We can all take a collective sigh of relief and say we made it to Friday!

Paul has been off the last couple of days, at least sort of.  For those of you who enjoy listening to the radio in the morning, perhaps you’ve heard Paul on 107.9 The Track.  He covered the morning shift yesterday and this morning.  I actually listened to Paul for a few minutes yesterday, and of course he did a wonderful job.  As many of you know, Paul got his start in radio and does the weather for many radio stations in Central Indiana.  We’re really lucky to have him on staff at RTV-6.

Speaking of radio, 107.9 The Track is one of my favorite stations!  Tom Berg, their midday guy, used to be our traffic guy in the mornings.  Tom Berg is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.  He’s always so friendly, warm and positive on the radio… and that’s exactly how he is in person.  I worked with Tom for a long time, and I can’t remember one morning when Tom wasn’t upbeat and fun.  Like Paul, he also has a great voice and is a great asset to The Track.  Tom keeps asking me to call in to his radio show, and I can never seem to work it into my crazy schedule.  I promise, though, one day I’ll give Tom a call.

In addition to the nice personalities on The Track, I also like the mix of music.  I can be driving along and suddenly I discover that my head is bobbing and my feet are tapping to the beat.  Isn’t it amazing how a song can take you back to high school or college again?   I love it when I stop at an intersection and other drivers glance over while I’m “drive dancing.”  I can almost read their minds.  They’re thinking… “hey, the news lady knows how to have a little fun, too.”

As much as I love The Track, I hope Paul doesn’t have too much fun covering their morning shift.  We need him to get back on track with his regular routine and join us on television Monday morning.

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I’d like to thank all of you who responded to yesterday’s blog.  I sincerely appreciate your kind comments and suggestions.  I’m humbled.

It’s clear that some people really rely on the morning news to get their information for the day, because they don’t get a chance to watch the news in the evenings.  At the same time, there are viewers who enjoy some lighter, fun stories and interviews.  It’s tricky to find just the right balance.  I must admit I’d be in anchor heaven if I never had to read a Britney Spears story again.  I think she’s a troubled young lady and we’d do everyone a favor (including Spears) if the limelight would stop shining on her.  I think she serves as yet another example that money and fame don’t buy peace and happiness.  Instead of getting visits for Dr. Phil and others, perhaps Ms. Spears should visit with a minister, priest, rabbi or other religious leader.  I have found that people who are at peace with a Higher Power are the ones who are truly rich and at peace with themselves and the world.  Oh, well.  That’s just my opinion.  And with that, I’d be happy not to discuss Ms. Spears again.

I’m glad that many of you enjoy the blog and like getting to know the people who bring you the news.  I must admit that when my boss first told me he wanted me to write a blog, I thought… well… o-k.  I’m not sure if people will be interested in anything I have to say, but I’ll give it a shot.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised.  I always have this fear that when I talk about my kids, people secretly roll their eyes and think…”My goodness.  You’d think Grace is the only woman to ever have a child.”  Again, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by everyone’s reaction to stories about my kids and my family.

My producers are also very appreciative of your support.  You don’t see them, but Greg, Judy and the rest of the crew work very hard and rarely get any credit when things go well.  So, kudos to those behind the scenes… and thanks to all of you in front of the television who watch us everyday.  We appreciate you!!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  I have a question for all of you.  If you could change anything about Good Morning Indiana, what would it be?  Do you have any suggestions on how we could make our newscast better?

We’re constantly trying to find ways to make our show more informative and enjoyable for viewers.  Sometimes, however, it’s hard to critique yourself.  Sometimes we’re too hard on ourselves.  Other times we think we couldn’t possibly be doing anything wrong.

We occassionally have news consultants who come into the station and offer suggestions for our newscasts.  They might suggest changes to our set or even changes in the anchors’ wardrobe.  Other times they’ll make suggestions on what stories we should do and how often we should cover weather and traffic.  And still, some consultants love interview segments in morning shows.  Other consultants think it’s best to have more news and less fun.  At any rate, as a loyal viewer, I would be so interested to hear what you have to say.  After all, we’re here to serve you and the customer is often right.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  Did you catch our little oops on the air this morning?

Paul was talking about the snow and our ever-so-faithful and always efficient reporter Julie Pursley.  While introducing Julie, Paul referred to sled dogs out in the snow and how Julie is always out in the elements for us, working hard.  Julie decided to have a little fun and ask Paul, hey… did you just call me a dog?  It was hilarious.  It’s always fun when someone can get Paul to turn red.  Paul has so much respect for Julie, so he was pretty embarrassed.  Julie, of course, has great respect for Paul, so she knows Paul was just joking around. 

It’s happened to all of us on the morning shift.  Even when we go to bed early, we still feel just a little sleep deprived when we roll into the station at 4 a.m.  And let’s face it.  Sometimes it takes the brain awhile to wake up and catch up with our mouths.

At any rate, Paul maybe in the dog house for awhile, but we’ll eventually take him out for a walk.

Happy Monday, everyone!  I hope all of you had a great weekend.

Tom, our terrific traffic guy, found himself in a different kind of jam yesterday.  While out on his weekend run, he found himself running from dogs!  He decided to change his route and almost ran into some serious problems.  Tom won’t let a few dogs take a bite out of his exercise routine.  In the interest of safety, however, I suggested he check out his maps and try a detour next time.

It may have been cool outside, but Paul enjoyed a warm reception this weekend.  He was the Master of Ceremonies for an event at Lutheran High School.  Thanks to Paul’s quick wit and sense of humor, he receives many requests to hosts events.  Regardless of the weather, Paul is a hot commodity on the emcee circuit.

This weekend, Dan proved once again that he’s a great boyfriend.  He wanted to see one movie, but his girlfriend wanted to see a movie that many guys have dubbed, “a chick flick.”  Well, Dan saw the “chick flick.”  I think most ladies and guys would agree, Dan was a perfect gentleman and made the smart choice.

My family and I also had a nice weekend.  Saturday was busy with the usual grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning duties.  Sunday was nice.  I spent sometime playing basketball with the kids, proving yet again that I ”don’t have game.”  I did, however, have fun!  And while we don’t have enough snow to build a snowman, you can still make a pretty good snowball.  Rather than throwing the snow, my daughter prefers to eat it.

Well, it looks like we could get a little more snow this week, so maybe we’ll finally get enough to build that elusive snowman.  I know there are a lot of people out there who’ve had enough of winter.  We’re in the final week of February, so Spring will come marching in soon.  In the spirit of the Oscars, I’m ready to roll out the red carpet to welcome in a winning, warm season.