Stay tuned...

It's the end of the year. The time when most people, including myself, take time to look back over the past 12 months and ponder the unknown adventures the next 52 weeks will hold.

That state of reflection is where I've found myself for about the past week. While I wouldn't say that I make "New Year's resolutions," I do find it healthy for me to write down some goals I want to achieve in the coming year. I may not be that old, but I've already learned that I flounder around and end up frazzled and confused without vision and focus. I need direction and I have to be working toward a goal at any given time. That's true of everyone to an extent, but my DNA seems to especially require it. It doesn't have to be a massive undertaking, it can be something small, but I need to be working toward something.

So at the start of each new year, I set a few goals. Some very specific, some general. Some for fun and some that will take work, but ultimately lead to improvement in a particular skill or area of my life. Some don't happen and that's okay. Others change and evolve as the year goes on and end up looking entirely different than what I first set out to achieve. That's fine, too. In fact, it's usually better that way. God's plans are always better than mine.

One thing I've decided for sure is that 2012 needs to hold more writing and blogging. Writing is ingrained into the fibers of my being and I did very little of it (outside of work) in 2011. And that's gotta change.

So... stay tuned. I hope to give my blog a makeover and return to blogging on a regular basis in the near future.

Happy New Year!

Happy Father's Day

(From front to back) My youngest brother, me, my sister and my Dad in March 2011

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there--especially my own!

I am very blessed to have a father who serves the Lord and loves his family unconditionally. He isn't perfect, but I know he strives to be the best godly father and husband that he can be--with the Lord's help.

I could give countless examples of the many ways he has expressed his love for me or made a positive impact on my life, but unfortunately I don't have time at the moment.

My dad has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders in life and I'm very thankful that no matter what, I know I will always have his love. I also have no doubt that I wouldn't be the person I am today, without my dad and his influence in my life.

I love you, Dad!

Hangin' with my little buddy

My youngest brother and I have always had a special relationship. We're 14 years apart, so we pretty much skipped the whole fight-with-your-sibling drama and settled into a special kind of close bond from the start. It's more like an aunt/nephew relationship--except we live under the same roof. He's my little buddy and always will be--even when he's eventually much taller than I am. 

Holidays 2010

One of my all-time favorite pictures with Isaac. It captures his personality perfectly. The picture was supposed to be a "normal" one, but Isaac decided to go for a crazy pose as Mom clicked the picture.

Christmas 2003 (now this is a flashback--braces AND the beginning phase of my crazy hair!) 

A few weekends ago, my parents went out of town on a weekend getaway, so Isaac and I got to spend the whole weekend together. I thought about tons of different fun things we could do that Saturday and it took me forever to finally narrow it down.

Isaac has always enjoyed science and it's a subject we connected over early in his life. When I took biology my freshman year in college, Isaac somehow discovered my textbook and lab manual (I can't remember whether I found something interesting and showed it to him first or if he saw me studying and came over to see what was inside the book) and loved to look at them with me--at the age of 4. He would point at the pictures and say things like, "What's that?" and "How does that work?" He even begged me to help him dissect something (the dissection diagrams and pictures were some of his favorite parts of my lab manual). At the end of the school year, I sold my biology textbook but since I couldn't do anything with my marked-up lab manual, I gave it to Isaac and he kept it for years. 

I thought about taking Isaac to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga since he would absolutely love it and it's something I've wanted to do as well. But practicality won out and I decided it would be best to stick closer to Knoxville. A strong chance of rain eliminated a trip to the zoo, but then I remembered another "scientific" option nearby that Isaac hadn't experienced: the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

Here are some snapshots of the fun we shared that day, starting with a trip to AMSE.

Writing his name in Braille

Exploring the KNEX exhibit

He wanted his picture taken on the model rocket in the Y-12/ORNL exhibit. He surprised me with how much he knew about the history of Oak Ridge. He apparently recently watched a National Geographic documentary about the Manhatten Project on Netflix with my dad.

Having fun with the interactive exhibits

Although Isaac had never been to the museum, he'd seen advertisements for it that included pictures of the "hair-raising" atom generator presentation. So when he heard that they were doing a show that afternoon, attending it definitely had to be a priority on our list. We went and listed to the explanation about how the generator works and when they called for volunteers to try it out, Isaac was first in line.

Of course, I had to do it, too. I let another woman with long hair go first to see if it made her hair static-y and crazy afterwards and when it didn't, I went for it. It was crazy! You can't really feel anything, but it really does make your hair stand on end! But oddly enough, after I pulled away from the generator, my hair flattened back nicely into its former state.

We enjoyed some Chick-fil-A for lunch and delicious frozen yogurt sundaes at Menchie's, then headed down to campus for Game Time in Tennessee. UT's athletic department chaplain, some current and former Vols and Lady Vols and dozens of local churches were involved in the free event. It started in the afternoon with a mini sports camp for kids inside the Vols indoor football practice facility. The kids could take part in football, basketball, soccer or cheerleading training sessions with actual UT athletes. We got down there toward the end so Isaac only had time for one session and he chose soccer. I was impressed with the event. They wrapped up the sports camp with some testimonies and an altar call and the main event that evening included a presentation of the Gospel, some more testimonies and a free Christian concert in Neyland Stadium. But the evening events would have made for a really long day for Isaac, so we headed home after the sports camp and wrapped up the evening after dinner by watching Megamind.

We were both worn out by the end of the day, but had a lot of fun. I know I'll cherish the memories we made for years to come. :)

Local news in high def!

It's been a crazy, but fun and exciting week to work at WBIR.

After weeks of preparation, we're broadcasting in HD!

The past few months have been a busy and sometimes stressful, but exciting season. WBIR's managers reached an agreement a few months ago with the local FOX station (WTNZ--FOX 43) to power their local newscasts. We started out just doing the half-hour 10 p.m. newscast, but that agreement expanded to a one-hour 10 p.m. newscast and a brand-new morning show from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. along with our HD launch. The new shows necessitated the need for more people, so we've also added several new reporters, producers and photographers to the team. After experiencing the layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts of 2008 and 2009, it feels great to experience the excitement of expansion and lots of positive developments, even though all of the adjustments that come along with that have sometimes been crazy.

So needless to say, Wednesday, June 1 was a very big day at WBIR! We even had a a brief station-wide champagne toast before the first HD show. It's not often one gets to do that at work! We launched in HD, unveiled a new set, expanded a recently acquired newscast, added a completely new newscast (well, technically that was this morning not yesterday) and launched some new graphics. Any one of those changes is enough to be a big deal, but doing them all at once is almost enough to make one's head spin. But everything went about as well as could possibly be expected.

I *love* the newly-renovated set. It looks awesome! Especially in HD. (We have a standard definition TV at home and HD ones at work, so I get to experience it from both worlds.) The old set had needed an upgrade for a long time, particularly the weather center, interview set and kitchen. Our production crews, directors and managers put in *tons* of hours to get everything ready to go and their hard work paid off!

Here's a video tour our promotions crew made that includes some behind-the-scenes looks at the 5 p.m. newscast (our first in HD). See if you can find anyone you recognize. ;)

Speaking of the 5 p.m. newscast, guess who got to produce it? Yours truly!

It made the most sense to launch in HD from our new set on 10 News at Five and I'm producing that show for the next few weeks while our new producer gets settled in. My permanent home will eventually be the 6 p.m. newscast. I felt excited and humbled to be a part of the first full-length HD newscast, even though I know things ended up that way simply because of our current schedule.

I always want the newscasts I produce to look great on air, but I've never wanted a flawless show as badly as I did yesterday! I was super excited, but a little nervous. It reminded me of the way I felt the first time I produced the 5 p.m. or the 6 p.m. newscasts. Thankfully it all went well and God definitely gets all the glory for that! We were all on our A game, but any number of things still could have gone wrong that didn't. 

My news director took a moment as the day got started to encourage everyone to soak up the excitement and enjoy the day, even as we dealt with all the craziness. Huge moments like this don't happen often in a journalist's career, but they are very memorable. And even now, only one day removed from the big event, I have to agree. Years from now, I think I will definitely look back on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 as one of the highlights of my time as a journalist. I already feel that way about it!

Anyway, here are a few behind-the-scenes shots, from a producer's perspective:

Our directors getting everything ready to go

And here we go! 4:57:40 p.m. began a new era for WBIR!

Michelle (our future 5 p.m. producer) and me -- the new early evening newscasts power producing pair ;)

Thanks for sharing in my excitement!

"The Patience of Faith"

This morning while enjoying some time with the Lord before work, I felt compelled to open my copy of My Utmost for His Highest and read the devotional for the day. I haven't done that in quite some time, so I figured God must have something to say to me. And He did. As I was flipping through the pages to reach the May 18 entry, the book fell open to May 8 and a quick glance showed me that was what I was supposed to read--not today's entry (although I did read it as well). It both encouraged and convicted me, so I thought I would share it.

The Patience of Faith 

"Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says--'I cannot stand any more.' God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. 'Though he slay me, yet will I wait for him.'

Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but robust vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him. Shipwreck occurs when there is not that mental poise which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life; you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.

God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ's life, and there are to be none in ours. 'This is life eternal, that they might know Thee.' The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power."

- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, "May 8" (emphasis mine)

One of the reasons the entry caught my eye is because some of the sentences were underlined and highlighted. So I've obviously read it before--but needed to hear it again today. I love how God will bring the right words into our lives at the right time--if we'll only have our ears open to hear them. Goodness knows I've missed countless opportunities to hear the Lord and converse with Him, but I'm glad I didn't this time.

My prayer for myself, and for each of you reading this, is that we will grow in relationship with the Lord and be "sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1) as we live out the gospel of Jesus Christ and find our true foundation in Him.

Grace and peace be with you!

A little April Fools' fun

(Please forgive the delay in getting this posted--I tried to post it Friday night... and for days afterward...but my computer and Blogger weren't getting along for some weird reason. Those problems finally seem to be resolved.)

Today is April Fools' Day--a "holiday" that usually comes and goes without any true acknowledgement on my part, other than extra vigilance to be discerning on Facebook and in everyday life. It just kind of bugs me that for an entire day I don't feel like I can trust what I hear or see. I'm not opposed to a good, fun prank on April Fools' or any other day--it's the words intended to deceive that personally don't sit well with me.

But... that being said, I'm not opposed to a little playful April Fools' fun that isn't blatantly deceitful. And as those of you who know me are aware, I love any good excuse to bake.

So I made these and took them to work.

I spotted the instructions for these in a cupcake book I own and thought they were too cute. I've wanted to make them, but when is one going to have an opportunity to bake something like that but on April Fools'? So I decided to make some and take them to work.

My co-workers loved them so much that our marketing department took pictures of them and posted them on the WBIR fan page on Facebook!

They look sort of complicated, but they're really not.

The "spaghetti and meatballs" are regular cupcakes with vanilla icing tinted and piped to look like spaghetti noodles, topped with strawberry preserves for spaghetti sauce and Ferraro Rocher chocolates for meatballs. Some thin white chocolate shavings sprinkled on top gave the appearance of parmesan cheese.

The "corn on the cobs" are regular cupcakes with vanilla icing, a combination of Jelly Belly (I used the lemon, pina colada and french vanilla flavors--the buttered popcorn ones have a good "corn" appearance, but I think they taste nasty) and Starburst jellybeans (I ran out of Jelly Bellys, so one of the corn on the cobs looks a little overdone), lemon Starburst candy for a pad of butter and colored sugar for salt and pepper. Arrange the cupcakes into sets of three and stick some actual corn on the cob holders into the outer sides of the trio to complete the look.

For more information on these cupcakes or some other super cute ideas, check out the book "Hello Cupcake" by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. These ideas came from that book. "What's New, Cupcake?" is also a great resource if you enjoy making cupcakes.

Flash flooding hits Knoxville

Anyone who has lived here in East Tennessee through at least one season knows that we experience a wide range of weather elements. And since I've lived here for the vast majority of my life, I've grown accustomed to it. Aside from extended periods of either excessive heat or excessive cold, I like the weather in East Tennessee and there isn't a lot about it that surprises me anymore. I'm used to the roller coaster ride.

But the aftermath of a storm system that moved through yesterday is unlike anything I've ever seen in Knoxville.

It was clear over the weekend and early Monday morning that the system moving through the area would have the potential to produce strong thunderstorms. So when I thought about the possible damage and aftermath from the storm, I was more concerned about downed trees, high winds and maybe even an isolated tornado or two in parts of East Tennessee. As the storm approached, in my mind it seemed those concerns were well founded.

By midday, the skies had turned creepy dark. It looked more like 6 p.m. instead of noon. I haven't been scared of thunderstorms since I was a young girl, but seeing a particularly strong-looking storm brewing can sometimes gives me an unsettled and vulnerable feeling. It's a reminder that some things (actually a lot of things) in life truly are completely beyond our control--and we can only trust God to protect us.

I produced the 6 p.m. newscast so I was at work for the duration of the storm. A number of people in our newsroom noted that the unsettling warm temperatures and dark skies greatly resembled the conditions on November 10, 2002, when another thunderstorm during the winter months sparked a tornado outbreak in Morgan County that killed seven people and destroyed dozens of homes in the Mossy Grove community. I know I wasn't the only one concerned that a similar situation could unfold on the Cumberland Plateau.

But we were wrong. The skies opened up around lunch time and it soon became apparent that the sustained torrential downpours that we were seeing were going to create an entirely different, but very real threat--flash flooding.

We went on air with sustained weather and flooding coverage (we call it wall-to-wall weather) around 1 p.m. and stayed on all afternoon, continuing to include extended forecast information and live reports in all our early evening newscasts.

As the videos and pictures and reports started coming in, I couldn't believe it. Drivers were stranded and having to be rescued from their cars all across the city--not just in the typical flood-prone areas. Students and staff got stuck inside an east Knox County middle school for a few hours because rising waters covered the road to the building. Popular parks and greenways were completely underwater. Dumpsters floated through parking lots near one of my favorite restaurants in Fountain City. Some homes were washed off their foundations. Parts of a busy state highway that I drive nearly everyday were completely submerged thanks to a normally tranquil creek that crested into a raging mini river. It all seemed surreal. Those are the kind of images that I'm accustomed to seeing on national news--not literally right up the street. I've lived here since December 1991, and I don't remember ever seeing Knoxville flood like this.

In typical flash-flood fashion, the waters began to recede within a few hours--leaving behind messes and heartbreak. Fortunately, no one in East Tennessee died in the storm. But Second Harvest Food Bank lost a lot of its inventory and sustained expensive damage when floodwaters swept through its warehouse. Dozens of people lost their cars, belongings--and in some cases, even their homes--while others are dealing with damage. I'm sure there will be many interesting and sad stories to tell in the days to come.

The experience was also interesting from a journalist's perspective. I've been a part of snow coverage several times--but I'd managed to miss out on sustained severe thunderstorm coverage until yesterday.

It was a little bit of new territory, although very similar to other situations I've been in. After two years of working weekends in news, I've gotten used to the occasional sustained winter weather coverage and the live shots, road condition updates, school closings, route changes and flight delays that come along with it. But thunderstorms involve more elements. There are a lot more weather elements to talk about (rainfall totals, winds, storm strength, tornado risks, lightning, etc.) and a lot more potential news elements (flooding, downed trees and power lines, lightning strikes, mudslides, rockslides, potential lightning-sparked fires, etc.).

One thing that didn't surprise me is our station's response. I am blessed to work with a great bunch of people who also happen to be excellent journalists. So even though some of the particulars of the situation were new to me, the general atmosphere was not. It was definitely a little chaotic and crazy at times, as breaking news situations always are. But as always, everyone's focus was on working as hard as we could as a team to report the news with truth, accuracy and excellence, give people they information they need to make informed decisions about their personal welfare and safety and that of their loved ones--and do it all straight from the heart. And as always, our team rose to the occasion. I work with the best!