Thank you.  

Jim and I wish we could've been in Nashville to accept the award, but Dave Ramsey wouldn't let us go this year.  Instead, we watched the livestream of the broadcast and then recorded it for our family to watch later.

My mom said, "I don't want to watch the whole thing."  Can't blame her.

I am such a believer in relevant social media for news and know that we have a long way to go.  Our Google Plus hangouts brought a bunch of people together during our newscasts, and we felt like we were doing something special at the same time. 

Michelle Carolla and I ate our hearts out at the Mubuhay Philippine Cuisine.  First of all, it's the only restaurant of its kind.  Secondly, it's the only one that serves halo halo.

What is halo halo?  Deliciousness in a cup!  Shaved ice, ice cream, jelly stuff a few beans, maybe some cornflakes... and condensed or evaporated milk.  It tastes much better than I just made it sound.

Something else that was surprisingly good.... CHEESE ICE CREAM.  We were told that it comes from Chicago.  I don't know what kind of cheese is used, but it actually doesn't taste like anything crazy.  It just kind of tastes like vanilla to me.

Michelle and Michelle give the restaurant two thumbs up!  The buffet gives you a lot of choices... you can go with staples, like adobo chicken or pancit.  You can also call ahead and ask for more vegetarian dishes.  The owner will gladly take requests! 

The restaurant has a GROUPON discount right now that will give you about 45% off.  Wish I would've known about that sooner!  But we will definitely be back to use it.

You deserve your very own, specially-made, brew-to-order cup of coffee.  And, you can get it.  

I wrote a little article on Johnson Public House and it's totally worth the read!  It comes out in February.  In the meantime, you've got to eat the granola and get a breakfast sandwich.  All the coffee is made specially for you... and I loved the neighborhood feel.  Great times!  My friend Hannah and I went together... and also wrote this review!  Read it!

This is a pic of my mom, my cousin Robert...and me.  Oh yeah.  And a hamster.

This is my first real Restaurant Week in Madison.  I moved here in June as it was going on, so I missed out back then.  But this, my friends... is an event that's hard to miss.  At least 40 restaurants are participating, and it seems like every other pic in Madison is about #RestaurantWeek.

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My friend Hannah met me at Merchant, where we devoured our awesome lunch.  

I ordered a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich (plain - Hannah got the buffalo sandwich), caesar salad and lemon sorbet.  I loved mine!  It's definitely a great lunch spot.  The location's great, the food is incredible.  For $15, you can't pass it up!

Just in case you wanted to know, I recently wrote a review on the #BertTheFartingHippo slippers, sold on CBS.com.  Bert is a beloved 'character' on NCIS.

And here it goes:

"I bought these because it was a gag gift, but I had hoped they were more comfortable. Plus, the fart button didn't always work. I got what I paid for. I can't expect high class when I buy something called a 'farting hippo slipper.'"

My friend Laurie responded, "I find this review valuable and insightful and I will definitely keep this in mind during my next farting hippo slipper purchase."

YOU'RE WELCOME.  MY WORK HERE IS DONE.

I recently had a couple of days off and thought it might be a good time to catch up with Jenn Hoff!  We drove to Wisconsin Dells for a short day trip... and it was so much fun!

Who knew tubing could be so awesome?  We spent the afternoon at Christmas Mountain Village... and literally screamed our heads off.  If you need a place to take the kiddos... or just want to go somewhere and act like a kid, this is it.

It was also super cute to see all the parents pushing their little ones down the massive hill.  Another one of the day's highlights included watching a teen walk in snowboot heels... ah, to be young again!  I did wipe out once... so we'll see how young I feel in the morning.

Bring on the spring!  That is all.

I know this is old news for folks who live in Wisconsin, but this is our first experience living in a place where a river becomes a winter attraction!  I have never seen a natural ice skating rink (we grew up in Missouri) - so this was the coolest thing ever.

For those who don't know, Tenney Park is owned and operated by Dane County Parks.  It is at Lake Mendota and the Yahara River on East Johnson Street.

There rink leads to a warming shelter with skate rentals and a concession stand.  I honestly can't believe it's a public park!  It's so cool to see families out-and-about late at night in the winter.  I watched in awe as the kiddos breezed by with their hockey sticks... and I sympathized with my fellow newbies who grasped the air to avoid a tumble on the ice.

When Jim and I first started dating, I would ask him to take me ice skating... it's not like I could skate.  It just sounded like fun.  After 11 years, we finally made it... and it was totally worth the wait.  What a great little place!  

I don't know who enjoyed this read more -- me or the kids!  Here I am reading 'I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!' at the Pinney Library on Madison's East side. 

I love the Pinney Library.  Aside from it being in my 'hood, it is a wonderful community library.  I have a love affair with public libraries, thanks to my stint as a circulation gal for the wonderful Springfield Library District in Missouri.  Check out thelibrary.org by the way... and look at The Park Central Library.  Those are my peeps!  (*And for my MO friends, Pinney reminds me of Brentwood.)

Anyway, The library district is trying to get parents to read a thousand books to their kids before they hit kindergarten.  What an awesome goal!  Heck, on this day, we knocked out two books in about 30 minutes.  And it only took that long because we giggled and asked questions through it!

Read:  16 books to read before they become movies this year

Reading is such a gift.  We really do take literacy for granted in America.  We have so many children and adults in this country who cannot read...and it impacts everything in their lives.  If you teach a child to read, the whole world opens up to them.  They become brighter individuals.  They dream bigger.  They think more.  

It's sad because I barely read anything other than the prompter and social media sites these days... but that is a resolution for 2014.  I already have books on hold at the Madison Public Library!  What am I starting with?  Dave Delozier's recommendation, "Unbroken".  My second?  Adam Schrager's book "The Sixteenth Rail."

Listen:  NPR's Science Friday picks 'The Sixteenth Rail' as one of the best science books of 2013

Start reading!