Way To Go, FedEx!

Today, FedEx announced that they will again be supporting Autism Speaks, this Sunday in the FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway! Check out Autism Speaks Autism Speaks for more details! Thank you, FedEx, for supporting funding to help aid research for 1 in 88 individuals who will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder this year!

Slightly Starstruck

In the last few months, I met some really cool celebrities at appearances, basketball games, and Miss America. Let's start with one of my all-time fave celebs, Jesse Metcalfe. You probably remember him from John Tucker Must Die, Desperate Housewives, and more recently Christopher Ewing on Dallas. I had a HUGE crush on this guy as a teenager! I was already excited- this was my first Dallas Mavs game and we had great seats. I spotted Jesse sitting a few rows below, and it took me until that last three minutes of the fourth quarter to work up my nerve to go talk to him and ask for a picture. He was so nice in person! After I got my picture with him, a flood of teenage girls followed behind, but he took pictures with all of them and was very gracious.

This January, I had the opportunity to attend the 2013 Miss America pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada. I watched the final night of competition to cheer on my friends, DaNae Couch, Miss Texas, and Candice Bennatt, Miss New Mexico. Before we took our seats for the show, we had a chance to meet and greet with former Miss Americas from each decade. I met one of my idols, Gretchen Carlson of Fox & Friends and Miss America 1989. Hopefully I will be interviewing with Gretchen on the red couch as Miss America! I met with another one of my favorite Miss Americas, Heather French Henry, Miss America 2000. Heather was so kind, and had the ability to make me feel like I was the only person in the room when she was speaking to me.

Last week, I met a lot of great people, from pro golfers to college football coaches to musicians. Although I am Miss Carrollton, I live in Fort Worth, Texas and attend TCU. Living in Fort Worth, I had the chance to work the Crown Plaza Invitational Golf Tournament at the Colonial Country Club and Golf Course. The first day of working the Pro Am drawing, I met TCU Horned Frog Coach, Gary Patterson, and two of my favorite Texas Country singers, Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen.

 Emily Falkenberg, Miss Kauffman County, one of my dear friends, and I worked the 15th hole of the course with Chimy's, providing food for the pro golfers and amateurs during the day. Here we are with some of our favorites, Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson. They were so nice!

Stay tuned for more posts as Miss Texas competition is coming soon!

All of my love,

Brittney

There She Is, There She Gives, There She Creates!

Bear with me, as I'm still trying to catch everyone up on recent Miss Carrollton appearances. My schedule has been SOOO busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I have to admit, it is very difficult to be a full-time student, graduate assistant, clinician, pageant contestant, and to try and have a little bit of a social life. With final exams (hello 4.0 #scholarship), community service engagements, mock interviews, talent preparation, two-a-day workouts, summer school, externship, and appearances, I am always on the go. But it's so worth it! Here is just a snippit of what I have been doing lately!

I recently had the opportunity to judge the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center Chili Cookoff Contest! Talk about a delicious appearance! I was so fortunate to meet some great faculty and staff from the UNT medical school, and I got to taste lots of yummy, spicy chili made my student organizations. It was so hard to pick one winner! Here are a few pics of the fun!

I just had to have a little fun with the Mardi Gras mask!

Earlier this Spring, I took some photos with the AMAZING Zac Grimaldo. Let me tell you about my friend, Zac.

Here we are making our signature pose at Miss Texas last year.

I absolutely LOVE this guy! He is a true artist with his camera. He brings out the best in everyone's pictures. Zac is also a wonderful friend. Here are some of the fantastic photos we took recently.

Zac is responsible for my wonderful Miss Texas Headshot! I could not be happier with it!! This is what the judges will see prior to meeting me during interview.

Zac has a partner in crime, Micaela Soto. Micaela is one of my dearest friends. She does hair and makeup for my all of my photos and big events. Thank you, Micaela, for making me look and feel glamorous like a Miss Texas should.

She is gorgeous and oh so fashionable!! If you have a wedding, prom, special event, or just want to look smashing, she is the go-to girl! You can find her at Phillip K Thomas Salon in Dallas, or at hairandmakeupbymicaela.com


Shamrock Texas

On St. Patty's Day Weekend, I had the opportunity to host the Miss Irish Rose pageant in none other than Shamrock, Texas! My dear friend, Elvis Moya, asked me to help him with this event and I was thrilled to be a part of it. Elvis and I go way back to my beginning competition days as Miss Lubbock and he's a Red Raider. Get your Guns UP! I am so glad that we had the chance to work together again!

Miss Carrollton with one of the Miss Irish Rose contestants. I just love her spicy, red, strapless gown!

Elvis and I with some of the judges for Miss Irish Rose! We had Stephanie Tucker, the owner of the Amarillo Venom Arena Football team, Jamie Biter-Thompson, a former Miss Shamrock, and Rouzbeh Kordestani, a plastic surgeon from the Amarillo area.

Thank you, Elvis, for asking me to help. He put on a fantastic event and it was so wonderful to see a fellow Red Raider again!

Stay tuned to hear more about my travels and appearances!

All of my love,
Brittney

Fun, Fab, and Fit!

I absolutely love this quote and I try very hard to live a healthy lifestyle (minus my MAD sweet tooth). 

It just so happens that one of the critical elements in my Miss Texas training is physical fitness. If you know me, you know that I have a passion for working out and I love to keep things fun! While I realize that fitness is not just about working out, (healthy eating is also key) it can get really boring running on the treadmill and lifting weights! So, to keep things challenging and to avoid falling into a fitness rut, I try lots of different trends.

1. Aerial Silk Acrobatics 

Before I tell you all about my aerial silk excursions, I must introduce someone very special! I have a precious friend, Jillian Stanfield, who is a fellow Speech-Language Pathology graduate student in my program at TCU- go Frogs!  Jillian and I both share a love of dance and adventures, so when she asked if I wanted to go to the LoneStar Circus School and try Aerial Silks, my immediate answer was yes! Even though we are not ready for Cirque de Soleil just yet, we had a blast learning the basics. Talk about an upper body workout! Aerial silk is a great way to build upper body strength and challenge yourself. 

Here is a picture of me trying an inversion at our first silk class. 

2. Aerial Silk Yoga

Jillian and I could not get enough of this silk business, so we also decided to try Aerial Silk Yoga at Indigo Yoga in Fort Worth. According to Indigo, "Aerial yoga combines traditional yoga with the physical training of an aerial acrobat. This practice uses a low hanging, soft fabric "trapeze" to support body weight for deep stretching, effortless inversions, deep core strengthening and a entirely new, fun way to approach your practice." I have to admit that I am a novice when it comes to yoga, and I was expecting this to be very relaxing- boy was I in for a surprise! Although not as intense as Circus School, I was quite sore after the aerial silk yoga endeavor. Meet my dear friend, Jillian on the right. 

3. Kickboxing and Boxing

Just when you think you have heard it all (Circus School, Aerial Yoga)- I tell you about my favorite new way to stay in shape: Boxing! Cue the Rocky music and picture me running up the Rocky steps in Philly. As Miss Carrollton, I am so incredibly blessed to have a fantastic fitness sponsor, Abundio Munoz of Abundio's Studio in Fort Worth. Abundio's studio offers so many great classes, but my favorites are the cardio kickboxing and boxing classes. Boxing is a major calorie burner and I can tell that it is really helping to tone my arms. Here is a blurry pic of the amazing Abundio Munoz and myself after class! 

My fitness goal for this year's competition is to be better than last year. More toned and defined, less body fat percentage, and to show even more confidence! I want to do this in a healthy way, by eating a balanced diet, and making fitness a true part of my life. I keep this photo on my fridge and on my phone as a constant reminder of this goal. 

I will keep you all updated on more of my fitness trends as the competition date grows closer. In the meantime, have fun with your fitness, and let me know how you stay in shape! I am always looking for ways to make fitness fun and fabulous! 

All of my love, 

Brittney