Finals Night

Wow, it's the end of the week. I cannot believe how timee flies; one minute we are arriving in Fresno and the next, we are getting ready to see who the next Miss California will be. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to write over the past few days, it has been incredibly busy around here! I've had such a wonderful time during all prelim nights and I truly feel that I did my best. I have prepared so hard for this point, this competition, that when I got here everything felt like second nature. I am so proud of my accomplishments, and I know that no matter what happens tonight I will continue on with life and my ssupporters will still be my supporters. Thank you so much to everyone for reading my blog, following my progress, praying for me, wishing me well, and for everything else that you have done. I love you all so very much and am so blessed to have you in my life.

I'm running out of time quickly this morning, but I did want to write a little something just to let you all know that I am thinking of you, and to let you know how I feel this morning. I think it is important to take a step back and look at yourself before something like this. We have all worked hard, all 56 women are wonderful, and each would be deserving of the title of Miss California. I want it just as badly as everyone else, and if it is meant to be, it will be. I know that this is in God's hands; only He knows the outcome, and I feel a sense of calm in believing this. As someone told me, you know who you are, "You are exactly where you are supossed to be right now." That is so incredibly true and I know that the outcome tonight is meant for me.

Thank you once again to all of you. I could not be the person that I am today without all of your love and support. Thank you to my wonderful committee for prepping me to be the best that I can be. Thank you to my family for your thoughts and prayers, and for loving me unconditionally. To my pageant family, thank you for helping me grow. You have seen the biggest changes in me over the past 5 years, and I know that you are truly excited about the young woman that I have become. To my amazing trainer, Mike, I could never look this good without you! Thanks for making me get out of bed in the morning and for inspiring me to work hard. You're the best. To my wonderful boyfriend and biggest fan, John Jay. Thnak you for sticking with me through all of my preparation. You are not new to the game, and I am so grateful to have you in my life to support me and, of course, keep me from eating those fries. I love you very much. To my Mom, Dad, and little brother - you are my biggest supporters. There is no way that I could be so calm and so ready for this without the love that you supply. You are honest with me, and that is something that not a lot of people are. You don't just try to make me feel good, you tell me what to adjust so that I can reach my full potential. I love you all so very much and am truly blessed to have you in my life. Finally, to Kati. I love you so much, and am so happy that we have developed such an amazing relationship. You are incredible. You have dealt with my freakouts, there have been a few, getting all of my wardrobe together, the many appearances we had, sometimes with a 1/2 tagging along - Miss Aubri or Sammi - and have done more than I could have ever asked of you. You support me, love me, make me cry, make me laugh, and so many girls do not get the chance to have a director as amazing as you. Thank you for everything - there is too much to list. I can't wait until Tuesday for our Housewives marathon of fun. Even if I don't win tonight, know that I will be excited to continue being Miss San Diego Cities. I have had a wonderful time with you, and I am so, so incredibly blessed to have you in my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone, I love and appreciate you all.

Whew, well that's about all I have for now. In a few short hours we will have a new Miss California!! I am so excited to learn the outcome, and will be sure to update you about what happens. I believe in myself and I believe in my efforts; I have worked hard for this, and if does happen, I will take on the position with an open mind and an open heart, and strive to be the best Miss California that I could possibly be. For now, I will just continue to remind myself, when those little butterflies sneak up, if it is meant to be, it will be...

Always,

Saundra Combs

Miss San Diego Cities 2010

1st night of Prelims!

Hey everyone! Okay well, I have to write this on word and then will try to copy and paste it so that all of you can read it! The internet is EXTREMELY slow today, but I wanted to make sure that I kept all of you updated as to what is going on here in Fresno. It has been an exciting, and surprising, competition so far, but I am very excited about all that has been going on. Let me fill you in on the last two days…

Tuesday was our very first night of competition! Because I didn’t have talent that night, I got to sleep in and enjoy a little relaxation before dress rehearsal in the afternoon. Marina and I slept until about 9, and then woke up to do a quick workout to our favorite P90X video – plyometrics. It definitely got our blood pumping, and we were ready to start the day. After that we just hung out until 12:30 when it was time to head downstairs and walk across the street to the theatre. When we got to the theatre we ate some lunch – provided, of course, by our wonderful food mommies, Patti and Bernie – and then got ready for our very first run – through of the show; did I mention that we still had no idea how the show ran, and had never done the opening number from start to finish? Well it made for some pretty fun moments later on. The dress rehearsal went a little longer than anticipated, and was a little rough to say the least, which gave us exactly 30 min to eat, get ready – hair and make-up done – get dressed, and go downstairs. Okay, I think even for a normal person this would seem like a lot to do in such a short amount of time, but for a pageant girl, this is the equivalent of saying you need to run the 100 yard dash in 9.2 seconds, there’s no way it’s going to happen!!! People were rushing all over the place, makeup was flying, hairspray was becoming the air we were breathing, and clothes were being thrown all over the room, it was crazy to say the least. Yet, somehow we all managed to be ready and downstairs, some of us skipping dinner until later, and set to begin the show right on time; a miracle!

The show went extremely well, considering we’d only done all of this once, and everyone seemed to be happy with their competition. I was very happy with my evening gown presentation, and was glad that all of my supporters thought I looked magnificent. I feel so calm and so excited, all I am trying to do is be consistent, and hopefully that pays off in the end. Anyway, Miss California announces the winner in two categories – evening gown and talent - every night. Our Tuesday night prelim winners were Sharanya Makopadai – I know I TOTALLY butchered that – Miss Yorba Linda, and Rachel Berry, Miss City of Orange. Congrats to both of these girls, you were amazing!!

Whew, well after all of the excitement of our first night, it was time to see our family! I was so ecstatic to walk across to visitation and see everyone who had come to support me. Kati, Joe, PSZ, Aubri, Sammi, Mandi, my mom, and little brother were all there waiting, and I was so happy to get to talk to them and relax just a little bit more. They are all so great, and I feel truly blessed to have such wonderful support. Thank you guys for everything!

Okay well I said I’d fill you in on two days, but I have to get ready for a luncheon! I promise to write as soon as I get a chance. Tonight is swim night, I get ice-cream before J - long story, so wish me luck! I’ve been working really hard, and now it’s time to strut my stuff! Got to go for now, but I’ll right soon. Until then…

Always,

Saundra Combs

Miss San Diego Cities

Prelim #2 COMPLETE!

Here's the update!...it WILL be short. I am exhausted! (:

First and foremost...let me report that our very own TIERRA GONZALEZ-HAMMONDS, San Diego's O/S Teen, WON EVENING WEAR! Woohoo! We are so excited and proud of you T! She also had her on-stage question portion combined with evening gown and nailed her question. The question was, "If you had a meeting with President Obama, what is one thing you would tell him?" Tierra's answer..., "I would ask him why he didn't put more manufacturing jobs in the stimulus package and..." she said a lot more but I was so excited that she nailed it that I don't remember any more!

Saundra competed in Talent tonight and it was beautiful. She dedicated her performance, "If I Could," to the mother's in the audience and man, I was in tears. I watched others wiping away tears as well so it must've been great! She had lots of compliments all around and is looking forward to performing it again (hopefully) on Saturday!

Arianna had Evening wear tonight and rocked the stage. She looked absolutely stunning in her white gown and sparkled on stage. Her hair looked perfect and she was so poised and elegant. Here's to hoping she'll be wearing it again on Saturday too! :]

Overall it was a great night and the girls were fabulous! Our little princess was the star again and her little sister looked super cute in her crown rhinestoned leggings and tutu. What can we say? We wish they all could be pageant girls...just like us! Well, it's now 1:15am and I have to be up for Arianna and Tierra's talent rehearsals tomorrow so until then...

Kati

Executive Director

Prelim #1 COMPLETE!

Hello readers...are you up? Haha, that's funny, I know. I can't believe I am but I promised Saundra I would write since she's pooped so here's the update!

Tierra competed in Lifestyle & Fitness tonight and looked stunning! She is so teen and so cute! She wore black soffee shorts with a pink (of course) shimmery halter top. She wore her hair in a pony tail and strutted her stuff. She looked fab and worked the stage like a pro.

Arianna had her On-Stage Question tonight and I may be changing the way it was asked but asked how to describe patriotism (in so many words). She talked about being honored to live in the United States and we should feel proud to be free. She also surprised me with her dress of choice tonight...it was different than what I expected. It was because another girl in her group had the dress she had planned on wearing. Thank you to Millie Grgras, Miss Beach Cities, and Cori Coleman, Miss Southland for being so congenial and coming to assist Arianna with a gown and earrings. I know she appreciates it and I do too!

Saundra competed in Evening Wear and WOW is all I can say. We had talked about this gown for forever and I knew I loved it when she wore it in my living room but oh man, when she wore it on stage, it came to life. Completely beautiful and Saundra was stunning. She also got to give "her princess" (and my daughter) Aubri flowers at the bottom of the stairs at the beginning of the number. Their faces were priceless...loved it!

Last of all...but definitely NOT least was Aubri, our California princess. Aubri had a great day! She rehearsed and was crowned and sashed by Kristy Cavinder, Miss California and Monica Stainer, California's O/S Teen. She took her nap with her crown and won't let anyone wear it...I guess she is two! She rocked the stage in her introduction tonight and posed perfectly in the opening number. She was also the cutest little princess in the evening gown portion.

Joe, Pey-Shiuan and I are SO proud of ALL of our girls tonight and can't wait for the rest of the week. It's off to bed for me...since I have to be at Saundra's talent rehearsal at 8:30! Eeek! Good night and will update soon!

Kati

Executive Director

The 4th of July and Interview Day!

Well I didn't get a chance to blog last night because I had to get prepped and ready for interview this morning! So, I will start from where I left off yesterday morning...

Marina and I had a GREAT nap, we slept for well over an hour; like I said, who would have thought I'd sleep more in Fresno than I do at home?! Afterwards we headed down for our very first rehearsal! We all had a great time being silly and attempting to remember the choreography that we learned over a month ago at orientation. It was nice to finally be doing something in preparation for the show TOMORROW! I am definitely a little nervous about the dancing and how everything will turn out, but hopefully we'll be fine...maybe say a little prayer for us if you get a chance. :) Anyway, after rehearsing for a couple of hours with one of our wonderful choreographers, Rob, we headed to our 4th of July "picnic" which Bob so wonderfully organized so that we could feel festive and celebrate our countries 243 birthday. Our picnic was in one of the salons, and we had turkey dogs, burgers, macaroni salad, potato salad, fruit - including the watermelon of course - and all of the fixings. It was so great and it definitely made spending the 4th of July in Fresno a little better. In a way it was like spending the holiday with family, our huge and evergrowing pageant family. I love all of these people to death and if I couldn't spend the 4th with my family, I would definitely spend it with these people.

After our picnic it was back to rehearsal, this time with Janet, and then shortly after that we were dismissed to watch the fireworks. We went on top of the parking structure and watched the fireworks go off all over the city of Fresno while we waited for our main attraction which was coming from the ballpark. While we waited we took a bunch of silly pictures, and had a great time. Arianna - my sista! we have a handshake now ;) - and I lead the group in patriotic songs. We had a blast! Thanks again to Bob for arranging all of this, you definitely made the holiday feel special.

The interview girls were excused early from the fireworks, so that we could prep for interview in the morning. I, thankfully, have a room facing the direction that the fireworks were coming from and was able to get a perfect view of the entire show, it was truly amazing. After all of that I wrote notes on my cards, talked to my family, talked to my wonderful and amazing ED and Associate ED, and then headed for bed. Definitely a great day and a fantastic 4th of July.

Whew, well this morning, I had interview!! We had to be downstairs at 7:30, so I woke up at the lovely time of 5:45. For those of you that know me, you know that I do not wake up this early...EVER! But I did it, and I was bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to let the judges get to know me. Of course we didn't start until 8:40 because of a delay with one of the judges, but once I got in there I was good to go. I couldn't have been more myself. I am so happy with my interview, and hope that they got to know the person that I am. Hopefully they'll remember me tomorrow!!

After interview it was off to the theatre for the remainder of the day to work on EVERYTHING! I cannot believe we have a show tomorrow, but ready or not, here it comes!

I compete in Evening Gown tomorrow, for those of you who don't know - or if you're like my family, knew but then got so excited that you completely forgot...gotta love em :) I could possibly win a prelim, but I definitely have a great group of girls, and it's anybody's game. Cross your fingers, and I will do my best to work it! Hopefully I'll have exciting news tomorrow!

I know it's a short recap of the day, but there really isn't too much to report! I cannot wait to see my family, friends, and committee tomorrow for visitation, their support means so much to me and I am so grateful to have them in my life. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, as I have mentioned before, I would not be where I am today without you. Win or lose, I know that you will still love me and be right there to support me in whatever the future holds whether it's Miss America, another local pageant, or something entirely different. I love you all very much and could not imagine my life without each and every one of you. Thank you one million times...

Until tomorrow...

Always,
Saundra Combs
Miss San Diego Cities 2010

Update from Fresno!

So...the girls are in full swing of competition so I wanted to post a little update for their followers. "Miss" interviews are on day 3 and Saundra was up bright and early to get ready. She had a fab interview and is feeling good about getting the show on the road. I'll let her update with details. :] Tierra also had her interviews and came out grinning ear to ear. She said she felt really good about it! Tomorrow is Arianna's interview and the first night of preliminary competition. We're so proud of the job the girls are doing so far and can't wait to see what happens next!

We (Joe, my babies and I) arrived at 9:30 this morning and Aubri began princess rehearsal at 11:30. She is so excited to be with the other princesses, Miss California, Kristy Cavinder and Miss California's O/S Teen, Monica Stainer. Everyone has been so nice to Aubri and she can't wait for the PJ party with the princesses and teens tonight!

Hope the girls will be able to update soon but if not, I'll be writing soon!

Until then...

Kati

MSD Executive Director

Day 2!

Okay I know this is a little late...yesterday we had a bbq, got home at around 9, Marina and I then did a P90X workout and then I talked to my mom, dad, and Kati. By the time I was done with all of that it was 11, and time for bed! So, I'm going to try to write two blogs today :)

Yesterday Marina, my beautiful roomie, had her interview! She looked great, and was definitely prepared and ready to show those judges what she's got! I helped her get ready and asked her questions that I thought the judges might ask. At 11:30, she was off. While she was gone I did an intense "ab ripper" workout - trying to keep from going stir crazy in this room - and waited to see how Marina's interview went. I am happy to report that she felt very good about her interview and that the judges got to know a lot about her. So proud of her, and so jealous that she is done with 25% of the competition!

Once Marina returned to the room, we headed downstairs to get some lunch! We were definitely hungry and I was ready to get out of the room. Patti and Bernie had a wonderful lunch of subway sandwiches - yummy - taco bell, boiled eggs, and salad set up and waiting for all of us girls. They are so amazing, and we are truly blessed to have them as our food mommies! When we were walking our of the food room, Connie Tyer stopped me and asked if I wanted to do an interview with the Fresno Bee! These are the perks of having been to Miss California a few times now :) Marina and I were both interviewed for the paper, and our article appeared in today's newspaper! The Miss California Organization is definitely getting some good press this year, especially with Marina and I talkinng about it.

Anyway, after the food and interview, we were ready for a nap, and that's exactly what we did! After sleeping for about an hour and 20 minutes, we began to get ready for the bbq. We both looked amazing - if I do say so myself - and we were ready to eat some great food. We loaded on to the bus and headed to the location that the bbq was being held. The house was AMAZING!!! I could definitely live in Fresno if I got to live in a house like this. It was right on the river, next door to a golf course, and had a HUGE yard, big enough for horses and sheep! We were all very excited and very grateful to our hosts, the Lester family. After taking a few pictures we were served a fantastic dinner of chicken, rice, salad, fruit, and tri - tip steak, by the Kiwanis of Fresno. They have served this dinner every year that I have been to Miss California and I can truly say that I am excited for it every year. Thank you again to our wonderful hosts and to the Kiwanis Club, I hope to see you again next year, but hopefully with a new title, one that starts with a "C" and ends with "alifornia." ;) we'll see, but I will be happy to return either way!
Well that's pretty much all that I have for now, like I said when we got back Marina and I worked out and talked to our family and Kati, of course. Thanks so much for reading and taking interest in what's going on up here in beautiful Fresno! Now it's time for a nap, who would've thought I'd be able to nap at Miss California, so I am going to take full advantage of it! I'll let you know how today goes - we have our first rehearsal, a picnic and fireworks tonight! Until then...

Always,

Saundra Combs

Miss San Diego Cities

Day 1!

We're here and we have officially started!!! Today was so exciting, I was so happy to see all of the girls and all of our wonderful hostesses. It is always like a family reunion when we get together :) Here's a quick recap of the day...

This morning Marina and I woke up at 9 a.m., which is amazing for Miss California, and began our day. We were excite dto get things going, but we had 5 hours to kill before we had to be downstairs, so we did a workout! Right in the middle of our thigh burner workout video, the front desk called and....WE GOT TO MOVE IN TO OUR REAL ROOM! We were so excited, one to stop our intense workout, and two to get situated and organized before we actually began the week. So, at 10:30 we moved into our home away from home and began to get organized. We're totally happy in our room and feel much better about starting this week off. It's a great feeling to be settled, now all we have to do is relax and move forward.

We had to be down in the lobby at 2:15 so Marina and I, being that we both tend to be a little late to most things, decided to be downstairs by 2:10. I am happy, and very proud, to say that we were ready by 2:00 and down in the lobby 10 minutes early! For those of you that know me, you know that this is a big accomplishment :) Once we were down in the lobby we got our name tags - which I am always excited to get - and visited with all of the girls before it was time to head to the location where the Mayor's Brunch was being held. We must have been in the right place at the right time, because Marina, Coreena Coleman (Miss Southland) and I got to ride with Vera and Chelle in the air-conditioned car - definitely a plus in Fresno. When we arrived at the location all 56 of us lined up for a picture and then headed in to give our gifts to the Mayor's representative. I have been here 4 years now and I have yet to meet the mayor of Fresno! Oh well, we had a wonderful Councilwoman greet us and she was very gracious and happy to have all of us there. Girls had some great gift ideas, and it was definitely a lot of fun! After the gift presentation it was time for a couple more pictures - of course - and then back to the hotel for a meeting with Bob and the hostesses, and dinner. Thank you so much to Patti and Bernie for feeding us all week long! They are amazing and they always make sure that we won't starve to death!

Today was also Lana Brewster's (Miss Northwest California) and Tiffany Tam's (Miss San Jose) birthday! During the meeting we sang to Happy Birthday - the most in tune I have ever heard it sung - and the girls had cake. So much fun! Happy Birthday again girls!!!

Whew, well that is the general overview of our day today! We are so happy to be here and have had a great time so far. I'm excited to be on this journey and cannot wait to see what happens next! I will definitely try to keep you updated, even if it is just a few sentences, throughout the week. Now it's time for bed, Marina has interview in the morning, woo! Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and good thoughts, everything is working out exactly the way that it is supposed to in God's plan. Like they say, we make plans and God laughs at us, I think that is the best way to look at this week. Everything will happen as it should, we have to be flexible and take a deep breath every once in a while. It is definitely a trait of Miss America, and I am working hard to remember that at every stressful moment....

Until next time...

Saundra Combs

Miss San Diego Cities 2010

Here We Go...

Well we made it to Fresno!! I cannot believe that we are here already, it seems like just yesterday that I was crowned Miss San Diego Cities, and this moment seemed to be a part of a distant future, but here it is! I could not be more excited to be here and get things going.

It took Marina and I 6 and a half hours to get here, this was mostly due to the fact that we got stuck in wonderful LA traffic; we love LA right? Once we made it past that parking lot, it was smooth sailing all the way up to very hot and very dry Fresno. Marina and I are definitely Southern California girls - used to perfect weather and a little humidity to keep the skin moist. Somehow we'll survive here! It's a miracle that we made it here with all of our stuff, Marina's car was packed to the brim, I don't think we could have put even one more garment bag in the car if we tried! We were definitely snug, but we got everything here!

We are all moved in to our room, sort of, we were a part of the unlucky few who get to change rooms on Saturday afternoon. But for now we are making the best of it and being "flexible," that's all what Miss California is about! I am sure we will all have to show some flexibility this week, Marina and I were just introduced to it first! Our wonderful hostesses are working hard to ensure that we feel ready to go, and I know that they are doing everything they can to make our stay in Fresno as stress free as possible. Thank you Connie, Connie, Mary, Chelle, and Vera!!! We love you ladies and are excited to spend time with you; you are definitely our moms away from home.

Marina and I are ABSOLUTELY exhausted, it is definitely time for bed, but I just wanted to let everyone know that we are here!!!! Sorry for the incoherent sentences, I have a feeling that the blogs to come this week will have the same scattered tone and will be very short, I need to sleep at some point! :) Thanks so much for following and for all of your support. Now it's time to get some beauty rest, it will be our last day to sleep in for quite some time I am sure! Good Night! I'll be sure to keep you updated, until then...

Always,
Saundra Combs
Miss San Diego Cities

3 MORE DAYS

Wow. 3 more days. Unbelievable.
Words cannot describe how ecstatic I am to head out to the beautiful Fresno ;] on Thursday. My lovely mother will be driving me up to Huntington Beach where I will drive the remainder with Lana (best roomie ever).
I had such an amazing time at our Send-off yesterday. The Miss SD committee is so amazing and I am truly grateful for all they have provided. Their kind words and encouragement really keeps me motivated! I also feel so blessed to have Tierra and Saundra as my sister queens; they are both so talented and beautiful and I am proud to be a part of the same program as them! I can't wait to see what this up coming week holds for all of us! We performed our talents, showed off our wardrobe, and strutted our strut; I truly believe we are ready to kick some butt! I honestly wish I could leave tomorrow ;]
We had some wonderful guests support us! Thank you Mom, Dad, Kati, Joe, Pey-Shiuan, Alexander, Robin, Shelby, Kim, Marina, Jan, Jacob, Lorena, Trish (and the list goes on) for supporting us yesterday. It truly means a lot.
A big shout out to Kati and Joe. Your help this past year, thus far, is truly outstanding. You both are so knowledgeable and I appreciate you guys sharing your wisdom with me. Glen Beck is pretty cool ;] I appreciate the fact that Kati made sure I was always aware and on time to my appearances and made these opportunities possible.
Pey-Shiuan, your photography is amazing and I appreciate all the pictures you have provided me. They tremendously help, more than you know ;]
Alexander, your training keeps me motivated, and I owe my exercise programs to you!
Kim, thank you so much for your daily interview questions. They always keep me on top of my game. Even though they can be very tricky at times.
Robin, I know you always have my back and I love our friendship. I have known you for so long, and definitely consider you a great friend. I know you will be a celebrity model someday and it is always fun seeing your new photos. you are a beautiful person inside and out.
Shelbs, I have only known you since November, and I have to thank the Miss San Diego competition for letting us meet each other. I love you so much and you are definitely one of the most down to earth, hilarious, talented, beautiful young woman I have ever met. Thank you for being a part of my life.
Jan, you are always so supportive in everything I do. You have been there since Miss California's Outstanding Teen, supported me in Orlando for Miss America's Outstanding Teen, you were there for me in Phoenix for American Idol, and are now coming to Fresno once again for Miss California. Your generosity is mind-blowing and I love spending time with you.
Mom and Dad. The biggest thank you to you both! I am what I am today because of you two. You have raised to be the best I can be and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This needs to be said a lot more, but I love you both and appreciate so much all that you do for me. I can't even begin to think of words that match my gratitude.

So this basically sounded like a farewell speech.. But its just that I have surrounded by such wonderful people and I have to thank the Miss San Diego organization for letting me meet half of the people. I just can't wait to leave and reunite with a lot of wonderful girls around the state. It is going to be a tough competition, and although I will be giving my all, I know I am going to have such an amazing experience and will treasure each moment.

Love you all,
Arianna Afsar
Miss San Diego County 2010

It's Crunch Time!!

As Saundra just said in her post yesterday, we had a wonderful time celebrating the girls' send-off and I speak on behalf of our entire committee when I say how proud we are of them! Arianna, Saundra and Tierra have worked VERY hard and are ready! I cannot wait to just get there and make all of this happen!

To recap a little, we did have our "Sundae Send-Off" Party yesterday hosted by our amazing teenie queenie mom, Lorena. Lorena - THANK YOU SO MUCH for opening your beautiful home to us and hosting our crazy girls and their families. I think we all left a little beach envious. (: The girls modeled their wardrobe and performed their talents and I am pretty sure San Diego will be something to reckon with! Now the girls are home packing like maniacs, labeling, marking off on checklists and getting ready to leave town on Thursday and Friday. I can't wait to get there on Monday to see them. I am pretty sure I'll be having withdrawals in the meantime.

I also wanted to take a minute to thank some people publicly. I would like to of course thank Lorena again for being such a great host but more so I would like to thank her for raising such a poised, intelligent and wonderful daughter. Tierra is like no other 14 year old I know and I love her to pieces. She is sweet and fun and silly but so mature at the same time. She is hard working and dedicated and you are the reason she is that way. Great job mom!

Karin and Mohammad, Arianna's parents...thank you for letting go and giving us Arianna. In just a few short weeks she's been home from school, we've gotten to see her transformation, and I'm not referencing just politically speaking. (: It has been so cool to watch her opinions form and see her life experience happen first hand. Thank you for trusting her with us and taking care of her when we aren't there.

Trish and Bill Combs, Saundra's parents...your dedication to and love for your daughter is beautiful. Your willingness to travel down here just shows how much y0u believe in her and her dedication to success. Thank you for giving me a "22 yr-old daughter" and for trusting us with her when you are away. I have told her a million times, no one will be more prepared than her, and it's because of her but also because of you and your commitment and love for her. Thank you also for spending Friday night with us and for the super yummy dinner at Bing Crosby's.

Lastly, I want to thank our team for help preparing the girls for state. It is hard work and dedication and next week will be exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time! Thank you to my wonderful husband Joe for always being up to date on what's going on in the world (which lately is A LOT) and for making sure our girls have the information. Thanks for the late night errands and handling my freak outs at 3am. By July 11th, it'll all have been worth it!

I am going to do my best to keep this updated next week while we're at Miss California so please keep checking back. We hope to be posting our girls as prelim winners and titleholders!!

Until then...

Kati Enea

Miss San Diego Pageant & Scholarship Assc.
Executive Director

Almost There...

Wow, I cannot believe that in 3 short days I will be on my way to Miss California! The time has flown by, and whether we're ready or not, the time has come! I would like to start this post by saying good luck to all of the other beautiful contestants that will be competing for the title of Miss California. Each of us has worked so hard to make it to this point, and it is important to remember that simply being a part of this program and having the ability to compete is a huge accomplishment. Congrats to all of the girls, I cannot wait to see you all soon!

Today was our Send-off party! Arianna, Tierra, and I were all hosted by Lorena Gonzalez, Tierra's mom, at her beautiful home in Crown Point, right up the street from me! We had sundaes - which none of us ate of course, too close to competing! - sun, presents, and wonderful friends and family. We showed off our wardrobe and both Arianna and I sang our talent pieces. I would just like to say that I am glad we aren't on the same talent night! She is beautiful and I am so proud of her :) It was so nice to relax and have a great time with everyone. I feel so blessed to have such a great committee who is extremely supportive and is truly excited to watch us grow in everything that we do. I know that I speak for all three of us when I say thank you, Kati, Joe Psz, and Alexander, you are all amazing and have been so wonderful to all of us. We know we will succeed at Miss California because of all that you do! Like I have said before, if I don't win, I will be happy to return to San Diego and continue to be your girl. Love you all. I would also like to thank Lorena for hosting our party and for being such an inspiring woman!

Yesterday I was invited to my rommie's send-off/birthday party. We had a blast checking out all of her wardrobe, listening to her talent, and spending time with her to celebrate all of her accomplishments. Marina is such a beautiful young lady and I am so excited for our adventure in Fresno, we are going to have a great time. Let me warn you, the girls from San Diego are definitely a force to be reckoned with! We are ready for Miss California.

My parents were here over the weekend, fresh from Hawaii and incredibly tan, to help me get all of my last minute things together. My parents have been so supportive and it is nice to know that no matter what happens they are incredibly proud of me. They have been with me every step of the way and I definitely would not be where I am today without them. I love them both so much and am so proud to be their daughter! Thank you both so much for everything you do. Anyway, they were here to make sure that I was taken care of and that I was ready to go. I had a mock interview on Friday - with possibly the toughest panel of judges I have ever had, it included a Sailor of the Year (a HUGE award in the Navy) who is now on the national board! If I am not prepared after that I don't know if I will ever be! I definitely feel prepared after their visit, and it was nice to see them for the last time before Miss California.

Well, the next few days are completely jam packed with things to do! First on the list is PACKING!! I have put off packing until now so that I wouldn't bring too much - wishful thinking, I'll probably still bring more than I need. I will be labeling and packing for the next 72 hours straight! Somewhere in there I need to get nails done, hair colored, waxing, pick up appearance clothes, have final meetings with Kati and Joe...oh and did I mention sleep? It will definitely be busy, but I love every second of it. I am truly excited to go to Miss California. It will be a new experience and I am determined to make it feel like the first time that I went, just a little more prepared this time. The goal this year has been to look at Miss California from a new angle - to be fresh and take in every experience. I realized that I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to compete at Miss California once, let alone three times. Some girls work so incredibly hard and never make it. We are all very lucky to have these opportunities presented to us. Miss California, among many other things, is about the experience and what you can do for others. I have worked so hard this year to inspire others and give young girls - maybe even older generations - a good role model in a world full of despair and negativity. This is what this program is about, and I am so excited to have had the opportunity to fulfill this role, not just once, but four times.

Well I should get back to packing, but I wanted to take one last chance to thank everyone in this program who has helped me get to this point and to become the person that I am today. You know who you are, thank you one million times for all of your support. I will try to keep everyone updated every day at Miss California. The posts will be short - I need sleep at some point - but I will be sure to cover the important things! Next time I write I will be in beautiful Fresno! Until then...

Always,

Saundra Combs

Miss San Diego Cities 2010

Two Weeks!

I cannot believe how quickly we are getting to Miss California! We are just 14 days away and I could not be more excited. The week has been so crazy with preparation, packing, and all of the other little things that have to get done before competition starts. I have tried so hard to write more frequently, but it seems as though the days fly by and before I know it, it's been a week - or more! Anyway, here is this fun and exciting week in review!

The last time I wrote I had just gotten done with mock interviews at Kathy Baldwin's house.

Again, I had a great time and was so happy to have such great feedback. This past Sunday, we had mock interviews again, this time at my wonderful director's home. Kati and Joe opened their home to the three of us - Arianna, Tierra, and myself - as well as Marina Inserra, Miss Nor. California Regional, and gave each one of us a chance to run through a full interview and then recieve feedback from our great committee. I am happy to say that I have improved since the last time, and am hoping to continue improving! I must also say, that I could get through any distraction easily after both of my mock interviews. At Kathy's house her beautiful cat decided that the "podium" we were using was actually her chair, and she wanted to hang out where everyone else was. At my interview at Kati's house, Miss Aubri, Kati's adorable little girl, decided she also wanted to be a part of the fun and asked a few questions during my interview. She's so cute and I definitely love having both her and Sammi around, even if they are a little distracting at times :)

Unfortunately I have been a little sick these past few days, but I have definitely not let it affect my preparation! I figure you don't get a day off if your Miss California, so I just have to push past it - just in case! Thankfully it happened now and not two weeks from now. Unfortunately I can't dance and I definitely can't play an instrument, so my voice is about all I have in the talent department! Have to keep it healthy and make sure that I'm all better for Miss California.

This week Marina and I have made it a point to workout with each other almost every day. Every time we get a little tired we just say, "swimsuit prelim!" and go just a little bit longer. It definitely keeps us going and pushes us to work as hard as we possibly can. Both of us are so excited to make the trip to Fresno - who'd a thought anyone would be excited to go to Fresno - and we cannot wait to see the other girls and just have a great time in general. We are both counting down the days!

Well, my family left for Hawaii today (great timing right?), they said they were going to relax for me...I'm not sure how that works, but I love them for understanding that things are too crazy for me to leave for a week - even though it would be nice to spend time with them, and be in Hawaii! I love them and am so happy that I have their support. I feel so blessed to have such a great committee who has prepped me and supported me in everything. Can't wait to see them at my farewell party!

Prep has been going extremely well, and now it's time to get the last minute alterations, make sure my emergency kits are packed, and begin organizing my bags. Kati does such a great job at making sure that each one of us feels that we have everything we need - and she has two babies! She goes above and beyond and I can't wait to make her proud at Miss California.

That's about all that I have for this week, short I know, but my life pretty much consists of sleeping, working out, a little eating, and watching the news. Oh the life of a Miss California contestant. I know it will be worth it in the end, and I can't wait to see how it all unfolds. Until next time...

Always,

Saundra Combs

Miss San Diego Cities

19 Days and Counting...

It is incredible how quickly time flies! I cannot believe that in just a few short weeks we will be headed up to Fresno for Miss California. It is absolutely crunch time, but for some strange reason I feel so calm about pretty much everything. I guess that is one of the advantages to having been there before, you learn to prepare and anticipate everything that could happen or probably will happen. I am definitely one for organization, and this week has been dedicated to making sure that I have just about everything and anything that I can think of!

Before we get to this week, I should probably tell you about last weekend first. As I mentioned in my last blog, the Southern California girls were all invited to attend mock interviews this weekend at the beautiful home of Kathy Baldwin. It was a beautiful setting and many of the girls came to have at least one mock so that they could be even better prepared for Miss California interviews. It was so nice to see everyone that came and be able to talk to them about preparation, choreography, wardrobe, and anything else that we could think of. It will be such a fun year and I can't wait to see all of these girls very, VERY, soon.

In addition to the Miss contestants having interviews, several of the Teen competitors came as well. I have been very curious as to what the dynamic will be at Miss California this year because of the addition of the teens into our program, but after having met several of them, I am sure that we will have a great time. They are really a lot of fun to be around, and while they may be a little more, what's a good word for it..., energetic, I have no doubt that they will bring an element of fun into the mostly serious atmosphere that the Miss contestants create during preliminaries. It will be interesting, but I have no doubt that we will have a great time.

Whew, well as of this week I have officially begun packing. As I said, I like to be over prepared and not too surprised by anything that could happen during competition. So this week, I have gathered all of my supplies - boxes to separate things in, emergency kit stuff, hem tape, butt glue - and am beginning to organize them into their own separate boxes, like I said, no surprises! Packing is perhaps the most intensive part of this entire thing! I am starting now but no matter how hard I try I am sure that I will still be packing the night before I leave! Oh well, I am trying to get it all done as soon as possible, we'll see how well I do!

I am almost ready to go to Miss California, there are just a few things left that I need to finish off my wardrobe. It has been quite an eventful year and I truly feel that the experiences I've had as Miss San Diego Cities will help to propel me even further. I have a great team behind me and we are all so excited to see what the outcome is this year in Fresno. Thank you so much to everyone that has helped me during this year, I feel truly blessed to have you all in my life!
Well I better get back to packing, I'll keep you updated as to how it's going...

Always,
Saundra Combs
Miss San Diego Cities

28 Days and Counting!

I cannot believe how close we are getting to heading up to Fresno for Miss California! It is always amazing how quickly the time flies by. I am so excited and am working hard in prepping and making sure that I feel my absolute best at Miss Cal this year. Here are the past few days in review...

The last time I wrote I was just about at the end of my whirlwind weekend, and what a whirlwind it was! On Sunday, Marina and I headed up to Garden Grove for the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. It was such a great time! I had so much fun seeing all of the girls and watching them perform their amazing talents. What talented and beautiful girls we have in this organization, it will be an amazing competition this year. I was excited to see everyone and to see whether anyone else had tried to practice the opening number dance moves that we had been sent via youtube earlier in May; I was happy to hear that nobody, like me, had even attempted it. I don't know about the other girls, but I am not a dancer and learning dance moves from a video is completely foreign to me - I will stick to what I know, singing. Anyway, there were quite a few girls at the festival this weekend, the list included: Miss Tustin, Sarah Salazar, who sang a great piece and had the audience going wild, Miss Fullerton, Gabby Marco, who danced beautifully - so jealous - Miss City of Orange, Rachel Berry, who danced - again, so jealous - Miss Hollywood, Lindsay Nault, who sang Summertime and did an amazing job, Miss Southland, Coreena Coleman, who sang! I was shocked because she is such an amazing dancer, so glad to see her perform with her younger brother, they were great, Miss Culver City, Laura Jean Berger, sang - again, these multi-talented girls impress me - and did a really great job. Miss Santa Barbara Co. Carley Ryckman, who did a very upbeat and fun Irish dance - I wish i could jump like that! - My sister, Miss San Diego Co. Arianna Afsar, sang - of course- even though she was sick! She did so great and I am soooo proud of her! Miss Northern Cal. Regional, Marina Inserra also sang and did a fabulous job; and of course there was our wonderful hostess, Dee Dee Saetia, Miss Garden Grove, who performed with her dance team and also did a flashy performance with her fire balls - I know that is not what they're called, but I forget what there name is, please forgive me! She was fabulous and I felt so special being included in this great group of contestants. I hope I didn't forget anyone, but if I did I will be sure to add them! Everyone did an AMAZING job, you're all wonderful girls!

After we all performed, all of the performers returned to the stage and sang God Bless America.
It was a wonderful setting and there was definitely a sense of commrodary and friendship. We all had a great time, and I am sure that I speak for everyone when I say thank you to Stacy Margolin for inviting us to be a part of such a great program.



Once we had finished, Marina and I were starving and we had to find some kind of nourishment, and of course do some shopping! We did both within a matter of an hour, and were very succesful in our venture! Before the event we ate a strawberry shortcake - loaded with strawberries and whipped cream, not exactly on the diet, but delicious nonetheless - but after the show we just needed a little something to fill us up before going home. We found something...
corn!! Okay so it's not exactly the healthiest thing, but it was so delicious, and I made sure to wipe off as much butter as possible! Marina and I had such a great time and are developing an even better friendship. This program is amazing, friendships that will last a lifetime are developed throughout our years of competition. People always ask whether we try to put each other down, sabatoge one another, or speak ill of each other, but the answer is always the same: the girls that compete in this program are all wonderful. I think the thing that people don't understand is that this is really a sorority of amazing women. I have never been around such well-rounded, motivated, beautiful, and talented people in all of my life. I think that one of the best things in this program is that we all become very close and develop relationships that will last well beyond our competition years. We are the future of this country and I can honestly say that each of these women is fully capable of creating a brighter future.
We finally got home at 11 and it was time for bed! This past week has been full of workouts and prep meetings. I have met with Kati and Joe - my dream team :) - twice this week and I am not sure what I will do without them next week! They have been so wonderful to me and I cannot express how blessed I feel to have them behind me!

On Saturday I am heading up to Kathi Baldwin's house - which I am so excited for! - to have a mock interview workshop for the So Cal girls. The practice is much needed and I am so excited to hear the feedback of such a great judging panel. I'll be sure to keep you updated! Until then, I need to get back to current events, there is so much going on, it's hard to keep up! only 28 more days...

Always,
Saundra Combs
Miss San Diego Cities

Cathcing Up!

Oh my goodness! It has been such a long time since I have written, but I have been so incredibly busy this past month. I have no idea where to begin, so I guess the best thing to do is just dive in! Here we go...

Well once we returned from Orientation I was completely exhausted from all of the activities, but as they say, there was no rest for the weary. I had papers to write and things to do before I could be done with my last year of college. That's right folks, I'm done with classes at USD! The last week of school I had over 35 pages of papers to write, gotta love being an English Major, and even better, they were all due on the same day; talk about stress! I spent over 30 hours in the library - in two days mind you - working on papers, researching, and writing, but the relief I felt after submitting my last paper was amazing, I can't even describe the weight that was lifted from my shoulders!

I was so excited to see my family that weekend, they came down for graduation, and we spent a great 3 days together checking out our favorite places in San Diego. It really is a great city and I feel so blessed to live here. I couldn't imagine a better place to represent this year at Miss California than my own home town!

Well, speaking of Miss California, I cant believe there are only 33 days before we head back up to Fresno! I feel like orientation was last weekend! Time really flies when you're busy. Anyway, it's crunch time to say the least, and I am working extremely hard to make sure that I am as ready as I can be. Everything has come so naturally this year, my wardrobe was easy to find, and I feel that I am the most calm that I have ever been. Now it's just time to work off those last few pounds, put finishing touches on my talent, keep up with current events, and get all of my things organized so that I don't have to think about anything but competing while I am there. I am so excited and I really can't wait to head up.
Whew, well that was a quick overview of what I've been up to, but there is more to talk about! This weekend I have appearances every day - if I do become Miss California I will totally be prepared for the busy schedule!

On Thursday, Marina, Miss Northern California Regional, and I attended a Sex and the City 2 premiere event. We got to model fabulous clothes - from my clothing sponsor Be Beauty - and were able to wear beautifully crafted hats. It was so fun and we had a great time meeting new people and, of course, getting to wear some great stuff. Marina and I have had a wonderful time working out and making appearances with each other, we are beginning to be joined at the hip! Thanks to Tara and Juju at Be Beauty for the fun opportunity!

Friday, I was fortunate enough to be invited to visit Rady Children's Hospital. Myself, along with Kristy, our beautiful Miss CA, Justine, Miss Blythe, Katie, Miss East San Diego, and Miss Nor. Cal Regional, Marina, spent time with the children in the care of this wonderful staff of doctors and nurses. I have visited Children's hospitals before, but it never ceases to amaze me how strong the children, and their parents are. It makes you appreciate what you have, health, family, love, and you realize that while things can get bad we are blessed that we do not have to deal with daily life the way that these people do. I visited the Oncology wing of the hospital - where patients with cancer are being treated through Chemotherapy and other types of medication, etc. There were kids of all ages, from 6 months to 17 years old. The nurses asked each room whether they wanted a visit from me, and for the most part - except for those that were feeling very sick - they all wanted me to come in. The kids were great. I cannot express how wonderful it was to walk into a room and see a child look up and watch every move that I made with a giant grin on their face. They were so happy to see a princess and most of the little girls were too speechless to say much. I felt so happy that I could make them smile and put just a little bit of joy into their life of severe pain. They all wanted to touch my crown and try on my sash. One girl put it on and began to show me her pageant wave. They were adorable. If it wasn't enough to make the kids happy, what was perhaps even more rewarding was to see the smiles on their parents' faces. These kids have really only known what life is like in a hospital, but their parents know that there is more for them. For parents I am sure that it is almost more difficult to deal with the pain that their child is going through, I am sure that anyone of them would trade places with their child in a heartbeat. To make them smile and thank me for making their child's day so much better, was priceless. We should all feel blessed for what we do have. These people are so strong and it was inspiring to be a part of their lives, if only for a moment. Thank you so much to Chelle Hyde for inviting me to be a part of this life-changing experience.

Today, I was invited to the Cub Scout Memorial Day Event. What a difference to see children running around, playing, yelling, and having fun when just the day before I was with children who will never experience that. It was fun to be around the kids as they placed a single American flag on each one of the headstones. Now there were not just several headstones, there were thousands; and what was even more amazing was that they put a flag on each one in a single hour! Amazing!!! The boys were not too excited to see me - they were too cool - but the little girls all wanted to see my crown and wanted to be sure to get an autograph card. I have never been more aware of the differences between little boys and girls! They were funny to watch. Thank you to the Cub Scouts for inviting me to be a part of this great event celebrating what this holiday is truly about.

Tomorrow, I'll be headed up to the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival. It will be great to see the other girls and have a great time hopefully eating lots of strawberries! I will let you know how it goes, much sooner this time!

Well at the cost of boring you, I am going to say good bye for now - plus it's time for a nap, I've been up since 5 a.m.! It's been a busy month, but I am so happy for all of the opportunities. Thank you to everyone who has helped me this far, you are all amazing! Until next time...

Always,
Saundra Combs
Miss San Diego Cities 2010

So I finally have a break for the day! I finished my last midterm yesterday and I am getting ready for Spring Sing this Friday! This is a huge competition on UCLA's campus where over 10,000 people come to watch the performances. Last year they had Julie Andrews as the guest speaker, so I am very curious to see who comes this time! I am performing twice once with my Acapella group: Scattertones and once with my friend Kabir performing my original song. This is extremely exciting, for getting in as freshman is quite exhilarating. I am also so pumped to be singing my original song, for Kabir arranged the piece for guitar (it was originally created for piano) while i wrote the song. Here is a link to the article http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/5/10/four-duet-acts-present-variety-style-spring-sing/.
After this extravaganza is over, I will be finally going home after such a long midterm oriented month. I am planning to work out with Alexander and have a meeting with the committee because it has honestly been too long! :[ Next week my mom will be coming up and we will be going around in LA looking for my competition dress. I haven't found the perfect one yet! The following weekend I also will be going back home, for I will be performing at the USO banquet. I am so excited for school to be over on June 11, so July can come sooner!! Well off to practice!

Love
Arianna Afsar
Miss San Diego County 2010

WOW what a wonderful experience at Miss CA orientation. I can't even try to list all that we did, because it was such a packed weekend. All I know is that I was able to make wonderful memories with the whole Miss SD committee. Saudra and Tierra are amazing and I could not have asked for better directors. Honestly having Kati, Joe, Pey-Shiuan, Alexander, and Mandi there was the next best thing to having my mom. :] The weekend went very smoothly and I had a blast in the mock interview and talent rehearsal. This whole weekend got me very very excited for July! I found my roommate Lana (facebook official as we said) ;] !! And I know we are going to have a blast. Every girl honestly is so nice and I feel blessed to be surrounded with so many talented, beatiful and genuine girls! Saundra thank you for the wonderful cow slippers. They honestly saved my feet from despair! I'm sorry this blog is so short. Midterm tomorow
:[ But I hope everyone has a wonderful mother's day weekend. Thankfully my mom is coming up to LA so I can see her. It has been months since I have last seen her! SOO excited :]

Love
Arianna Afsar
Miss San Diego County 2010

Recovered from Orientation...almost

Well, we've officially been home for three days but I am pretty sure we're all still recovering from the trip. We all needed a weekend from our weekend! :) I just wanted to update from mine and Joe's perspective and let all of our readers know how proud we are of our girls (and our adopted one). :) This weekend was a great trip and we all got to know each other even better than before. Our girls looked poised and polished and have made a great lead on preparing for the state competition. It was so nice to spend the weekend and be excited with the girls and assist them along the way.
As Saundra noted, the lottery was stressful. I spent the early hours with Arianna, while Joe was with Saundra and strategized. In the end, I could not be more thrilled of their placements and am certain I will be more than stressed each night of competition, waiting to hear talent and evening gown winner announcements. While we were handling our lottery, PSZ and Tierra handled theirs and I must add that Tierra ended up with a fantastic spot as well. In the end, I truly don't think it will matter. I think if the judges are looking for any of our girls, they will find them but I am thrilled with the advantage I think they got.
All in all, I think the weekend was fantastic and definitely started off the season right! I can't wait to go back in 10 short weeks (who thought I'd ever say that?!) and watch our girls on that stage! It's going to be a great trip. I am VERY proud of all of girls and feel honored to be their ED. (:

Back Home!

Well I am finally able to write again, my last blog was interrupted by an unruly computer that decided it didn't want to work anymore! So I will go ahead and pick up where I left off...

As I mentioned before, we all had a wonderful 9 hour drive to Fresno and thankfully made it there in one piece. When we arrived we were greeted by several other contestants who had arrived shortly before us, and with that, the weekend of pageantry began! Although we arrived and were checked into our rooms at about 11:30, the three of us still found it absolutely essential that we work out, so we all headed to the gym where Alexander made sure that our machines - there were only about three of them in the room, so we took over - were set at a fairly high intensity in order to make sure that we were working our hardest! After about 30 minutes in the gym we headed back to our room to have a meeting with Kati and PSZ to make sure that we knew when we were meeting in the morning and what to expect for the next day. Because there was a lottery - which was a great addition to this year's competition - we decided it was best to get up at 5:30, yep, a.m., in order to be the first in line at 7! Keep in mind that it is now about 12:30 and we still needed to unpack and get ready for bed. Needless to say, it was time for bed, and with that our Friday ended.

The alarm could not have come earlier... at 5:30 we were awakened by, not birds chirping, but the loudest ringing of the loudest and most obnoxious phone in the world. We were absolutely exhausted, but were ready to see what the day had in store for us! We all got ready, surprisingly, we each had enough space for all of our make-up, hair supplies, and everything else that we needed, it just took a little shuffling around each other every once in a while. at 6:30 Arianna and I met Kati and Joe, and we headed down to the lobby. We were VERY early! But within 10 minutes of sitting and chatting, people began to arrive. Russ Gladden and Lynn Blackburn walked into the lobby and after hugs all around, began to set up the lottery. Arianna and I were the first in line to check in and to pick our lottery numbers. Lucky duck Arianna picked number 6! Which meant she was one of the first to pick her spot in the line-up. I, not so luckily, picked number 35... I guess that's why they call it a lottery, huh?

We had breakfast at 8 and then had our first meeting with Bob, where we were introduced to the state staff and, of course, Miss California 2009, Kristy Cavinder. Once this was over, it was time to start the days activities! The lottery went extremely quickly, and it was quite intense! There was strategizing involved in placement , and while every one kept saying, "if they're meant to find you they will no matter where you are," we all knew that having some advantage would maybe make their decision easier. :) Joe and I stood, hovering over the boards, in order to see which spots were being taken and who they were being taken by. We kept a watchful eye on my first priority spot, Delta group number 4, and watched and cringed as girls chose their positions. I have never been so stressed in my life! It was incredibly fun and went incredibly quickly! Before I knew it, it was my turn to pick... My first priority group was still open, but I didn't choose it immediately, I wanted to weigh my options, and after about 3 minutes of going back and forth, I finally chose Gamma group number 4 :) I am so thrilled with my placement and love all of the girls in my group! It will be a tough night, but I guarantee it will make for a great show.

Once the lottery was done it was time to move on to all of our other appointments. Everything went very well and I got some wonderful feedback from the very capable state staff. They are always so helpful, and I feel blessed to have them as a part of the California team! After appointments it was time to go to dinner! We bought raffle tickets, and I am proud to say that the Miss San Diego table was by far the loudest, and won the most amount of dresses! GO MSD!! We had a quick dinner and then were excused for our first rehearsal from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. It was a looong day, and the last thing most of us wanted to do was rehearse, but it made for a wonderful opportunity to meet all of the girls, and in the end we all had a good time.

After rehearsal we finally went back to the room, but ended up staying up for another 3 hours discussing events of the day with our wonderful committee. It was so much fun, but made for a very long day.

The next morning we woke up at 6 a.m. Tierra had set an alarm for her and Arianna at 5:30, but neither of them even budged when the loud, obnoxious phone rang, so yours truly had the honor of jumping out of the cot to answer the phone in the bathroom, and of course as soon as I arrived to answer it, it stopped! I then attempted to wake the girls up, but neither of them budged! I decided to let them sleep, and I went back to bed. We finally got up at 6 and prepped to go to our final meetings and rehearsals.

We were finally done at 3 p.m. and headed back home. We had such a wonderful time, and I was thrilled to meet all of the girls. Each one of these young women is so incredibly talented and would make a wonderful Miss California. It's going to be a tough competition in July!

WHEW!! well at the cost of boring you, I will stop there for today! We have a busy few months ahead, and I will be sure to keep you all updated, until then...

Always,

Saundra Combs

Miss San Diego Cities

During Orientation!...but not quite completed... (:

I'm working on about 4 hours of sleep, so please bear with me if things are misspelled or if they don't make too much sense! It has been a loooong weekend already, and we have only gotten through one day! It's been fun meeting all of the girls that I haven't met before, and all of those that I've met before, but have not seen for quite some time; but before talking about orientation, let me fill you in on this past week...

Well, as I mentioned in my last post, we had to attempt to pack in one duffel bag, let's just say that didn't work out so well. I ended up having one VERY full duffel bag, one overflowing gym bag, and a loaded purse, just a bit more than I was allowed, but somehow we all fit, and we made it all the way to Fresno after a very long, but entertaining 9 hour drive. We attempted to leave at 11, but in true Miss San Diego fashion, we ended up leaving at 1, we just lost a one somewhere along the way. The van included the entire San Diego team, and one straggler - Miss Northern California Regional, Marina Inserra, and my roommate of course! We had a great time bonding and I am absolutely positive that we grew closer together than we ever thought we could! We may have learned a little more about each other than we wanted to, but we had a great time anyway. We know so much I guess we're stuck together!

More to come...

Arianna's week in Review...

Wow! This has been a crazyyyyy weekend!! It all started Saturday at the Relay for Life where my A Capella group: Scattertones performed and participated for a bit. I was able to sing the solo for Taking Chances which was a lot of fun. Our group unfortunately lost a member this year to cancer so we are always inspired by Brooks Paul! WE LOVE YOU!!!

So we started on the road around 5pm and stopped at the weird Dinosaur park. Yes Dinersaur not Dinosaur. The boys in our A Capella group were so excited for this adventure that the girls had to give in. It was around 8pm and we saw these Dinosaur statues and that was it. They had a great time so I guess it was worth it. Hahah ;] We then stopped at "Mad Greece" which was the only restaurant for miles in Baker. The food was decent for being in the middle of no where! Alexander!! I got the most healthy thing on the menu (but for this food that is not saying much)! ahaha OH side note! I also went swimming before we left in order to enjoy the rest of my day and not worry about working out ;] When we got to the hotel we immediately crashed because we had to wake up at 7am for the long day ahead.

We got to the MGM around 930 and checked in and directly headed to the dressing room. We began with the dress rehearsal and on the way over we saw Reba and she threw us a quick "How yall doing?" AHH she is so amazing! I love her! We then performed with Taylor who gave us a quick hello before she was whisked away to her dressing room. Then we were able to watch the rest of the dress rehearsal where we saw Carrie Underwood cry after her performance of "Temporary Home." She has such an amazing voice; her performance was perfect. We then ate lunch and started getting ready for the show. There was quite some downtime so I was able to finish an essay I had due that Monday! We were able to get our hair and make-up done by the professionals ;] and then sat in our seats for the show. It was such an enormous theater; I was just astounded. The first time I walked into the theater, I started tearing up. Hopefully in the future I'll be the one performing!!! We then quickly headed on stage and sang at the exhilarating performance. Afterwards we were lucky enough to watch the rest of the performance.

After the show we were heading back to a restaurant when we got a phone call: YOU ARE INVITED TO THE AFTER PARTY! Ahhhhh It was so exciting. It was like another concert all over again but up close and personal. We were able to see Gretchen Wilson who is undeniable one of the BEST country singers EVER. I have never been so amazed and starstruck!
We then headed out around 12 to get back at 5am! I then went to my 11am class (waking up at 9am to finish my essay) and headed out with the rest of my day. Conclusion: Craziest weekend EVER!

Honestly life has been so crazy lately. I have not had a free weekend in I don't event remember when! 2 trips to Vegas in one week? Unbelievable. Now I am heading off to Fresno this weekend. Sometimes I don't even understand how I keep up with everything, but I do it somehow and I absolutely love it! Being busy thrills me :] Going back to Fresno: I am SOOO excited for this weekend. I finally will be able to bond with all the wonderful, beautiful and talented girls. This will be such a different experience being a Miss and I can't wait! Well now I'm off to finish reading some articles for my Stem Cell Research class which is FINALLY getting interesting. Yesterday we had a heated debate and of course I was the liberal fighter! And then after 3B (calc bc) I'm off to the gym! bye for now

Arianna Afsar
Miss San Diego County 2010

Super cute picture!

Tried to add this picture into the last post, but for some reason it didn't work! The three of us have been having a great time together, and this picture totally sums it up! This is taken from our Artrero shoot from a few weeks back. HUGE thank you to Cheryl Daen for doing our hair and make-up, to Be Beauty for the great wardrobe, and to Ed for taking some great pics. We have a wonderful committee and I feel so blessed to have such a great team, and such wonderful girls as my sister titleholders!


Well back to packing...don't forget to follow us on facebook as well!

Always,
Saundra Combs
Miss San Diego Cities 2010

From PSZ...

hi y'all.. i'm not sure what i'm supposed to blog about now that saundra and kati already told you pretty much everything that's happened in the last few days :p

alexander and i went over to tierra's house saturday night to help her and lorena (t's awesome mom) decide what t should bring to orientation next weekend.. sometimes i wish i was a teen again, not only to be super skinny :p but to wear all the cute clothes, like tierra has - haha.. after talking about what to bring and a brief discussion of straight hair vs curly hair, the 4 of us headed to barefoot bar & grill at paradise pt for a lovely dinner bayside.. at dinner, we talked more about orientation, alexander gave t some "workout assignments", and we ended the night by celebrating alexander's "b-day" :)

as saundra and kati both blogged, we met sunday night to see saundra's G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S talent gown, wrap up last minute details before orientation, and really just to hang out.. while i know there are so many other committees that are a part of the miss ca organization, i have to say that i feel really fortunate to be a part of ours - we have been thru a roller coaster ride thru the years, and i know this year is going to be THE best one yet.. we have 3 talented, beautiful, intelligent, enthusiastic, super F::A::B::U::L::O::U::S ladies that we get to spend the year with - who could ask for more! :D

things could get crazy on the trip to fresno this coming weekend, so stay tuned! oh, and FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK!!!! ;p

xoxo
~*psz*~

Orientation Week!

This is the first chance that I am getting to write after a very relaxing weekend! This was the first time that I have had a weekend free of appearances for Miss SD, although we somehow found a way to fit in a prep meeting. I think that Kati just likes hanging out with us :)We had a few last minute things to organize before the big weekend coming up, and we also got together to watch Arianna on the American Academy of Country Music Awards! She was chosen to sing back up for Taylor Swift during the awards ceremony, and we saw her front and center in the choir! It was so great to watch her and scream at the TV, "I SEE HER!! SHE'S RIGHT THERE!" People in the surrounding condos were probably wondering what was going on, but we were not shy in showing our excitement for Arianna. Great Job girl, you looked great!

Anyway, we'll continue on with the rest of the week! Surprisingly, this week was very quiet! We didn't have any appearances, and I was able to focus on school - two 10 page papers due within two days of each other, so it was a much needed break to say the least! I had workouts with Alexander, I swear he was trying to kill me for eating that pancake at Denny's the week before, and met with Kati and Joe to discuss orientation and my talent gown. We have the dress, but that's about all I can tell you, it's top secret ;) Other than these few things, I really don't have a lot to report back as far as Miss San Diego activities. My new headshot is on the Miss California website, so be sure to check that out along with the pictures of the other beautiful young women that I will be competing against!

In addition to school, I was able to take this past week/weekend, to take in the beautiful city that I live in, and all that it has to offer. I went to a Padres game on Saturday, (they won, so that's always good!) went to the beach on Thursday, roller-bladed on the boardwalk Wednesday, and went shopping in Pacific Beach on Friday! Oh and of course, I got a pedicure with Tierra, our teen, on Sunday before we went to our prep meeting at Kati's house! She got pink with a flower design, and I got red with a design. Very appropriate for a teen and miss! I know, it's a horrible place to live, but someone has to! I am definitely a believer in doing things that make you happy and let you get away from the world, even if it's just for a few minutes or an hour. All of these things help me to relax and get geared up for all that is to come!

Speaking of all that is to come, orientation is this weekend, and I could not be more excited! I am thrilled to be able to meet all of the young women competing and be able to get to know them a lot better than I do now. I am also excited to be reunited with those girls that I have competed with in previous pageants. It really is like a big reunion every time we get together. A sisterhood is formed through the competition and I know that these girls are some of the best friends that I have. We can go for months without speaking, but when we get back together, it's as though we never left! It's hard to believe that this week has come so quickly, but I'm glad it's here! It will also be nice to see Kristy Cavinder, Miss CA 2009, and all of the directors and volunteers that work behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly. They are such great people, and it is always a joy to see them.

Well, that's about all I have for today! I know it's not much, but I am sure that I will have much more to report back after this weekend. For now, I have to go figure out a way to fit 10 different outfits, hair supplies, toiletries, jewelry, and of course, shoes, into one, maybe two, duffel bags! There are 10 people driving up to Fresno in our van, so it's going to be a little crowded...We'll have a great time, and I'm sure we'll all know each other a lot better at the end! Although I'm not sure how much more I could know! I'll let you all know how it goes, wish me luck! Until then...

Always,
Saundra Combs
Miss San Diego Cities 2010