Lovely Weather. Wish You Were Here.

Wow, what a week. I think most people would agree that this was one of the worst winter storms they have ever seen. I grew up in Northern Illinois, and I'm sick of the snow (my mother said the snow was so deep back home, that the snowplow guy couldn't plow it with his truck). What makes it seem crazier to me is that we set a record high of 73 degrees on Saturday, only to be followed by 1 1/2 feet of snow and temperatures dropping to -11 Thursday morning.
I left the house Tuesday morning as the sleet was ending and the snow was starting. That was the last time my vehicle saw the inside of my garage. In fact, until late Wednesday afternoon, the only tracks down our lane were my footprints from the house leading to the road. I'm sure most people found themselves walking through a snow drift at some point during the storm. It would be nice to have a day when I'm not cold and wet. Love the frozen pant legs.
However, the show must go on as I found myself living at the station Tuesday night. Tiffany Alaniz also turned the station into a temporary home, and thankfully filled in for Shannon, who got stranded at home. I took over the sports office, she got the lobby.
KODE/KSN had several departments working together, as anyone with a snow-worthy vehicle played taxi service for employees. And yet, I don't think a single person avoided getting stuck, regardless of the vehicle. I believe my number was four.
So now the weekend is here. I've got a path shoveled from my driveway to the front door and most of the driveway is cleared. Still can't get into the garage, so my weekend project is obvious. And yet, more snow in the forecast this week. Who said weather in the Four States is boring?

Business Expo

A big thanks to everyone we talked to at the Business Expo. It's a good opportunity for us to get out in the public and visit. I have to admit that we wandered away from the KODE booth as we had to see what the other booths were offering. With the theme being "game shows", it also gave us the chance to test our skills and maybe win a few prizes. Shannon got into a cash cube, with a chance to win as money was blowing around her head (obviously, the above photo). She won $1. However, she was disappointed when she discovered that I found a booth with a trivia contest and I walked away with $10. Of course, we got our yearly supply of pens and other goodies (some new golf balls). Hope to see everyone at next years event.

Alan vs. A Basketball

While the segment hasn't aired yet, I will go ahead and apologize now. Having Hot Shot Branch from the Harlem Globetrotters on the show... good idea. We had a chance to talk about the team and the new 4 point shot that the Globetrotters have added to the game. Unfortunately, part of the segment consists of Hot Shot trying to teach me a few basketball tricks... bad idea. And for that, I apologize.
I am not good at most athletic endeavors. You'll get a spirited effort from me, but my skills just aren't there. In softball, I may get a hit or two, but I'll usually a butcher in the field. In football, maybe I'll catch a pass and throw a lucky block. But in basketball, my skills are brutal. Most people believe that I'm joking about my basketball ability, but I am truly awful at the sport. It's like the Seinfeld episode, where they refer to George as a "chucker." That's me. If I get the ball, it's going up in the air. Maybe to another player, but more likely at the basket. No guarantee it's going to the intended location, either.
So while I try to mimic the moves, I'm sure Matt has put together a montage of my basketball skills. Enjoy, and remember kids, don't try this at home. To see the video, click here.

Coughing and Inventions

Every once in a while, it will happen. An anchor will be reading a news story and a coughing fit will occur. To make it worse, the coughing doesn't happen at the end of a news block, but rather in the middle. That was the case this morning for Shannon. And as you saw, it doesn't always lead to a graceful exchange. Admittedly, it cause me off guard. I had just walked back into the studio for the coughing. Good timing, except my scripts were a little out of order and the prompter operator got slightly ahead of me. The first story after the switch... not so good. Thankfully, I got my bearings and finished the news. Shannon was okay, but had water nearby for the rest of the show.

Our ABC Tech Bytes segment had a story that peaked our curiosity this morning, and we had to figure out how a gadget worked. In case you missed it, it was the Bottoms Up Draft Beer Dispenser. As the name implies, it's a beer dispenser, but it fills the cup from the bottom. Naturally, we had to find out how. Apparently, there's a magnetic valve at the bottom of the glass. Beer enters through the valve, and when the glass is full, the pump shuts off. The pressure of the beer pushes down on the valve, keeping it closed. And how do they disguise the valve? As an advertisement for beer. Oh technology, you never cease to amaze us.

Christmas Cookies

I know it seems a little late to be talking about Christmas cookies. But my family was just in town to celebrate Christmas and the multiple cookie containers play a big part of the event.
I've tried to explain it on the show, but Christmas cookies are a huge tradition in my family. My mother would start baking in the middle of December, and the kitchen was a non-stop cookie factory. Trips were made to visit other members of the family and the cookies were not just a welcome addition: for some relatives it was a required part of the holidays. The creativity that flowed through the kitchen was amazing, especially when it came to the sugar cookies. Reindeer, snowmen, Christmas trees and angels were baked, iced, then carefully decorated with frosting and other sugar treats. Of course, when my sister and I were old enough, we became part of the cookie making process.
Now the years have passed. The cookies aren't as ornate and the variety may be smaller (I think fruitcake was a part of the holidays, but mom stopped that years ago), but we always get a few containers of our favorites. It just wouldn't be the holidays without a taste of home. And yes, I'll be sharing a few with Shannon this year.

Grayson's Accessories

Ok, so I like the hats. It all started when he was born, and the doctor told us to keep his head covered. I got tired of looking at the same three hats over and over, so I went shopping.

It started with his little "aviator" hat, then to a stocking cap, a Santa hat, a party hat.... his next one will be a fedora.

Hats, hats and more hats...

Grayson has a lot of hats. I've been giving Shannon a hard time about the amount of hats Grayson owns. I realize it's winter and as someone who doesn't have much hair, I understand the importance of a warm hat. Shannon has several photos of Grayson wearing a hat (I'd guess 60% of his photos are with hat), and I don't think I've ever seen the same hat twice. Now I know that she has a thing for shoes. Maybe she's trying to get Grayson to develop a similar obsession, only with hats. I'm hoping to find Grayson a pith helmet or a fez. How about a beanie... with propeller? Now that's stylish.