A Belated Recap

Here is a belated recap of my visit to Muscatine!

 

While my college counterparts were laying on the sunny Florida beaches, I spent my weeklong break from school in Iowa. No, no, no… It was a good thing! I was able to spend some time with my family, make some appearances and work on Miss Iowa prep!

For the first couple days, I got to hang out with the kiddos and family that I used to nanny for throughout high school. I’m extremely blessed to have the Gast family’s love and support wherever I am and whatever I’m doing. When I took Gia to tumbling, I saw her do a round-off back handspring back tuck. I really don’t think I’ve ever been so proud. : )

On Thursday, I went to Wilton to have my photographs taken by Ben Shirk. Wow. His studio is absolutely amazing, and I would highly recommend him for any photos that need to be taken. I’m pretty sure he specializes in weddings because there were the most breathtaking photos of those hanging in the entryway.

When my session was over, I went over to the Pearl City Chophouse, a new restaurant to Muscatine, to sign autographs and greet guests. This was so much fun! It’s interesting to see how different people respond to the crown on my head. I love seeing the look on little kids’ faces; I’m pretty sure they think I’m a real princess or something. Hahaha!

Friday morning took me to Davenport for a visit with Ray at Workout with Ray, my fitness sponsor. It is always a pleasure to visit with him. He is so invested in each of his clients, and that’s pretty awesome. Thanks for the new workout ideas, Ray!

I had a unique opportunity that afternoon. I had a meeting with the president of Muscatine Community College, Bob Allbee. We talked quite a bit about common perceptions of community and junior college. I actually went to a junior college for three semesters, so I was able to relate pretty well. We discussed the advantages and acknowledged that everyone has different learning styles that can be catered to through a variety of post-secondary education arenas. What really impressed me was the relationship that MCC has built with the area high schools. More than 15% of MCC students are dual credit students. That’s really good! It’s so important to take advantage of the college classes offered during high school.

That night, I went back to the Pearl City Chophouse for more autographs and pictures. This time, I had a bag of Hershey’s chocolates.

Saturday was so much fun! After my workout in the morning, my mom and I went to Elly’s tea and coffee shop for lunch. I was able to meet Elly and visit for a little bit. What a nice lady! Muscatine is very lucky to have her and her shop.

Afterward, we went next door to the Hall Tree Boutique to shop for an appearance outfit for Miss Iowa week. They had absolutely beautiful clothing and jewelry! It was pretty hard to choose, but I ended up with a really great outfit! : ) Thank you SO much, Kathy! I really appreciate your sponsorship. I had a lot of fun browsing around your store and chatting with you. My mom and I met my brother for dinner in Iowa City before heading to Cedar Rapids to watch the Miss Cedar Valley pageant! Congrats Amanda Manning! It’s always nice and relaxing to watch a pageant from the audience. ;)

On Sunday, I packed up and headed back to Texas to get ready for my week internship in Orlando. More on that later!

 

Back in the Pearl City!

I’m looking forward to a great long weekend in Muscatine! Tomorrow afternoon I’m getting my photos taken for Miss Iowa at Shirk Photography in Wilton. I can’t wait to work with Ben Shirk! He does wonderful work, and it should be a good time.

Both Thursday and Friday evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. I will be at the Pearl City Chophouse, a new restaurant in downtown Muscatine. I get to greet and meet people, sign autographs and hand out balloons. How fun!

On Friday morning I’m meeting with my trainer, Ray, in Davenport. I’m so grateful for his sponsorship and support. Gotta be in tip-top shape for Miss Iowa week! J That afternoon, I’m going to shop at the Hall Tree Boutique, the appearance outfit sponsor, for a new outfit! Then I’ll stop at Elly’s tea and coffee house, the sponsor of my coffee for my YEAR as Miss Pearl City, to caffeinate. Before heading back downtown for the evening, I will be taking a tour of Muscatine Community College.

I get to sleep in on Saturday!! In the afternoon I have a meeting with Legacy Group Consulting, my coaching sponsor. After I take care of business, I get to go watch the Miss Cedar Valley local pageant in Cedar Rapids in the evening.

I’m so happy to be back and able to spend some time in Muscatine! Pictures will follow next week J

So I had a pretty cool weekend.

So I had a really cool weekend.

 

Some newspaper staff and I went to the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference in Fort Worth at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was awesome! I’d love to share what we did and what I learned.

On Thursday evening, we went out to eat with all of the other students and conference faculty. The restaurant, Ol South Pancake House, is a 24-hour tradition in Ft. Worth. In case you’re wondering, I had an omelet. Don’t worry though, Seth got a HUGE plate of chocolate chip pancakes, and I assisted him. ;) After we ate, they separated us into the groups for Friday’s practicum. I got my camera to use (it was a $3,000 camera… I pretty much signed my life away that night) and fell asleep directly upon our return to the Seminary.

My group (the newbies) headed to the Ft. Worth Stockyards the next morning for our assignment. I had never been! In case you’re not familiar with the stockyards, they were a place where cattle drivers headed up the Chisholm trail stopped for rest and supplies. Today it’s a national historic district and tourist destination.

I held on to that camera for dear life and took pictures of lots of cool stuff. We stopped for lunch, which was followed by delicious creamy praline fudge. Yeah, I ate a whole square.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a workshop with the professionals serving as our instructors. We went through the photos we took and received feedback and suggestions. Dr. V. and I were able to select five photos to turn in for the competition! I will add them to the bottom of the blog entry J That evening, the UMHB staff and our advisor went out for Mexican! Ole!

Saturday was a crazy day! We began at 8 a.m. and ended at 10 p.m. Throughout the day, different professionals from the industry presented. My two favorites were Greg Thompson, the Sr. Director of Corporate Communications at Chick-fil-A and James Gregg from the San Diego Union Tribune. Each presented different aspects of photojournalism. I was especially attentive to Mr. Thompson because I want to do his job someday (not at Chick-fil-A in particular, but corporate communication).

I’m kind of a foodie, so I can’t leave out all the yummy food they fed us! On Friday night during the “refreshment break”, I ate a delicious lemon bar. I love lemon bars. Chick-fil-A provided Saturday’s lunch, and I refrained from the fried chicken sandwich. Still gotta wear that swimsuit come June! ;) Barbecue was for supper. I skipped the cornbread and had a piece of pie. No regrets.

Don’t worry Ray, I’m back on track today with my healthy eating and workouts! Sometimes, life is too short to say no to a piece of chocolate pie. That’s a good life lesson right there.

These are my favorite quotes from the conference that I think we can all gain from:

“Every great photographer starts off as a lousy photographer.” (Amen)

“There is no solution because there is no problem.”

“If you want to have a fun day, be a fun person.”

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

“Every life has a story.”

“Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you want to, but you can only spend it once.”

I’m looking forward to my ZOption intern training on Friday and flying back to good old Iowa on Saturday!

That’s all for now!

Below are the photos I took at the stockyards! P.S. I didn't take the first one, so photo credit to my boyfriend for that :)