Good Perspective

A story former Miss America, Kirsten Haglund, shared on Facebook and I found it really interesting! Take a look...

I'm SO not hip...

Okay friends, picture this:
A day with Miss Nebraska Princess day. Doing fun/light on-stage questions with the little ladies. I asked this darling little lady who she liked better, Backstreet Boys or N'Sync? Seemed like a fair question. I myself, would have picked NSync (Justin Timberlake), but I wait for her answer. Cue the crickets. ALL 30 little girls look at me like I have 3 heads. They don't know who these legendary boy bands are!!! Cue my gigantic sigh. I'm SO not with it. I try to quickly recover and ask which is their favorite Jonas Brother...she says Nick. I say enough with my failing attempt at teen heart throb trivia and more PRINCESS DAY!

You all know how much I love hanging with Princesses. Seriously, I adore hanging out with little ladies who are full of moxy and sass because they are hilarious and have so much energy! Hence my platform I suppose. I was so excited when the Miss Nebraska Little Sisters Alumnae decided to host "A Day with Miss Nebraska Princess Party". The fundraiser helped to raise money for the Miss Nebraska talent award scholarship. Being a recipient of this award, I recognize the importance of this incredible scholarship for the contestants and I was so grateful to JJ's Bridal and the Quality Inn and Suits for helping to make it possible. 30 little girls showed up and participated in various different activities including painting nails, making sashes and necklaces, modeling gowns and onstage interviews. The best part of the day was probably the Miss America evening gown modeling. In terms of runway music, I learned Selena Gomez is way cooler than Miley Cyrus but Taylor Swift reigns supreme...she's my favorite as well. Love Story was the jam of choice.

The glitz and the glamour of the day is so much fun however it is so rewarding to watch these little ladies between 6-11 years old show off their unique talents and confidence. The day was all about feeling good and confident about who they are, and boy were they ever! I wish we would have had this fundraiser prior to Miss America, they probably could have given me some walking tips for evening gown!

xoxo Brittany

FUTURE MISS NEBRASKA'S

Back to the Interwebs...

Now that I am officially back in the technology age I thought I would share a snippet of April until I can give you a big debriefing later this weekend! I apologize for not posting lately but life as I know it is pretty chaotic right now (isn't it for everyone?!?!) Actually the biggest/lamest excuse is the fact that I have moved (more on that later) and I have not had internet for about 2 weeks. Now that I have powered through moving and performing my duty as "tech support" I am up and blogging again!
I have been very occupied with Miss Nebraska duties and I have to say, every appearance, every crowd and every venue has been varied which has made for a lot of fun memories this month. I thought I would try to hit some of the highlights though!

-I was so honored to be a guest presenter at the Artistry skincare convention in Lincoln, NE. As many of you know, Artistry is a new sponsor of the Miss America Organization I'm so thrilled to see the involvement trickle down to the states. The Artistry branch in Lincoln is incredibly strong and full of very motivated business people and leaders. It was pleasure to share my work with Uniquely ME, my experiences at Miss America as well the MAO partnership with the incredible skin care line. The representatives even blared "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" and created a slide show of my year...I have to say the Miss America throw back was pretty awesome and the energy in the room was fantastic!





-I also participated as a "walker" in the American Heart Associations official kick off to annual Capitol City Heart Walk. I huffed and puffed on the treadmill and helped sign up walkers for the upcoming event on April 24th. The cause is incredible but it was also a blast and half to catch up with former Miss Nebraska, Tina Foehlinger and former Miss Omaha, Alexis Geist. I'm honored to call both of these incredible women my friends and was beyond excited when they asked me to help with the event as they are both representatives for the American Heart Association.


-Finally I have toured numerous schools (more photos to come) and even got some time to enjoy the production of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Lied Center with some of the Miss Nebraska board members. It was an incredible date night ladies! Sorry Charlie.
-Tommorow I am heading out to Hebron and Davenport to visit numerous schools, then on to a Teammates event, followed by Photo shoot for the Miss NE program book, a Princess day (we all know how much I LOVE those) seriously, and then more schools and a blood bank fundraiser next week! I will post pics as soon as I can!

xoxo Have a fabulous weekend everybody!
Britt

My Best Days Are Ahead of Me...

Okay, not to get all "world peace-y" on everyone but I have to honestly say one of the best things about my Miss America experience was walking away with some incredible new besties. One of which is Miss Nevada, Christina Keegan, or Nev as I say. I had a particularly awesome gab fest with her this weekend and I'll spare you all of the gory details but we may or may not have discussed all of the shenanigans of our lives and jobs post Miss America. Coming to the realization that we will never again be as bronzed or toned as we were then and that's ok...opting for dessert and yoga over lifting and protein shakes now. Future plans, plotting reunion trips and discussing the mixed emotions that come as former-dom comes flying at us. Essentially, I just love that she gets where I'm at and I'm so grateful to have her as a sounding board to talk about all of the changes going on in our lives. Not just in the pageant realm, she truly is a wonderful friend and person. I've said it once and I'll say it again, never in my life will I be surrounded with the caliber of women, in regard to talent and intellect, that I was while I was at Miss America...well, not until our reunion anyway :)



That being said, I think you could really sum up this season of life as transition time more than anything. I know many equate change=bad, but its not that way at all! Although its hard to relinquish the reigns sometimes and go with the flow, I am truly enjoying all of the new opportunities and plans unfolding around me. Every day is a delicate balance to juggle work life/Miss Nebraska duties/Brittany time/missing my bf/ family life/professional goals/fun time but I guess this just means I'm at the threshold of adulthood...dun dun dun....welcome to the future I guess!
Keeping up with the demands of my new job and Miss Nebraska duties has been pretty seamless, minus the whole sleeping bit! For those of you who try to call me in the afternoon, I promise I'm not ignoring you, I'm probably sleeping. You see I've really reverted back to sleeping patterns of a toddler, and lets be honest, who doesn't enjoy a good nap? Since I'm a night person I feel like I'm being punished if go to bed at 7 o'clock soooo I don't! I go to bed at 11ish, I blame Charlie for late night phone dates, and I get up at 3. After working out, running errands, Miss Nebraska appearances, I typically pass out on the couch like a little child. My naps are coma style the longest nap to date is officially 5 hours, impressive right? The new job is incredible though. Every day it's challenging on a professional and personal level but I'm so incredibly grateful for the opportunity and am really embracing this new phase of life. (KLKN Channel 8 ABC morning and midday show..shameless plug to watch..sorry!)

Another announcement: I've moved! In Brittany fashion I decided to add to the cluster that is my life and move. I must say I love having a girl palace to come to, my closet is immaculate and my kitchen canisters are brimming with coffee and candy. perfection. I wish I was more of creative person like my Mom, but I'm really trying to dabble in decorating! I can only aspire to reach her level, but I can proudly say that I have hung pictures and valances and even arranged nick-knacks without hurting anyone or myself for that matter! Maybe there is hope for me yet.

However, with my alone time I've had way too much time to reflect on my year and I'll find myself tearing up while vacuuming (another new obsession). There is a huge thank you/reflection note coming...not sure when I will get up the gumption to do it. So it remains on stand-by. Truly, each day that goes by I realize how truly blessed I am and what an incredible year this has been in every aspect from professional to personal, you name it it's been incredible. I can't even begin to sum up all of the gratitude and appreciation I have for all of the people and organizations who have touched my life this year. I'm never for a second not felt appreciative and thankful for this year, I'm beyond beyond beyond grateful.


Once again, a good tune always sums things up well for me. My incredible host mom, Michele, suggested this song to me and she was right, it seems to fit this whole transition bit pretty well!
enjoy!

Who Will She Be?

Go on, go ahead and guess....because I certainly can't!!!!
Miss Nebraska & Miss Nebraska Outstanding Teen Orientation was certainly a success in every sense of the word. Hard to believe this was my 6th (yowza) Orientation in North Platte and yet it was probably the most memorable. I was so impressed with all of the 14 contestants, if you don't have tickets for the pageant in June you definitely want to purchase them soon! I was so proud to see so many talented, poised, beautiful and genuine girls.
All of the technicalities of turning in advertisements and paper work went very smoothly and I was so thrilled to have my interview coach Mr. Don Baker there to present his seminar and work with contestants as well.
It was really interesting to be on the other side of things this year. I was pretty much the glorified cheerleader/momma hen...a role that I am more than happy to take on! My year as Miss NE is dwindling down, 2 months to go, and I definitely am starting to feel the mix of emotions that go with it. I will spare all of you the walk down melancholy road (we WILL be taking the walk at some point, sorry!) and say how honored I am to get to be inching my way to "former" club by helping all of the 2010 contestants. I told all of the ladies, I am seriously, very seriously their biggest fan. I'm so excited I have been able to work with so many of the girls already, from fb notes, coffee dates or questions over the phone, I've had a wonderful time helping and getting to know all of them during the journey. I know this summer will be incredible!
On the job front I am absolutely LOVING my new position as morning/midday anchor at Channel 8 KLKNtv in Lincoln. The transition has been pretty seamless and I'm continuing to learn more about being an effective journalist and communicator every day. I will be very busy this month with appearances as well, and I will keep all of you updated with my adventures.
love,
Brittany

I HAVE A SECRET....kind of

So it's not so much a secret as it is an announcement!!!

Now that the dust has officially settled after Miss America, I found myself in a "transition" period if you will. No longer were people asking "are you nervous?" about competing at Miss America, they were saying "congrats on top 10....so what now?" Well I'm pleased to say that I officially have an answer to the question. I have a new job! I was promoted to the Morning/Midday News Anchor at KLKN Channel 8 the ABC news station in Lincoln! I'm so incredibly excited about this opportunity. The station has been nothing short of amazing in supporting me in my role as Miss Nebraska and I'm thrilled to be able to commit to them as a full time anchor. The schedule will be 3am-12 Monday-Friday...most people balk at the hours but since I've been juggling the job of Miss Nebraska and reporter by almost a year now I've learned to function on coffee/naps/adrenaline. I'm so excited about the new job venture as this will be a professional challenge. I will have to work diligently every day to improve my skills  as a journalist but I'm more than ready to commit to the work it entails.  Wish me luck and tune in to Channel 8 morning and middays!

-Brittany

I've been everywhere man

I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert's bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.

In an ode to Johnny Cash and a quick synonpsis of where I've been, the real question is where havent I been??

I've been to to Teammates, Luncheons, The Sandhills, Graduations, Starbucks, Education Quest, Parades, Schools, the Panhandle, The Capitol, I-80, Malls, Girl Scout Meetings, Rotary...YIKES! The schedule may be grueling (its about to get a lot worse..hint hint) but the job is fabulous as always! I added a few pictures from some of my adventures. I'll have more updates soon, as I have some exciting "news" to share!