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!!!