My favorite Matchmaker and inspiration for this column returns to television on Tuesday, October 19th with a new season filmed in my home away from home, New York City! When I think of love in The Big Apple, I think of a timeless bit of advice given to me by one of my aunts, ‘be with someone who likes you!
She imparted those words of wisdom while I was dating Charlie, my best catch to date. Charlie had a wonderful family, he was a stockbroker, brought home roses at least twice a week and planned surprise getaways to tropical islands. Most importantly, he really, REALLY liked me!
Since I met Patti Stanger at the Mohegan Sun Casino on Valentine’s Weekend, I’ve hit the ground running with words of advice given to me by Patti, an objective observer. It’s proven to be beneficial and improve my overall quality of life!
Along the way, I’ve had to step back, reassess and set new benchmarks. This is crucial in order to pay forward any mission, in this case, to reach a healthy weight. I’ve lost 15 pounds in three weeks, and got my metabolic age down to 60 years old! Yes – excess weight has real, medical side effects! Scary!
As the role of food in our lives changes, it’s like peeling away layers of the proverbial onion. There is lightness on the scale, but also an emotional reveal, as new behavior toward food eclipses the old.
I had a moment the other day, where it dawned on me, that part of my weight gain can be attributed to liking or loving someone who didn’t “like” me. The person, by default, only picked out the negative in me, and on one’s best day, it’s tough not to own some of that, even if it’s only subconsciously. This is where unhealthy ideas about food, for me, seemed to originate. Thus, “be with someone who likes you,” maybe even a little more than you like them and let your attributes take the stage for change!
Like G.I. Joe always said, “Knowing is half the battle.” Now that I know, I can change! It’s actually quite exciting! Who knew that Patti’s litany of things I needed to fix to ready myself for true love would reveal so much!
Angela wears a Cynthia Rowley top with rock-n-roll stud detail from Marshalls. The emerald-tone beaded necklace and matching earrings with Swarovski crystals are one of Kristy’s creations from the “Arc General Store and Bakery, Groton. For the lusious curls in her hair, she used Chi products from TJ Maxx.
by Angela Olsen
Ready or not, Fall is in full swing, and I decided to use the change in season to mark a personal time for renewal, a fresh start, if you will, and a return to the chapter Mirror Mirror from Millionaire Matchmaker, Patti Stanger’s book: “Become Your Own Matchmaker.” Patti hammered me for my lack of style and weight at Singles Boot Camp at the Mohegan Sun Casino on Valentine’s Weekend.
I’ve come a long way since then, but even on the journey up, it’s easy to become complacent or stagnant “in a groove,” while life happens. For example, eating only once a day this Summer, fearful of gaining back lost pounds, actually hindered my weight loss efforts. My friend, Jessica, pointed out eating once a day is the “Sumo Wrestler Diet.” While sporting a red t-shirt to run errands, my friend, Julia, asked me if it was my favorite shirt since I wore it all the time! Oops!
That plateau was busted-through, last week, losing eight-pounds, and I’m on track to do the same this week! Now, to lose ‘my favorite shirt’ and scour the fashion scene and renew my style!
What designers sent down the runways for the Fall 2010 collections was thrilling! I spent the past few days studying their collections around the clock for you! Two of the largest themes are military-inspired garments, which is evident in the new cargo leggings and the closures on several coats. Also exhilarating is “lady-chic” a return to feminine pieces, like glamorous hats, to ‘top off’ a look!
Jewel-tones are huge. The deep plums and khaki colors Chanel presented in the new makeup palette mirror the richly colored autumn leaves! Animal prints are making a ferocious resurgence. In fact, leopard is now considered a neutral! Modern lace was everywhere on the Gucci runways. It’s a refreshing departure from the cheap-looking 1980’s rock-video lace and revamped so that it doesn’t look like drapery.
Oscar de La Renta recently showed emerald toned jewelry on his models; reminding me of the “Emerald City.” Thrift stores are an awesome place to find beaded accessories. You can ‘have a leg up,’ with legwarmers – the Prada runway boasts knit versions with rosette details. Oversized, cozy, chunky sweaters were part of Chanel’s collection. Donna Karan, true to form, had chic blacks, flattering women of all shapes and sizes.
Armed with this information, I grew excited to go shopping for my own interpretation of these runway looks! There are many videos on YouTube. My favorite is by a girl named Marlena, who is a makeup artist. Search “makeup geek” and you will master every hot technique imaginable. She even helped me with organizing, for example, using a desktop pen-holder for all of my makeup brushes! Although many of the makeup she uses is expensive, she lists comparable affordable brands. I ordered an 88-color palette and am loving it!
Most local shops are carrying designer-inspired Fall looks, and transition pieces which will work through Winter. The prices are tangible. The key is to make each idea unique, reflective of whom you are, and enjoy the ride!
Angela Olsen says, “Infected eggs will be treated, pasteurized and sold-either as powdered eggs, in pasta, or other processed foods. Eek!”
by Angela Olsen
As we bid goodbye to Summer this issue, and chat with Residents on the Street about their favorite Fall recipes, I sit in disbelief that this column is at its 15th installment and Autumn is upon us! Oddly enough, when the opportunity to write arose, I wasn’t looking for anything! Didn’t some wise person say that it’s when you’re not looking that things fall into our laps? “Non-negotiables” were the hot topic last issue, Patti Stanger, whom I met at the Mohegan Sun Casino at Singles Boot camp; broke off her engagement to her fiancé due to conflicting “non-negotiables.”
This matter spawned a tremendous amount of consideration within me. My own sister told me to never have children. Of course, that was immediately following an incident on the beach, where someone’s child approached my blanket screaming at the top of her lungs. I made the most menacing face possible and told her to scram! I was trying to decompress! I will also abandon my cart in the grocery store and leave the shopping for another day if there are crying babies everywhere.
I’ll let you in on a little secret… I love children! The day my little niece Haley was born was the most joyous event to date! I look forward to spending time with her above everything! Kids seem to like me too, we have an unspoken chemistry. I suppose, then, having pondered this, that, as I work through the steps of “Become Your Own Matchmaker,” and continue the quest for true love, that the option of having children must be open. Having children, is a non-negotiable for me. That is, if my 32-year old eggs are any good!
Speaking of eggs, I couldn’t help but notice that half a billion eggs were recently recalled and that thousands of Americans are now sick with salmonella! I have plans to break this weight-loss plateau once and for all, and it involves the incredible, edible egg. As I discussed this matter with a friend, he told me that the tainted eggs will be recalled, pasteurized and sold! I can’t be the only person who is freaked out by this… So scary!
I’m excited about Fall fashion and need to pay my weight-loss forward so that I can wear these sexy options, and do not need this crisis right now!
I phoned my pal “Doc” Burrows of the Groton Family Farm, and asked for his take on this crisis. I asked how something like this outbreak happens, and he told me, “When you have birds in close quarters, the risk of disease is much higher. Having said that, I don’t believe that it’s industry wide, it’s a couple of ‘bad actors,’ who have already received several citations and are not complying with FDA regulations. To have birds, you cannot allow people into your coops. They can spread disease such as bronchitis or salmonella.”
I then asked Doc the question, to which I probably did not want to know the answer, and he confirmed that, yes, the infected eggs will be treated, pasteurized and sold-either as powdered eggs, in pasta, or other processed foods. Eek!
My eggs will be coming from happy, healthy birds, from local farmers, as Doc told me that “when you create in volume, you cannot control the environment, and going to smaller production, there is more control. Know your farmer…know your food!” How do you feel about pasteurization of infected eggs?
Angela Olsen says, “In a pinch, you can use a lid that doesn’t fit the pot quite right, but it just makes a mess!”
by Angela Olsen
Patti Stanger recently announced via Twitter that she broke off her engagement to her love of six years, Andy Friedman. I remember gasping at the exquisite four-carat, heart-shaped, diamond, which Andy traveled all the way to Israel to purchase for her (from a conflict-free region)! Now, as the proverbial cobbler’s children have no shoes, the wedding is off, and the world’s most famous matchmaker is single!
What gives? What went wrong, and why do people break up? Patti Stanger sat in as a guest host on the Joy Behar Show on the 23rd, and dished with several relationship experts. She asked Cooper Lawrence, author of Been There Done That Kept the Jewelry “Why do people break up?” Says Cooper, “People break up because going into the relationship they didn’t know what they wanted and they get into the relationship and go, ‘wait a minute-I didn’t want this!”
I’ll drink to that! In Patti’s book Become Your Own Matchmaker, which she discussed with me at The Mohegan Sun Casino on Valentine’s Weekend, Step Four is “Qualifying the Buyer.” In this chapter, Patti discusses non-negotiables. These are “deal breakers” which for Patti and Andy, was her desire to have children. Andy changed his mind, and now doesn’t want children.
As a woman, I know that this chapter can be a challenge; you’re attracted to someone, feeling the sparks, butterflies in the tummy. Nothing will scare a man off faster than nailing him with fifty-questions about his financial goals, and how many children he wants, etc.. However, if you don’t coyly figure these details out, you can waste months or years of your time with Mr. Wrong. I’ve been there, done that, kept the jewelry!
As a new season approaches, change is in the air. Fall fashion, as my Resident on the Street Lindsey Castelberry says, is reason for great excitement! As I say goodbye to Summer, and one Mr. Wrong, who was courting me, I’m looking forward to what’s next. The Universe is abundant, and Every Pot Has a Lid!
What are your five non-negotiables? Here are Patti’s categories: Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Intellectual and Financial.
"On a sunset walk by the water, I clipped this beautiful wild heather, and it makes me smile, because everything we need is here. The universe is abundant," says Angela Olsen
by Angela Olsen
Contributing to the Resident gives me opportunities to connect with more people than I would otherwise have. I receive remarkable feedback, as well as, I am often a shoulder to cry on or a confidante when it comes to the trials and tribulations of people in search of true love. Most recently, I am meeting people whom are feeling the crunch of our economy, a former executive who wants me to keep an ear open for any form of work, hauling junk, cleaning, anything. When faced with these challenges, it can take a toll on who we thought we were, and mess with our self esteem, myself included!
Patti Stanger, the Millionaire Matchmaker, whom I met at Mohegan Sun on Valentine’s Weekend, wants people to know, that “YOU are the prize!” In a recent online post, Patti says, (to women, but men listen up as well!) “He needs to please you as much as you need to please him. Ask yourself what type of man it will take to win your heart? What is your type? What values do you have? Don’t forget, YOU are the prize!”
Even in challenging economic times, the goodness of people prevails.
My identity was deeply connected to my cash position for many years, and as I took a peek into the lives of some amazing residents, I realize that we all have so much to offer beyond money!
A woman tells me, “I would love to join Patti’s club, but I am not a millionaire.” Fear not, if a person is wealthy, and unaffected by the economy, he should be more than willing to share! One thing that makes me feel worthwhile is cooking! There are inexpensive, and scintillating meals which can be prepared for marginal cost, and believe me, food is definitely still one way in to a man’s heart! Goya products help in a major way!
See the recipe here for a light, low carb, low calorie salad, which is a crowd-pleaser.
To quote Eckhart Tolle, whose books saved my life, “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” Thank you for reading!
