Tomorrow night, she will conclude prelims with her On Stage Question - and we know she will "rock". Sunday is an off day, then it's the National Show Monday night - which mostly focuses on top 10. We just know she'll be in that group (and we're not even biased)!

Behind the scenes she is rooming with Miss New Hampshire and has loved getting to know her. Hilary has also just been named to be a top 7 finalist for the Quality of Life Award - a separate award judged solely on her platform activities and community service.

So far, one of the neatest experiences was so see the families of all the other contestants in the auditorium cheering and supporting not only their own contestants, but the talents and gifts of the other amazing young ladies in this competition. It's a great chance to be reminded that even at a high-profile, national competition, you can still focus on what we all have in common - and that's the power of relationships.

I haven’t written in a few days because we’ve been so busy, so let me catch you all up on what we’ve been doing. On Sunday, the contestants all got to go to a special private screening of “Dreamgirls.” It was SO good… it made me want to put on a sequined dress and belt out a song! On Monday, we had a bunch of rehearsals, and then we went on a gondola ride at the Venetian hotel. That was amazing, and we got serenaded in Italian on our gondolas.  Tuesday was filled with—you guessed it—rehearsals, and then we went to dinner at the Planet Hollywood. That was great… after dinner they cleared out the tables and turned on music so we could get our groove on!

I’m having the time of my life in Vegas. The only bummer is that I did come down with a cold, and I’m feeling a bit under the weather. I’m just trying to rest up and get better so I can perform my talent (I’m a vocalist) on Friday. But I’m thinking positive… I WILL get better!

Talk to you soon!

Today, we had a full day of rehearsals, and then we took part in a fashion show at a mall in Vegas. We got to walk the runway after coming up out of the floor in a giant glass box (I know it’s hard to picture…work with me here!) and then we signed autographs for about a billion people. It was so fun to meet some of the Las Vegas locals as well as tourists. After the fashion show, we had a VIP reception at the Aladdin, and now I’m back in my room blogging away.

Tomorrow should be fun… some more rehearsals, and then we get to go to a special screening of the new movie “Dreamgirls.” I’m so excited because I really wanted to see that movie, and I heard it’s great.

So I’m having a wonderful time, and I can’t wait to see what else Miss America has in store for me. I’ll definitely keep you posted!

I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. But I’m also VERY glad we’re driving… I’m getting up there a day early, so I can have one more night of “chill time.” The other girls will arrive tomorrow, and then the exciting week begins!

I’ll keep everyone updated on what my schedule is looking like once I get there. So far, I know we have a gondola ride through the Venetian, a dinner at the Hard Rock Café, a fashion show, a charity dinner and A LOT of rehearsals! I’m sure there will be more things that I don’t know about yet… but that’s all part of the fun!

Talk to you from Vegas!

This week is full of last-minute appointments. Today was my last upper-body workout with my trainer (yay!) and a session of eyebrow threading. Fun stuff, huh? I do have to give a big thank you to my trainer, Joe Steel…he is amazing! I have never had muscles before, and even though they hurt, at least they’re there!

It’s amazing how your brain can work on so many different tasks at the same time. While I’m writing this blog, I’m eating dinner, doing laundry, packing, doing homework for my ASU online class, and watching TV. Granted, all those things might not be done to the best of my ability, but it’s all good!

I can’t believe I only have one more full day here! Tomorrow is PACKED with appointments, but they’re all fun beauty-type appointments, so I’m looking forward to it!

I’m about two days out from when I leave, and things are crazy! I had my trunk show on Saturday night, and it was so much fun! I modeled my wardrobe for Miss America… everything from the interview suit to the swimsuit to the evening gown. My dad and my uncle hosted the event, so it was an evening full of embarrassing stories about my childhood. Hopefully everyone was at least somewhat entertained… or they faked it really well.

I’m starting to get the little butterflies of excitement in my stomach… I can’t believe it’s so close! Some people have asked how to get tickets to the pageant, so I’m going to give all the info:

What: Miss America 2007
Where: The Aladdin/Planet Hollywood Casino, Las Vegas
When: January 25-29, 2007
How to get Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com

If you want to watch the pageant on TV, the final night will air on January 29, 2007, on Country Music Television (CMT). Hopefully I’ll make the top 10 so you can see me compete!

I’m going to try to do more frequent blogs while I’m gone on my trip. I’m not sure how much time I have or if I’ll have Internet access, but hopefully I can keep everyone informed on what’s going on in Vegas!

-- Hilary

I’m doing everything I possibly can to prepare. I get one shot at Miss America, so I want to make sure I do everything to the best of my ability. So I’m working out with my trainer, Joe Steel, four to five times a week. (By the way, how cool is it that my trainer’s last name is Steel… could you ask for a more “personal trainer-ish” name? Hehe!) And then I’m working on interview, talent, etc. and trying to get my wardrobe in order. We had a slight wardrobe malfunction with one of my dresses, but my mom is amazing and managed to fix it! Thanks, mom!

This Saturday is my Trunk Show, which is basically a sneak preview of my wardrobe for Miss America. I’ll be modeling everything I’m wearing in the pageant, and I’ll perform my talent. It should be a really fun event, and Channel 3 will be out there with me! I can’t wait!

Next week, my appointments go into overdrive. I have a hair appointment, a nail appointment, a facial, an eyebrow appointment, and a body wrap. How insane is that? I’ll try not to get too nervous that I can’t enjoy the pampering!

But don’t worry; I’m still doing appearances as Miss Arizona in the midst of all the crazy preparations. Last Thursday, I spoke at the Eyman Prison Complex in Florence. Tomorrow, I’m filming a video that will be used at a youth conference while I’m at Miss America. I’m trying to keep up with my job even though I’m running around like crazy!

Well, I’ll have one more blog entry before I go, so I’ll talk to you next week!

-- Hilary

Thursday night, December 22nd I sang the National Anthem at the Coyotes game. But it gets better... the Coyotes were playing the Edmonton Oilers, so I got to sing the Canadian Anthem, too! It was really fun to hear everyone singing along with the Canadian Anthem... I guess there were a lot of Oilers fans there! I signed autographs during the first intermission and second period, and it was fun to meet some of the hockey fans. It was my first hockey game ever, and I don’t know how I can top it!

Well, I’m off to do some shopping and errands. I hope everyone has a happy holiday season!

The appearance went great, and things have been moving along ever since. I finished up my paperwork for the Quality of Life Award, which is a scholarship that Miss America gives out for work on your platform. The application was a lot of work, and now I can focus solely on Miss America preparations. Phew!

Today I spoke to a group of Project Ideal teachers in the Peoria School District. Project Ideal is a program for gifted students, and I was in the program from 2nd through 8th grade. It’s an amazing opportunity for students, and it was fun to share how my experience with it has helped me throughout my life and as Miss Arizona.

I’m SO excited for next week… I have a lot of fun events coming up. I get to go to Las Vegas for the premier of the new movie “Rocky Balboa!” There will be 20 of the Miss America contestants there, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them again. I’m sure it will be a blast. Then, after I get back, I get to sing the National Anthem at the Phoenix Coyotes game. And it’s a good thing I know the Canadian anthem as well… we’re playing a team from Canada.

So this week was great, and I’m positive next week will be amazing as well. I hope everyone is doing well!

I've been busy during these last few weeks. I was in Yuma for three days in the middle of November, and that was a blast. I spoke to two different rotary clubs, as well as a Yuma City Council meeting. It was a great opportunity to share my platform with the people of Yuma. Everyone down there was so friendly and welcoming… it was hard to leave!

While in Yuma, I had the opportunity to tour Amberly's Place, which is an all-in-one care center for victims of sexual assault or abuse. It's an amazing facility. What makes it so great is that it provides a location for forensic testing and speaking with the police and detectives in the same building. That way, victims don't have to travel all over the place after enduring an already traumatic experience. It was very inspiring to learn what Amberly's Place is doing for the people of Yuma. For more information about this great facility, please visit amberlys-place.com.

I've also spoken to a number of different groups in November. Last weekend, I spoke at the PERI End of Rape AZ Conference. Check out PERI (The Project to End Rape, Inc.) at their website, endofrapeaz.org. On Sunday, I spoke to the high school service at Christ's Church of the Valley in Peoria.

So even though I haven't written a blog, I have actually been working I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving... now it's full steam ahead into the holiday season.

Tuesday and Wednesday were super busy. On Tuesday, I spoke all day at Deer Valley High School in Glendale. I talked to 11 classes over six periods, and the students were great. The classes were all freshman health classes, so my platform was definitely relevant to what they were learning.

I had two appearances on Wednesday, and it was an early morning! I spoke at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Cactus High School, and they meet at 6:40 a.m. I have so much respect for high school students and teachers! It makes me appreciate the fact that at ASU the earliest class is at 7:40. After that, I went over to Light and Life Elementary School in Phoenix to speak to their kindergarten through sixth graders. It was so much fun...I had an “awww” moment when they all shouted, “Good morning, Miss Arizona!”

Last week was filled with some really fun appearances. Last Friday, I spoke about Character Counts, a program that teaches kids to have good character, at Sahuaro Ranch Elementary. The kids were so great, and they were an amazing audience, especially since the entire school from kindergarten to 8th grade was at the assembly! I also sang a fun song called “Taylor, the Latte Boy,” about falling in love with a guy who works at Starbucks. The kids seemed to like it, and after my performance they gave me a pumpkin dressed up like a beauty queen! It was so adorable.

Then on Saturday, I spoke at the graduation ceremony for Remington College. I was honored to give the commencement address…and it really made me look forward to graduating from college! Only one more year of classes at ASU, but then it’s on to get my master’s degree!

Today I spoke to the entire student body of Joy Christian School, and performed a song for them as well. I just gave a general presentation to all the students, and then the 6th through 8th graders stayed after for a more in-depth talk where I discussed my platform. After talking to the kids, I went over to spend a little more time with the kindergarteners. I read a book to them and answered all sorts of tough questions (such as “How much does your crown weigh?”). Good practice for my Miss America interview! Too cute…I love little kids!

The weekend was definitely the busiest. On Saturday, I was the emcee for the John C. Lincoln Hospital Fall Festival. I hosted the event, introduced the acts, announced raffle winners, judged a costume contest, and performed…phew! I was at that event from 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., and then it was off to another appearance!

Later that evening, I spoke at Christ’s Church of the Valley, which is my home church. I did two services on Saturday evening, and then I was back on Sunday for two more. It was so great to speak at my church and get to joke around with my pastor. One minor problem, though… my sister was there with her husband and her baby, and some people thought the pastor said it was MY baby! So I’ve had a ton of people coming up to me at other events and telling me I have a really cute kid. I’ve been passing along the compliments to my sister, but just for the record, I am not married and I don’t have a child! I can see the rumors flying now… hehe!

Today I did an interview with a fellow journalism student from Arizona State University. I was glad to help her out, since last year I took the same class that she’s in now. I know from experience that it’s a killer class, so hopefully she can get one story out of the way. It was nice to just hang out at Starbucks and talk to another aspiring journalist like myself. I also did a little shopping before that… I’m starting to run out of outfits to wear to appearances. It’s kind of a bummer when outfits start repeating themselves in the event pictures on the Miss Arizona web site! I’m going to have to invest in clothes that I can mix and match.

The next day, I spoke at an event for the West Valley Advocacy Center that was held at the Glendale Public Library. The event was an all-day safety fair to promote R.A.D., which stands for Rape Aggression Defense. It’s basically a self-defense program for adults, but there is also a radKIDS program for children. They are both GREAT programs that I was proud to promote.

On Monday, I had the second day of filming for the video being used at the conference in California this weekend. Then Tuesday, I spoke at Cactus High School… my old stompin’ grounds! I graduated from there in 2003, so it was really fun to be back at home and speak to the students there. Once a Cactus Cobra, always a Cactus Cobra!

Then, in my spare time, it was working out with my trainer, working out on my own, and then maybe a little more working out. Gotta get ready for swimsuit! I also am practicing my talent song daily and keeping my voice strength up for January.
So all in all, it was a great week. I’m just trying to enjoy being Miss Arizona while it lasts… it’s already been 4 months!

Talk to you in a few days!

Last week, I found out I was going to film a feature interview for a mentoring conference that’s taking place in a few weeks in California. Lindsey Clifford wrote a book called “Make A Difference Mentoring Woman to Woman,” and the book featured my relationship with my Aunt Jennifer. Jennifer helped me get through the difficult time in my life right after the rape. So on Saturday, Lindsey flew to Phoenix, and Jen and I taped an interview with her so she can use it in her conference. She wanted me to be there in person in California, but unfortunately, I have two appearances that day. So filming it was… and we had a great time! I can’t wait to see how it comes out.

I also did an interview with The State Press, the newspaper that ASU produces. The article is going to run on Thursday, October 12, in The State Press Magazine. There is also an article coming out in The Arizona Republic about an event I’m doing this weekend, so that’ll keep you posted on what’s coming up.

Okay, these blogs have been pretty tame, so I have to mention something that everyone I tell seems to find funny. Everyone asks about “pageant beauty tips,” so I’m going to divulge one of mine. I went today and got my eyebrows threaded… yes, that’s right, threaded. It’s really cool… somehow, Joy Morjaria (otherwise known as the Eyebrow Threading Wonder) uses a piece of thread to shape my eyebrows. I’ve been going to her for about 8 months now, and it’s just phenomenal. No more over-tweezing or painful waxing… yay!

So there you have it… Miss Arizona’s beauty recommendation of the day and some highlights of my week! I have a lot of appearances coming up, so I’ll fill you in again soon.

Talk to you soon!
Hilary