Jeriann's Alarm Clock, Iowa's Favorite Sport Season, and A Happy Ending

Happy Thursday, everyone!

It's Trisha on duty this morning! Pat's probably snoring away by now (still on the overnight shift - ugh!) so I'll be blogging today once again.

Here are a few things that caught our interest and might catch yours today:

JERIANN'S ALARM CLOCK!

Power went out to a lot of West Des Moines overnight, and guess who lost hers? Jeriann says after she woke up to a courtesy alarm-call from our producer, she stumbled around her house by CANDLELIGHT. (get that girl a flashlight!) Had to use her mom's car parked in the driveway, since hers was stuck in the garage that wouldn't open.





Worst part - she wound up showering in a very scary shower stall in our "dressing room." That CRUSTY thing gives me heebie-jeebies...can you see why? Ms. Ritter says she'll shower again once she gets home, just to get rid of the icky feeling from the station shower!







JOHN READY TO ROCK CABO

Hurricane John seems determined to soak every awesome resort town on Mexico's Pacific Coast! 125 mph winds - this thing's headed toward Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.



The area is near and dear to me since my parents very generously took the whole family there on a beautiful vacation last spring. (This shot was in Cabo San Lucas) I hope John isn't TOO hard on the beautiful coastline!

Meantime Ernesto is a tropical storm again, soaking North Carolina and Virginia today.






ALLERGIES CAUSE MIGRAINES?
That's what a study found - grab a kleenex and some painkillers, and read for yourself.

A HAPPY ENDING
A missing 16-year-old was found after two days, injured in Waterworks Park. A huge relief to Matt Thompson's frantic family. Hope his broken leg heals well!

FOOTBALL SEASON ARRIVES!
Judging by the huge grin on Keith Murphy's face and the happy dance our studio crew member (and Cyclone fanatic) Mike Zavacki was doing this morning, fans are happy tonight has arrived.
ISU and Drake kick off their season tonight, Iowa on Saturday.
There are some new offerings for fans at Jack Trice...
Check out ticket info for Cyclones, Bulldogs, and Hawkeyes.

ILLINI OR CYCLONE?
My husband, Ian, went to Illinois, but now I think he's officially a Cyclone fan. Listen closely to the marching band if you go to the games - Ian got hired to do some freelance coaching for ISU's marching band drumline this season. He came home from last night's rehearsal with this pile of of Cyclone gear. I can't wait to see my long-haired hubby wearing a TIE - that usually only happens for funerals and weddings!



SLEEPLESS IN THE TOWER
THIS IS ALARMING - the air traffic controller in charge during that crash in Kentucky had just 2 HOURS OF SLEEP . After working this early morning shift and having 2 babies, I know how crummy that sleep deprivation feels, and how fuzzy your brain gets. No good!

MORE INSIDE SCOOP ON THE 13 TEAM
Several of you who've written to us on this blog say you like the behind-the-scenes info about our news operations! Thought you might like this view of what we keep on the little table behind the news desk - makeup, a mirror, water LOTS of coffee, an extra clock to keep on the desk so we can see the exact time, a newspaper, spare pens - and fortunately for me this morning..an emergency safety pin hidden in my makeup bag! I discovered a button missing on my jacket less than a minute before the show. Did any of you notice? Hopefully not!


If you're really curious about the PEOPLE on our station, check out this link you may have missed on our homepage. It has biographies and photos of all our on-air staff. Lots of interesting tidbits. For example, can you guess which of our employees gives this quote?
"When I was a kid I used to pretend the hood latch on my parents' Volkswagen was a drinking fountain. I think that may be where my problems started. " (Click here for the answer.)

Who's Laboring this Labor Day?
Unfortunately for Pat, he will be.

I'm taking a few days to head off on a kids-free trip to the North Woods with my husband, my brother, Kevin and his wife, Kim. (They owe me an update on their ant farm, by the way!) The four of us always have a great time together - I'm looking forward to a few days of SLEEPING IN, eating whatever the boys grill, drinking too much wine and having girl talk with Kim, and maybe lazing around the lake. My parents say they're taking the kids to the Shedd Aquarium to see the big fishies - I bet they won't even miss us while we're gone!
So be kind and FORGIVING to Pat these next few mornings if you watch - he's really going to be shouldering the work of three people, and I SO appreciate it! If anyone can handle it, Mr. Type-A certainly can.

Thanks to those of you who wrote with dog hair tips! Keep the comments coming, we love to see that you're alive and out there!
See you next week!
Trisha

Supreme Court Appeal, Ernesto Ashore, and More Nicotine in Your Smokes.

Good morning! Here's what's happening today:

The Iowa Supreme Court convenes to hear the arguments of five anti-war protestors arrested at Camp Dodge Three years ago. This is an interesting case because we've all got video of these arrests happening. There should be no doubt about how, or where this happened. WHERE is the issue here.. Defendants argue they were on a public parkway when Polk County Sheriff's deputies arrested them.

Ernesto came ashore with a whimper this morning. Miami didn't even lose power. I liked a Red Cross worker's assessment of the storm...The Little Engine that Couldn't.
(Trisha here... the "whimper" reference reminded me of a chilling T.S. Eliot poem, The Hollow Men. I had to Google it this morning. You've probably read it but it's worth revisiting if you have a second!)

If you live in Des Moines' fourth ward you are without a city council member. You get to tell the City what's going on in your ward tonight at a meeting at 7pm at the Zoo. The ward elects a new representative in January.

Speaking of new representatives, the Des Moines School board has a Candidate forum. 7:30pm, Brody Middle School. Three candidates are vying for two spots.

Riverside casino is opening up tomorrow night. We misspoke the first two half hours of the show this morning and said Iowa's newest Casino opens next week. I was on the website, and golfers will be interested to know that Riverside will include a Rees Jones designed golf course, opening in 2007. I told Trish about it. She's not a golfer so she didn't understand the little strand of drool coming from the side of my mouth when I started thinking about playing that new course.

It's Trisha again. Okay, Pat - I looked up "Reese Jones" but had trouble finding it because of your misspelling!!! It's REES. No "E." I fixed it in the link above this...
Not to badger Pat, BUT - his typo's in our scripts this morning were hilarious - a good testament to his obvious sleep deprivation, since he's been coming in extra-early to help produce the newscast this week! My favorites included pewople (people), Mia mia (Miami), and lederly. (elderly)

Check out this fine photo from 4am - Pat came in in JEANS and SNEAKERS today, which apparently showed on camera for a moment - getting pretty casual for Mr. Dix! I hope he gets more sleep tonight!



President Bush isn't even going to have to run for any office again, but he's still being challenged to a debate. The president of Iran wants to debate world issues with Bush.

Get this: Cigarettes have more nicotine than they used to. This is a study from Massachusetts. So who was the genius at the tobacco companies who decided this was a good idea?

Let's see...

we've just been sued and lost hundreds of millions of dollars for engaging in a massive conspiracy hiding the dangers of smoking....

I've got it....

let's pack cigarettes with even more of the stuff that makes them addictive!

Makes some of the public service announcements cigarette makers have running right now, touting the company's drive to help people stop smoking, seem a little disingenuous.

If you bought DSL equipment from AT&T's online store, your information might be in the hands of hackers this morning.

And in the area of statistics: We're the second most insured state in the nation, the 21st fattest state in the nation, our poverty rate went up, and our kids' SAT's scores are down.

Thanks for your comments! We love em.
PWD

Amen to that!
It's Trisha again.
I appreciate those of you who are writing comments! It helps us know we're not writing into a black hole. Someone is reading! Besides my mom. And our boss.
Speaking of him...
MEET OUR BOSS!

This is Rod Peterson, smiling as usual in spite of his workload! He joined us in May, having worked most recently as a news director in Cedar Rapids. He now lives in Ankeny with his wife and two children, Justin, who's 8, and Jade, who's 9.
Rod says he's "proud to be a part of this group, there's no question about it. It's a great honor to be a part of the WHO tradition."

WE appreciate the fact that he's giving us his trust, support, and encouragement!


Just a couple more thoughts to share with you this morning... first:

SMELL THE ROSES!!! (or whatever these flowers are!)

Wasn't yesterday afternoon GORGEOUS?! (Jeriann says enjoy it now, because Labor Day weekend won't be so great.) I stopped to smell the roses by taking a stroll with the hubby, baby and dog, speaking of that...



DOG(HAIR) DAYS OF SUMMER
Who else out there is dealing with relentless shedding??? What are your survival tricks? This time of year drives me absolutely nuts. Our Bernese Mountain Dog, Charlie Parker, is losing enough hair to carpet a mansion! It takes a 4-step hair-removal process several times a day to keep the floors even remotely tolerable - especially since we have a baby crawling all over the place. I call her the human Swiffer.



SEARCHING FOR "DRIPPY"
This creepy looking baby doll kept me awake later than I intended last night. Calvin calls her "Drippy." (I'm not sure why, but that's actually a pretty appropriate name for most babies)
At bedtime last night, he suddenly HAD TO HAVE THE DOLL, which he NEVER EVER plays with. (I got it for him when I was expecting Clara, hoping to nudge his nurturing big-brother instincts). After 20 minutes of turning closets, drawers, and toyboxes inside out, I found the God-forsaken dolly buried under a heap of fire trucks. Phew! Fellow parents - I know you've all been there and done that.

Thanks for reading - enjoy this day!

Trish

Hurricanes New and Old, Superbowl of Ag, Fall Fever

Good Morning, everyone!!!
Pat again pulled the graveyard shift to fill in for our associate producer, so I (Trisha) get to be the blogstress for the day.

Hey - I want to know what people think of our morning show and blog content - honestly! If there's something you like, dislike, or want to see more or less of, here's your chance to let us know..just write in comments on this blog. I can't guarantee we can accomodate every suggestion - but it gives us good food for thought as we put our content together each day.

Here are a few news items we're following today..

HURRICANES, NOW AND THEN


Katrina hit the gulf coast one year ago. Remember where you were? ( I was sitting in the anchor chair, quite pregnant and uncomfortable as I remember!) The strange thing looking back is, I remember at first remarking how it seemed like good news that the eye of the storm missed New Orleans, the most populous area. It wasn't until later when the levees failed that it became clear what a catastrophe the storm would become.

Today President Bush is in New Orleans for ceremonies, Mississippi is burying two unidentified victims, dubbed "Strength" and "Will." It must take a heck of a lot of both of those things to survive in such devastated areas.

Sonya Heitshusen has been putting together some very eye-opening reports on Katrina, one year later. She and photojournalist Brad Argo went back to Louisiana recently - watch this week on our 10pm newscast to see their reports. (and check our homepage for last night's story!)

And - Ernesto is threatening the Florida Keys. Jeriann says unless it hurries up, its path will
make our Labor Day weekend pretty wet. Move on, Ernie, I say!




SUPERBOWL OF AGRICULTURE
What else but the Farm Progress Show? It starts in Amana this morning, running through Thursday. They tell us they've spread rock out there to prevent a muddy mess.
I will never forget covering the show when it was in Henning, Illinois 4 years ago. The mud was SO BAD trailers were stuck out there for days. My boots were CAKED so heavily I could hardly lift my feet.

DEBATES
Like to see a good heated debate? Gubernatorial candidates Jim Nussle and Chet Culver have settled on 3 televised debates.

KIDS' CHOLESTEROL CHARTS
A new system will work kind of like a growth chart to predict if your kids will have bad cholesterol as they get older!

FALL FEVER
Wow - does it feel like fall or what? Yesterday's weather reminded me how badly I need to replace the only pair of jeans I ever wear. So I did - before and after shots are just to the right here. After several traumatic no-go's in the fitting room I settled on something that doesn't ride so low I look like I'm 13, or so high I get the "mom jeans" effect.

Okay - I know I SHOULD toss the old ones in the trash - but they're so comfy, I just can't part with them yet. I know some day Stacy London and Clint Whatshisname from TLC's "What Not to Wear" will come out from behind a corner and tackle me, forcing me to part with the ratty things!

BASEBALL BLUES

Today Elizabeth Klinge put together a report for our morning show on how important it is not to stress your kids out by overscheduling them. I AGREE!! I haven't put my 3 and a half year old in any organized sports or activities yet, aside from preschool - but my husband and I try to indulge any interests he has by helping him give things a try at home.

There's one problem with this. Calvin likes sports - and I have ABSOLUTELY NO ATHLETIC TALENT WHATSOEVER. It's humiliating, and totally laughable. Yesterday, he was all about playing baseball. He has a great pitching arm - and I could barely hit his pitches! (Did I mention he's not even 4 yet?) I did my best to teach him something about the sport, but I know he'll be in much better hands under the direction of my husband and brothers. But hey, at least I'm willing to try!

CHOPPER FRED UNVEILED!!!

Finally, I thought it would be fun to introduce readers to a few behind the scenes VIP's who make our morning show happen. This is Fred Redman, the capable pilot of Chopper 13! When I've been up in Chopper, I've felt very safe in Fred's care! He's been flying for 31 years, including flying Hueys for the U.S. Army in Vietnam. 2 out of his 8 (yes, 8! Ages 15-37) children are also pilots. Fred admits his job is pretty cool, and "Yes, we do have an awesome view" of Iowa.

He's right. Everything looks beautiful from the air - especially in a helicopter when you feel like you're floating.

Thanks for reading and watching. Have a great day!

Trisha

Overnight Shooting, Ernesto Gains Strength, and Wikiality?

Hey - it's Trisha helping with blog duties this morning! Pat's fried since he had to work overnight to help produce our newscast. Here are some of the news items he left for the blog before he went to crash!!




Overnight in Des Moines we heard about a shooting on the south side. The call came into the newsroom about 2AM. Witnesses told us the victim was shot five times. Police could only tell us that the victim's woulds were life-threatening. During the newscast we learned the victim died.




We're watching Ernesto this morning as it approaches Cuba. Over the weekend Ernesto went from tropiocal storm, to hurricane back to tropical storm. Expect Hurricane again today. In florida they're tell people to get out of the keys, and NASA is worried about it's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. It's supposed to go Tuesday.





Gas is as good as it gets here in Des Moines. The latest Lundburgh survey says we're the cheapest average price for a gallon of gas over the last two weeks.

Went to the second to the last I-Cubs game of the season Saturday and could hardly get a ticket. Now I know why. The Cubs set a record for attendance this season. The newly rennovated, and newly named Principal Park was a good place for a game to begin with. The updates made it even better. More changes are on the way for next season.

Trisha here!! This one caught my attention, since I have a child who's less-than-angelic at times. A study in the journal Pediatrics found students with serious aggression problems, often have undiagnosed ADHD, or have been through a traumatic family event. This link takes you to the actual abstract in the journal. It's written scientifically, but I always like to read these things from the original source to get ALL the nitty-gritty details. If you prefer a simpler version, try THIS LINK to a news recap of the study's findings. Now back to Pat's stuff:

The Gov starts his annual walking tour of Iowa today. He'll be here tomorrow.

Along with last night's Emmy awards came the release of this year's TV Buzzwords. Wikiality and Truthiness top the list that also includes "Katie", "Katrina", and "Dr. McDreamy".

Finally we begin a two week odyssey on Today In Iowa. I'm getting an even earlier wake-up call at midnight to help write the show. Usually we've got an assocaite producer who does that job. Staff changes mean I'm coming in. It's a chance to remind all of you that it's a small but dedicated group pf people who put this show on every day. They have terrible schedule, but are committed to making sure you have all the news from arouind the world and here in the Metro overnight. If I sound like a commercial it's because I am proud of thier work. If we have a good day, it's only because of thier hard work. Trisha, Jeriann, Brad, Liz and I all appreciate it.

I'm going to sleep.

PWD

It's Trisha again! A couple more random thoughts for you this morning... inspired by my weekend ON MY OWN with the two kids! My husband, Ian, was traveling for work, which he does quite often. I'm starting to get used to shouldering the parenting duties on my own - but it's given me HUGE respect for single parents! It's tough to keep your energy up without someone to give you a little breather!

My survival strategy was STAYING BUSY and GETTING OUT! We checked out the Farmer's Market downtown Saturday morning - This is a hard boiled egg-on-a-stick we got from the egg producers' booth! Baby Clara (who loves to eat) destroyed it in about 30 seconds. You don't want to see the aftermath! Cal stuck to popcorn - less messy! I hear we just missed Jeriann, who indulged in a breakfast burrito which was in her words, "AWE-some!"

Look, I think I spottted an actual farmer at the market... not selling any food, just strolling with his walking stick.

Here's what NOT to try if you're watching 2 small kids and it's about to rain outside. I get these ideas, though, and I just can't stop myself. Had to attempt to paint the back doors. It's a pretty half-***'ed job, that' I'll have to re-do under more realistic circumstances! I must stop watching these home improvement and decorating shows!

We filled lots of the weekend just letting big brother be the great entertainer that he is. (Under close supervision of course... he's far from trustworthy on his own!) I admit, I mostly stuck this photo in for my parents and extended family, who I've learned have become loyal blog-readers!

Give us a shout and let us know you're reading if you're NOT related to someone on our news team!!!

Have a great morning!

Trish

Effler Defense, Dems Confident in Boswell and Prayer Before Racing at Prairie Meadows

Good morning....First things first.
Trish made the first round of coffee this morning. I am literally buzzing .
Somebody get that girl a measuring cup! I think this is why Ian does a lot of the cooking in their house.
(Hey, Pat - This is Trisha chiming in!!! Sorry for making everyone o-d on caffeine today! I got bean-happy. Ian is a much better cook, and coffee-maker, I admit! But at least we're not falling asleep at our desks today!)

I thought I was going on some sort of Juan Valdez induced trip when I started hearing a buzzing sound in the studio.
I pointed it out to the studio crew and Trish. Of course, no one heard it until I pointed it out...Then of course no one could get it out of their head. Turns out it was a cricket. Mike opened the door and let the annoying noisemaker out.

To the news:

James Effler's attorneys begin their defense of Effler this morning in a Polk County courtroom. Yesterday the full tape of Effler's confession to police was played in court. It is graphic and, some people in our newsroom even called it disturbing. The case might go to the jury today.



Our political reporter Dave Price got word last night The D-triple-C(Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee), is pulling hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising for Congressman Leonard Boswell's campaign. Apparently that's a good thing. Dems think Boswell is in good shape against State Sen Jeff Labertti.



To the forecast. Jeriann told us this morning she changed the forecast to include significantly less rain for the Metro tonight and tomorrow. The front moved a lot faster than anyone thought so good news...You can go the the Farmer's Market in the morning. She also said she's nervous. Sometimes earlier models turn out to be correct. In short, it's a hard forecast today. Let's hope the second set of models is right and we're not going to get a lot of rain.


If any of you watched Liz Klinge's story this morning out at Prairie Meadows, you might be interested to know she's going to tell us more about it tonight on the news at six. Basically, more racetracks are employing a chaplain to counsel jockeys and racetrack staff. It's an interesting behind the scenes look at Prairie Meadows.



We told you about the Apple Computer battery recall in the early morning post.





Just worth a brief mention that a New York bound airliner was evacuated in Shannon Ireland this morning after a bomb threat was called into a Dublin Police Station. No bomb found.


In offbeat news. Apparently people won't be walking up after a late night in Vegas with an unexpected spouse. Las Vegas is closing down the office where you get a wedding license from Midnight to eight AM Friday's Saturday's and Holidays.

If you missed the 10PM news last night you missed a story I called in. Some guy was going around my neighborhood taping flyers on doors.

It says:

NOTICE:HOME ADDRESSES WILL BE PAINTED ON CURBS ALONG YOUR STREET TOMORROW! YOUR HOME WILL ONLY BE INCLUDED WITH YOUR PERMISSION!

It is strongly recommended that you take advantage of this opportunity to have your curb address painted in large (4-inch)easy to see numbers.

The flyer goes on to say: "

These Numbers are used but not endorsed by the Police, Fire Department, Ambulance and other Service Vehicles."

"Homes that are not adequately marked can possibly cost lives."

I was curious so we called the Fire Department. These numbers are NOT I repeat NOT used by the Fire Department and have NO BEARING on you or your family's safety.

If you want your number painted on your curb...Go ahead, but when we talked to Firefighters, they made a good point. You think they're riding around in that Fire Truck that sits about six feet higher off the ground than your car and looking down at the curb for an address? Makes no sense right?

He told us they actually look for good markings ON the house. Make sure those markings are visible.

To make things as confusing as possible, the flyer is printed in the form city notices sometimes take. It's disingenuous at best and a scam at worst to try to make money by scaring people like this.

Sorry, stuff like that bugs me.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. We'll see you back on the set Monday.

PWD

- Trisha again! Just a couple of quick things to share...

First day back to preschool was a success! (at least as far as I can gather) No tears, fights, or wet pants.. just smiles. Calvin didn't even look back when I dropped him off. So grown up.

After school we celebrated at Snookies with ice cream. Half the neighborhood was there with the same idea. Some other moms there confessed to crying when they dropped off their kids! Everyone seemed relieved to have the first day under their belts!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Trish

Early Buzz

Wanted to put up a link to the Apple recall of its lithium batteries for laptop computers.
http://support.apple.com/batteryprogram

More after the show!
-Trish and Pat

1st Day of School, Drake's Big announcement and Read for the Record

Good Morning.

Des Moines has it's first day of school this morning and there's good news for the district. It's growing for the first time in a long time. So is this the beginning of the end of the exodus to the suburbs?

A group called "Read for the Record" is going to try to set a world record for the number of people reading to kids at one time. The Little Engine the Could is the very appropriate material for the collective read.

The City of Des Moines and Drake University are expected to announce they've been chosen as host the NCAA Track and Field Championships. The event would be here some time between '08-2010. This would be a big feather in Drake and Des Moines' collective cap. Don't be surprised if we get the event, do a great job hosting this event, then go after the Olympic Trials Summer of 08.

If you missed the story about the "Biggest Little Fan" of the Iowa cubs...you've got to see it. This little girl is going to be a dream date for some guy when she gets to High School. I can see the conversation now:

Boy:Where do you want to go for our date Friday night?

Addison: Let's go to the I-Cubs game!

Boy: Well If that's what YOU want to do.

By the way this is the last regular season weekend for the I-Cubs.

Pluto could get a downgrade today. They're going to vote on the planet's status. Apparently it's too small to be counted as a real planet. I remember the mnemonic device I used to learn the names of the planets:

Mary's Violet Eyes Make John Stay Up Nights Proposing.

So what are we going to do now? No proposal for Mary? Everyone had a different way of remembering...What was yours? Here's some other interesting mnemonic devices.

Speaking of Space, The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off this weekend. Countdown is underway. Here's a look at the mission.

NASA Also announced the Space shuttles replacement vehicle's new name.

I've got to go take a nap. I'll be filling in for Sonya this Noon hour. She's got some great stories coming up but they take a lot of extra time to produce.

I've only had little cat naps this week because there's a lot to do around town. My wife's family is headed to town this weekend so I spent a lot of time making the yard look nice a a very limited time catching up on sleep.

ZZZ,

PWD

Trisha's 2 cents' worth!

Good morning! I'll chime in on a few things today! First - leave Pluto alone! I heard a radio interview of an astronomer making a great point. What we CALL these items, planets or otherwise, doesn't change the way scientists study them. It's all semantics. So what if Pluto doesn't meet the scientific criteria of the other planets? We common folks can still call it a "planet" without messing up science. It seems like much ado about nothing!

Let's Play!!!

How cool is this?! Of course I'm fired up because this brand new playground is in my neighborhood. It's part of the new renovations at Perkins Elementary in DM's Beaverdale/Waveland neighborhood.

I took my little ones to check it out last night, and we found a bazillion kids doing the same, since the school was holding an open house. It's so cool to see how they can make things so much fun for kids so much SAFER than when we were little! My husband Ian and I traded horror stories about playground injuries from our childhoods - swingsets and junglegyms over concrete, slides with METAL PLATES AND SCREWS that always seemed to come loose, etc. Under this new playground, they have one of those rubbery mat surfaces.

I watched a kid launch off a spinning merry-go-round thing, and just bounce right off the ground. Not a scratch. Some would argue the safer stuff isn't as fun. I'm okay with it if it keeps the kids out of the ER. What's your opinion?

Where's Jeriann - and who's Justin?

The newest member of our weather team, Justin Sacher, filled in this morning for Jeriann, and did a great job on short notice handling his first morning show here!

He most recently worked in Peoria, and I actually worked with him years ago in Champaign! Check out his bio on our website - and help us welcome him to the team!

For the record, the studio technician you see in the foreground is the much-adored Mike Zavacki, who wants everyone to know his hands are IN HIS SWEATSHIRT POCKETS in this photo! (Don't worry, Mike, I wouldn't have posted this pic if I thought it looked, well... wrong.) I actually owe Zavacki a favor for toning down his "5 MINUTES!!!!" warning before the show today. He's become fond of POUNDING on the dressing room door when Jeriann and I take too long fixing our hair and makeup. Yesterday she nearly poked her eye out with her eyeliner! The warning today was much lower on the Richter scale. BTW, isn't Zavacki a great name? My maiden name was "Whitkanack", so I can relate!

As for Jeriann - well, she ate some mysterious veggies off a tray at work the other day that I'm pretty sure had been sitting out all night. I'm not sure if that's why she's out today... or if a bug got her.. but my money's on the funky food!

Camera phones are dangerous!!!

This shot will get me in trouble, but I thought you bloggers should see our dedicated producer, Jodi, hard at work! She slaves away ALL NIGHT to get our morning newscast put together. Notice that she's wearing a fleece sweatshirt - it's always freezing in the newsroom for some reason. Wish I could throw on a sweatshirt and hat to come to work!

I'm praying for an easy back-to-school day - I'm dropping my little guy at preschool at noon. My biggest hope - no tears, no getting in trouble, and no wet pants at the end of the day! (I'll settle for two out of three if I have to.)

Have a great morning!

Trish