Well, it’s the day before Thanksgiving and those of us on the Good Morning Indiana crew are already anticipating that after Thanksgiving meal nap.

Tom is the only crew member with the day off tomorrow.  Because November is a ratings period for television stations, the rest of us have to work tomorrow.  (Perhaps it’s a good time for us to give thanks for having a job.)

One of the advantages of working this early morning shift… is we still have time to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving meal with our families and loved ones.  Paul and Mrs. P will be heading to a friend’s house to enjoy a feast.  Dan will be heading out of town to enjoy Thanksgiving with his girlfriend and her family.  Tom, his wife and family will be eating at his aunt’s new restaurant in the Brookville area.  And finally, I’ll actually be preparing a Thanksgiving meal for my family.  My husband helps quite a bit.  I put the bird in the oven before I head into the work, and my hubby checks on it every hour or so, keeping it well basted.  Once I get home, I can get the beans, stuffing and rolls taken care of.

And Dan and I agree that rolls are an important part of the meal.  Apparently, we’re both “dippers”… you know, those people who dip their rolls in everything.  I decided that as long as you double-dip on your own plate, you’re o-k.

As you get ready to spend time with your family, take it easy on the roads and don’t forget to be thankful for all of life’s blessings… from good health… to good food… to great friends and family.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  I hope all of you had a good night last night.  Dan and I noticed that when we get a lot of sleep, we’re almost more tired the next morning.  It’s as if our bodies are saying… hey.  I was really enjoying that rare event called sleep.  I want more!!

Do you ever remember your dreams?  I usually remember my dreams, although I don’t think I had a dream last night.  One of our producers recently had another dream about the Good Morning Indiana crew.  He dreamed that Dan and I had a heated argument on the set!  Apparently, I got upset because Dan messed up one of his reads.  In the dream, I rolled my eyes at Dan and said, “you wouldn’t make those mistakes if you got in early and read through your scripts.”  Next in the dream, Dan kind of gives me one of those… who died and made you Diane Sawyer… looks.  I guess after that, the verbal jabs starting flying.  The argument ended with me throwing my water in Dan’s face and storming off the set.  If that isn’t funny enough, our director Betsy then gets over the loud speaker and says, “so, is Grace coming back for the next segment?”  I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard.

I can assure you that unlike some sitcoms and movies out there, you won’t find any battling broadcasters on the set at RTV-6.  You’re more likely to find one of us sleeping on the set… especially during the morning show.

Happy Monday!  Those of us at Good Morning Indiana hope you had a great weekend.

Dan had a nice time.  Ohio State won Saturday and the both the Colts and the Browns won yesterday, so he’s a happy sports fan.  Needless to say, he spent a lot of time in front of the tube this weekend cheering on his favorite teams.

Paul watched a little bit of football, too.  Mrs. P is just thrilled that the Packers and the Colts won.  Paul didn’t venture off on the bike this weekend.  He confesses that he’s not much of a Fall biker.  As long as he doesn’t fall off of his bike, he’s doing o-k. 

Tom and his wife finally moved into their new space.  He even seemed more relaxed on the air this morning, didn’t he?    He did a lot of work on their new place, so I know he feels an incredible sense of pride and accomplishment.  Way to go, Tom.  I hope my favorite traffic reporter is now on easy street.

My family and I had a great weekend.  Sunday was my son’s party and it was a huge success.  I’m so relieved.  I’m one of those parents who worries about every single detail… from what to serve… to whether the kids will have fun… to whether any kids will show up!  I’m so thrilled that we had a nice crowd and everyone seemed to have fun… including the birthday boy.  I think he was really overwhelmed.  He received some great gifts, too.  Nothing makes me happier than to see a bunch of little people laughing and having a good time together.  In a way, I think Christmas came a little early for me this year.

Let me not rush it.  Christmas will come soon enough.  I hope this Monday brings you plenty to cheer about and if nothing else, something to look forward to… like your next day off.

Well, we made it through another one, everybody! Happy Friday!

We had an interesting discussion on the set this morning about traffic. While most people will agree that those of us on the Good Morning Indiana crew have a difficult schedule, there are a few advantages. For one thing, we don’t have to deal with heavy traffic. Tom says he’s often the only one on the road until he hits the interstate system. For months, Dan had to deal with Super 70, but that’s no longer an issue. It takes Paul about 20 minutes or so to get in, and he often takes different routes. It takes me about 15 minutes to get in and I will often take different roads, as well. We discovered that we get a little annoyed when we venture out during normal hours and actually have to deal with traffic. It’s kind of like… hey. What’s going on? Who are all of these people? Why is it taking me 10 to 15 minutes longer to get where I need to go? This road is supposed to be just for me!! None of us are candidates for road rage, but it’s just interesting how we’re definitely in our own little world on our schedule. I think I sometimes forget just how big Indianapolis is. No matter where I travel late in the afternoon, traffic in Indianapolis is heavy. Then again, we have it easy compared to some cities. I can remember getting stuck in rush hour traffic in Houston. Talk about a Texas-sized headache. Rush hour in Houston starts around 4 p.m. and can last until 7 p.m. Traffic just comes to a halt and there’s nothing you can do except ride it out.

As you’re driving around today, hopefully you’ll get a chance to put the stress factor in park and coast through with few bumps in the road. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Happy Thursday, everyone!  All of us on Good Morning Indiana love getting viewer emails.

Yesterday the station promotion director received a great email from a loyal GMI fan.  She had nothing but praise for Paul.  She referred to the Good Morning Indiana crew as “The Beatles” and Paul as the cute one.  My first reaction was, hey.  What am I?  Chopped liver?  In all seriousness, the viewer is really taken with Mr. Poteet.  She even asked if he happened to be single.  Well, I hate to break some hearts out there, but Paul and Mrs. P have been married more than 20 years.  Even Mrs. P  gets a kick out of Paul’s adoring fans.  My husband also enjoys reading some of the letters I receive from viewers. 

I’ll never forget the comment my husband made when I told him about a viewer who had a “crush” on me.  My husband said and I quote, “you can’t fault a guy for having good taste.”  Wasn’t that a sweet thing to say?  Needless to say, my husband doesn’t feel threatened, nor should he.  He’s so supportive of me.  And he doesn’t seem to mind that he’s not married to the “cute” one on Good Morning Indiana.