Miss Orem 2011 Hannah Harkness!!

Miss Orem 2010's LAST POST

Friends, Family, and Followers,

Although I still have 2 more weeks til the Miss Orem pageant, I wanted to make sure I'd have time to write a last post since these next 2 weeks are going to be pretty busy!

First off, I want to THANK EVERYONE for helping me along this wonderful journey. THANKS to family, friends, Kim, Elisa, Committee, Royalty, City Council, Mark, Pat, Heather, and about 100 other people who made my year as Miss Orem absolutely glorious. (Note to Kim- Kim, this isn't my farewell letter. haha).

Tomorrow will make it one year as Miss Orem, and that's hard to believe! This year has been glorious yet challenging. Here are 3 things I've learned as Miss Orem:

1. The worth of a soul: one soul is of more value than the wealth of the world. And I believe that. If everyone realized their own worth AND the worth of others, we would have no hate, envy, lust, or greed. Not convinced? Exhibit A: Little girls. When I go to schools around Utah I always make sure to give the girls (and even boys:) a chance to try on my crown. In that moment in which the crown touches her head, the little girl's face glows because she feels like royalty. And she is. In that moment when I have the awesome opportunity to see these girls getting a glimpse of how much they really are worth, I see greatness. Not to forget the boys, they are also worth SO MUCH, but putting a crown on their heads just brings giggles :)

2. Importance of Service. This past year I've had my share of heartache and disappointments, but the one thing that saved me was service. We all have a tendency to sit and complain or dwell on our rotten luck or our heartache, but when we do that we only bring ourselves and those around us down. Instead of feeling awful go and SERVE and I promise you that you'll feel loads better! Exhibit B: In early September I had experienced a huge disappointment that really brought my spirits down. Luckily I had a service event for Miss Orem scheduled to help out at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. That whole day I was focused on others, and I had no time to worry about my own problems. Service is the best cure for just about anything :)

3. Smile :). I'm happy to inform you that my cheeks are 50 percent stronger than last year, because this year as Miss Orem I've smiled a LOT! Try the following: Sit in your room and just smile for no apparent reason, just smile! Yup, you'll feel good :)

Again, THANK YOU, I truly do love you, and I pray that you'll never give up on yourself or on God. I'm onto the next adventure (Miss Utah)! Come what may and LOVE IT!

LOVE,

Bridget Kreis

Miss Orem 2010

Habitat for Humanity

This morning I had the opportunity to BUILD with Habitat for Humanity. It was the end of "Women Build Week", where local female community leaders and Democratic and Republican women came together to work on the house. It was so fun to work with these educated and political female figures in our community. It was especially fun to work with women from the Orem city council (Margaret Black, Karen McCandless), they never cease to amaze me!

Today Keith (the amazing builder!) taught us how to put dry wall on the ceiling.... lets just say that it was a LOT of work, but we managed to finish the whole living room! It was such a blast to get up on the scaffold and feel like a construction worker haha. Keith even trusted me with the nail gun.... although I just held it and stared at it :).

Habitat for Humanity is such an amazing organization and I hope to help out again in the near future! (It was also fun to hear about the family that will move into the house, what a wonderful opportunity).

Tickets and Blooms :)

Attention all citizens of Orem, Utah, the United States, and the WORLD!!

Tickets for the Miss Orem Pageant are available online! Here is the link where you will be able to purchase the golden tickets:

http://missorem.yolasite.com/tickets.php

Finally, I've had something on my mind for the past couple of weeks, and I hope that it will bring a little light into your life :). Sometime ago my Grandma asked me, "Bridget, what happened to your bloom?" At first I didn't understand what she was asking me, and when I asked for clarification she said, "A rose is just a rose...but with the bloom returned...it's GLORIOUS!!" After my Grandma said this I had a lightbulb moment. Sometimes the hard times in life can take away the "bloom" from our flowers. Instead of letting our petals absorb the light that God has given us, we close ourselves off for many reasons: hurtful situations, people, or circumstances.

Luckily, we can restore our "bloom" in our lives. Here are three things that help me to restore my bloom: 1. "Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks." 2. "Be grateful for every opportunity to serve." 3. "When you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But know also that God wants to give you something better."

May we all restore the "bloom" to our lives :)

Miss Orem Pageant!

Wow. ONE MONTH AWAY!! Above is a copy of the posters that are going to be put up throughout Orem to promote the Pageant. I wish you could see the girls/contestants better in this image..... they are BEAUTIFUL!!

I also want to thank my cousin Amanda Behrbom for being a terrific sponsor! Thank you Amanda and Modbod!! Below is one of the Miss Orem Modbod advertisements that we made.... SO FUN!!

And for your inspirational thought of the day, I chose the lyrics to a song by Lee Ann Womack "I hope you dance". The lyrics really inspire me to live life to the fullest!

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted

God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking

Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making

Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to selling out reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance...

I HOPE YOU DANCE!!!

LET'S MOVE!!

Hello FRIENDS!! :)

Ok.... so I can see you right now. Yep. You are sitting at your computer reading my blog, which is a glorious thing... BUT, I want you to get up from where you're sitting and do a couple of jumping jacks, NEXT put on your shoes and workout clothes, NEXT grab your ipod..... have you done it? Good. I commend you for your enthusiasm :) ... Last but not least, I challenge you to go for a jog! It doesn't have to be a long jog, just enough to get your heart rate going. I promise you that you'll feel better! (Don't forget to peer pressure your friends and family to go and exercise with you).

After an exhausting workout with Pat yesterday, I feel like an achy old woman! But, working out really inspires me to get everyone involved. Exercise can exponentially increase your quality of life. If you need an indoor facility to exercise in, go to the Orem Recreational Center, entrance fees for 14yrs-up is $4!

My second challenge for you, is to "move" in a different way. Find a group or organization that you can serve or help in any way. Before Miss Orem, I always gave a "bare minimum" effort in service. I didn't know how or who I could help. The key for me was to write down my strengths, and in doing so I found out who I could help.

My target groups for service are children/youth especially young woman. My focuses are fitness and self worth.

Service can be as simple as giving advice. The wonderful thing that I've realized thus far on my journey through life is that although I've made some mistakes, I can learn from them, and better yet someone else can learn from my mistakes. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm determined to make the best of this life that I've been given :)

LOVE,

Bridget