DR. TERERAI TRENT

20130530-171815.jpgI had the huge honor of meeting Dr. Tererai Trent today.  What?  You’ve never heard of her?  OK, to be honest, before today, I hadn’t either.  Even though she is Oprah Winfrey’s all time favorite guest.  She’s from Zimbabwe.  She wasn’t allowed to go to school.  She became a wife at age 11.  And by 18, she had 3 of her 5 children.  You know what kills me about that?  My daughter, Eva, is 9 1/2. I can’t imagine losing her to a man in just a year and a half.  As tears fill my eyes, let me tell you a bit more about Dr. Trent.  She believes in education.  And it was her determination for an education that set her free from a life of poverty in Africa.  Two weeks ago, she attended her daughter’s college graduation.  For most of us, that’s a given.  For her, it was a dream.  You’ll understand after watching this video by Oprah:

 

 

 

ROBB WOLF

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I’ve interviewed a lot of nutrition gurus in my career. And every time I talk to one of them, I’m sold on their ideas. For example, after interviewing Mark Sisson (Primal Blueprint) I started eating like a caveman and working out in short spurts and stressing less. I loved it. I felt great. But in this stressfully hectic world, I couldn’t sustain it. Cortisol once again started racing through my veins. So when I learned Robb Wolf (The Paleo Solution) moved to Reno, I thought, “Ok, I’m going to give this Paleo lifestyle another shot!” I first met Robb during an interview at my TV station. I then invited him back to do a live segment with me. And each time, he convinced me eating Paleo really is better. He’s living proof. As a former Californai State Powerlifting champion and amateur Thai boxer, he was horribly sick with ulcerative colitis, high blood pressure and a host of other health problems. After switching to Paleo, he’s better… much better. In fact, he rarely deviates from this lifestyle after 15 years! But when he does “cheat” it’s with some corn tortillas, ice cream and dark chocolate. And what about alcohol? Can we indulge without undoing all the good we’re trying to do with our diet? I love Robb’s answer to this! Drink dry wines, the NorCal Margaraita (tequila, lime juice and soda water) and drink enough to optimize your sex life, not so much that you damage performance.

I believe in living life to the fullest… and trust me! I’m not going to miss out on Sunday night pizza during the game just because I’m “Paleo.” But I do believe sticking to a healthy diet (whatever diet that is for you) most of the time is essential. Plus, it makes those indulgences taste that much better! On the other hand, the more I cook Paleo, the more I like it and the less I want breads, pasta and dairy. So, if you’re tempted to try it out, Robb says the number one thing to take out of your diet is gluten. That means no wheat, oats, rye, etc.

Good luck on your journey to better health! To learn more about Robb Wolf go to www.robbwolf.com And click on the link below to see my 2 minute interview with him.

http://www.ktvn.com/story/20189534/paleo-lifestyle#.ULf3sN22ics.email

 

 

WHITNEY MYER

Two thoughts come to my mind when I see this video. 1) Now I truly understand the comment, “She’s 9 going on 35!” and 2) This kid loves performing… OMG!

I say OMG because I don’t really like a lot of what I see in that industry. Don’t get me wrong, I love the music, but not necessarily the atmosphere of the mega music stars. That world seems laden with midnight trips down the aisle to yet another marriage alter.  Not that I’ve seen it for myself, but drugs seems to be handed out like mint candies at a Mexican restaurant. And then there are those lovely mug shots that appear on the nightly news… the once proud star looking disheveled and pissed that saying, “Hey man, 20121117-084653.jpgI’m Lindsay Lohan!” didn’t get her out of being arrested. As a parent, I say, no thanks! Not my kid. That is until I met Whitney Myer. She’s a Reno native who made it onto the national stage with the show “The Voice.” When I first saw her on TV I thought, “Oh look! Annie made the show!” She has bright red, frizzy hair, a sweet smile… and then she opens her mouth. Wow! This kid can sing. She’s like Nelly Furtado, Erykah Badu and KD Lang all wrapped up into one. Unfortunately, she didn’t win on the show. But becaues of that, Reno has won a great ambassador. I found Whitney on a Friday in November playing at the Renown Children’s Hospital. Since her debut on The Voice, she’s been coming to the hospital every Wednesday and Friday for 20121117-084711.jpg2 hours each day. She sings at the bedsides of kids getting treatment. She sings whatever genre they want to hear. She gives them one on one attention. She helps them heal simply by strumming her guitar and allowing her sultry voice to enter their hearts and souls and take them momentarily out of the hospital. “I love it, honestly. It remind me what music is all about,which is connecting with people,” says Whitney.

 

And I believe her. When so many super stars are taking trips to the hospital to get off drugs or deal with their stress, this up and coming star is spending time at the hospital for all the right reasons. If more singers were like Whitney Myer, maybe I wouldn’t be so afraid of my daughter pursuing a career in singing. Maybe if Eva does keep singing, she and Whitney can be roommates! In the mean time, we should all support Whitney on her journey. Check her out at www.whitneymyerband.com  And to hear what the kids in the hospital have to say about Whitney’s visits, go to www.renownscribbles.org  I’ve written a separate blog over there.

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BRANDI CHASTAIN

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Brandi Chastain Celebrates after 1999 World Cup Win

Eva and I got to eat dinner with Brandi Chastain. No really! I was the emcee for the Salute to Champions dinner for women’s athletics at the University of Nevada and so they sat us right next to Brandi for dinner. So what?? you ask!! Ok so soccer isn’t exactly America’s favorite pastime and Monday Night Soccer 20121109-112950.jpgwill likely never be aired on a network. But sports heroes, from any sport, are my kind if heroes. And Brandi is one of the all time greatest in her sport. And she’s a really cool chick as well. She fully engaged Eva in conversation, even pulled out her iPhone to show us pictures of her 6 year old son, Jayden. During her speech, she had lessons on competing, celebrating (remember she made celebrating famous for ripping off her shirt after winning the

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 World Cup game against China) and not giving up on people. But the lesson that struck the deepest chord in me was about communication. During one of the World Cup games, Brandi accidentally shot a goal in the wrong goal!! Right after, her teammate Carla came running up to her and said, “Don’t worry about it. We are going to win this game and you are going to be a big part of that win.” Well they did. 3-2. And Brandi ended up scoring the final goal. But her game could have gone horribly wrong had her teammates blamed her for giving the other team a point. Her head could have been hung low by her teammates instead of held up high. Communication is so life changing. We don’t realize how powerful it can be. I think about all the times Eva spilled milk at the dinner table and I got on her case for making a mess. Wouldn’t the situation have been better handled had I said, “Let’s clean up the mess and try again tomorrow night. I believe in you.” How many times do we communicate negatively and gotten nowhere. When we encourage instead of dispirit the only option is improvement. Words may not break our bones but when used wisely they can actually make us stronger. Thank you, Brandi Chastain, for communicating that to me.

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STEVIE WONDER

I met Stevie Wonder a few years ago on stage at his Reno concert.  I was introducing a guest singer and he and I got to banter back and forth in front of thousands of his fans.  Pretty cool!  And while that was fun, we had a really touching moment back stage after his show.  My mom and I waited in line to get our picture taken with him and as soon as I walked behind him to smile for the camera, he grabbed my hand.  And here’s how our conversation went:

Stevie Wonder with my Mom and Me

Stevie Wonder with my Mom and Me

Stevie:  When’s your birthday?

Me: January 11th.

Stevie.  I knew that.  I could tell by your feel.  You know I love my mom.  Even after her death she remains the most important woman in my life.  Her birthday was January 11th.

We both just looked at one another in a shared silence.  Me holding back tears, Stevie seeing me with his hands.  He absorbed my presence.   I somehow brought him closer to his mom by sharing her date of birth.  It was a truly magical moment.

GRANT KORGAN

What would you do if you became paralyzed from the waist down? I’m embarrassed to say… I don’t know. Would I curl up in a ball and pout? Would I be so angry I would refuse all help and end up like one of those wackos on the street who yell none sense at a passerby? Or would I end up like Grant Korgan?

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Grant was a professional snowmobiler who over shot a jump by 2 feet back in 2010… 5 months after marrying his soulmate, Shawna. While he laid in his hospital bed he promised her he wouldn’t stop fighting until he could waltz with her once again. And in those two years, he’s gone to the South Pole on a sit ski, he’s back kayaking on the river and flying his plane. And just last week, while my station cameras rolled, he walked for the first time with just the help of Shawna’s hand. He lives his life believing “possibility through positivity.” God, please don’t ever let me lose the use of my legs, but if you do, please give me the strength to handle it like Grant Korgan
www.korgmovement.com

ANN ROMNEY

Nevada is a battleground state. That means a lot of different things to a lot of difference people. To me? It means I get to work a lot more between now and the general election on November 6th. That’s because hot shots from the Republican and Democratic sides of the isle keep coming to Reno to win your vote. And we have to cover their every move. I swear I would vote for the party that would stop coming to Reno! With two days warning, my station gets word Ann Romney is speaking at a Republican rally and doing one on one interviews with the local media. I was selected to do that interview. So during the rally, I waited for Mrs. Romney inside a tiny school house. I wasn’t nervous, I was hot. It was stuffy in there and CNN had graciously set up lights for Gloria Borger to do her interview. We got to use them as well, which was great, but meant it was HOT. When the rally finished, the secret service ushered Mrs. Romney into the school house. That’s when I got nervous. And HOTTER! She casually walked over to me and I extended my right hand to shake her right hand. She slowly offered her left. She told me she recently had surgery on her right and that I was the first person to notice this awkward hand shake.

Ann RomneyI got the feeling she would have preferred not to shake at all. She’s the type of woman, in my guesstimation, that has a very small circle of close friends. She’s very nice, very beautiful (camera’s don’t do her justice) and very sweet. But I don’t think she’s particularly warm. I think she would have dropped to the floor had I offered a hug instead of just my hand. She says she likes to be on the campaign trail but has to limit herself because of her multiple sclerosis. And she says she worries about her husband’s mental well being if he’s elected president. She was quick to add she has every confidence in his ability to lead, but worries about the toll of making hard dicisions on him personally. I do get the feeling they are partners and she’s not a kept woman, as so many are saying about her. All in all, I enjoyed meeting her. ann primpsHowever, I did not enjoy being left out of her primping! This was me while she’s getting primped:

Wendy: “Um, excuse me? A little powder over here would be really appreciated! It’s been hot in here!!”

Ann’s Makeup Elves “Do you hear anything? No I don’t either. Ok, Ann, you look great!”