~George Colman

It’s tough to put to words everything I’m feeling and doing in my life right now. I struggle with where I draw the line on what to share and what to keep tucked away in my journal. Being in the public eye makes you vulnerable and when you have a big heart it’s sometimes hard to protect it completely. I’ve chosen the side of being slightly more open, but it will take baby steps. If I could only write one thing right now, it would be expressing how grateful I am for everything my life has brought to me, good and bad. I’m lucky to see some of the reasons why my path has gone this route. Maybe one day I’ll be able to see all the reasons for why it hasn’t been so easy. Regardless, this path has made me strong and forced me to remain positive no matter comes my way. Because in the big picture, all will be right if you perceive it that way.

The reason I felt the need to begin this way is to try and paint how grateful and blessed I feel right now. A few nights ago I couldn’t hold back happy tears telling Keith that all my dreams are coming true and that I truly am the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. If you know me, you’ll know I’ve gone through hell and back more than once. But, I’m a fighter and my mother taught me to NEVER give up. I can see now why things had to be the way they were. Why suffering and loss teaches you to praise the beautiful gifts the universe brings later. That traumatic events can often be a blessing for you to help others who will go through the same experiences. Most importantly, that in the end love and light will get you through the darkest times.

Right now I’ve been in Asia for a little more than 3 weeks. Originally I was planning on going back to spend Christmas in the States and New Years with my lil sis, Erinn. Given how well things keep happening over here, it only makes sense to extend my stay. I have the best of both worlds. Modeling in Hong Kong and poker in Macau. It strangely resembles my Los Angeles and Vegas life, but with TV hosting replaced with modeling once again. It’s been a few years since I’ve been in Asia and it feels like everything is meant to be. That lost feeling I’ve been having the past 8 months, with online poker gone, has finally subsided. From planning the wedding, working on a few projects, playing live poker and modeling full time…everything feels complete. Top it off with traveling and being the ultimate tourist (I’ve taken over 600 photos!) I’m overwhelmed with joy.

Giving up my beautiful job with St. John as their fit model / showroom model and going full time into poker was something I’ve struggled with over the years. I never really knew if I was doing the right thing. Luckily I quickly found my way into hosting for the WSOP and multiple poker shows. So, I somewhat still maintained my relationship in front of the camera while continuing to play poker. But, modeling became something of a side job here and there and wasn’t my main priority. I can still hear my agent asking me if this is really what I want to do with my life. Letting go of a full time ‘in house model’ position for a company like St John is a big deal. At the time, it felt right.

Looking back now that decision was meant to be. I’ve met my soul mate, made some amazing friends, traveled and hosted TV shows all around the world and lived my life according to my terms. Regardless what happened earlier this year with the US ban on online poker, it has been a great ride…that I’m not finished with. Although I must say it feels amazing to get back into modeling full time. Modeling since I was 10 years old, I still feel like I have some major milestones I wanted to accomplish. Now I’m 100% certain that little blonde girl in Texas with BIG dreams will reach her goals.

2012 promises to be filled with new beginnings in my personal life as well as my career. I can’t wait to share them all with you. In the next few days i’ll be posting a few pages from my journal along with some fun pics. I hope you’ll enjoy.

Wishing you all the happiest of holidays and a blessed New Year!

It’s been a little over 2 weeks since I’ve been in Asia and I’ve been so busy! For those that don’t know I’ve been modeling here as well as working on a secret project. So far I’ve been booking photo shoots left and right… 6 to be exact! WoW! I’m astonished and so overly excited, that I’ve had a permanent smile on my face ever since I got here. There is so much to talk about, but some of it will have to wait, understandably. Luckily I’ve been writing in my journal and can share my experiences with ease. Over the next few days I’ll have some time to transfer it to my blog along with all the photos I’ve taken.

If you have a moment please say hello in the comment box below. I would really appreciate it.  Mainly because it doesn’t seem like people read these posts… so the motivation to write becomes next to none. Maybe if I knew people wanted to read what I had to say I would be more inclined to make my blog more of a priority. Just a thought. I do know it goes both ways. If I wrote more people would be more inclined to read …etc. Anyway I hope you can take a second to say hello and I promise I’ll post all my adventures on a regular basis, as well as some of the posts I’ve written that I’m too shy to share to an empty abyss.

Our first day here was a perfect day to be outdoors, nice and sunny. In all the years I’ve been up here I’ve always wanted to do the Grouse Grind; but, no one ever wanted to go with me. Looking back after taking on the mountain, I can see why. The length of the trail is 1.8 miles and consists of 2,830 stairs to get to the top. Some stairs are easy to get up…

While others not so much….

This was by far the toughest hike I’ve ever done in my life. Not to mention, it almost killed my fiancé. But, the sense of accomplishment was exactly what I needed to start this trip off right. I’ll make sure to include a side post of the hike for those interested in doing it.

Getting back I quickly cleaned up and headed to Joe Fortes (Vancouver’s best restaurant) for drinks with Alex Lee Behan. Indeed we closed down the place as we didn’t even notice the time. There’s nothing better than girl talk involving a few dirty martinis to make you realize how important “real” friends are in your life.

The following day Keith and I headed down to Yale Town for sushi with Alex and to stock up our room for our stay at the River Rock. First stop was to Swirl. They carry a beautiful selection of BC wines at great prices. Afterwards we walked up the street to Choices, an organic Canadian grocery store. Although the store had a fantastic selection, I was shocked at how much the prices were in relation to Whole Foods in the States. My protein alone was double the price! I guess there’s no more complaining from me when I shop at Whole Foods.

That night Keith stayed in while I went to an art gallery opening by Mo Salemy with Darryl Humphrey. Mo’s exhibition features enlargements of panoramic photos taken from James Clark‘s archives. The photos captured a beauty that we don’t find in today’s photographs. I absolutely loved it. The exhibition runs from October 29th- January 14th at the Satellite Gallery, 560 Seymour Street on the 2nd floor. If you have the time, go check it out! Afterwards we met up with Seema Dhilon and some new friends for nibbles at the Shore Club. I somehow always have a good time hanging out with Canadians. Funny stories and great conversation were followed by drunk Jenga at another bar till 3am! Oy, my head hurt the next day. But, it was well worth it.

Even though it seemed like things couldn’t get better this week, they did when Alex gave Keith and I tickets to the Vancouver Canucks v Washington Capitals hockey game!! The Edgewater suite was the perfect spot to watch the game. Plus there was a fun group of people that adopted Keith. He had to join in on whiskey shots for every goal Vancouver made…7! The Canucks won 7-4 and gave the crowd an awesome game to watch. It was a nice little intro to NHL hockey for Keith as that was his first hockey game he’d ever been to.

I can’t even begin to express in words how happy I am in this moment. I’m more ready for the BCPCs  than I’ve ever been for any tournament. It all comes down to having a positive mindset and taking the time to focus on poker. No matter the outcome this week, I win.

If you can, make sure to clear you schedule and head up to play the BCPCs. Flights are cheap on West Jet and you’ll love staying at the River Rock. The $3000 main event starts November 2nd with an added $5000 high roller tournament on November 7th.  To reserve your seat call (604) 247-8983. Hope to see you here!

A dear friend of mine, Christie Moeller, is a top fashion stylist and lives here in Las Vegas. She writes a weekly blog on all things stylish and necessary in everyday life. To add a cherry on top she does a free giveaway with each post! Now tell me who doesn’t love free stuff? A few weeks ago she wrote a blog called: Dew me: On the go humidification for your skin. Instantly I knew this was a product I needed and decided to enter to win by commenting on the post with my secret to skin hydration and why I needed this product. A few days later I found out I won!

I don’t usually win things and have tried to win other goodie give aways in the past to no avail. So imagine my excitement when I received the Air-O-Swiss directly to me in the mail! It felt like Christmas!

I’ve been using the Air-O-Swiss for the past 2 weeks every night when I go to sleep and now during the day when I’m at home. I can see and feel the results! I don’t wake up anymore with a dry throat and my skin doesn’t feel dried up to the point where I’m reaching for my Caudalie spray ASAP. The expression, “Don’t leave home with out it!” has taken on a whole new meaning for my little friend. It’s going to be the first thing I pack in my suitcase from now on.

Make sure to read Christie’s blog post that goes more into detail on why the Air-O-Swiss is something you should be ordering right this second. And while you’re at it subscribe to her feed to get your style on and to find out about awesome giveaways each week!

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