It all started about a week ago when one of my friends from Stampin' Up! called to see if I wanted to "help them out" up in NYC during the TODAY Show. They were looking for 3 or 4 demonstrators to come up and hold some signs. I hadn't really planned to go. Who really wants to stand out in the cold for a few hours, right? But, how can you say no? And I'm so glad I didn't!
A total of four demonstrators were invited to go up to NYC as part of the adventure. Cindy Senese-Sherilla and I immediately responded YES!!! I also provided a short list of names of demonstrators in my group and was thrilled that two of them (Jill and Heather) were also invited to attend. In the group picture (from left to right) you can see Dawn (Cindy's sister), Cindy Senese-Sherilla, ME, Heather Yates, Jill Gallagher, and Shelli!
After work on Monday, I met up with Heather at the Hamilton train station. We rode up to the city together. Due to some poor planning on our parts, we were staying at completely different hotels - 15 blocks apart!!! 
Mine was only 3 blocks from Penn Station and hers was only 3 blocks from Rockefeller Center. We stopped by mine and figured we would walk towards her hotel and find some dinner. My hotel recommended a restaurant around the corner. It looked good, not too unreasonably priced, but I figured the grass is always greener somewhere else. Besides, I wanted to get out and explore a little more and get Heather closer to her hotel. We walked and walked and walked without really finding anything. Before we knew it, we were up at 44th Street - where her hotel was located. We checked her in and then asked THEM for recommendations. They called three places which were all fully booked already. So, she suggested a fun, Brazilian restaurant on 46th Street. Heather had the address and I trusted her. Boy, was I wrong! (I love you Heather.) She had remembered them telling her 48th Street so before we knew it, we were at Rockefeller Center and realized that we had to backtrack 2 blocks. The food was incredible - and I'm glad I earned so many activity points. I had planned to take a cab back to my hotel since it was 15 blocks, but it was a GORGEOUS evening so I walked!
I rose bright and early the next morning. I didn't want to miss a thing. We were meeting up at one of my favorite places - Dean & Deluca. I got there at 7:20. We weren't meeting up with Shanna and Shelli until 8:30. So, I grabbed a Chai Tea and a muffin and read my book. The gals trickled into the cafe and Shanna and Shelli arrived around 8:45 to drop off the signs SU had made for us to hold. Shelli kept saying how nervous she was, but you really couldn't tell. They darted off to the studios and we headed out to the Plaza to pick out some good spots along the barriers. It was an overcast day with some very light drizzle - making the crowds thin. We were SO disappointed when only one, brief segment got filmed on the Plaza before they started packing up. We could see on the screens that a couple of our signs were visible - if you knew what you were looking for! I was SO disappointed. I felt like we'd failed. We stood in disbelief that that could really be the only coverage we were able to get for SU. But, we knew the studios were at our backs. I texted Shanna to tell her the situation. She was kind and thanked us for our efforts and mentioned that we could shop until we met back up with them around 11:15 for hot cocoa. We told her that we had picked out spots along the windows and hoped that we'd have better luck. And we sure did!!! If you tuned in for the final hour of the Today Show which features Kathie Lee and Hoda, you definitely saw us!!! I received texts, e-mails, and Facebook comments from all over the country saying you guys saw me - and all of us! Shanna texted that they were watching the screens in the Green Room and they could see us! We stood out there for over an hour jumping, screaming, waving, and smiling for the entire hour! I was also thrilled how many others who were standing around us were familiar with Stampin' Up! One of the ladies said she wished that she had a sign to hold, so I gave her one of ours. She's actually holding one of the ones in the background during Shelli's clip.
Shelli's segment was great. Kathie Lee and Hoda loved her. You can watch Shelli's clip here. They asked her to stand up and show off her cute outfit. They screamed out "Stampin Up!" when they introduced her. And, they even pointed out her "Posse" in the background (that would be us). Hoda and Kathie Lee actually were waving at us all morning between segments. Hoda even pointed to our signs and then pointed to the stools to indicate that Shelli's segment would be broadcast at that spot! (Thanks Hoda.)
Some of you have mentioned you didn't see me. And, I'm guessing that's because you only watched Shelli's clip. By that time, I'd figured I'd gotten enough air time and stepped back to let some other people get seen on TV. However, so many of you did see me! I even received an e-mail from a co-worker this morning at 5:45 who had taken photos of her tv with her iPhone to send to me!!! My parents actually got choked up when they watched the show. They said that the expression on my face reminded them of when I was a child. So, if you want to see me, here are a few other clips where I'm a lot more visible:
- Al Roker's segment. - Here you can see Cindy and Dawn REALLY well over Al's right shoulder. I think it's GREAT that you can see the sign and web address. I'm not initially standing with them. I'm actually further back when they flip to a different camera. Look for me 22 seconds into the clip. I'm wearing grey (maybe not the best choice to be spotted on TV - I was going to be wearing my white SU jacket but left it at the hotel because it was SO warm). I'm holding the sign over everyone's heads and waving it back and forth. I realized that that spot wasn't as visible and later joined Cindy and Dawn.
- 10 Secrets of Happy Women segment - This may be some of the best views of me on the show. About 40 seconds into the clip they zoom in on the guest wearing white. You can see three of us over her right shoulder - Heather, me, and Dawn. I'm standing in the back - smiling HUGE - and waving like a crazy woman. The segment goes on for several minutes and we wave and smile and act silly the whole time.
After the show, we headed back to Dean & Deluca to meet back up with Shelli and Shanna before heading over to lunch. Shelli was SO relieved it was over. She and Shanna took all kinds of notes about how we can improve for next year - thinking positive that they'll be invited back for a fourth year. For example, as soon as I saw the signs I wondered why on earth the back of the sign was blank. Why not put it on both sides so people behind us could know what we were cheering about!?!?! They will definitely point out that spots along the glass get on camera SO much!
Around 11:45, we headed over to the Morrell Wine Bar. Lunch was fantastic. The food was good, but the company was better. It was nice that it was a smaller group - and we were seated at a round table! Have you ever been to one of those large meals where people at end of the table can't hear what the other end is saying? Granted, there were only 6 of us (the 4 demos, Shanna, and Shelli), but it was nice. We sat and chatted for over 2 hours before parting ways to head home. Shanna and Shelli had been traveling for 8 days. Shelli has also blogged about the day.
It was such a memorable experience. We had so much fun!
