Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
Is anyone else FREEZING?!?! I thought I'd braced myself for the twenty degree drop but I have been shivering all day. I am dreading winter already.
Beautiful
Thank goodness the weather over the weekend was beautiful for the official opening of the beautiful John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park. If you haven't seen it yet, you really should make a point of making a visit. I recommend going at night - it's really spectacular. I know absolutely nothing about art, but I still appreciate the various pieces, and I'm particularly impressed by the Pappajohn's generosity. If you have been to the park, do you have a favorite sculpture? Or, is there one that you think is really weird?
Brutal
I spent my weekend in pain after one of the most brutal workouts I've had in a long, long, long time. The credit goes to my friend Paul Latare, a personal trainer at Accel Fitness in West Des Moines. Paul and I have known each other for years - we worked together at the Y "back in the day." Paul is a Marine. Years ago he taught a boot camp class. I took it (once) and thought I was going to die. I didn't - but it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Paul put me through the paces in a different way on Friday. I told him to beat me up in the weight room and specifically asked for leg work. Oh boy, did I get leg work. The thing is, the exercises were all ones I would do on my own. The difference, is that Paul wouldn't let me quit. He kept pushing me to do more weight and more reps, and you know what? I was able to do it. It really reminded me of the value of working out with a trainer - or at least a partner who will push you. Paul just launched a site at www.paullatare.com and you can check out the gym where he works at this site www.accel-fitness.com.
13 Cares
Ideas for our "good news" stories are rolling in - thanks to everyone who's emailed during the past week. If you missed our first report, it's now in the video player on the homepage entitled "Fighting Mental Illness." We want to hear about people in Central Iowa who are making a difference in the lives of others. It could be someone like Matt Connolly - who's become an advocate, or folks who are spending their retirement volunteering at the local homeless shelter, or little kids who are raising money to buy Christmas presents for people who otherwise wouldn't receive any ... you get the idea. People often complain to me that they hate watching the news because it's all bad, and very depressing. I don't disagree. That's why we're starting "13 Cares." There are lots of positive things happening out that - and we want to make sure you know about them.
Have a wonderful week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Family Time ... Bruce ... Good News
Hello and Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Family Time
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was spent with my parents, who were visiting from Arizona. They needed to escape the 105 degree heat, and loved the weather we're having here. Friday morning we had a wonderful walk at Gray's Lake, and then a huge lunch from Palmer's ... yum! Saturday we checked out the Downtown Farmer's Market. My mom bought me some great jewelry (my second set) from "All That Glitters by Anne" and she bought a huge batch of fire roasted peppers from "Juan O'Sullivans." Anne doesn't have a website, but she may be creating a facebook page soon - I'll keep you posted. You can get great salsa, peppers and recipes by visiting http://www.juanosullivans.com/ We made up our own dish with the peppers - I'll post the very loose instructions at the bottom of this post. After the market, we grabbed lunch at Court Avenue Brewing Co, then headed to The Chicken Coop in West Des Moines to catch the Nebraska game. What a disaster!!! I thought my dad was going to have a stroke. He never really yells and screams at the television, but he sort of clenches his jaw and shakes his head in disgust when things don't go well for Big Red. Michael was a great sport - he lasted through the first half with all of us crazy Husker fans. It's a good thing he wasn't there to see us die a slow and painful death against Virginia Tech. Ugh. Ugly. Sunday my mom and I got pedicures and then we hit the mall for awhile. But the highlight of the visit was ....
Bruce!!!
Wow, wow, wow! a few years ago we saw Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band. They were great, but Michael kept asking "When are they going to play 'Born in the U.S.A' or 'Streets of Philadelphia'?" Last night we didn't hear either one of those songs, but we didn't care at all ... Bruce and the E Street Band were simply amazing. They played for at least three straight hours, mixing in old favorites with newer songs, and the energy level was through the roof. Can you believe Springsteen is turning SIXTY this week? Incredible. Max Weinberg and Clarence Clemons were outstanding. If you didn't go to the concert last night and you've never seen this group live you have to make a point of getting tickets when they tour again. I do not consider myself to be a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, and I have no regrets about seeing this show.
Good News
Since I needed to have last night off, I worked a day shift and shot a really neat story with fantastic photojournalist Jeff Felton. We met some great people and had a nice morning. Jeff and I are starting a new venture, producing "Good News" pieces. I love investigative reporting, and will still take on the occasional project in that realm but for now I'm focusing more on sharing stories about people who are doing their part to make our world a better place. If you've ever seen the "Making A Difference" reports on NBC Nightly News - that's what we're doing. I would love your ideas for these stories, so email them to me. Tomorrow night at 10 you'll meet a Central Iowa family that's promoting awareness about mental illness. They'll share their story and hopefully make you think of ways you can get involved in something that's meaningful to you.
Thanks for stopping by,
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com
Pepper "Lasagna"
Pablano & Hatch peppers - fire roasted
2 bricks of cream cheese
1 brick pepper jack cheese
1 package bacon
1 cup shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice peppers open. Remove skins, seeds and stems.
Cook bacon. Drain.
Warm cream cheese and cut up pepper jack cheese in microwave until softened. Mix well.
Spray baking dish with cooking spray.
Layer peppers, cheese mixture and bacon over and over until you are out of ingredients. Top with cheese. Bake until bubbling. Eat! I had mine with corn chips kind of like a dip, but this could be a decadent meal with salad and veggies. You could also use different meat (or no meat) - we just used bacon since we had it on hand. Do not think about the fat grams. Yikes! :)
Family Time
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was spent with my parents, who were visiting from Arizona. They needed to escape the 105 degree heat, and loved the weather we're having here. Friday morning we had a wonderful walk at Gray's Lake, and then a huge lunch from Palmer's ... yum! Saturday we checked out the Downtown Farmer's Market. My mom bought me some great jewelry (my second set) from "All That Glitters by Anne" and she bought a huge batch of fire roasted peppers from "Juan O'Sullivans." Anne doesn't have a website, but she may be creating a facebook page soon - I'll keep you posted. You can get great salsa, peppers and recipes by visiting http://www.juanosullivans.com/ We made up our own dish with the peppers - I'll post the very loose instructions at the bottom of this post. After the market, we grabbed lunch at Court Avenue Brewing Co, then headed to The Chicken Coop in West Des Moines to catch the Nebraska game. What a disaster!!! I thought my dad was going to have a stroke. He never really yells and screams at the television, but he sort of clenches his jaw and shakes his head in disgust when things don't go well for Big Red. Michael was a great sport - he lasted through the first half with all of us crazy Husker fans. It's a good thing he wasn't there to see us die a slow and painful death against Virginia Tech. Ugh. Ugly. Sunday my mom and I got pedicures and then we hit the mall for awhile. But the highlight of the visit was ....
Bruce!!!
Wow, wow, wow! a few years ago we saw Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band. They were great, but Michael kept asking "When are they going to play 'Born in the U.S.A' or 'Streets of Philadelphia'?" Last night we didn't hear either one of those songs, but we didn't care at all ... Bruce and the E Street Band were simply amazing. They played for at least three straight hours, mixing in old favorites with newer songs, and the energy level was through the roof. Can you believe Springsteen is turning SIXTY this week? Incredible. Max Weinberg and Clarence Clemons were outstanding. If you didn't go to the concert last night and you've never seen this group live you have to make a point of getting tickets when they tour again. I do not consider myself to be a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, and I have no regrets about seeing this show.
Good News
Since I needed to have last night off, I worked a day shift and shot a really neat story with fantastic photojournalist Jeff Felton. We met some great people and had a nice morning. Jeff and I are starting a new venture, producing "Good News" pieces. I love investigative reporting, and will still take on the occasional project in that realm but for now I'm focusing more on sharing stories about people who are doing their part to make our world a better place. If you've ever seen the "Making A Difference" reports on NBC Nightly News - that's what we're doing. I would love your ideas for these stories, so email them to me. Tomorrow night at 10 you'll meet a Central Iowa family that's promoting awareness about mental illness. They'll share their story and hopefully make you think of ways you can get involved in something that's meaningful to you.
Thanks for stopping by,
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com
Pepper "Lasagna"
Pablano & Hatch peppers - fire roasted
2 bricks of cream cheese
1 brick pepper jack cheese
1 package bacon
1 cup shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice peppers open. Remove skins, seeds and stems.
Cook bacon. Drain.
Warm cream cheese and cut up pepper jack cheese in microwave until softened. Mix well.
Spray baking dish with cooking spray.
Layer peppers, cheese mixture and bacon over and over until you are out of ingredients. Top with cheese. Bake until bubbling. Eat! I had mine with corn chips kind of like a dip, but this could be a decadent meal with salad and veggies. You could also use different meat (or no meat) - we just used bacon since we had it on hand. Do not think about the fat grams. Yikes! :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Whoooooooo-hoooooooooooooo!
Did that get your attention?
I've been doing a mental "Whoooooo-hoooooo!" all day long in an effort to muster up some "oomph" for the week. So here we go - Hello and Happy Monday, gang! I hope you all had a great weekend.
Did any of you attend the Iowa-Iowa State game? As most of you know, I have no loyalties on this one, as my heart forever belongs to the Huskers. Who were you rooting for, and why? I'm disappointed it wasn't a better game. A blowout really isn't fun for anyone - even the winner.
I am counting down the minutes (roughly ninety) until the first "Jay Leno Show." Will you watch? Why? Or, why not? If you're tuning in, let me know what you think as the week progresses.
Kanye West is one of Jay's guests tonight. What the heck was up with him snatching the mic from poor little Taylor Swift during the MTV Video Music Awards?!? Beyonce looked like she wanted to crawl under her seat. What a disaster. Uglier yet - Serena's display at the U.S. Open. She's getting slapped with a $10,500 fine. Do you think that's appropriate punishement? Fire away.
I love to clean. Love it, love it, love it. I purchased a new cleaning device a few weeks ago and used it for the first time yesterday. It's called "Slipper Genie"
I was skeptical when I spied these at the store, but the price was right so I snagged a pair. If you have hardwood floors at home, I highly recommend this product. This method is a million times better than being on your hands and knees scrubbing the floor, and I think it's also a pretty good thigh blaster. Now that's something to "whoooo-hooooo!" about, if you ask me! If you can't find "Slipper Genie" at the store, check out this site: http://www.asseenontvguys.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=446
I may love cleaning, but I hate yard work. I have successfully killed almost everything living thing in our yard - including some beautiful rose bushes planted by the previous owner (I'm so sorry, Mrs. Farley!!!). Yesterday I spent a short stint outside assessing the conditions. It's bad. The only things I'm good at growing, are weeds as big as your head.
Finally, thanks for the funny posts and emails regarding the "hideous" email I shared with you last week. What a trip.
Gotta run!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com
I've been doing a mental "Whoooooo-hoooooo!" all day long in an effort to muster up some "oomph" for the week. So here we go - Hello and Happy Monday, gang! I hope you all had a great weekend.
Did any of you attend the Iowa-Iowa State game? As most of you know, I have no loyalties on this one, as my heart forever belongs to the Huskers. Who were you rooting for, and why? I'm disappointed it wasn't a better game. A blowout really isn't fun for anyone - even the winner.
I am counting down the minutes (roughly ninety) until the first "Jay Leno Show." Will you watch? Why? Or, why not? If you're tuning in, let me know what you think as the week progresses.
Kanye West is one of Jay's guests tonight. What the heck was up with him snatching the mic from poor little Taylor Swift during the MTV Video Music Awards?!? Beyonce looked like she wanted to crawl under her seat. What a disaster. Uglier yet - Serena's display at the U.S. Open. She's getting slapped with a $10,500 fine. Do you think that's appropriate punishement? Fire away.
I love to clean. Love it, love it, love it. I purchased a new cleaning device a few weeks ago and used it for the first time yesterday. It's called "Slipper Genie"
I was skeptical when I spied these at the store, but the price was right so I snagged a pair. If you have hardwood floors at home, I highly recommend this product. This method is a million times better than being on your hands and knees scrubbing the floor, and I think it's also a pretty good thigh blaster. Now that's something to "whoooo-hooooo!" about, if you ask me! If you can't find "Slipper Genie" at the store, check out this site: http://www.asseenontvguys.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=446
I may love cleaning, but I hate yard work. I have successfully killed almost everything living thing in our yard - including some beautiful rose bushes planted by the previous owner (I'm so sorry, Mrs. Farley!!!). Yesterday I spent a short stint outside assessing the conditions. It's bad. The only things I'm good at growing, are weeds as big as your head.
Finally, thanks for the funny posts and emails regarding the "hideous" email I shared with you last week. What a trip.
Gotta run!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com
Monday, September 07, 2009
End of Summer ... RVTV ... Hideous
Hello and Happy Labor Day, everyone!
I can hardly believe we've reached this point in the year. Where did the summer go? What have you done with yours? I really have nothing fun to share, but would love to hear about your trips, family gatherings and other adventures over the past few months.
Talk about adventure .... RVTV is back on the road! Keith, Andy Chris and Shawn are in Grinnell tonight. They'll hit Fort Dodge and Carroll before heading to Ames on Thursday. If you miss any of the coverage, just look for the RVTV logo on our website. You can also see RVTV "Greatest Hits" from years past.
Finally, I was informed on Friday that I looked "hideous." Here's the email:
Wow. This woman ended up in something of a heated exchange with Fales when he came to my defense, but what's most interesting to me is that she didn't reply to my response to her nasty comment. I wrote, "Thanks for watching, have a great weekend! :)" Hmmmmmm.
On that note, I hope you all have a great week!
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com
I can hardly believe we've reached this point in the year. Where did the summer go? What have you done with yours? I really have nothing fun to share, but would love to hear about your trips, family gatherings and other adventures over the past few months.
Talk about adventure .... RVTV is back on the road! Keith, Andy Chris and Shawn are in Grinnell tonight. They'll hit Fort Dodge and Carroll before heading to Ames on Thursday. If you miss any of the coverage, just look for the RVTV logo on our website. You can also see RVTV "Greatest Hits" from years past.
Finally, I was informed on Friday that I looked "hideous." Here's the email:
"I realize there are many concerns in the world and this may be frivolous but....Erin? The Sarah Palin look tonight was hideous.Also,the green suit jacket...red tie....blue shirt combo of the co anchor....really... really...HIDEOUS! Check the mirror people."
Wow. This woman ended up in something of a heated exchange with Fales when he came to my defense, but what's most interesting to me is that she didn't reply to my response to her nasty comment. I wrote, "Thanks for watching, have a great weekend! :)" Hmmmmmm.
On that note, I hope you all have a great week!
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com
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