The coverage has been wall-to-wall for months now.  Some of us are tired of hearing about the upcoming nuptuals of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Others of us can’t hardly wait to wake up early or set the DVR just to see what Kate’s dress will look like and to see the British fanfare in action.  I tend to fall somewhere in the middle.  I think the national and international media has gone bananas with the extent of coverage they’ve devoted to this knot-tying, but  I am excited to see this wedding of the century unfold.  I will be a DVR-er, since I’m definitely not a morning person!  To me, it’s not about the “significance” of how many will watch or the succession of Britain’s royal line… it’s much more simple than that.  Nearly every woman dreams of her fairy-tale wedding from the time she is a little girl:  What will that magical gown look like?  Who will the groom be?  And where the ceremony will take place? And the list goes on… 

For me, I feel fortunate that I did have a pretty amazing, fairy-tale like wedding.  I met my Prince Charming, and get to spend the rest of my life with him.  So to see a real princess-to-be have her shot at happiness is something of a treasure, and I hope these famous newlyweds-to-be have their own “happily ever after.”

Posted under Uncategorized

So my BIG DEADLINE is creeping so close!  I graduate on May 7th, and my giant 75-page thesis is due a few days later.  (My goal, however, is to have it finished up by graduation day.)  Right now, I’m sitting about 15 pages shy of the goal.  I still have some work to do, so I’m confident I’ll reach the requirement.  The challenge is squeezing in the time here and there to FINISH!  Floyd mentioned something to me last night about how I really need to make time in the afternoons, in addition to my days off, to finish up this paper.  I realize this is the case.  But these little reminders are sure appreciated.  Sometimes I need to be pushed to stay on track.  I think that’s one of the best things about being married.  We don’t always like it when our spouse pushes us to do something.  But let’s face it:  we usually need to be pushed!  At least I know that’s true for me!!

Posted under Uncategorized

As you probably know by now, Floyd & I absolutely love family gatherings.  We were so excited to spend Easter weekend with both sides of our family.  And it turned out to be a VERY eventful weekend!  Thursday night, we arrived at my parents’ house late.  We were so excited because this is the weekend we planned to share some pretty great news.  My health scare last week was tied to the fact that Floyd & I are expecting!  So this weekend, we got to tell our families that Baby Mashek is due December 5!  (It turns out my scare was nothing to worry about.  I had an ultrasound and the little one is doing great!)  We spent much of the next three days telling the rest of our family.  We’ve been trying to start a family for a while, and this will be my mom & dad’s first grandchild, and my grandma & grandpa’s first great-grandchild.  So it’s just pretty awesome all the way around.

We did have quite an interesting night Friday on top of it all, too!  My mom gave us tickets to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game for that night. 

If you haven’t seen the headlines, that’s the night that an EF4 tornado twisted its way through St. Louis.  We saw one batter take the plate, before the game was rain delayed for more than two hours.  (We did stick it out for a 4-2 Cardinals victory that ended at 1 a.m.!)  Tornado sirens blew twice.  We made our way to the most interior section of the stadium and stood near the designated storm shelters (AKA the bathrooms) just in case we needed to hide from the storm.  Thank goodness, we were okay.  Downtown St. Louis was pretty much passed over by the worst of the storm.  But the tornado tore a path of destruction in many parts of the city.  The big blessing is that no one was seriously hurt or killed during the storms.  Certainly, prayers to my home area for the continued recovery from this disaster.

All in all– this was certainly an Easter Floyd & I will never forget!

Posted under Uncategorized

I can’t take credit for creating this recipe.  Variations of it are in many a cookbook I own.  But I call it my famous pineapple casserole, because the first Thanksgiving I went to on Floyd’s side of the family 10 years ago, it was the dish I brought along.  And ever since, it’s expected that I bring it to every family occassion.  (In fact I have one ready to go for Easter!)  The fabulous thing is, it can easily be made in advance, then frozen, thawed and baked when ready.  It can be served as a side dish, or even as a dessert.

Pineapple Casserole

6-8 slices white bread, torn into pieces 1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2 2 cups sugar 3 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup melted butter 1 can crushed pineapple, juice and all

This is enough to make a small square casserole.  I usually double it for a 13 x 9 casserole.  All you have to do is combine the above ingredients.  You can sprinkle a little cinnamon on top if you like.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 1 hour, 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Enjoy!!

Posted under Recipes

Today I met two pretty cool women.  Darci Ritter has three young children, and her husband is stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.  He’s been there for the past two-and-a-half years recovering in a wounded warrior unit, from an injury he received during a Humvee crash in Iraq.  She’s heading up her household, raising three kids.  On top of that, she leads up a family readiness group for other military spouses and their children.  She’s become good friends with a gal named Sarah Rothman.  Sarah’s husband is currently deployed as a combat medic in Afghanistan.  It’s amazing how these two ladies, and their five children, have bonded over what they’ve experienced as military wives.  Regardless of what you think of the ongoing wars in the Middle East, they’re happening.  And families all over our country are dealing with a war of their own.  For these two gals to put their heads together and decide they would not go through it alone, and do anything in their power to help others in their shoes, is pretty amazing. 

When Floyd and I first got married, we lived apart for three months or so while I started my first TV job in Illinois, and he finished up college in Missouri.  He would come up and stay on the weekends, and every Sunday when he left to go back, I’d cry like a baby.  Knowing what an emotional and difficult experience that was for me, makes me realize just how much that experience pales in comparison to what Darci, Sarah and their kids go through.  They don’t get to see their spouse and father.  Email is a primary means of communication for Sarah’s husband.  And Darci’s kids only see their dad about once a month.  I have nothing but admiration for how strong they are, especially Sarah– knowing her husband could be in harm’s way at any moment.  It’s a stark reminder that when I say those prayers each night and thank God for the blessings in my life, to really and truly be thankful for how good we have it here at home.  I’m glad that I’m not a military wife.  But I’m also glad that some of those who are, like Darci and Sarah, have found their way to each other… helping make such a difficult time, just a little bit easier to bear.

To hear more about Darci & Sarah’s story, watch my special “Iowans on a Mission” report Sunday, May 8th at 10 p.m.

[Below is Darci and two of her sons]

Posted under Uncategorized

This week, I had a bit of a health scare.  I’d rather not go into detail just yet, but I have a doctor’s appointment this Wednesday, which I hope will provide some answers.  Floyd has been so sweet and understanding through the process.  I was upfront with him to let him know what was happening, and he insisted I call the doctor to get things checked out. 

This morning, he left me a note telling me to be sure and let him know when I talked with the doctor, and if they wanted to see me, that he’d be sure to take off work to accompany me to the appointment.  And what meant the most to me, was the line he wrote saying, “Just remember that everything happens for a reason and God is in control.”  Sometimes I just need the reminder.  I can pray myself to no end asking for God to hear and answer my requests, but ultimately it is up to Him, and he will work it out in the best way possible.  So Floyd, thank you kindly for not letting me forget that.

Posted under Uncategorized

When we moved into our new home last fall, we were so excited.  The entire house was painted in what I’ve come to deem “carpenter cream.”  I decided I wouldn’t paint any of the walls until I couldn’t tolerate it anymore.  Our living room has one very large wall and a couple of smaller ones.  A couple of months ago, I determined I was ready to take the leap and paint.  Now mind you, I am not terribly fond of painting, and Floyd loathes it.  So if the painting was to be done, I was forewarned that I’d be doing it all alone.  After several weeks of contemplating color samples, I picked a shade I truly liked, called evening shadow, and we went to the paint store to purchase the supplies for my project.

On a Sunday night, I spent hours and hours painting the living room walls, then finished my touch up work Monday morning before I went to work that night.  Floyd stuck by his guns and didn’t lift a finger to help in my massive paint job.  But in the end, I was okay with that.  It’s great to come down the stairs every morning and see my handy work.  It’s a real sense of accomplishment to really see what I was able to do… all by myself!

Posted under Uncategorized

Wednesday was a pretty hectic and stressful day for me.  I spent nearly all of it in court covering a trial.  Court days can be challenging because it does consume the day, and then takes a very long time to scroll through the long amounts of footage captured in order to successfully write a news story without leaving out important information.  After being in a race to finish, I had to buzz back and forth from the station to the courthouse to be live at 5 and 6.  Needless to say, it was a bit stressful!

When I came home I had a pounding headache and of course we were out of Tylenol.  And on top of that I realized I had forgotten to sign and turn in my time sheet at the station.  So my awesome husband drove me to the office to take care of that and picked up Tylenol for me at the store.  It was so thoughtful and just reminded me how lucky I am to have him, and how I should pay it forward to him any time the occassion rises to do so.

Posted under Uncategorized

Any time I hear there’s a chance for severe weather, like there is tonight, it immediately brings back memories of the last two-and-a-half years before I moved to Iowa, when I was a reporter for a TV station in Kansas.  Kansas is almost synonymous with tornadoes.  My first spring there, in the tornado strong month of May, there were 36 twister touchdowns in the state in ONE NIGHT.  Of course, that night happened to be my wedding anniversary with Floyd.  And we spent it chasing storms and storm damage all over central and western Kansas.  I made him come along on these treks, because as I put it, “If I go down–you’re going down with me!”  That particular night, we were on the road to different towns for several hours, and didn’t get home until around 4 a.m.  We drove into one community, and I literally almost crashed into a giant tree because it was fallen over into the streets and I couldn’t see it until I came upon it because there was no power in town, no street lights on.  I was then terrified of potentially running upon a downed power line.  Thank God that didn’t happen!  I’ve lived in the Midwest my whole life, but Kansas was something else when it came to storm season.  Tornado sirens were almost a weekly occurrence. 

 

A funnel I snapped a photo of in KS, about 8 miles from our house

Needless to say, I am glad to *not be reporting there this storm season.  I’m sure I’ll cover my fair share of hail storms, straight line winds, and maybe even tornadoes here.  But my seemingly constant storm chasing days are best left behind me. 

Posted under Uncategorized

I’ve been trying to take an overall healthier approach to the way I live.  I’ve almost entirely cut out soda, and have tried to add in more fresh foods into my diet.  Now that the weather’s warming up, I’ve been trying to get outdoors to walk more often.  Floyd’s been doing great with walking.  A couple times a week, he’s been walking to his high school and back with our dog, Aleah.  He’s also been kicking his soda habit and trying to be better about food choices, too.  I insist that it’s easier for us meet our health and wellness goals if we make a concerted effort together.  And it just is.  The support that comes from seeing your partner’s progress and the way each of you feel contributes to a healthy relationship, too.

Posted under Uncategorized