Sorry for this late blog! Life has been pretty crazy but I’m enjoying every second of it. I know that I said I would try to blog every day in Orlando. Well, things turned out to be a little hectic for that to happen, but I will try to update everyone on the amazing week.

First, backtracking to a couple weeks ago when I flew to Fresno for the Got Milk campaign... I was live on the local Fox for five hours promoting Mootopia: Summer Oasis, a campaign to show the beauty benefits of milk. I had such a wonderful experience and was able to stay just two doors down from the room where I stayed with my roommate, Lana Brewster, Miss Northwest, at the Miss California competition. I was able to get free manicures and hair braids throughout the morning while relaxing in the breezy getaway of Mootopia.

That weekend I had my homecoming. A HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE thank you to Kati and Joe Enea for making my homecoming so memorable. It was more than I could have ever asked for. There were so many contestants who came to congratulate me which was truly appreciated. Many wonderful local executive directors and volunteers came as well. I was surrounded by so much love and support; everyone made me feel so special. When they had me say a few words at the end, I was speechless. For the five years that I have been involved in this organization, the people that provided me love and support were in one room, and I was filled with emotion. The volunteers of this organization are truly outstanding and the impact each person has made in my life hit me at that split second. So again I apologize for being dumbfounded at that moment, but I was just full of so much joy I could not hold in the tears. Thank you again for everyone that came and for everyone involved in this program. Your contributions are unbelievable.

Now, back to Orlando! The second preliminary night, Shelby Sinkler had talent. She was flawless. You could hear all her taps and her energy was outstanding. I was so proud to call her my teen! Miss New York's Outstanding Teen won talent with her beautiful ballet piece and Miss Virginia's Outstanding Teen took evening gown.

On Thursday all of the Miss contestants participated in a timed video that will be used for marketing. Each contestant came up with a unique skit on why she wanted to be Miss America. It was wonderful to see the fun costumes and ideas some of the girls came up with. I am not going to give anything away, but be sure to keep your eye out for these videos in the near future. I hope you like mine!

That night all of the contestants were treated to dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant. I have never been there before and the food was magnificent. Fine dining with all of my pageant sisters was definitely a blast. They ended up serving us "light" desserts at the end of the meal with fresh fruit and lemon cookies! It was a great night to learn about the wonderful experiences and stories the Miss contestants had to share.

This preliminary night Shelby had her evening wear and onstage question competitions. She looked gorgeous in a white gown with a big bow in the back. I remember my teen gown also had a big bow in the back, and seeing something similar on Shelby made me smile. She just flowed across the stage! So many Miss contestants came up to me, saying how great Shelby looked and how she shined on stage.

Friday morning we went to Disney World. It was such a treat to be able to go to the "happiest place on earth" with the Miss America gang. It was definitely an experience I will treasure. For those of you who know about my Disney obsession, you can understand how excited I was to attend the park. After our interview and photo session with Mickey and the Disney princesses—where Mickey also blew me a kiss behind Minnie's back ;)--we all split into groups to ride the attractions. I was lucky enough to ride Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan, Buzz Lighter, and both Splash Mountain and Big Thunder twice in a row! Later that night all of the

contestants went to Seagate to participate in a vendor event. The owner of this beautiful Florida estate had top chefs of various restaurants serve some or their favorite foods in his backyard. It was such an interesting way to have dinner. We were joined by Miss America, Caressa Cameron where she graced us with a song. Wow, does that girl have pipes! Her range is remarkable.

Finally Saturday came along, where we all met in the morning for breakfast and orientation. That was when the fact that I am going to the Miss America pageant truly sank in. Miss America gave an inspirational speech on how to stay true and focused. She also gave us secret hints on what to expect in Vegas. She is such a sweet person, and I am glad she is able to represent the organization this year. Later that night, we all brought our autograph cards to sign for all of the audience members who wanted our autographs. I sat next to my buddy, Miss New Mexico, and we had a blast before the show. I am not the best at giving little quotes to people when I autograph a card, so I borrowed some of her phrases for the night. Soon the final competitions began, and Shelby strutted her stuff during the opening number; she did a wonderful job and everyone was very proud of her. She received an award for community service and for sales/sponsor ads. It was a great week and I am so happy that I was able to cheer Shelby on throughout the entire competition.

That same week, I moved into the beautiful home of my host

family, Kathi and Glenn Baldwin. They welcomed me with open arms. My mom took us all out to a fun and healthy restaurant in Orange County and we were all able to get to know more about each other. Although I have known this family for five years, this is the first time I was really able to get to know them on a more personal level. I am excited to be a part of their family for a while; I know it will be a fun adventure!

I am currently heading back from Miss Lake County, my first local pageant appearance as Miss California. The family of a former Miss Lake County, Amanda Betat, graciously opened their home to Gwen Adkins and I. I had such a great time with Cricket Betat, she was definitely a kick! She is an amazing cook and jewelery artist, so I was lucky enough to be the beneficiary of some of her gifts. Thursday night I got together with some of the judges and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Blue Wing. Freeman Stamper was so cute and had me take a picture with all the waiters. I was able to catch up with Layne Sanders, Tony Moises, Paul San Filipo, and it was definitely good eatin'!

On pageant day, I participated in a mock interview, as the warm-up for the contestants. The questions were mostly on politics, but I felt I was able to hold my own. I thoroughly like being able to do mock interviews at the local pageants; thanks Bob Arnhym for always setting it up. Next I visited a local senior home, where Taylor Butler, Miss Sacramento County/Miss Lake County 09 and Katie Murphy, Miss Lake County's Outstanding Teen 09, joined me in this event. My goal, whenever I have a local pageant appearance, is to visit a senior home in the community, since my platform is “A Helping Hand For America's Seniors.” Doing this as often as I can will help bring about a much greater awareness that the interactions between young adults and seniors is a mutually beneficial experience. We visited some residents’ rooms where they shared some great stories with us. We also performed in their main lobby. Their faces just lit up when they saw our crowns!

Later, the competition was held in the Lake County fairgrounds, a fun and lively environment. I sang LeAnn Rimes’ "How Do I live" and assisted with the onstage questions and crowning of the princesses and new titleholders. Michelle Wells is the new Miss Lake County and Faith Hornby is the new Miss Lake County’s Outstanding Teen. They both were so gracious and I can't wait to see them at Fresno next June. I know they will have such a great time during their year of service.

Thanks for reading my extremely long blog. I hope you enjoyed it!!

Until next time...

Arianna Afsar

Miss California 2010

Orlando Blog

So I have MUCH to talk about after my last blog but since I have to wake up at 6am, I am just going to update people about how amazing Shelby is doing! Today she competed in Life Style and Fitness and was so cute and spunky. They had to do leg kicks and push ups! It was a hard routine, but she definitely stood out!
Shelby and I at visitation

I was able to perform on stage for this preliminary night. It was so amazing to be out on the stage once again. All of the memories came flooding back. It's been 5 Years! I can't believe it! I performed "When You Believe" from the Prince of Egypt! I had a great time. Performing on Stage!

I went to the Trade show and was able to catch up with familiar faces like Miss Hawaii's OT, Miss Florida's OT, Miss West Virginia's OT, and Miss America's OT 2005! It was so much fun being able to catch up with my 05 MAOT sisters!!

Some of the Miss contestants before the competition

Miss Oklahoma's OT and Miss Kentucky's OT won EG while Miss Virginia OT won talent! What a fun night! Congrats to these teenies, they all looked beautiful!!! I was also able to meet Miss America backstage!! AHH it was such a treat for me! She was beautiful and so sweet!

Miss America and I backstage!!!!!!

Well that is all for now. I'll hopefully be able to blog every night!

xoxo

Arianna Afsar

Miss California 2010

Blog #2

Here is a long overdue update!

I immensely enjoyed a major shopping spree in Mary McCaman's closet when she came down to LA last month. Wow! Never have I been able to try on so many beautiful dresses in one sitting! I was able to borrow my whole wardrobe for my photo shoot, MAOT, and the next couple of appearances. She is so generous to be able to offer her closet to me! If you ever need to rent a dress go to her first! Thank you SO much to Nikki Lehman. She has amazing taste and was able to help me decide on what dresses to choose. She is the best wardrobe consultant I could ask for!!!Here is one of the dresses I'll be wearing in Orlando

I attended the national tour of “In the Heights.” One of my dear friends from American Idol, Chris Chatman, was a star in the show. He definitely stole the show! It was so wonderful to support my friend and watch him shine! Great job Chris!! (He also sneaked us backstage so we could meet all the stars.)

Backstage with some of the cast from the national tour of "In The Heights"

Russell Peters is THE most hilarious comedian ever to live. And I got to see him! What a treat!! I have honestly never laughed as hard as I did that night. If you get an opportunity to see him, be sure to check him out!

On August 5th I had the honor to help promote the Children's Miracle Network at a local Dairy Queen. It was such a treat to share this experience with Miss San Diego Cities, Miss Northern California Regional and Miss San Diego County's Outstanding Teen as we increased awareness of Children's Miracle Network. As every customer entered, we would all chant "Buy one Blizzard and a dollar of the profit goes to the Children's Miracle Network." It was wonderful to talk to customers who said that they came into Dairy Queen specifically for this charity event. Overall it was an incredible experience, and CMN is such a great national platform for Miss America and all her state and local representatives.

The girls and I in front of the local Dairy Queen promoting CMN

I was able to go wakeboarding twice in one week!! The first time I tried, I epically failed, but the second time I went out I was able to stand up! Only for 10 seconds but that’s beside the point. J Wakeboarding is so much harder than it seems. I have a whole new respect for that sport.

I had my first meeting with Miss California’s trainer, Mike Douglass. It was such an honor to be in his gym. His walls were covered with photos of national champion body builders and many Miss California’s! Hopefully my picture will be on the wall one day! Bob and I had lunch at his restaurant upstairs. It had unbelievably delicious and healthy meal. Ideal place for me! I am absolutely in love with his muffins. They are made without egg and butter but instead contain oats and other secret ingredients. If you ever happen to pass Alpine, be sure to pick up his famous muffins.

Mike and I before our workout session.

I was on Fox 5 for their “Got Milk” campaign with Miss Northern California Regional, Marina Inserra, Miss San Diego 2009, Robin Senne, Runner-up to Miss San Diego 2010, Shelby MacDonald, and one of my dear friends, Vickie Bauer. We all showed the viewers how to stay in shape and work out even past summer. I have appeared on that station several times, so it was great to be able to reconnect with all the anchors. They had us do challenging workouts, and I definitely felt them after the segment was over!

The workout gang and the anchors of Fox 5!

This past Saturday was my photo shoot for my Miss America headshots! Chelle Hyde and Nikki met me at a beautiful home in northern San Diego where the amazing Sharon Noson shot my photos. She is a magnificent photographer and made me look great in all the shots. Choosing just a few of them will be a huge challenge.

Here is a photo Nikki took in between photo changes.

Till next time…

XOXO,

Arianna Afsar

Miss California 2010

First Week

Since I definitely kept up with the blog by Miss California 2009 Kristy Cavinder, I decided to keep up a blog for 2010!
First off, it has been a full week since I have been crowned! The reality is starting to sink in as I attend interviews, fill out paperwork, and get ready for an amazing year! I am so excited beyond words!! I feel blessed to have worked with so many wonderful young women last week and I am just glad I was able to meet some truly amazing people.

I first want to talk about my experience at Miss California! For those of you that don't know, the last time I was able to perform on the beautiful Fresno stage was in 2005 when I was a teen! It was such an amazing feeling to be back on that stage. It truly is an outstanding theater. I had the best roommate I could ever ask for: Lana Brewster! And it is so funny because we both didn't have a roommate all the way up to orientation; I just happen to ask her on a whim and it ended up being a perfect fit! We joked saying that all of our pictures are just going to be the two of us because we spent so much time together :]A picture of us before our long trip to Fresno!


We were able to have a lot of down time the first couple of days which was really nice. I remember hearing from other girls that you never get any sleep in Fresno, but we all lucked out this year :]. However, none of the girls wasted this precious time! We were all either catching up on sleep, working out, making thank you cards, or catching up on current events!


Lana and I making our thank-you cards!

The first event was the visit to the City Hall in downtown Fresno. The Hall was beautiful and it was such a treat to see what all the titleholders gave the mayor, either representing themselves or their city. I gave a cherish teddy which is a little statue that my mom and I have collected ever since I could remember. Since there were a lot of girls having San Diego pride, I decided to hopefully pass on this tradition to someone else :]
A picture of Ruth, Jenna, Lana, and I in front of the Fresno City Hall (some of my favorite girls)!!

We then headed back to the hotel where we had one of our first rehearsals/meetings! Bob talked to us a little bit about the whole week and then the Hostesses took over. I could not imagine this competition without the Hostesses. It simply would not exist without them! They are all so wonderful and helpful and giving!! I just really have to thank them for all their hard work and dedication to this program. We all appreciate it!!! It also was my roomie: Lana Brewster and Miss San Jose: Tiffanie Tam's birthday! So the lovely Mary brought over cake to celebrate!
Me, Marina, SISTA: Saundra, and Rachel before the meeting

Saturday was the first day that competition began! 14 girls had their interview! Lana and I were able to sleep in and get ready for the bbq! It was at such a beautiful home in Fresno right on a lake! The wonderful Kiwanis also provided the scrumptious meal! Unfortunately I passed on the ice cream, but I definitely made up for it this past week! ;]

Lana, Jenna, Me, and Cori in front of the lake at the gorgeous Fresno home!

Then was the 4th of July!!! We had a lot of rehearsal and went to a 4th dinner! We had hot dogs, watermelon, burgers and all! A typical 4th of July dinner. Perfect! Thanks to Bob for making this day possible since we all were able to spend this holiday with our pageant family. ;] We then had more rehearsal and then had a fireworks spectacle on the hotel rooftop. We watched the fireworks from the baseball stadium right that in front. Before the show started, my sister queen: Saundra and I, decided to get the crowd a little bit more lively so we had everyone join in and sing God Bless America! It was just a really fun night because I also was able to spend it with my Teenie: Tierra! We all had a blast! Me, Tierra, and Saundra getting pumped before the firework show!

Monday was the first day we were able to have rehearsal in the theater! It was awesome to be on that stage. The dancers were just phenomenal and definitely changed the competion into a show!

Tuesday finally was the day of my interview and the onstage question competiton. I have to thank the wonderful Millie and Cori for lending me your cocktail dress and jewelery in a split second!! I ended up having the same dress as someone else in my group so all the wonderful contestants came to my rescue. This is why I love the organization so much! The people!! The beautiful Sharanya and talented Rachel stole the night by winning the preliminary evening and talent awards. Props to Lana too; her song was beautiful and she looked amazing!Vera and I after my interview! I was the last one to be interviewed: #56!!!

Wednesday was my evening wear competition. I have to quickly talk about the drama with my dress! After I came home to San Diego from UCLA , I had approximately a month to get the last things ready and I still did not have a dress! We had been looking at dresses that were over $1000 and I still did not find the dress that I fell in love with. Finally one of the last stores I looked at, ironically the same place I purchased my talent dress, I found my dress. Best part: for only $375!!!! I had to tell everyone about the price of my dress because I was so proud ;] This night is when the stunning Ebony and powerhouse Sarah (she NAILED it) won the prelim awards!!! Props to sista Saundra too! Her song was outstanding. If even possible she amazed even more on Saturday!
Sharanya and I before prelim awards!

Thursday was my talent! This is my favorite aspect of the competition! I performed "I Surrender" by Celine Dion (my celebrity rolemodel). Laura definitely blew the house down with her classical piano piece while Jasmine won the evening award. They both did amazing!!
Saundra and I before the prelim awards were announced

Friday was my swimsuit where the beautiful Holly won talent (she performed an original composition: MAJOR props) and the amazing Ruth won evening. I feel so weird giving all these complimentary adjacteives to all these girls, but I have nothing but wonderful things to say and I want everyone to know how blessed I am to have worked with all of them!Ebony and I after Swimsuit! Geeez she makes me look so short!

Saturday! The final night!!! I dont even know what to say other than I had such an amazing time! Honestly it was such a great experience! Any of the 55 contestants could have easily been Miss CA. I just feel honored to be representing all of these wonderful girls!!! My favorite part was that I was able to share a dressing room with Saundra!! AHHH I still am in such joy!!! So that saturday night was the gala and going to bed at 5am ;] The next day was the ever so important meeting with everyone about the year. I then got a bit of a break where Kati and Joe and I pigged out at a sushi restuarant.

The next day was off to the Rotary luncheon where I had my first appearance as Miss CA. It was such a thrill! It was really cute; they started off the meeting with three men who all looked like they could be brothers and we had to guess who the real president was! It was a toughie ;] They showed some pictures of all the contestants and the top 5; it was a treat for me since it was one of the few pictures I saw with me and my crown/sash.
Bob and I after at the luncheon
I then was wisked back to SD for my 6pm class in Glen Baldwin's Jet!!! No big deal I flew on a private jet ;] It was SO cool and although I slept through most of the ride, I had loads of fun on a 6 passanger plane!
The amazing pilot, Glen, and I about to head off to SD!

The next week was full of interviews on KUSI, FOX5 and other newspapers/stations. This whole adventure has been pretty remarkable and its only been a week! I just can't wait for this year to continue!!!

The first live interview was with Fox 5, I had such a fun time with the anchors; they are simply a blast! It was really funny because they asked me to share a special hobby. So the first thing I thought of was my collection of cherish teddies (this was also the gift I gave to the mayor of Fresno). So If you can see in the picture I have the cherish statues on the table! Fox 5 news!!

Last Friday I had an interview with KUSI where they provided a hair and makeup artist! It was like celebrity treatment ;] I also got to interview with Saundra Moss, an anchor who has interviewed me about 4 years ago when I competed in a local singing competiton. It was just nice that she remembered me!! :]



So that is all for now. I do have a couple more interviews next week so keep your eyes peeled! Hopefully I can post once a week or once every two weeks! Thanks for all your support!!!! :]

Love
Arianna Afsar
Miss California 2010