Birthdays... Bonding ... Big Meals

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
What a whirlwind of a weekend ... I have a ton of interviews to look through and scripts to write so I'll hit the highlights quickly.

Birthdays

Is this the most precious thing you've ever seen, or what? On Saturday we were celebrating our niece Ella's first birthday. It was a hoot. There's nothing like watching little ones tear through wrapping paper and play with new toys.


The day also included celebrating big sister Olivia's birthday ... she's turning three and loves to tell you all about it. You may not be able to tell in this picture, but her t-shirt reads "Angel with an Attitude" which is absolutely perfect. One of Olivia's favorite gifts was a Sesame Street Store that opens and closes and comes with little plastic things like a cash register, a refrigerator, Big Bird, Elmo ... you get the idea. Ella was equally fascinated with this toy and kept crawling over to where Olivia was playing with it. At that point Olivia would start shaking her head back and forth, saying, "No, no, no..." wrapping her arms around the store and picking up the entire setup and moving it elsewhere. This scene played out several times before Olivia decided to set up shop on the couch where Ella couldn't reach her. Priceless.


Ella is very laid back and never really got worked up about anything ... except her cake. Two years ago Olivia was COVERED in cake. I mean COVERED - from head to toe. Ella was not having it, as you can see in this picture of my brother in-law Matt trying to feed her some. It's fun to watch their little personalities evolve.

Bonding
Lynn organized a girls' night Saturday. In the past we've often done dinner and drinks and dancing but this time around we decided to be homebodies. Our group ended up being tiny, but it was a really nice time. One of the highlights was Jenny Murphy stopping by. She's got to be one of the funniest people I know. She had us laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants. Even the text messages she was sending me later in the evening were hilarious. Good company ... good times. The only thing better than seeing the gals was seeing Lynn's little man, Jack. He is getting so big and he is the best baby. When he smiles he has huge dimples and I think he looks exactly like his mama. Sweet boy.

Big Meals
Sunday's dreary, cool weather put the brakes on the plans Michael and I had to tackle more outdoor projects (darn!) so we ended up brunching instead. Our outing took us to Centro where we ate so much I thought I might explode. I ordered the "Crab Cake Benedict" which was as big as my head and Michael got the "Kill Bill Tenderloin" which is described as "The five-pointed palm exploding heart sandwich." This thing was absolutely ginormous and had bacon, ham, pepper jack cheese and a fried egg on top of the tenderloin. Sadly, between the two of us we polished off nearly every last bite. So bad ... but so good! Needless to say, I did not fill out my food diary yesterday!!!

I'm out of time ... thanks for last week's comments. Gymrat - the only reason I survived the cat bath is because she only has her back claws! Munchkin - Marley was ticked off at me for the duration of the weekend and I think I've seen the calendar picture you're talking about. And Jill - I almost always wear a ball cap when I'm working out - I have crazy bedhead and it's the easiest way to cover it up when I hit the gym!

Have a wonderful week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

A little work... A little play ... And more than one way to bathe a cat

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
I hope you all had a chance to get out and enjoy the lovely weather we had over the weekend - wasn't it beautiful?

A little work
Michael and I (mostly Michael) spent the weekend working around the house. I did my customary cleaning of toilets and floors and Michael was tackling some outdoor projects. I guess you could say I was his assistant. Michael is always far more pragmatic than I am regarding how difficult and time consuming these endeavors will be. I always have a list a mile long that I think is reasonable, and he's always saying, "Yeah, right." Unfortunately, he is always right (on this particular matter).

Project number one on Sunday - laying some pavers for our garbage cans and recycle bin. Michael was in the yard all day Saturday running a tiller and raking the soil, trying to even things out before we have some new sod put down. For years it's driven us crazy that our trash bins sit on a big sloping pile of dirt and they're constantly being tipped over. This was our solution.

It turned out great, but I had no idea how labor intensive this would be. I mean seriously - it's a very small space and it's not like it needs to be perfect - it's for trash bins!!! Oh well - at least that's another thing checked off the "to do" list.

Next, we tackled tree planting. We used to have this really cool weeping Mulberry tree in front of our house. Last year we noticed one entire side of it wasn't filling in with foliage. At first we attributed it to the fact that that side of the tree was in the shade all the time. Then I noticed that the trunk wasn't looking so good. I pushed on it and my entire hand went into it ... not good. Our tree was dead. Saturday Michael found a replacement, but he looks so shrimpy!

And again, this took a lot more time and effort than I ever would've guessed. All I have to say is I'm glad I was the assistant. Michael is so sore from digging in the dirt he can hardly move today. All I did was stand around a say, "It's too far to the left!" and "It's leaning toward the house!" I guess I helped fill in the hole, but I didn't really knock myself out.

A little play
My playtime this weekend was getting together with my dear friend Courtney Greene for pedicures. We haven't seen each other for ages and it was wonderful to relax, chat, drink some wine and of course - get our toes done! I highly recommend the Spa at West Glen. Emily and Pam are amazing technicians and every time one of them has given me a pedicure it's lasted forever - far better than the sloppy job I do at home!

More than one way to bathe a cat
Finally, we had some drama with Marley this weekend. This cat is high maintenance as it is, but she pulled an entirely new trick Saturday night. We were watching tv after dinner and wondering where she was, because she always jumps up on the couch for nightly pampering. When she finally showed up, she was wet! At first I thought she'd been in the bathtub drinking out of the faucet but hours later she was still damp. Michael finally said, "Does she stink?" So I smelled her. It was then I realized that she'd somehow gotten into the olive oil mixture we use for dipping bread. So, her our cat is, all greasy and smelling like garlic and basil! Yuck! We decided to leave it alone Saturday night in the hopes that she would clean herself off. She worked at it - but to now avail. Sunday night I realized I was going to have to give Marley a bath... the second of her life. The first was right after I got her when the vet informed me that she had mites. That time my mom and I took her into the shower and it was UGLY. This time I opted for the kitchen sink. You can tell by the look of disgust on her face just how well the bath went over...

... and how she looked kind of like a drowned rat. I'm happy to report that Marley looks much better today, but now she smells like a combination of garlic and dish soap. Oye!


Have a great week, and thanks for reading!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

A great weekend

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
Isn't the weather fantastic?!? It's amazing what warmer temperatures and sunshine can do for your mood.

I really don't have much to report from the weekend. It was filled with low-key time spent with friends. Michael and I were hanging out with Sonya and her husband for a significant part of it - they have a wonderful huge deck and we enjoyed sitting and talking and grilling. We also got acquainted with the newest member of their family. I promised a photo of him a few weeks ago ... meet Spot!



Sunday afternoon I helped host a fun event with Bill Riley, Jr. Pure Fashion is a great organziation for young women and the fashion show is always a blast - particularly if you love clothes the way I do! If you know a young lady who might enjoy the program check out www.purefashion.com.

There are some other events coming up, too. This Friday is Take Back The Night. This year the event is happening at Des Moines University. Doors open at 5:30 and we start the program at 6. New this year in conjunction with National Crime Victims' Awareness Week is the 5k for 5 Charities on Saturday. For more information www.5kfor5charities.com. On May 1st the Iowa Coaltion Against Domestic Violence hosts its annual "It's About Time" gala. www.icadv.org.

That's all for now - have a wonderful week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Going home is weird ... and nauseating

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
I am happy to be back at work and getting back in the swing of things after a rotten week.

Last Monday I let you know that I was headed back to Nebraska for the funeral of the mother of one of my best friends. I am so glad I was there to spend time with Brenda, her family and other old friends but being back in Chadron was weird. I haven't been there for nearly three years - since my folks retired to Arizona. There just hasn't been a reason to go home. My grandparents are all gone, my parents aren't there, none of my closest friends live there ... you get the idea. I felt so disoriented, and at times - downright uncomfortable. I snagged a flight early Tuesday morning and Brenda picked me up at the airport (yes - there is actually an airport in Chadron). With her daughter Myka in the minivan with us we ran a few errands before going to Brenda's mom's house. We did some work around the yard and ate lunch and then I was falling into a coma thanks to my much earlier than normal wakeup time. Brenda gave me the keys to the minivan and told me to go take a nap and I automatically started driving to my parents' house! I was halfway there before I remembered they don't live there anymore and I needed to be going to the Best Western instead! Strange.

Even more strange was the next day, when my friend Kim and I took a little drive through our old neighborhood. Kimi and I have literally known each other our entire lives. We grew up across the street from each other. We kept remarking how different everything seemed to us. Each of our childhood homes is physically different - mostly because different people live there now. But there are other changes that aren't physical - they're a matter of perspective. Our yards seem small now and we were wondering how we managed to build the sprawling forts we did, or why it seemed to take forever to mow the lawn back then. The circle drive with grass in the center where we played every day as kids that once seemed as big as a football field now looks tiny. The Henkens' family driveway that we would dare each other to ride down on our bikes and wagons because we thought it was the steepest thing ever now seems pretty average. It's amazing what a few years do to your point of view.

You have to admit, there are some things that happen in small towns that outsiders just can't appreciate. I could rattle off a number of examples - but here is the best one from my trip home. Thursday morning a woman from the airline called me to let me know my flight from Chadron to Denver had been cancelled. I told her it was no big deal, that she could just put me on the afternoon flight. "No can do," she said, "It's sold out." Seriously?!? How many people need to go from Chadron to Denver on a Thursday? Anyway, this nice lady Pam proceeded to tell me that if I could get to one of the neighboring towns that the airline services, they had open seats on those flights. "That's wonderful," I told her, "but I don't have a car." It's not as if there are any public transportation options in northwest Nebraska! "Can I call you back?" "Sure," I said. About ten minutes later my phone rang. "Hi Erin, it's Pam. If you can get to the airport in the next twenty minutes we can get you to Alliance so you'll still make it to Denver in time to catch your flight to Des Moines." Fantastic! Here's the kicker. When Brenda's little brother Ben drops me off at the airport we realize Pam is not driving me in an airline vehicle. She is driving me to a town an hour away in HER OWN CAR. Priceless. It was an early and anxiety filled morning, but Pam got me where I needed to be. God bless her.

Finally - going home made me nauseous. Not because of all of these weird feelings, I was having about how things have changed, but because I was really sick. Brenda's daughter Myka had the stomach flu the weekend before I arrived and her big brother Brady got it next. By Wednesday night, Brenda's husband Mark was sick as a dog. Then Thursday morning Brenda called me to say she was sorry, but she couldn't take me to the airport because she was now hugging the toilet! I thought I had escaped unscathed, but Friday morning the bug bit me and it hurt. I haven't been that sick in years, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Thankfully, my husband babied me all day long and into the night - he is a good man. I've also lost five pounds.

That's it for now ... please excuse my misspellings and bad grammar ... I am beat!
Have a great week,
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com