Happy early Thanksgiving everyone! I can’t believe that the holidays are already here! But I guess the busier you are, the quicker time passes! This past week was another busy one for me! I was able to be part of Brookshire’s Holiday Kickoff Celebration in Monroe, and I saw a lot of the kids I spoke to during Red Ribbon Week. It was incredible to me that so many of them were able to tell me everything about the presentation I had given to their respective schools. They were so cute, and it felt wonderful to know that I had impacted them!
Later in the week, I finished up my Miss America Wardrobe with Jennifer and Dr. Ed. We found the perfect interview and onstage question outfits, and we had a lot of fun shopping for them! Now that we have everything picked out, I’m extremely relieved! And more than anything, I’m getting really excited about wearing it all in Vegas! Thanks for all of your help Jennifer and Dr. Ed! 
I finished up the week filming some commercial spots for Suddenlink, in Ruston. We filmed three separate commercials, and they’re going to be shown during the Reality Show telecast in January. I had a great time filming all of them, and I even got to film one with Ms. Judy Burt. We were quite the pair on camera!
Now that Thanksgiving is only a few days away, I’m thankful for my friends and family, and I’m looking forward to spending time with them. But even during the holidays, workouts and voice lessons are still on the agenda! 7 weeks in counting!
posted by Blair at 6:58 pm
Happy November everyone! Since my last post, I finished up an amazing Red Ribbon Week! Then, I traveled to Hammond to sing the National Anthem at the Southeastern vs. McNeese Football Game. It was so much fun getting to be home at my University, seeing so many of my friends and so much of my Southeastern Family!
Now that November has arrived, it’s hard to believe, but my departure for Miss America is only eight weeks away!! So preparations are heavily underway! My talent piece is coming along really well, my workouts are frequent and intense, I’m reading hours of current events every day, and my wardrobe is close to complete. Everything is coming along beautifully, and I’m getting more and more excited about the tremendous experience that lies ahead! Preparing for something of this magnitude has taken my complete dedication and focus, but I feel sure that my hard work will pay off!
Thank you to all the people who continually keep me on track, encouraging me no matter what and making this experience one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I couldn’t do this without you!
Love you all,
Blair
posted by Blair at 12:33 pm
Happy Halloween Everyone! Red Ribbon week is almost over (one day left!), and I have had sooo much fun going to the schools in Ouachita Parish to talk to the students about being drug free. It’s been super busy, but so fulfilling! I have been extremely impressed with all of the schools I have attended. The students have been some of the sweetest and most attentive I’ve ever come across! And the teachers and administrators have been so welcoming and accomodating. A special thank you goes out to my traveling companions this week too, because it’s been just as busy for you! Ms. Lynn, Ms. Sandy, and Ms. Debbie, you’re the best! Another special thank you goes out to Ms. Judy and Rapid Signs of Ruston, because the beautiful posters I’ve been lucky enough to use have made a tremendous impact on the students I’ve spoken to.
I have another busy week ahead of me, so full speed ahead! I’ll let you all know how it goes! Remember to eat some Halloween candy for me!
-Blair
posted by Blair at 7:17 pm
Home from L.A. and things are still moving full speed! After returning from the Reality Series filming, I attended the Miss Shreveport Pageant and had a blast getting to cheer all of the contestants on! Then, I went home to Tangipahoa Parish for a special proclamation- the parish honored me and declared October 14th “Blair Abene Day.” How cool! Shortly after that, I got a few days off from my Miss LA duties to take a family trip for my Brother’s Culinary School Graduation in New York! He is officially a Culinary Institute of America Alumnus and Pastry Chef! Yay Blake!
Today, I started my school tour for Red Ribbon Week. All of the kids were been so cute and well-behaved! I’m looking forward to continuing my school appearances throughout the coming week! Having such precious audiences has made this part of my job so easy and enjoyable!
I’ll let you know how next week goes!
-Blair
posted by Blair at 10:15 pm
Hi Everyone! I am really glad to be home, but I had an absolutely amazing time filming the reality show. As I told you all during my time in L.A., the days were extremely long and often really exhausting. But during those long days and nights, I was able to make some unbelieveable friends, that I know I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life! We had so much fun on and off camera, and although it’s nice to be home, I miss those girls already!
Now that the filming is over, I am excited to see the show that we created! But I’m even more excited about continuing my preparations for Miss America and attending the preliminaries of the 2009 pageant season! Back to work!
Well, I have to start unpacking… Whew, that’s going to take a while! But I hope to see you all soon! Thank you for your encouragement and support during these last few weeks!
posted by Blair at 6:16 pm
This marks the end of a very busy and nerve racking week- Thank You Hurricane Gustav! But even with all of the weather uncertainties, it still proved to be a pretty productive week. Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to be a part of Sophisticated Woman’s photo shoot. Sophisticated Woman is a magazine disributed primarily on the Northshore, and I was honored to pose for the magazine’s cover with Miss Louisiana Senior 2008, Mrs. Cheryl Chaucer. It was a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see the finished product!
On Saturday, I sang the National Anthem for the third game of “Bayou Jamb,” a high school football Jamboree in Monroe. This was an extra special appearance, because my Parents attended the game too (They were in town this whole week, due to the hurricane). On Sunday, I helped out at the Jerry Lewis Telethon at KNOE in Monroe, which raised money for children with Muscular Dystrophy. I gave the opening remarks at the beginning of the show and then stayed to answer the phones for a while too. I love being in a newsroom! And being there for such a wonderful cause made it even more enjoyable.
On Monday, I, along with my Mom and Dad, went to the Red Cross Shelter at the Ruston Civic Center to help out and lift the spirits of the evacuees staying there. It was a really incredible experience. I spent the day listening to the stories of people affected by past and present Hurricanes, playing with children that couldn’t quite grasp what was going on, and giving hugs to many people who just needed a smile and some reassurance. It was a day that I will never forget. I can only hope that I impacted the people that I met half as much as they impacted me. Meeting them made me even prouder than I already was to be Miss Louisiana.
Now that this week is over, I am very thankful for the safety of my loved ones and very proud to be from such a passionate, resilient state. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
-Blair
posted by Blair at 12:15 pm
This marks the end of another fun-filled week! On Tuesday, I atttended a reception at Southeastern, honoring me and the other Miss La. contestants from SLU. It was a wonderful event, and it was great getting to see so many familiar faces! I appreciate everyone at Southeastern who made the event possible!
On Thursday, I attended the Back to School event in Ruston, where I signed close to 200 autographs in a little over an hour! It was so much fun getting to see the smiling faces of so many children. And the best part was that my two Fleur de Lis Princesses, Caroline Summersgill and Caroline Menzina, were able to be there with me! Thanks for your help girls!
posted by Blair at 9:55 pm
Blair and Mickey
Whew! What a productive and fun week! For the first part of this week, I traveled to Orlando to cheer April on at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Pageant. She did a spectacular job, and I was so proud of her! While I was in Orlando, I was also able to meet 43 of the other state titleholders that I’ll be competing with at Miss America. We had so much fun together and even got to spend a full day as VIP’s in Disney World! I’m such a big kid, so Magic Kingdom was right up my alley!
On Friday, my Mom and I traveled to Atlanta to go to market with Jennifer and Mrs. Donna Dupont. We were on a mission to find two major pieces of my Miss America wardrobe. And at the end of a 12 hour intense shopping day, what do you know, we found them! What a perfect ending to this amazing week!
posted by Blair at 10:25 pm
