I have a new blog now on the KWWL website :) Please join me there for the latest http://addins.kwwl.com/blogs/glasshalffull/

Steve-O!

What fun! Steve-O from Jackass came on the show today. Jeff and I had a blast interviewing him and I even got him to show us his back tattoo. This job may be crazy and stressful at times but nobody can deny how fun it can be :)

Birthday Time!

Sometimes it's the simplest of moments that is defining.

For me last night for my birthday dinner sitting at the table surrounded by the people
who love me most it came to me.

After months of confusion, uncertainty and a deep nagging feeling that perhaps I had made the wrong move leaving the comfort of Eugene, it all came to me that this was it.

Being able to spend a birthday close to home and be with the people who I love the most I suddenly knew that my decision was the right one. Sure I had many wonderful birthdays in Eugene and I will always cherish those memories ...but what was missing was family and now I have it.

Once the thought came to me it was easy to know what to wish for when blowing out my birthday candles...and that is exactly what I did..

Comfort

Working at Channel 7 feels more comfortable everyday. Today I planned a wonderful surprise lunch for our morning show producer Ellen. It was so nice to have several people from the station show up and wish her a great birthday. Things have changed so much in the last few months. I went from complete stress and sadness from leaving Eugene to finally starting to settle down and make friends here. It's a very good feeling. Tomorrow after the show I am going to head down to the Twin Cities to spend my birthday with my family. We are having a little get together at my house with some of my closest friends. It doesn't get much better than that. Now I have a job I love and am close to my family. I still miss Eugene a lot but things are starting to look a lot more hopeful :)

Happy Change

It's been a very long time since I have posted but I wanted to give everyone a quick update. I am finally settling here in the Cedar Valley and starting to feel more comfortable by the day. It's been a hectic few months with many emotions and changes in life. Though I miss Eugene daily, at the end of the day I know that I made the right decision for me both personally and professionally. I am proud of myself for taking this big step --one that feels like it will lead me to many new adventures in my life. I have faith this step will bring me something very exciting not just professionally. I plan to keep you all posted.

Looking Forward

It's late and I cannot sleep. Seems as though my schedule is still on Eugene time and I cannot bring myself to fall asleep even though my entire family is in dreamland. Next week I start my job! I cannot wait! It was very nice to have two and a half weeks to relax and spend with my family before starting work but now I am beyond ready to start my new adventure. My first day on air at KWWL will be October 24th which is just over a week away. This is a interesting time in my life. I am very excited to start at a fresh station with endless possibilities but I still miss Eugene and my old friends.

It's funny how I am not going to go back though it feels as though I am just on a vacation with my family and will hop a plane back to Oregon at the end of it. The last few weeks have been such a whirlwind and I must say I am proud of myself for being as strong as I have while saying goodbye to a place that I Loved with friends who I deeply cherish and care about.

Eugene was amazing and I will always hold a special place for it in my heart but I knew that it was time for me to go. I had advanced all I could at the station and had fallen in a very predictable pattern that had continued for too long. Comfort can be a very good thing but when you stay in it for too long you cease to grow. Despite amazing viewers, several people who cared for me greatly and dear, dear friends--I made a choice for me. I made the choice to go.

NO it was not easy. I had several moments of regret and many nights laying awake wondering if I had made the right decision. I think deep down I have come to terms with this--that you never quite know if it's the right decision but you must take the risk and the chance. I needed to do this for me or I would always wonder "what if"

Several people have told me they feel as though my life is going to "fall into place" very soon. I don't know if that is true or what exactly that even entails but I do know that I am proud of myself for taking this step and am going to continue to look forward..to what the future holds.

Waterloo/Cedar Falls and the in-between time

Life is good. I mean really, really good. Yes, these past few weeks I have had a range of emotions mostly sadness however, things have turned a page in the last couple of days ever since I got to Minnesota.

My last few weeks in Eugene were very bittersweet. I dealt with my final show with Seth, my final show EVER and saying goodbye to good friends who have become more like family. It is certainly not easy to leave a place you love so dearly behind but now that I have and I am back home in the midwest I am feeling like a brand new person.

I have so much to look forward to! I start my new job at KWWL on October 19th with my first day on air being October 24th! I also found out today that the "Today In Iowa" show I will be co-anchoring just won a regional Emmy Award! I am so excited to work with a talented group of people and a station with such talent and rich history.

These days at home are so rare for me. I have nothing to do and it feels amazing. My car is still in Eugene and I am waiting for it to get shipped here so in the meantime it's lots of relaxing, catching up on emails with old friends and eating my mom's delicious home cooking! I cannot wait to move to the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area and start my new life. I feel so very blessed for this opportunity and to have my family three and a half hours away makes it even sweeter! Please continue to follow my journey!

Change

These days I am dealing with change.

It's the scary word that starts with a C and has turned my life upside down. I never knew how attached I could get to a place and it's people until I was forced with the option of leaving. Yes, in case you have not guessed by now; I am leaving Eugene and have taken a job in Eastern Iowa at a fantastic television station, KWWL.

The emotions are intense.

Happy to be wanted and the chance to further my career with a talented group of people but also such extreme sadness to leave all that is familiar and comforting. The impact of this decision will be felt in so many ways and so many times--but deep down I hold the reassurance that is IS indeed the way my life is supposed to go. I hurt mostly for the wonderful friends and loyal viewers who have supported me for so long. I know what people say --that your true friends will always be in your life but the fact remains that nothing quite stays the same.

I also have great excitement. A new challenge awaits and I cannot wait to have new adventures and meet new people that I will also grow close to. It's the in between time that is the hardest.

One of the quotes that has helped me deal with this is the following:

"Those who want to be in your life will always find a way--the rest will only find excuses"

I find this comforting when I think of the close relationships that have developed in recent months. That indeed at the end of the day those who really want to come visit, call, maintain contact or generally be in my life will always, always find a way to do so.

A Website I LOVE!

I would strongly suggest to any of my fabulous female friends to check out the website

singlewoman.net

It's full of inspiration, fun and Mandy Hale's "Dash of Sass"

I thought today's was especially inspring and wanted to share it with you!


Courtesy: singlewoman.net

Quote of the Day:

"If the guy you’re dating doesn’t seem to be completely into you, or you feel the need to start ‘figuring him out,’ please consider the glorious thought that he might just not be that into you. And then free yourself to go find someone that is." ~Greg Behrendt

The Single Woman Says:

When a man wants to be with you, truly wants to be with you – he’ll be with you. Simple as that. There won’t be excuses, angst, drama, explanations, apologies, other women, shadiness, uncertainty, if’s, and’s or but’s about it…HE WILL BE WITH YOU.

When a man is truly feeling a woman, he will make a way. Ain’t no mountain high enough or valley low enough to keep him away. Period. End of sentence.

Sassy ladies, if a man's being shady with you, choose TODAY to cut him loose! A true diva is too busy walkin' on sunshine to chase a man in the shade!

Fox News @ 10 Pay it Forward Challenge!

When was the last time you did something nice for a perfect stranger? Before you answer that think carefully about the question. A totally selfless act for someone you have never met before and have nothing to gain anything from? Well...... what are you waiting for? :)

This week I had a special challenge for my lovely Fox News @ 10 viewers! I called it the "Pay it Forward Challenge" I asked people to go out, do something selfless and then share the story with me!

The response was overwhelming! From viewers on my facebook page to emails in my inbox I was humbled by the generosity of everyone.

Here are a few of the stories I got.

At the grocery store - an elderly man rode one of those store carts up to his car - I waited in my car until he was done unloading it, got out and offered to drive it back to the store for him. He was very appreciative.

I bought my neighbor breakfast :)

I remembered today as I was going thru the starbucks drive thru. I covered the car behind me and a good tip. I found myself trying to drive away quickly, as i didn't want the car to hunt me down. Yesterday I introduced myself to my neighbor and bought her lunch

Sometime ago, we stopped at our favorite coffee stand. I'm a beaver, my wife a duck. An older couple (like us) pulled into the other side of the drive by with beaver flags on their car. I told the gal in the coffee stand we would pay for the coffee for the beavers. She told
the other couple as we were starting to pull out. The look on their
faces was pricless as they strained to look through and see who would
do such a thing. You never lose when you pay-it-forward.


These are just a sampling of the messages I got! Imagine how one act of kindness can press forward? My example from today is one of them.
I stopped to buy coffee and bought one for the person behind me.

When I got to work one of our reporters said loudly in the newsroom "Sombody bought my coffee today" Turns out she had gone to the SAME coffee stand as myself but the person who bought her coffee was A MAN.! I would like to think that me buying coffee for one person spurred several others to do the same! Today is a blessed day

The Little Things

Like a sunny Friday morning in Eugene with good friends, lots of laughs and a general sense of happiness. Remember the little things because one day you might wake up and realize they were the big things...

Thought for they Day

Rapunzel tells us one thing about love climbing the highest tower becomes less difficult if someone at the end gives you reason to hold on.

Love My Friends!

Coming back from Minnesota had a bit of sweetness in it though. I was greeted at the airport by my friend Kari and a big huge "Welcome Back" bouquet! It took the edge off of missing my family and made me smile.

When I got back to my apartment, I saw that Katie had left it sparkling clean as well! SHE also left me a dozen yellow roses to greet me. I felt blessed that is UNTIL I got to work.

LOVELY FLOWERS FOR ME


Katie is the biggest prankster I know and just look at what she did to my desk! I cannot believe she spent all that time just wrapping things ..it must have taken her hours! It was maddening but made me laugh! Oh friends...you never cease to amaze me!

MY DESK WAS SARAN WRAPPED!


EVEN THE COFFEE MUGS WERE VICTIMS!

Some Bitter Some Sweet

As I sit here reflecting on my week in Minnesota I realize that I always come back to Oregon with the same feeling. It's always bittersweet and contemplative. Back to the job I love and the friends I miss but, with a heavy heart as I miss the family and friends I leave behind. Though I always know I will come back soon it doesn't change the fact that I am far away from them again.

The week was fun, interesting, mesmerizing, surprising and overall just what I needed to re-charge my batteries...

Minnesota..I miss you already.

Thought of the Day

Really LOVE this one!


“You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months overanalyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened...or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move on.” ~Tupac

Thought for the Day

What's truly meant for you, you won't have to grasp too tightly. True love makes your heart sing, not cling.

"Love Shrinks"

I just finished an amazing book that touched me in many ways. The book "Love Shrinks" is a profoundly moving account of a marriage counselors unraveling of her own marriage. In the book she chronicles all the reasons she decided to stay in her marriage for as long as she did even though deep down she was deeply unhappy.

The book is divided into separate sections in which she headlines "Why I stayed in my marriage" and lists memories and wonderful times that kept her from getting a divorce while other chapters focus on her daily struggles of living the life of her and her husband being more like roommates than lovers.

Her writing is simple yet emotionally charged. It's truly a love story of freedom and the ending will bring tears to your eyes. I haven't read a book I loved so much in a very long time :)

How true is it that we stay in relationships for too long for all the wrong reasons? Perhaps you are comfortable or hoping things will get better or maybe you stay for those good times which become scarcer as time goes on. Whatever the reason this book will open your mind and your heart.

Here is a review of the book
"A relentlessy honest portrayal of what a marriage looks like that should end but doesn't, where the couple should hate each other but don't. With wit, charm and intelligence, Sharyn Wolf examines the reasons she stayed stuck; the old wounds and unmet needs that kept her attached when she should have let go. Love Shrinks is for anyone who has stayed in a relationship too long for all the wrong and yes, sometimes, right reasons. You'll cheer when Wolf finally breaks out. And just maybe it will remind you of someone you know."—Susan Richards, author of Chosen by A Horse

Rhody Fest!

Can you spell Rhodedendron?

The annual Rhody Festival in Florence, Oregon celebrates this beautiful flower and brings the town together.

Here is what a website I found has to say about it:

The Rhododendron festival celebrates the wild rhododendrons that thrive along the Oregon Coast and officially begins on Friday evening with the Rhody Pageant to crown "Queen Rhododendra." The festival includes a wide variety of fun and events throughout the weekend include parades, flower show spotlighting specimen rhododendrons grown by coastal inhabitants. car show, arts and craft fair, 5K run, carnival and much, much more.

Katie and I headed out bright and early Saturday morning for the festivities and I had no idea what to expect. I never expected to have such a blast! The Rhody Parade brought out tons of the colorful flowers along with floats and tons of performances. Here are some pictures from the event:

The sunshine came out shortly after this picture was taken right in time for the parade!



Florence has a ton of antique stores and Katie snapped this shot of me being totally silly. What a great time! My new friend "Mr. Zebra"

Zumba!

It's sweeping the county and the world and I gotta say that I too have jumped on the Zumba bandwagon! I LOVE the workout! The music is great and it's like one big dance party. Honestly, if you LOVE to dance and want to get in shape, then Zumba is the thing for you. Right now my gym, Eugene Swim and Tennis only offers in on Wednesdays but I try never to miss it! It's a blast...have any of you tried it?
I am really trying to get in shape and so far this is my workout schedule

Mondays: Step class
Tuesdays: Yoga or treadmill workout
Wednesdays: ZUMBA
Thursday: Treadmill workout
Friday: Rest day or Treadmill

It feels great to be getting in shape!

I'm Back

A couple of months ago I decided to stop blogging. I am not sure if it was the fact that I thought nobody was reading, or that I just felt like I was putting myself out there too much or what but I simply stopped.

I didn't think too much of it until I got a tweet from a viewer who asked me why I wasn't blogging anymore. It gave me pause. I honestly didn't think anyone was really reading it. He went on to say that everyone he knows reads it. Wow. Of course this could consist of just a couple of people but I have to remember why I started in the first place which was to find a way to share my life with others.

I suppose being a public figure I feel at times I am bordering on "too personal" when it comes to what I write about but then again when I think about it, the things I share come straight from my heart and I have received positive feedback from many of my inspirational blog entries. I think I will keep it up for now and see what happens.

Happy Reading and I am back.