Prelim's for Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008, Friday, June 6th!

On Friday, June 6th I attended the prelim's to Mrs. Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin America pageant. All three states were competing in interview, swimsuit, and costume and what a fun day it was! Here I am with good friend and contestant, Ann Marie Moore, Mrs. St. Paul just waiting to compete in swimsuit. It was great meeting all the girls in all three states. Everyone was so excited for the pageant to begin and it was a tough competition all around.

Here I am with Holly Ernst, Mrs MN 2006 as we wait to enter the prelim room where we got the chance to sit with the judges and watch each state compete in swimsuit and costume.

After prelim's were done, I got the chance to take a picture with judge Denise Loo who is the president and founder of Happy Buddha Tourbillon Watches. She gave a gorgeous watch worth $2,750 to the new winner!

Here I am with Jayne Black, Mrs. Wisconsin-America 2007 and all the judges.

During the interviews, Mrs WI and I had to go record our farewell speech at the recording studio, SPNN in St. Paul.

Here is Mrs. Wisconsin-America 2007, Jayne Black getting ready to record her farewell speech.

Good job Jayne!

Twins Game, Monday, May 12th

On Monday night I had the great honor and opportunity to throw out the first pitch at the Twins game. They were playing against my home team, the Boston Red Sox but I have to say I am a huge fan of both teams. The Twins ended up winning and it was a great game. I threw the ball pretty close to home plate since it was only 60 feet from the mound to home plate. Here I am before throwing out the ball. After I threw the ball I got it signed by Justin Morneau so that was a great surprise!

Here are a few fans of the Twins! They were so cute!

Me and TC the mascot before going out on the field.

Me on the mound getting ready to throw out the ball!

TC giving me the ball back after throwing it out to him.

Me, Emily, my hair stylist and Farrah, another great hair stylist from the Hair District having a great time at the game. Thanks girls for coming to the game!

Cocktail Party, Saturday May 10th!

On Saturday, May 10th my husband and I held a cocktail party at our home for all the new contestants competing for the Mrs. Minnesota-America title. We were also glad that we had a Wisconsin contestant attend too. Even though it was raining all day, the turnout was great and everyone had a wonderful time with food, drinks, and a little bit of shopping at my boutique. From L-R, Carl Schway, Director of the pageant, Wendy Russo, Angeline Gard, Penny Godbout, Ann Marie Moore, me, Denise Woods, Tami, Tibby, and Faith Schway, Director of the pageant.





Faith Schway, Director and Owner of the Mrs. MN, WI, and IA America pageants. Thank you Faith for the delicious dessert platter that you made for the party. You make the BEST brownies! Thank you for an unbelievable year!














Wendy Russo, Mrs. Eden Prairie, Faith Schway, and me at the party.












Dennis and Cheryl Trainor and my husband Sam, being great bartenders!
















Kim Dorn, Mrs. MN 2005, Faith Schway, Me, Mary Johnson, Mrs. MN 1982, Robin Duffney, Mrs. MN 1995, Holly Ernst, Mrs. MN 2006, all having a great time at the party!















Me and good friend Susie Trebesh. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and thank you for all your support!























Wendy Russo, Mrs. Eden Prairie, Denise Woods, Mrs. North Oaks, Holly Ernst, Mrs. MN 2006, and Penny Godbout, Mrs. Hudson.
















From L-R, Wendy Russo, Mrs. Eden Prairie, Denise Woods, Mrs. North Oaks, me, Holly Ernst, Mrs. MN 2006, Penny Godbout, Mrs. Hudson, Ann Marie Moore, Mrs. St. Paul, and Kim Dorn, Mrs. MN 2005 all having a great time and posing for many pictures.

Pre-Pageant Party at the Hair District of Edina!

On Wednesday, May 7th the Hair District in Edina hosted a party for all the new contestants for the Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008 title. It was a great time getting to know all the women and enjoying some delicious food. From L-R, Emily my phenomenal hairstylist, me, and Jaime, my incredible makeup artist posing before everyone arrives. I thank them both for all the wonderful looks and laughs we've had over the past year during my reign. They are the best in the business!

Here we are crowning Jaime as Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008! O.k we were all goofing around and having fun with the crown.

After the crowning, we all started fighting over who gets the crown!

Here I am with the owner of The Hair District, Gary. Gary is so sweet and another great stylist.

Me and the one that gives me those unbelievable curls, Emily!

Me and my favorite makeup artist who always makes me feel beautiful, Jaime!

From L-R, Ann Marie Moore, Mrs. St. Paul, me and Charity McClung a former Mrs. Minnesota-America enjoying the party.

March 24, 2008, The arrival of our new baby girl!

On Sunday, March 23rd at 11:30pm my water broke as I was going to bed. I knew this was the night that things were going to happen. I didn't realize it was going to take me 14 hours of labor until I would see my beautiful baby girl. After a very, very long night and early Monday morning, I pushed for 45 minutes and at 2:02pm out came Sophia Giannakakis weighing 7 lbs. 1 oz, 19.5 inches long. The nurses couldn't believe how much hair she had! She was absolutely beautiful and a very calm baby, only cried once when she came out. We are all home now 2 days after her birth and enjoying holding her, taking pictures in all her fun outfits, and just staring at her all day long.

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Baby Sophia swaddled and exhausted.

Miss Teen, Miss, & Mrs. Minnesota International!

On Sunday, March 9th I attended the Miss Teen, Miss, and Mrs. Minnesota International pageant in St. Cloud, Minnesota. It was a wonderful pageant since it was my first time attending. I was not allowed to take pictures even with my flash turned off so I still decided to sneak some pictures in. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the winners, but you can google it and see pictures on their site.

Here is Alyssa Tryggeseth, Miss Teen Buffalo, who came in 4th runner-up. Great job Alyssa!

Here is Keisha Levitz, Miss Mankato who came in 2nd runner-up. You did great Keisha!

Here is Meghan Retzlaff, Miss Teen Clear Lake, who came in as 1st runner-up! Awesome job Meghan. Meghan also won the award for "Best in Fashion Fun Wear" that she rented from my boutique.

Keisha competing in her evening gown looking gorgeous.

That is all the pictures I have since I was not allowed to take anymore. Sorry but do check out their site. :)

Grand Opening for Bessie's Boutique

On Sunday, January 27th I had a grand opening for my new boutique. It was a great turnout and everyone really enjoyed seeing the new trends for spring. Thank you to everyone who attended and for your support. I am so excited about this new venture and I have plans already to do alot of traveling throughout the year to bring back the latest in couture fashion. Please visit my site weekly at http://www.bessieboutique.com/ where I update it every week with new and one of a kind items. If you can't find it on my site, just email me with any requests.

I am having my logo done in clear swarovski rhinestones and made into tank tops, so if you are interested in wearing one of my shirts, just let me know. Hope you enjoy my site!

Here is the cake I ordered with the store's logo on it.