales lead at JoAnn fabrics! Now this has become one of my favorite stores, and I am constantly in there buying something so I am excited to be part of the team. I am going to go there on Monday to finalize everything and start on this new adventure! I know they will benefit from me being there and I know I will also learn alot. So here is to a new chapter!

Being a queen isn't just about winning a crown for your head, its about deserving one for your heart!

What an exciting week it has been, more so this weekend. I am so happy for my fellow queens. Two of the most amazing women won pageants this weekend and they definitely deserve it. Now I have not known these ladies for a long period of time, but I do know that they both deserved it. One of my good friends Allison Funds won the Ms. Hope Eastern Shore pageant. And looking at the pic, man does she look stunning. She did well and I didn't even need to be there to know that! She is such a loving and giving person that there was no one the judges couldn't see that. I love you lady and congrats! And anther amazing person to won her pageant was Dawn Hicks who won Mrs. Pennsylvania International! Congratulations lady, I have only gotten the pleasure to meet Dawn briefly but she has such a big heart and cares about the people around her. She has such a sincere countenance and is just beautiful! Congratulations to both of you wonderful ladies, you deserve it. Another girl I had to give a shout out to is Shana Williams. Now her name is no stranger to my blog, she is probably in more posts than I am lol. But she is going to be leaving this week to go to the Mrs. America pageant. I am so happy for her and proud of her accomplishments. She is truly a woman of class and beauty. It hasn't always been super easy for her and there have been many people that try to tear her down, but she keeps going and holds her head up high. I cannot wait to cheer her on while she is at nationals. I know Kevin and I are both looking forward to being there to support her. Good luck to all these ladies, and thank you for being such amazing personifications of what a true queen is! Love you all
P.S. I want to do another quick mention of another lady that I have not had an honor to meet yet but I hopefully will meet her soon. Congratulations to Kate Mack for winning Mrs. Pennsylvania United States (hopefully we will be at nationals together)!

The greatest gift you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return

What a whirlwind it has been the last couple weeks!! I love being busy and having stuff to do, but most importantly I love helping other people when I can. And fortunately I have been able to do that in abundance recently. I feel like helping others helps me find a greater value in myself. I have also noticed that if I feel like I am lacking in a certain area (whether it be pageant related or personal) I can learn alot about it if I help another with a situation that they are going with that might be a similar scenario. Anyways, I have to send a big shout out to my girl Emily Rufo for winning first runner up at the Miss Delaware Outstanding Teen pageant! Girl you made me so proud! You are a force to be reckoned with! I know I would never want to compete against you, your amazing! I have gotten to opportunity to see Emily from the beginning and she has grown so much in such a short period of time, I am like a proud pageant mama. Also, another big thing going on is my friend Mrs. Delaware America, Shana Williams, will be heading off to nationals soon!! I am so excited for her and I can't wait for her to bring back that crown (and my wardrobe.....lol). If anyone can put this little state on the map and bring home a national title like that, its her. I can promise I will probably be the loudest person in that audience (besides her hubby, and we might want to clear out all the glass for the his scream). We recently had her send off party and she is all ready. She is going to kick some royal booty. So as far as pageant prep goes for me, I have started to really kick it into gear. My diet is getting better and I am working out. I have started to go tanning cause I was really starting to resemble Casper the friendly ghost. I read an article not too long ago and I think it has helped me the most prepare for the pageant (and the article was by a great pageant coach names Rhonda Shappert). The article said that when it comes to beauty pageants, you can't compare your worst to someone elses best, thats like comparing apples to oranges (so I can't compare my thunder thighs to someone elses flat stomach it just doesn't work like that). It also went on to say that just because you don't win doesn't mean there was anything wrong with you. You might be the perfect orange but the judges might be looking for an apple. This helped me so much with my pageant prep. I am not striving anymore to get my body in as good a shape as someone elses, I am getting my body in the best shape that Hilarys body can be. Its true when they say that you are your own biggest competition. I need to get myself ready and not worry about what the other girls are doing because that isn't important. Being the best me that I can be is the most important thing. And I can't be the best "me" if I reduce the amazing things I have to bring to the table by comparing them to others. This is going to be a wonderful experience and I want to bring that crown home, but if I don't it won't be because I did something wrong or I messed up in something, or becuase my body wasn't fit enough. It will be because I am the most perfect orange there is, but the judges wanted an apple.

I hope you dance!

So when it comes to events lately I haven't had as many that I have been involved in. Besides my anti-bullying presentation last month I didn't do many things (partially due to the fact that I was extremely sick most of the month, ugh) Anyways, I was going through withdraw when the Heart and Stroke ball came along. This was such a wonderful event. I got the opportunity to put on a gown, get my hubby dressed up and go out to volunteer for this event. This event took place last week at the Chase Center on the Waterfront in Wilmington, DE. Thank you Krista Brazell for the opportunity. They had a great turn out and I am not sure how well the auctions went but me and my pageant sisters were in charge of encouraging people to bid on the silent auction items. This was great for me because, since I like to talk, I got to do exactly that talk to all the attendees. They were all so wonderful and in such a happy mood. Plus hanging out with my pageant sisters was a big plus as well. And I will tell you that my hubby cleans up well, he looked fantastic and I was so happy he was able to attend and volunteer with me. Love you honey! Well, this week is a very very busy week. My favorite teen contestant Emily Rufo is competing this weekend for the Miss Delaware Outstanding Teen. She is going to do a wonderful job and she has been working hard. I can't wait to be there to cheer her on Sunday! Good luck girl! Anyway, I am going to go for now. I hope all of you have a great weekend and if you aren't attending the Miss Delaware Outstanding Teen pageant, shame on you.

“There's no half-singing in the shower, you're either a rock star or an opera diva.”

I have been reminded again recently how much God has blessed me when it comes to being surrounded with amazing people. The past couple weeks have really raised my confidence thanks to some truly wonderful people. Whether those people are family members who have no doubt that I can succeed, or friends who help me pick out my wardrobe, give me walking tips, assure me that its ok to eat that cupcake I am dying for, or are just friends and family that tell me I can do it. I am so blessed to be surrounded by these people. People that truly want me to be all I can be, and go out of their way to help me in my goals. I can only hope that I encourage my friends the same way they encourage me. So, about a month ago (yeah I know it has been far too long since I have written) I did a bullying presentation at a school not far from where I grew up. I went to Seaford middle school along with my sister Katie and a wonderful pageant friend Allison. I feel the presentation was successful and I really enjoy speaking to the kids who are our future leaders. These young adults need to know the consequences of what they are doing and that is what I am educating them on. I haven't been too involved with "pageantry" lately due to the fact that I have been sick for over 2 weeks. Being confined to bed and home for that length of time is definitely not fun. And another bummer was when I was sick for a trip my husband and I planned for valentines day. It was going to be the first time I ever went skiing but I guess there is always next year. I have many things coming down the pike so I will be very excited to be updating my blog (more faithfully) in the next little while. Until then stay beautiful all my amazing friends!