Maybe I haven’t mentioned it or maybe I did in passing but one thing I have done was competed and won the Miss Lemon of the Day pageant. I think it was my 8th online pageant and I had a habit of always getting runner up. By runner up I say I got 4th. I like to think for the rest of us who didn’t win the title we we were all tied for next in line. Winning is so bittersweet. Your happy that you got recognized but now you feel guilty for being happy because you had friends who didn’t do as well as you did especially if you were crowned Queen. The most important thing to me in the Pin-up community isn’t the Tiara’s or Sasha’s or all the beautiful gifts. What I care the most about in the community is being a pillar of strength, a beacon of hope. I know that without a doubt we are all worthy of some bling and for me the humblest of honours is having the courage to submit my application amongst so many worldwide duties.

My husband was burning out from all the pageants. At times he is my number one fan but it seems only when I am doing well. My experience in the online pageant world was coming to a screeching halt. My sisters of Atomic Aces rallied together and contributed a crown in my honor. I felt embarrassed at their generosity but that was a confirmation that my presence in the Pin-up community is not going unnoticed. The validation that my heart received that day just made my heart swell with pride. That’s when the steady climb up the steepest peak began to plateau.

When I applied for the “Miss Lemon of the Day it was for several reasons. First and foremost it was our president and founders Namesake and Birthday Wish pageant. As a continuous fighter of MS she was raising funds for MS and there is no greater charity that I support. With two Uncles diagnosed at a very young age I am a witness to how awful this disease truly is. It not only robs you of your heart but it slowly takes away your soul. For those two reasons I needed to submit an entry. I needed to support and love my community especially after getting so much love back. I had just announced my retirement but I needed to throw my lemon rind in the ring. I looked through the entries and that is when an idea came to me so fierce I knew I had to make it real. I contacted our VP of the Aces and asked her if my idea was to risqué and I think her exact words were, OH Wow lol I wanted to stand out and draw attention to the cause. What I have learned along my pageantry journey was this. There are girls that are just a dream on stage. If you have ever seen one of these girls grace the stage you will feel like every Hollywood Icon has come to life right in front of your eyes. I only witnessed this one in a competitor here in Canada. Watching her grace the stage under the scorching BC heat was like watching Elizabeth Taylor come to life in her glory days. There is no such thing as glamour as Old Hollywood Glamour only the true elite can pull of this skill.

Unless you travel State side. Let me tell you most girls that I have met in my short journey South have been nothing short of sweet lemon tea on a steamy Alabama night. These women are exactly what I imagined Pin-ups in the wild to be. Authentic, real, bombshells, who shined just as much on the inside as they did on the out. I must have looked like a fat kid in a cake shop that just got the mixing spoon to lick. If there was any a hope to grow as a Pin-up I had to learn from these bombshells. As my world began to open and blossom in the most beautiful ways I found myself for the first time surrounded by so many like minded individuals I had to reach for the stars (no pun intended but here is the paypal link for my latest pageant…..I will also update it in one of my pages). I think that is what drove me to try and gather as much yellow items as I could to take a picture. Not having many I ended up sitting naked in a tub which in hindsight no necessary but how often do I get to scream at my husband asking him to watch our son for 5 min while I take naked pictures in the tub. Hahaha right. This is what I do and who I try to be to the world. I wanted to make a submission count and tie it all in to who I am and why I am passionate. This is a hard task to try and do on-line and in pictures.

So with son screaming next door that he wanted to see the Guinea pig and how he needed me out of the tub I tried to take a smiley happy photo to support MS. You know why you need to always throw your hat in the ring. Because you never know who is watching and who it is you can inspire. I have been criticized lately for posting depressing things. I guess that is one way of looking at it but I like to look at it in another. Every second that goes on we can make an impact in our lives. Where once was life will certainly come death and I try to appreciate the beauty that lays within each. I can’t be dark and scary and haunted. My brain won’t wire past potential, hope, survival. All those being the exact opposite. I can’t gravitate that way because I have no interest in being there. Come with me to where love and light is or be bound by the shadows of the past. Inside me I muster all hope and courage that comes with somebody who represents those for qualities and worthy for the title of “Lemon of the Day.” My goal is to be the reason why other’s smile instead of frown. My minutes are consumed with how can I make their existence matter.

I watch for signs that my dogs may need my attention. My little dog usually lets me know if he is being bullied too much and like clock work the dogs gather around the kitchen a half hour before meals t let me know that it’s coming up and not to forget. Our three legged cat meows and meows to get lifted up to our window ledge. He loves cat grass but he can’t get up there because he is missing a back leg (I saw it is because his stomach is messed up from his accident. You know losing half a tail and a whole hindquarter). My lil guy with the crooked lil arm and smushie face prances around when he is dirty to let me know when he is do for a brushing and bath. We took him to the vet because we thought he has dandruff and wanted him treated for dry skin. She said no he is just a very dirty kitty. Looking back I guess we should have known. His deformities make it so he can barely wash at all. He is looking at me now like can we hurry this up and to be honest he does look a lil dirty.

The moral of the story is to still believe in yourself like nobody else is going to because nobody else is. I can not explain to you what I great honor it was to be crowned the first EVER Miss Lemon of the Day. I love this title so much because it represents positivity and hope and it shows that my community believes in me and sees me that way to be recognized as their top squeeze xx