Kim Martin's Blog |
June 2009
What rhymes with witch, but begins with the same letter as Bridezillas? Yes, Ladies…we've all had the misfortune of encountering such women, some of us (depending on where we live, work, and socialize) more than others. However, just in case you've been living under a rock -- or Wichita, Kansas (where I hear everyone is nice as pie) -- you can recognize these women by the trail of destruction they leave behind them. They are never described as considerate or thoughtful, and I'm pretty sure they don't know the meaning of the word "nice." Let's put it this way; they make Cruella DeVille look like Snow White!
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| Kim doing her best "bitch" imitation |
Don't get me wrong. We all have our moments. Actually, I nearly had a moment this morning. Let's just say it involved an extremely crowded rush hour train, a cup of coffee and a clueless man. But, just imagine the energy it takes to be in the red on the bitch meter ALL the time. Think of the things these women could do with all that energy!
After watching Bridezillas and encountering my fair share of these women, I've come up with a few suggestions that I hope will help if you ever have to deal with them:
- Do not waste your time trying to change them – they do not see the error of their ways. If you do try it may frustrate you to the point of becoming one yourself and that would just defeat the purpose.
- Avoid them. Don't work for or with them. Don't socialize with them and, whatever you do, DO NOT become friends with them. They will drain every ounce of self respect you have.
- Sit back and watch them -- but from afar. It's side-splittingly funny behavior and you can even learn some great life lessons on "how not to behave."
P.S. The photo is me "pretending" to be a bitch…ok, ok, like I said, we all have our moments.
June 2009
Striking a balance between work and home is, without a doubt, a challenge. When relaying my "juggling" stories about coping to keep that balance to my colleagues, the comment I heard most from my male peers was, "You need a wife!" Ladies, you know what I mean. You both work hard yet you find yourself up late baking and frosting 36 cupcakes for your child's school party the next morning or rushing home after work to let the plumber in to fix a leaky toilet. Why do all of these responsibilities often fall to the woman?
Well, about two years ago, I had a life-changing revelation. I attended a luncheon sponsored by the Wall Street Journal and heard the top 25 women in business speak. Their stories and their accomplishments were truly impressive, but one thing struck a chord with me – either their partners had chosen a less consuming career path, or, in most cases, their spouses were staying home to raise their families and run the household.
After MANY conversations and much negotiation, my husband and I agreed that he would forego his career for now and stay home to run the Martin household. I should mention that he is a "guy's guy" and did not know the first thing about washing clothes, cooking or cleaning! You can just imagine those first few months. My biggest hurdle was letting go. Whatever the project, I knew I could do it better. Admittedly, I also feared losing the closeness I shared with my girls or that I might be replaced and that would never do! I recently read an article in USA Today that addresses this very issue. Seems I'm not the only mom who has had this predicament. Plenty of other couples struggle with "who knows best" and how to divide the labor of raising kids, regardless of whether they have high powered careers or not.
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| Kim Martin's husband and daughters |
Fast-forward a little over two years, and while many OMG-moments have come and gone, my girls have never been happier or closer to the both of us. In addition, I am definitely less stressed and even have some "me time" to go to the gym or to catch up with friends. There is much less juggling and much more balance. But, can you imagine being first-time parents of six kids – all the same age and trying to strike any kind of balance! For some real OMG moments, meet the Masches and check-out their new show Raising Sextuplets premiering on WE tv on Thursday, June 11 at 10p|9c. You should see the juggling act in that household!
May 2009
We’ve all seen the TV commercials and the online ads guaranteeing ridiculously rapid weight loss. We know that they aren’t true and if some how they do work, you and I both know – it can’t be healthy, right? But who wouldn’t want immediate results with little effort and as fast as possible? While it would be nice, I have to admit, I’m more committed to being healthy and here’s my formula:
Healthy eating + exercise = healthy body and weight
Sorry, probably not the answer you were hoping for, but I’m 48 and healthy so it works for me.
When I first met Charles Stuart Platkin, host of our new series I Want to Save Your Life, he blew me away with his passion for being healthy. He is totally living what he preaches. For the people on the series, embracing a healthy lifestyle is quite dramatic because it’s the total opposite of what they are doing before Charles meets them. He cleans out their refrigerator, shows them how to eat and how to exercise properly. So check it out, every Saturday night at 10 pm following The Locator. His passion is contagious!
And if you want more tips, here are a few of my own:
1. Exercise a minimum of 3 times a week to maintain your current weight and at least 5 if you want to lose weight.
2. Dress in attire that is comfortable and makes you feel good about yourself. DON’T put on ratty clothes or you’ll dread exercising.
3. Put exercise on your schedule just like any other appointment and prioritize around it.
4. Change it up all the time to beat boredom. My favorite exercise treat is to run with my dog but…I bike, take exercise classes, play tennis, walk, etc. - anything to stay active and get in my weekly 3.
5. And, oh yeah, panty lines are a no-no, even in exercise clothes.
Here’s to being healthy this summer!
Kim
November 2008
Can you believe what a year this has been?! Not that it’s over yet, but I think everyone (bipartisans alike) can agree that the election was certainly a big turning point for our country and it feels like a new beginning. It was inspirational to see everyone energized and passionate about the election. Through our WE Vote initiative, we were able to reach more than 10 million women across the country encouraging them to register to vote and cast their ballots in November. To help spread the word, WE tv held events, deployed consumer marketing and publicity campaigns and most recently launched online social media efforts including a Facebook ‘Speak For Yourself!’ application! Our goal was to empower women to make their voices heard at the polls and I believe we accomplished our mission.
We are looking ahead to 2009 and what our new public affairs initiative will be. If you have any ideas that you’d like to see us concentrate on, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to write in at http://www.wetv.com/contact-we-tv.html
Our new wedding makeover series, MY FAIR WEDDING, premiered October 26th. It stars celebrity wedding planner David Tutera. We love David! He and I went to an Advertising meeting together and of course he looked fabulous, as always. Did you know that he has a staff of 70 people working for him? All this was built from a small floral gift shoppe he had in Westchester, NY. The story goes that a customer came in one day and asked him to plan a bat mitzvah even though he never had done one before. He said "yes" and the rest is history. His motto is “Never Say No.” LOVE that!
This month, WE tv has extended our web family with two new channels for moms-to-be and moms. These new sections include fun features like the Cutest Baby Contest, as well as two must-read parenting blogs: Womb With A View and Mama Drama. Check it out!
Thanksgiving is around the corner, and I am so thankful for a happy and healthy family. I am looking forward to my family’s yearly trip to visit relatives in Florida. My husband’s side of the family lives there, and he is one of 10 siblings! My daughters have 26 first cousins just on his side alone! Can you imagine the chaos…and fun? Of course, I am making my signature Thanksgiving dish with a Southern twist, Sweet Potato Soufflé—a recipe that was handed down to me by my grandmother. Giving thanks to family is important and my hope is that the extended families we’ve helped connect on THE LOCATOR, and many more on our web site’s Share Your Story feature, will be able to share festive celebrations with their new family members.
Have a great Thanksgiving WE tv viewers!
September 2008
This September WE tv is bringing real stories to you that will captivate and introduce you to everyday people who are extraordinary.
Have you ever searched for or wondered about a long-lost loved one? Maybe birth parents or siblings, even an old friend or boyfriend? Troy Dunn, who is reuniting families and friend on our new series THE LOCATOR, believes that everybody has at least one person in their life whom they would like to reconnect with. Troy Dunn is a professional locator who has been helping people find long-lost loved ones for over 19 years. Troy believes, "You can't find peace, until you find all the pieces." You can only imagine how many lives he's forever changed, just by helping them find closure. It's truly inspirational. I find it fascinating that Troy's own mother, Katie, who will also be in the series, was his inspiration to help others. Katie was adopted and they searched for her birth family together.
I had my daughter with me at work the other day and we sat down to watch it together. By the end, we were both in tears reaching for the tissues! But, they were the good kind of tears - the kind where you feel that you understand what someone else is going through and you can relate to their stories. I want to thank the families who had the courage to share a piece of their lives with WE tv for this show and for all of you in TV-viewing-land to watch. I hope this series inspires many people to reach out to someone they love. I'm proud to have THE LOCATOR premiering on WE tv Saturday, September 6th.
August 2008
Hot fun in the city! There’s always something spicy going on at WE tv. This summer we followed our Bridezillas stunt with another crazy idea to celebrate our new Hot Coffee Break web series. If you haven’t checked them out yet, these are priceless short videos with handsome hunks --go to www.wetv.com/hotcoffeebreak/video and see them for yourself!
To celebrate the launch we gathered a bunch of the Hot Coffee Break guys in various places around New York City. They greeted commuters arriving to work in the morning with free coffee! And who doesn’t need coffee in the morning? The best part about this was that the commuters and other people on the streets could take souvenir Polaroid photographs with the guys…who were also shirtless!
Of course we are all about branding and we had to let everyone know where to watch the Hot Coffee Break videos, so we painted our WE tv logo on the men. Check out the following photographs from our event.
This is a makeup artist painting the WE tv logos on one of the hot hunks, just before hitting the streets that morning.
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WE tv employees made sure to get their photos with the guys.
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Don’t you wish you worked at WE tv?!
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Check them out and let us know what you think. Online you can rate the guys, share the videos and download special Hot Coffee Break wallpaper!
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June 2008
Our annual BRIDEZILLAS stunt was this Tuesday (June 3rd) in Times Square to celebrate our fifth season (Sundays at 9pm)! As usual it was bridal madness…but in a good way! The smell of buttercream frosting filled the air as 10 brides-to-be battled their way to the top of a gigantic slice of wedding cake lathered with white and blue icing. All for a chance to win the grand prize of $25,000 towards the wedding of their dreams.
The winning Bridezilla was Meghan Gressler from Basking Ridge, New Jersey. She really bolted up that slippery incline! Maybe there was extra motivation, since she’s getting married this Saturday?! Her fiancé was there to congratulate her on the big win, boy, did he look happy and in love!!
I introduced the event and presented the check to our winner Meghan. I can’t believe I managed not to get any frosting in my hair this time. But, there’s always next year! Here’s a couple of photos from our BRIDEZILLAS wedding album.
Me with all of our contestants.
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The enormous slice of cake before the Bridezillas charged up to the top!
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They say a photo is worth a thousand words, in this case it's worth $25,000 in grand prize money for Meghan and her fiancé!
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To warm the ladies up before the big race, we brought in New York Sports Club trainers. Look at them doing squats in their dresses-this photo is hilarious! I have to hand it to the girls -they were really great sports.
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Here are all the Bridezillas going for the goal. The front runner is our winner, Meghan. We outfitted all the ladies in knee pads and helmets to prevent any frosting-related injuries!
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Our fifth season of Bridezillas premiered on Sunday night June 1st --- tune in every Sunday to see new episodes!
