A Great Cause

On Friday, October 15th I volunteered at the 6th annual benefit gala held at the Sofitel Hotel in Edina which helps disadvantaged people gain lifestyle skills. I sold light up necklaces which then allowed you to play "heads or tails" game for the chance to win a cash prize and also was a live auction spotter after the dinner was served. I have volunteered for this event for four years and am grateful that such an organization exists. Other ladies from the pageant system were there to volutunteer along with me. I hadn't met them before so it was a fun night in many ways!

MIDTOWN GREENWAY

The city of Minneapolis was named the #1 city for bicycling in the U.S by Bicycling Magazine and the Midtown Greenway and the Midtown Greenway Coalition had a lot to do with that. The 44 mile bike ride on Sept 25th, 2010 raised money to raise awareness of the Greenway and of biking in the cities. For more more information on the Greenway visit the Coalition web site at: http://www.midtowngreenway.org/

My friend James and  I posed below the Greenway sign.

He raised over $5400 and won a trip to Paris France!!

Tim in the lovely green cape led the event.

My daughter Claire helped pull raffle winners.

Even the birds came out for support!

TASTE OF THE LAKES 2010

I was asked to attend and volunteer at the Taste of the Lakes 2010 which was held at the Bayview Event Center in Excelsior, MN on Friday Sept 24 which benefited the ICA and the local food shelf. I modeled jewelery which was donated and raffled at the at the end of the evening  which cost $5 for one ticket ticket or 3 tickets for $10. There was live acoustic music by Tim Mahoney and LOTS of wonderful food from local restaurants. A photo booth was put up (see above with my daughter and I) which was a hit!! A lot of fun was had by everyone.  A lot of money was raised and I hope to be part of the event in the future!!

Go Red for Women

The International Pageant System teamed up with the the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2008. As a contestant and someone who had heart surgery for PSVT I take pride in being able to promote heart health and being aware of what your body is telling you. With my condition my heart would suddenly race at a very high rate and as time went on, I couldn't stop it or  get it to settle back to a normal rhythm. Just before having the ablation surgery I was spending a lot of time in the ER to fight my heart racing. I would be exhausted after the marathon my heart was running in my still body. Ambulances had come to my office to take me to the ER (driving like that is bad!) to "reset" my heart. It started happening regularly so I made the decision with my cardiologist to proceed with the ablation surgery. I've been cured since! My mom also had a form of tachycardia and my mother in law as well.

Be aware of what you are feeling and take the signs seriously. A campaign that the AHA has which is a great diagnostic tool is to take a survey of your overall health picture. You can do that at http://mylifecheck.heart.org/PledgePage.aspx?NavID=5&CultureCode=en-US

Learn the 7 simple steps that ANYONE can do to reduce the risk of heart disease. It is the number one killer of women so this isn't something to take lightly! I took the survey to get a picture of  my health but some of the questions regarding diet maybe hurt my in my overall number but Mike and I are vegan and I also don't eat gluten since I am allergic to it. My overall score was 7.3. I am in the preferable "green" area of the chart border lining the 2nd best color yellow. Looks like I need to step up my cardio and RAISE my blood pressure! I've always been on the low end around 110/75.  Take the test to see what you can do and where you fit on the chart.

I'd like to get more involved in promoting the movement and I'm going to look into sharing my story which started when I was only 18.

It was a very busy day with my banner presentation and the evening meeting! Keep checking here for updates for upcoming Go Red events. I am also able to get you the little red dress pin so please email me ( mollynicholson3@gmail.com subject line red dress) to get one for yourself and every woman that you care about!

Be Healthy!
Molly

BANNER PRESENTATION WITH RT RYBAK!

I went downtown Minneapolis today to the Mayor RY Rybak's open house. He holds the open forum opportunity monthly so you can pop down there with no appointment and talk about issues, concerns, or a banner presentation!! I was lucky enough to have Jenna O'Rourke, Miss Teen MN, present my banner to me along with RT Rybak. Mike was also in attendance since he works a few blocks from the location. Check out my pictures! I'm Official!

RT Rybak presenting my 2011 banner to me.

Mike is such a wonderful supporter! If its I.T. help for webpages, business cards or  making sure I can attend appearances, I hit the jackpot!

The beautiful Jenna O'Rourke Miss Teen MN, and a great friend, came to support me and talk about her platform of cancer to the Mayor.

Apple Days in Excelsior

Me with the Minnetonka High School cheerleaders helping blow up balloons for the kids.

The convertable I rode in to lead the doll and buggy parade down Main Street Excelsior.

Chad Babock is the local State Farm agent. He is so awesome and was a lot of fun work  with. He does a lot in the community and is a wonderful asset for the city!

 

Chad Babock, the Good Neigh-Bear and I taking pictures with kids. The Bear was a hit with the crowd!

On call

I'vee been a volunteer with Sexual Offense Services (SOS) of Ramsey County for going on 11 years now. I handle the after hours crisis line and am an outreach advocate for rape/assault victims. Sometimes the person may just need to talk things out and sometimes it's Region's Hospital calling me to come be there with a victim. I may help them through the rape kit process, making a police report about the incident, offer our in office counseling services, find them a shelter for the evening, etc. You just never know what you're going to  be doing when you are on call!

I was on call this week and took a call for a domestic abuse situation. It's not my expertise but I was able to refer her on to someone who will be able to help. I hope she reaches out! We have to respect confidentiality and not talk about the cases we go on of course. I always feel grateful for my wonderful husband and situation after talking to the men/women who call in. Mike is always waiting for me when I get home from an outreach call which often is at 1-5am!! My advice is that if you are in a situation that isn't healthy, get out and help. There is is a wonderful resource out there..SOS. 24/hr crisis line 651-643-3006  LOTS of dedicated volunteers such as myself are standing by to help :)