Have you ever had one of those days when nothing seemed to go right?  Well, I’ve had one of those weeks.

As many of you know, I missed the last hour of Tuesday’s Good Morning Indiana because I felt ill.  I started feeling better after the show and even wrote in my blog about how I had turned the corner and was back to my old self.  Well… about 10 minutes after I posted the blog, I started feeling sick again.  My caring co-workers were really looking out for me.  Dan quickly volunteered to do my Good Morning America cut-ins and asked me if I was heading home.  Julie urged me to go home, as did Judy, one of our producers.  I kept telling them that I could make it through the rest of the morning.  My heart was in it… but the rest of my body just didn’t want to cooperate.  I left the station around 9:30.

Then another saga unfolded.  My husband encouraged me to go and see a doctor.  My regular doctor couldn’t see me, so I just popped into one of those quick medical care places.  Let me just say that I arrived there shortly before 10 and didn’t get home until around 5.  No one could figure out what was wrong with me.  They thought maybe it was kidney stones… or perhaps I needed an emergency appendectomy.   I was finally sent home, although one doctor mentioned a possible overnight stay in a hospital.

Yesterday I finally got in to see my regular doctor and she told me I probably had a case of food poisoning.  I’m guessing the culprit was my morning yogurt drink.  Needless to say, I’ll be getting my morning calcium from another source.

On top of feeling ill, I couldn’t help but feel guilty about all of the things I needed to take care of this week.  I anticipated getting back to work on Thursday, so I could get everything done.  Well… this morning I walked into the newsroom and the producers didn’t seem happy to see me.  Imagine that??  They actually seemed disappointed.  I have to tell you… I was a little hurt.  I then discovered that I was supposed to be off today.  Now who in their right mind shows up to work on a day they’re supposed to be off?  I remembered that I was scheduled off for tomorrow, but I didn’t remember I had also asked to have today off.  (sigh)  I suddenly felt sick to my stomach again.  Should I go home and try to enjoy my day off… or should I stick around?  Well, as you know, I decided I just had too much to do, so I might as well stick around.  Of course, my surprise arrival meant the director and producer had to scramble to include me in the show.  Talk about guilt.  All morning I was convinced that they hated me.  After all, I messed up Tuesday’s show and now I managed to destroy their Thursday rundown, as well.  I guess I won’t get employee of the month for July.

I’ve decided that this has just been one of those weeks.  I will be off tomorrow… and no, I won’t show up.  I promise.  I’ll probably spend part of the day throwing out all of my yogurt drinks and going over my calendar.

Well today I pulled a disappearing act during the morning show.  Around 4:45 I was feeling a little “off”, but there was little I could do about it.  I just accepted the fact that I’d probably be a little less perky during the show.  As the hour progressed, however, I started feeling pretty bad.  At 5:50, we actually had a doctor come on the show to talk about the Exhibition called Bodies.  He brought along a few, actual body parts… including a sick lung, a healthy lung, a brain and a heart.  Well, perhaps I should have asked the good doctor to check out my tummy.  Right after the interview I went back to the anchor desk and felt absolutely horrible.  I even got a little light-headed.  I told the producer that I wasn’t feeling well and he was completely understanding.  His response was, Go!  Far be it from me to argue with him.  I excused myself, hoping I could make it back to the set before the end of the show.  Well, I never made it back.  I started feeling a little better by 6:56.  I’m still not 100-percent, but I think I can make it through the rest of my day.

I was so touched by everyone’s concern.  I could tell all my wonderful co-workers were really concerned about me.  It was very sweet.

As for me, I’ll probably stay away from sweets for awhile.  To be honest, I don’t feel like eating much of anything.  Hopefully by tomorrow, I’ll be able to make it through the entire two hour show!  Thanks to everyone who had to make quick changes to accomodate my absence… and thanks to Dan for all of his help this morning, as well.

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

Sometimes I think I take for granted the wonderful people I work with every morning.  Today we got into a discussion about a former anchor team in Philadelphia.  The male anchor is facing serious charges after reading his co-anchor’s email hundreds of times.  He allegedly checked her email while he was at work, at home and even while he was on vacation.  Prosecutors claim he was jealous because she was a rising star and she made 100-thousand dollars more a year than he did.  Well, it turns out that her star tarnished quickly.  She had troubles of her own and at one point, was accused of shoving a police officer.  She was fired from the station.  In light of the email controversy, the station managers let the male anchor go, as well. Talk about drama.  It has to be a little strange when your anchor team leads the evening news.

I consider myself so blessed.  Every anchor I’ve ever had has been professional and kind-natured.  Even during the most stressful shows, Dan and I manage to share a few laughs.  We see ourselves as a team and kind of take the approach that…”we’re in this together.”

I know Dan would never read my emails.  If we would, he’d be terribly bored.  I doubt if he cares about ways to get your kids to eat their veggies or the best books for pre-schoolers.  Perhaps some anchor teams could use a few books on professionalism and perspective.

What a great way to end the week!  I hope you got a chance to see this morning’s Good Morning Indiana.  The show had that “Friday Feeling” and it was definitely fun.

We got a chance to see another awesome clip from Off The Cuff.  Tom is a big fan of the new Batman movie, so he teamed up with his favorite “partner-in-crime” for a ride through Gotham City.  O-K… they were still in the Circle City, but it’s fun to play along, right?  Now some might say that Tom should have been the Boy Wonder, but did you see Paul’s Robin costume?  You can’t deny the resemblance.  In any case, for the full ride, you really should check out Off The Cuff.  Just go to www.theindychannel.com/offthecuff.  The Dark Knight may be a great movie, but the humor of a favorite traffic/weather team will help make your day a little brighter.

Of course, the morning crew always gets a little boost of energy when we’re well fed.  The Commissioner of Tailgating, Joe Cahn stopped by.  What a great guy!  He parked his RV in our parking lot and we parked ourselves in front of his grill for some awesome burgers, brats and breakfast sandwiches.  Thanks, Joe.  The food was great!  If you want to learn about Joe’s tailgating tips, you can go to www.tailgating.com.

No doubt, a lot of people will be cooking out this weekend.  For all of you race fans out there, have a fun and safe time at the track.  I won’t make it out there this year, but I’ll probably watch some of the race on t-v.  Hopefully after racing around taking care of errands this week, you’ll get some time to take a long pit stop at home and relax with family and friends.  Maybe you’ll even get a chance to check out a movie or two.  Just remember those actors on the big screen are almost as talented as the two guys on the t-v and computer screen… aka Paul and Tom.

I apologize if it seems like I am “in hiding” when it comes to this blog!  I am most definitely around and always thinking of ways to bring you more healthy information that you can use in your everyday lives.  I would have written sooner, but I have been keeping myself busy with a lot of different projects—and I know everyone can relate.  Nowadays, it seems we take on so many duties, jobs, projects, engagements, etc…that even spare time is spent just catching up!

I have discovered that our ambitions can sometimes leave little room for a consistent exercise program, because we are always trying to do more with the same 24 hour day we have always had.  Don’t worry, I am very guilty of this too!

Most of us know the infinite amount of health benefits that exercise brings to our minds and bodies—so it is important to find solutions to this certain “time barrier” that we place in front of ourselves.  It might take putting together a bag o’ tricks to help you fit in a workout OR you might just have to suit up and jump right in each day!  But it is important that we find ways to fit exercise into even the busiest schedules…because it is important to maintain life-long health.

Here are a few tips that might help you:

• Keep a set of dumbbells or resistance band in your car, at your desk, or at home so you can workout during a 5-10  minute break.
• Make your quality time with your family based around activity and exercise.
• Wake up a little bit earlier a couple days a week to go on a nice walk (the weather right now is great for this!)
• Inquire about your workplace wellness and/or fitness programs to find ways you can exercise before you even get home!
• Take advantage of pool time right now!
• Workout during commericals of favorite TV shows or while you are waiting for a pot to boil (take advantage of your “wait” times—it will add up!)

As you flip through your appointment calendar (or Blackberry, iPhone, Palm, etc.), set a new re-occuring appointment to stay active and exercise.  That way you will be less likely to forget about it and more likely to accept it as a part of you daily schedule.  Just remember:  Even though we are busy with many wonderful activities, it is important to keep up the BEST activity for your health…exercise!