I’m really excited to say that I’m competing for the title of Ms. Arkansas Senior America 2022, June 2-4, in Hot Springs. This pageant is for women aged 60 and over. It’s is the state preliminary to the Ms. Senior America Pageant.

I’ve never been to Hot Springs before so that will be fun. A couple of other firsts – I’ve never competed in a pageant that wasn’t held in Florida and I’ve never worn green. I always have worn blue. I’ve also never done a pageant that had a talent competition!

This pageant includes the following competitions:

• Interview
• Evening Gown
• Philosophy of Life
• Talent

The last time I competed was in 2016 at Mrs. International. I thought I was finished after that but I feel like holding a senior pageant title will help me to work my Legacy Project: Living the Queenager Life and spreading positivity towards aging.

I’ve done a lot of things in my 61 years and I have a lot to draw from when going into a pageant. I hope to focus on health/fitness, community, and family in my interview with the judges. I understand it will be a panel interview with three judges. One time, I did a panel interview where there were at least 12 judges at the table. I didn’t know who to look at! Three will be much more manageable.

I’ve chosen my legacy project based upon an experience with a dear friend. I’m a real estate agent and have been helping friends find their forever home. In every house, she counts the stairs and is concerned that they shouldn’t have a house with too many stairs because in a few years, they won’t be able to go up them. The lot can’t be too sloped because in a couple of years, they won’t be able to walk on it. This makes me think – and I’ve said! – I will be running up the stairs when I’m 120! Both of my friends are healthy and active so when I hear these things I’m sort of puzzled by them.

Mindset is so important in life but especially when thinking about growing older. A Yale study found that seniors who hold a more positive view about the aging process actually live 7.5 years longer than people who perceive aging negatively. Although some health related things are genetic and out of the hands of the person who is experiencing them, healthy aging can be achieved by anyone by working to make better choices now so our lives are improved when we are older.

I feel that living the Queenager life will help women have a more positive view of aging so they can live a life of vitality.

I’m excited about the talent portion of the competition. I’ve never done a pageant that included talent. I’ll be doing a jazz dance to the song Come Dancing by the Kinks. It’s so much fun and I’m really looking forward to performing for the audience!

I’m wearing green! My interview outfit is green, my evening gown is green, and my talent costume is green. Green is one of my favorite colors but I honestly don’t wear it a lot. I love my wardrobe and think the color is great on me!

The Philosophy of Life is presented during evening gown. It can only be 35 seconds long. If you know me, you know I’m extremely long winded. Look at this post! I love to write, I love to tell stories but I do have my statement down to a powerful 30 seconds and I’m excited with how it turned out.

The pageant is at the Historic Central Theater at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 4. If you’re in Hot Springs, come on out and see was Ms. Arkansas Senior America is all about.

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I got my rebounder 20 years ago. (20 years!) I had read some good things about rebounding and I knew I wanted to be able to benefit from them. I paid a few hundred dollars for a Needak Soft Bounce which was a pretty big investment but if you divide it over 20 years, not so much! I have replaced the springs on it once at a cost of $85. So when you think about paying less than $25/year for something that contributes SO much to your health, it’s a no brainer as to why you should bounce.

Bouncing is super fun. It doesn’t take a long time to get benefits, either. When I bought my rebounder, it came with a VHS tape (you can see how long ago it was!) that showed a white blood cell eating a cancer cell. We all have cancer cells in our bodies and our bodies are made to keep them in check. When I watched the video, my dad had just died from liver cancer. I saw the video and I was sold. Rebound every day for Lauri!

Some benefits of rebounding are:

Anti-inflammatory
20 minutes jumping up and down = 1 hour of cardiovascular exercise
Gentler on joints and bones than pounding the pavement
Firms whole body
Improves balance
Muscle strengthening – including the heart muscle
Improves bone density
Improves immune system
Improves skin
Improves digestion
Regulates bowel movements
Improves mood
Improves blood sugar control
Immune cells are more active

You don’t even need to bounce hard or high! There is a bounce called the health bounce where your feet never even leave the surface of the rebounder. The health bounce will bring these benefits. After I broke my ankle, I had a little trouble with the bouncing so the health bounce is what I did until I was able to bounce more vigrously.

What do you have to lose? It’s easy, fun, and it’s going to make you healthy. Have you ever rebounded?

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