Fall Never Happened

So who cares what happened to October and November? They flew by so quick, who even new they were here? Apparently not me.

Fresh Living…that’s been the biggest chunk of my life for the last couple months. We FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY got on the air on October 25th. How do I describe those last three weeks of October…

It was like being in a coma...but your mind is stuck in a Matrix dream world. Adventure on the inside, but numb on the outside.

All in all, we rocked our first week, beating our rivals at Channel 4 the entire week. They’ve been on the air for eight years. We were lucky enough to start out with Raja Bell from the Jazz, two whole new sets outfitted thanks to RC Willey, and a week of Halloween fun. We’ve been killing it ever since. During the November book, we came out as number 2 in the market, ahead of Good Things Utah, behind Studio 5. They’re in our sights for May. For all my friends in the blog world, check out our Facebook page, Fresh Living. We’re doing a giveaway every day from now until Christmas Eve, and we have some pretty awesome giveaways. Plus, we normally do giveaways at least once a week on the show.

In the meantime, home life has been one big lazy blur. Luke worked 10 hour days all through November, and big surprise, he has to work them all through December as well. Apparently there’s some big project at work they have to catch up on. So by the time we both get home, we’re burned out, and we end up sitting in front of the TV or computer pretty much all night. This may be good for polar bears. But we don’t want to be big, fat, furry, nor do we want to eat seals. So hopefully this month we can find a balance to the work and the home time where we don’t idle away 4 hours every night.

Last week we celebrated Luke’s big 2-8. Only 2 years from 30. I know I’m scared! It’s an inevitable reality that youth is fleeting, but dang, that means it’s just about time for babies and more responsibility. Let’s put the blinders on for another couple years though…I’m still in my mid-20s  The party was fun, we had all the family over to our little house. It was definitely cozy, and took some careful steps to get everyone comfortable in the house, but we had a wonderful meal, wonderful cake (which Luke describes as the BEST EVER) and wonderful conversation.

And that’s pretty much been it. We’ve got a busy weekend planned, including shopping for the Angel Tree, going to Wendover, and then crashing all day Sunday 

The Perfect Weekend

It's been a while since I've shown up to work on Monday, completely refreshed and ready to tackle the work week. I credit this to the perfect weekend.

Friday night, Luke and I headed across the street to the mother-in-law's house to watch the USU-BYU game. AMAZING! Not only was it awesome to watch BYU get KILLED by the Aggies, but we had great food and great conversation with some people I love, but don't see often. Oh, and there was also some great wine, which I should not drink on an empty stomach :)

That wine led to sleeping in on Saturday morning. And what a productive Saturday it was! It was the first weekend in a while that Luke and I spent nearly the entire day together. First, I took Charlotte to the farmers market downtown. Not a great idea, because she wanted to give everyone high fives and big kisses, but she was good. We got some corn, tomatoes and peaches for the coming week and headed back home. I think she loved walking in downtown and smelling all the different smells she wouldn't normally find on our canyon walks.

Got home, threw on some different clothes, and headed back downtown once more, this time for the FREE Utah Jazz scrimage. How fun was this! They unveiled the new floor, and introduced the rookies, who all had to compete in a dance-off. Let's just say Gordon Hayward should stick with his current career path :) It was so fun to get a candid look at the Jazz, and even better, to sit in the lower bowl! We're sharing season tickets this year with a few other families, but our seats are like row 5 of the upper bowl. I've never sat in the pricey seats, so I didn't even know the players talked to each other while they play! I could actually hear them! Lots of fun and it just got Luke and I psyched up for the season.

After a nice stroll hand-in-hand through town, avoiding the crush of LDS General Conference, we had lunch across from the station at Pier 49 pizza. Then, it was off to Kohl's to find outfits for Sunday's photo shoot. This was the depressing part of the day: one, because we saw an accident where a man had been killed on his scooter; and two, because shopping is not fun if you're heavy. It's definitely keeps you honest to where you're at with your body, and re-affirmed to me that I need to stick hard to my diet plan and exercise even more. (So it's to the gym with me today!) But we did find some cute stuff. Dinner was stove-top popcorn and then catching up on Big Love for me, while Luke got in some Starcraft time.

Sunday was nice. We cleaned a little bit, did some laundry, and then pretty much relaxed all day until it was time to do our pictures. We headed to Saltair, and I immediately regretted the outfit I was wearing. Not because it wasn't cute, but because I didn't anticipate the wind. My hair, that I had so carefully sprayed and flattened into place, was all over. My cardigan made it look like I was the Wicked Witch of the West flying on my broom. But our photographer was nice and I think we got some good shots. I'm excited to see them! Here's his website: www.valwestoverphotography.com.

And so here we are today, working on the new show, and enjoying the storm moving in. Tomorrow, meetings, more laundry, and getting the house ready for DeeDee to watch the dogs!

Where the heck is fall?

86 degrees today here in Salt Lake. The week October is supposed to start. Yesterday, it was 90.

Fall is my favorite time of year, and while I like summer, it's really only because snow driving is not involved, there's no inversion, and all the leaves are still on the trees. But I want some crisp, 70 degree weather, so I can put that extra cover on my bed, start making chili on a regular basis, and get even more excited about my morning coffee.

I LOVE fall! Halloween, all the crisp leaves. If I could, I would take a hiatus from work for an entire month between October and November, just so I can walk through different parts of town. The Avenues in fall is one of my favorites. I can remember one day when I was in college, leaving class, and just going for a walk. I ended up at the Salt Lake Cemetery (one of my favorite places in town, by the way. I know, it's weird, but go see it sometime) on a three hour adventure. All the leaves were falling in golden cascades, crunching beneath my feet.

This year, I'm hankering to go up City Creek Canyon, past the water treatment plant. The only thing is that part of the canyon is so remote, I worry about predators of all varieties, and I'm not allowed to take dogs that far up. So I need to wait until I can find a buddy to go with me. It's uphill, but it's so pretty! Last time I was up there, I was one of three people in the entire canyon.

This week, I'm super excited for Sunday, because Luke and I are getting our pictures taken! It's the first time we've had our photos professionally done since our wedding. Granted, we're not looking our best, but if we avoid the camera just because we're not happy with ourselves, we may never get pictures from this time in our lives. I got a great deal from Groupon on a photo package. I paid $50 for three 1-hour photo sessions, and I get a CD with 15 images and 25% off print order. It's saving me about $450. The dude is even flying in from California to do our photos. The bummer is I was expecting October to be nice and cool, so we could wear sweaters and fall-like clothing. Temp for this Sunday...85. I've told Debbie she needs to find some magical cold front to move in around Thursday and cool things down. We're going to Saltair (another of my favorite places, since you can't take pics at the cemetery :) and I'm excited for how those will turn out. That's the one part about Utah I love. We have such a variety of landscapes that are unique to our state. Mountains to the east, desert to the west, Bear Lake to the north, and the red rock in the south. This year's Christmas card will look different from anyone else in the family.

Time to get back to work I suppose. Today's battle...get the facebook page up and running and formatted for the new show. It launches October 25th! But first...New York City in a week!

Still Sick

Now I'm sick.

Went home sick on Friday, felt not too bad over the weekend and tried to go to work this morning. Got naseous, was so tired I could hardly see the screen, and was hacking out my lungs. Went home after an hour. Crashed for 5 hours, went to the doctor and found out I have bronchitis.

Suck.

I'm not going to work tomorrow either. I hate being sick. Especially when I have to miss work. My job's not one where my work waits for me. Someone else has to cover my shift. I feel bad for making someone do my show.

I had the weirdest dream during my nap. I was like the only girl living in a frat house based on Revenge of the Nerds. I was an angry little cuss, leading my house in pranks against the jocks to keep their egos in check. Then all my little nerds left the house, and I was only an undergrad. So I decided to get my masters in music. Out came the bassoon, and I was trying to play in an orchestra that had a lot of interruptions. One of the interruptions was me, storming across the room to get a music stand because someone in front of me had stolen mine. It was weird. But I was pretty and weighed like 115 pounds and was charming to everyone, even when on the war path. That part was fun.

I'm struggling to stay awake right now, but I have to go pick up my meds. Maybe I can convince Luke to do it...

Sick

It's Friday again. Luke has been sick now for a full week. We finally went to UrgentCare last night to have him checked out. Good thing we did...

He has pneumonia.

I've never had anyone in my family have pneumonia before. The doc put him on some serious drugs to get this thing kicked. Right after he took the codene, he seemed to greatly improve.

Until he got up to go to the bathroom.

All the sudden I hear him calling for me in the hall. I find him white as a ghost standing in the hallway. "I think I'm passing out." Sure enough, as I'm having a heart attack, he grabs my arm and slides to the floor. Thankfully he never fully blacked out, but he looked dead. Completely drained of color. I'm panicking. Is he allergic to this stuff? Should I be getting him to the ER? So I run and get some juice. And throw some bread in the toaster. He hasn't eaten much in a week, and he sweats so much during the day, he has to drink a lot.

The juice and toast helps, and I get him to the couch and call work. I'm not leaving him alone if the drugs are doing this to him. He could pass out, hit his head, and I come home to him unconscious on the floor. The codene worked though, he was able to get a night's sleep without waking up coughing every 15 minutes. I slept on the cot next to the couch to keep an eye on him. The dogs are loving the fact they get the bed to themselves, but are confused why we're sleeping in the living room.

Today was better. He only went white again when he sat at the computer for a couple minutes. It was really hot in the house though, despite all the fans trained on the living room. When we get the money, we're having AC installed. It's insane to live in the desert and not have AC. He's sleeping again, and I hope that he'll be much better by Monday. I'm so glad now that I decided not to become a nurse. While I don't mind caring for him, in fact I like taking care of him, it's the running around to take care of him I could do without. I'm good with the love, but the drink refills and toast making on demand gets old. Could be worse I guess. He could be throwing up as well.

I got some very sad news today from my best friend, Rachel. Rachel and I have been besties since high school, and for the last little while, her mom has been battling breast cancer. Unfortunately, last night she lost that battle. It came at a rough time for Rachel, who just finished the bar exam earlier this week. Luckily, she was able to make it home before her mom passed. She was a super nice and smart lady, and the world will not be quite as bright without her. But she is no longer suffering.

If you're reading this, I'd ask you to pray, or just send good vibes her way. I can't imagine what she's going through right now. I've had my share of loss in my family, but never anyone as close as a parent. Rachel, I love you, and I'm thinking about you. If you need ANYTHING at all, give me a call.

Oh Pioneers!

It was a lovely, perfect Pioneer Day here in Salt Lake City. Really a near perfect Saturday. Just one problem...

Luke is sick.

Sick as a dog.

He slept most the day, and has been achy and not eating the rest of it. His skin feels like a furnace, except for his forehead. It started last night. Poor guy has been pretty much going from the couch to the bed all day.

So while he was sick...I started my day early.

I stole Luke's bike (mine has a broken pedal and the brakes need to be loosened) and rode all the way downtown to Pioneer Park for the farmer's market this morning around 7am. What a pleasure it was! Almost everyone in town was lining the parade route, waiting for this morning's Days of '47 parade. That meant lots of closed roads. Which means I got to ride down the middle of them, without having to worry about traffic. Plus, it was nice and cool...still in the low 70s, not a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze. It's a little over five miles to the farmer's market...longer than any ride I've done in the last 10 years. But it wasn't too bad going there.

I've never been to the farmer's market here. It was really nice! There's such a HUGE selection of local growers and vendors. The best part...free bike valet. I walked around a couple times, seeing what was available before I grabbed what I wanted.



First, I stopped at Thompson's Melons. We had these guys on the noon show on Friday, and their melons looked really tasty. The guy was nice enough to give me a free cantelope, and I bought a honeylope from him as well. I was excited to have fresh melon, but they were a pain to haul home in my backpack. They grow their cantelopes, honeylope, watermelon, and Israeli honeylope in Hurricane.



Next, time for Cherries. I'd never had Rainier Cherries before today. I'm switching!



Didn't want to make it just a fruit run today...and what's in season right now, Luke doesn't like. So I got a huge head of romaine lettuce from another guy, before ending my adventure with a big bunch of carrots. It took careful arranging to get everything in my backpack. The green parts of the carrots ended up hanging outside the top of my pack, so it looked like I was sporting green extensions.

The ride home was not as easy as the ride there. I had what felt like a 5th grader on my back, and for some reason, it's not all down hill from downtown to South Salt Lake. Plus, I had to deal with barricades and increased parade traffic. Luckily the parade hadn't started yet where I was. I wanted to hit Liberty Park on the way home to take advantage of the water fountain there, since it was getting hot and I didn't bring water on my adventure.

I ended up riding right down the middle of the parade route, carrot greens hanging from my pack, in front of hundreds of pioneer people. That was actually pretty fun. But I'm sure I looked silly.

The rest of the ride home was tough. My butt was really hurting by this point, and for some reason, the latch for the seat doesn't close on Luke's bike (I think it's too tight) so it kept hitting me in the hamstring everytime I pushed the pedal down. I pretty much tried to coast from 1300 South home, so it took me a little longer than I'd like. That, and with every block, that 5th grader on my back felt like he was eating an entire box of Twinkies every minute, putting on weight like a sumo wrestler.

I found Luke still in bed when I got home, so I turned on the parade and watched while he half slept-half watched. We both ended up taking a nap until the early afternoon.

Then, it was time to make a decision. Is Luke feeling well enough to go to Dave's BBQ tonight? It was an easy decision. So I ran to the store and got some hot dogs and chips for our own little BBQ, which turned into my BBQ, because all he ate was a hot dog and a couple cherries, and of course, a bowl of ice cream.

This was also my first experience with starting a charcoal grill.




Charlotte was eager to help since Dad couldn't...



Ham...not so much.



So we had our food, Luke slept some more, and then I brought out the fireworks. I saw Big Budah at a stand on the way home, and thought the fireworks might make Luke feel a little better, take his mind off being sick. I don't like to spend money on fireworks, because they last like 20 seconds, and it's all smoke and sparks. But I thought what the heck. We had a nice time sitting outside (it's cooler out there than in our house) and playing with fire.






All in all, probably the best Pioneer Day, except for Luke being sick. It's funny, he's the one who has the Utah pioneers in his family. I think if I was being true to my ancestors, today would be celebrated as Pie and Beer day, since we never came out in the handcarts. We stopped in Colorado. It was a good choice.

Tomorrow...it's off to Wendover with the Girls! Hopefully Lady Luck with be with us!

Camping

I've decided I very much like leaving the city for the weekend and going where it's cooler. Therefore, I'm going camping. Anyone who wants to come is welcome. I have a 7 person tent. It is giant. I'm going to go the first weekend in August. Likely a 2-night trip to the Uintahs.

I enjoy ultimate smores and wine coolers by the campfire, along with hot dogs. Not bringing the dogs, because Ham would bark at everything all night.

Also, I am thrilled to report I found my small camera and changed the batteries. It now is functional. I will finally be posting photos to this blog of my life. It shall be much more entertaining.

Dog Days of Summer

It's Hot.

Very hot.

So hot, Luke got up before me. At 5:45am. Probably earlier, because it was at that time he came in and turned on the light, declaring it time to get up. I spent the better part of the morning making sure he wasn't dying. Are you sick? Do you have to be at work early? Was I snoring? Did you have a nightmare? I can't recall any time in the five years we've been together when he's gotten up that early, without an alarm, and still having at least 2 more hours to sleep if he wants. It was nice though, because I was much more awake and ready to be up when I was the only one left in the bed. I don't like feeling like a slacker. Especially when I'm supposed to be to work before him.

So it's been close to a hundred degrees every day for the last week or two. I never thought I'd say that I was glad to be at work at 6:30am on a Monday morning. But it's considerably cooler here than at the house. Our thermostat says 83, but it feels way hotter. If you haven't guessed by now, we have no air conditioning. Big mistake on our part for agreeing to buy a home...in the desert...without A/C. I guess we thought the swamper and fans would be enough. We were horribly wrong.

Despite the heat, the dogs and I went out to Memory Grove on Thursday to celebrate...dun dun dun DUUUUN!!! THEIR FOURTH BIRTHDAY!!!! Can you tell I have no real children? :) We went for a birthday hike and stayed in the off leash area, just because it was shady and near the creek. Charlotte slopped around in the water, and even Ham got his front paws in...just barely. It was like 94 degrees out, so we didn't stay out long. I didn't bring water. So we're all dying on the way home in the car, so I stopped in the drive thru at McDonald's to get some ice cream. One cone for me...one for the dogs.

It was the cutest thing ever to watch them share a cone. I need to get a smaller camera for these instances that fits in my purse. One day I'll reenact the ice cream-eating and throw a pic up here. Their eyes were as big as saucers, incredulous that they were actually given their own cone, and I wasn't scolding them for sniping bites. Tired and happy, we headed home for family nap time...a very good birthday for my furry kids.

Saturday, was Youth Parade day. Meaning for two hours, I got to run around on a hot blacktop, telling anchors what to do, running out in front of marching bands to stop them for TV, and keeping things from blowing away at the tent. It was 91 degrees when we started at 10am. Needless to say, I got my workout for the day, came home, and slept for about four hours.

Later that night, Luke and I escaped the heat, and went to Deer Valley for the Ben Folds concert with the Utah Symphony. It's one of the better dates we've had. We took a picnic, which included a bottle of wine and a six pack of wine coolers, sat out on the grass on our blanket under the stars, and listened to one of Luke's favorite artists. He was magnificent. It was his song, "The Luckiest" that we had sung at our wedding (which he obviously performed much better than the people who we had sing it.) It was nice and cool once the sun went down, and was just nice to sit around all these other people, who were also enjoying the concert and a bottle of wine. Not something you usually find in Utah.

Last night we were able to escape again, this time for dinner up Big Cottonwood canyon with Luke's family. It was his uncle Jim's birthday. We had to wait for over an hour to sit all of us on the patio, but it was worth it. Wonderful food, wonderful company, and wonderful temperature. We even saw a coyote and some deer on the way up and down the canyon. But coming back down, I got super sick. Not sure if it was the temperature change, the food, or the driving, but I felt like I was going to hurl. We had to stop and sit a while at the bottom of the canyon while I pulled myself together, and then it was sketchy the rest of the way home. I still don't feel real well, so I'm thinking it was the food. Shame.

So overall a good weekend, but definitely too hot to stay in Salt Lake. I wish I could call in sick all this week and escape to the cabin.

Two months of misery

All right. I've had enough. I'm looking for a miracle pill.

Every May/June since high school, I've gotten really bad spring allergies. Like, so bad, I rub my eyes and they turn into jumbo puffed pink marshmallows and swell shut. I haven't been able to breathe comfortably through my nose for longer than 3 minutes before more gunk oozes in and clogs up the works. Every sinus in my head is painfully full, and I'm always tired. I've gone through a box of Kleenex in about a week and a half.

So give me your suggestions. What works? I've tried Benadryl (too sleepy), Claritin (doesn't do much for the stuffiness), and the Neti Pot (nothing comes out because as soon as I tip my head, it stuffs up again.) I hate to self-medicate, mostly because I don't like to take pills. But this has been going on for two months. I'm pretty sure Luke is tired of the awful snoring. I'm tired of my head never feeling happy. I'm tired of being tired all the time. So tell me, what do I need to get at the pharmacy?

Killing A Killer

It’s one thing to support a major cause with words. It’s another to feel a part of it.

Last night, I lay half asleep in my bed, waiting until after midnight for our station to cut in announcing the death of Ronnie Lee Gardner by firing squad. Luke woke me up just seconds before the cut in. I have to say, our presentation of the announcement was…bone chilling. We had built a graphics package for this moment. The opening animation had music like a horror movie. Ronnie’s eyes stared at you from the television, looking right into you, and I got the feeling I was looking at a killer, a marked man, one who would no longer be on this earth by the hands of the State. A man who was already dead as I watched. Cristina, our reporter, spoke softly from the prison media room, telling the world Gardner had been executed at 12:20am on Friday, June 18, 2010. The entire experience, watching the report in a dark room in the middle of the night, left me nearly unable to go to sleep. You could feel something evil in the room, unsettled spirits. It took Luke holding me to be able to drift off, and even then I feared nightmares.

When I woke, I turned on the morning news, and got the full account of the execution. Gardner clenched his fist in anticipation. Five men shot their guns with a loud report. Gardner relaxed…and minutes later started twitching. The firing squad was unsure if they would have to shoot again. Had they missed? Was he dead? A doctor looked in Gardner’s eyes, checked his pulse. At 12:17, he was declared to have left this life. Our reporter Fields watched from the witness room. When he emerged, he answered questions for the press about his experience. He told them, it was violent. He’s been around guns most of his life, but the noise, combined with watching a man being shot, being killed, was not a mere “clinical” act as some others who witnessed the execution described. He was shaken.

I feel an eerie presence within myself today. I’ve always supported capital punishment. For some members of society, their crimes are so horrendous that the only way for society to get passed them is to eliminate the reminder of the tragedy. Gardner is now only a figment of history. And after some time passes, people will forget, filing this event in the back of their minds, to be brought fresh again only when another is killed by the government. An, “I remember when…”. But it’s something different when you’re this close to the story. When you hear the details. When you know that you’ve just killed a man as a collective. The jury was representative of our populace when they decided he was guilty. The judge deemed death to be the best punishment. Countless appeals were denied by several boards, judges, and politicians. The entire state of Utah, even the country, decided to kill this man for his crimes.

I’m not saying that this event has changed my view of capital punishment. There frankly was no dilemma about this case. Hundreds of people watched as he tried to escape the courthouse and shot two men trying to do it. One died instantly. One died years later from wounds that never healed. There was no doubt he was innocent. At this point, protestors only had the moral leg to stand on. Does one murder justify another murder? As one of the family members put it, the death penalty insures no more crimes will be committed by this person. I guess I loosely liken this experience to Old Yeller. You have to kill the dog, but that doesn’t make the experience any less emotional. Even if there’s a monster on the other end of your gun.

Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune’s story about what happened, how Gardner ended up on Death Row, and what happens next.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15325197?source=rv

I’ll be glad when this day is over, and I can put this one to rest in the back of my mental filing cabinet. It’s emotionally unsettling, and I’m only glad I wasn’t the one chosen to watch it.

A Big News Day

When it rains, it pours.

Tonight, convicted murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner faces the firing squad. We’ve been covering this case since he killed his first victim, his second victim, and was convicted 25 years ago. Finally, all of his appeals have run out, he’s had his last meal of steak and lobster and apple pie, and now waits in a solitary observation cell for his impending death. He’s spoken with his family, and said goodbye for the last time. The only thing that can save him now is a Supreme Court decision to stay his execution. The governor has already said he’s had 25 years of fair trials, appeals, and decisions, and will not give him an 11th hour reprieve. We’ve planned this to be a busy news day with the world watching us use such an archaic method of execution against this monster.

This is Gardner.



This is where he will die tonight at Midnight.



The quasi-planned news we also had today was the University of Utah’s acceptance into the Pac-10 conference. Yesterday, we discovered the official invitation. Today, we received the official acceptance via live press conference from the U. With this, we planned not much else for our reporters, as these are two monumental stories to hit our state.

In the middle of our noon newscast today, we got word of a child abduction. If there’s anything that can trump and execution, it’s an abduction. A little 8 year old blonde girl was out on her scooter near a local high school, when two Hispanic men veered through traffic, stopped in front of her, and threw her into the car, leaving her scooter behind. There’s much debate in the newsroom on this one. If this was a parent, or relative, why would they have left the scooter in the middle of the sidewalk? Just after our Pac-10 press conference, an Amber Alert was issued for the little girl. Now we can only hope that she’s OK, and that the perpetrators are found soon, and this was a simple parenting matter, and not an actual abduction. We hope.

THEN, as if we didn’t already have enough going on today, we get word that the DUI arrest video of former Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack is being released. The press release originally said it would be a week before the courts released the tape, pending a DPS appeal. Apparently that happened and only the Trib knew about it. We got a tweet from them saying they were getting the video today. Now the rush is on to get this video, which allegedly shows the disgraced politician’s arrest that night after spending time at Liquid Joe’s with a lobbyist. I’m not sure how we’re going to cram it into already full shows, but it has to happen. This has to be the easiest day for producers, because the shows pretty much wrote themselves tonight.

And it’s only ten to five. What else can the news gods throw at us? Just a peek at the adrenaline rush in the newsroom tonight.

On a less stressful note, our living room is back to normal! Now for the rest of the house…

Hazard Area

The St. Clair house has literally turned into a zoo as of late. A very messy one. After a long search to find someone to take my apartment, Luke and I have moved my stuff back home, but haven’t had time to put it all away and get organized. So our living room is pretty much all against one wall. Our bedroom is a mess of laundry and a random side table with a toolbox sitting on it. The sliding glass door has muddy paw prints on it from this winter. The grass in both yards is growing taller and taller, and the doggie doo is overdue for a pickup. Let’s not even start on the garage. We cleaned it last weekend, only to have me stash all of my stuff in there.

Needless to say, I need a few days off to get things under control. The bummer about this, both our jobs are stressful right now. Luke’s been given a huge project at work that keeps him engaged and busy all day, and has been working late just to keep up. Meanwhile I’m in limbo in the newsroom as the head honchos decide what we’re going to do with this new show. My schedule’s kind of all over the place. Plus, for the last several weeks, I’ve been going to the apartment to show it, clean it, move it, so I often don’t have a night to just sit and relax and recuperate from the day. So when we come home from work, while we should be cleaning, or working out, or making dinner, we end up ordering in, plopping in front of the computers and vegging. I’m hopeful this weekend (yes, I’m finally off weekends!) we’ll have some time to get the chores done on Saturday, and truly use Sunday as a much needed day of rest.

Perhaps in the next coming weeks, we can get back on track with a schedule, and we’ll be able to have a life again when we’re not at work. I haven’t had the time to pursue my interests in a long time. My camera is itching for some adventure, the dogs are waiting not-so-patiently for their next hike, and I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been geocaching. Time go get our lives back!

April Snow Showers and May Showers...where are the flowers?

It's been a busy month for the St. Clair house. Working...working out...spring cleaning...and sprucing up the yard. But there's still been some time for fun. Monday night, we went to the last Jazz game of the season...Game 4 against the Lakers. We have much hate for the Lakers. They're the Yankees of the NBA. Overpaid. Overgrown. That many good players (and tall ones) should not be on the same team.

It was my first time watching the Jazz live at Energy Solutions Arena. I'd always thought it was so overpriced to just go sit and watch a basketball game. But I have to say, they do keep you entertained. And cheering on your team with thousands of other fans...is worth it. We cheered from the upper deck...ate churros and kettle corn...and booed the Lakers. The bad part...about a quarter of the arena was full of Lakers Fans. Salt Lake has a LOT of California transplants...and they bring their sports loyalties. Boo. So when the Lakers went on a 20 point run because the refs kept calling us on EVERYTHING...ESA turned into the Staples Center. It was sad. My favorite part...the Jazz Bear. And those who know me know how I feel about mascots. This one is pretty bad ass. I can respect the Bear.

Right now I'm on an 8-day straight run at work. This after a 6-day run. I'm not sure when I'll ever work 5 normal days again. If I go postal, you'll know why. I'm sorry if I bite your head off. On a happier note...here's a video that made me smile. It will probably do the same for you :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

Happy Easter!

It was a pretty good one for the St. Clair house...though I don't think one single jelly bean, chocolate bunny or Reese's peanut butter egg was consumed. The only thing that was missing was relaxation and family.

Saturday night Luke went out with friends from work. I had to work until 11 that night, and joined him later, after he'd already been out for about 3 hours. I brought some of my coworkers to the Bayou, and we had a nice evening of beer tasting, cocktails, and southern food. I think poor Luke had had too much at that point, and teetered to stay awake for about an hour before we left.

Sunday morning, we slept in late, but it was a rough morning for the hubby. We sure can't drink like we used to, a hard-to-swallow fact as we head into our later twenties. But, all can still be (mostly) cured with some eggs and french toast, so off we went for Easter breakfast to the Coachman. A Salt Lake landmark, which hasn't seen a decorator since 1963 and keeps the food cheap by not taking credit cards. After all the time I've been in Utah, I haven't eaten here. Traditionally, Dee's is our place. I think this one is a close second.

We slowly ate our way through an omelette and some french toast and hash browns. It was definitely a morning that we wished could have ended with a good 3 hour nap, but unfortunately, I'm still working weekends, so I dropped Luke off at his car (he left it at the Bayou the night before) and off to work I went.

It always amazes me how much news happens on holidays that are supposed to celebrate peace. Apparently when families come together, it's not always a happy occasion. It's one of the paradoxes of my job: without the bad, sad and weird news, I'm left struggling to scrape together a show on Sundays, which are typically the slowest news day of the week. While people claim to want happy news, it sure doesn't boost my ratings. You get a front row seat to the ugly, malicious, but sometimes miraculous dealings of humanity. Sometimes, it's too revolting to air to the general public, or the victims need protecting from further trauma. Sometimes, it's a refresher to take life one day at a time, that soon it will all be over, that in moments, your life can come crashing down around your ankles, and your left with nothing but whatever strength you have in your soul to muster onward.

Take a breath, smell the new daffodils, and the peace of Christ be with you.