A bum knee, a quick trip, giving back

Happy Monday, gang! Was it windy today or what? I nearly got blown over walking across our parking lot this afternoon. It's easy to complain when we're all craving some great spring weather, but just think about the folks in Fargo. What a mess. Flooding is bad enough, but blizzards and 50 mile per hour winds on top of it ... I can't imagine.

On my mind this week - the way my body seems to be disintegrating. I've always had bad knees, but last week I really did something to mess up my left one. By Wednesday I couldn't stand to put weight on my left foot so I was gimping around and wearing sweats and tennis shoes to work. I broke down and went to the doctor on Thursday. He told me what I already know - that I have tons of loose "gravel-like" cartilage in both knees. Then he told me what I didn't want to hear - I have to modify my workout routine. He informed me that I should never be doing weighted lunges, and that when I do lunges and squats I should never go down to ninety degrees. As a fitness instructor, this is really hard for me to bear. Yes, it's true that if there was no music playing during a class you'd be able to hear my knees crunching from across the room, but COME ON! Anyway - as one of my favorite people likes to say, "It's hell to get old." If you have any suggestions for leg exercises other than lunges and squats, I'd love them.

This weekend Michael and I made a whirlwind trip to Minneapolis. We left Friday night around midnight and came home yesterday afternoon. It was fun. We've made a pact to do little road trips once a month just so we can see each other. That's how insane our schedules have gotten. I know we'll go to Omaha and Kansas City, and likely Chicago if I take a day off work or work a dayshift ... do you have any ideas for in-state weekend getaways?

Finally a word about volunteering. I recently started tutoring again, and the program I'm part of could use more grownups who want to help kids with their reading skills. If you're willing to give 40 minutes out of your week, you can make a huge difference in a kid's life. Check out www.everybodywinsiowa.org. If you can't squeeze more into your work week, I have a simple way for you to help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Iowa. Sonya is doing Team in Training this year and you can donate at this site: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ia/rnr09/sheitshusen

That's all for now ... have a great week!

EEK

Fighting the crud, the brunch tour continues, a friend gets promoted

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
Is anyone else fighting the crud? I know tons of people (including my husband and colleagues) who've been sick off and on for months. I've been pretty lucky, but spent most of Saturday in bed feeling nasty. Do you have anything you do to ward off getting sick? I used to take Airborne but after the class action lawsuit against it, I don't bother. I did get thirteen dollars for being part of the class - that makes me feel better! Now I usually just pump myself full of fluids and pray.

Michael and I are on a new kick of trying different brunch spots around the metro. Sunday some friends stopped by our house and invited us to go to Jethro's. Barbecue didn't sound that great to me so I wasn't very excited about the choice of location, but I was thrilled to discover that the place serves breakfast food until two o'clock! It was great. And we also stumbled upon more good Bloody Marys. Yehaw! Of course this means that I didn't get any cleaning done over the weekend, but sometimes you just have to make these tough decisions. I think the world will keep spinning even if my toilets are dirty.

Finally, last week I got to see some gals I love and haven't seen for awhile. Elisha Anderson used to work here at Channel 13 but moved to Detroit a few years ago. She was in town for a visit and we got to hang out for a bit, along with Jeriann, Brooke and Sonya. It was a nice little reunion. I also caught up with former Channel 13 reporter Amanda Krenz. We got a group together to celebrate her promotion at Channel 5 - she's now anchoring the 5, 6 and 10 o'clock newscasts. So now we have two female anchor teams in Des Moines - pretty cool.

I need to go blow my nose, so I'll wrap this up.
Have a wonderful week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Sunshine... Movies... Bloody Marys ... Dog Do-Do

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
Can you believe this weather?!?!? Fabulous. I can remember many a St. Patrick's Day when we've had cold, rainy, snowy, windy, just plain rotten conditions. Isn't it great that this year will be sunny and 70? If you're heading to the parade, say hello to Sonya and Heather Burnside ... both are judges. And make sure you tell Sonya to come back to anchor the five o'clock show with me!

I had another pretty boring weekend. Michael has been sick for two weeks so we've been very low key. We rented two movies that had Oscar nods, Milk and Rachel Getting Married. Both are definitely worth seeing. I have to admit I was a little disappointed that Mickey Rourke didn't win Best Actor for The Wrestler but after seeing Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk, I get it. It's amazing. I also really enjoyed Anne Hathaway in Rachel, although I'm still not sure how I feel about the movie as a whole. It left me feeling really sad and somewhat unnerved.

I've reported many times in this blog how much I enjoy eating. Sunday we tried an old favorite, but for a different meal ... Centro, for brunch. I would call the food ordinary, but the Bloody Marys are TO DIE FOR. Why? Because you not only get to pick your mix, you also have a smorgasbord of garnishes to choose from. Everything from the standard celery and pickles to onions and tomatoes ... even pepperoni! Yum, yum, yum. The drink is really like a buffet in and of itself. I'm kind of drooling at my desk just thinking about it. If you don't have the time or inclination to visit the Bloody Mary bar at Centro, I do have a mix to recommend. It's called "Zing-Zang" and I think you can find it at Dahls. Check out the new Ingersoll location, pick up a bottle and let me know what you think.

Back to sunshine, and something that put a damper on it for me today .... dog poop. I decided to get in a loop at Gray's Lake before going to the Y to do yoga (yes, my fitness resolution continues) and there were some HUGE piles along the path. I soon came face to face with the culprit and its owner. I don't know what kind of dog it was, but it was HUGE - just like it's do-do. Fine. I love animals. I love dogs - especially big dogs. I love seeing the dogs of all shapes and sizes on various paths and trails around the metro. What I do not love is owners who do not pick up after their pets. The people walking the "big pooper" today did not have plastic baggies and clearly don't give a hoot about cleaning up after him. I hope the next time they're making a trek around the park they step in a big pile - maybe it will change their habits.

Have a beautiful week ... may it be sunny, and poop-free!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Punishment

Hi gang ... and Happy TUESDAY.
I fell behind yesterday working on a story for the 10 o'clock show and didn't make time to blog. I apologize. It is definitely time for me to get back in the groove!

Part of that effort has been returning to the gym. Ouch. I'm only on day two and I'm already kicking myself for being a lazy turd for two weeks. I had the best of intentions. Not only did I take workout clothes and gear to Florida, I even packed my yoga book and pilates DVDs! Did I use any of it? NO! Unless you count the one three mile walk I took (wearing tennis shoes - not strolling on the beach). I know better. I'm sure you do, too. Do you workout while on vacation, or just think about it? If only our thighs would stay thin and our triceps firm by thinking about exercise. The person who invents that device will not need to worry about the economy!

Speaking of which, how are you feeling about finances these days? It's scary, isn't it? So many people have lost their jobs, and everyday we hear about more furloughs or cuts in hours or layoffs. Are you doing anything differently because of the current state of the economy? I've always been a bit of a freak about money and budgets so things aren't a lot different around our house, although I have been even more conscientious about cutting back, cutting coupons and searching for sales.

Finally, how about Shawn Johnson on Dancing With The Stars! Can you imagine being a teenager and experiencing everything she has in the past few years? Amazing. I've never watched DWTS before Monday night and I have to admit - I couldn't really get into it. It may've been because I was trying to write a story and keep one eye on the tv. My only interest was Shawn. How about you - are you an addict? Do you not give a hoot, even with S.J. on the show? Will you tune in just because she's a contestant?

Thanks for reading and watching!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

A long vacation, facebook converts, sad news

Hi gang!
So, I've been gone for a few weeks enjoying the Florida sun. Don't hate me - at least it's going to be close to 60 degrees here in Iowa this week!

Would it make you feel better if I told you that it was actually somewhat chilly during a few days during the first week we were there?

Here we are "bundled up" for lunch on the beach.
Our friends Katie & Jeff said they weren't complaining, and we weren't either!


I mean, how could you with this view? And yes, that's Michael sitting on the bench.

If you're not beach side, you're poolside or dockside. This is the view from a nearby restaurant/fish market we visited. Ahhhhhhh. There is something so soothing about the water.

And, a trip is made better when you can catch up with old friends. I won't get into the details of what's happening with me and Kerry Kavanaugh in this picture, but we just won a hand of cards.

And Kerry has big news. She's engaged! This is her fiance' Jason. Do you like the shirt Michael bought him? We couldn't resist.

This trip is less about sightseeing and more about relaxing, so I always do a ton of reading. In addition to catching up on celebrity news via People and Us Weekly, I polished off one book and I'm close to finishing another. The first was The Appeal by John Grisham. It's a classic legal drama from this prolific author, and a fast read. I highly recommend it - especially because it has something of a surprise ending. I'm close to finishing a mammoth novel my mom gave me for Christmas that I just couldn't dive into until we started our vacation. It's The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. It's nearly 800 pages long and it's dark, but incredible. If you've read I Know This Much Is True or She's Come Undone (both by Lamb) then you'll love this book.

Exciting news for those of you who are addicted to facebook . . . both Sonya Heitshusen and Keith Murphy have finally given in and joined the club!

Finally, Michael and I received some very sad news on the final day of our trip. Our friend and neighbor Bob Mickle passed away. Bob was an amazing man and a dedicated public servant and activist and he will be dearly missed by many. If you missed the lovely story Elias Johnson did on Bob, you can find it on our home page in the video player. It's entitled "Longtime Activist Dies." I admired many things about Bob, but two characteristics stand out. His knowledge and his decency. You could get in spirited discussions with Bob on just about any topic, but he never talked down to you or acted nasty if you happened to disagree. That's the same demeanor he took with him to the countless public meetings he attended over the years, and it's rare these days. And boy did Bob know a lot about a lot of different things. He once dictated hours of information for Michael about all sorts of city issues and boards and commissions. Michael actually listened to it in bed some nights. We fondly referred to those tapes as "Bob Mickle's Greatest Hits."

I'll leave you with a quote from Bob that I found on our neighborhood website, I think it sums him up and gives us all inspiration about how to live our lives. "The most important lesson I've learned in life is that you must live up to your potential, always strive for excellence. And the second most important lesson is that you must give back and give generously."

Have a great rest of the week.

EEK

Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com