Book Club.

It's on to a new book for the girls of WLIO.  This time around we are tackling another best seller that is soon to make its way tot he silver screen.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larson, is said to be amazing.  A tale about corporate crime and mystery.

So here we go!  I'm on chapter 4 and am digging it so far.  Read along!

See You Soon.

It's undoubtedly the hardest part of working in the TV business... making friends, and then parting ways.

As many of you know in the Limaland community, our Sports Director, Andy Young and his fiance, Kristy are heading to Buffalo, NY.  Over the short 2 or so years that I've known them both we've become such great friends.  When you have several people working together who are strangers to the community at first, it's easy to become fast friends.  That's how it was with us.

So packing them up in a Penske moving truck this morning was the definition of bittersweet.  It's amazing to see Andy's success and talents take them toward their home state with a huge jump in market size.  I'm so excited for their future there.  But, selfishly, I'm so sad to see them go.

Cheers to you both and congratulations!  I'll see you soon!

Dirty Hair.

I'm a huge fan of dry shampoos!  They are a great brilliant way to freshen up your 'do without having to lather rinse, repeat, blow dry and style.  That takes a long time!  So especially on the weekends or when you wake up 30 minutes past your alarm clock, it's great to look good with minimal effort involved.

That said, I was ecstatic when I saw a new commercial for Suave dry shampoo in an aerosol can.  The excitement came mainly from Suave's reputation for lower than reasonable pricing.  But the Pinterest-lover in me thought, "I bet I can make that."  So I went to Suave.com to check out the ingredients.

And that's where my love for Suave dry shampoo ends.  Here's the list of ingredients.  Note that is starts out with a propellant for the aerosol called isobutane and second on the list: PROPANE.  Seriously.

Isobutane,Propane, SD Alcohol 40-B (Alcohol Denat.), Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Butane, Fragrance (Parfum), Isopropyl Myristate, Silica

But the truth is, I can make dry shampoo.  And in a much more organic fashion than using the same material that lights up my grill.  Of course, Pinterest connected me to a couple great blogs for a recipe.  But in a pinch, plain corn starch or baby powder work too!

Organic Hair Powder:

2 Tablespoons Organic Arrowroot Powder

2 Tablespoons Kaolin Clay
1 Teaspoons Organic Horsetail Powder
6 drops Essential Oil of choice (more or less depending on the oil and your preference)

Mix in a medium bowl and then sift into a fine powder to remove any clumps.  Voila!

Natural Dry Shampoo:

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch 
2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
2 Tablespoons Cornmeal
2 Tablespoons Ground Oatmeal

Grind all in a blender and sift!

O-H...

So I couldn't live in the Buckeye state without at least one visit to the Shoe.  Saturday was the day... and with some calculated coincidence, It was my Badgers in town for a visit.  Yay!

Kubes and I made the trip down to Columbus with two student tickets waiting for us and a lot of expectation for a Badger victory.  And although I was sporting my Badger gear, most of our red and white was covered with winter jackets, hats, mittens, boots, and every piece of winter gear we could find!

Of course, the Badgers did not come out with a victory, but the game was so exciting!  It was definitely worth the trip... and awesome to see how other student sections measure up to mine at Camp Randall.  I may be a little biased, but I think Wisconsin takes the cake... by a landslide... with the more enthusiastic crowd.

All in all... a great time.  Congrats, Bucks!  :(

I'm Feeling Festive.

Apparently I'm in the Halloween mood... Yesterday I brought back one of my all time fav go to lunches... couscous with peas and feta cheese.  I ate this constantly through college, and now it's a staple lunch/breakfast at WLIO!    It is one of the easiest and quickest meals slash side dishes to make and it does a great job as a double duty meal with leftovers. 

But this round was different.  The tomato couscous I bought got me thinking I should name this dish, "Ghosts in a Pumpkin Field!"  What do you think?

Looking ahead.

It's already time to start thinking of our November Sweeps period for us in the broadcasting biz.  What's Sweeps, you ask?  Well, it's a series of in-depth stories that run in a three part series (usually Tuesday - Thursday).  A group of reporters each tackle a local subject that could use a little more air time, than a average story.  The story can involved hard news like politics and crime, or can me a little softer, like a feature of a particularly interesting family, or local community.  All this happens four times a year!

For me this time around, I'll be looking into our local Alzheimer's community.  What is it like to be living with the disease?  Also, what is it like to be taking care of a loved one who has Alzheimer's?  And lastly, what are the current outlooks for treatment and a possible cure?

I'll be headed to the Alzheimer's Walk for a Cure this Saturday in Faurot Park to get a start on talking to all of you! 

For this three-part piece, I'll be looking for people affected by the disease who are willing to open up and share their stories.  Are you one of those people?  I'd love to chat with you!  Send me an email (lbetker@wlio.com), leave me a message on Facebook, or find me at the walk this weekend!

Craft Weekend.

Kubes is out of town for the Holiday, so it's all about crafts for me this weekend.  Obvi, it's all stuff I've found on Pinterest. (Love it.)  Here's what I've accomplished so far... (Minus a couple that I can't show because they're gifts!)





Homemade No Knead Bread Dough (Recipe)

  

Dried Fruit!



Glitter Fridge Magnets



Coasters (How To)

Book Club.

Although some of our members (Ahem Jess, Marissa and Kristy) are having a little trouble finding time to read, it was time to pick a new book.  Everyone liked The Help, but I think it was a little too commercial for us.  We want something a little more scandalous and off the beaten path.  One main reason a lot of us enjoy the club (besides the food and drink) is that we read a book that we would not have otherwise picked out.

So, up next... Slammerkin, a story based on truth of a woman in 1752 whose lust for nice clothing leads her into a life of prostitution. 

We'll see what this one brings...

My Latest Obsession.

Pinterest is literally taking up all my time lately!  It's such a great tool for keeping ideas organized.  It's a website that works like this:

You see something on the Internet (think recipe or decorating tip) that you want to keep in mind for the future... With Pinterest, you "pin it" onto your personal page and all your ideas are saved for future use in easy to see categories.

You can also see what others, including friends, are pinning and re-pin those if you wish.  It's such a fun site to browse and a great tool for keeping organized!

Here's a few of the things I've pinned recently...

Book Club, Round 3.

After the depressing, but captivating The Paris Wife, you might think the group would move on to something frivolous or silly.  But no!  Up next is The Help, by Katheryn Stockett. 

It's a recently written story about black maids working in a southern white household.  It's described as optimistic and uplifting so I'm really looking forward to it!

P.S. one reason for this choice: The movie version is coming out in August, which will make for a great girls night out!

Mmmmm, Avocados!

I can't get enough of avocados!  I would put them on everything!  For a story yesterday I paid a visit to Chef Carrie Hamilton's house, where she made a cool summer salad as a way for WLIO viewers to avoid all cooking on the hottest day of the year.  I told her she couldn't use a stove, oven or grill, but the meal still had to be satisfying.

She came up with one of the best salads I've ever had... that may be in part to the great avocado dressing that put the taste of one of my favorite green foods into every bite.  And it was simple!  Check out the recipe below!

Layered Salad
•6 c. Salad greens
•2 c. Store-bought rotisserie chicken, shredded
•1 c. Shredded cheese
•15 oz. can Garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
•1 c. Mushrooms, sliced
•1 c. Cucumbers, sliced
•1 c. Cherry tomatoes, sliced
•1 c. Red onion, sliced

Layer all ingredients in a large bowl. Top with dressing. Toss.
Avocado Dressing
•1 Large avocado
•2 Garlic cloves, minced
•1 c. Light sour cream
•2 T. Lemon juice
•Dash Cayenne Pepper
•Dash Cumin
•Salt and pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients to a food process and blend until smooth.

Call Me Bryan.

I am in love with this cup! Kubes got it as a grooms gift from his bro and sis-in-law but I think it will be me who steals it from the cupboard each morning. After all, I do leave the house first so I have an advantage.
It's made ny Tervis and keeps liquids hot or cold!

My Latest Obsession.

I'm totally on board with this trend... so it Kate, as in Will and Kate.  engagement rings are no longer limited to diamonds...

Glamour Magazine - Bright Side: The New Engagement Ring

But will these rings stand the test of time and still be in fashion 10 years from now?  Who knows...

Book Club.

So the Pillars of the Earth is done and done.  And most of the 972 pages were great, although graphic.  I love historical fiction!  And while partaking in a few cosmopolitans, the girls and I actually did some book discussing before the conversation turned to girl talk.

So it's on to the next one.  What did the group choose?  The Paris Wife, by Paula McClain.  It's the story of Ernest Hemingway, as told by his first wife.  I've heard good things. 

And it better be good... the only copy at the Lima Library is perpetually checked out and the paperback is rare, so we had to spring for the hardcover version.  Can't wait!  Hurry up, Amazon.com!

Wine and Coca-Cola?

Anyone ever heard of a Calimocho?  It's a Spanish drink that combines equal parts red wine and cola in a high ball glass with ice.  I think I remeber hearing of this before, tasting it, and thinking it reminded me of steak sauce.

I'll have to give it another try... this one intrigues me...

Dr. Insecta

I vaguely remember holding a tarantula during a pre-school field trip.  Somewhere there's a picture as proof.  But I got a chance to re-create that moment yesterday here at the station when Dr. Insecta stopped by for a noon show visit.  He brought with him some friends!

To be honest, I wasn't as scared as I thought I'd be.  I'd rather hold a spider than a snake i think.

Mom, send me that picture from pre-school!

Storm Pictures.

Kyle and I love getting all the storm reports, pictures and video from our viewers during severe weather events.  Yesterday we got so many, that it was hard to keep up with them all.  So today I took time to look at each and every picture and try to decipher what was going on at the time.

In most of the pictures, because they don't show the movement, it's really hard to see much of anything besides some scary, dark clouds.  A few manage to capture a funnel cloud or wall cloud, which is very helpful to us!

This one was sent in by Carmen Pinks in Harrod.  Carmen pointed out the figure taking shape in the clouds and it's not hard to recognize this one!  An ape face!  Very interesting... maybe we can blame this guy for the storms!



I outlined what I see in this one to help out!



Current Reads.

There's a new club in Limaland.. and it's for the girls of WLIO and the WLIO wives.  We started a book club!  A once a month get together for food, wine and literary chatter.

First up?  The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.  This book was previously featured in Oprah's book club.  Although I'm only on page 24 of 972, I think I'll like it.  (We might be a little overambitious with this thick read, but we'll give it a shot!) It's set in 13th century England and follows a mason family through the 40 years it takes to build a cathedral.  For a girl like me who loves this Old English historical fiction, this seems like a good read.

We've given ourselves a two month deadline for this one... read along with us!

Weather Jokes Never End.

This was sent to me by our chief engineer at the station... cute...

Top Ten Best Things About Working in News.

In the words of Grape...

In no particular order, here are the absolute best things about working in television news:

1. The "front row ticket" to life. You get to rub elbows with celebrities, people who run the country, the most interesting people on the planet. You have a lifelong backstage pass while others pay big bucks for front row seats.

2. Working weekends. Your friends will feel sorry for you, but if you've never done it, you've missed the pure joy of a mostly empty building with no managers around. You can relax, turn the scanner down from an ear-splitting level, throw a frisbee around the newsroom or a football around the parking lot. You only have to dress from the waist up if you're an anchor, as the "weekend anchor collection" might include a suit jacket, tie, cut-offs and docksiders with no socks.
3. Photogs. 90 percent artists, 10 percent psychologists, these guys should wear a cape as they seem to have superpowers. They can fix a viewfinder or a carburetor, find anything without a GPS, and know what you're thinking before you know it. They have the most pride of any group in the news business, are the most loyal, and weren't born with the backstabbing gene. They can become true friends for life.
4. Newsroom camaraderie. If you're in a great newsroom with nice people, your life can be like an episode of Friends every day. It's like having a second family.
5. Orphan Holidays: When Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around and you're a thousand miles from home, you can feel depressed. But the holiday orphans always get together to celebrate and create some of the more memorable holidays ever.

6. Working with creative, smart people. The news business does feature some dim bulbs, but for the most part you're working with the smartest people on the planet. All with a seriously warped sense of humor.

7. You never watch the clock. How many people in other fields can say that? Your day goes by so fast it doesn't feel like work.

8. You make a living, and this isn't even a real job. Seriously, you tell stories for a paycheck!

9. Breaking a big story. The pulse goes up and suddenly you're a kid on Christmas morning.

10. Changing the world with a story. Imagine, showing up for work not knowing what your day holds and going home knowing you've saved or changed a life dramatically. Doctors do it all the time, but we can do it with words and pictures instead of a scalpel. Nothing, and I mean nothing, feels better than this.

What Would Punch Say?

I am totally in love with this YouTube video we aired on First Edition today. I've watched it several times already!  This got me thinking... what would Punch say if she could talk?  And what would her voice sound like?

Well as far as the voice, I'm pretty sure she talks like a teenage girl... snotty and condescending.

Punch camping at "Beer Can Island" July 2009

And what would she say?

• "Leave me alone, you're smothering me!"
• "Will you drop a piece on the floor for me?"
• "Did you just say 'go for a walk'?"
• "Cat alert! Let me out!"
• "I love Grandma."

What would your furry friend say?

Wedding Wear.

So of course many of this season's weddings will be compared to the Royal Wedding of Will & Kate... I wonder how many new British trends we will see here across the pond?

Probably my favorite trend is wearing hats!  I have an important wedding this July in Breckenridge, Colorado.  Kubes' brother Scott and his fiance Jen will tie the knot and I think I'll be donning a hat myself.  I just got my dress in the mail yesterday so now the hunt is on to find a piece of headware that coordinates.  Help me... I have a few ideas but its so hard to decide.  One thing I do know is that I'm going to go vintage!  I am taking some advice from Blissfully Eccentric.

Here's the dress:

I'll be shopping the vintage chests in Wapakoneta where I've seen several good pieces. Here are some random hat examples, what color and style? I'm thinking a fascinator... I definitely don't want to look bridal and am loving the peacock feathers.

Current Reads.

The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory is such a page turner.  I'm reading it under the suggestion of my mother and cannot put it down!  After a long stretch hooked on Jodi Picoult and Janet Evanovich, I almost forgot how much I love historical fiction set in Old England!  This one brings me back.

I'm tempted to once again read one of my all time favorite books... On the Night of the Seventh Moon, by Victoria Holt.  It has the same atmosphere and general setting... a girl growing up in a privileges family in old England... the struggles of whom to marry and what the servants are gossiping about.  Love it!

My Superstar Besties.

Ever been in a music video?  Me neither... but my best friends have! 

On a recent spring break trip to Arizona they were approached for a cameo appearance in a parody music video for Rebecca Black's "Friday"  Check it out here!  They are the two beauties on the subway, btw.

Malorie blogged about the experience... you can read her thoughts here.

Current Reads.

It's fast and fun, reading about Stephanie Plum and her bounty hunter adventures in Jersey... Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich.  This is one book that I can easily get through in the 14-day checkout time for "New Fiction" at the Lima Public Library. 

And now I can't wait for the movie based on the first book in this series, One For the Money.  It stars Katherine Heigl as Stephanie... I can see that.  Decent casting.  Can't wait to see it!

Repetition.

I know now that I've been here over a year beause the events and activities we cover are starting to look familiar!  Our Backyard Bash giveaway... The Buckeye Creativity Awards... May Sweeps...  It all comes back around.

This all makes me realize more than ever the benefits of digging up fresh story ideas as a reporter.  I have a running list of story ideas but I always need more... Do you have any?  Send them my way by posting a comment here or emailing them to me at lbetker@wlio.com!

Elmo Comes to Town!

Elmo and Grover stopped by the studio this past week to help us with our Frist Edition broadcast.  Elmo was a pro at helping me with the forecast.  Seriously, in person you can't help but smile when you look at them in their furry costumes.

My favorite part is that there are built in butts for the costumes so it looks liekt hey have chubby little rear ends.  Perfect!

Here's the link to the weather cast on YouTube!

Stay Tuned.

May is sweeps inthe world of TV, and that means our ratings are measured.  This is one of the four times per year that we work on some special projects.  Maybe some investigative reporting, or a feature that takes a little more in depth digging.  Then instead of just one 2-minute story on the topic, we bring you a series of three that takes a bigger and more intense look at the subject.

Most of the time, these are news stories.  But the weather team is joining in this round for a series titled, "The Making of a Meteorologist."  We'll tackle a wide variety of topics:

• What does it take to become a meteorologist
• How are watches and warnings issued
• How does the green screen work for presenting the weather on-air
• Who are our weather spotters and what do they do

Stay tuned for early May to catch these and more...  We're pretty excited and hope you'll find it interesting!

Current Reads.

Love Jodi Picoult.  I just started her newest called House Rules about a family with an autistic child.  As always, its action packed and riveting from page 1.

Creepy?

So rarely do I read sports stories, but LIFE Magazine posted an article about creepy college mascots.  Personally, macots that are supposed to look like real humans (ie. Purdue) could be classified as creepy.  Along with these other examples from the article:


University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Ragin ' Cajun



Pepperdine's Willie the Wave

But Bucky?  Bucky is not creepy!  The article descibes him as creepy because he looks like he's up to no good... he always appears to be plotting.  That's why we love him!  Are you with me people?

University of Wisconsin's Bucky Badger

Wake Up!

It's day 4 of my ultra early new schedule.  My day starts somewhere between 3:00 and 3:30am.  Pretty much a 12 hour shift from what I was used to... going to bed during the early morning hours after getting off work at midnight.

Here's my sleeping plan so far:

• Nap after work until 5-6:00pm
• Try to have a normal evening with my guy, make dinner, watch tv, etc.
• Even though I'm not that tired, go to bed at 10-11:00pm
• Alarm sounds at 3:00am, ugh... I do not want to get out of bed.

Punch does a head lift, expecting a good morning kiss from Mom and then falls right back asleep.  After some coffee and a bight good morning from Jess and David, I'm good to go until about 10:00am.  That's where it starts to go downhill again...

Even still... so excited and very happy to be a part of the morning crew!

Breakfast Time.

It was Breakfast with the puppies today at Hollowell Academy of Dog Training.  Punch, Kubes and I woke up and got right in the car for some much anticipated play time.  Punch was crying with excitement the whole way there.  (She knows what, "Do you want to play with the puppies" means.)

It was super fun and good food... egg bake!  I even brought a camera for a light-hearted story for the news tonight.  Not a bad way to start the day.



Punch's friend, Brutus



I think afterward I needed a nap more than Punch did though... and a bath!  There was plenty of slobber.

My Latest Obession.

I have been off books but lately have started reading again full blast.  I usually get the most quality time with my book while I'm donating Plasma for some extra cash.  My latest read: Escape, by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer.

It's a non-fiction tale about Carolyn's like growing up in the extremist Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and her decision to escape.  It's crazy and exciting... like being transported to another time and place into a cult society.

If you are in need of a good read... try this one.

PS, Thanks to Elise for recommending this book to me! I forget about the non-fiction section...

Smart Organic Shopping.

With a grocery bill today that topped $200 I try to save wherever I can.  Knowing which produce to buy organic is HUGE and can save a lot.  Here's a cheat sheet I use that shows the most contaminated produce that you should opt organic for if possible.  The low pesticide side is jsut as good to eat from a conventional farmer.  I learned about all this last May with a series I did about organic farming.  It's a lot of information, but this rule card makes it so simple!

PS, I had no idea of the effect a boy would have on my grocery shopping bill.  I've rarely topped $100 let alone $200!
PPS, all this thinking about produce has me craving farmer's market treats from Ber-Gust Farms...

Parade Pics.

I wasn't sure if I would find walking in the Irish Day Parade fun or not... but it was!  Thanks so some sunshine, there were so many people!  Way more than I expected.  So it turned out throwing candy to the little kiddies iwth David and Jessica wasn't so bad at all.  Here's some pics: