I was so excited today when I received my video clip for WHAS11's "Best of Kentuckiana" contest. This is a contest where you can vote for the best businesses in Kentuckiana in many different categories. Please check out my video clip representing Spalding University here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10200317527239588&set=vb.1196370051&type=2&theater

Don't forget to place your vote by visiting WHAS11's website at http://whas11.belovotes.com/site/index

GO SPALDING EAGLES!!!

Also, I can't stand it--I have to share my little man's latest picture!! Here he is after his haircut he received today at The Pet Station Salon and Boutique here in Louisville. He is all ready for Santa! The staff at The Pet Station were so wonderful with him. I would recommend this place to anyone who has a furry friend:) Check them out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pet-Station-Salon-and-Boutique/90784892675?fref=ts

This has been a busy weekend for me. It was my weekend to work, but I also attended my first Queen’s Club Christmas Party at Dr. Denise Yates’ house (Mrs. Kentucky 2007). Her house looked absolutely gorgeous decorated for Christmas- a perfect setting for a fun filled night. Most of the past queens were able to attend, along with their wonderful and supportive husbands. I truly enjoyed getting to know everyone. We had a wonderful dinner, did a “Dirty Santa” gift exchange, and enjoyed one another’s company. Did I mention Denise has the most adorable Queen Tree?? I will share a picture below for all to see—I can’t get over the cuteness! I feel so blessed to be a part of such a fun and loving group of people and look forward to the next gathering.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet up at a coffee shop, in downtown Louisville, for a chat with the Emmy award-winning journalist Jackie Hays. If you are from this area I am sure you remember her from her 31 years she gave to WAVE3. She retired and told me she quickly became bored with so much free time, so she went to work for Norton Healthcare. She now writes and produces health-related stories for the Norton Healthcare website, sharing with visitors the cutting-edge technology that makes the health care system an award-winning place to work. She gave me so many wonderful tips about public speaking and just shared with me some things that she has learned throughout her years at both WAVE3 and Norton Healthcare. She truly gave me a lot to think about and I feel so honored that she would take time to meet with me. She is a beautiful lady inside and out- it is awesome knowing that we both work for the same life changing company. I look forward to working with her in March during a speaking engagement through Norton Healthcare for some of our geriatric patients in the Louisville area.

I have to say that I am deeply saddened for what the families in Connecticut are going through with the tragic shooting. During a holiday that should be so filled with love and joy, so many families are experiencing the worst. I cannot begin to understand what they are going through and it truly makes me appreciate even more what God has blessed me with. My family is the best Christmas present I can ever be given, and I hate that these families had theirs torn away from them. My thoughts are with them and I hope they find some peace and comfort during this horrific time in their lives.

Well, it is official- CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE!!! My most favorite season of all! I absolutely LOVE the spirit, the décor, the scents, and most of all the reason for the season. I feel that this is the time of year when families truly come together and enjoy one another. The love that encompasses me during this season is always so wonderfully overwhelming. I truly hope each of you enjoy these next few weeks as much as I do!! Luckily, I was able to start this amazing time of year off by being in the “Light Up Louisville Parade” on 4th Street Live in downtown Louisville. I enjoyed attending this event last year, but felt so special to actually be in it this year. My wonderful husband chauffeured me in an awesome Mustang—thank you to Justin Hays and all of Town And Country Ford for the awesome hook up. My time in the parade could not have been possible without your kindness and generosity. Your staff was so welcoming and sweet to me during this whole process. THANKS a million! My oh so supportive mom and grandma came out and stood in the freezing cold to support me, but in the end we were all warmed by the spirit of Christmas as the huge tree was lit up by Santa and the fireworks went off of all the downtown building roofs. I was also able to meet so many delightful families and children throughout this event. I took countless pictures with so many sweet fans- they truly made me feel special. What a great experience! I will forever remember this wonderful night. Go to this link to see tons of photos from this event on the Voice-Tribune's page: http://www.voice-tribune.com/news/light-up-louisville-4/attachment/2013-mrs-kentucky-lindsey-haukom/

Also, this week I received some amazing, glitzy gifts. Tracy with “All Things Crowned” sent me a beautiful crown ring, a pill case, and some gorgeous earrings to use throughout my year. THANK you so much Tracy- my look as Mrs. Kentucky would not be complete without the sparkle of “All Things Crowned.” My wonderful Queen Mom also sent a Caboodle my way to use at events to hold my crown, sash, and autograph cards. I have been searching everywhere so I am extremely excited she got one for me—what would I do without her? THANKS QM!

Lastly, I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. I had to work that night, so I was unable to spend time with my family, but I was humbled when I saw the families who had to spend their holiday, as patients, in the hospital on this special day. It is so easy to look at the downside of working on holidays, but in the end, I see that I have my health, a wonderful job, and a loving family and for that I am truly thankful and blessed. I have to say I truly enjoyed my night at work on Thanksgiving thanks to the wonderful families I was able to care for. I hope I made their Thanksgiving night as good as it could be considering the place they had to spend it.

What have I been up to?

On November 9th I met up with my Queen Mom, Jo Ann, at California Kitchen for a lunch date and followed that up with a quick video shoot for some of the Mrs. Kentucky sponsors. We made short videos and took some photos for Strong Lash and Copa Di Vino. You should check out their websites: www.stronglash.com and www.copadivino.com I can tell you that the wine tastes awesome and is very convenient with the spill proof lid! I have never seen anything like this before. Also, I have been using Strong Lash for over a month now and can seriously tell a difference. This product has made my eyelashes much stronger and longer- a very noticeable difference! It didn’t hurt to finish our time out with a little shopping at the mall either;)…. a successful day with Queen Mom if you ask me☺ I also recorded a short video a few days later for my yummy new fragrance, Her Money (www.liquidmoneycom). I am SO thankful for our sponsors and am so grateful to receive such awesome gifts! Hopefully all of these videos will be up on all the sponsor sites soon for everyone to see. While on the subject of sponsors, I also want to say that, while in the process of preparing to put my home up for sale, I have been using my new Grandma’s Secret Spot Remover (www.grandmassoap.com) that I received at the Mrs. Kentucky Orientation. I had a few stains on my stair carpet and I have tried just about everything to remove them. I gave this new product a try and I FINALLY was able to remove them. This stuff seriously works!! I am so excited to not have to call in professionals to come clean my stairs. Thanks “Grandma”☺

On November 12th I was back in the WHAS11 studios, but this time it was to record a promo for Spalding University. As a graduate of their nursing program, I was asked to invite viewers to vote on WHAS11.com for their favorite business, school, restaurant, ect. in Kentuckiana. This promo will air in the upcoming months- I am excited to see how it turned out.

Last week I received my official Mrs. Kentucky 2013 Autograph cards in the mail and I absolutely LOVE them!! I could not be happier with the way they turned out. Jo Ann did an exquisite job at designing them- I will enjoy passing these out throughout the year. I even found the perfect silver marker to sign them with!

November 17th started off like any other night at work at the hospital, but I was able to spice things up a little bit with a photo opp! The Mrs. America Program book requires “lifestyle” photos, so I took this night as an opportunity to take some photos with my coworkers to display my life as a nurse in the program book. I want to thank my remarkable co-workers for playing along in between being extremely busy and taking extraordinary care of your patients, as you always do. I LOVE the team I work with and feel so blessed to have such a fulfilling career.

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is this week and Christmas is just around the corner. I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season coming up. I am tremendously thankful this year for all these wonderful opportunities sent my way and feel beyond blessed to be living this dream.

This has been a busy and fun-filled week for me. On Halloween I had the opportunity to hand out candy to all the trick-or-treaters on my family’s pumpkin farm in Meade County, Kentucky. (www.robertsfamilyfarmky.com) It was a great turnout and I truly enjoyed seeing all the adorable kiddos dressed up! I had not been home since I won my title, so it was great to finally see my Dad and to see family and friends that I had not had the chance to see in a long time. I love going home- it truly is a great feeling being back in the country and being able to take in all the wonderful company while there.

Also, Halloween was my dog, DeSean’s, first birthday so we had to celebrate of course. If you know me, you know that I have never been a big pet person, but after getting him as a surprise for Ben on Christmas last year, I have fallen in love with him. Let’s just say he is extremely spoiled, but since we do not have kids, he is treated as if he is our only child. Love him!

On Saturday Ben and I both volunteered at the “Win a House Help a Child” home in Norton Commons. This home is valued at over $300,000 dollars and can be yours if you purchase a chance to win through November 17th! All the proceeds go towards the Kosair Children’s Hospital Foundation. Please check out this website for more information: www.kosairchildrens.com/homebmwraffle. We met many amazing people at this event and had fun trying to sell as many tickets as we could! Ben used his awesome sales skills and was a great help in this effort.

Also, speaking of the Norton Commons neighborhood, as of last weekend, we officially have land for our future home in this neighborhood. We have been looking forward to building there for a few years now and cannot believe our dream is finally coming true. This is such a wonderful and friendly place and we are so ready for this big change in our lives. Even DeSean will get something great out of the move- we found a new place for him to get groomed in this neighborhood. There is a premiere pet salon and boutique called “The Pet Station” and it is literally walking distance from where our new home will be. We actually found out that the owners are also originally from Meade County, so it is nice to know we will have some of our hometown folks in the area with us! Please check them out on Facebook or on their website: http://www.thepetstationinc.com. I hope everyone has a wonderful week- I can’t believe it is already November!!!

It has not been long since my last post, but I have an easy and great way for everyone to help others by donating old shoes and glasses through November 11th. Norton Healthcare has teamed up with WaterStep and Kendal Optometry Ministry to help their efforts to support developing countries by giving the gift of sight and wearable shoes. There are many collection sites throughout Louisville at the different Norton Hospital locations. Please go to this website for more information. What a great way to help others!!! www.nortonhealthcare.com/waterstep I hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Sunday everyone!!! Thursday I had the opportunity to be on WHAS11 Great Day Live, what an experience that was! Terry Meiners and Rachel Platt were so welcoming and made me feel so special during my time on the show. It was so neat seeing how everything works behind the scenes. Ben even had the opportunity to go with me, and was surprised by his last minute appearance on the show! He is such a good sport- I think I will keep him;) This day will definitely go down as one of my favorite moments as Mrs.Kentucky.

Check out @rachelplattwhas and @terrymeiners on twitter to see what they had to say about my visit! They are so sweet and I hope to have the chance to work with them again. Here is the link to my appearance if you would like to take a look: http://www.whas11.com/great-day-live/video/Mrs-Kentucky-Lindsey-Haukom-175797621.html

Also, I have decided to give twitter a second try so please follow me @mrsky2013. It is a great way for me to keep in touch with people I meet and I will try and keep everyone updated with what I am doing throughout my year using this awesome tool.

Okay, I cannot help myself…I absolutely cannot go this week without mentioning that Taylor Swift’s new CD came out on Monday!! If you know me, you know that I am a HUGE fan and I have been SO looking forward to this. She has been my background music all week no matter where I am and I am totally digging her new tracks!

If you need any last minute fall decor, my family's pumpkin farm is still open in Meade County, Kentucky. Please go to their website www.robertsfamilyfarmky.com or find them on Facebook to see details about their business. It is a great place to take your family for a day of fun and relaxation. Also, I am so excited to announce that I will be passing out candy to all the trick-or-treaters on the farm for Halloween. I have not had a chance to visit the farm in a few weeks, and I am so excited to visit everyone from my hometown. I hope everyone has a great Halloween (and for us older ppl, a fun Halloween weekend) I am SO excited to dress up as Belle from Beauty in the Beast. My girlfriends and I are being Disney Princesses together---you can never be too old for that right? Happy Haunting!

WOW! What a week is has been! First of all I want to say that I am so honored to be your new Mrs. Kentucky 2013. Being the youngest Mrs. Kentucky to ever be crowned, I was truly surprised to be picked. I felt that this year’s delegates were all so beautiful, mature, well poised, and I had a wonderful time getting to be a part of such a special weekend with each and every one of them. I will forever remember how much fun we all had together from the moment we met at the workshop at Mrs. Priss months before the pageant, to the fun filled weekend at the Oldham County Arts Center learning our dance and how to strut it on stage!