Whew! What a busy, but FUN weekend!  Friday night started off with the Kentucky Derby Festival Program Unveiling Party at Prime Lounge in downtown Louisville.  I went with a bunch of my friends and also got to hangout with a lot of my queen sisters and their husbands!  Elisha, Mrs. Kentucky 2012, threw the event- and what a great job she did!

Saturday morning I was up and at em' very early with my little man to take him to his first photo shoot!  He got his haircut at The Pet Station in Norton Commons and then we met up with Miss Kentucky USA 2012, Amanda Mertz, and her puppy, Gizmo, to take pictures.  Our pictures will be featured on the Pet Station's Website. It was so cute and fun to be involved with our little men during a photo shoot.  I must say this was a first for me:)  Please visit www.thepetstationinc.com for all your pet needs!  They seriously do a wonderful job and always show their passion for our pups!

After the photo shoot I spent the rest of my day moving everything out of my house. We close on it on Wednesday, but still have a few months left until our new home is ready.... so we will temporarily be living out of the city for the next few months.  Luckily, we have an awesome family and group of friends who made this moving process quick, easy, and fun! I could not do these things without them.

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL week! Think warm thoughts, maybe that will bring the spring weather closer to home;)

xoxo Lindsey

I had a BLAST at the "Bracketology" event that was held at Freedom Hall last night.  This was a benefit for Spalding University where I acted as a waitress to VIP tables along with other queens from throughout the state.  We were able to meet the legend, Coach Crum, many UofL basketball players from the past championship winning teams from the 1980's, along with Jack "Goose" Givens from UofK's championship winning team in 1978.

With Coach Crum!

Ready to work our tables!

With Miss Kentucky County Fair, Jenna Walters.  She

is SO sweet- I am so glad we met.

My Mrs. Kentucky Sponsors basket that QM donated

for the silent auction.

Mom made this adorable basket filled with Roberts Family Farm goodies

for the silent auction.  Both baskets were a hit.

I started the Dale Carnegie Class in Effective Communications and Human Relations/Skills for Success this past week.  I really did not know what to expect going into it, but I truly learned a lot.  I was a little nervous heading back to the classroom, but I met a lot of great business people from our area and learned what a small world we really live in.  So many of us had a lot in common! I look forward to returning every Thursday for the next seven weeks!  This is a wonderful gift given to me as this year's Mrs. Kentucky.  Dale Carnegie is one of my biggest sponsors and I am very thankful for them allowing me to sit in such a distinguished course.

After class ended that night, Ben and I headed to Gatlinburg for the weekend.  We met up with our friends for a relaxing weekend in the mountains.  I had just found out that I got accepted into Spalding University's Family Nurse Practitioner School.....so I was ready to celebrate!! Also, my friend, Golan, had plans to ask his girlfriend to marry him while hiking.  We had a lot to be excited about!

The beautiful mountains!

With my besties, Alana and Jess.  We went shopping at

the outlet mall while the guys grabbed some lunch.  

The guys on our hiking trip!

The ENGAGEMENT spot! Golan asked Jess at the opening

of the cave.  It was a site to see:)  We are so happy for them

and look forward to being a part of their special day!

Relaxing in the cabin with my man

I went shopping with QM and my Mom at Miss Priss in Lexington today and found my dream gown for MRS. AMERICA!!  Elizabeth, the owner, and her staff were so wonderful to me.  I can't wait for my gown to come in and to rock it on stage <3

After shopping we had a delicious lunch and then headed to Deata's new Salon Bleu to check it out!  I got to see her in action and tour her beautiful new salon.  

I am back home and relaxing after a weekend away to western Kentucky.  I have only been out that way a few times so it was nice to experience a different part of our beautiful state.  After finishing my blog post this morning in the hotel, Ben and I headed to Ft. Campbell for another Copa Di Vino wine tasting event.  We had a great turnout and met a lot of wonderful military families.  Being on base really reminded me of the sacrifice these men and woman make for our country.  I was so glad to be a part of their weekend and feel blessed and honored to have been invited on base.   I want to thank Copa for providing Ben and me with a great weekend together.  We truly enjoyed our time away and loved meeting a lot of people at these events.  Brian and Brandi (Copa distributors) were both wonderful to get to know and Pilar (the Copa Mixologist) kept us educated and provided us with great entertainment.  Working with all of them truly made our weekend!

On our way to Ft. Campbell!

My first signing of the day:)

Having fun with Pilar

Copa fans!

They are so cute!!

I had a GREAT time!!

This is the first time for me to be writing my blog from a hotel room.  I am currently in Paducah, Kentucky with my husband.  We had a busy, but fun-filled day yesterday.  My morning started off with a meeting at Wild Eggs in Louisville, Kentucky with Rick Barney from Spalding University and Queen Mom.  We discussed our new partnership as Spalding has jumped on board as my newest sponsor.  We also talked about an upcoming commercial I will be shooting for them.  I am SO pumped about this shoot! I have never done a commercial, but I will definitely do my best for them!  Oh...and I have to mention how AMAZING Wild Eggs fresh squeezed orange juice is. OH my gosh!  I have never in my life had orange juice that delicious.

After that, I met up with Ben and we headed off to Paducah for a Copa Di Vino wine tasting and signing at Wagner Wine.  It is a family owned business and they were extremely welcoming and sweet to us the moment we walked in.  I also worked with Pilar, a mixologist from Copa, and Brandi, a distributor for Copa in the Paducah area.  They were a blast to get to know and, of course, the wine was tasty as always.

With the Wagner Family

Pilar educating us about the product.  I learned SO much from her!

My youngest fan of the day!

The tasting in full force!

The Spalding University's Men's Basketball team left yesterday morning around 10:00 to head to St. Louis for the first round of the NCAA D-III Tournament.  I was lucky enough to be a part of this fun send-off event!  I, along with Miss Heartland and Miss Garrard OT, met the team and handed out goody bags for their long bus ride to St. Louis.  

GO GOLDEN EAGLES!!!

With Spalding's Athletic Director, Roger Burkman

Miss Heartland, Ashley Beth

Miss Garrard OT, Katelin Denney

I have had a very fun weekend! It started off with a Skype makeup lesson with Dinair Airbrush Makeup on Friday. They are an official sponsor of the Mrs. Kentucky Pageant and gifted me with an awesome airbrush kit. It was so much fun learning how to use it via Skype with one of their educators all the way in California. Denise invited us over to her house for the lesson, so we conveniently turned it into a great girls night! (Meeting up with the hubby’s later on of course;)) Thank you SO much to Dinair for being a devoted sponsor to the Mrs. Kentucky Pageant and a huge thanks to Denise for always being a fabulous hostess!

 Queen Mom getting dolled up by Deata

Using my new Dinair Airbrush gun! ...and look at those adorable models in the background<3

Denise and Elisha

More big news from my week- Spalding University has officially joined my team as a Mrs. Kentucky sponsor!!!!! I graduated from Spalding last summer and feel SO privileged to have them stand behind me during my journey to Mrs. America. We have a lot planned for the future so stay tuned to see what we will be up to!

Today Ben and I had our first official walk through in our new home. I cannot believe how fast it is coming along... to say I’m excited is an understatement! We also got an offer on our current home and hope and pray that everything works out! Looks like we may be moving to Meade County for a few months until our house is finished… fingers crossed! I look forward to being able to spend quality time with my family.

The month of March will be a busy one for me…

March 1st-2nd I will be going to Hopkinsville and Paducah for Copa Di Vino Tastings

March 5^th I will be heading to Miss Priss in Lexington to find my official Mrs. America Gown<3!!!

March 14^th I will be starting a Dale Carnegie Business Course at Sullivan University.  They are a Mrs. Kentucky Sponsor…I am very excited about this opportunity!

March 18^th I will be a hostess at the NCAA Bracketology/Spalding University Fundraising Event at the fairgrounds

March 23^rd I will be a judge at the Miss Jefferson County Fair Pageant

March 27^th I am making an appearance at the “Wellness Series” program for the geriatric patients in Louisville. 

I hope everyone has a blessed week!

<3 Lindsey

Today my husband and I took a trip to Lexington for a wine tasting with one of the Mrs. Kentucky sponsors- Copa Di Vino.  This was definitely different than anything I have ever done before, but it was a lot of fun.  We had a stand at the Kroger Wine and Spirits in Lexington where we greeted the customers and helped them to sample the different flavors Copa has to offer.  I worked alongside Ben, a distributor for this company.  Together we were able to meet many new people and got to know the employees.  I want to send a big thank you to Kroger Wine and Spirits for the great hospitality!

I owe my hubby a big thanks for driving me!  I worked last night,

so I needed him to get me there safely and awake;)

My own wine signage!! I was thrilled to see this!

Ready for the tasting!

Ben- one of the distributors of Copa in Lexington.

He was a lot of fun to work with- we had a great time together.

....he sent me home with so many Copa goodies!!!  Looks

like I will have a taste testing of my own at home too! I love the concept

of this wine.  They all come ready for travel and with reusable lids.  Visit 

copadivino.com to find locations that carry this product near

you and to see information about this product when it was featured on 

the show "Shark Tank." 

Yesterday I was invited by my hometown State Representative, Jeff Greer, to come to the Capitol to be honored in the Chamber of the Kentucky House of Representatives. This was SUCH a special day for me; I will forever remember this moment!

 Mom, Me, Representative Greer, Grandma, and Maw

Representative Greer and I

           I ran into "America's Queen's of the Commonwealth" winners. So much bling in one photo! Love it:) They were all so pretty and so sweet.

Joe Arnold, WHAS11, asked me to record a clip for "Good Morning Kentuckiana!"

...while being recognized in the Chamber. What a special moment for me!

      We truly have a beautiful Capitol building. I had a great time walking around and seeing what it has on display. 

Also, I would like to mention the "Blankets & Beans" campaign to help the homeless and hungry in our community.  This is a Norton Healthcare campaign created to help people in need during the extremely cold winter months.  "Norton Healthcare is collaborating with Blanket Louisville and Dare to Care Food Bank to provide new and gently used blankets and nonperishable food items to help the homeless and hungry in our community.  We will hold our Blankets & Beans campaign from Feb. 11 to 22.  Collection boxes will be available and clearly marked at several Norton Healthcare locations, including all facility cafeterias and Human Resources offices." -Norton eNews Today-  I hope that by sharing this with my blog followers, we can help make a significant difference in this year's donation!

Tomorrow I will be traveling to Lexington to visit the Wine and Spirit Shop at Kroger.  There, I will be doing a wine tasting event for one of the Mrs. Kentucky Sponsors- Copa di Vino.  I am looking forward to this fun event and to travel to one of the prettiest areas of our state.  Of course I will be sharing photos of my "tasty" trip with you very soon:)

 

Yesterday I was the Mistress of Ceremonies at the first annual Miss New Year Pageant in Meade County. The proceeds from this event will be going to the Children’s Miracle Network and the DanceBlue UK Children’s Hematology/Oncology Clinic. What a wonderful cause! I feel so blessed to have been a part of this special day. The director, Candice Cruz (pictured below), is also from Meade County and is the current Miss Heartland 2012. She did a wonderful job at putting this together and I had a great time catching up with her. Of course I had a great time meeting all the beautiful contestants and saw a few that were also from my hometown. There is nothing like visiting home!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! With this fresh start, I am feeling so blessed and so excited about my year ahead as your Mrs. Kentucky 2013. I have truly been enjoying the holiday season with my friends and family, but now that the holiday season has come to a close, I am very ready to get busy and experience many new opportunities during my reign. Coming up I will be attending the Miss New Year Pageant in Meade County, Kentucky. All benefits from this pageant go towards the Children’s Miracle Network and DanceBlue UK Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic. What a WONDERFUL cause! Please visit this site for more information on how you can apply to be a participant: http://candicecruz.wordpress.com/2013/01/06/miss-new-year-applications/ You can also visit their page on Facebook! My hometown state representative, Jeff Greer, has invited me to sit with him on the floor at the capitol on February 5th. I am so excited and feel so honored to be able to meet so many important political figures from our state! March 23rd I am judging the Miss Jefferson County Pageant along with my sister queen Jennifer Bailey, and March 27th I will be appearing at the Norton Healthcare Wellness Series with Jackie Hays. I welcome any new opportunities- please contact me at lhaukom0@gmail.com for appearances and volunteer events.

On a more personal note, I have completed and submitted my applications for graduate school to go back for my Family Nurse Practitioner Degree. I will find out in a few months if I am accepted or not- please keep your fingers crossed for me☺ I am so excited to further my education and hope that I will be able to do so soon. Also, have I mentioned how excited I am about my new home being built? The ground breaking has occurred and I can’t help but to think about new home ideas every day! Ben and I are both a little obsessed with HGTV as of now….so many good ideas to come across on there.

Don’t forget to tune in to ABC to watch our beautiful Miss Kentucky, Jessica Casebolt, compete for the Miss America title on Saturday, January 12th. I will be working that night, but you can bet I will be watching for updates as much as possible. I wish her the best of luck and know that she will represent us well!