If there’s one person who goes about life not being fazed by much, it should be Nancy O’Dell. After all, having covered the highs and lows in the world of celebrity news for over a decade—she co-hosted Access Hollywood since the show’s inception in 1996—she’s no stranger to star scandals, relationships-gone-bad, pregnancy gossip, and even death. But if there is one thing that came to Nancy as more of a surprise, then it was certainly none other than motherhood. Nancy gave birth to her now 2 ½-year-old daughter Ashby Grace in June of 2007—who became the inspiration for her first book, Full of Life: Mom-to-Mom Tips I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Was Pregnant released last Spring. “When I was pregnant, there were so many things that happened that I didn’t expect; so many things that nobody told me about—like the red spots on my chest!” she says. Nancy took all the tidbits of information she learned to pen the endearingly candid guidebook for moms. “Friends tell you about all the wonderful, joyous things and forget to tell you about the scary or embarrassing things—I didn’t want to spare the details for new moms,” she points out. Though motherhood may not be the novelty that it once was, Nancy still enjoys learning new things about her daughter. “She’s very independent—she’ll say to her older [step] brothers: ‘Tyler, don’t look at me’ and turn over and say ‘Carson, don’t speak to me!’”  Describing her little mini-me as being “hilarious” and “so much fun to be with,” Nancy shares that one of the biggest joys of raising her daughter is being able to live her whole life over again. “Everything is fun again—the Disney princess movies and all.” Raising Ashby while still co-hosting Access Hollywood was tough, Nancy admits. After a 3-month maternity leave, she was back in front of the cameras. “I’ve always wanted Ashby to have an example of a working mom,” she says— but her constant struggle with the balance of being home with her and carrying out duties at work was “one big guilt trip.” To that end, her husband Keith Zubchevich, a media executive, gave her some word of advice: “You need to live in the moment—regardless of whatever decision you make. Otherwise, you’re not enjoying anything you do and you’re always worrying about what you didn’t do.” Taking his advice to heart, Nancy publicly left Access Hollywood last December—much to everyone’s surprise—to embark on a new professional journey. “I had been at the show since day one, and it was time to graduate,” she says, adding that it was also the “toughest decision I ever made in my life.” Since her resignation, things haven’t slowed down for Nancy; on the contrary, she’s been keeping herself busy with new professional endeavors—including her first foray into her expansion as a business woman and entrepreneur. Last week, Nancy unveiled her new line of outdoor furniture, aptly named “Red Carpet by Nancy O’Dell”—she’s been the resident red carpet hostess for the past nine years at the annual “Golden Globes Arrivals Special”—which has put her back into the spotlight (redcarpetfurniture.com). Having just hosted the Pepsi Smash Concert with Rihanna for the Super Bowl, and working on the side with Momversation, an online mom video site—in addition to her partnership with EA Sports ACTIVE, a line of interactive fitness products for the Nintendo Wii— Nancy’s schedule doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. (She also has a new broadcast gig lined up, which will be announced shortly.) With a multitude of projects under her belt, Nancy confesses that time away from her daughter is excruciating—but also declares that she’s never spent more than three days away from Ashby. The solution? Toting her tot around with her everywhere she goes. “She’s such a traveler. She starts taking off her shoes and putting it on the bin to place on the security belt!” she says laughingly. Since losing her mother, Betty, to Lou Gehrig's disease in June of 2008, Nancy opens up about craving the relationship with her daughter that she had with her own mother. “I’ve never felt a time in my life where I didn’t think she would be there for me, or doubt that she loved me,” she discloses. As for her daughter, Nancy hopes that she’ll too grow up in confidence, knowing that she is dearly loved, and that her family will always be there for her—and vice versa as well. “If you need to give up anything, it needs to be the other stuff, because jobs will come and go, but your family will always be there.” And with assurance, she advises: “Just make sure that’s always your priority and everything else will fall in place.”