Monthly Archives: December 2015

Go Red Girlfriend Moments

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In November, I was contacted by the local Go Red coordinator and asked if I would be willing to host a Go Red Girlfriends Moment to take a stand for all the women in my life.

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What is a Go Red Girlfriends Moment??

A ‘Moment’ is defined as an opportunity taken to spread awareness to women’s cardiovascular health, and to ask friends and family to join you in making a gift to the cause to take a stand for all women close to your heart.

I was getting ready to hit the road but I planned three “Moments”. They were small but important. 

I held the first Moment in Las Vegas. We met at Serendipity 3 for their famous frozen hot chocolate. Not something that is necessarily heart healthy but it’s not every day you share a treat like this. My two friends, Lyndzee and Lauren, joined me and we were able to talk about how they could keep their hearts healthy. 

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My next Moment took place in Tulsa at my home. I invited my friends for a glass of wine and some Christmas cookies. It was really getting close to Christmas and only two of my Tulsa friends were able to make it, Laura and Shelley. Yet, the message is important and as a bonus, these are two women I was excited to introduce to each other. 

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I scheduled my third “Moment” in Oklahoma City the same day Mother Nature decided she wanted to schedule an ice storm. I had to cancel this “Moment” and I was really disappointed since it would’ve been the largest. I made a donation for each of my friends who said they would attend and I hope to reschedule it in the future. 

The Go Red message is one that I believe in strongly. I’ve seen my own aunt be an almost text book story of how her symptoms didn’t look like a “typical” heart attack in men, the doctor sending her home, and my cousin insisting they figure it out. Over my years of volunteering for Go Red I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that particular scenario.

Ladies, know your numbers! Know the signs and symptoms of heart attack in women and be alert for your heart health and the women around you. Extra information can be found at the Go Red for Women website. 

Trunk Show!

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I was super excited to drive to Lawton, Oklahoma and visit my dress sponsor Crowning Around. They were holding a trunk show with the latest designs from Tony Bowls (my favorite!), Sherri Hill, and Ashley Lauren among others. 

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I was looking forward to nailing down the final details for my custom Tony Bowls competition gown for the Mrs. International pageant next July. I was also hoping to get the remaining pieces of my wardrobe figured out.

First, I have to tell you how awesome the customer service is at Crowning Around. Lawton is three hours away from my home in Tulsa and a five hour flight from my home in California but I’ve never received such amazing customer service at any other shop and it was worth the drive to know that they would be doing their very best to help me with everything that I needed. I wasn’t disappointed!

It was so great to visit with Cynthia who helped me find the items I was looking for. She’s so kind and helpful and I feel like I’ve made a lifelong friend. I was also excited to see Victoria Wiggins, the new Mrs. Kansas USA. I met Victoria when she was a teen and competed in one of our Oklahoma International regional pageants. I’m super excited for her new title and I love how she bent over backwards to help me over the phone the first time I called the shop last month. 

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All in all, it was a fabulous day. I’m excited for the sponsorship, I’m excited for the awesome wardrobe, I’m excited to have new friends! Thank you, Crowning Around!

 

 

The Gift for the Person Who Has Everything

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A lot of us have that person in our lives who have everything. Mine is my stepmom. I get to her birthday and Christmas and I never know what I should get that she will enjoy. I’ve done coffee and chocolate and flowers and wine. A lot of wine. 😉 

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This year, I was hoping to be inspired by something really different and awesome. But what would it be? I was clueless. 

Then I had a unique opportunity come my way. I helped my friend work her clothing shop in Las Vegas for two weeks at the Stetson Country Christmas show. The show was a large marketplace of cowboy and rodeo related merchandise. It was incredible. I would never have guessed that I’d find the perfect item at a rodeo show.

We were lucky enough to be placed next to Stuff It Olives. First of all, Bob and Norine who are the owners, are fabulous people. But secondly, their products are awesome. 

They sell many different kinds of stuffed olives and garlic. My favorite of the olives was the Sicilian Double Stuffed. 

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The smoked garlic is amazing and is their best seller, according to Bob.

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But my very favorite thing they have is the balsamic vinegars and flavored oils. And this is what I got for my stepmom, the person who has everything. 

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The olive oil that’s infused with basil is SO tasty. I knew that would have to be one of my choices. Norine then paired it with the fig balsamic and I was in heaven. What a fabulous taste commotion in my mouth!

I didn’t stop there. I brought home a couple, well, several bottles for myself. I bought a bottle of fig for myself initially. By the time I was getting ready to leave Las Vegas it was halfway gone so I got another bottle of fig. Then pomegranate, chocolate marshmallow, and cranberry walnut. I’m also hoping to get a bottle of chocolate cherry but it was the last bottle and Bob couldn’t find it at the show. We’ll be having breakfast with Bob and Norine on our way back to California so I hope they will have the chocolate cherry for me then. I know I NEED it. 😉

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So there you are. For the person who has everything or the person who just likes tasty condiments. Everything at Stuff-It Olives and Napa Finest is delicious and I know you’ll think so too!

 

Talking about Concussion in Las Vegas

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I was in Las Vegas with my sponsor Story Clothing Co. We were at the Stetson Country Christmas. I was able to talk to the people there about my new platform of Concussion Awareness.

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I was surprised that there were people who actually knew that, while a helmet can protect the skull from being fractured, a helmet cannot protect the brain from concussion. This fact was the big Aha! moment for me while reading the book Concussion. 

It was good to talk to people about this issue that has been so prevalent in my life for the past month while I’ve read everything I can get my hands on about concussion and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

While football is where my experience with my son’s concussions come from, I was able to share that concussions happen in so many other places and encourage the parents to be aware of the signs and symptoms of a concussion. I was also able to explain how a concussion is more than just “getting his bell rung”. That there can be long term implications of repeated concussion and that the athlete should be fully healed before going back to the playing field. 

 

Book Review: The Swans of Fifth Avenue

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The Swans of Fifth AvenueThe Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book. I didn’t know too much about Truman Capote before reading the book except that he wrote In Cold Blood. While this was a fictional account of the time, the story was so interesting to me. I love the way people lived back in earlier days and it was fun to read about.

I loved the relationship between Babe and Truman. I felt sorry for Babe. It seemed like she always had to be “on” for everyone but herself. With Truman, she got to be herself. When he betrayed her, I was crushed for her.

Love the story, the writing, the characters. I also loved that the author included other works that she read before writing the story. I’ll be reading those myself!

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