Tag Archives: Echo Press

Here’s what he said…

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My husband, Al, who is the editor of the Echo Press newspaper, wrote about his experience running the half-marathon in Las Vegas. The story, along with a picture of him running the race, ran in the Opinion section of the newspaper last Friday.

His story is very vivid and almost makes it feel as if you could have been running right beside him. I would love for all of you to read it, so here is a link to the story from the newspaper’s website: Highs and lows of a half-marathon.

Check it out and let me know your thoughts!

Thanks!

Have to share…sorry!

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Okay, so awhile back I posted about an award I received. Well, even though I used to work at the newspaper, I didn’t even think about putting something in about it. However, because my husband still works there – he’s the editor of the Echo Press in case you didn’t know – he thought we should put something in the business section.

Well, duh, of course! So, I just have to share me in the newspaper…here is the article:

Yep, here I am, in my local newspaper, the Echo Press...www.echopress.com!

When one door closes, another one opens

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I am going to share with you, my dear readers, my last column for the newspaper, which is in today’s issue, February 11.

Enjoy. Here it is:

As I sat down to my computer, fingers poised upon my keyboard, I was motionless, not knowing what to type, what to say, who to thank or how to put into words what I am feeling.

Joy. Sadness. Excitement. Nervousness. Eagerness. Confident. Inspired. Passionate. Determined. Tearful. Anxious. Fortunate. Thankful.

After nearly 12 years – or 11 years, 8 months and 23 days to be exact – I am leaving the wonderful world of print journalism.

I am not leaving because newspapers are dying or dwindling. Newspapers are alive and vibrant. And a necessary part of life; in my humble opinion anyway.

I am not leaving because of the company I work for, the people I work for or the people I work with. They are a great bunch of people (and no, I did not get paid to say that!).

I am not leaving because of the people in this community, either. No one made me mad or angry or upset. There wasn’t an incident that caused me to terminate my employment. I don’t think I can express just how I feel about this community and how truly wonderful it is. And I am not just saying that either. It is how I feel from the bottom of my heart.

So, if nothing is wrong and I am not disgruntled in any way, shape or form, then why am I leaving?

As many of you know, a little more than two years ago, I embarked on a healthy living journey. On November 19, 2008, I joined Weight Watchers. That one small step, that one little, but major decision, changed my life.

And now, I am hoping that I can do the same for others as my Weight Watchers leader did for me. Fortunately and unfortunately, I guess, I have found a new passion. A new calling. A new career. A new opportunity. I may have started my journey with Weight Watchers back in 2008, but the real journey is just beginning. I’ve now become a full-time Weight Watchers leader and my hope is that I can play a part in stopping the obesity epidemic that is plaguing our nation. I hope that I can be the shimmer of light, the glimmer of hope for those who are struggling with weight issues – just like I did and still do.

You can continue reading about my journey in my blog – Confessions of a [former] Fat Girl – at http://fatgirl.areavoices.com/.

Although my journey with the newspaper is coming to an end, I hope my connections – the friendships and relationships – I have made in this community don’t. I have met, interviewed and wrote about so many interesting people. I have covered intriguing, controversial county, school, community and environmental issues.

I have written about life and death. I have written uplifting and hopeful stories. I have written stories about sadness and loss and tragedy.

The Echo Press – and this community – has afforded me with so many wonderful opportunities. There are so many of them, I can’t even begin to list them all. Nor can I begin to thank those of you who had a part in providing me with so many unique and positive experiences.

I’ve been a firefighter. I rode along with Alexandria police officers and Douglas County sheriff’s deputies. I went tandem skydiving. I rode in a B-24 World War II bomber airplane. I did a 360-degree loop-de-loop in the world’s first ethanol-fueled MX-2 airplane. I rode in a Minnesota Department of Transportation snowplow.

I was rescued by a member of the Douglas County Dive Team when I “fell” through the ice. I’ve been tazed by a real Tazer gun, willingly, by law enforcement. I’ve been bass fishing with a pro. I tried to catch a muskie with an avid muskie fisherman. I took part in the Citizen’s Police Academy. I’ve spent time in jail – again, willingly.

My mind is filled with so many wonderful memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I was recently told how lucky I am to have come across two things – jobs/careers – I love because many people in life never even find one. I am truly blessed.

Although it seems simple, thank you. Thank you for reading my articles and columns. Thank you for letting me share your stories. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life.

If you see me out and about in the community, I hope you stop and say hello. And if you do, I have but one small request, call me by my real name – Celeste Edenloff.

NOTE: In the newspaper, my byline was Celeste Beam as that was my name when I started. When my husband and I got married, we decided to leave my last name as is for the newspaper…for two reasons. One, it would have been too long to put on one line and therefore would have looked weird in the paper and two, my husband is the editor of the paper!

As many of you know, you can find me, Celeste Edenloff, on Facebook, as well as Confessions of [former] Fat Girl on Facebook. Click here for the link to my Confessions Facebook site.

Sharing my experience…again

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Scared speechless? Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I know, it’s hard to believe for most of those who know me. But I really am if, or when, I have to stand up in front of a group of people and talk or give a speech. I sweat. I stutter, kind of. My voice quivers and yes, sometimes, I even clam up and nothing comes out. I know, once again, hard to believe, right?

Well, I decided to take a class at Alexandria Technical and Community College called, “Scared Speechless – How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking.” The class was taught by Robin Johnson, who I have to say, was fantastic…and I am not just saying that because she will probably be reading this. She was very calming, professional, funny and down to Earth. She made us feel at ease. Like we were normal and not the scaredy-cats we all believed we were. She believed in us, which in turn, made us believe in us. (If that made sense!) The class was great and I am happy I took it. Despite the fact that last night, all the students in the class (there were only a handful of us) had to each give an eight-minute speech.

I really didn’t know what the heck I was going to talk about for eight minutes. EIGHT WHOLE MINUTES. That in itself was scary. But then, it happened. I had to write a column for the newspaper and when I finished it, I immediately thought, “OMG, I just wrote my speech!” Awesome.

Well, my column (I wrote about my 10K running experience), which you can read here, didn’t last eight minutes when I read it out loud, so I had to include more information…an intro at the beginning and a longer ending. When I read it at home, it was five seconds short of eight minutes. Whew! I made it. I even practiced it a few times.

Well, last night, when I read it in class, some how, some way, I ended up stretching it out even longer and it turned into a 10-minute speech. Yep, TEN WHOLE MINUTES! I stood up, in front of a group of people and spoke for 10 minutes. And I don’t think my voice was as shaky as I expected it to be.

I want to thank Robin for giving me the encouragement and the skills needed to start my journey of getting over the fear of public speaking. I have to admit that afterward, I was pretty pumped up. Although, if anyone was standing close to me, they would have seen all the sweat beads formed over my upper lip!

I just hope that next time, it goes as smoothly as I felt it went last night!

Remember, you can find me on Facebook, just click here and if you want to chat or have a question, feel free to send me an email. Keep in mind, however, that I may not respond immediately, but I promise I will respond. Email me at confessionsofaformerfatgirl@gmail.com.

Riding bike to work

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I rode my bike to and from work twice this week. But I must confess, it’s wasn’t my choice…at first.

My car broke down on Tuesday, so on Wednesday and Thursday, I decided to ride my bike to work instead. Yes, I could have gotten a ride from my husband being we work at the same place. And yes, my son graciously offered to get up and drive me to work…at 6:30 a.m., no less. (What a sweetheart.) But I thought, “Why?” when I have a perfectly good bike in the garage and it is less than five miles to my work. Plus, what a great way to get in a little extra exercise.

Yesterday, I even walked to do one of my interviews. (For those who don’t know, I am a reporter for the newspaper in Alexandria.) When I got to the interview, the guy I was going to be talking to was standing outside and when he realized I walked, he said, “Why didn’t you tell me, I could have came and picked you up?” It was about seven blocks. So, really, don’t think I needed a ride. Even when we were done with the interview he said, “I can give you a ride back.” Really? It’s seven blocks. I thanked him for the offer and then headed out the door and down the street. (Good thing I wore my tennis shoes when I rode in that morning because the heels my husband brought to work for me wouldn’t have been that comfortable to walk in…they are definitely not walking shoes!)

When I got back to work, my husband, who kept offering for me to use his car because he didn’t think I should be riding bike to work or apparently walking to my interviews, said this:

“If people saw you, I bet you got some tails waggin’ because people probably thought you got a DWI or something and lost you license. That’s why you’ve been biking and walking.”

Really? Wow!

My thought was: I bet if people see me they are probably thinking, “Wow! She’s really taking this fitness thing serious. Now she’s biking to work and walking around town. How cool is that?”

Two different people. Two different perspectives.

I have to say, honestly, I kind of liked biking to work. I really did. And if I know I don’t have any out-of-town interviews, I might do it some more. The early morning rides were…Beautiful. Brisk. Serene. Quiet. Lovely. The evening bike rides were…not so much. I would say they were busy, maybe a little dangerous, but still fun.

So, until the snow flies, if you are in the Alexandria area and happen to see a professionally dressed woman wearing tennis shoes riding her bike to and from work, it’s probably me. Honk and wave when you go by, I’ll give you a wave and a smile back.

But just remember, it was MY choice to ride bike. Not the choice of authorities because I got a DWI!!!!

My husband’s take on the 5K

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As you all know, my husband and I ran the in the Fargo 5K on May 21. He decided to write about it for a column that runs in the newspaper we both work for, the Echo Press.

The column, which runs each Friday, is called "It’s Our Turn," and it rotates among members of the editorial staff. It was his turn and he thought he would share his thoughts on the 5K. And now, I thought I would share the column with you, my readers.

It’s a great perspective…plus, he’s an awesome writer. Seriously.

You can check out his column in our newspaper by clicking on the link, www.echopress.com/event/article/id/75283/group/Opinion/  or you can read it below. Enjoy!

The title was, "Ten lessons learned from running a 5K."

I ran in a 5K race in Fargo last weekend.

Notice I said “ran” instead of “competed” because that’s a more accurate description of what took place.

Actually “ran” isn’t quite the right word either. “Jogged” is more fitting.

But even though my time – just over 37 minutes to complete 3.1 miles – wasn’t the speediest, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

I’m not a seasoned runner. This was only the second 5K I’ve participated in. But I do like to jog every now and then to burn off some stress, enjoy the outdoors and to take a break from sitting on the couch. I also enjoy going out for a run with my wife. It’s one of those shared activities that gives you a good sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. We both participated in the 5K, running each step practically side by side, except when the maddening crowd – more than 5,100 runners and walkers – made it impossible to do.

Along the way, I learned some lessons about competing in a 5K:

1. Get in line early. We arrived at the race registration headquarters, the FargoDome, hours ahead of time but we didn’t know when or where runners would start lining up until we discovered several thousand people were already ahead of us in the staging area. When the starting gun started, we were way back in the pack.

2. Be prepared for chaos. When we finally crossed the starting line eight minutes after the race had started, there were thick clusters of runners, walkers, baby strollers and little kids all over the place. We tried our best to zig-zag around them and followed other runners’ strategy by veering off into people’s yards and sidewalks. It was crazy and hectic – but kind of fun.

3. Runners come in all shapes and sizes. There is no definitive description of a 5K runner. We saw people in their 70s and children barely out of diapers. There were runners short and tall, those skinny-as-a-rail to those who looked like permanent couch potatoes. Their experience, varied too – from seasoned pros (they had enough “gear” to open a sports store) to greenhorns in their first race. The fact that we were all bonding together toward a common goal – the finish line – made all those differences irrelevant.

4. Running doesn’t take months of training or mountains of work. You just have to want to do it and make the effort.

5. Runners are generally pretty cool people. Despite the huge field of runners, there was no pushing, yelling or rude behavior. People were friendly, smiling and encouraging.

6. People like runners. Along the route, dozens of people sat outside in their lawn chairs, cheering the runners on. They held signs. They clapped. Some sprayed water on the over-heated runners who wanted cooling off. They shouted, “You can do it! Keep going! Almost there!” Exactly why they did all this was a mystery to me. All we were doing was moving our feet. But the support was a great boost.

7. A welcoming touch really does matter. The whole town of Fargo got behind this racing event, which also included a 10K, a half-marathon and a marathon. Signs were everywhere welcoming the runners. The media coverage was extensive. It was all they were talking about on TV, radio and in the newspaper. The buzz and excitement helped. It was like an added level of support and an extra shot of adrenaline.

8. Don’t be ashamed to say “it was just a 5K.” At first, when people in Fargo asked which race I was competing in, I felt a little sheepish telling them it was the 5K. But everyone I told it to was still impressed. After awhile, I accepted the fact that although my race was nowhere near a 26.2-mile marathon, it was still a personal challenge worth completing.

9. Set your sights high. The 5K was fun, memorable and rewarding. So much so that I want to take it to another level. Next year, I’m going to run in the 10K. Well, maybe not “run” but you get the idea.

10. A “fast” time isn’t as important as finishing. It was humbling to see the 5K top runner finish the race in less than half the time it took me. But then I realized how much training, time and dedication that runner must have put into his regimen. He and the other top runners deserved their fast times. My main goal was just to finish the race. In the end, we were all winners.

Totally off the subject…

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As many of you know, I am reporter for the Echo Press newspaper in Alexandria, MN.

Because of this, I have been afforded many different opportunities…I have been skydiving; I have been a firefighter for a day; I have done ride-alongs with both our police department and our sheriff’s office; I rode in the MX-2 airplane, the world’s first and only airplane to use Ethanol fuel; and I have had the opportunity to meet some of the neatest people in and around my community.

Well, yesterday, I added one more thing to my list of firsts…I got to ride in a helicopter. Life Link III now has a base in Alexandria (read about it in next week’s paper) and I interviewed the crew, including the medic, the nurse and pilot. They took me up in the helicopter, which was way awesome! I even got to take a picture of my house from the sky! Seriously, it was the neatest experience. Helicopters are way cool.

Here’s a pic of me in the Life Link III chopper:

Thanks to Mike, the medic; Jamie the nurse; and Mike the pilot for an awesome adventure!

And people thought I was bold, brave

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When I started my blog more than a year ago, many people – friends, co-workers, family, strangers – thought I was brave for sharing my story. But I didn’t think so. First of all, when I started my blog, I was an anonymous person. I didn’t tell anyone who I was. Yes, there were a few people who figured it out, but I never revealed my identity. I wasn’t brave because I hid behind the title of my blog.

It wasn’t until August 9 of last year when my readers learned who the real "Fat Girl" was. It’s me, Celeste Edenloff, a 37-year-old woman who lives in Alexandria, Minnesota, who is a reporter for the Echo Press newspaper (my name in the paper is Celeste Beam – it’s a long, complicated story!), a mother to Brandon and a wife to Al. So really, was I that brave when I first started?

I don’t think I was/am as brave as Karin L. Nauber, who also happens to be a reporter. Karin works for the Independent New Herald, a newspaper based out of Clarissa, Minnesota that covers news in Todd County.

A co-worker of mine gave me the newspaper and told me to check it out because there was an article in it she thought I would be interested in. She was right, there was. In the March 3 edition of the paper on page 5 was an article written by Karin about herself. It was titled "Be a loser with Karin."

Karin recently began the "2010 Be A Loser With Karin" weight loss challenge. She did the same challenge in 2009. In the article, Karin listed her weight at the end of the 2009 challenge and then her starting weight at the beginning of this challenge. I liked the way she admitted that she gained weight, "It seems I have gained a bit. Nah, let’s be realistic. I gained a lot." I like her approach, her humor and her honesty.

I also liked how she set her goal. She said her plan is to lose 25 pounds in the next 12 weeks. Although it is a little lofty or as she put it, hefty, it is definitely better than her original goal, which was to lose 40 pounds. Yikes! That would have been probably a little more than she could have handled. Karin said her friends told her she needs to be more realistic and I couldn’t agree more.

It happens for so many people when they decide they need to lose weight. They set this unrealistic goal and when they can’t reach it, they are frustrated and disappointed and most often, they give up. I have seen and heard it so many times. I’ve even done it. Several times. Anyway, in her article, Karin challenges her readers to set a realistic goal with some good, healthy ways to achieve that goal. Again, I couldn’t agree more. One of the ways she is going to try and achieve her goal is by watching her portion sizes. Karin said she is going to try to attempt eating portion sizes that are more suitable for one person instead of three. Seriously, she couldn’t be more right. As a society, we eat WAY too big of portions. It truly is ridiculous. Really. 

Karin is going to be writing about her progress in her newspaper, as well as in a blog. I am going to be honest here, I wasn’t going to write about her because I didn’t want to lose my readership. I wasn’t going to give you her blog website address because sometimes, I am little selfish and I can admit that. But there is something about this woman, who by the way, I have never met in my life, that I find fascinating.

So, check her out. Follow her like you follow me. But, now here’s the selfish part of me, don’t quit reading me. Don’t give up on me. I love all my readers. I love that you take the time to read my blog and comment when you have something to say. I like – okay, thrive on – that feedback. But I think you should take the time to read her as well and let her know that she has followers, that she has supporters. So, here it is, check out Karin: bealoserwithkarin2010.blogspot.com/

Oh, and let me know what you think. And also don’t forget, you can become a fan of Confessions of a Fat Girl on Facebook. Check it out, I think you might like it. Thanks again for reading…all of you are greatly appreciated!