New chapter!

It's been awhile since I've blogged. Here's a quick roundup of the last few months. I left WVLA and moved back to Minnesota, without a job, mind you. I made the right decision and got really really lucky!

I'm about to start working at WCCO. This fulfills a career goal of making it to the Twin Cities and I guess you could call it a full circle moment. I interned at WCCO back in 2002. So, I hope everyone flips to channel 4 and if you have a good story idea, send it my way!

p.s. I took down my reunion rant. Reading it several months later, I realized venting my frustration into cyberspace isn't always the best idea. I probably wrote that when I was deliriously tired from working the early morning shift. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! :D

Angola Rodeo

I got my first taste of a Louisiana rodeo this past weekend. Oh boy! I really don't have any words to describe it.

I couldn't believe the kind of pain those prisoners put themselves through. They had this one event where inmates sat around a table and waited for a bull, yes, a BULL, to crash into them.
That's just craziness! That, in addition to the wild cow milking and the monkey's rounding up rams, it made for an interesting show to say the least.

The Angola Rodeo also features incredible arts and crafts made by the prisoners. The workmanship on some of the wooden rocking chairs is unbelievable.

If you've never been, it's worth the visit. Where else are you going to see sane adults actually run at an angry bull?

Insomnia!

Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors in this blog. I have had a wicked case of insomnia over the past few nights. I'd say I've had about 4 hours of sleep over the last 48 hours.

I'm blaming it on the daylight saving time. I go to bed around 5 or 6, because I wake up around midnight. During the winter, it's dark by then. Now that it's spring, falling sleep with the sun shining doesn't seem natural.

I'm sure you've had those nights where you just lay in bed, wishing you could sleep. You look at the alarm clock. You realize, if you fell asleep at that minute, you'd get four hours of sleep. Then thinking about falling asleep keeps you up. An,d if you realize you're about to fall asleep, it hits you. "Yes, I'm falling asleep!" That realization then wakes you up again.

That's been my cycle the last few nights. Hopefully tonight I will drift off to dreamland with no problems. Fingers crossed!

Dog attacks Emily Turner

Imagine this, it's Friday, you're home for the day and sleeping peacefully during your afternoon nap. Suddenly, your friend calls hysterically crying about a dog bite. You're suddenly wide awake, trying to figure out what to do while on the phone. Do you tell her to call police? How bad is the bite? Can you get to the hospital?

Yep, that's the situation I faced last Friday. Emily Turner went out to cover a story about pit bull attacks. Understand this story was probably difficult to cover as she is a pit bull owner and understands fully, that a dog's attitude depends on it's upbringing. Emily is always the one to defend pit bulls when we have reported attacks. So, it was a bit ironic that she ends up getting bit.

She's ok, just a little shaken up. The dog punctured her wrist. She went to the hospital. As for the dog, it's in quarantine for 10 days. Standard procedure when a dog does not have it's papers, I'm told. Want to see it happen? We have video on nbc33tv.com.

Grandma's Half Marathon

I am in! Come June 19th, I will be running 13.1 miles along the beautiful north shore. The course for Grandma's marathon has to be one of the most beautiful races in the country. It follows the tip of Lake Superior, in Northern Minnesota.

I've run this race, both the half and full, for several years now. Every year, it's been HOT! But that is why I love training in Louisiana. Hot for Minnesota, is beautiful spring day for Louisiana.

This year, I plan to run for time. I've never done this before and am a little nervous. I'd like to run the race in under 2 hours. I'm a standard 10 minute mile runner and usually finish in about 2 hours 10 minutes. That means I really have to shave some time off each mile. Fingers crossed for my training....

2010 Olympics

The Vancouver Olympic Games are now over and in my opinion, this year did not disappoint! Would you agree? I love the Winter Olympics to begin with, remember, I grew up in Minnesota. Hockey, ice skating, snowboarding, yes, even curling, all were apart of my upbringing.

My favorite sport, snowboarding! Maybe it stems from my dreams of being a pro snowboarder, when I was a kid. I bought the board, boots, bindings, and gear. On the first day, I could not even stand on the hill. It was so bad, a friend who was teaching me, just gave up. He said, "I can't even help you." That was the push I needed. The next time, I was carving down the hill.
Problem is, I could never get over my fear of the jumps. Alas, my dreams of Olympic gold were squashed. But, I still love to hit the slopes when I get a chance.

I can't talk about the Winter Games without talking about hockey. I really didn't pay attention to the men's USA team until the final game. But when I did, I remembered why I love hockey so much. It's probably the most dramatic sport. I went to a high school where hockey was THE sport. When I watch the olympic games, it reminds me of when my entire school would cheer on our team during the state tournament. Fun!

I love the warm weather of Louisiana, but it's times like this that I miss hitting the ice or the slopes for some winter weather fun....

Love this weather!

Is anyone else loving this weather as much as I do?

I'm a midwest girl at heart, so any time the temperatures dip, I'm outside. Couple that with the sunshine, and I'm a happy girl!

This is perfect running weather. Time to start training for my next half marathon. It's in June, so I have plenty of time, but training on the treadmill is NOT fun!

Knowing Louisiana, this is all going to change, it's going to get hot quickly. Then, it's back to the gym treadmill.