Burn baby burn!

I've been an athlete all my life.

I swam at least a dozen times in the Junior Olympics, featured in Swimming World, won Washington International Local Children's Jumpers, and the list goes on. So you could seriously say I'm a jock.

Prior to competing in the pageant my goal was to complete my first marathon, and 26.2 miles and a year later I can say I'm a runner.

I approach everything with an athletic mindset, and training for the pageant was no different. But one place that gave me sanctuary from the high heels and rhinestones was the gym and working out.

So I spent a lot of time perusing Oxygen, Shape, Women's Fitness, etc.

I'd love to share with ya'll some of the workouts I do...most of them are ones that I find fun and distracting. So during the course of my preparation for Miss USA I'll share some of my workouts and cardio routines with ya'll.

I have an insanely muscular build and my legs and shoulders love to point that out from time to time. So cardio is key for me...but you won't see me in a cycling class anytime soon because with thighs like these, its a no go.

This is a workout from Shape Magazine...hope ya'll like it. And with january 1st around the corner maybe you can carry this with you to the gym with the masses :-)

Time	What To Do	Incline	Rate of Perceived Exertion
0-2	Warm up at 3 mph	0%	3
2-4	Increase to 3.3 mph	3%	4
4-6	Increase to 3.6 mph	5%	5
6-9	Increase to 4 mph	8%	7
9-10	Jog at 4.5 mph	8%	8
10-14	Decrease to 1.5 mph; do walking lunges on the treadmill (lift back leg after each step)	10%	5
14-16	Walk at 4 mph	10%	8
16-17	Jog at 5 mph	10%	9
17-20	Decrease to 1.5 mph; do walking lunges	10%	5
20-22	Walk at 4 mph	10%	8
22-23	Jog at 5 mph	10%	9
23-25	Decrease to 1.5 mph; do walking lunges	10%	5
25-26	Walk at 4 mph	10%	8
26-27	Jog at 5-5.5 mph	10%	9
27-28	Walk at 3.5 mph	4%	5
28-30	Cool down at 3 mph	1%	4

XOXO,

MacKenzie

Spreading Holiday Cheer

I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to visit the Veteran's Hospital here in DC and hang out with some of the nursing home residence.

I also got to play bingo, and my competitive side came out, but we won $7 dollars as a table :-) so we were high rollers.

I was flattered by the compliments, and when an 86 year old man tells you you're beautiful you have to believe him...because he's old enough to have seen A LOT of women in his time. They gave me amazing advice to carry on and showed me that age really is just a number.

(These are some of the photos thus far...look for updated photos at a later date.)

Update: For those wondering the dress is Jimmy Choo for H&M, the shoes are silver Jimmy Choo sandals, and the earrings are Betsy Johnson.

Also in the photos are members of the US Marine Corps and Miss District of Columbia America and Miss District of Columbia Outstanding Teen.

XOXO,

MacKenzie

You...better...work

I have always seen myself as unconventional in the looks department. I was described as exotic at one point…and I’ve embraced that moniker now that I’m older and (a little) wiser.

A lot of my style and “attitude” inspiration comes from the stars of Old Hollywood and from the 60s-80s…the Glamazons as I like to call the women on my list. I see them as more exotic beauties, with eclectic/unconventional looks…but who still made men fall at their feet and women envy them. The women I admire are :

Bridget Bardot (I even named my first pony after the starlet),

Elizabeth Taylor,

Sophia Loren,

Josephine Baker,

Raquel Welch,

Dorothy Dandridge,

Lena Horne,

Pam Grier,

Jayne Kennedy,

Ava Gardner, and

Rita Hayworth to name a few.

Practically all of La Dolce Vita inspires me. There are so many spots of visual interest that grab my attention every time…it makes me a frustrated Italian every time I watch it.

I just fall in love with each of them even more every time I watch them in movies or look at their pictures.

Much of the style and poise that I want to achieve for Miss USA is inspired by all (and a few more) of the women that I listed. But more importantly what I hope to embody at Miss USA that they had was the sexiness that oozed out of their pores, but the approachability that they exuded. I would hope to carry on the spirit of their fabulous confidence when I had off to Vegas in the spring.

…but until then I’ll keep studying them and find those elements that I love most, that can help me be the woman I was meant to be.

XOXO,

MacKenzie

p.s. stay tuned for my list of favorite style movies, and current style icons ;-)

And the hits just keep on coming (cont.)

I was swept up in the Christmas madness, and family game night. But here are the rest of the pictures.

XOXO,

MacKenzie

And the hits just keep on coming

I still haven't developed any of the pictures that were taken by my family members...but the more I comb the web the more photos I find from that amazing night.

I honestly can't believe its me in those photos...or that any of that actually happened to me.

Enjoy...

...I'll post the rest that I found at a later date (tomorrow) ;-)

XOXO,

MacKenzie

...Bite Me!

I have a confession to make...I'm a total Trubie (a hardcore True Blood fan).

I think HBO hit it out of the park with their new hit show True Blood. I'm definetly having True Blood withdrawl waiting for the 3rd season to come back...and find myself more and more wishing the show was real haha.

But I've found something to tide me over until Bill, Sookie, Eric and the gang come back to television.

It seems fashion is beginning to take notice of those of us with varying degrees of vampire mania. So there are some fang-inspired fashions I'm hoping will be under the tree for me this year.

Wildfox Couture got in on the action with their fall '09 collection. I'm dying to get my hands on their fang sweatshirt (that Halle Berry was spotted in recently).

They even have a fantastic tote that matches it...but no worries I wouldn't carry them at the same time...well at least when it's light out.

I just can't get enough of all the vampire stuff. Even my beloved True Blood has a jewelry collection. It's a little "more" than my style, but I like the smaller pieces in the collection.

But I think hands down my favorite piece from

all of my new vampire picks in the Wildfox Couture shirt that says "Fangs Are Fantastic." Because they totally are!!!

So while I wait for the Bill Compton to my Sookie Stackhouse to show up I'll just wait for my fang-tastic finds to show up under the tree.

...and if anyone was wondering...I'm on Team Eric ;-)

XOXO,

MacKenzie

How it all Vegan

In the process of preparing for Miss DC USA I did a lot of exercise and tried to diet like a madman.

I saw fast results at first eating tiny morsals of food, but that didn't work out well for me. With a hypo thyroid and insulin resistance my body rebelled against my drastic mesures. I had been going to a diet doctor resorting to extreme mesures to lose weight. I had B-12 shots, counted my calories to stay within 1,000-1,200 a day...often times staying at 800 and doing cardio for hours. I was headed down a bad path to loose weight, and it was obviously not sustainable for the long run.

I initially lost 13 pounds, but in a mass revolt, unlike any seen since the America rose up against the British, my body gained it all back and then some.

So there I was a month and a half out from the pageant, killing myself in the gym and in tears because I was hungry, irritable, and not seeing results. It was at a time when I hit a low

point in fighting my body that I know I had to make a change...a lifestyle change.

I had toyed with the idea of becoming a vegan for quite some time. But I was convinced there was no way I could do it, and that I wouldn't have anything to eat. Thankfully like an answer from above, on a trip to the bookstore purusing the aisles I came across Alicia Silverstone's new book The Kind Diet.

As I read through the book I was more and more intrigued. A large part might be due largely in part to the fact that Clueless is my favorite movie, and I officially idolized her after she was in Batman. At that moment I figured, "if this woman looks younger than she did when she was in Clueless, and I'm not seeing any results with this crazy method, then maybe I should give it a try."

So I dove head first in to the vegan pool...and that's saying a lot from a woman who loves cheese, bison steaks, and salmon. But honestly...and I'm not pulling your leg...I'm glad I became a vegan.

Even in the month out from the pageant I found myself feeling much better, not painfully bloated after I ate, not ready to rip off the head of the nearest person (my parents like that one), and I just felt all around better. And even though when I hit the Miss DC USA stage I wasn't where I wanted to be, but for the first time in a long time I felt comfortable and beautiful in my own skin.

I also made the change largely due to my uncle's cancer diagnosis. I have a grandmother in the early stages of dementia, my grandfather lost both legs to diabetes and eventually died of heart complications, and health issues run through my family. So with my decision to go vegan, aside from losing weight, I wanted to end the health issues with preventive issues now in the choices I make. I also felt that if I did become Miss DC USA I didn't want to be a hypocritical role model. I knew I couldn't stand in front of kids, talking to them about making healthy choices, and I myself was making destructive eating decisions that was throwing my already damaged metabolism out of whack. I would have felt awful telling them right from wrong when I could barely take care of myself.

I'm not a perfect vegan...especially since I'm in the midst of finals. But I'm determined to take a more "Superhero" approach (that's what the book calls it when you eat less processed foods, and in a macrobiotic style) to my veganism once I have time to really put in to meals...but I'm still doing better than I thought and I'm loving every day as a vegan thus far.

I'm in the process of reading The Hip Chick's Guide To Macrobiotics for ideas for the future. And I'm looking forward to my future as a vegan.

I used to be a gourmet cook, but I'm still trying to get my bareing on the vegan cuisine. But there is one thing that I've come up with that is my favorite comfort food to make. And especially now with my recent loss, and the stress of finals, a little comfort goes a long way.

The recipe features my fav super grain: QUINOA!!!

I like to call it a porriage...but you may call it yummy.

1/2 c. quinoa

1 c. water

1 c. almond milk

2 tbsp. brown rice syrup

4 tbsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. flax seed oil

-Rinse the quinoa. Put the water and the quinoa in a small sauce pan. When the water has boiled down put the almond milk and brown rice syrup in with the quinoa and let that boil down. Once its at a consistency you like let it cool some. And before you eat add the cinnamon and flax seed oil.

...what can I say, I'm no Martha Stewart with writing recipes, but give it a try and add what you like to the mix, that's how I came up with my recipe. I'm at my humble vegan beginnings but as I travel to Miss USA I know there will be more fun, and vegan fun to be had along the way :-)

XOXO,

MacKenzie

From my highest moment...to my lowest point

I had planned today to write a letter about my one week anniversary as Miss DC USA. But there has been something else that took precedent and has changed the nature of this post.

My uncle, Harrison Peoples, passed away early this morning after a long battle with cancer.

I think on this day there is something I've learned. That for every person that has written negative things about me, those that think names and insults make them a stronger person...I've learned that there are worst things in life than insults, and there are greater people out there who love me and envelope me in that love regardless of what petty people say.

Know this...that when I take the stage at Miss USA I'm standing there for a legacy greater than you can imagine. That a lot of divine intervention got me to that stage, and that all the spirits of my loved ones will be with me that night. So hurl all the insults you want, because I know who I am and who loves me.

So on this day, my one week anniversary as Miss DC USA, I promise to honor the legacy of all the ones I've lost and to strive to do my best...and above all show the world the woman I am and the woman that they all helped me to become.

XOXO,

MacKenzie