The Last Few Months

So it is 4pm on a Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in my new home (Starbucks...as the power has been off since Thursday night, and I have been living in thier cafe and the gym) and realized that it has been a while since I posted a blog. So what have I been up to as of late? A lot!

Pageant Stuff: Here is an update on the pageant life as of late...I have done several appearances after coming home from nationals in August. I served as a model in Macy's shop for a cause, made an appearance at the Lee Speedway Oktoberfest, spent a weekend at Pease Air force Base volunteering at a carnival for military families and their children, walked in the Portsmouth Holiday Parade, volunteered at the NH Junior Miss Pageant, and performed as a guest skater in Passionately Pink on Ice, an ice show fundraiser at Dover Arena.

Skating in the ice show was quite a feat for me, as I have not skated a significant amount within the last year. After not skating for nearly 9 months, I decided to lace up the skates a few times over Christmas vacation. I was pleased to discover that I could actually land some double jumps cleanly, spin without getting horribly dizzy, and still pull off a pretty good Russian split! After returning to NH, I agreed to perform in the show, skated at Rochester Arena during my lunch hour several times per week, and choreographed a fun and energetic program to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". Although I was pretty nervous, I skated an almost clean program and had a great time.

I have also kept up my volunteer efforts with the Miss New Hampshire (MAO) Scholarship Program and had a wonderful time emceeing Miss Monadnock Region, judging Miss Merrimack Outstanding Teen, and helping prepare Miss Strafford County's Outstanding Teen, Melanie Konstant, for the state pageant. Melanie was fabulous and finished 4th-runner up! She has one year left to compete for the teen title, and I am confident that she will be even stronger next year :) I have also been working with Margo Reola, Miss University, to help her get ready for the Miss New Hampshire pageant this May. She has an unbelievable talent and is so passionate about her platform--truly a dynamite contestant. She recently hosted a benefit concert in Hampton and raised almost $3,000 to fund care packages for troops overseas. It was a wonderful event and I was honored to have Chris, my favorite army stud, by my side at this event.

Speaking of Chris, I saw him for the first time in 10 months this February while he was on leave from Iraq! He was only home for two weeks, but we had a great time together, and I even mastered the art of Ice Fishing! We also had a wonderful Valentine's Day Dinner at Gauchos in Manchester (love it...check it out!). It was sad to see him leave, but he will be back in the US for good in the end of April/beginning of May, so hopefully time will fly! It will also give me the time to make-up all the vacation time I used during his stay so I will no longer be in the "PTO hole" at work.

Onto work. I am still at the same job at eCoast in Rochester, New Hampshire, but my role has changed quite a bit. I have now transitioned to a marketing role and am officially a Marketing Communications Program Manager, managing many marketing programs for a variety of high tech clients and partners. I now have a pretty extensive knowledge of search engine optimization (yep, I can help you get found online!) and have been doing a lot more writing as well. I have written a few articles for the eCoast blog too; here's a link to my favorite: Build Better Marketing Collateral: Construct your Case Study like a Cathedral. I read/sort of became obsessed with Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth and had to pay tribute to him in some way!

Now about my life. Life is good. I had a great time with the Barkers over Thanksgiving and a blast at in Colorado over Christmas/New Years. The holidays were very relaxing. My company shuts down between Christmas and new years, so I had a chance to catch up with so many friends from high school and skating, spent some good quality time with the parents and the kitties, and saw Avatar...yes, I am now a huge Avatar fan!!!! I also took a last minute trip to Las Vegas in the end of January to see Lindsey Compete in Miss America! She was fantastic and I am so proud of her and her accomplishments. She was the first runner-up for the Quality of Life award and looked fantastic during all phases of competition. I also finally got to see a live performance by Cirque du Soliel and loved it!

The NH National Teenager Pageant is coming up in two weeks and I have been working hard to get everything in order to give up my title. I had such a great time
representing New Hampshire and encourage a lot of other girls to get involved in the program (there is still time to enter the pageant btw). And once again, I want to thank everyone who has helped me out along the way for their support!

Peace, Love, and No Power in Dover NH,

Erika Lehman, 2009 Miss NH ANTSO National Miss

ANTSO National Miss Pageant

Okay, it's official, I need to work on keeping up with my blogging. Inbound Marketing best practices suggest blogging 4 times per week...I'm almost there...almost.

With that being said, I'm going to jump right in. Starting with the national pageant in Nashville, Tennessee! Nationals was a blast! I left bright and early Monday morning; Sarajayne was there, coffee in hand, ready to shuttle me and my four bags (2 carry on) to the airport. With a quick layover in DC, I arrived in Tennessee right on time, (lost my credit card), checked into the hotel, and watched the Teen optionals show. Jen Maloney, Miss Massachusetts ANTSO National Miss, had flights taking off shortly after mine and was due to arrive in Tennessee less than an hour after me. Poor Jen. She didn't make it in until 6 am the next morning, and spend the night prior sleeping on the floor of the airport hugging her garment bag to her chest. :( But she made it! And the fun began!

We checked in early Tuesday morning, and after a wonderful motivation speech from by Dale Smith Thomas, we were headed to our first rehearsal. By nine pm we were exhausted and ready for bed...I slept like a baby. The next day was full of rehearsals, and also included the Miss optionals show and the first night of preliminaries for the teen division. All the NH, MA, and FL girls did great! There wasn't much time to stay and celebrate, however, for interview was the next morning, and I needed to get my beauty sleep.

Interview went great. I looked fierce and fabulous in my teal suit (thanks Justine!) and felt as though I really hit it off with all the judges. Then, after successfully getting rid of the majority of my jitters, it was time for more rehearsals and the next night of Teen preliminaries. Once again, all our girls rocked the stage, leaving us with high hopes for Saturday night's finals.

The next day was once again, full of rehearsals (and a fun little party at Wild Horse Saloon!). I got to see my parents and the Barkers before kicking up my heels and doing some line dancing. It was great to see my family (I had not seen them since Thanksgiving) and great to see the Barkers as well. Then, without further ado, it was time for the preliminary night of competition. I felt confident going into it, and felt as though I couldn't have done anything better! All the girls did so well and I knew I was facing some tough competition! Later, after the show I went to dinner with my parents and Deb Barker, and after stuffing my starving face with half cooked chicken and a so-so salad, it was off to bed to rest up for Saturday morning's rehearsals and the final day of competition.

Four hours later, I woke up violently ill. I tried to shake things off, but the sickness only got worse. By 8 am, it was so bad, that I could not even get myself out of bed. My parents came by to help me out, and Jen was so sweet, offering to get me anything I needed. We had rehearsal at 11 am, but I absolutely couldn't make it. I was told to stay in bed until the last possible minute and head to the theater for the final show.

So, after sucking down pedialyte, one teaspoon at a time, I managed to pull myself out of bed, stuff rollers in my hair, and make it to the theater just in time to compete. I was shaking and felt so sick, but pulled it together for the opening number. But then, as they started announcing the top 8, I really didn't know if I could make it through the show. They had already called the top 7 and my heart was beating a mile a minute! There were several very strong competitors left and only one spot to go. But then, through the pounding in my ears, I heard the announcer say: "In the 8th spot.... New Hampshire!", and BAM...I felt fine!

Adrenaline kicked in and I finished all phases of competition in high spirits and at the top of my game. I ended up finishing as 3rd runner up-winning a fabulous gift bag and a solid sense of self satisfaction.






Then, it was back to bed for a bit, before getting dressed up again and heading to the Teen final show. All the New England and Florida girls did great. All the Junior and Senior New England girls made the top ten, and all the Florida girls made the top 5! Kia, the Florida Pre-teen, won her division and took home the national title! Congratulations Kia!!!!!

Later that night, we had the Queens ball. I wasn't feeling up to snuff, but stuck around for a little bit, dancing to Jai Ho! for one last time with my Miss girls! I really had a wonderful time at nationals and am so thankful for everyone who was there for me!

Thank you to all the people who made this week fantastic: My parents, the Barkers, Jen (couldn't ask for a better roomie or sister queen), my NH/MA girls, my other Miss competitors, Barbara and Kristen, Liz McGlynn, Michael Hartmann, Jenny Telewar, and all the staff for the National Teenager Scholarship Organization. I had a blast and am so excited to see next year's queens rock the runway. Thanks so much everybody!

Peace, Love, and 3rd runner up!

Erika Lehman
Miss New Hampshire ANTSO National Miss

Miss Massachusetts, Lee Speedway, and a Whole Lot More...

Hello Everyone! I know I've been due for another blog post for some time now, so...(drumroll) here it is!

First and foremost, I leave for nationals in 36 1/2 hours! I cannot believe the speed at which the time has flown by! Of course, that seems to happen when you have a full schedule! I have been keeping myself very busy with work (eCoast and Brothers North), the gym, and adorning items in my wardrobe (crystals, crystals, crystals!). Although this week has somewhat snuck up on me, I am very excited (and prepared) to compete for the title of ANTSO's National Miss! For all of you who are curious as to what I do 8-5 every day, check out ecoastsales.com. I work in the marketing department, and am responsible for direct mail advertisements and drafting press releases, case studies, and website content. I also do a bit of campaign management for Cisco campaigns. I am learning a lot about technology and can tell you all about unified communications if you are interested!

Back to pageant life...First of all, I am thrilled to see my family! I have not seen my parents since Thanksgiving; and although I speak with them frequently on the phone, it will be wonderful to see them again. Of course, they are on "last minute shopping duty" just in case I may be in need of a few last minute items :) Most of all, however, I am just so excited to compete. 30% of the competition has already been judged (academics and community service) and I am thoroughly geared up for interview and the onstage portion of the competition. Plus, I have the wardrobe of my dreams, and am just so excited to wear it (there will be pictures, I promise!)

I will be rooming with Jen Maloney, Miss Massachusetts ANSTO National Miss, and I cannot wait! We are going to have so much fun (even if we blow a fuse in our hotel room....again).

Jen and I at states, Hopefully there will a repeat trophy pic of some sort at Nationals!

Time out....text message alert: both NH (Amanda) and MA (Holly) made the top five in the Sr. Sweetheart pageant! Great news; I'll post results as soon as I get them :)

Onto what I have been up to:

Two weeks ago the whole NH, MA crew met up in Canton, MA for a nationals preparation day to ensure that our wardrobe choices were squared away and that we were thoroughly ready for the competition. Everyone has fabulous clothing and looks very prepared. I would also like to thank Kayla and Amanda for taking the time out of their busy schedules to manage this event. They are both very selfless people and deserve a lot of credit! I will not be posting any pictures from this day as to keep wardrobe choices a secret, but have no fear, I will post a lot from the pageant, so you will not be missing much. I was also very excited to add to my cocktail dress collection that day, as Devon's mom made a shopping detour that worked out in my favor...hence the champagne cocktail dress seen below!

Later that evening, several of us attended the Miss Massachusetts pageant to see the crowning of the new Miss America state titleholder. The winner, Amanda Kelly was breathtaking, and was definitely a stand out throughout the entire competition. Congratulations to her and Alicia Zitka, the outgoing titleholder, on both of your achievements! I also ran into Miss NH, Lindsey Graham, at the pageant and she looked fabulous (as always)! During the show, Lindsey was asked to introduce herself of stage, and after announcing that she had won over $50,000 with the Miss NH MAO program, a rather quiet and demure older woman next to me expressed her amazement with an un-repeatable, yet appreciative phrase. I thought it was cute. :)

Me and Lexa at Miss Massachusetts

Mandi, Me, Jen, Lexa, Devon, and Hayley at Miss Massachusetts

Nationals Roomies!

The following week I was given the opportunity to serve as a trophy presenter at Lee Speedway. I invited Mandi Erhard, the NH Sr. Sweetheart, to join me, as one of her presentation days was rained out :( We had a great time, and it was great to have her there, given that there were several big and high profile races that night (one was 200 laps!) and a lot of trophies to give out. This was a Tuesday night, and the following Saturday Mandi was heading off to nationals, so I wished her luck at the end of the night (even though she didn't need it and is doing a great job as we speak!)

Being a dork with a Nascar flag...

With the winner of the 200 lap race

Me and Mandi on the track after the 200 lap race

Time out once again... I was just informed that Holly was named the 4th runner -up and Mandi the 1st runner-up at the national pageant. Congrats to both our girls!

As some of you may know, I have done a significant amount of fundraising to get me to nationals, and I would now like to take the time to thank several people who have been elemental in my journey to Nashville. With the help of many people and businesses, I have fundraised over $2,000!

• Franklin Savings Bank-Thank you so much for your generous donation towards an ad-page!
• Blinks Frye Dough of Hampton (and Brian)-thank you for your very generous donation! I truly thankful for your generosity!
• Brothers North Restuarant-Thank you for allowing me to host my dinner fundraiser at the restaurant! It was a great success and I raised over $600!
• AJ Silva and the folks at Chantilly Place-Thank you very much for crafting me such a beautiful gown at a beautiful price!
• Mirror Images Salon-Thank you for your hair expertise and the lovely dress!
• Sarajayne Howland, the Barker Family, Jim and Ruth Hepp, Don and Ann Lehman, Audra Paquette-thank you for your time, energy, and/or donations; you have all made a significant impact in my preparations!
• Kaley, my trainer--thanks from whipping me into shape. I never knew I could squat 145 pounds...did any of you???
• Lindsey Graham, Justine Barker, Rachel Barker, Jenn Clements, Jenn Saucier, and several others for outfitting me with necessities for the pageant!
• Liz McGlynn for interview and paperwork preparation

Well folks, that is all I have for now. It is getting late and I must continue with my packing charades. I will try to post an update during nationals. I will also be tweeting (oh dear, here comes the eCoast Erika) while I am there..so follow me on Twitter.com/foofalaka. Is is a rather new account so will be attempting to tweet more often. I am a twitter geek at work, so you can also catch up on my professional life at twitter.com/ecoast as well.

Peace, Love, and Packing, packing, packing,

Erika Lehman, Miss NH ANTSO National Miss

P.S. I am struggling with formatting these posts, for some reason the paragraphs are not spacing properly. The perfectionist in me felt the need to address it :)

A Quick Little Post...

Time for a quick little post...Good luck to all the NH girls competing in upcoming MAO state pageants: Adria Farr (TN), Whitney V (RI), Lacey Jane (MA), and Tara F (AZ).

Congrats on a talent win in TN last night Adria...you go girl!

Peace, Love, and NH-pride,

Erika Lehman, Miss NH ANTSO National Miss

The Week of the Fundraisers

For the rest of my life I will be referring to last week as "The Week of the Fundraisers". No joke...I went to four fundraisers in eight days and traveled over 400 miles to volunteer/help out/be fabulous at several events.

The "Week of the Fundraisers" kicked off with a pancake breakfast hosted by Lexa Donnelly (Miss NH National Teenager). I, along with several other titleholders and volunteers, acted as servers, bringing piping hot and delicious pancakes to all who came to support Lexa. At one point, I asked the cook if he could make anything different (as in a little pancake, or a butter-less one) and he made me "special pancakes" with an assortment of berries baked in :) Some of the girls thought I might have had a secret admirer...I just think of it as yummy pancakes.

All in all, the breakfast was a success and Lexa raised over $500.

Next on the agenda for "The Week of the Fundraisers" was my dinner fundraiser at Brothers North, a Greek Restaurant in Hampton, NH (that I just so happen to work at). Before I go any further...big shout out to those who donated after finding themselves unable to attend. Thank you Uncle Don and Aunt Ann for donating $100 and Chris Munton and Amanda for donating $25...okay, shout out complete.

The Fundraiser went well, with the help of Amanda Erhart, her mother, Lexa,Brothers North Staff, and Sarajayne Howland, the event went very well! Although there was not a huge turnout, I fundraised over $550 (after paying the restaurant!!). A significant portion came from the pockets of Debbie Barker and Jim and Ruth Hepp (shout out 2) and the majority of the funds came from the raffle. I had some great prizes including lovely gift baskets from Angela McKinnon, my Mary Kay Lady (shout out 3). Phillippe, a twenty-something ladies-man of a cook was fortunate to win one of these baskets :) way to go Phillippe! And one more shout out (4)...Jenn Saucier...thanks for bringing tubs of clothes for Mandi and I (and Paula) to play dress up in until late at night!

Onto fundraiser three... a dinner and silent auction in Henniker, NH hosted by Mandi Erhart, the Miss NH Senior Sweetheart. It was very well planned and wonderfully entertaining. I left with a happy belly and in a peaceful state of mind after listening to the talents of several poets and storytellers (not to mention a post-shopping euphoria thanks to the new set of earrings in my purse...I love silent auctions). Mandi is such a sweetheart (shout out 5 and good pun, thanks) and I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know her better.

And now, the "Week of the Fundraisers" comes to a close the following Sunday with the NSTAR's Boston Childrens Hospital Walk, an 8-mile walk in the heart of Boston to raise money for child medical care. I awoke at 5:30, made myself look as glorious as possible for the early morning, and hopped on the C&J bus to South Station. I then took the T to Cambridge, and walked to the registration area...to find out I beat the volunteers and had to chill in the rain for a bit until they arrived.

Aside from some mud and matted hair, I had a wonderful time and chatted the day away with Sasha, Barbara, Jen, Lexa, Mandi,and many more. We capped off the evening with a visit to the Cheesecake Factory (no cheesecake, just salad...musn't forget there is a pageant coming up) and some shopping. Men, beware, Mandi Erhart can shop! I thought I was a pro, but she has got me beat!

Lastly, in fear that I might not get on a bus and be stranded in Boston (this could be bad, given I stink at riding the T), Mandi's mother drove me all the way back to Dover (bless her heart)! Thanks so much for the ride (shout out 7,981)!

So, all in all, the "Week of the Fundraisers" went well for all parties involved...but wait, there's more!

And now for the reason for which I am up at a ridiculous hour when I have to be at work at 8 am...I was just donated $400 by Blinks in Hampton, courtesy of Brian from the gym (sorry Brian, I don't know your last name)! Good thing I peeled myself off the couch at 8:45 this evening for an intense late night cardio session!!!! I believe I am too stoked to sleep!

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post regarding the success of all my fundraising endeavors...one involves a 10 year-old dead wasp...so really, this is one you don't want to miss!

Peace, Love, and Fabulous Fundraisers

Erika Lehman, Miss NH ANTSO National Miss

Presenting Trophies at Lee USA Speedway

On Friday, May 29, I had the opportunity to serve as a trophy presenter at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire.

After locking my car keys in my house and waiting for my landlord to save the day, my plans of arriving very early were foiled! Fearful that I would be late for such an important appearance I abandoned my Grandma-ish means of driving and booked it to the speedway as fast as I could. I flew through the traffic circle as if I was in Spain (each round-a-bout was an adrenaline rush), parked on the Lawn next to the big trucks, and booked it to the announcers box taking the treacherous flight of stairs two at a time….only to find out that I was still early and the preliminary races were only half-done! So I settled in with a slice of pizza and a diet Pepsi (compliments of the camera boys) to familiarize myself a little more with the rules of racing.

For those of you who know the ropes, this paragraph is not for you…but for those who always wondered what all the colored flags and flag waving antics mean…here’s a few answer (compliments of the camera boys once again).

Green: The go flag-when it flies, the race is on.

Black Flag: This is no good, nobody wants to see it! The black flag is terminal, and the racer who receives this signal must exit the track and stop racing.

Red Flag: This flag stops the race and applies to all the cars on the track. Like a traffic light…red means STOP.

Yellow Flag: Slow down, just like a traffic light…it doesn’t mean speed up and try to make it through the intersection before the light turns red!

Single Cross Flag: This flag is rarely used and is similar to a traffic congestion relief signal…aka…racers move over and let this other car pass!

Double Cross: The double cross (or X) flag means the race has reached the half-way point.

White Flag: This flag means there is one lap remaining in the race.

Checkered Flag: This flag means the race is over and you have crossed the finish line.

And, when the man twirls two wound up flags over his head like batons there are two laps to go. This is my favorite part because it is an exciting gesture and makes the flag-man look as though he is having a great time!

Once preliminaries were complete it was race time, and I presented six trophies to the winners of the final heats in each category. I was amazed to see how young some of these drivers were! One driver nearly missed a race after coming from his high school graduation party, and one of the winners ( a front runner from last year) was most definitely younger than me!

I had a great time, met some wonderful fans and talented drivers and managed to escape the looming thunderheads that had been threatening a downpour all night! Thanks Lee Speedway for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your festivities, I look forward to volunteering again this upcoming July.

Peace, Love, and checkered flags,

Erika Lehman, Miss NH ANTSO National Miss 2009

The Longest Blog Post....Miss NH and more

So, it has been a while and I apologize for not keeping up with my blog postings! I have been very busy as of late and am struggling working some down time into my schedule.

First things first, CONGRATULATIONS to all the beautiful contestants at Miss New Hampshire 2009! I was so impressed by this year's competition! Lindsey Graham, a friend of mine took home top honors, over $20,000, and the Miss New Hampshire crown this past weekend! She is such a sweetheart, a stellar role model, and a wonderful choice to represent the state of New Hampshire at Miss America!!! I would also like to note the achievements of several others: my good friend and Miss Lakes Region successor (Miss University 2007 predecessor) Alicia Rossman who was named as third runner-up, Jennifer Clements and Katrina Bernard who took home top ten placements, and Samantha Massahos, who walked away with the non-finalist talent scholarship! So proud of you all!!!!!!

Now, what have I been up to? Well, last weekend I made an appearance at the Dover Home Show to both fund raise for my trip to nationals, and mingle with my fellow Dover Residents. Unfortunately for me, the weather was so delightful that most of New Hampshire's population was crowded onto its tiny coastline and therefore, not present at the usually very popular home show! Nonetheless, I received a significant amount of recognition on the local radio station WOKQ and was featured in Foster's Daily Democrat Newspaper(check it out: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090426/GJNEWS_01/704269867) I also fund raised about $65 and met a great group of local volunteers and visitors.

Next on the agenda: work. Not only have I picked up a new waitressing job at Brothers North in Hampton, NH, but I recently (today, in fact) nabbed a full time marketing position at eCoast Sales Solutions in Rochester, NH! After just one day on the job I am having a great time! Although I am not too knowledgeable about the high-tech industry, I feel this is definitely a wonderful opportunity for me to broaden my horizons :) eCoast is also hiring for multiple sales positions, so if you are interested, send me an email and I can pass your information along!

Continuing with the theme of 'Erika's Personal Life" I feel it is about time to share something else with any of you who may be reading this. My boyfriend, Chris, a 2nd lieutenant in the US army, recently headed to the Middle East for a year long deployment. Although we do not see each other too frequently, I am having a very hard time dealing with his absence...never realizing how hard it is to be more than just "a phone call away". He emailed me today, however, and told me that he is doing well and has developed a new hobby....reading. (Which I, the not-so-closet-geek thinks is just fabulous!!!!) I am doing my best to not dwell on the fact that he is over there, and to be thankful for his selflessness in defending our country and the welfare of others. He has a wonderful family that is very supportive of him and he is very lucky to have them! ( I am thankful for them as well; with my family living so far away, they have done so much for me these past few months and were so welcoming to me over the holidays!)

Check back soon for a pageant preparations update!

Tata for now!

Peace, Love, and a lot of stuff to say...

Erika Lehman