Month: May 2010

happy holidays?

/ lindsay / Leave a comment

Ahhh. Memorial Day weekend approaches. What will I do with my three-day-weekend? I should take a beach getaway! Or maybe go visit my mom! Or maybe-

Oh wait. I work Monday. Of course. Because it’s a holiday, and journalists don’t get those days off. How silly of me.

I don’t know what it’s like for production folks (like myself) but I’ve heard it said that in most TV markets, the holidays are actually a pretty joyous occasion for the on air staff. If there are even newscasts at all (which there might not be, say, on Christmas when the station could just run re-runs of Christmas specials or whatever) the seasoned anchors get the day off and the young, fresh-faced, up-and-coming reporters get to fight over the anchor desk for one day. One lucky choice reporter gets to anchor that day, meaning he or she snags some material for a resume tape and the anchor who’s been at the station for 30-some years gets to spend the day away from work enjoying quality time with his or her family.

Can you guess where I’m going with this?

That ain’t the way we do it, kid.

All of our shows must (for some crazy unknown reason) go on. Regular anchors anchor. Reporters report. Producers produce. Directors direct.

Now, don’t fret. Not everyone works each holiday. But everyone works holidays. Does that makes sense? There is a trade off. If we’re scheduled to work Memorial Day (like yours truly) then we get the July 4th holiday off (which is actually Monday, July 5th.) Seems like a nice nod, right? A consolation of sorts? But I think it really isn’t. And here’s why: we get paid time and a half on the holidays and our station is too bloody cheap to afford to pay everyone overtime each holiday. I truly believe that if the money was there, we’d all be here each and every holiday. I truly and honestly believe that.

Because our work is our life. And that is that.

But hey! Monday, July 5th is the day after I get back from my week in Illinois for Cornerstone! So that’s neat!

the foodie diaries: vol 2

/ lindsay / 2 Comments

The good thing about being married to a man who’s still trudging through college is (do I even have to say this?) financial aid. Thanks to a wad o’ cash (that we’ll have to somehow pay back once he graduates) Dan and I agreed that since I’m trying to actually cook us quality meals that we should probably have some quality cookware. Up until this weekend, everything (that we cook on) in our kitchen was a shabby hand-me-down. Now don’t get me wrong! Getting these for FREE was an amazing blessing. But financial aid provided the opportunity for us to make some much needed upgrades. Observe:

our only skillet. nice, huh? can you see the damage?

the back. yikes.

Here are the new additions to our kitchen!

guest starring: my foot

I grilled some tilapia on them last night and it was AMAZING that they didn’t burn or stick! I didn’t have to spend ages scraping the pan! It was a dream, truly.

OH! And I also finally snagged one of these!

yes! finally!

Yes. It’s true. I didn’t have a slow cooker. I know. This is ridiculous. I wasn’t kidding about my lack of cooking skills and knowledge. I’m definitely a nOOb all the way.

But today I’m letting the slow cooker make us a venison stew with carrots, onions, tomatoes, corn, and beef stock. Why a stew in May? In Florida? Because I have a freezer stuffed full of venison (no seriously — STUFFED) and a fridge overflowing with vegetables and darn it I HAVE A SLOW COOKER.

😛

the foodie diaries: vol. 1

/ lindsay / 2 Comments

I’m sure you all are dying to know how my chicken turned out. Well I have good news! It turned out delicious! I was so proud! I forgot to take a picture because I was too excited to wait to eat it. But trust me. It was AWESOME. Use your imagination to envision the most yummy, juicy, tasty chicken breast ever and that’s what I ended up with. Kind of. Well. By my standards.

A while ago, after obsessing over her blog and her adorable house and cooking knowledge, I asked my friend Kathleen to take me under her wing to transform me from Princess Boyardee to one hot domestic diva. She happily agreed, adding that she actually wants to do this with her life! (Wonderful how that works out, isn’t it?)

meet kathleen! (and her adorable son jackson)

Monday night was day one of my domestic transformation. I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. In retrospect,  I think I didn’t expect Kathleen to be as invested as she was. I figured she’d come over, and apathetically tell me a few recipes she likes and a couple simple kitchen tips for this and that and GOD never turn on the stove if there’s nothing in your pan and then call it a night. But thankfully I  couldn’t have been more wrong!

Kathleen showed up with cookbooks and notebooks and lists spilling out of her arms and we got right down to business. A brief consultation let her know that I wanted to cook things that met the following criteria:

  1. Easy with minimal prep time (since I usually get home past 7:00 p.m.)
  2. Healthy (because Dan doesn’t exercise nearly as much as I do.)
  3. Yummier than McDonalds (because I want Dan to actually eat what I cook.)

Then Kathleen took inventory of my cupboards and fridge, and even did some rearranging for comfort and ease! She brought over a list of vegetables and fruits that are in season right now (which is now on my fridge) and we made a grocery list. But we didn’t stop there. We actually got in the car and went to Publix.

Yes. Publix. Not Wal-Mart. Not Big Lots. PUBLIX. For an underpaid journalist, this. is. HUGE. I have to admit I was really terrified. I thought I’d end up spending way over budget for food with which I would have had no clue what to do.

But again, I was happily in the wrong!

We came back with all sorts of food for less than my biweekly food budget. I can’t for the life of me remember everything, but some of the things we walked away with were:

  • strawberries
  • almonds
  • spinach
  • arugula (which I didn’t know existed until this shopping trip)
  • cous cous
  • whole grain pasta
  • whole grain bread
  • cucumbers
  • onions
  • tomatoes
  • feta cheese
  • parmesan cheese
  • plain yogurt
  • strawberries
  • blackberries
  • raspberries

And so much more!

Just to give you a taste of where I’m coming from, a month ago my grocery list looked like this:

  • mac & cheese
  • boxed dinners
  • frozen dinners
  • white bread
  • cheese slices
  • cereal
  • milk
  • potato chips
  • spaghetti
  • pasta sauce

Merrrr.

Since our first cooking lesson, I’ve made a couple things I’m proud of.

  • cous cous salad with shrimp, spinach, red onion, and cucumber dressed in a homemade (I MADE IT!) vinaigrette (olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper)
  • creamy pasta (recipe originally by Ina Garten) with whole wheat rotini, cherry tomatoes, arugula, and a cream sauce (half & half, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper.)
  • yummy mcyummers sandwich oatnut bread, roasted garlic hummus, spinach, cucumber, turkey. (I’m proud of this one because I came up with it all by myself and Dan actually loved it!

And so begins my epic transformation! Anyone have any easy recipes and/or good foodie blogs to share? Please do! Comment away!

crazyperson@emailswereallyget.com

/ lindsay / 2 Comments

This is REALLY an email we got in the “news” email account at the station. We deal with these people everyday, whether by phone or email or (yes) snail mail. I’m so delighted to share this little gem with you, readers. ENJOY.

Subject: bad

medicine/bia polar/Cornell/will made your gout hunt hurt. children 4thkilling self/doctors 3rd/aids 2nd/ strokes, heart attracts 1st. water causesstrokes too. more water than meat in your body. more water than land in everstate world too. more great business on the right goes east. they spendmillions telling you where to put business. roughest road there is goingnorth, smoothest coming south. coldest room in your home is on the northside of your home, hottest south side. world and state same way. ever thingthere is say there is a god you just don’t look. if I don’t speak out therocks will they do they lean one way another. trees do too.

the old bait & switch.

/ lindsay / Leave a comment

About a month ago, the Executive Producer pulled me and the other evening producers aside to run an idea by us. She suggested that maybe once a month we would all switch shows to get a feel for how to produce every show. We were all pretty excited about that prospect because each evening show is different. The each have different anchors, different graphic elements, different layouts, different demographics, and are designed to run different stories. (The 5:00 runs education and health stories, the 5:30 runs business and economic stories, and the 6:00 runs crime.) This idea seemed pretty cool because it would challenge all of us and ultimately make us better producers. After the three of us affirmed, the EP said she’s run it by the News Director to get his opinion.

The thing about our ND is that he needs to be in control. (I don’t understand that personality trait because I’m not a boss and never will be.) If anyone suggests a good idea to him, he either A) sends out an email telling everyone that said idea was HIS idea all along or B) takes the good idea pitched to him and twists it into a less-good (though tolerable) idea that everyone MUST succumb to because, well, he said so.

Well. He went for option B this time.

Later that afternoon we all got an email from him declaring that producers will rotate shows (oh cool, he talked to the EP and went for it!) THREE DAYS A WEEK EVERY WEEK INDEFINTELY (WAIT,  SAY WHAT??!!)

So as of now, the schedule looks like this:

MONDAY & FRIDAY:
– Producers are in charge of their own shows.
TUESDAY:
– 5:30 and 6:00 producers swap.
WEDNESDAY:
– 5:00 and 5:30 producers swap.
THURSDAY:
– 5:00 and 6:00 producers swap.

adlkafdljadsfhajdsf

Are you confused yet? Because everyone in the newsroom is.

CONS:
– Directors/anchors/reporters are in a constant state of questioning. They’ll either come to the assignment desk and talk to the wrong producer or call the wrong producer’s extension and end up frustrated because they don’t know who the hell is producing which show.
– Producers get attached to their shows and their anchors. They build a sense of ownership; take me, for instance. The 5:00 show is my baby. I love it. I really feel like I’ve grasped what stories to pick in what order and what graphics to use to captivate my target audience. I really like that feeling. Producers tend to identify with their shows.

PROS:
– All of the producers will become better. No question about that.
– Um. Let me get back to you.

Here goes.

EDIT

He came by with popsicles and fudgesicles today. Redeemed!

attack of the killer kitchen swarm!

/ lindsay / 3 Comments

I was on fire yesterday on my drive home. I was going to bake marinated chicken, y’all! I was gonna take one strong step in the direction of kick-ass-wifedom. I excitedly pulled the car up to our modest house, parked, and hurriedly stomped up the steps to the door. I put my key in the keyhole, turned the door and

SWARMMMMMMMM

OH MY GOD WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE THOSE THINGS?!???!

Our stove was a graveyard to roughly 30 of them, and they were flying all around our kitchen in a crazy, angry, frantic swarm! AHHH! BARF!

I immediately called Dan in a panic and ran out of the house, my laptop and purse in hand, to find solace in a 24 hour cafe nearby. My knight in shining armor showed up not too much later, with fly killer (and groceries!) in hand. He defeated the nasty swarm in no time, and I was able to come home to a safe and clean house.

have no fear, damsel, flies are no match for FIRE

But.

I was so freaked out/grossed out/OMG REALLY?!’d out that the idea of being in that kitchen and cooking food made me nauseous. I ordered Jimmy John’s and went to bed.

Marinated chicken TONIGHT. I swear.

the perfect wife?

/ lindsay / 13 Comments

It’s not anyone’s fault but my own, but since getting married nine months ago I’ve created some sort of perfect wife criteria that I’m a slave to. The standard to which I now compare myself goes a little something like this: 5’7″, tan, 100 lbs, constantly working out, amazing cook, incredible decorator, frequent entertainer, immaculate housekeeper, who never gets angry, and is a GODDESS in the sack. Kind of like this:

at your service.

But my harsh reality is this: a girl who is 5’5.5″, not-so-tan, wayyyyyy more than 100 lbs, a horrible cook, much too busy (or lazy?) to clean, who gets frustrated and agitated and whiny and pissy and hormonal on a weekly basis.

wah wah wahhhh.

I’m trying lots of different things in my ongoing quest to attain my unattainable standard of kick-ass-wifedom. Firstly, I’ve reached out to a few friends to try and learn how to cook. As delicious as my staples are (i.e. Kraft macaroni and cheese, instant rice with butter and salt, and canned soup) one can only subject one’s husband to them so many times in a healthy marriage.

Sunday night Dan and I went over to our friend Randy’s house and he and I tag-teamed a delicious oil-based pasta with chicken, bell peppers, onions, asparagus, sundried tomatoes, roma tomatoes, and feta cheese. I wish I would have taken a picture for you. But just use your imagination. We boiled the pasta in half water half vegetable broth with a sprinkle of thyme, which is something I’ve never even considered when boiling pasta. The best I’ve done before is add oil and salt. Bleh. The boiling concoction gave the noodles so much flavor that I could have just eaten them by themselves and been satisfied. We stir-fried the veggies (while we baked the chicken with onions) with oil, minced garlic (I MINCED GARLIC!) and cooking sherry for 25ish minutes, and added in the chicken when it was done baking.

Then we threw it all together in a big pot with the pasta, added the roma tomatoes and the feta on top, and ate and ate and ate.

DANG IT WAS GOOD.

Randy and I will continue our cooking classes. Next up? Salmon. Stay tuned.

Tonight, ALL BY MYSELF, I am taking a shot at marinated chicken. I took two frozen chicken breasts, put them in tin foil and doused them with zesty italian dressing. I folded the foil all up into tight little chickenfoilpouches and put them in the fridge to thaw. Tonight, I will bake the chicken, and I’ll let you know how that goes. My friend Kathleen (who happens to be an amazing cook and one of those women who I feel effortlessly blows the almighty kick-ass-wife away) and I are going to tackle some recipes as well. I’m excited, but also very scared. This experiment is going to be like watching a newborn baby learn how to tie its mother’s shoes. Not impossible, but HIGHLY improbable.

For those of you who were concerned, I don’t plan on blogging about my quest to become a goddess in the sack. Just FYI.

top honor.

/ lindsay / 1 Comment

and the winner is...

After working at my station nearly two years, I’ve been voted Employee of the Month.
I tell you what. There’s nothing quite like working with amazing people everyday who evidently happen to like you back. People win this award every month by being nominated by coworkers to the EP. Here are the three nominations I received:

“Lindsay always stays positive.  She is a great example of how to keep your chin up when the day-to-day stress gets you down.  She makes things funny and is a refreshing beam of light in the news cave.  Plus, she’s still a newlywed and could use a free dinner and a movie.”

Keeping everyone positive is my passion. No gloom and doom! Be happy, y’all!

“She’s extremely hard working and always ready to help any of us out, even if she’s busy.  She has a great attitude and brings some humor to the newsroom!”

Who doesn’t love to laugh?

“She’s a hard worker and keeps everyone smiling.  She never seems to lose her cool.”

Though this comment is sweet and wonderful, I doubt whoever said it has ever been in the control room with me when a live shot has died. I definitely lose my cool at least a little bit. But maybe I’m good at pretending?

I’m truly touched by these nominations! I honestly don’t feel worthy, but I’ll accept dinner and a movie for sure.

Dan and I spent my winnings on dinner at Macaroni Grill and seeing Iron Man 2 in IMAX. Both were amazing. If you haven’t succumbed to the Iron Man franchise craze, get on that. Even though it’s basically Batman with a hot Gwyneth Paltrow as Alfred, it’s still way worth it.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. The reasoning behind it is both life carrying me away and the fact that I’ve taken a job as a freelance writer for a website. I make just under a penny a click, so if you’re not busy…

Take a look see and help a sister out! That’s my homepage, and there are links to the two articles I’ve posted. I’d appreciate it if you read them, but if you just click on them that’s cool, too. Pull up Facebook on another tab or something and just let the website think you’re interested so I can make some cents.

More blogging soon, promise!