Family fun

What a wonderful weekend. It flew by way too fast, but it was a lot of fun and a great way to lead into this week. My sorority sister Becky is coming in to visit Wed. and Thurs. with her family and then on Saturday I'm off to see more sorority sisters at a baby shower in Indy. I am very excited, but it just proves how much I am growing up that I am getting invitations to baby showers and weddings. I've been to ones in the past, but now the invitations are being addressed to me and not my mom.

Back to this past week/weekend. Work got a little crazy with people taking days off and calling in sick, but that just means I had the chance to get more experience and show that I'm willing to come in and help when I can. It also meant less sleep and working double shifts between the doctor's office and station. O well, I survived and am grateful I have a place to go to when so many people are struggling to find a job.

Luckily, I'm getting use to the daytime sleeping and planning ahead to make sure I don't crash in the middle of my shift. Sadly, my car isn't as reliable. Friday my back passenger tire blew out putting a kink in my schedule. Not only was it flat, but it was completely destroyed and couldn't be patched up. I ended up getting all four tires replaced because the tred on them was terrible!

I still found time to go out and catch up with friends and of course family.
My dad's brother came in from Pennsylvania and gave us a reason to all get together. It was the first time I've seen my dad and his brothers together.
I also got to see my cousins who I probably haven't seen in over 8 years - we're still trying to figure out how long it's been. Over all it was a great time - lots of story telling and laughing.

My brother Matt and my Uncle Ronny staying cool in the pool.Drew and I trying to stay out of the sun.

And this one goes to the Reds!

My losing streak is over! I finally saw a winning game Friday night. The Reds beat the Brewers 4-0!! I was getting a little worried, especially with Becky and her family coming in at the end of the month to see a game. I didn't want to go into that game having seen only losses.

Unfortunately, I did experience a loss on Thursday. My older brother is playing in a co-ed kickball league and they needed an extra girl. It was a lot of fun. We played against another team made up of kids we went to high school with. (Our) My brother's team lost by two, but it was the best lost they've had all season. One game was as bad as 1-15! So, there is a strong chance I will be asked to play again this coming week as a lucky charm - we'll see.

And, as promised, here are a couple more pictures from the station.

Make-up room
Assignment desk

Looking out into the newsroom (where I work/write) from behind the assignment desk

Losing track of time

Where does the time go? Seriously, the weeks seem to fly by. I think it's because I don't start working at the station until Wednesday so Fridays (and the rest of the weekend) seem to be here before I know it. And of course, there is always something to do. I babysat Friday and Saturday this past weekend - always nice pocket money - and went to an army picnic with Drew Sunday. It was a lot of fun; Nice meeting all of his friends and now I can put a face to the names.

I do have more pictures of the station that I will post when I get home. This past Saturday was absolutely nuts. Once the show starts at 6am, I'm the only one in the newsroom for two hours. It got crazy with a house fire, meth bust and answering phone calls. I did a lot of writing breaking news stories on the fly. The good news, I watched the evening news when I was babysitting and my same stories were used again, with a little bit of developing information mixed in. It was great to know that no one changed my writing.

The downfall of being so busy is I am super behind on laundry and my room is a mess - what's new though ;)

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well and I will be sure to post again today or tomorrow.

July Already!

I cannot believe it is already July! Time seems to disappear. It's going to be Halloween before I know it. In that case, I must enjoy each day and while the weather here great for July 4th I had a wonderful weekend. I didn't work at the doctors office on Friday so I was able to plan ahead (my sleeping schedule) and spend the day outdoors with Drew playing putt-putt and riding go-carts. The day was gorgeous, but my putting wasn't. I lost by a couple of strokes and therefore had to buy dinner. O well, I'd rather lose fair and square than have someone let me win :)
I worked Saturday morning and I was extremely busy. There were two double homicides, a fire, and tons of activities. Plus, now that the executive producer is not coming on Saturdays I have a lot more responsibility and work to do. Still, I love what I'm doing and am grateful that I have the opportunity to work when so many people don't. I was exhausted by the time the morning was over. I slept until 6ish and then spent the rainy holiday night in good company making dinner, watching a movie and eventually enjoying some fireworks once the rain stopped. Today, I spent the day cleaning and organizing. I know, not the crazy 4th that some of you had, but plenty enjoyable.

I tried to take some pictures of the studio before the anchors and production team showed up Saturday morning. I'll try again next weekend (and include the news room) from another angle. It's hard getting the entire room in one shot. This is what I was able to get...

From the back of the studio... From the left side of the desk... Behind the desk - you can see the weather wall/green screen ahead...You can see the weather desk on the left, and main desk straight ahead...The "Monster" where we do weather teases, 'News Where You Live', economy stories, etc...

Good-bye Mono!

It's been awhile since I last wrote.
I hope everyone is doing well. I am still relatively tired here and there, but I can talk now and have been able to socialize and hang out with friends. I guess time will tell if anyone else ends up with mono. I really didn't have it all that bad. My family was great driving around buying me ice cream and smoothies. I didn't think it was possible to be tired of ice cream, but it is possible. But, the movies kept me occupied. I watch more movies and episodes of Friends that kept me happy. Drew surprised me with a chocolate shake and a bag full of chick flicks that lasted me through the week. Thanks to him, I think I now own double the amount of movies I had before I was sick! As for what's next, I don't know what other virus there is to catch, but I guess I should never count myself out of the clear. Oh well, I will continue to make lemonade with my lemons because I am surrounded by a great group of people to drink up with :)

I am excited to get back to work this week. It's going to be hard getting back on the strange sleeping schedule, but hopefully I will ease back into it tomorrow. For those of you reading this, please keep my WA co-workers in your prayers. They are going through more cuts and changes at the station and I know it is really stressful - staff is thin as it is.

On a more offbeat note, I saw Transformers the other night and enjoyed it. I've only seen parts of the first one, but found this one entertaining. It was really long (2.5 hours) so beware.

My family is still dealing with the aftermath of Thursday's storm. Our house got hit by lightening. Today is actually our first day with Internet access. Our phone lines are still out and will be until this Thursday. And unfortunately, Matt's Wii got fried.
I think that's it for now. I will try to remember to take pictures when I'm out next so I can add some more color to this site.

FYI:

My blogging will probably minimal during the next week and a half. After catching what I thought was another serious throat virus, blood tests from this afternoon indicates that I have mono. I suppose that's why I've been so tired lately. It's just unfortunate because I'm going to have to take off work for at least a week and miss a super fun weekend that I was looking forward to. I really would like to write more, but I am exhausted and achy and tired of using "sign language" because I can hardly open my mouth.

In that case, ALL OF YOU better enjoy your weekend for me!

Seriously, who does this...?

Or maybe it should be titled, "You don't see this everyday". Regardless... how bizarre.

(Yes, he is sitting on a seat. It's a little hard to tell. I tried to crop the picture in as much as I could.)

I was stopped at a light on my way to the gym when I saw these two riding down the street. I couldn't help but grab my camera. This isn't just some side street either. It is a MAJOR road (Beechmont and 8 mile for the locals reading this) going through my township that stays particularly busy all day, everyday.
I have no idea how that guy got on his bike either. It reminds me of a circus bike. Anyways, I wanted to share the experience with all of you. I hope your week is off to a great start - and if it isn't hopefully this put a slight smile on your face.