TGIF, everyone.  I can’t remember the last time I was so happy it was Friday.  (O-K… maybe it was last Friday morning.)  At any rate, like most working people, Friday is a day we can take a collective sigh of relief and look forward to the weekend.

Paul is starting his weekend by giving blood… again.  Paul is such a good guy.  He gives blood about every 6 weeks or so.  Way to go, Paul.  Not only does he keep Central Indiana informed about the weather, he gives the gift of life over and over again.  With the weather forecast looking so good for the weekend, Paul and his wife will no doubt spend at least part of the weekend biking through the area.  Happy trails, Paul!

Tom has yet another working weekend on tap.  He, his wife and his father-in-law are hoping to finish the apartment above his wife’s new law office.  Tom says he has a love-hate relationship with this project.  I think many of us can relate.  There are times when Tom thinks, “This is going to be great!  It’s really fun to renovate an entire apartment.”  There are other times when he thinks, “Gosh this is a lot of work.  I’m tired.  I hate this.  This is no fun at all.”  Hang in there, Tom.  Once everything is completed and beautiful, it’ll all be worth it.  You can take great pride in knowing you worked so hard on something and it looks absolutely fabulous.

Dan is going to do some work around his place, too.  He’s completing his “man room”… aka the basement.  I think he wants to have everything finished so he can have some people over to watch football on Sunday.  With all of the travelling he’s been doing, I’m sure it’ll be nice for Dan to finally spend a weekend at home.

I’m looking forward to a nice weekend with my family.  Tomorrow night, I’m serving as the Mistress of Ceremonies for A Night to Remember.  It’s a gala event for cancer patients and their families.  It’s really a wonderful event.  I’ve participated for several years now.  The patients spend the evening being pampered, entertained and inspired by uplifting speakers.  The lady who founded the group is one of the most beautiful people, inside and out, you could ever hope to meet. 

I hope all of you have a great weekend!  We’ll see you Monday.

Well, we’re about to end another week without our director, Betsy.  Betsy had knee replacement surgery several weeks ago.  I’m happy to report that the surgery went well and Betsy is meeting with a physical therapist to get some more range of motion in her knee.  I’m so happy that Betsy will soon walk without a limp and without so much pain.   A person as sweet as Betsy deserves to be pain-free.  We miss you, Betsy.  We’ll have the best pitch-in ever when you return to work next month.

Our current director, EJ, is doing a great job filling in for Betsy.  It isn’t easy, either.  EJ arrives at the station around 1:30 a.m. and she’s often here until 10 or 10:30.  Like Betsy, EJ is also one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet.  She’s always so pleasant when she gives us instructions in our earpieces.  Even when things are going haywire, she maintains a sense of calm.  This morning, she just let a little of her frustration come through and she spent the rest of the morning apologizing for it.  Believe me, EJ, you’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.  No apology was necessary.

Television news can be a tense work enviroment, especially when technical problems start to over-shadow all of the hard work you’ve done to prepare for a show.  But working with professionals like Betsy and EJ make the mornings a lot easier.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  If it seemed as though I was a little sleepy this morning, it’s because… I was.  For some reason, my 17-month-old daughter didn’t want to sleep.  She didn’t seem to be in any discomfort.  She just wanted to stay awake… and she wanted mommy to stay awake with her.  I probably ended up getting about 3 hours of sleep.  My hope is that she’ll want to take a long nap this afternoon.  Please keep your fingers crossed for me today!

Even with such a short night, I still managed to squeak in a strange dream.  From what I can remember, I was auditioning for a pageant.  I was singing a song I had not rehearsed very much.  Once the music started, my mind went totally blank and I couldn’t remember the words.  I finally started singing and hit a few terrible notes.  I think this is my mind’s way of telling me I need to start going over my music for Sunday.  I’m scheduled to cantor at my church Sunday morning and I haven’t had time to go over my music yet.  I’ll definitely try to rehearse today or tomorrow.  I must say, however, that the best audience has to be a church congregation.  After all, pastors often preach about the importance of tolerance and forgiveness.

Tom has had a series of pretty strange dreams, too.  His dreams involve a world of killer flowers.  I’m not kidding.  It’s safe to say he’s ready to wage a serious war against ragweed.  Paul seems to be doing better with his allergies, but Tom and Dan are still having a tough time.  Hang in there, guys.  We only have about three more weeks until we usually have that first freeze and you guys can get some relief.

Thanks for taking some time from your day-dreaming, and possibly sniffling,  to check out our blog.  Have a wonderful Wednesday. 

Allergy season has hit the Good Morning Indiana team pretty hard this year.  Paul and Tom have been fighting allergy issues for the past several weeks.  Dan got a nice break from his allergies during his vacation last week, but now they’re back and Dan is not too happy about it.  Paul, Tom and Dan are taking medication for their allergy issues, but they’re still waiting for some relief.  If anyone has some suggestions on medications that have worked for them, please pass them along.

Thankfully, I’ve never had to deal with allergies.  I do seem to catch more colds now that I have children.  In the years B.C. (before children) I would get maybe two colds a year.  Now, it’s not uncommon to get the sniffles once a month.  I’m trying to get my family to wash their hands more often, but somehow those stubborn germs seem to make their way through the entire house before they make their final exit.  One of my sons told me last week that he didn’t want his friends to give him any more bugs.  Being a typical little boy, however, I have a feeling he’s going to quickly change his mind when it comes to actual bugs that he can dig out of the dirt and hide in his room.  He loves to watch various creatures crawl around in the backyard and try to throw them on his sister.  He better watch out, though.  My daughter is pretty fiesty.  It’s only a matter of time before she starts throwing them back.

Well, I know a lot of you out there would like to get back to normal and rid yourself of your allergy problems.  May you find relief soon and make it a terrific Tuesday.

The gang is back together again.  Dan returned to the Good Morning Indiana set today after a week off.  It sounds like Dan had a wonderful vacation.  He and a group of friends headed to North Carolina and the Outer Banks.  Dan raved about the sand dunes and the museums and the fresh ocean air.  Dan also discovered something that I warned him about when he started this shift.  It takes no time at all to get used to waking up at a reasonable hour.  However, when that alarm goes off the first morning you have to return to work, it’s rather jolting to the system.  At any rate, Dan hit the ground running this morning and never missed a bit.  Welcome back, Dan.

My husband and I had a great weekend.  My sister-in-law Betsy came to town for a visit.  She is a God-send.  I hope all of you are as blessed to have a relative who is so loving, caring and willing to help.  She is so good with children!  She truly has a gift… and I feel like having her as a sister-in-law is a gift from God.  At any rate, she stayed with the children Saturday night while my husband and I attended a wedding reception.  The reception was for someone who works at a competing station, proving yet again that we can peacefully co-exist with our competitors.  My husband and I had such a great time.  We so rarely get to play “dress up” and go out and have fun.  My husband even danced with me without me having to beg.  As I said this morning on Good Morning Indiana, we’re not quite ready for Dancing with the Stars.  But after a few whirls on the dance floor, I think I saw a few stars.  Seriously, we had a wonderful time and that’s really what it’s all about.

Paul and his wife had another weekend of cycling fun.  They also watched their share of football.  Mrs. P is a huge sports fan.  Being from Wisconsin, I’ve been told she has a Brett Favre shrine in the family room.  I believe it’s right next to Peyton’s Place on the wall.

Tom, his father-in-law and his wife are still working hard on their new apartment.  They’re trying to get everything done by the second week of October.  Even though I know they’re looking forward to moving in and getting settled, I think they should reward themselves when they’re done and take a vacation.

Well, for most of us, that two day vacation called a weekend is over and it’s time to get back to work.  I hope this week works out well for you!