Today Show recap

Thanks for all of your positive comments, everyone - I had a wonderful time at the Today Show and wanted to give you a recap of events - some related to the segment and some totally inconsequential but interesting to me (you know, the one who tosses her hair - A LOT - on national TV):

Wednesday: Leave O'Hare and sleep for most of the ride. But with about 30 minutes to go, we hit major turbulence, which I fouhgt through by remembering that someone once told me to think of it as riding in a Jeep driving over a rocky road. I was OK but numerous people on the plane threw up and one woman even needed oxygen. Excitement!

I pushed passed all of them to catch my ride and make it to Babytalk Magazine, where I met with an editor who I love and assigned me this article on post-baby body image - cover story, baby! Also, check out the quiz (you can tell it's my writing by the humor, those of you who know me well) and register for the three-month challenge.

OK, enough of that. I met up with a close girlfriend of mine and we had dinner at my hotel - then I kicked her (cute) butt out and went over some of my notes while Top Chef played on the flatscreen.

Thursday: Woke up early to workout (which resulted in three very brown towels because I got a spray tan for the show - love you TanCun Salon! - so I would look nice and sun-kissed. Bonus: My hotel had a fabulous make-your-own bottled water feature in the hallway - you grab an empty, new plastic bottle, fill with water and repeat. Not terribly eco-friendly but could be worse.!

After I got dressed, I walked through Rockerfeller Plaza to the show. Passed The Donald (yes, his hair looks like that) and Al Roker. Was ushered into the Green Room (not really green, but has great fruit and mini-donuts) and met Ashley Fillip, the other woman who was on the show with me. You can learn about her story here or on the actual Today Show clip. Oh, wait - nix that - we met while getting our hair done. We learned that we have a crazy among of things in common:

- Both tall (yay!).
- Belonged to the same sorority but on different campuses.
- Nutrition backgrounds (BS for me; she's getting her Masters).
- Grew up five minutes apart in suburban Chicago.
- She's read Locker Room Diaries!
- Both got spray tans before appearing
- Her fiance lives a block away from me and has the same job as my dad - food broker - which is (a) a very uncommon job and (b) interesting that she and I both have male figures in our lives whose work is based on food.

We met the producer, Vivian, who I lovelovelove and actually worked with on my first Today Show appearance when my book came out. She led us into a muy bright studio with a test kitchen attached. There were lots of men and one woman (named Leslie!) And...Ann Curry was in the house! Gorgeous. Three high chairs (not highchairs) were set up and Ashley sat in the middle of NBC anchor Hoda Kotb and I.

The segment itself went very smoothly - I feel like both Ashley and I were given the opportunity to speak our minds and we each got to make salient points. One really good moment, I thought, was when Hoda asked Ashley when her turning point was. She spoke of not remembering her college graduation because she was in such a fog and that's when she knew she needed help. What an eye-opener. As for me, I like the point my brother made - I was able to mention the words "thong," "cocaine" and "Girls Gone Wild" on national TV and still come off sounding intelligent. My job there was done.

After the segment, we hugged and chatted a bit in the hallway. Matt Lauer passed by, eating some Raisin Bran (He's Just Like US!) Also? Surprisingly thin. Probably because they're all on the move from 3am on.

Afterwards, my amazon.com ranking of LRD went from around 200,000 to 14,000, so that was fab! I visited some other friends, family and editors, bought the most delish dark chocolate-covered raisins and super-soft Swedish Fish, and my friend and I ordered in sushi and Pinkberry.

The last bit of fun drama to cap off the trip? My flight out of Laguardia proceeded as follows:

1) My 8am flight was canceled but I received no call or email. Boo.

2) They put me on a 10am flight, even though that would have made me miss my connecting flight (on another airlines) to Detroit.

3) I hightail it through security (with a 4.5 oz bottle of lotion! Ha!) and make it onto a 7am flight. Sweet.

4) At 7:15, the pilot announces that The. Wing. Is. Broken. and we're waiting for a part. Could be an hour.

5) At 7:30, the pilot says, "Oh, BTW the part is en route from DC and should be here in 3 hours.' Mild chaos ensues. We deplane.

6) I sit in line for eons to rebook. I fight for my right to party in Michigan but they don't care.

7) Bitch, bitch, bitch. Repeat.

8) Miraculously, a seat on the 'totally booked' 9am flight opens for me. I think they just wanted to get rid of me. But I was being nice compared to other people - men were literally SCREAMING "United f&^$ing sucks." It was crazy.

I am now safe and sound in Detroit with Dan and his family. Gotta rest up because guess what? The Today Show invited me back next week for another segment - I'll be on Wednesday! Details to come.

xoxoxoxo

Comments

Yea! I thought the show went really well. Made my husband watch it, and I think he finally has more of an understanding of the pressure women feel.

And I didn't notice the hair tossing, for what it's worth.

I didn't notice the hair either. And you're going to be on Today again??? That is SOOOO exciting! You are officially the most famous person I've ever not met but still routinely say that I "know."

Congrats on the amazon ranking! That's huge!!

Can't wait for more info. You're a rockstar!!

Okay - sorry for the double post - just finished reading your totally FAB article for baby talk and I cannot believe that 67% of women would rather have their pre-baby body back than their pre-baby sex life. That means that either our society is very very sick or there are a lot of people out there having very bad sex.

After having 4 kids, I figure I've read every parenting article both written and unwritten but you did a great job taking a tired subject and making it positive and new.

Great job, Leslie, and an informative interview, too. As you know, I'm deeply immersed in the subject of how moms shape their daughters' body image and it's amazing to me how many moms don't realize that what they say about their onw bodies -- and how they treat their bodies -- has a huge effect on their girls.

I didn't catch the show, but I will be sure to check out the clip. Thanks for helping to spread such a positive message.

Your trip sounds like it was very enjoyable (minus the travelling mishaps). Looking forward to seeing your next segment!

youre a rock star!

thanks for letting us little peeps live vicariously.

M.