Right now I am in pain and I'm hoping I am not seriously injured. Someone once said to me, "For someone so graceful, you're really clumsy." I honestly can't remember if it was my mother, my dance teacher, a friend ... regardless, it is a true statement and today I had a major klutz moment. I fell down at the gym. The really embarrassing thing is that I wasn't even doing anything strenuous or complicated, I was just walking in between two treadmills. My feet somehow got tangled up underneath one of the machines and I lost my balance and fell down while holding onto a medicine ball. In the process I really hurt my left ankle, scraped my right leg and bruised up both my hands. All of this while in mid-sentence with the guy on the treadmill next to me. I'm pretty sure he had one of those moments where you are concerned for the person who's just fallen down but you are also trying desperately not to laugh at them. Ugh. Now I'm walking like a goofball and popping lots of ibuprofen.
Thank goodness there is a great distraction today. The celebration for Shawn Johnson should be AWESOME. She's awesome. And she's so darn cute and smiley, you just want to squeeze her! People started lining up outside Wells Fargo Arena around noon, so by the time the doors open at 5:30 this evening I'm sure there will be a huge crowd. Shawn deserves it. Speaking of homecomings, a lot of people have asked if we'll be doing something for Lolo Jones. Absolutely. Lolo's staying overseas for awhile, but when she returns to Iowa you can bet we will throw a party. As heartbreaking as it was to watch her clip that hurdle last week, it was amazing to witness her grace, sportsmanship and strength afterward. Lolo is amazing, and a great role model for all of us.
Finally, last week was busy but very fun for me. In the past I've mentioned my inability to say "no" to various requests. Part of the reason it's difficult for me, is because I get so much out of every event. Here are some examples - and organizations you might like to help with the donation of your time, effort or money!
Wednesday I was the MC for the NAMI Walks kick-off luncheon. NAMI is the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. The second annual walk is coming up in October.
Margaret Stout is the Executive Director and Jay Brewer is the walk manager. Both work their tails off to help people in need and they'd love to have your support. If you're interested, visit www.namiiowa.comFriday night I served as MC for a graduation ceremony for a brand new program. It's the Iowa Youth International Leadership Program, sponsored by the Chinese Association of Iowa. Kids from all over Iowa participated in the three week program, along with kids from as far away as China and Malaysia. They had the chance to visit businesses like Wells Fargo and Kemin Industries, they spent time with Iowa leaders like Governor Bob Ray, Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey and Senator Daryl Beall, and toured places like the Art Center.
Lisa Thai is just one of the great kids who took part in the leadership program. After listening to these young people talk about what they learned and what they aspire to, I have no doubt our future is in good hands. If you'd like to help out with next year's program check out www.iowachinese.orgSaturday was CRAZY! This event did not entail speaking or running an event, but it did include getting soaking wet and sacrificing one's pride. A bunch of us helped out with water fights at Fire Fest. I'm the one who got some of the Channel 13 crew involved in this, but I had no idea what I was really getting us into....
Here is Winters, practicing before one of our competitions. He looks so serious!
It's probably because what we were doing actually took some concentration. You can't see it in these pictures, but there is an empty keg hanging from a wire up above us. The object is to use the force of the water to move the keg to your opponent's' side of the street.
It is not easy ... at least not for me. I lost every time I was at the front of the hose. In this picture I'm helping Jannay get geared up for her turn in front. She lost too. In fact, Dan is the only one of us who was victorious. A huge thank you to B.Ross, Randy Schumacher, Mark Tauscheck and Shawn Terrell for being good sports and getting wet for a good cause. We'll let you know when next year's event rolls around so you can help raise money for the Des Moines Fire Fighters Welfare Fund.
Here is Winters, practicing before one of our competitions. He looks so serious! 
It's probably because what we were doing actually took some concentration. You can't see it in these pictures, but there is an empty keg hanging from a wire up above us. The object is to use the force of the water to move the keg to your opponent's' side of the street. 
It is not easy ... at least not for me. I lost every time I was at the front of the hose. In this picture I'm helping Jannay get geared up for her turn in front. She lost too. In fact, Dan is the only one of us who was victorious. A huge thank you to B.Ross, Randy Schumacher, Mark Tauscheck and Shawn Terrell for being good sports and getting wet for a good cause. We'll let you know when next year's event rolls around so you can help raise money for the Des Moines Fire Fighters Welfare Fund.That's it for now .... have a great rest of the week!
EEK
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2 comments:
Wow Erin! Awesome hair!
Hi Erin, I watch you all the time and think you're a great addition to Des Moines' news. This might sound kind of rude but I swear it's not meant to be but are you expecting? I only ask because the blue stripe shirt you're wearing in that first emcee picture is the exact same shirt I wore when I was pregnant with my son. Just wondering. Congratulations if you are! It seems to be in the water at WHO.
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