The new issue of On The Minds of Moms Magazine is available now. In it, you’ll find a feature story I wrote about the lovely Nancy Soyring, whom I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing a few months ago.

Courtesy: OTMOM - Nancy Soyring - April/May 2012 and Rialee Photography

She shared with me and my editors the story of her second coming as a mom. I’ll give you a hint how she and her husband did it: adoption.

OTMOM - Nancy Soyring - April/May 2012 - Collage, Courtesy: Rialee Photography

Here’s an excerpt:

“Twenty-eight days. A mere four weeks.

You can do anything for 28 days, right?

But this 28 days wasn’t what Nancy Soyring asked for…it wasn’t how it was supposed to go…or was it?

Nancy, who grew up on a farm outside of Mahnomen with her parents, three sisters and one brother, always knew she wanted to be a mother. She just didn’t plan on becoming one so soon.”

OTMOM

One of the things I’m most proud of in my life has nothing to do with me. It’s all about my dad.

He served in the United States Marine Corps and is a Vietnam War veteran. His volunteerism and service to our country is remarkable in my opinion (as is the volunteerism and service other men and women of the military provide). His sacrifice is something I will likely never match. And yes, even though my pops is still very much alive, I use the term ‘sacrifice’ because that’s exactly what he did. I don’t feel my turn of phrase needs justifying.

I almost followed in my dad’s footsteps. I believe in service and thought the best way for me to be of service was to join the Marines, too. While I was working as a writer/producer at ESPN Radio, I met with a recruiter and discussed a possible career path in the Marines. Simultaneously, I was filling out applications for journalism graduate school programs. I made a deal with myself: If I didn’t get into graduate school, I would join the Marines.

Perhaps I should be clearer. I did not view (nor do I view) the Marines as a last-ditch life path. I saw a valid and important career, life and service path in the Marines. However, I was also extremely curious about my potential as a journalist. Thanks to early internships at local TV stations and a national tennis tournament, and my first ‘real job’ at ESPN Radio, I wondered where this skill-set might take me when bolstered by formal education (my bachelor’s degree being in econ, after all).

By now you probably know I received my acceptance letter to Northwestern’s Medill.

But my belief in service, especially to my country, never wavered. And, since I landed in the military-rich region of North Dakota, my passion only grew.

As a local TV reporter, I was granted unique access to meet military officials, cover troops’ funerals and homecomings, visit veterans hospitals, and engage with soldiers during crises. I made wonderful connections with the North Dakota Army and Air National Guard and developed trustworthy, symbiotic relationships with both branches. They even let me fly on the Blue Angels’ C-130 ‘Fat Albert’ during the Fargo Air Sho. For the record, I loved it! Zero gravity!!!!

I’m not sure who mentioned it to whom, but somewhere along the way the Guard extended an invitation to have me come in and offer media training to some of its soldiers, airmen and officers. I leapt at the chance. “What a fantastic way to continue building a good relationship with a group whom I had to heavily rely to do my job well,” I thought. I didn’t equate my media training seminars with ‘service.’

Eventually I left the local TV market and branched out into my current role. I no longer had a paying full-time job (studies have shown that my main gig as a mum should pay me well over $90k a year, but we know that ain’t happening anytime soon) so the freelance assignments I did get took on a level of financial importance for our household.

But there was one group who needed/wanted my services in a pro bono fashion: the North Dakota Army and Air National Guard. And this is when it finally hit me. I could be of service. I could take all that I had learned and experienced from my education and jobs and help soldiers and airmen communicate what it is they do and why they are needed. I could help the Guard develop its message to the media and provide unique insight into why reporters may act the way they do.

Several years later, the Guard and I have continued the trustworthy and symbiotic relationship we worked so hard to establish in the early days of my career. And, it feels really good to be giving back to my country, albeit in a different way than I had initially imagined.

Guard officials have been incredibly kind and supportive of my media training. They have presented me with a plaque, written recommendation letters on my behalf, and most recently, printed a photo and expanded caption of my latest training session in the April issue of the North Dakota Guardian.

North Dakota Guardian_April_2012_Cover

Click the links to be taken to the magazine:

ND Guardian – April 2012

Patricia Carlson Media Training – ND Guardian – April 2012

I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the North Dakota Army and Air National Guard for their continued support of Patricia Carlson Freelance, and most importantly, our country.

And I’d like to thank my dad for being one of the good guys.

If you’re a police officer, losing your partner is akin to losing a family member. This is someone with whom you work everyday. You know their spouse and kids. You might know their parents. You know their personality quirks and what exercises they hate to do at the gym. You know their favorite food. You know everything about them that you’d learn on a first date… and all the rest of the crappy stuff that crops up in every relationship.

I wrote about this unique phenomenon in the Spring 2012 issue of FOP Journal.

Coping With the Loss of a Partner - FOP Journal - Spring 2012

Detectives, deputies and officers all graciously shared with me their own accounts of dealing with partner loss. One detective found out his partner had been gunned down off-duty not more than 30 seconds after they’d said goodnight to one another. Another deputy lost fellow officers (that’s right, plural) only 30 days apart. And a Bismarck, North Dakota officer is mourning his best friend who was ambushed on a service call.

Courtesy: FOP Journal Spring 2012

The thing that sets law enforcement partnerships apart is that your partner would take a bullet for you. In fact, officers are trained to do so. Especially when they’re of the canine/K9 variety.

In this article on FOPConnect.com, you’ll read about Ingo, the German Shepherd K9, from Nashville. His handler, Allen Herald, is alive today because of Ingo. There is no question of that.

When You Lose Your Best Friend - FOPConnect.com - Spring 2012

Here is a brief snippet of their story:

“That’s why what happened on December 4, 1986, still haunts Herald to this day. A man had just robbed a bank, shot a responding detective (wounded in the knee) and kidnapped a man he then forced to drive to an apartment complex. There, the suspect fled on foot and was loose somewhere within the complex when Herald and Ingo were called in. Herald and Ingo were tracking the suspect in a stairwell; Ingo went first, Herald holding his lead. As the pair rounded a corner, Herald and Ingo came face to face with the suspect — who was still armed.”

Read the entire article by clicking here.

Kiss a K9 today – but not before you ask his handler for permission!!!!!

Earlier this winter, I had the privilege of writing about Newark Police Detective Michael Morgan for NJ FOP News. While off-duty, he was viciously gunned down while trying to protect a woman and himself from a mugging.

I learned a lot about Detective Morgan from his partner, Newark Police Detective Josue Martinez. For several years on the force, it was Martinez and Morgan. Morgan and Martinez. They were inseparable. They were partners. They were best friends. They were brothers.

Detective Martinez was gracious enough to not only share his partner’s story so I could write Detective Morgan’s tribute, but to also tell me what it’s like to mourn someone who was more than just a partner, they were family. Detective Martinez’s account became the nucleus of what would eventually be my cover story for the FOP Journal Spring 2012 issue:

Coping With the Loss of a Partner - FOP Journal - Spring 2012

You can read the entire story in the Spring 2012 issue (find an FOP member to lend you a copy). It features remarkable insights from cops who have watched their partners die on duty and includes advice from renowned experts like Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I even spoke with a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder expert who used to be a police officer. He has seen life from both sides of the badge and was instrumental in explaining why a partner’s loss is different from a civilian co-worker’s loss.

Thank you to all the officers who watch over us day and night. Please come home safe.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I accomplished one of my writing goals last year. It was a big milestone for me and one that I hope is a sign of things to come.

Writing for law enforcement-related magazines is a new endeavor but living the law enforcement life is something with which I’m acutely familiar. That’s why certain stories really tug at my soul and I pour every inch of myself into them.

Recently, I was asked to write the tributes of two police officers from New Jersey who were killed; one murdered in cold blood, the other died after his squad car was rammed by a suspected intoxicated driver. The tributes were featured in the NJ FOP News, a quarterly magazine that represents the Fraternal Order of Police in that state.

NJ FOP News - Winter 2012

By the time my interviews and research were completed for these tributes, I felt like I had lost two friends, too. That’s the thing about cops. They are so much more than the person you see wearing a badge.

Here are brief intros to their respective stories:

Mt. Arlington Police Officer Joseph Wargo (click here to read his full tribute):

“It was a vacancy as big as the man who used to preside over its meetings. The presidency of New Jersey FOP Lodge #78 sat empty for the last few months of 2011 in honor and remembrance of Mount Arlington Police Officer Joseph Wargo. The 38-year-old Wargo had served the past seven years as president of his local union, one of many distinctions he amassed during his career that spanned more than a decade.”

Newark Police Detective Michael Morgan, Jr. (click here to read his full tribute):

“Newark Police Detective Michael Morgan Jr. Was destined to become a cop. When he was a young boy, Morgan would hang out of the window and make siren noises as squad cars went flying by his Belleville home. His family has a legacy of officers; two of Morgan’s cousins are cops and his uncle is a retired deputy chief. He majored in criminal justice at Jersey City University, and after graduating the academy began an illustrious career chasing bad guys with the Newark Police Department. But the 32-year-old’s bright future ended much too soon.”

Thank you for your service.

End of watch.

It has been a busy start to spring for Patricia Carlson Freelance! I am just now finding time to share with you some of my published clips and other media coaching projects on which I’ve been working. 

This next article was kept in the ‘hopper’ over the winter and published in Minnesota Good Age at just the right time – spring! – when we’re all thinking about getting ready for bathing suit season!

But as you’ll read, Health Coaching is about much more than how you look on the outside. It’s a complete approach to help you achieve your lifestyle goals.

Looking for a Health Coach?

The University of Minnesota has a wonderful program offered through its Center for Spirituality and Healing.

University of Minnesota Center For Spirituality and Healing

My story was published in the March 2012 issue… but here is a look at the cover of the April 2012 issue on stands now!

MN Good Age - April 2012

So enjoy this excerpt of my story…

and click here to read the full article.

Hollywood’s Biggest Night. Fashion’s Starriest Occasion.

Well, that’s what the 84th Annual Academy Awards was supposed to be. To me though, the dresses were nearly all ‘fails.’ Sure, there were some shining moments, but for the most part no dress and no woman stood out from the crowd.

I’m not a fashion maven. I’m not a fashion critic. Really, I’m not even good at getting dressed. As my post title aptly captures, I spent the night curled up in my “momiform,” a pathetic coupling of sweatpants and sweatshirt. But, should I ever win Powerball, or some contest in which I get to attend the Oscars, you can be damn sure I’ll be rocking something FANTASTIC & DARING.

Something like this:

Eva Mendes - Golden Globes, 2009

And that wasn’t even to the Oscar’s!!!! That was Eva Mendes, at the 2009 Golden Globes.

Nonetheless, I devoted several hours to ingesting Oscar fashion yesterday and therefore I’d like to spew out some opinions. You may or may not agree with me. That’s cool. That’s fashion.

Let me start with one of the two women whom I feel worthy of a worst-dressed mention:

Ugh. Penelope Cruz.

Just yuck. Penelope Cruz is a Spanish bombshell. This looks like a dreary adaptation of Grace Kelly. Except someone decided to use curtains instead to ‘craft’ this dress. PS – the hair doesn’t do her any favors, either. Penelope is beyond gorgeous. This dress is just beyond.

Before I tackle my ultimate worst-dressed woman, please allow me to run through my Top Five of the night, in order:

Golden Goddess - Stacy Keibler

Gorgeous. What a beautiful, bronzy gold. The only thing that keeps her at #5 for me is her hair. Love the side-swept look, but it wasn’t very shiny.

Plum Perfection - Maya Rudolph

I love this dress for its distinction. Maya looked like no other woman at Oscar. And, for a mommy of three, she looks Bangin’! An inspiration in Spanx, for sure.

Fierceness Has A Name. Angelina Jolie.

If I had a leg that long and that toned, I’d wear something with a slit everyday. Probably my sweatpants, but they would be sexy sweatpants. Angelina crushed it from head to toe. Makeup? Flawless.

Byrne's Back. Her Front Was Pretty Nice, Too.

Rose’s hair is divine. Her makeup is divine. Jewelry, too. Those shoes? DI-VINE. But it’s this dress, oh, this shimmering, liquid black asymmetrical dress that takes my breath away. Some say black is boring. Rose Byrne is clearly not one who believes that statement. She’s making me a believer, too.

Drumroll, please…. I have arrived at Number One…

Jovanna Say Mila Stole The Show?

C’Mon, it’s no contest. Mila Jovovich blew every other dame off the carpet. Talk about old, Hollywood glamour. I’m not sure if proper critics and stylists will give Mila her due, but to me, she owned the Oscar red carpet. Those red lips playing against her dazzling blue eyes? The modern one-shoulder cut juxtaposed against a regal and retro silhouette? She is the only one who made me pause my tv to stare.

And finally, the woman who made me wish I could fast-forward through live TV? My worst-dressed for 2012 Oscar is……

Click. Next.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Jennifer Lopez may have had an outstanding year in 2011 and is continuing her high-profile presence on this cycle of American Idol, but this dress is. just. wrong. I think I may have like it had mysterious holes not appeared in the fabric on her arms. But she looks like an insect shedding its exoskeleton. Not winning.

What do you think of my choices?

Sometimes you’re just happy to meet new people. That’s usually the way it goes for me when I sit down with the featured mother for On The Minds of Moms Magazine. Every couple of months, my editors and I get the unique experience of ‘group therapy’ with their pick for the next issue’s cover mom. I don’t know if my editors call it group therapy, but lately I’ve begun to really believe that there is some learning and healing that goes on during every one of these sessions.

Because for me, as a new mother, every one of the women that we interview has undergone something extraordinary when it comes to their own parenting journey. Some women have watched their child battle illness. Some women have adopted children from unlikely places. Some women have endured heart-wrenching circumstances.

That’s where Kristin comes in.

Courtesy: OTMOM - Feb./March 2011 - Kristin Nelsen and Rialee Photography

Her body betrays her. I’m not going to give away her whole story… I encourage you to read the excerpt and click through for the rest of the article. And yet, everyday, Kristin makes a choice to live her life to the fullest as a mother.

Be inspired. Meet Kristin Nelsen.

Courtesy: OTMOM and Rialee Photography, Kristin Nelsen

“She bounces into the coffee shop and breaks into a warm, engaging smile. “Hi, it’s so nice to meet you,” she gushes in a friendly voice. Her shiny, chestnut hair is pulled off her face with a glittering headband and her petite frame is beautifully dressed in a blush-colored, long-sleeve ruffle top. She looks graceful and classy and has an unmistakable glow of kindness, like she’d gladly hand over a couple bucks if you came up short for your latte. But under her left sleeve is a scar that runs from her wrist to her shoulder, staple marks permanently implanted on her skin offering a constant reminder that Kristin Nelsen has a harrowing story. A story filled with countless health scares, debilitating pain, dashed dreams of motherhood bliss and an ever-present fear of what the future holds.”

Click here for Kristin’s complete story.

My darling daughter turned one on Thanksgiving. It’s been an emotional and eventful ride through the first year of her life. Someday when I’m up for it, I’ll tell you all about it.

But what I’d like to do now is share some incredible pictures of Coralynn taken by Tiny Sprout Photography and Rialee Photography.

This first batch is from her 6-month shoot:

Courtesy: Tiny Sprout Photography and Rialee Photography

Courtesy: Tiny Sprout Photography and Rialee Photography

Courtesy: Tiny Sprout Photography and Rialee Photography

Coralynn is wearing her cousin’s Baptism dress in this photo! How precious!!!

This second batch is from her 1-year shoot:

Courtesy: Tiny Sprout Photography and Rialee Photography

Courtesy: Tiny Sprout Photography and Rialee Photography

Courtesy: Tiny Sprout Photography and Rialee Photography

Courtesy: Tiny Sprout Photography and Rialee Photography

As Chandler Bing would have said: “Can a child be any cuter??”

From the ‘In Case You Missed It’ file comes this gem that was first published in Minnesota Good Age Magazine in May 2011. It was the first story I ever wrote for MN Good Age and it introduced me to the wonderful art world that exists in and around the Twin Cities.

The story was essentially a “what you need to know” of three of the biggest art festivals in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin: Art-A-Whirl, St. Paul Art Crawl, and Fresh Art Tour.

This picture is one of the artists who showcased her work at Art-A-Whirl.

Courtesy: Minnesota Good Age - NEMAA president and member artist Susan Wagner Gintner adds the finishing touches Elysium, no. 4 in her studio in the Northrup King Building in northeast Minneapolis. She will be exhibiting her work at Art-A-Whirl.

These festivals will be rolling around again this spring and I encourage you to check them out if you can.

Here’s an excerpt:

“One boasts the greatest number of exhibitors, studios, and galleries in the country. The other sends you through a landscape filled with rolling hills carpeted in wildflowers. Still another invites you into rustic, converted warehouses propped in an urban setting. Yet they all have one thing in common – fabulous, locally-created art.”

Click here to read the whole piece.

MN Good Age - January 2012