Greek Week, Mr. Delaware, and other Shenanigans!

Life at UD is a little crazy right now. We're finishing up the semester, getting ready for finals, and finishing up some final projects! Last week was Greek Week here at UD, and in my sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, (xi love y'all!) we look forward to this week all year! The week is full of competitions and fun, and it all culminates with Airband, a huge dance competition that sororities practice for months in advance. After practicing at 7 am every day I'm proud to say our Airband routine was a huge success, despite some serious prop malfunctions!

My little, Kayla, and I in full costume and ready to dance!

Last night I was lucky enough to attend the Mr. Delaware pageant with my friend Becky Albini, Miss Atlantic Coast, to cheer on all the contestants. The new Mr. Delaware is absolutely hysterical and we had a great time! I even won a $50 gift certificate to one of my favorite pageant shops, The Perfect Dress, in Lawrenceville, NJ, where I got my competition gown for Miss Delaware!

The beautiful man behind my beautiful gown, Chris Saltalamacchio, Mr. Delaware 2008, and I at the Mr. Delaware competition.

With just 6 weeks left until Miss Delaware I am so relieved to say I have my entire wardrobe ready to go minus some alterations and touch ups, and one cocktail dress. Preparations at this point are all about getting me where I need to be by June. I've got the wardrobe, now I need to work on the rest of the package! I'm working out, eating right, practicing my talent every time I can get an empty room to myself and working on my confidence every day! It seems like the past few months have been a freight train leading up to June and honestly I hope the next few weeks fly by as well. Anticipation drives me crazy and I do not do well with suspense! At this point I will be accepting thoughts, prayers, well wishes, words of encouragement, and of course, donations to the Children's Miracle Network!

http://www.missamericaforkids.org/Home/Donate/alyssamurray

Shameless plug for donations, it's for a great cause!

Anyway, I have yet another busy week ahead of me, and the annual KENTucky Derby on Saturday in Dewey Beach, which deserves it's own blog entry, coming soon!

http://www.mela-no-more.org/event.aspx

Buy your tickets and come support Mela-No-More with a day full of fun at the beach!

XOXOXO,

Alyssa

5k's, Formals, and Orientations, oh my!

This weekend was a crazy one, that's for sure. Friday night I had my sorority formal at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. After about 2 hours of sleep I awoke to get pretty in full make up and hair for headshots at the Miss Delaware orientation in Milford at 8:30 am. Then I headed to Selbyville to celebrate my brother's 24th birthday, drove back up to Newark to hang out with the lovely Maria Cahill, and again somehow managed to cheat myself of a decent night of sleep. Sunday I woke up to run a 5k, went to a UD baseball game with Maria, had chapter and airband practice. All told, I danced for more hours than I slept this weekend! Busy for me, however, is definitely not a bad thing. 

Sorority formal was so much fun! I got to hang out with my GrandBig and my wonderful twin littles, dance, and play with some fishies. I was exhausted the next morning but it was definitely worth it!

Steph and Kayla (my Littles!), Me, and Ali (my GrandBig!)

The next morning I was so excited to head to Miss Delaware orientation, to see my old friends and make some new ones. Becky Albini, Miss Atlantic Coast is my partner in crime, so naturally we are always inseparable at pageant functions. I got to see Tierra, Miss Brandywine, my love, and all the other wonderful contestants. Big shout out to my Miss Delaware roommate, Alix Gardiner! Can't wait to spend the week getting to know you girl! Being at orientation made the impending pageant seem so real. It's a little scary that exactly 2 months from today, a new Miss Delaware will be crowned. While it breaks my heart that Maria's journey is entering a new chapter, I am beyond thrilled that I have a chance to add a chapter as Miss Delaware to my life story. (A 1 in 18 chance, but still a chance!) After Saturday, I can already tell that whoever is crowned in June will represent our state with class and grace. I was thrilled to practice my talent and get feedback from the board, pick my placement for Miss Delaware 2012, and learn part of our opening number! I am contestant number 7 (lucky number 7!) in the pageant, which puts me in the Mu group. This means that on Thursday, the first night of preliminary competition, I will be competing in swimsuit and on stage question, and Friday night I will compete in talent and evening gown.  I can't wait to perform my talent, which is a super upbeat jazz routine to "River Deep Mountain High," strut my newly fit figure in my swimsuit, and wear my incredible custom Tony Bowls gown. June cannot come soon enough!

I have no words for how much I love these two.

As far as the 5k goes, I am SO not a runner. I enjoy working out. Lifting weights is gradually becoming one of my favorite activities, I love the elliptical, and I am a big fan of spin/yoga/zumba, and kind of fun workout activity, but running, not so much. This year I decided to run my sorority's annual 5k. My goal was not to do it in a certain amount of time, or to win. My goal was to finish the entire race without stopping or walking. I am so proud to say that I accomplished my goal within 32 minutes, which may not be the best time for someone else, but is a huge accomplishment for me. You may have heard me mention before on here that I have been focusing on my health and fitness this past year. 2 dress sizes and 18 pounds ago, I could have never finished a 5k, or even a 1k probably. It's small victories like this one that keep me so motivated to keep working towards my goal of being Miss Delaware. If I can run a 5k, who says I can't reach my other goals?

My sorority sister/best friend/Distinguished Young Woman of Delaware successor, Veronica Townsend before running the Autism Speaks 5k!

This weekend was a busy one, but that's what being a titleholder with the Miss America Organization is all about. We must juggle schoolwork, our personal lives, pageant responsibilities, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and positive image. It's not easy, but it's worth it. This organization has helped me grow into a responsible and independent young woman. It's busy weekend like this one that make me grateful for friends, family, the opportunities I have to be this busy, and of course, my super comfortable bed!

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. Psalm 37:5

Sorry for being M.I.A.!

Hey everyone! Sorry for being M.I.A. lately but things have been so hectic between Miss Delaware preparations, being in the gym, lots of exams, and greek life, but I'm back! This weekend should be pretty hectic. Tomorrow morning I have a geology exam, rocks are SO not my thing, then Alpha Xi Delta formal is tomorrow night at the Camden Aquarium in Camden, NJ, Saturday morning is Miss Delaware orientation at 9am in Milford, (which will be fun seeing as I am NOT a morning person), then AZD's annual Autism Speaks 5k, which I will be running in. Sometimes it seems like there aren't enough hours in the day. Today I had airband practice (airband is a Greek life dance competition) at 7am, I just did some homework and a little studying, I have classes, then my first ever spray tan, which should be interesting, and then a study date with a friend in my geology class. 

Even though I'm so busy, I am unbelievably excited for orientation on Saturday. This is where we receive our placement for the pageant, get to know the girls we're not already friends with, practice our talents, and we are assigned our roommates for Miss Delaware week! It seems that it's all becoming so real now, which is encouraging and overwhelming at the same time. When I was crowned Miss Coastal Bay 2012, it felt like I had lightyears before I would go on to compete for Miss Delaware, but now that my competition wardrobe is complete, my talent has been choreographed, tweaked, improved, and practiced a million times, and I'm happier with my figure than I have ever been, it seems that June 16th is right around the corner. 

It seems so long ago that last year I showed up to my first Miss Delaware orientation, a scared, self-conscious, and  for once in my life, shy young girl. I was so humbled being in a room with so many accomplished women who seemed so much more grown up than I was, and I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. My talent was unrehearsed and barely choreographed, I didn't know how to style my hair or do make-up, and honestly I wanted nothing more than to go home the whole time. This year, 16 pounds lighter, much more prepared, and very confident, I can't wait to finally feel like I'm in a room full of 18 incredible girls that I belong in. The transformation I have made within myself and physically as well has not come easy, but it is worth all of the effort I have put in. All of the time in the gym, renting rooms in the Little Bob to practice my talent, giving up a few of my favorite foods, and some intense make up and hair lessons have made me into the best me I can ever be. I finally took the tools that God has given me, and used them to improve upon myself. These changes weren't something I did for the sake of Miss Delaware, or to please anyone but myself. I have put in the hard work and the time so that I can be happier with myself, and I am proud of the sacrifices I've made, and how far I've come. The dread I felt last year about going to orientation has been replaced with a sense of excitement, and now I can't wait! I can't wait to see my old friends, make some new ones, learn production numbers, get my placement, find out who my roommate is, and watch some incredible talent rehearsals!

XOXOXOXO

Alyssa 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6