Okay,…well, it’s been six months since my commitment to this blog AND my endeavor of living my best life. As with every well-intentioned plan, there are wild successes, some set-backs and outright failures along the way.

The problem with the idea of living your best life, I’m realizing, is that it isn’t always possible. There are circumstances beyond our control that influence our life, our choices, our outlook, our feelings, our emotions, our relationships, our careers…well, essentially everything! And something I’ve really had to put into practice over the last several years is that we often can’t control our circumstances…BUT, we CAN control how we deal with them – and there within lays the secret.

In fact, you witnessed one of them in my last posting. I had no way of controlling the viewer who, shall we say, wasn’t a big fan. And although his comments did affect me, I worked through it – thanks in part to several of you who sent me such wonderfully warm and supportive comments. Case in point.

Another one refers back to the title of my blog: “A New Year – A New You.” Part of that goal was to share LESS of me with the world  by trying to shed this excess weight once and for all. “All the more to love” I try to convince myself, but I think I have managed to sufficiently run that one straight into the ground.

As you know, I joined Medifast at the beginning of the year in order to find the “new me” hiding under my size 12 clothes. I had some pretty good success by dropping 10 pounds. It really didn’t seem that difficult, but after a couple of months (and perhaps you noticed) I ran into stumbling blocks along the way…dinners out, celebrations, a nose that is particularly sensitive to the smell of delicious food and a mouth that feels it necessary to see if my nose is correct! Consequently, I’m back up 5 pounds and trying to remember what it was that I ate that tasted so good that I allowed it to sabotage my goal.

So, as not to fall back into my yo-yo habits that I seem to be accustomed, I’m checking in with you to see how you’re doing. And saying, it’s okay if we’ve fallen, because we can get back up. And if we have to keep doing it, let’s! But let’s also never give up the fight! Living our best life isn’t easy…it takes work, dedication and perseverance….lots and lots of it.

Something I’m doing now is trying to determine WHY I sabatoge and wondering if you’ve ever done the same thing? Here’s what I’m trying to work through; do I do it because I feel like I look pretty good compared to what I looked like before so I feel like I can “treat” myself?  Or, am I being short sighted in visualizing my end goal by basking in the weight loss praises of others this soon? Or maybe I simply have very limited willpower when it comes to yummy food and the cycle is familiar – and familiar is comfortable. I’m still working on trying to figure it out and will keep trying until I do.

This is the blessing and the curse of essentially living in a fish bowl. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t imagine doing anything else I love as much as what I do here at KTTC…but let’s face it, high definition cameras ARE NOT my friend! They show every flaw, pound, wrinkle, hair out of place, puffy eyes, blemish, sagging jowls even when one of my false eyelashes comes loose! HD is cruel!! The thing is, I really don’t mind all of that stuff  TOO much. Okay, maybe I do or I wouldn’t color my hair, get botox injections and wear hair extensions. Good Lord, apparently I DO care – A LOT! Plus, I think there’s this perception that News Anchors/Reporters have to look and sound perfect… all the time. And when/if we don’t (and we don’t A LOT)…we subject ourselves to the opinions and comments of others. For the most part, I’ve grown past that as I’ve developed a deeper sense of self and find inner beauty to be so much more interesting and fascinating, so I tend to focus primarily on that.

But it doesn’t take away the fact that I STILL want to live the life I imagine for myself. To become the woman I envision…and as long as I’m still standing, I’ll keep fighting the good fight. So, ladies…this is our 6 month check-up…and if you’ve done well, that is so incredibly awesome, I’m proud of you! But, if like me, you’ve stumbled…that’s okay…as long as you get back up.

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“Six Month Check-up”…stay tuned!

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Hey everyone…it’s been a crazy busy few weeks both personally and professionally, but alas, here I am again trying to keep up the good fight. And what I mean by that is, there are so many good people in life who are kind, compassionate, supportive and respectful.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to surround ourselves with those types of people. And just as important; to BE one of those people. Words of encouragement and edification feed our spirit and nurture our soul. There’s enough negativity in life – every day there are circumstances, even people who bring us down…or at least try to. This is why I’m such a firm believer that EVERYONE needs a sense of hope, peace, joy and humor…anything that will make us feel better about the world we live in, to bring balance and levity to the challenges and struggles we face. From my previous posts, you know I’m a fierce advocate of taking care of yourself…being kind to yourself and most importantly, being connected with yourself – and NOT feel guilty about it. This is critical to self-actualization and I want that for all of us! So that’s why it’s so important to “keep fighting the good fight.”

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about (I find visuals and examples are good for my ADHD mind as I can easily blur-out over words…pretty crazy since that’s the business I’m in. Thank goodness those words come with video! Okay, back to my example (see, you just experienced my ADHD, nice to have you along for the ride! Below is a FB response I got from someone who calls himself Brian Hughes. I’m not sure how I came to accept him as a FB “friend” but I generally always accept requests from viewers – might be something I reconsider, or maybe separate my personal page and create a professional page (opps, more ADHD). Anyway, these are his remarks after reading my last post prior to this one. You’ll also see comments made by two of my dear friends, both of whom “get it”…and by sharing this with you, I hope you do to. Read through it and I’ll have my final thoughts on this below.

• Brian Hughes Your comments were self centered, many of your comments are. Who cares about American Idol, The Voice, and the Billboard Awards that got you to apologize in the first place Aren’t there more important things in life – like real life, real people, weather alerts and real news? It would be nice to see you stop promoting yourself and trying to make yourself look good (constantly inviting complements and talking about all the wonderful things you do just for the attention) and start being a real role model for women. Real women role models (especially those in the late 40s and 50s) don’t focus on looks and makeup, they focus on making a difference in the world and paving the way for people like my daughter. I shun to think my daughter would value botox, facials, injections, “mani/pedi”s, fake boobs, fashion and stupid reality TV shows as important things in life – all the things you do and talk about in your blog and on facebook. When so much tragedy is occurring in the world, it’s seems very selfish for you to shamelessly promote yourself as the center of every event you talk about, in every picture, and every thing you do. It’s just not about you; please accept that fact and stop living in the past and thinking that “[You] believe [you] have the answer”. OK was a terrible tragedy. Start getting grounded in reality.

  May 21 at 10:07pm · Like
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  Robin Wolfram Your opinion is duly noted, Brian. Thanks for reading my blog and for watching KTTC.

  May 21 at 10:27pm · Like
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  Krystal Gillespie I didn’t see the post you had written about the rainy weather the other night, but I don’t think that would have mattered. Anyone who has watched you on TV or spent even just a second in your presence knows that you are one of the most SELFLESS and KIND HEARTED people to ever grace this planet. Your positive energy radiates out of you, His spirit captivates yours and guides you in your thoughts and actions. You have the ability to be deep with your values and constant contributions to the community, but you also have the ability to be lighthearted and joke about not so serious things in the world like boob jobs and make up. 
  You are a beautiful soul, you are a wonderful role model to me and I love you just the way you are.

  May 21 at 11:04pm · Edited · Unlike · 1
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  Robin Wolfram Now, YOURS is an opinion that matters to me. I love you Krystal. xxoo

  May 21 at 11:38pm · Edited · Like · 1
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  Darcie Benton Sheehan This is for Brian Hughes who is evidently too cool to even show his face on his facebook profile. Is this what you do for a living? Troll people’s facebook pages, waiting to pounce on them and call them out for being a phony and self-centered? Get a LIFE! I’ve known Robin personally for over 25 years and consider her to be one of the most giving, selfless people I’ve ever met and I am honored to call her my friend. Unlike the true phonies out there who would only give lip service to charities, etc., Robin actually gives generously of her time and her money to charities. She lives life authentically. And it IS authentic to talk about topics like beauty, fashion, etc. Because that is part of LIFE and certainly part of our culture! So, in your world, Brian, to be a real woman you have to avoid these topics all the time because somewhere, someone in the world is suffering? Come on!! And REAL WOMEN are able to talk about such things and still have compassion and caring for the hardships other people go through. And I think it speaks volumes about her that she admitted to feeling bad about a post she put on facebook. Admitting you’re wrong or used bad judgement takes real guts. So, Brian, why don’t you show some guts and apologize for being a jerk?

  May 21 at 11:48pm · Edited · Unlike · 2

  I’ll admit, his comments affected me. And I threw out, long ago, the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me”…because they can and do. Words cut like a knife and the effects can be damaging – if we let them. This is why self-actualization is so important, as is surrounding yourself with positive people who lift you up and celebrate YOU… the good and bad, because no one is perfect. But we have to learn to be okay with that and STILL live our best lives! Verbal, emotional and mental abuse are every bit as damaging as physical abuse, you just can’t physically see it. The bottom line is, you don’t have to accept it. We all deserve so much better. Darcie said it best “REAL WOMEN are able to talk about such things and still have compassion and caring for the hardships other people go through.”

  So here’s to keeping up the good fight…if I had a glass of wine right now, I’d toast to that! Chardonnay anyone? Cheers!

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It started out as a wonderful weekend. I had one of my respite girls,..we slept in on Saturday, collected branches to use as decorations for the Gift of Life transplant house’s White Party in July. We visited a friend’s farm and she toured us through the stables where we saw some of the most gorgeous and gentle horses, it was so special! We shopped and then picked up my foster niece for a girls night in.

On Sunday, the girls joined me as I co-chaired the JDRF’s (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund) Rollin’ & Strollin’ event. My sister, Wendy, and my niece, Emily joined us and we chose to dance our way to help find a cure and to treat Type-1 Diabetes We even beat the pending storms and had a huge turnout for such an incredible and worthwhile cause. Things started to change when we were picking out flowers for our garden at Jim Whittings and the rains came, then the wind…incredibly powerful straight line winds for several minutes. It really was quite unsettling as plants were flying off the shelves and the building was rattling and shaking. After the storm died down, and we got home, we were thankful to be there and spent the rest of the night watching TV. It was then that I made a bad decision that I now regret. It was an insensitive comment about the weather on my FB page of which I later deleted. ‘Reason’ has a way of sinking in, sometimes way after the fact. Upon waking Monday morning, I learned several people in our area suffered quite a bit of damage from the storms, and in Oklahoma, deadly tornadoes, dozens of them that leveled neighborhoods. I felt sick to my stomach, embarrassed and somewhat self centered. I’ve been sick about it all day. And then this/Monday afternoon, one of the worst tornadoes on record swept through areas just outside of Oklahoma City again, this time killing dozens of people (at last count, 51 – more than 20 of them; children, with more than 20 still unaccounted for.) Now the embarrassment and sick stomach has turned to heartbreak.

It is in these times, that I find it difficult to resolve. I feel such a sense of sadness and helplessness. And it is in these times that I pray for a strengthening of faith as it is so easy to loose in times like these. So I pray, not just for faith, but for those here and in Oklahoma/Kansas who have lost so much…for their healing. Healing of their bodies and hearts as they mourn the loss of everything they owned and people they loved… precious children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers.

And tonight I learned that the husband of a friend and colleague of mine, Laura Lee with KAAL, was in a horrible accident this weekend and is in critical condition. More heartbreak.

So as I prepare to head home tonight, I’m asking myself what can I do to help. To make a difference. To provide peace and comfort. And I keep coming back to one thing: Prayer. Please join me as the world simply needs more.

Good Night.

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Okay, so I told you I’d follow up with my extensions and, they’re in! And let me go on record as saying I think I’m really liking them. Okay, so I wore my hair in a pony tail for the first week, but there’s a reason. Here’s a little insider “extension speak” that I’ve learned along the way.

First of all, the latest technique of applying extensions is taping. I really like it and my early impression is that they’re a lot less stressful on your hair. The extensions comes in strips. The stylist cuts smaller sections – the length depends on where she places it on your head. Remember the thinning sides I told you about?…well, the ones we used there are much shorter, and the ones that are placed along the crown and back, are longer.

Okay, once the pieces are cut, she applies a thin piece of tape along the top seam. Now imagine how your hair is sectioned off for highlighting or color weaving…it’s essentially the same process. The stylist sections off a portion of your hair about the same width of the extension and then places it under your hair pushing it close to the scalp with the long thin handle of a fine tooth comb. She then places another thin strip of tape over your hair, essentially taping the two sections of hair (yours and the extension) together.

What I really love about these is that they’re relatively easy to take off and reapply as your hair grows out.

Now, here’s the reason for the pony tail. Once the extensions are in, you need to wash your hair a couple of times to bulk it up. Makes sense. The new hair is layered in between sections of your real hair and it needs those washing to ‘blend” together. After the two-three washings, I went back in to get it cut and styled. This is when it’s textured and layered in a way that blends with your real hair. I did that on Friday and really liked the results when she styled it. But I got a little hair envy when I saw the salon owner’s long, soft, wavy hair (Shelly from Blue H2O is  the one who encouraged me to get the extensions after I admired hers.)  Anyway, Let me go on record saying the Bible speaks a lot about envy and I really should have paid a lot more attention to that lesson in Sunday School. After asking my stylist to curl my hair, it turned out a little too much like Tammy Wynette. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ll Stand By My Man any day of the week, but Tam’s hair is more than I could handle, so I put it back in a pony again for Friday’s newscast. As if thinning  hair doesn’t make a girl (I’d say “woman” but you’ll get my point) feel old enough, my hair stylist had no idea who Tammy Wynette even was!

Okay, so today was the big on-air reveal. Long hair – no pony tail. I really do like it – a lot, actually – but I’m thinking I need another inch lopped off the bottom. The jury is still out on that, but keep watching and you’ll see what the verdict is. Feel free to weigh in!

Isn’t it fun being a girl? Until next time!!

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Okay, the winter blues are behind us…I hope! It was getting pretty tense there for awhile, wasn’t it? For example, when we were buried in nearly 2-feet of snow last week, Randy and I decided to take a positive approach to our pending Spring…saying things like; “It’s beautiful and we should enjoy it while it lasts because it wont last long.”  We tried that for, ohhhh, about a day and gave up. I swear, Old Man Winter had teeth this year and was hanging on with a clenched jaw of the likes I’ve never seen. 

So, here we are, only a bit of snow still left on the ground but lots and lots of it in the form of water. Regardless, I’m quite excited and LOVING the warmer temperatures, the bright sun, people running on the streets and walking their dogs, the budding leaves, the song of the robin, windows thrown open, etc. In fact, this is working so well that I’m focusing on things I’m LOVING right now and want to share some of them with you. 

1. I’m loving JCP, also known as JC Penny’s. Have you been there lately? They have so many incredible new brands…Everything from clothes to jewelry! And the prices are amazing! Every time I go I end up with AT LEAST 3 and often times more than 5 things! In fact, I chose to wear a great pair of silk pants for my photo shoot for Rochester Magazine’s “Style” edition. As I mentioned in an earlier post….I was thrilled to be asked, and excited to crawl out of my sweats for a  little bit…they were getting far too comfortable. This DOES NOT, however, guarantee that I will be looking stylish every time I have the good fortune of running into you, as a girl can only go so long without her sweat pants or jeans.   

Lovin’ my JCP silk pants!

Anne Hathaway Pixie

Charlize Theron: Adorable!

2. I’m loving the pixie haircuts that are on trend right now! I wish I could try it but unfortunately the word “pixie” has such a negative connotation from childhood. When I was a little girl, I used to pray that my hair would grow out. Every night, I’d crawl into bed and right at the top of my prayer list was “hair”. Sadly, every time my Mom took me to get my haircut, the stylist would plop me down on her chair and I cringed as I was prepared to hear the dreaded command from my Mother: “Let’s go with a PIXIE”. Needless to say I may be marred for life. Ironically, as a child, I had always admired my Mom’s style…after all, she was the one to first introduce me to white go-go boots. But on this, we disagreed. A happy ending to that story: she eventually let me grow-out my hair!

Pinterest: One of MANY wedding ideas!

Pinterest: Great outdoor decor!

3. Pinterest. Enough said. Okay, I suppose I could elaborate, afterall, I’m a journalist and ‘words’ are my thing. I can get lost for HOURS in there – the endless world of Pinterest. My latest project was helping out with my beautiful niece’s Baby Shower (In my next posting, I’ll be sharing photos of it and how we turned some of those ideas into reality!) What I love about Pinterest is that when you come across something you really like, you can post it to your page and revisit it later. It’s a virtual filing of great ideas,…everything from holiday decor, to DIY projects to recipes and fashion.

 4. My respite girls. Maybe you’ve seen pictures of my two girls on Facebook. If you’re not familiar with respite, here’s a link to Wikipedia for a definition.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respite_care  The part where it says it brings as much joy to the caretaker as it does the client, is so incredibly true! I am so blessed to have these two darlings in my life and I genuinely look forward to having them for the weekend. btw, we all have matching pj’s and the girls NEVER forget to bring them! love-love, hug-hug – kiss-kiss!

My adorable girls!

 5. The quintessential decor item for your home and entertaining: An Apothecary Jar. In the kitchen, add layers of colored beans, peas and noodles to it for a great look…or faux fruit, veggies, whatever you can come up with! I even put dog bone treats in mine! In the bathroom, add soap, sponges, sand or shells. At your wet bar, add wine corks.  I use a wide mouth one in my laundry room for laundry soap and I put a vintage pewter scoop in it to load the washer. In fact, when I co-owned a design firm, my interior decor partner and I would place two side-by-side, one with detergent and the other with clothes pins! For entertaining and holidays/seasons, you name it: candles, flowers, food, candy, pine cones, mini pumpkins & gourds, faux snow and cardinals, greenery, eggs & nest, whatever you can think of will likely work!

 6. Speaking of interior design…I’m loving color and always with white or creme! When Kristi and I had Renovation Style & Design, we loved using traditional designs/colors with a twist. In fact, we almost named our company Not So Vanilla as we tended to use colors in the middle of paint samples, not the lighter ones. I’m STILL loving color, but instead of the warm rich tones of reds, golds, indigo blues, and burnt siennas…I’m now loving apple green, orange, pinks, soft blues, turquoise, even grey. Soothing but vibrant!

7. Check out Kristi’s new shop, Gracious Home, and website and you’ll see what I mean. And if you’re looking for a great way to spend a Saturday, head up to Wayzata and stop in, you’ll be glad you did! Plus, Wayzata is a wonderful, quaint lake community with lots of things to do and see right there on Lake Street! www.GraciousHome.com

8. Josh and Main Home Decor. I’m on a design roll, aren’t I? You have to log on and register to get their daily deals. Seriously, I wish I had endless rooms to decorate as they have endless options and styles, most everything for great prices compared to retail. A few pieces here and there are pretty expensive, but overall, great deals. J&M is my online equivalent to TJMaxx and Homegoods! And if you need someone to help you select the perfect piece(s), give me a call! I still dabble in design when I can, and I’m GREAT at spending OTHER people’s money! www.joshandmain.com

Josh & Main: $400
Retail: $700

 9. The Voice is my all time favorite show right now, which, if you watch us on the Newscenter at 6 and 10, you no doubt already know! I mean where else do you get friendly competition and I do mean friendly. And the quality of talent is UNREAL! Just this week, Adam Levine and Usher sang a duet of Stevie Wonder’s “Very Superstitious”…it. was. amazing! Every week is filled with incredible music, great camaraderie and good humor. Hands down puts American Idol on the back burner if not off the stove! You’ve GOT to check it out at least once.

 10. I’m anticipating this one…wait for it: Hair extensions! Over the years I’ve given some a try…some woven, some braided, some glued, some clipped and for the most part I’ve been pleased with them, but a few really damaged my hair. Then there were the braided ones that if  my hair moved ever so slightly, I looked like I had dreadlocks..not good, unless you don’t move – ever, or live in Jamaica. So next I’m going to try some that are taped in! I love the look of full hair, not necessarily thick hair, but full. And ladies, who’s with me?…as we age, the sides of our hair, especially along the temples, really thin out! And now that I’m either curling or straightening my hair every day, for three shows under hot lights, it’s REALLY starting to look thin AND fried. So, I’m going to try taped-in extension that I’m hoping will be the ones I fall deeply, madly and passionately in love with! I’ll keep you posted Isn’t it so fun being a girl!

So, here’s to loving things…and life! It’s short, so love much and often!

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Hola! This crazy snowstorm in May is making it a little difficult to dig down deep into our inner Lolita and find it in us to celebrate Cinco de Mayo…but we must! It’s upon us! If you’re still having a hard time, take a cue from my very lovely non-Latina sister, Wendy, who simply dons a HUGE flower on her head and is ready for some salsa (both the dance and the chip dip!)

This pic has come in SO handy!

 There’s a pretty good chance you’re going to have to celebrate Cinco de Mayo indoors, so whether it’s just your family, a few friends or a large gathering, there’s plenty you can do to deck the halls, so to speak (reluctantly keeping with the winter theme here.) And if Wendy’s fabulous photo isn’t enough to get your juices flowing,…or Aubrey Helms and I in our true Mexican attire…our favorite Event Planner, Andrea Caserta with AC Event Services, stopped by the studio earlier this week and gave us some great tips! Check it out below! Have fun and let your maracas roll! Adios!  

 http://www.kttc.com/category/263434/robin-wolframs

(If you can access the segment from the link above, simply cut and paste into your search window.)

Getting our Latina on!

Decor: As you can see we have incorporated many bright colors throughout. Anyone who is familiar with Mexican culture knows bright colors are a must. Let’s start with this very easy centerpiece – fill a glass vase with different colored peppers. You can use whatever peppers are available at your local grocery store. Here we have bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and chili peppers. Place various size cactuses throughout your party – either grouping together or placing sporadically around your party space. You can tie the corners of bandanas together and drape them around your tables or use a Mexican poncho or blanket as a table cloth. Another easy colorful décor idea is to use colorful tissue flowers or pom poms around your party space. Whatever you do, remember bright bold colors. 

Food: I like to keep food very easy with items that can be prepared ahead of time so the host can enjoy the party. In keeping with the theme, incorporate Mexican style cuisine into your menu – an easy appetizer idea is to serve seven layer dip in individual bowls or shot glasses for guests to help themselves. A refreshing homemade mango salsa is welcome change to the store bought jars of salsa. Rather than using a bowl for your chips use a sombrero to add to your décor.  A colorful dish to add to your menu is a bean and corn salad with cilantro – serve it in a corn tortilla bowl or place tortillas around the perimeter of the salad. An easy, hearty dish to make is authentic chicken with rice (arroz con pollo). 

Beverages: It wouldn’t be Cinco de Mayo without margaritas! You can either have a batch of traditional margaritas or incorporate a margarita tasting. There are so many different types of margaritas you can make – especially frozen. You can add different fruits to the blender including as peaches, raspberries, strawberries, bananas and mangoes. A fun idea is to have your guests pick the name of a fruit out of a hat to determine which margarita they will have. You could also make a few batches prior to your get together, freeze and serve when the time is right. Use a mustache straw to identify the flavor. Another idea is a tequila tasting – here we have three different flavors – a silver, gold, aged and flavored tequila. You can make this a fun light hearted aspect of your party or you can incorporate notes for your guests to identify flavors, texture, and balance.   Make sure you have garnishes – including cherries, lemons, limes, pineapples, peppers – here we have them on skewers and used a pineapple to display for guests to help themselves 

Desserts: Authentic Mexican desserts include flan, baked churros, or Mexican chocolate cake. Each dessert can be served with strawberries and whipped cream. Another cute, not so traditional, idea is cupcakes topped with a fun theme ornament such as a sombrero, cactus, mustache or lizard. There are many fun ideas which you can incorporate into your celebration. Most importantly have fun!

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When my lovely TV husband, Tom Overlie, asked me to take part in the Iron Chef Competition here in Rochester, how could I resist?…I mean, tantalizing my palate with the delicacies concocted by the culinary Kings of our local restaurants, HOW could I refuse?

Thank you Hubby!

Tom is a member of  the Leadership Greater Rochester Class of 2013. Among many of their efforts to build a greater Rochester, they partnered with Channel One Food Bank to build an instructional and demonstration kitchen called, quite simply, The KITCHEN. It allows Channel One clients a hands on opportunity to learn how to prepare healthy and delicious meals.

The KITCHEN

The KITCHEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, here was the challenge for Iron Chef Rochester: 5 local Chefs from our area were given 6 items often available on the shelves at Channel One. They were asked to create a dish or meal, using at least 4 of the 6 ingredients. They were also allowed to use any type of meat/protein, seasonings of their choice, add’l veggies, etc.

The required items were: squash, garbanzo beans, peanut butter, rigatoni/noodles, prunes, tomatoes.

The Chefs were from Sontes, The DoubleTree, The Kahler, Prescotts and Rochester International Event Center. My co-comrades on this daunting yet delectable mission were Mayor Ardelle Brede, Post Bullentin’s Mike Dougherty and Channel One’s Ursula Olson. We were treated like Kings and Queens at each establishment and chauffeured to each restaurant. All in a day’s work, people…all in a days work!

 

 

We were asked to judged each meal on a number of things raging from taste, creative use of ingredients and presentation, among others. Just take a look at some of these dishes below! I mean, every single one was insanely delicious…and that’s no exaggeration! I will admit, it wasn’t my best day on Medifast, nor was it the Mayor’s, as he is also on the program and has lost nearly 70 pounds! The honorable Mayor was much better at sampling each item as opposed to devouring it, like yours truly. (A fun story about Mayor Brede below.) By the time we got to our 4th destination, I realized I may have been a bit overzealous in my efforts. I missed my 5:00 newscast as the wheelbarrow I needed to cart me back to the station was supposed to be reserved in advance, a small detail I overlooked. Thank you, hubby, for covering for me.   It took a few hours for my food coma to wear off, but I will admit, I went to bed dreaming of the food we enjoyed earlier in the day! The exciting part is, soon the recipes will be made available for ALL OF U!..I’ll keep you posted. 

Butternut Squash Ice Cream with Peanut Butter carmel dip and chocolate cake made with prunes!

All I can say about this combo is YUMMY!

Shrimp with Pesto & Tomatoe Pasta in Basil and Garlic sauce.

The winner of Iron Chef Rochester will be crowned on Friday, May 10th at the “COOKING UP FUN with CHANNEL ONE” Concert/Party. It’s open to everyone and will be held at the International Event Center from 6:30pm – 10:30pm. Three bands will be performing including  Pure Rock, Dichotomy and Chester Bay. There will also be a silent auction and raffle – so be sure to check it out if you’re in town! Tickets are $20.00 and $25.00. More information at cookingupfun.eventbrite.com or channel-one.org/kitchen/

Hope to see you there!

Mayor Brade’s story: When we were at our last and final destination, Rochester International Event Center, the only dessert that included chocolate was presented to us. And without hesitation, the Mayor could be heard proclaiming, “Get thee behind me Satan!” What a delightful and charming man…and did I mention, trim?

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Coming up in the next few days:

1. Throwing a Cinco de Mayo Party!

2. Things I’m Loving Right Now!

3. DIY Baby Shower Ideas!

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Okay ladies…I’m sorry it’s be awhile. In this hectic madness of creating the “new me”, I find I tend to occasionally fall back into old patterns. One of them being procrastination. But a gentle prodding from my sister Wendy, a swift kick in the seat from Tom Overlie and my first blog report stating that I have nearly 3000 followers (nice!), I decided I needed to nip my procrastination in the bud. A good example of how, even with the best of intentions, we sometimes come up short. And that’s okay, as long as we recognize it and do something about it. So, here’s to you, me and us as we keep working our respective plans.

This photo needs no caption!

With my admission of procrastination comes another one…gulp…I haven’t been as diligent on my Medifast plan as I should have been. And thanks to Sandy at Medifast and her positive encouragement, I’m back on track! I thought I’d done pretty well after losing 10 pounds – but realized after talking to Mayor Ardele Brede, who has lost nearly 60 lbs on the program, and his wife who has lost over 20 (we started the same time), I obviously wasn’t doing as well as I COULD have been. In hindsight, I was so excited about losing the 10 that I got a little too carried away celebrating my short term goal only to ingore my long term one. That’s why stepping back and taking a look at the ‘big picture’ is so important. As is taking one step at a time. It’s the only way we’ll get there. I’ve realized that succeeding at this isn’t really all that difficult – it just requires focus and determination.

So, now that I’m back on track with my nutrition program and feeling good it – I decided it was time to get back into the gym. Ohhhhh, did I forget to mention that one too? Gulp. Yep, I’m not perfect. Far from it. I haven’t been working out either :-/ I’m not going to beat myself up TOO much about that, though. I’ve spent far too many years doing that and have found that being kind to myself is much more effective, at least in the long run. I’d like to encourage you to do the same…in all things. We are wonderful creatures, Women. We’re all so different. interesting, unique. We all have gifts and the fact that we don’t have EVERYTHING in common, makes this such a rich and beautiful world. Every one of us has a voice – and we all want to be heard and simply understood. Don’t we owe that to each other…and to ourselves? So practice self-love and keep doing it until it feels genuine. And the next time you run into someone who is “different”, remember, they have a gift…and a voice – and all they want is to be heard and  understood.

All former Miss Iowa’s – each with our own gifts AND insecurities!

Okay, back to my exercise regimen. There’s nothing quite like the motivation of receiving an email asking if I would like to be in the “Style” edition of Rochester Magazine. Are you kidding me?…of course I would – in fact, I’m thrilled! I was only to celebrate that ‘joy’ for a few minutes before I was made aware that the photo shoot is TUESDAY. Here’s the explosion of thoughts that raced through my mind ALL within about 1 second…I warn you, it’s not pretty. ”Tuesday?…are you kidding me? Let’s see, that gives me just over 4 days. Not enough time for an eye and jowl lift, not enough time (or money) for a quick weekend trip to a warm destination for a quick tan (okay, I’ll get a spray tan). And if I spend the next four days, every waking (and non working) hour on the treadmill, will it be enough to get into my size 8/10 outfits … Outfits? What am I going to wear? Okay, so in those waking, non-working, non-exercising hours – I’ll need to squeeze in a little shopping time. I’m thinking Spring…yes, Spring and Summer clothes. Fun sundress, slax, open toe heels. PEDICURE – okay, this is starting to cut into my workout time. Guess I may have to settle with getting into a size 10/12. Guess I’ll need my Spanx. But they’re stretched out. Can I REALLY suck my tummy in for the entire shoot. I’ll try. Practice poses that cinch my waist and hide my butt….” I think that about covers it. Of course, that was just the first second. But after a tormenting 5 minutes of that, I pulled out the self-love attack – and it worked!

Tom, Randy and me practicing our “suck and tuck.”

I’m not sure what month the “Style” issue will be, but I’ll keep you posted. I may even see about posting some pics from the photo shoot here before the article comes out. Meanwhile, carry on ladies. And keep up the good fight.

And do this for me too! If you’re on board with me on this whole “A New Year – A New Year You” thing (despite any setbacks)…take a full length picture of yourself – and then another one every month thereafter until you reach whatever goal you’ve set up for yourself. And keep them coming! I really want to see them…remember, we’re doing this together!
I’m also planning another “Staging Your Comeback” contest (similar to what I did last year). This time I’ll be using YOU, my blogging friends, to select the winner! I’m thinking it will tie-in with the most successful results over the course of a few months!

Stay tuned~

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