Are you ready for a short break from politics and the economy? How about a little dose of ‘real’ instead?

I bring you Kit Hoover, host of Real Simple. Real Life., the new TLC show that shares its branding with Real Simple magazine. I caught up with the vibrant 38-year-old for an interview recently and was struck by her freshness and joie de vivre.

“The magazine is sooooo good, so classy, so smart,” Hoover said. “I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Are they sure they got the right host?’”

There is no negative tinge in her self-deprecation, just snappy humor stemming from how an ordinary soul like her could wind up hosting a team of experts who help improve people’s lives in the areas of cooking, decorating, organizing, finances, style, beauty, fitness and motivation. They aspire to be helpful in sustainable ways, so the recipients of their services can create new habits and so viewers can relate.

“My mom said, ‘Exactly what do you do on the show?’” Hoover said. “I told her, ‘I drive the Saturn.’”

Truth be told, Hoover does a bit more than that. A suburban Connecticut mother of three, she’s convinced it was her relatability that got her hired in the first place. Suffice to say she wound up postponing her telephone interview for the job because at the time she was at the beach with her daughter’s kindergarten class, and one of the other children had pulled down her little girl’s bathing suit. She had to deal with the situation before her. 

Later, while trying to coordinate videotape for the gig, Hoover was surrounded by a friend with her four kids, her father, and then the aforementioned child who had stopped by to apologize. Simply put, it was bedlam.

“Meanwhile, I imagined everybody else who was auditioning showed up all prepared and made up,” Hoover said with a laugh. “My makeup was SPF 30. I had come from the beach. I had a giant muumuu on. I think maybe through all of this they said, ‘She’s real.’”

That had to be a particularly appealing quality for a host spot on a show that is designed to help real women incorporate simple changes that will make their lives run more smoothly. Plus, Hoover is a natural at leading the team of eight enthusiastic, knowledgeable people.

“They’re the experts, I’m the everywoman,” Hoover said. “I feel like my whole life has been leading me to this job.”

This everywoman -- who was insistent that the show be a “real” makeover show -- has held jobs in white-water rafting, advertising and was even a nanny. At age 23, she scored a gig on MTV’s Road Rules – which she called a “layup” – and found out she liked being in front of a camera. Subsequent TV stints included Cold Pizza (ESPN2), Dream Job (ESPN), American Journal (Fox News Channel) and guest-host spots on The View (ABC).

“A former co-worker said to me recently, ‘My favorite thing about you is that you welcome anybody or anything that would help you get better,’” Hoover said. “I’m still like that 14 years later.”

That Hoover is able to go deep within herself was perhaps never more apparent than her response to seeing her home burn down a year and a half ago. Eight months pregnant with her third child, she was turning the corner on the approach to her house and realized that the street had been blocked off. The source turned out to be a baseboard electric heater that malfunctioned.

“The women I talk to on the show, they’re always attached to their stuff,” Hoover said. “I know what really matters. I had a shift in focus. I had a new baby coming. I got over it pretty quickly, but it’s one of the hardest things I’ve been through. We would have been dead if it was at night. That night I was in a neighbor’s bathtub thinking, ‘Oh God, don’t hurt my peeps. This I can handle.’ Life rolls on.”

Now she is working at a pace she loves, striking as much of a balance as is possible, and embracing the stress.

“This is not our mother’s life,” she said. “I find it extremely satisfying.”

Case in point, when one of her daughters saw a professional shot of her, she said, “Mom, where did the creases on your forehead go?”

She’s real, all right.

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.