Becoming an aunt

July 27, 2013.  The day my heart grew.  Delaney came into the world on a Saturday night.  My sister was more than a week late delivering.

What I learned doing the 5th Hood to Coast Leg

1) As in life…anticipation is the worst part

Finishing my final leg in the Coast Range

When I told knowledgable Hood to Coasters I signed up for leg 5, their reactions were all the same "Why?"   "That's the hardest leg" or "Just wait until your third leg in the Coast Range."  

Good morning, Portland!

I've always considered myself a night owl. I hate to say goodbye to another day.  I read, I watch TV, I facebook.  I do a lot to fight sleep.  My bedtime is between 1:30 and 2am.  That bedtime is the same time my alarm rang today and will ring five days per week for the forseeable future.  

I can't stop thinking about Harry...

It's spectacular.  Stunning, really.  I've seen it from airplanes, I've watched video of its eruption-but I'd never driven to see Mount St. Helens up close.  While the mountain itself was breathtaking-it's not the view that I can't stop thinking about two days later.  It's Harry Truman.

In her own words; my grandma's final "words of wisdom"

I've never written about my grandma.  I couldn't even say the eulogy at her funeral.   The reason?  I've never been able to come up with the words to explain how much I loved her, how much she meant to me, how much I miss her every day.

I'm back...with one of my favorite things

Happy spring!!  I cannot believe I haven't written since November.  Where does time go?  While May Day protests are underway downtown...I decided it was a good time to get out of dodge for the afternoon.

A look at my "Sunday drive"

My mom has always said, "pictures without people are boring."  I apologize in advance to you folks who agree with her-but I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures along my drive through Tillamook State Forest this afternoon. 

My best attempt at advice for TV newbies

Last week an intern at my old station in Spokane emailed me.  She's about to graduate from college and pursue her dream of working in TV.  She wrote, "With that though comes a lot of nerves and questions; a place where it sounds like you have been yourself. Do you remember your feelings and emotions when you took your first job? Do you have any advice for me as I head into this new stage of life?"

YES!  Of course, I do.  I was in her shoes exactly six years ago!  I hope this helps-

A Little Bit Of Eye Candy

Alsea Bay Bridge, Courtesy:  Mike Smallwood

If you ask me which season is the most beautiful--I think I would have to say fall.  Don't get me wrong-I love the snow and ice in the winter and I love the lush green mountains in the spring-but fall is downright spectacular around here.  Especially on days like yesterday.  Portland topped out at 74 degrees with wall to wall sunshine.  The blue skies were the perfect canvas for stunning sunrises and sunsets.  Also, the brilliant changing leaves really stood out against the baby blue sky.  On days like yesterday our email inbox is flooded with gorgeous weather pictures at KOIN.  Click "read more" to see some of my favorites!  Thank you everyone for sharing-please send more!  news@koin.com

Now That Was Fun!

What a blast!  From start to finish I loved the Portland Half Marathon.  The crowd was awesome-enthusiastic and full of energy.  Bands along the course ranged from bells to drums and Christian worship to techno.  My favorite music came from a DJ set up in an old bus on Front Street.  Some man stood on top of the bus and blew his whistle to the beat for hours!  Hilarious. 

One Of The Blessings Of This Crazy TV Business

I started in TV when I was 22 years old.  Fresh out of college.  I moved to a small town in Idaho.  In fact, I'd never heard of Idaho Falls until I flew myself in for an interview.  The beginning was rough-starting a new career, dealing with the nerves of being live on TV for the first time and living in a town of 50,000 (I grew up and went to school in a couple of the biggest cities in the country).  But you know what made it so worth it?  Yes, of course fulfilling a lifelong dream, and telling amazing stories but more importantly-the friends I met at along the way. 

HELLO FALL!! Good To See You Again

When I woke up this morning I knew it rained overnight and I didn’t even need to open my eyes or take my head off the pillow.  I could smell it.   When I left for my morning run, it was blustery and the winds were whipping.  Crunchy dijon colored leaves were falling from the trees.  

Viewers Say The Darndest Things...

 

It’s a part of the job that can be heartwarming, uplifting, hilarious, discouraging and even hurtful.  So what…you might ask…can evoke all of these emotions?  Viewer letters.  From the trivial, to the funny and the rude to the insane-I’ve seen and read a lot during the past six years in this business.  This blog was inspired by my most recent piece of mail (yes, it came through old fashion snail mail). 

He Changed My Life And I Never Met Him

There’s not a lot on my desk here at KOIN.  I have a couple family pictures, an autographed picture of one of my favorite people-Diane Sawyer-and there’s one other picture.  Drew Swank. 

He’s a boy I never met.  I never heard his name until he was on life support at a Spokane hospital.  Nevertheless-his story profoundly touched me.   Drew and the entire Swank family left a huge heart-print on me. 

A Tornado Of Birds

I'm on the morning show this week, which means my alarm starts screaming at 1:30 a.m.-even so, I found a great excuse to stay up late Sunday night (and by late I mean 9 p.m. ).  Imagine a perfectly choreographed tornado of thousands of birds-all funneling into a chimney.  Sounds like a scene from a scary movie-but it's reality around sunset every night in September at a school in Northwest Portland. Take a look at some of my pictures.

Spectacular Smoky Sunrises & Sunsets

One of the first things I do when I walk into the weather center is check email for weather pictures.  Recently, viewers have done an incredible job of sending their pictures in.  Over the past week we've received some of the most spectacular sunrise and sunset pictures through news@koin.com.  The reason for the red, orange and yellow horizons? Sunny skies and plenty of smoke from wildfires.  Take a look at some of these beautiful pictures!  The shot above is the sunset over the Columbia River sent in by Barry O'Neil.

An Enchanted Island

I've found an enchanted island--and it's just 20 minutes from my doorstep.  Sauvie Island is spectacular.  The Willamette River flows on one side of the island, the Columbia flows on the other.  The second I drive over the bridge-I feel at peace. 

I fell in love today...

...with dahlias. I've always loved fresh flowers. They have an incredible ability to instantaneously put me in a good mood. A friend told me the other day-one of the "must haves" during a difficult life transition is fresh-cut flowers in your home. I agree whole-heartedly. That brings me back to the whole falling in love with dahlias comment. Today I went to the Swan Island Dahlia Festival.

See ya later, smoke!

Here's a picture taken from space Saturday afternoon (courtesy of NASA). You can clearly see the strong impact of the easterly winds on the Dollar Lake Fire smoke plume. It sent smoke rushing into the Willamette Valley, heck as far west as the Oregon coast!

Here's the picture taken Sunday afternoon. I know it's tiny-The Dollar Lake Fire is the northern most smoke plume in the picture (we have several fires burning in central Oregon right now). The winds really relaxed today. You can tell they switched direction and blew the smoke to the northeast.

A Smoky Day In Portland

A view from space of the Dollar Lake Fire smoke plume riding easterly winds.

Smoke from the Dollar Lake Fire looking west from Palmer Snowfield on Mt. Hood. Courtesy: Viewer Jeff Raetz

Viewer Garry Yarosevich watched the Dollar Lake Fire's explosive growth Saturday morning. Look at that smoke plume!

By this afternoon the smoke blanketed skies above Vancouver. This picture sent in by the Campbell family.