2010 has been quite a year for me, with serious highs and lows. But through it all I have had some fantastic, inspiring, hard working company. On this very special, final Follow Friday of 2010 I want to acknowledge some people who I think you should take notice of. [Read more...]
Miss Lori Go Red BetterU Week 12; Exercise your heart with joy
August 19, 2010 By 1 Comment
This Summer I have been serving as the Ambassador for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women BetterU Program. A twelve week online course to help me be better by becoming better acquainted with my own body, and how to get it to properly function. I essentially started the program just after I turned 40 in May, and now, 12 weeks later, I have reached the end. It’s really hard to believe. What a journey! Week 12 is all about reflection and review. I need to go back over the key lessons of the program and remind myself of why they are so important in my continued journey to be better. [Read more...]
Miss Lori’s Go Red BetterU Week 11; quit smoking so we won’t die
August 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I just got back from Blogher, the premier blogging conference that was held in New York City. I had such a lovely time talking to women and men about the American Heart Association BetterU program at the Go Red For Women booth on the expo floor. As the Summer Ambassador for the program, my pitch was simple: Get better so you don’t die. That’s what it breaks down to for me. And week 11 is a big piece of that surviving puzzle for me, because week 11 is all about cigarette smoke. (Or evil in a cloud as I refer to it.) I have never smoked and I never will, because if I were to do so I most assuredly would stop breathing. No, I’m not just being dramatic. I have always had trouble with cigarette smoke. Being around it makes my lungs tight. Too much exposure makes me profoundly ill. [Read more...]
Miss Lori wants you to be B.I.G. with brand representatives
August 10, 2010 By 6 Comments
I just returned from Blogher and boy are my arms tired! (Hee! Hee! that was for Liz Strauss! 
SMILE!) Actually they are from all of the stretches I was doing at the Go Red For Women Better U Program booth. But that’s another post for later. What I want to talk about here is why I am ENERGIZED. I’m energized because on the expo floor at Blogher I had some really thoughtful, productive conversations with brand representatives from P & G, Pepsico, Nintendo, Johnson and Johnson, Nickelodeon, and 1800Flowers to name a few. Almost all of the representatives were new to me, and only a handful had first hand knowledge of my work on PBS and with Miss Lori’s CAMPUS. So I was going in COLD, as we say in sales. Yes, sales, because that is what I was doing, selling myself. (Wait, that didn’t come out right.) I was selling my BRAND. (That’s better.)
When I visit booths on the expo floor I am shopping for a connection and then I am selling my expertise. I’m not there to grab as much swag as I can, (says the girl with the 48lb suitcase.) No, I am there to do business. Network. Connect. How do I do this? Well there’s a long answer to that short question, which I am going to delve into in a series of posts here over the next few weeks. But for our purposes today I want to talk about one idea. That is to be “B.I.G.” on the expo floor. “What do you mean Miss Lori. I have to wear high heeled shoes?” No, (although I won’t lie to you being tall has it’s advantages in a crowd), you need a “B.I.G.” presence and approach. I will spell it out for you. [Read more...]
Miss Lori says you need to care about your health so you’ll be around to care for your children
August 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Miss Lori Go Red BetterU week 10: know your history, know your choices
July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I have a question for all of you parents out there. Please raise your hands all of you who hope your children will grow up and put themselves last on the priority list regarding health. Go ahead, don’t be shy. What? No hands? Oh, you think I’m being ridiculous? But wait a minute, that’s exactly what we’ve been doing by running around at wit’s end ignoring our health, skipping checkups, avoiding yearly screenings. We are teaching our children that it’s not possible to grow up and take care of yourself and your family at the same time. The moral of this little exercise, if we want to be good parents we have to be good to ourselves.
So guilt aside how do we do that? Well that’s exactly what we’ve been working on. This Summer I am serving as the Ambassador for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women BetterU 12 week program. Everything that I have done this Summer, every step that I have taken, both literally and figuratively, I have done so in the presence of my children. They are my support team, but they are also very much my audience, watching and internalizing the choices that I am making, whether I or they like it or not. What can I learn from that? Well, first and foremost I can learn that I am not alone. [Read more...]
Miss Lori encourages Bloggers to resist the dark side of SWAG
July 27, 2010 By 17 Comments
I am heading to Blogher next week Thursday. (Yippee!) In preparing to join the massive brand and blogger love fest I can’t help but reminisce upon the swag of last year. Last years’ convention in Chicago was the first I had ever been to. I was a new kid on the block, and truthfully quite shocked by all of the wonderful giveaways that sponsors had on hand for Blogger participants. I had never in my life experienced SWAG like that, (corporate/branded merchandise given out for free in order to promote the company/brand). I was extremely grateful, especially for all of the Pepsico products I got to take home at the end of the Expo since I was local. (I had kid lunch treats for weeks!) I remember feeling so honored and really quite obligated, in a good way, to pay homage to all of the wonderful companies who shared their products with me. Well, despite my best effort to give audible thanks to all who contributed I didn’t get around to posting about everyone. (Sorry Clorox Green Works Cleaners and Pepsico Sun Chips.) I did make a very valient effort though, and felt sufficiently guilty about the ones that I missed. So there.
Newbie no more, now I have a much better mastery of my social media accounts, and in short order have learned creative ways to give shout outs and plugs through my tweets, blog posts, vlogs, updates and check ins. I feel sufficiently prepared to do right by all next week in NYC.
That’s the good side to SWAG, brand appreciation and responsibility. But there is a dark side. [Read more...]
Miss Lori Go Red BetterU week 9 Giveaway: Diabetes, what to know to stay healthy.
July 24, 2010 By 32 Comments
Diabetes. What is it exactly? When I was growing up, all I knew about diabetes was that Mary Tyler Moore had it. She used to do PSA’s on television that would come on between my shows. Then when I was pregnant, diabetes came up because I had to do the glucose test that required me to fast. That was memorable because fasting while pregnant is a nightmare of hunger. Last year, my youngest daughter was found to have an enlarged pancreas, which is extremely rare in children. The first thing they tested for was diabetes. Though they haven’t figured out what to diagnose her with, they have ruled out diabetes. Earlier this year, diabetes came up at my check up, when my doctor expressed concerns about a my weight and the potential of a pre-diabetic state. Say What!? Now, I don’t have diabetes. I’m not in any pre-diabetic state, but just the thought that I could be made me stand up and take notice. [Read more...]
Miss Lori Go Red BetterU Week 8: Down with stress, up with life
July 16, 2010 By 1 Comment
This Summer I am serving as the Ambassador for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women BetterU Program. It’s a 12 week program designed to help U be Better, especially where your heart is concerned. Week 8 is all about blood pressure and keeping it normal. Now I am a lucky person, I know, because I have always had very even, very normal blood pressure. 110 over 80. That’s what it has been for as long as I can remember. And that is within the recommended guidelines.
Optimal = below 120/80 mmHg
Prehypertension = 120-139/ 80-89 mmHg
Elevated = 140/ 90 mmHg or higher
I know that because I know my numbers. (Which is the first step towards being better.) Now even though I have never experienced a problem, I might be playing Russian roulette here. How will I know? Well I have to rate my risk. Your risk for high blood pressure is calculated by several factors- some that you can control and others that you can’t. [Read more...]
Miss Lori Go Red BetterU week 7; Your numbers are your friend
July 9, 2010 By 1 Comment
Your numbers are your friend, That is the overall lesson that I am trying to teach myself during my summer’s journey as an ambassador for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women BetterU Program. Since I was a child, when someone has said “know your numbers” they have been referring to the numbers on the scale. And most of my life those “numbers” have not felt very friendly, particularly since the birth of my third child. But at age 40, the numbers that I need to be concerned about aren’t just restricted to the scale. As I learned in week 2 of the BetterU program, it’s important to know your cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index. These numbers aren’t your enemy. Quite the contrary. They are your friend, even when they are off the mark. Why? Because knowing your numbers helps you be better, live better, and feel better. If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know what you need to work on, or maintain.
When I had my heart screening earlier this month I found out my all-important numbers. (Unfortunately, I also found out my weight, even though I had my eyes closed and asked not to be told. UGH). The news was good regarding my cholesterol and my blood pressure. I’m managing fairly well in those arenas. But my BMI, (Body Mass Index), was a different story. Which wasn’t surprising to me. Even though I closed my eyes on the scale at the doctor’s office, I am well aware that I am carrying around extra “me” that I don’t need to. Which translates into a high BMI. That was one of the principal reasons that I embarked upon this journey to be BETTER. I don’t just want a Body Mass Index. I want a BETTER Mass Index! [Read more...]
