I don't think this qualifies as a "news emergency"

Blame it on the lack of sleep.

When I went home for my dinner break, there was only one thing that absolutely HAD to be done. And it wasn't eating dinner, although that was a close second.

No, I needed to set my somewhat temperamental VCR to record Grey's Anatomy since I would be listening to some forum about 17-year-olds and how they should be returned to the juvenile court system.

I went home. I ate my chicken noodle soup (but I avoided the chicken chunks), read a bit of The Book Thief and took off for the forum. Not realizing I forgot to set the VCR. Well, I realized it, about 5 minutes before the forum when I was on the other side of town.

Yeah, wouldn't be able to blame the lack of taping on the temperamental VCR tonight.

A frantic phone call was placed and a message left on my mom's cell phone. I tried my parents' house. I got my dad on the phone, which could be a good thing. Except his reaction, "How do you set the VCR?" Not so much help.

Dejected and not quite accepting the fact that Grey's would not be taped tonight, I walked into the incredibly dull forum. On my way out, a voice mail from mom, telling me she got my message and was on her way home to set the VCR for me :)

In the end it turned out, but it was close. The lesson? Never volunteer to fill-in as the night reporter on Thursday nights or Grey's Anatomy may be missed!

Oil, wipers and treadmills, oh my!

So even though I'm the night reporter today, I still dragged myself out of bed at my normal time this morning. Not the most brilliant idea on my part.

But I was fairly productive. I went up to Appleton and got my oil changed. I know I could have gotten it done here in the City on the Water and avoided the half hour drive north, but I had a coupon. For three dollars off an oil change. Three bucks is three bucks. Plus I got to have breakfast with my mom.

So an oil change and a new set of windshield wipers later, I was on my way back to the City on the Water. And I made a pit stop at the YMCA, where I ran about 2.5 miles on the treadmill to nowhere. It was refreshing. Making it to the YMCA this week twice so far, it makes me realize how much I enjoyed my daily jogs to nowhere. I'm making a mental note to find a way to fit in a few trips on the treadmill a week.

And I finally filled out my official change of address form at the post office. It only took me a month. I'm sure my parents will be glad when my mail finally stops coming to their house.

But for all my productivity this morning, I felt it about 1 p.m. when all of a sudden this wave of sleepiness overcame me. I tried to take a quick cat nap, but I was paranoid I would sleep too long and then be late for work. So I'm crossing my fingers I'm able to stay awake tonight at work and that things don't get too out of hand.

Paging Betty Crocker

I'll admit, I'm not much of a cook.

Given the choice, I'd much rather make a box of macaroni and cheese instead of gathering ingredients, chopping and preparing dinner. For me, "cooking" involves a grabbing the box out of the cupboard, reading the directions and then following them.

Think about it. Given the choice, mac and cheese is so much easier. Boil water, dump in noodles, boil for about 6 minutes, strain and add milk, butter and the powdered cheese mix. If I were to actually put effort into making a meal, it would take so much longer than the 15 minutes tops it takes to whip up a box of mac and cheese. And chances are, it probably wouldn't be as tasty.

Tonight, I abandoned the standard mac and cheese (OK, maybe it was because I didn't HAVE any mac and cheese to make), but I didn't stray too far from the pasta food group. I pulled out a carton of cheese ravioli I had bought at the store. Sure, it still involved boiling, but I used a SECOND pot to warm up some sauce. And that's pretty complicated cooking for me if it involves more than one pot. After waiting for the raviolis to boil (and freaking out because, hello, they floated to the top of the water and I was worried they wouldn't be "tender" enough to eat), I poured some of the heated sauce (once again, nothing fancy, just some plain old Ragu) over the top and generously sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top.

It never fails though, I made too much. When it got to the dumping part, I dumped too many raviolis into the boiling water. And since I'm not a huge fan of leftovers, I ended up throwing some of the ravioli away.

But all in all, it was a tasty meal. and surprisingly, it didn't take too long to make.

I've often thought about learning too cook, but I've never done it. Maybe it's due to the fact that I would most often be cooking for myself. And if you're like me and don't really care for leftovers, because realistically, how many days in a row can you eat (insert food here)? For me, two days tops. And plus it takes so much time and patience is not one of my strong points.

Plus, making a complex dinner produces way too many dishes. Lucky for me, I have a dishwasher.

Break out the parka

So I'm confused. Yesterday it was 60 degrees outside, I could walk from the YMCA to my car in just a T-shirt at 6:30 at night and today it's freezing cold and raining (although it could be turning to sleet as I type). After reaching a high of 58 this morning at 1 a.m., the National Weather Service is predicting we might hit 30 degrees tomorrow before temperatures dip into the teens tomorrow night.

I think winter's on it's way for a visit.

That means it's time to haul out the ski jacket and find where exactly I put my box of mittens and scarves. When I moved here to the City on the Water in October, I wasn't thinking about the arrival of Ole Man Winter, so for all I know that box of goodies may be buried in a closet.

Not that I mind Ole Man Winter's arrival.

I've always liked winter. I like the snow, I like the chill in the air. I like to do winter stuff, like ski and skate. And the snow is oh so pretty. That is until it's mid-March, the snow has turned from it's pretty white to a grungy grey and I'm ready for the mercury in the thermometer to inch above 30. Then I'm ready for spring.

But for now, I'm all about winter's arrival.

Are we there yet?

A week ago, my plan to get back into the habit of going to the YMCA after work was foiled by a sore knee.

Not so this week.

After work, I headed over to the YM CA. I laced up my sneakers, grabbed my MP3 player and headed upstairs to the room where all the cardio equipment is. I grabbed a treadmill and started running to nowhere. I had a little Dave Matthews Band, Howie Day, John Mayer and O.A.R. to accompany me on my journey to no where. Although, unlike past gyms I've belonged to, at least I wasn't staring at a concrete cinder block wall. Thankfully, the YMCA has their cardio room in a room where the entire front wall is windows. So at least you have some scenery to look at while on your way to no where.

By the time I was done, I'd covered 2.4 miles. Granted, I only ran about 1.8 miles, but still, after not running for almost three months, I was quite pleased with myself. I probably could have made it the full 2 miles, but I had a date with my TV to watch the Badgers take on Florida State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

And the best part, right now, three hours later, my legs don't hurt. And if it keeps up, I'll be back on that treadmill to no where tomorrow.

There's a monster in my head

For the past four days I've been struggling with the monster that is a migraine.

I'm used to migraines. I started getting them in high school, but the past three years while living in Beaverburg, I've been able to control the monsters by taking a daily preventative medication. And that helped tremendously. I only got sidelined by a migraine a few times.

However, since taking this new job in the City on the Water, I haven't had any health insurance (it kicks in Jan. 1), so I've had to stop taking the daily medicine. The first month or two things went OK. But slowly the monsters have returned. And since Wednesday, I've been dealing with a particularly nasty migraine. Tylenol doesn't even touch my migraines. And lately, ibuprofen hasn't been helping much either.

Last night it hurt so bad I was on the verge of tears.

I took four Advil, which for some reason seems to work better than the generic ibuprofen, turned off all the lights in my apartment and put in the movie Cars, which I had originally gotten for my nephew's birthday but it turns out St. Nick is bringing it to him so I now own the movie.

While the Advil kind of knocked the monster out, it was still sort of there when I went to sleep and surprising was gone when I work up this morning. But as the day went on, it started coming back. I've been able to keep it in check most of the day by doping myself up with Advil, but I'm really crossing my fingers that the monster realizes it has overstayed its welcome and decides to leave once and for all tomorrow!

Now, it's time get in my pajamas, dope myself up with some more Advil, turn out all the lights and maybe pop in a DVD in hopes that the monster will go away.

Welcome waters

Most of my life, with the exception of my 365-day stint in the state of Indiana, I've lived near or by a lake. Growing up, I'd spend most weekends out at a relative's house on Lake Winnebago and while a student at UW, I lived on Lake Mendota for a year and spent a lot of my free time at the Memorial Union, on the shores of Lake Mendota.

Now, I find myself living and working just steps away from Lake Winnebago in this City on the Water. It's comforting. While swimming isn't as appealing as it was when I was younger, it's nice to know that I'm just a short drive away from being able to sit down at the lake and let my mind wander. I find the sound of water lapping up against the shore peaceful and relaxing and have discovered that I do a lot of good thinking as I sit and stare out at the water.

While I'm still getting used to calling the City on the Water home, it's nice to know some friendly waters are nearby.

Thanksgivings past

Tomorrow's Thanksgiving. I've always been pretty lucky because I've been able to spend the day with my family.

The exception, that 365-day period of my life when I lived in Indiana. Forever remembered as the worst year of my life.

I had just started a job at the beginning of November. I had no vacation, no personal days and I was the low man (well, girl) on the department's pecking order. But since I was still so new, I wasn't scheduled to be the reporter/designer on duty for Turkey Day because I didn't know the system yet. So I had the day off. And I was alone. Homesick and eight hours away from my family.

Yet, I didn't have to spend the day alone.

The family of a co-worker of mine invited me to spend Thanksgiving with them. Their kindness and generosity floored me. They took me in and made me feel welcome and while I admit it wasn't the same as spending the day with my family, their kindness made my first holiday away from home a bit more bearable.

It couldn't take away the tears that I shed as I went home and cried my homesick self to sleep, but for a few hours, it took my mind off of being eight hours away from my family. And for that, I'll always be grateful to them.