Celebrating life!

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!

I had a great weekend visiting one of my childhood friends in Nebraska and I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures. Oh well - next time. We haven't seen each other for a year and it was great to catch up. It's also great to have the type of friends that you just fall into an easy rhythm with, even when you haven't seen each other (or even talked to each other) for a long time.

The only disappointing thing about this weekend was missing out on my Dad's "alive" party. Friday was the one year anniversary of his collapse so Mom decided to throw a "Thank God Larry is still here" bash/early birthday party.



I love this picture because I can tell Dad is in the middle of telling some sort of joke or funny story, which is just so "him". Although I'm sad that Michael and I couldn't be there for this celebration, we are counting down the days until we head to Arizona for Christmas. Just being surrounded by the people I love most is the best present I could ever receive.

Speaking of great gifts - I hope you'll tune in tomorrow night for a holiday-themed "13 Cares". Photojournalists Jeff Felton and Roger Riley are helping me tell you about a wonderful program in Boone that helps people there all year long. It epitomizes the meaning of the season.

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

New tires were NOT on my wish list!!!

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!

Last Friday I was really irritated to learn that I needed new tires. I'm over it now but this is not the sort of thing you want to purchase (ever) but especially not in DECEMBER!!!




I'm thinking it's OK though... Michael and I have been saying "no gifts" this year. We have plenty of junk and we don't need more junk. I use the word "junk" because that's really what most of it is. In fact, we're serious about giving gifts to people in need instead of each other this year. That's part of the reason I like this image...



Sonya had it posted on her facebook page right after Thanksgiving (around Black Friday) and I think it's perfect. When you think about what you NEED in this context it changes your perspective a bit, doesn't it?

By contrast - there are these people...



I was sick all weekend and I watched countless "Real Housewives" episodes. It made me feel more sick. In one episode this crazy woman was throwing a birthday party for her five year old that I'm sure cost more than most weddings. It was obscene. Plus, the little girl seemed like a brat. I can't get over the excess. It's all too much. Too much plastic surgery, too much house, too much food, too much booze, too much of EVERYTHING! All I could think of was how many people these people could house, feed, clothe, etc with a fraction of what they're spending on JUNK!

Anyway ... I also saw an ad for some product (I can't remember what) that ended with the line, "It's not what's under the tree that matters, it's who's around it." Right on.

Have a wonderful week and DON'T stress about the holidays!!!
:)
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

2,109 steps...Movie night...What did you say?!?!...R.I.P.

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
Things have been nutty in my world lately. Here are some highlights...

2,109 Steps

I hope you'll tune in Tuesday night at 10 to see the story I'm putting together with the help of photojournalists Brandon McCauley and Randy Schumacher. It features Mark Block and Mike Boone and our hope is that is leaves you feeling amazed and inspired. Here's a clue about where we went to shoot the story... we climbed one of the tallest buildings in the world.



Movie night

Saturday night Michael and I had a date with our neices Olivia and Ella. We had pizza and watched "Cars 2" and had a ball.


Here Olivia is with her camera - she actually takes some really great photos - way better than my phone!


What did you say?!?!?

A viewer sent in this picture last week with the caption "Did Bachman let one rip?" OK - that's gross, but the picture is funny. The reason JB looks so tickled and I look so disgusted is because of what he was saying about my Huskers. It was after they lost to Northwestern. Ugh.

R.I.P.

I did some cleaning around my desk a few weeks ago and finally pitched this ancient rolodex. I've had it since I was a reporter/photographer at Channel 5 and it was hard to get rid of it. I did rummage through it before putting it in the circular file and found some of Michael's old business cards - it was a nice little walk down memory lane.

Gotta run - have a great week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Hello and Happy TUESDAY, everyone!

I am tardy posting again this week.... my motto lately seems to be, "Better late, than never!"

I love Halloween. Michael and I used to throw costume parties but haven't for several years and this year we didn't even dress up! What are some of the best costumes you saw this year? Do you have a memory of a costume you've worn that still ranks as your favorite? I loved the year that we dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf, mostly because Michael was in this huge furry outfit that was basically like giant footie pajamas. I think it snowed that year, but he was sweating all night... this probably DOESN'T rank as his favorite costume.


Our nieces and second cousin were decked out on Sunday ... how cute are Olivia, Samantha and Ella? They had a ball on Beggar's Night and came home with LOTS of loot.


Here's how some of the gals at the Y looked Monday morning. My favorite is Molly - dressed as a 1980s aerobics instructor. I stole the image below from her facebook page so you can get the full effect.



Sonya and I hope you'll tune in tonight at 5 - you'll meet the guys in this picture:

Mario, Nick and John play wheelchair basketball every week thanks to Adaptive Sports Iowa. They invited us to give their sport a try. We were so impressed, we've decided to devote all of our November workouts to people with disabilities. for more information on ASI check out http://iowasportsfoundation.org/Sports/AdaptiveSportsIowa.aspx

Finally, tonight at ten we're bringing you a 13 Cares about a Central Iowa family that's working through grief by helping others. They're doing it with the furry members of the family and I think it's a story every animal lover will appreciate.

Enjoy the rest of your week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Catching up!

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!
I can't believe how time has gotten away from me lately... no blog the past two weeks. Shame on me! There is a ton of stuff I could babble on about, but here is the main thing that's happened in recent weeks...




Jannay got married!!!




The ceremony was absolutely stunning - in Las Vegas, outside at the pool area at the Mirage so that the backdrop was a huge waterfall and there were stunning flowers and plants everywhere. Obviously the bride was beautiful. You already knew that!


It was a blast catching up with Kerry Kavanaugh. She and Jannay and I were all hired at the same time back in 2005 and we've had some fun girl gatherings over the years. Kerry works in Atlanta now - with John Bachman's son! Small world.



Somehow we came up with this "freight train" joke - it was the theme of the weekend. I'm sure it wouldn't be funny to anyone else but we were constantly cracking ourselves up - go figure, it's Vegas.




While I'm on the topic of weddings... Michael and I will celebrate our ten year anniversary on Thursday. Talk about time flying! I know this sounds goofy and cliche and will probably make some of you want to puke, but I really do feel lucky to be married to my best friend. Neither one of us is perfect and we've endured some really rotten times over the past decade but we've always been there for each other and we've also managed to have a lot of fun. A lot of fun.

EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Happy Monday!

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!

Last week was a busy one and this week is shaping up to be much the same. Thankfully, the weekend was very low-key and just what Michael and I needed.

Speaking of Michael ... look at the hilarious cake he had made for my birthday. Yes, I did in fact have a perm on top of my already naturally curly hair. Ya gotta love the 80s and 90s.

My wonderful hubby also got me flowers (A LOT of flowers) and a bacon cheeseburger from B-Bops! Is he a gem, or what?


Sonya gave me wine, hairspray and chocolates. Also perfect. What's hilarious is that my parents sent me a heart rate monitor (which I asked for) ... I am going to need it to work off all of the extra calories I consumed!

Speaking of my folks, I have to share this picture with all of you ... my dad at his last day of physical therapy! The wonderful folks at Rehab Arizona say Lar is doing great and that he can work out on his own. Yay!!!



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

Emmy® Extravaganza!

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!

The news from the weekend is that the Channel 13 gang came home with a bunch of hardware from the Upper Midwest Emmy® award ceremony ... 9 beautiful statuettes, to be exact.


Sonya was on the stage so much some people probably thought she was one of the hosts!!! Here she is with photojournalist Jeff Felton. These two won our first Emmy® for their series "Apollo: We have a problem" in the Continuing Coverage category. Sonya also won for her series "Iowans at War" and "Behind the Walls".


Sonya, Randy Schumacher and I laughed all the way to the stage when they announced that our snow shoeing story won in the Informational/Instructional category. Who would've guessed that "Workout of the Week" could win an Emmy®?!?!? What a riot.


Randy also won for his outstanding photojournalism skills for the story "Water Changes Everything" with Andy Fales. Amazing.


Lynn Melling is an incredibly talented reporter and she claimed a statuette with Randy and photojournalist Brandon McCauley for a series on dating violence. Lee Rouse and Mike Borland also helped shoot these stories.



Murph and Chris Hassel won best sportscast! In fact, they are so good there wasn't any other station nominated in this category.


How cute does Megan Brown look in this picture?!?!? Her story "Helping Hand" won in the Children's category.


We entered our stories on fake personal trainers and the the hcg diet in the Consumer category - thanks to Brandon, Jeff and Randy for their hard work on what turned into somewhat labor intensive pieces.


Finally - congratulations to my friend Amy Schmelzer from KCCI. For the second year in a row she won Best Director! Amy and I have known each other since our days at Drake University and she's one of the most talented people I know. Plus, she's a really good friend.

I work with some really fun, talented people and feel lucky to do a job a love. Thanks for watching!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

A busy week!

Hello gang!
It's been a busy couple of days and I can tell this week is going to fly!

The weather may have been rotten but the Latino Heritage Festival on the downtown bridges helped heat things up over the weekend.


Somehow I got myself roped into this "Dancing with the Celebrities" contest. I kept telling people they were using the words "dancing" and "celebrities" very loosely. Thankfully I had a wonderful instructor in Luisito Cabrera and I achieved my goal, which was simply to not fall down. We've posted the video on "13 Raw" if you need a good laugh.


Channel 5's Rachel Pierce was also in the contest and she was AMAZING. She danced the Cha-Cha with Manual Cabrejos, another fabulous instructor. Marcus McIntosh from Channel 8 was also performing and I am happy to report that after all of his trash talking about how everyone else was competing for second place, he did not win! Fabiola Pastorino from Farmers Insurance took home the top prize and she was dazzling dancing the Merengue.

I have to admit I had an absolute ball taking Salsa lessons and I'm hoping to drag Michael along for some sessions this fall and winter. The instructors and performers with Salsa Des Moines and Bachata Des Moines are incredible and I would highly recommend taking their classes and attending their social events.




I had no idea costumes were part of the gig when I agreed to be a Celebrity Server as part of a fundraiser for the Young Women's Resource Center, but look at Councilwoman Christine Hensley! She and her friends all wore these Lucille Ball outfits - how fun!


The event is a blast and helps a good cause and I'm grateful to my friends Angie Gallagher and Kat Kinseth for buying tickets. I confess, I didn't do a very good job of waiting on people - I talk too much! If you couldn't make it to the dinners at Centro or Django you can still help YWRC. Visit www.ywrc.org




To find out how to help an incredible young lady in the metro, tune in Thursday at 10. I got to meet Kelsey Michelsen and her parents yesterday. They're sharing their story of faith and resilience, and dance team coach Marianne Mayo and team captain Whitney Blakemore are showing how seemingly small acts of kindness can have a huge impact.

EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Football...Little Ones...Salsa and Speed!

Hello and Happy TUESDAY, gang!
Once again Monday slipped away without me getting a blog posted and I'm late doing it today because of a speaking engagement that make me late for work. I had a great time visiting with the ladies at the Ottumwa Women's Club and it was worth the drive.

Football
I know it's been several days but it seems like people can't stop talking about the Iowa-Iowa State game. I can't get over the triple overtime. I was watching pretty casually while cleaning the house but was glued to the tube by the fourth quarter.

Little Ones
The game made me an hour late getting to Lynn Melling's house for a get together with her, her neighbor Laura and Sonya. It was wonderful to see Lynn and her husband Ian...

... but of course we LOVED seeing Baby Aubrey. She is precious.

Big brother Jack is hilarious and kept us entertained. He is bright and talkative and calls little sister, "Pretty Aubrey". We had a great time.

Salsa!

Salsa dancing was the workout for this week. If you missed it, go the "Workout of the Week" section of the WHO-TV website. This weekend is the Latino Heritage Festival downtown and I foolishly agreed to be part of a dance competition on Sunday afternoon. I had no idea what I was getting into. Luisito Cabrera is a great instructor, but I am terrified.

Speed!

I have a ticket coming in the mail. Last night I was flying back to work after my salsa lesson and I tried to make it through MLK & School on yellow. Apparently the camera there viewed the light as red. Grrrrrrrrrrr. Oh well, it's my own stupid fault. Speaking of stupid - I think that speed camera on I-235 makes people stupid. Hello?!?! There aren't bonus points for going UNDER the speed limit, people! It's not like the government is going to send you money because you're going slower. Geesh!

I'm starving... off to dinner.
Thanks for reading!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Random pics

Hello and Happy TUESDAY, gang! I hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend. Mine was filled with the perfect blend of friends and fun and work.


WHO-TV Baby Boom Continues

Welcome the newest member of the Channel 13 family... Cameron Paul Felton. He is the son of producer Lisa and photojournalist Jeff. Isn't he precious? I think we need to start a daycare here at the station to keep up with all these little ones!!!

Furry Friends

This is Iola... she belongs to my good friend James Lacona. We ate dinner at Jimmy's house Monday night and I couldn't resist snapping a photo.


This is Sampson... I have no idea what his owners name is. We met Sampson because some friends of ours were dog sitting. Get this - he is only FIVE MONTHS OLD!

Hy-Vee Tri

I am amazed by people who train for and compete in things like marathons and triathlons but I've never been more impressed by someone than I am by Jason Paul.

Jason was in a life-threatening car crash last October and lost his arm. Here he is on Sunday after the swim portion of the triathlon, putting on his prosthetic arm.

Jason doing the bike portion...
If you missed the story Jeff Felton and I did last Friday, you can watch it here:
http://www.whotv.com/videobeta/beeff8f1-885b-47cd-affa-d52deeddb00f/News/Triathlete-Amputee


This is Sonya's medal... she decided at the very last minute to do the Hy-Vee tri, but she's been training for months for the Malibu race. Once again, she's doing this as part of Team in Training to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. To donate to the cause and help Sonya, use this link:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ia/malibutr11/sdheits4589

Fun
My stomach hurts...not from working out, not from eating something that didn't agree with me, but from laughing.

This is the reason why... a weekend with our friend Joe Webb (third from the left). He is probably one of the funniest people I know and was really in rare form at Billy Joe's for karaoke.

It took a lot of encouragement, but Michael even got in on the fun... he and Joe performed "Ice Ice Baby". Priceless. It's a good thing Joe lives in Chicago or this kind of silliness would happen way too often.

I checked my pride at the door to sing several songs (not well - but with gusto) and that attitude carried over into today...
What are you looking at?!?!

I actually ran errands looking like this. Nothing better than multi-tasking, even if people look at you like you're crazy. Hey - a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Enjoy the rest of the week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Oh, Baby!... No, my first name ain't Baby... You called me what?...

Hello and Happy Monday, gang!

Oh, Baby!
First things first ... I was so behind in my blogging last week that I failed to include the biggest news at the station!



Meet the newest member of the Channel 13 family - Aubrey Kathleen. Those of you who know Lynn know that she was counting down the days until delivery and everyone is thrilled that Aubrey is finally here....



... including big brother Jack. Isn't this the sweetest picture ever? Little Miss Aubrey is part of a huge baby boom in Iowa. It sounds like love was in the air for a lot of people last November and December!

No, my first name ain't Baby!


We had a girls' night Sunday at the fair....



... to see Janet! Miss Jackson, if you're nasty. We had a ball. Heather thought there was a lot of lip syncing going on but I guess I don't really care if there was. Janet is 45, looks amazing, can still dance like crazy and put on a fun show. I hadn't been to see a grandstand act since Michael and I saw Styx and REO Speedwagon the summer we were dating .... ELEVEN YEARS AGO. I'm still bummed I was working the night Heart and Def Leppard rocked the fair, but everyone here had to work because of the Straw Poll in Ames. My hubby said Heart was amazing and that Def Leppard was fun but that most fifty-something dudes shouldn't wear tight leather pants and walk on a catwalk. Probably a valid point. Like I'm fond of saying ... "That's what mirrors and friends are for!"


You called me what?
The whole "baby" thing has me thinking about nicknames. Do you have one? I have several and "baby" is just one of them. I've had a lot of nicknames over the years - some easily explained - others, not so much. Michael and I have a bunch for each other and some you would probably think are weird. Do you have silly nicknames or use them for friends and loved ones? Of course you do! The four of us who went to Janet together have many for each other. Examples (left to right)... "Gupta", "Maxwell House", "Heat" and "Moodring".

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