I spent the last month (believe it or not) researching super fun gift ideas for my segment on Today yesterday. The focus of the segment changed no less than three times so you can imagine stress.
It started out as a How to... How to stock your gift pantry with bulk gifts...Taking advantage of all the clearance sales and best buys that pop up throughout the year...and cute ways to mix and match them to make thoughtful gifts for those you love this holiday season...
Then it was Hostess gifts...how to put together a smashing gift to match the thank you in your heart, for the meal you are about to receive, when your gift cupboard is bare and you have 15 minutes to pull it off....
And finally it was bulk gifts for the HOLIDAYS...countdown to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and Ramadan. Days separated each segment concept change so I was bald by concept change three. That's a wig I'm wearing in the video.
If you like the video and the wig, please rate the story (at the end). Five stars means you love it. One star means you'd rather be mopping your driveway in an ice storm with a crying baby on your hip.
If you'd like to see more kd segments on the Today show, please send them an today@msnbc.com telling them what kind of segments you'd like to see me doing next...
They love how to...
How to stock your pantry How to lose 5 pounds in two weeks by cooking at home Blog off the weight 7 Ways to work fresh fruit into your winter menus Winter Citrus, clementines, blood oranges, tangerines....
As always, THANK YOU for your support.
Your emails go straight to their control room - where all the BIG bosses sit and watch the show, and produce, and stress out, and read emails, and eat breakfast, and re-write copy, and react to viewer feedback and change the segments based on viewer feedback. For real.
On a chocolate note...
My NEW favorite chocolate - Cherry Repulic - dark chocolate covered cherries.
Go to their website, buy ten of ANYTHING on their website - and they'll send you TWELVE - that means TWO FOR FREE! They have flat rate shipping too.
What do they sell? Dark chocolate covered cherries, brownies, trail mixes, cherry berry jams, cakes, baked goods, pies...the highest quality baked goods and packaged foods I've seen in a long time. Why? Because they're passionate about what they do, because they're little, humble and family owned.
Just sent an email to Today. I didn't have much in the way of segment ideas but wanted to put in a plug for more KD on Today. Hmmmm, I just thought of something. Giada will be going on maternity leave sometime next year. Who better to put in that spot than KD. She is beautiful, gracious, great TV presence, is also a chef...I might just have to send another email! I would much rather see KD than Giada.
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
i would like to just expand on the weight loss on a budget subject.
i get indignant when i see people in line at the grocery store, buying with food stamps or some government program, and purchasing a bag of oreos, 3 bags of lays chips, lard, pork salt, etc and these folks are so obese they cannot walk a healthy stride/gait. i think there is a belief out there--if you want to eat healthy and lose weight, you need to be able to afford Whole Foods. being newly separated and living on a meager budget, i cannot afford whole foods--are you kidding? they are so pricey but i do manage to eat my share of veggies and whole grain every day.
don't get me wrong: i don't think finances is the whole picture. i think lots of lower income single moms (at least many i have encountered in my work) stay morbidly obese because they feel hopeless, they feel unloved, they are depressed, etc (it feels like a tall mountain to climb, i understand that)....finances is just one factor but really giving them practical steps, i.e. on how to change 5 things in their diet within their budget is real real empowering. (and it is multi-generational because many of their kids are quite overweight and look so unhappy. so making a difference with mom can have a huge positive ripple effect.) would love KD to be a voice for these folks! ok, off my bandwagon....
Goals: 1. Stop thinking like a chronic dieter and start living to inspire. 2. HALT (hungry, anxious, lonely, tired) I will stop and tune in with myself should I experience these things, and respond with something healthy. 3. One word 2008: courage 4. Eat slow and mindfully.
I've thought of some more segemnts I think that Kathleen Daeleman's would be great at:
How to lose weight cooking on a budget. Losing weight does NOT have cost a lot.
How to avoid the vending machine. Snack ideas for the 3-5pm ‘WITCHING HOUR’… Help! I’m hungry and tired and bored at work and I need a healthy snack that won’t blow my calorie budget.
How to lose weight while cooking for (and eating with) your whole family… or “You do NOT need to make one meal for your family and another DIET meal for yourself”.
How to avoid the winter weather weight gain… recipes to get you thin when it is cold outside.
How to get out of the McBreakfast fast food lane… healthy FAST breakfasts to make at home.
How to get into the breakfast habit: Recipes for people who HATE breakfast.
How to make your own frozen meals. You do NOT have to go on the Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones diet to lose weight.
I think that is about it... Thanks for your consideration!
Should I add to video - ds (who is 15) walking in and not even really freaked about the fact that I'm in my bra... but instead looks at me and says, "OMG! WHAT have YOU done to the kitchen?!?!?!" but we might need a psych segment for those few moments of role reversal... and not so much a cooking segment.
OR... I could shake egg beaters all over Al Roker... and start screaming at him, "Give me your coat!!!! NOW!!! YOUR COAT!!!!" and mop up with his coat... since once you have egg all over you... your coat is going to the dry cleaners anyway.
However, if they want a video of me recreating Monday's meal and shaking an open carton of egg beaters and putting it all over me and the kitchen... and then whipping off my shirt and mopping up the kitchen in my bra (This Today Segment brought to you by Maidenform... I cleaned my kitchen in my Maidenform bra...)... I can send them a video.
LMAO!!!
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
However, if they want a video of me recreating Monday's meal and shaking an open carton of egg beaters and putting it all over me and the kitchen... and then whipping off my shirt and mopping up the kitchen in my bra (This Today Segment brought to you by Maidenform... I cleaned my kitchen in my Maidenform bra...)... I can send them a video.
I'm now wiping up the tea I spit across my lap and on to my monitor from laughing so hard ; )
At least you cleaned it up quickly- did not wait 24 hours!
However, if they want a video of me recreating Monday's meal and shaking an open carton of egg beaters and putting it all over me and the kitchen... and then whipping off my shirt and mopping up the kitchen in my bra (This Today Segment brought to you by Maidenform... I cleaned my kitchen in my Maidenform bra...)... I can send them a video.
I'm now wiping up the tea I spit across my lap and on to my monitor from laughing so hard ; )
summer 7 challenge goals: - Meditate every day - Start the day with positive imagery and self talk Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
Originally posted by jillybean: Denise, I'm thinking YOU should do a segment on Today-you really have some great ideas listed there!!!
NO WAY! Hey, if they want to fly me out and I can stand there and say, "I've been posting on KD's board... and lost 40 lbs and kept it off..." OK.
But I really don't think that they want me cooking on TV and destroying the set of the Today show doing so!
However, if they want a video of me recreating Monday's meal and shaking an open carton of egg beaters and putting it all over me and the kitchen... and then whipping off my shirt and mopping up the kitchen in my bra (This Today Segment brought to you by Maidenform... I cleaned my kitchen in my Maidenform bra...)... I can send them a video.
Or... in the interest of KD's career... I can send them my kitchen before photos and after photos. Or me TRYING to cook with a dishwasher filled with clean dishes, dirty dishes in the sink, drawers hanging open, etc, etc, etc,
(PS... major PITA to spill 1-2 gallons of soup into your silverware drawer. Don't cook with drawers open)
I’d like to see more Kathleen Daelemans segments on the Today show
According to Kathleen… You guys love how to’s…
Kathleen came up with these ideas: And I like them ALL.
How to stock your pantry (not to mention how to PURGE your pantry of sabotaging foods!)
How to lose 5 pounds in two weeks by cooking at home
Blog off the weight (I especially like the Blog Yourself Thin idea… since I have a blog about keeping weight off.… http://www.freewebs.com/goingskiing/index.htm Of course, this is also a blatant plug to get myself to NY… )
Meals for when I’m having weight sabotaging thoughts. “I don’t have TIME to cook, I’ll get fast food”. “I’ll stop for fast food… JUST THIS ONE TIME”. “I don’t have anything to cook, and I’ll just get fast food… just this once because I don’t have time to shop.” (Or “How to lose weight eating from cans and the freezer”.)
(PS… KD did a great segment on her FoodNetwork TV show… and sent somebody out for fast food… while KD made a meal in less time… that was about 1,000 less calories, too.)
HELP! MORE get me out of the fast food lane. Fast Food made at home. OK… true confessions… My family LIKES Taco Bell, in and out burger, and the like… Lose weight and eat healthier eating Faux Fast Food made at home.
HELP! I’ve got a serious Starbucks habit and I’m DRINKING a BUNCH of calories… (This is true for MANY Americans…) Lose weight being your own barrista making healthy coffee and tea drinks at home. And maybe a couple of recipes for slimmed down cookies to avoid the Coffee House pastry case, although PERSONALLY, I'm usually not a fan of "Cookies as a 3pm snack"... but I'm sure it would be a popular segment.
How to baby step yourself thing. Losing weight is not an all or nothing thing… and Kathleen has LOTS of baby step ideas, or “Good, Better, Best” ideas when you are confronted with “Bad, Worse, Worst” food choices.
How to cook, lose weight and NOT destroy your kitchen doing so (or “clean as you go”.) I gained a lot of weight eating fast food… because my kitchen was always a DISASTER and I can make bacon and eggs and destroy the kitchen… and my first baby step was keeping the kitchen clean. I can’t be alone in destroying my kitchen making a meal… It REALLY would have helped to have somebody SHOW me how to do this on TV… and I think Kathleen would be good at it.
Kathleen Daeleman’s Success Stories (ok… yet another blatant attempt to get myself and others to NY…)
I was a Early Show/Harry Smith fan… and switched over to the Today Show because of Kathleen.
Thanks! Denise
This message has been edited. Last edited by: GoingSkiing,
I am just getting over an intestinal bug we have all had and I slept late. Mother and daddy are the current victims. Dd started it Thanksgiving weekend. With only 2 bathrooms in the house it is a good thing we didn't all have it at the same time .
1. do 4 laps on walking track without "resting" 2. do 1 mile (17laps) in 20 minutes (3miles per hour)
Posts: 3881 | Location: NE Atlanta (Chamblee, Doraville, Norcross, Duluth) | Registered: March 15, 2004
I just watched the segment on the Today show website. Great ideas! I am going to look for those Ikea blankets this weekend. I really liked the Spain gift ideas.
Jill
Summer Challenge Goals: 1) Walk 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week 2) Plan weekly menus
Sorry KD! I read your post quickly and missed the balding due to all their changes.
That would have driven me insane! Good for you for pulling it together in the end : )
summer 7 challenge goals: - Meditate every day - Start the day with positive imagery and self talk Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
It's a joke, silly. Three changes means, three weeks worth of calling up companies and telling them they won the Today show lottery and their comapany's will be on the Today show and then calling them back and saying - woops no they won't. It's HORRIBLE.
For me, it means, researching these companies-- researching their category, researching everything about each individual company, their demographic, their audience feedback, company track record etc...testing the products extensively - here and through my network, staging the products, packing them up and sending them to NY.
Finally, I write up about 30 pages worth of production notes and send them off to 4 different departments at Today. And then I obsess over their arriving to Today - some of them don't etc.....blah blah blah..and people are starving....
A wig??? It looked so natural! Is everything OK KD?
summer 7 challenge goals: - Meditate every day - Start the day with positive imagery and self talk Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
and thanks for the link 
