SOUTHERN GIRL IN THE CITY

It's been one month since I moved to the Big Apple and I'm still humming Frank Sinatra's famous song! Sorry I haven't updated this blog in a while. But I finally have something to talk about. New York City! It's so great to be back!

In the 4 weeks I've been here I've had 9 visitors, seen 7 Broadway shows and made some great new friends!

WHERE TO BEGIN?

I'll start with the move. Ugh! A 3-day drive in a moving truck is brutal. Thankfully my sweet sister tagged along and did most of the driving. We were exhausted when we pulled into the city, but it didn't take long to wake up. Maneuvering the 16-foot truck in New York traffic was interesting, to say the least. We took out an orange road cone and clipped the side of a city bus with our side-view mirror before we finally arrived at my apartment. Thankfully I'd taken out extra insurance on the truck!

I don't know who was more relieved to finally be in the new apartment - me or these guys who had not enjoyed the trip one bit. More on their adjustment later.

FUN WITH SISTERS

My sister-in-law flew up to help with the unpacking, but that daunting task didn't stop the 3 of us from exploring and taking in the magic of New York. We toured Central Park, shopped 5th Ave. and sang along at the musicals Mama Mia and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Great food and wine were sprinkled in. I was home!

FUN WITH FRIENDS

Kelly and Ginger left and a few days later three of my dearest friends arrived to help me "settle in". Our weekend included some shopping, great dinners, the musicals Memphis and Nice Work If You Can get It, a scary and expensive pedi-cab ride through the city and a late night stop at an Asian restaurant/karaoke bar with private singing rooms. You can find anything in New York.

MY MATCHBOX

I did finally settle into the apartment, although as I write this, there are still a couple of boxes that need to go to the storage unit I had to rent, as I brought way more stuff than my 600 sq. foot place can accommodate.

At least it has a great view... for the cats... who like to sit in the window and watch the pigeons roost on the ledge of the brick wall my windows face. Hey, it's New York. I'm not home much, anyway.

SMALL WORLD

I love my building, though, and a week after I moved in, I met a neighbor who was just moving in, too. It turns out his first cousin is my former executive producer in Denver. He and his partner live on the 15th floor. I'm on the 10th. They have a great view of 6th Ave. which will host the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. I've already secured an invite!

We've been exploring the city together and even ended up at a swanky gallery opening - invitation only. On a whim one night, we grabbed discounted tickets to the play One Man, Two Guvnors, and laughed throughout the entire show. Afterword we took a quick pic with this year's Tony Winner James Corden, who is most deserving of the award.

WORKIN' FOR A LIVIN'

I'm loving my job. The people are great and I know I'll learn a lot. We've been rehearsing the last few weeks for our big launch on Monday. It's New York City's first 9pm newscast and I'm excited to be producing it! Stay tuned!

The Man, the Myth, the Legend: Jerry Jones

If you ever find yourself needing to design a state of the art football arena, I highly recommend consulting with Jerry Jones. I visited his Cowboys Stadium for the second time last weekend and was amazed all over again.

Last January I had the pleasure of watching my LSU Tigers win the Cotton Bowl under Jerry's bright lights. We sat on the fourth level, and while they weren't the best seats in the house, it didn't matter because I couldn't take

my eyes off the colossal jumbotron.

On Saturday I returned to Cowboys Stadium for our season opener against Oregon. A guest of a friend, my seat in the stadium was a tremendous upgrade from the Cotton Bowl. Club level. Row 17. Forty-five yard line. I certainly didn't need the jumbotron but did catch myself looking up from time to time.

As luck would have it, our seats were near Mr. Jones' suite and before kickoff he emerged to greet the crowd. I just couldn't help myself. I had to tell him what I thought about his stadium. So I marched over to say hi. Here's how the exchange went.

Me: Mr. Jones. Your stadium is just amazing.

Jerry Jones: Well thank you so much. Where are you from?

Me: Abilene

Jerry Jones: Great. Well, thank you so much for coming out.

Me: Well, thanks for having me.

Short and sweet. But my friend did snap a quick picture and later I learned that the whole thing was seen on the jumbotron!

Not sure when I'll be back in Cowboys Stadium, but it will be hard to top the experience I had Saturday night. Oh, and we won the game!

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Ok, it's still a few weeks away, but football season is almost back and I can hardly wait! Besides Christmas, it's my favorite time of year!

For me, it's the LSU Tigers. Always has been. But since moving

to the Big Country last year, West Texas High School Football is now part of the fun, too!

It starts at the beginning of the week when viewers begin

voting on Bigcountryhomepage.com for the team of the week. Last year there

were some very close polls and hundreds if not thousands of people logged on

to vote for their favorites! Then Friday arrives and there's such a frenzy a

round the station. Everyone wearing their Friday night football BCH shirts.

Cameras and cars organized for the dozens of folks heading out to shoot highlights of

all the games.

At about 7:30pm I assume my position at the assignments desk and start collecting the scores. We have a huge dry erase board where we keep up with them, constantly adding updated scores to our website, Facebook and Twitter. It takes about 4 of us to do it! We shout back and forth the numbers and quarters. It's so much fun!

Inevitably there's an elusive score we can't find. Most of

the time the result of a loud crowd preventing our

contacts in the field from answering their phones,

but by the time David Robinett hits the air, we've got them all!

That's my Friday and it's a huge rush of excitement. Then on Saturday it's Tiger Time!

I try to make as many LSU home games as I can. It's a chance to visit with my family and friends who are all there decked out in purple and gold. I should be exhausted after working late Friday night, then getting up to catch the first flight out of Abilene at 5:45am. But as soon as I land in Baton Rouge, the adrenaline starts pumping and I'm ready for the day. The buzz of the crowds roaming campus. The aroma of gumbo and jambalaya wafting through the air. The Golden Band from Tigerland marching the streets - like a mini-parade. It's a celebration like no other.

Sure, there are rituals similar to this going on in college towns across the nation at the same time. But this is MY team and it's so much fun to be right

in the middle of it all.

LSU has been fortunate to have had some really good seasons over the last few years, including two National Championship teams in 2003 and

2007! But I've been spending my fall Saturdays like this since I was a little girl. I've rejoiced in the victories and lamented in the losses (and there were quite a few of those back when I was in college). But I still go. No

matter what we're ranked or how we're playing. Because I love football. And I can't imagine that ever changing.

KTAB News: On the Road... Again!

Our 2nd Annual KTAB On the Road Tour has come to a close and I must say, I’m a little sad. It’s a long, grueling, hot week, but it’s so much fun.

We met so many amazing people on our tour that passed through Snyder, Cisco, Buffalo Gap, Breckenridge and Early and everyone made us feel so welcomed.

Some of the highlights:

Discovering the Manhattan Coffee shop in Snyder and picking up a cool John Wayne Film Festival t-shirt.

David Robinett competing in a pedal car race in Snyder (he came in 2nd).

Four and More playing in Cisco and the Cisco High Cheerleaders (who have amazing toe-touches) and the drum line performing.

Learning about the potter in Buffalo Gap who invented the poached egg maker.

The first woman winning survivor in Buffalo Gap, followed by another female winner in Early! Girl Power!!!

The Texas Gunslingers show in Breckenridge and listening to Shane Stockton’s cover of Rhinestone Cowboy!

Being presented with a key to the City of Breckenridge!

Meeting the residents of Ridgeway Gardens in Early who baked us hundreds of cookies and Valerie who opened her home to us when our bus broke down.

The amazing food from places like Skeet’s Texas Grill in Snyder, The Barbwire Cafe in Cisco, Perini Ranch in Buffalo Gap, Nana’s Sweets and Eats in Breckenridge and Humphrey Pete’s in Early. Yes, David Robinette shared and I highly recommend each place!

Five Zach Harmon concerts!

My team winning the Amazing Race 3 times!!!

I loved it all!

But it would not have been possible without the help of our dedicated team! The KTAB Sales, Production and Engineering departments are the people who made this possible. They put in countless hours planning for 5 huge events and each day worked more than a dozen hours in the hot sun to set up the grounds and plan for 3 live newscasts! So my biggest thanks to them!

And a big thank you to everyone who attended! Can’t wait for next year!

Summer is Sizzling!

Summer is officially here. Although, it felt like it arrived more than a month ago! It's funny, when I arrived in the Big Country last year about this time, the temperatures weren't so bad and we seemed to get a lot of rain. When people told me that was unusual, I didn't really think about. Now, I know what they meant!

But I don't want to complain too much. While I'm more of a spring and fall fan, summer is fun, too. I've been working on creating a backyard retreat. I've got comfy new patio furniture, a grill, some lights strung across my awning and most importantly a fan!

My first night to grill with friends went pretty well. Yummy burgers, vegetables grilled in a new grill basket and grilled corn-on-the-cob! Next up - kabobs!!!

I'm looking forward to a fabulous summer in my backyard with pals. Now if we could only do something about the heat, we could start our parties a little earlier!

A Fairy Tail That Did Not Disappoint

Well, what’d you think? I’m a little tired today. Only slept about 3 hours, but it was worth it. It was every bit the fairy tale I thought it would be.

Kate Middleton looked nothing like a commoner when she emerged from a Bently at Westminster Abby. Her dress was stunning. The long lace sleeves, the fitted bodice, the beautiful a-line skirt. I’d say it was perfect. And Her Royal Highness looked comfortable and at ease in it.

The tiara was a beautiful touch. It was made by Cartier in 1936. Queen Elizabeth lent it to her for the special day.

The earrings, a gift from her parents, were made to match the tiara.

She’s now the Duchess of Cambridge, but she’s been a fashion icon since she emerged into Prince William’s life. Today she proved she deserved that status. Her gown, which she reportedly had a lot of say in the design, is an instant classic.

My favorite moments:

-Prince Harry alerting his big brother that Kate was just behind him at the alter

-Kate clutching her father’s hand as they walked through the Abby

-The carriage ride to the Palace

-The crowd flocking to Buckingham Palace to see the “first kiss”

-Kate mouthing “wow” as she walked out onto the balcony and saw the crowd

-The “second kiss”

An Excuse to Hunt Eggs Again!

In the last two months my family has welcomed two new baby boys into the world. Doles, named after my grandfather, joined us in February and Joseph, named after his father, arrived today. They are first cousins and will grow up to be the best of friends.

I know this because they are the children of my first cousins who are like siblings to me.

I'm so lucky to have been born into this family. My mom is the oldest of four daughters. I'm the oldest of 11 grandchildren on that side of the family. Our grandparents were only children and wanted to create a big, southern family. We celebrate everything together and are always looking for reasons to celebrate. We get seven of them in the fall (LSU home games). In the last few years the spring has been reserved for getting married or having babies.

Doles and Joseph are part of the next generation. They are numbers six and seven respectively. Five boys and two girls. The girls are my brother's children. The oldest boy is my godson. The older kids are already close. They love playing together at our family gatherings. It reminds me of the fun times I had with my cousins growing up.

Our next celebration together is Easter. It's especially fun now that we have an excuse to have egg hunts again!