Monday, January 17, 2011

I met Jenna Wolfe from the Today Show!

Lately the blog has been a play-by-play of my daily activities, and today isn't much different.  The morning began with a painfully slow walk to Coco's Bakery. 
This adorable restaurant is local and serves many organic options including some yummy coffee.  If you are just tuning in, I gave up coffee a few weeks ago in preparation for the marathon, and it felt good to sip a hot cuppa Joe this morning!
Like most diners, my options were limited, but I was happy to eat a bowl of oats.  Oats just seem so balancing and after a long travel to Arizona, a long race and a not-so-good sleep, a hot bowl of oats was exactly what I needed.
Topped with bananas, roasted almonds (mmm!) and raisins, this bowl was perfect!  Ok, maybe it could have used a splash of Almond Milk, but I was happy.

After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel for the start of our Girls on the Run Summit beginning with a vendor fare (lots of awesome freebies!) and the General Session.

Once we reached the General Session, the seats were limited, but by some awesome twist of fate, we landed 3 chairs right up front at the same table as Molly Barker and Jenna Wolfe.
Molly Barker is always a refreshing soul and I was ecstatic to be seated with her.  I had only ever watched Jenna Wolfe on tv before, and I was excited for the chance to meet her.  She was our keynote speaker and totally blew me away!  She is charismatic and captivating!  So hilarious and full of spirit.
Love this picture...she looks like she's trying to take off flying!  As you may know, I was meant to visit New York City this winter.  It wasn't quite in the cards, and I ended up trading my ticket in for a $500 voucher with the intention to go to NYC this spring instead.  On my to-do list in New York was to visit the Today Show and be a crazy person in the background.  Because I have no filter, I decided to share this with Miss Jenna Wolfe and you know what she did?  She handed me her card and told me to call her when I plan my visit and she will totally get me into the Today Show!  OMG.  (And I don't use OMG lightly!)  Thank you Jenna Wolfe!

Jenna gave me much more than a brag-worth story today.  Her speech was inspirational and had me on the edge of my seat, half in tears and half laughing my behind off!  My take away from Jenna was to be fearless.  She is so authentic and confident and that confidence and authenticity has helped her get where she is.  In her words, "Fate loves the fearless."  Think about what you could do with your life if you had no fear.  Where would you go, who would you help, what would you do?

After Jenna's speech and equally fabulous speeches from Liz, the President of Girls on the Run, and Molly we enjoyed a delightful lunch.  And yes, delightful would be the proper term here.  It was fresh, and wholesome, and exactly what I would have picked off a menu if given the opportunity.

I started with a salad sans cheese and dressing.  A little squirt of lemon did the trick.
Second course was a potato, salted and baked to perfection with steamed veggies topped with a mushroom ragu.
And for dessert, some fresh berries.
The others had better looking desserts, but I was happy with mine.
We had two break-out sessions after lunch and in between I enjoyed a snack of veggies and hummus.
And today I managed to snap a few shots of the hotel courtyard for your visual pleasure.
Welcome to heaven where the cocktails are free from 5-6pm!
Dinner was also delicious at Los Olivos.  I haven't uploaded the terrible pictures yet, but since the lighting was awful I won't bore you with them.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed chips and salsa, a delicious gazpacho and veggie burrito.  I only made it a quarter way through the burrito before I was overloaded.

After another amazing day in Arizona, I am back to my blogging position: propped on the bed with ice on my ankle and my computer on my lap.  Here is the update on the ankle:
Not Good.  It has only gotten bigger.  Those legs look like they belong to two different people!  The swelling has moved all the way down my foot now, and up through my shin.  It is quite painful and my skin hurts from all the icing.  More than anything, I am sad I will be unable to hike Camelback tomorrow.  Alas, I will be forced to relax poolside.  Tough life, I know.  But I really am upset and unsure of what to do.  A few more days and I will be home and will get it checked out.  Until then, off my feet as much as possible.

Goodnight!

2 comments:

  1. How fun! Love Jenna! Love how strong and confident she is, great person all around!! Enjoy your time there :)

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  2. Oh that's so cool that you met Jenna Wolfe and got an invite to The Today Show! Looks like you are having a blast out there! Hope the ankle heals soon. I'm on day 3 since my marathon and I feel light years better today. I'm getting up and down stairs without much problem. Hang in there!

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