I can’t even believe it, but one year ago today my husband, Luke, and I were married.

As I sit here at work on a Sunday, I keep thinking about the fun we were having a year ago and I wish I could go back to that day.

Looking back I think I would do a lot of things differently when it comes to planning. I definitely wouldn’t spend as much money, and we probably would have cared a lot less about minor details.

I am so blessed to have Luke, and all of the family and friends in our lives.

My sister, Laura, is getting ready for her big day in December. Her wedding will be here before I know it.

In the meantime, after work I am going home to help comfort my sick husband. He has bronchitis. We’ll have to celebrate our anniversary once he gets better.

This is my dog, Dolly, last Halloween!

So it might be safe to say that I am obsessed with holidays… more specifically the celebrations and festivities that go with them. In fact, in the month of most holidays, I become slightly infatuated with the traditions and holiday fun that go along with that particular time of year. Having said that, Halloween is in one week, and I am already feeling sad that it’s over, as if I am running out of time to celebrate it to it’s fullest! I mean I suppose I can still burn my pumpkin spice flavored candles until Thanksgiving (thank goodness) but still! It’s not as fun to watch horror movies and all that jazz after the 31st .

So this week is dedicated to Halloween everything! So far this weekend I have watched two scary movies, I need to locate and watch my favorite childhood Halloween movie: Hocus Pocus, at some point the pumpkins on my deck will be carved (with a corresponding video blog), I must complete my Halloween costume, and still go through at least one more haunted house. And oh my goodness, I just realized I have not yet eaten candy corn this year…so I’ll need to get some of that as well! Let me know if you’d like to join the madness!

So look guys.. I’m not a novelist.  I’ve never written a book before in my life – so just read this and try to follow along.

The Movie

What to wear, what to wear?  I don’t know why I’m taking this so seriously.  It’s just a movie.  My friends thought it would be a good idea to check out “Trapped” starring that kid from Twilight.  It’s suppose to be a horror film.  Now I’m not too big on horror films, but what the heck, going to a movie on a Friday night is better than making cookies with my little sister Julie.

“Brad!” my mother shouted.

“Yeah.”

“John is on the phone,  he said you better hurry up, the movie’s going to start in ten minutes,” she yelled from the bottom of the steps in our two story home on Shelfton road.

“Tell him I’m on my way,” I said while putting on my navy blue sweater.  “In fact I’m leaving out now,” I answered back.

Thank goodness my house is less than five  minutes away from FOX Theater.  That old place has been around for nearly a century, and people still love it.  Actually it’s a pretty neat place.  It’s a great setting for scary movies.

“See ya mom,” I kissed her on the cheek and grabbed the keys.

“Be careful Brad, and don’t stay out too late.  Yes you’re a senior but you’re still a child under my roof,”  she continued.

“I know mom, I know, bye Julie,” I said as I closed the door behind me.

Finally I’m out the house.  I have exactly seven minutes to get there.  Thank goodness my father’s out of town on business, my mom said I can use his SUV tonight, of course with his permission.

My dad drives a pretty decent Ford Explorer.  He’s had it now for five years.  He wants to buy another car, but my mom keeps reminding him I will be heading off to college soon.  But I think he should buy one so I can have this truck.  Besides the papers on the floor and the coffee stains on the steering wheel, it rides smoothly, but one thing I can’t stand is the radio.  For some reason it always skips channels on its own.

I’m almost at the movie theater, oh no it’s packed really pack.  The line is down the street.  I hope John got our tickets already.  Oh there’s John now.

“Hey man did you get our tickets?” I asked through the window.

“Yeah man just park over there (pointing to the parking lot) and hurry up,” he said.

I quickly drove my dad’s vehicle into the parking lot to park, but before I took the key out of the ignition, the stupid radio started acting up.  It’s playing static, but this time it sound pretty weird.  I can’t make out the words.

“Don’t….” it sounded like

“Don’t what?” I said out loud to myself.

“Don’t…” it said again in a ghost like whisper.

This is really weird.  I sat in the vehicle trying to figure out what was going on.  I even turned the volume up on the radio to see if I can hear it better.

“Don’t…Go…” it said again.

When I heard the second word I put my ear closer to the radio.

“BANG!”

“Holy Sheets,” I screamed wondering what that loud noise was.

“Come on Brad, let’s go we’ll miss it!” John yelled from outside.

“Jesus John you scared me,” I said as I turned off the engine and closed the door.

“Don’t Go See The Movie…”

DUN DUN DUN……

So what’s going to happen next week on Watching Death?  When Brad got out of the vehicle and closed the door,  a sound from the radio played telling him not to go see the movie.  But if he does what’s going to happen to him?  Find out next week.

If you missed the Fox Toledo/UTMC town hall about the swine flu, you ought to check it out online.

I thought it was a good talk about a topic that many people think is way too hyped.

I did get a chance to ask a question that a lot of people wanted to know: Is the media hyping this thing too much?

Now since I am part of the media, you might have some skepticism about the way I took the answer, but what I gathered is that there is a lot of unknown about the H1N1 virus.

So I look at our coverage as giving people a lot of different pieces of information about a topic even doctors say is very much a day to day illness that changes rapidly.

Sure the media can take a beating sometimes and I think sometimes the media deserves it.

But in this case, I think we, here, have practiced a lot of reserve and tried not to feed to the hype. I know some people like to lump all the media together, which is unfair. All I can look at and speak on is my shop.

PS…. Phillies in 5.

So, I’m either the greatest mom ever – or totally insane. I’ll go for the latter. This past weekend I threw a Halloween party for my son and what seemed like a million kids ranging in age from four months to twelve years.

Shaun Hegarty and his adorable family joined in on the fun. So did my parents and many of our neighbors. In all I believe there were fifteen or so children and nearly as many adults.

I began making plans at the beginning of September. Once I started, I realized I had no idea where to begin. So, I simply thought back to what I would have wanted to do if I would have had a Halloween party when I was a little girl.

I took the dozens of gourds I grew over the summer and bought lots of craft supplies at the dollar store. The kids did great coming up with creative ways to decorate the gourds just like they were pumpkins. I purchased two piñatas (so everyone would get a turn.) And I arranged to have a mini hay ride. I bought lots of snack items and enlisted the help of my mother and mother-in-law to make sure I was armed with plenty of cupcakes. Then, just as I was worrying the kids wouldn’t have any fun, a firefighter from the Napoleon fire department offered to bring a fire truck over for the kids to check out.

Needless to say, everything worked out great. The fire truck was a hit. And everyone got to hit a piñata.

Check out a little of the video I took of the event – be sure to keep your eye out for Shaun:

The week of October 19^th provides us with several days of above normal temperatures and fair skies.  This was a nice change of pace given the fact that most of October up to this time point had been much cooler than normal.

So was this week our Indian Summer?  What is Indiana Summer?

According to Wikipedia Indian summer is an informal expression given to a period of sunny, warm weather in autumn in the northern hemisphere, typically in late October or early November, after the leaves have turned due to an onset of frost but before the first snowfall.

Our first frost occurred in September.  Therefore, according to this definition it could have been Indian Summer…

According to Brooks and Dunn… Indian Summer is the wonder, the hunger the sound of distant thunder.

There was no thunder near or around the area, thus no distant thunder.  I did find myself hungrier than usual this week.  However, I felt less than wonderful???

Back in 1993 Outlaw productions produced a comedy movie staring Bill Paxon about eight friends who return to the best summer of their lives!  According to the plot seven friends reunite for a week-long reunion at a summer camp in Ontario they used to attend as children which is now threatened with being closed down.

This movie really has nothing to do with the weather term Indian Summer but I thought I would mention it.

The origin of the use Indian Summer is perhaps due to Native Americans in the past preparing for winter during these warm spells by gathering food and shelter material. The late fall is the time of the year most relevant for the use of the term Indian summer.

 The term “Indian Summer” dates back to the 18th century in the United States. It can be defined as “any spell of warm, quiet, hazy weather that may occur in October or even early November.”

Basically, autumn is a transition season as the thunderstorms and severe weather of the summer give way to a tamer, calmer weather period before the turbulence of the winter commences.

 The term “Indian Summer” is generally associated with a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions ushered in on a south or southwesterly breeze.

 Several references make note of the fact that a true Indian Summer can not occur until there has been a killing frost or freeze. Since frost and freezing temperatures generally work their way south through the fall, this would give credence to the possibility of several Indian Summers occurring in a fall, especially across the northern areas where frost or freezes usually come early.

 So was last week Indian Summer?  In my opinion it was just a period of warmer than normal temperatures.  We are likely going to have a few more of these prior to December 21^st the start of winter.  So when they occur, simply enjoy them don’t try to define them…  Have a great Fall!!!

Last week, Friday October 16th, I was driving home from work around midnight.
There was a pink glow in the sky, different from the usual city light pollution. Different from clouds with light reflecting on them.

It looked like vertical streaks. And from where I was in the corn and beanfields of western Lucas County, these faint pink streaks could be seen to the west, north and east, almost like a curtain in the sky.

These weren’t the dancing, moving northern lights that you’ve probably seen video of. Just static, pinkish, vertical streaks. But since it’s only the third time in my life I’ve seen the phenomenon, I was very excited to see them.

Since that night, I keep looking at the sky, hoping to see the lights again, but so far, even on clear nights, nothing.

Keep your eyes open and let me know if you get a glimpse of them.

If you’ve been inside Lucas County Arena, you’ll probably agree when I say that it is amazing!

If you haven’t been inside the new home of the Walleye, I highly recommend you give it a looksee.

Seriously, the place is state-of-the-art.  The decor adds so much.  And the structures built outside?  Let’s hope the Walleye can put on a good show.

Judging from this past weekend, they certainly can.  But honestly, this venue is so nice that it almost doesn’t matter if the team wins or loses – as long as the entertainment value’s there.  For example, six fights in a period will satisfy the non-hockey enthusiast or the Toledo youth, I’m sure.  I’m saying this in a complimentary way, by the way.

But really, I gather a sense of hope in the Toledo public.  During game-opening night, numerous people were walking around the arena, just waiting for the place to open up.  They were all super eager to check out the new digs, and the new team as well.

Let’s face it, Toledo: this city is in need of buildings like Lucas County Arena.  Combined with Fifth Third Field, it should revitalize downtown businesses, encourage people to come downtown, create more jobs, and do what it has done already – give the city a pick-me-up.

Sports is a way people can escape from the daily grind.  It offers much more than just going to the mall or going to the movies, and it creates a precursor to maybe a little more Toledo nightlife.  We’ll see if that part improves downtown.

Considering how much the city’s economy is riding on this, seriously, the next time anybody tries to downplay the importance of local sports, just think back to the Toledo Walleye’s opening weekend, the opening weekend of Lucas County Arena, and how that improved the city’s spirits, among other things, and try to say that local sports is not important.

The proof is in the pudding – local sports IS important to the city of Toledo.

This Sunday I took part in my first Marathon in Columbus.  It was such a great experience.  I was concerned I might not be able to finish because I had the flu days before running … but I had a better time then I even expected.  I finished in 4 hours and 55 min.  That was a lot faster then I thought. 

It was a very emotional experience … after 5 months of training I finally reached my goal, and then to hear other runners stories and what they overcame to get to that point was inspiring. 

I went into this saying this would be my first and last marathon … now I can say there might be a chance I will get bit by the running bug again.  Here are some pictures from the day.

November is a ratings period (sweeps).  That’s when you notice news and other programs airing specials, exclusives…etc. to try and pull viewers.

Here at the station all of us have been pretty busy preparing for this and the November election.

Sharia Davis and I are working on a sweeps story together.  I won’t tell you exactly what it is because that may defeat the purpose of the promotional commercials that will tell you about our story this November.

What I will tell you is that after talking to the people we interviewed its definitely an eye opening story and will make you think and hopefully help you change any “bad” habits you may have.

We are currently working to put the final touches on this story and I hope someone will actually benefit from all of our hard work because this information could save your life.

Its airs November 17th and 18th….I hope you’ll watch!