.: 2009

The Pageant Experience bear with me it's long.....

Never in my wildest dreams would I think I would ever be in a beauty pageant. From what I understood about beauty pageants you had to know a lot about politics and other issues,{which I never have} Have a lot of self confidence {never had that either} and have a near perfect body. {again lacking!}
I am not even sure that I knew there were pageants for married women. I was never a part of the pageant world so it never crossed my mind! I knew of a few girls in highschool that did pageants and I always admired the type of people they were. I never related that to a pageant and honestly believed you had to be that type of person before you could be in a pageant. little did I know it would be the other way around, that the pageant experience would enhance my knowledge and capabilities for life.

October of 2008, I made a blog entry here is the exact entry….
I believe that motherhood makes it hard for us to be ourselves sometimes, our lives are so full of the daily tasks that sometimes I find myself in what I call the “what now” syndrome, where I feel like “is this it?” Is this all I’m going to do for the rest of my life?
It gets hard to remember that there is more out there that needs done then just the dishes, and laundry. Ordinary tasks in an extraordinary job!
I love Motherhood and wouldn’t trade it for anything. But I can’t help a lot of days but wonder, “ Do I even have a personality?” Is there anything more to me that people see then the Tina, who’s married and has 2 kids” BLAH!
As much as motherhood is a part of my life, when I meet people I like to dig deeper. Find out their hobbies, what they do for fun. What they feel their accomplishments in life are. When I first moved into this ward [church area group} I met a lot of neat women. The beginning of the summer we started doing a once a month ladies luncheon. After a few of those lunches, realizing I only knew these ladies as much as, who there kids were and there husbands names. I started to find out if they went to college and what they majored in. I learned so much about them, behind the motherhood/wifehood {is that a real word?} I think all moms like to talk about life outside of motherhood, because we are not JUST MOMS. We are people who go through the motions of life and the roller coaster of feelings it can bring. Add some fussy babies into the mix and it feels like that’s your entire world!

I was bored with my daily tasks and looking for things in my life, outside of my home that had more substance to it. I’m am not just a wife and mother, I am so much more then that and I am tired of it not being seen! I am not the only mother who feels this way at one time or another.
Fall of 07, I was VERY pregnant with Dallin, I got an email from a random person {now known as Mandi Feely the director of Mrs. Idaho America} She had seen my face and profile and requested that I consider joining the Mrs. Idaho pageant. I emailed her back telling her how pregnant I was, but thanks anyway. She said to think about it for the next year. In my head I thought, HA YEAH RIGHT! That is sooooo not my thing. I added her as a friend {who knows why, maybe that was gods way of planting the seed} and never thought about it again to be honest.
About the 2nd week in November 08 I received an email in my myspace account. It was something regarding that applications were now being taken for the Mrs. Idaho America 09 pageant. The contents read something like this:
The Mrs. America Pageant is the longest running pageant honoring America’s 68 million married women. Mrs. Idaho America will join ladies from across the United States, all delegates that attend Mrs. America must win their state titles and can only attend the Mrs. America Pageant one time.
The Mrs. Idaho America pageant attracts married woman with a wide range of professional credentials. Participants are stay-at-home moms, teachers, real estate professionals, doctors and much more. Eighty percent of the ladies who enter are first-time participants. Contestants have ranged in age from 18-62. You are never to young or old to follow your dreams! We are looking for ladies that are beautiful and healthy inside and out.
Our goal is to run a fair and honest quality pageant while providing a nurturing atmosphere to all of its participants. You will have a great experience and meet new friends that will last a lifetime. You will share your love of marriage, family and community service. You can do the pageant for the excitement, self-confidence, the incentive to get in shape, and to learn more about yourself.
Whatever your reason enter the pageant, you deserve it! Contestants are treated royally from the start of pageant weekend to the crowning of the new Mrs. Idaho America. The Mrs. Idaho America pageant staff is here to help you learn and grow from this once in a lifetime experience.
If you are interested in being a delegate and would like to represent your town or county in the Mrs. Idaho America Pageant visit the Apply Now Page to attain an application to participate in the 2010 pageant.
This time It triggered something inside of me and I became DEEPLY interested. To this day I still don’t know exactly why. I just take it as Heavenly Fathers Gift to me. FOR me to learn more about myself in a positive atmosphere. And that it was!
A few months Prior I had found a product that pretty much eliminated my chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia symptoms {D-Ribose} I still had bad days but over all I felt so much better and I was ready to start working on some goals that I had in the back of my mind for so long.
I originally applied to the Mrs. Idaho pageant as an incentive to lose weight. However, the more involved I became with the pageant, the more I saw opportunities for much deeper personal growth.
1. I wanted a reason to get dressed up and go have fun with girls! Why not? I had 2 kids and just wanted to feel pretty again.
2. I needed some excitement in my life!
3. I knew I needed great incentive to lose the baby weight, let me tell you, the thought of getting in a swimsuit on stage was enough! A month or 2 prior to becoming interested in the pageant I had decided my goal for next spring was to grow my hair long, and get into shape to look good in a swimsuit. How I was going to get into shape was beyond me, I knew nothing about diet and exercise. Luckily I was sponsored by curves for women. I started to lose inches fast working out 4 days a week there. Then I was able to go see Rick Davenport {Crossfit Meridian} He sponsored the women of the Mrs. Idaho America Pageant and gave us a great deal for personal training. Jackie Walker Mrs. Idaho 2008 trained with him after baby #5 and looked amazing when pageant came and even more amazing when Mrs. America came. I started working out with him a few days after receiving his information and learned so much about diet and exercise. I started to gain muscle fast and lose about 2.5 lbs a week! I felt so great. I would never have had that experience had it not been for Mrs. Idaho America Pageant
4. I was able to choose a platform {not required} and make a point to try to educate people on that platform and try to make a difference in the community. I chose Fibromyalgia Awareness, and Chronic fatigue syndrome. Having struggled so bad with it the past few years and then finding something that made me feel like I had a whole new life, why wouldn’t I choose it? It doesn’t get more passionate then that right?
5. Every girl wants a pretty photo taken of them right? That is what I got with the pageant. A professional photo that was touched up in the end. Good stuff
6. It was a way to feel like I was a part of a team. A group of people all working toward the same goals. To better the lives of the people around us. This is something I had never been able to experience outside of church. I was never able to play sports in high school or be on a dance team etc. This was “my team”
7. I had always struggled with what was possibly the lowest self esteem on the planet. All teens struggle with this, but I know mine was a bit extreme. I was ready to test myself and just see how far I had come, in my struggle with my self image. I had only purchased one swimsuit since 6th grade maybe earlier. I didn’t even own one until the summer I met my husband. That was a huge step for me in my life. So in a total about 17 years I’ve owned 2 swimsuits. I always hated how skinny I was and would never wear one. Then after kids I hated how UN-skinny I was and wouldn’t wear one. As women we just can’t win. Now I was going to get in one on stage and actually be looked at by many people! Let me tell you I did it, and was not even scared. I had lost a lot of weight and was proud to show it off. The only thing that was not in my favor pageant night was a serious case of bloating due to messed up hormones and I was also in a lot of pain. But there was nothing I could really do about it and I went out on stage looking like I hadn’t lost weight at all, I didn’t let it get me down, and the show went on. And YES, Life did go on. I’m just proud of myself.
8. I struggled with learning disabilities growing up and I was able to get on stage, learn a dance and physically able to perform it to the best of my ability. This was a huge thing for me physically and emotionally. I just confirmed to myself again, what I’ve been saying all along. That it doesn’t matter where we come from in life we can choose who we want to be in life. That if you want something bad enough YOU CAN DO IT! It took me a lot more work then all the other girls, and I had to push through some un-planned physical pains, and some emotional barriers but guess what? I DID IT! 
9. I learned just how un-afraid I was onstage. I had a pretty good Idea that I wasn’t super scared of crowds because I had sang a lot for crowds over the years but this pushed my limits and I did all sorts of other things that were new to me.
10. I was reminded once again, just how much people cared for me. I received a lot of sponsors from companies, friends and loved ones to help me pay the fees needed for the pageant. It is just proof again to me, that Heavenly Father loves us and wants things for us here in this life that he doesn’t care about necessarily. But he loves us enough to give us things we want in life. I had the $$ needed to pay my fees and for others things needed to make the pageant experience possible. It was very humbling for me to see all the people that wanted to help, people who gave there hard earned cash so that I could have this amazing experience. NOW THAT’S LOVE!
I used to think beauty pageants were shallow, to get up there on a stage and be judged on the way you look. I really had no idea how much you were judged on your integrity and the service that you do for other people and judged on your ability to do good in your community. The letter to the judges was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to write and re-wrote it about 10 times {no exaggerations} until it was just positive enough and just right. I hope it turned out ok, I may never really know.
It was so fun to make appearances and go out and do good things in the community, get with the girls and be all dressed up and get a lot of photos taken.
Pageant Weekend started on Thursday April 23rd. We talked about pageant stuff, learned the dance moves for opening number and had the annual Queens dinner where we ate great food, exchanged secret sister gifts and received OH SO MANY wonderful gifts and products from our sponsors.
Friday morning started bright and early with a continental breakfast and we received cute personalized gift bags, filled to the brim with more gifts from sponsers. We got our Mrs. Idaho America T-shirt that we wore that day. We danced our guts out and then ate lunch, then danced our guts out some more. Practiced walking patterns etc. Then we got ready for PAGEANT INTERVIEWS! EEK! It went smoothly, I have never been so nervous to be myself! But when I actually got in the room meeting with the judges I was not nervous, just exited. My ulcers would have said otherwise and my stomach really hurt but I was ok. Then I went back to my room and practiced the dance for a few hours, got some food to eat, danced some more then off to bed. The Oxford suites is where we stayed and the beds were VERY snuggie! I fell asleep easily, but was awake at about 4 am and didn’t get much sleep after that. We went back to the school and guess what? IT WAS PAGEANT DAY YAY!
Saturday, PAGEANT DAY WOOHOO! We had a continental breakfast and set up our spots in the dressing rooms for all our stuff. We practiced dancing some more had lunch did dress rehearsal and the day flew by. As soon as we knew it, it was time to get ready for the real deal! 6:30 pm the doors opened and it was time to be ready! The entire pageant was a few hours long and I really just felt that it was 30 minutes. So much hard work and the night just flew by.
In the end, I didn’t make top 6, or get a visual trophee. But I won, I won the knowledge of what I am capable in life. I tested myself in ways that were hard for me and I succeeded with flying colors. I gained knowledge of diet and exercise and lost a lot of weight and gained muscle! I have never had strong muscles before! I met a very fun group of beautiful women. They were not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well, This is where true beauty really comes. I know these are friends I will have in my life for a long time. The pageant group really is a pageant “family” What a wonderful positive group it has been for me. I look forward to sharing many more service experiences with these women. Regardless if I ever run again, I know who I can call on if I need help with a service project! They all have big hearts 
Last but not least, This pageant experience has been AMAZING. It is deeply humbling and brings tears to my eyes EVERY time I talk about the love and support I got from my friends and family. I learned so very much about myself, this lit the fire I needed to start so many other great things in my life. I no longer question anything I want to do. I know that I can do it, 1. If I truly want too, and 2. once I figure out HOW to do it. I feel like this experience was a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father. We don’t always have to learn who we are through hard trials. This experience was a positive trial, where I learned a lot about myself and the experiences were truly life changing. So to all my supporters, Thank You from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to the people who have been in my life many many years, that have helped me to be who I am today, and to the people who don’t even know me and still sponsored me. Just know, you have made a HUGE difference in the life of someone who really needed this! All my love and Thankfulness, Tina Mitchell {Mrs.Western Idaho 2009}
I am going to start writing and doing public speaking for the youth. SO stay tuned. There is much more to come from me. I have been asked a lot of I will run again for Mrs. Idaho. I am still unsure of this. My future still brings more babies, and possible moves out of state. We just don’t know right now. I love Boise and hope to stay for a long time. Even If I don’t run again, Great things are in my future. This I know.

Last night was amazing, What a fun time I had trying something new. I didn't win any awards, or even make the top 6. I accomplished a lot of goals, and tested myself and learned a lot about myself. I am still amazed at how hard it is to get ready for a pageant and amazed that is everyone in charge of it does it because they love it. every one was SO helpful and kind. I met some amazing woman and made a lot of friends that I would never have other wise. Including the winner, who had become a very dear friend to me JAMIE HILTON. I couldn't sleep last night after the pageant because I was just so happy for her. She was above all to me, the perfect choice! I am still unsure If I will run this next year. I'm so tired right now my first instinct is to say no. But I am still Mrs. Western Idaho for a few more months! I will blog more on this whole experience soon. Thanks to everyone for all your support. Your encouraging words, and sponsers etc. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me to have this experience that has truly changed my life.