WCW: Kay Murray

As I mentioned in my About Me, my favorite sport is soccer. It has been forever and I religiously follow the different leagues as well as the major tournaments. And unless you've been living underneath a rock, we all know that the biggest sporting event in the world is taking place right now, the FIFA World Cup. My life has been completely taken over by it and I wouldn't have it any other way(I'm sure the people that follow me on Twitter/my FB friends wish it was over haha)! I mean it only comes once every 4 years so you've got to get it all in. And it also doesn't hurt that the country I support (GERMANY!) is one of the favorites to win it. But anyway, in keeping with this, my Woman Crush Wednesday for this week is the amazing Kay Murray, Football(soccer) Broadcast Journalist extraordinaire!  

*Kay interviewing Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid TV*

In a field dominated by men, Kay Murray is one of the best soccer sports journalist out there. She began her career working as a presenter for Boro TV in England, Middlesbrough Football Club's official channel. She then went on to become the senior presenter/pitch side reporter/producer-editor-writer for numerous shows for Real Madrid, one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world! *They're also the club I've been a supporter of for the last 12 years. Hala Madrid!* This is where I first came across Kay, through Real Madrid TV. She's fluent in Spanish which helps being as Real Madrid is a Spanish club lol. She's also co-hosted the FIFA Ballon d'Or award ceremony(it's like the Oscars for soccer) twice and done a fabulous job each time. 

Now Kay works for beIN Sports, a global network of sports channels. She works for the North American version of the channel. She currently hosts The Express Xtra, a post-game show that provides up-to-date news and analysis on the soccer matches of the day. She also contributes articles for the beIN website as well as other sports magazines/websites. 

I think one of the things I respect most about her, besides her being a boss in her testosterone laden field, is that she manages to remain objective while reporting/analyzing. Kay is a Madridista, a term used to describe fans of Real Madrid. If you follow her on social media she proudly shows it(another reason why I love her). Yet when it comes time to work, she's able to put that aside and put on the journalism cap and do her job. I only say this because sometimes the other journalists/presenters(men!) she works with are not objective at all and it's so annoying when you just want to hear the facts, not people's personal opinions. 

I've spoken with Kay through twitter a couple of times, mostly during Real Madrid games and usually when they're losing and we're both frustrated haha. But she's really cool and seems like she would be a fun person to hang out with. :)

Who is your Woman Crush Wednesday?  

MKD 

WCW: Rachel Khoo

My Woman Crush Wednesday for this week is the lovely Rachel Khoo. She's an English chef, cookbook author and broadcaster. I first came across Rachel on The Cooking Channel through her show The Little Paris Kitchen. I love to cook and bake so I watch a lot of cooking shows lol. So when I first saw Rachel's show I was hooked. The show is set in her little Paris apartment, and when I say little I mean little lol. But she makes it work. And it is so cute! Most of her recipes are traditional French recipes that she has taken and made her own/made easier for the home cook to make. And did I mention that she lives in an apartment in Paris?! lol

She has written two cookbooks in French but her third book is written in English and is titled the same as her show.

Something really cool she had going on for a while was that she turned her little apartment into a restaurant. It could only seat 2 people and was essentially in her living room/bedroom and she would cook right there in the kitchen in front of them. It became so popular that people were taking out reservations months in advance! Now that she has her tv shows that film in her apartment the home restaurant is no longer open but I bet it was really cool while it lasted!

As a budding chef/pastry chef I definitely draw a lot of inspiration from Rachel. She's young, seems down to earth, and is really good at what she does. And she makes cooking fun. Here are some videos of Rachel in action making Raspberry and Lemon Madeleines and a Quiche Lorraine. :)

 

Who's your Woman Crush Wednesday?     

MKD

WCW: Great Grandma Lena

Happy Wednesay folks! I'm currently sitting at the courthouse for oh so fun jury duty(note the sarcasm)! Being as I'm gonna be here for a while, I decided to do a post. Also this will be my first time posting from the Blogger app so my apologies if the formatting is off or anything. 

As you can see from the title, my Woman Crush Wednesday is my beautiful Great Grandma Lena. This past weekend I got the chance to see her for the first time in about 12 years. The last time being when my Grandma Elizabeth(her daughter) passed away. This is my dad's side of the family and after my parents divorced back when I was about 13, I kinda lost touch with that side of the family. But this past weekend there was a family reunion down in Miami and my dad wanted to make sure that me and my sister went so we could reconnect with them as well as see Great Grandma because she is now 97 years old! I'm so glad I went because I had the best time ever and I didn't realize just how much I had missed everyone. 

Great Grandma was born in 1917 in Nassau, Bahamas. Her family moved to Key West, Florida where there was a large Bahamian population and it was there that she met and married her husband, a Jamacian man, when she was 20 years old. He was a very talented chef and worked in many upscale hotels up North which afforded them a pretty comfortable life. This was a pretty big deal for a Black family in the 30s. She had 4 children, the youngest being my Grandma Elizabeth. The family moved back down to Florida, settling in Miami and have been there since(and that's where my dad was born). 

I think the thing I love and admire most about Great Grandma is her spirit. She's 97 years old and still as sharp and independent as ever. 3 days a week she goes to a senior center(where she is the oldest) to socialize, exercise, play bingo, listen to music and dance. She has an incredible memory and sat with me and told me many stories from her childhood. She was a wild one! Haha! I also loved how she told me she dresses up everyday and that includes those beautiful pearls she's sporting in the picture. She feels a lady should always present herself nicely even when going to the store. Plus making an effort gives her something to do to keep her active, which is another reason she loves dressing up. 

The reality of the situation is that she knows she won't be here much longer but she doesn't let that stop her from living. It's sad to think about and when I was telling her goodbye she definitely said, "Well I hope I'm still here the next time you come down"...talk about gut wrenching. And it definitely makes me regret all those years that I didn't spend with her. But there's no use living in the past. I plan on seeing her as much as possible now. I'm hoping to go back down to Miami at least for Thanksgiving if not sooner. And I can only hope to be lucky enough to live a long and fulfilling life as she has. 

 Who is your Woman Crush Wednesday? 

MKD