I just bit the bullet and booked a glamping vacation in Maui. What?! It's been about 4 years since this body has seen a real sunbeam. We didn't get very many beach opportunities in Wisconsin and now that we live in the PNW, we might as well turn into vampires. So, this year Jim and I said WE HAVE TO GET LEGIT SUN. And since so many Seattlelites go to Hawaii for vacation, we decided to jump on the bandwagon. It's not that expensive and you're guaranteed sunlight. But we had a problem. We did everything so late (vacation request, flights, etc.) that we were going to spend $500 a night for a nice hotel or $200 for a no-tell motel or a shady airbnb where you can hang out in some surfer's room. NO spanks. Then we came across Camp Olawalu. This is the best I could find to glamping. I wasn't looking for it but I wanted more than a yurt or a VW bus. And I didn't think tent camping sounded relaxing. After all, I do want to work less on this vacation.
We just came across another problem -- all the tentalows were RESERVED. OY!!! Well, being the persistent reporter I am, I called every week and asked if we could be on the waiting list. Come to find out, they were building new tentalows this year, too. So... after several weeks of calling, we finally got approved! You get your own sink and shower plus two twin beds that can make a king. Glamping here we come! Stay tuned!
2 Comments
I came to the Instant Pot by accident but now I don't know how I survived without one. It was over the summer and I was covering Amazon Prime Day. I popped into a Facebook livestream and my friend Sierra told me I HAD TO GET ONE. So, I put it in my cart. Hours later when my husband was Prime Day shopping, he purchased what I had left in the cart. What he didn't know was that I had been on the fence about it. Then it came in the mail and I was all... "um, well, let's keep it, thanks!" I didn't even touch it for another two or three months. But long story short, here's why I love it. It can cook frozen chicken breasts in about 30 mintues or less -- gets them to the perfect consistency for shredding. That takes several hours in a crock pot. It makes soups. My friend Michelle told me that it has a saute mode which I always overlooked! So, it really is a one-pot-stop. For our cold mornings on the road, I saute some beef and veggies, then I add stock and tomatoes! EASY! And done in about 25 minutes. You can cook rice or make yogurt... there's not a lot this little thing can't do.
Just saying - it's a great gift for the kitchen gadget lover ... even if you buy it by mistake! My run in Wisconsin has finally come to its end. Last night we earned a regional EMMY in Chicago for interactivity. It was the ninth EMMY for me and the fifth consecutive for interactivity (in Chicago and Nashville.) I can't put into words how grateful and humbled I feel. Jim and I didn't get to go back to Chicago for the weekend. We wanted to see all of our pals but we just couldn't swing it. Instead we hung out with some friends and then came home just in time to turn on the livestream. We were pretty lowkey, we didn't mention it to anyone in Seattle because frankly, who would care. But it is an incredible feeling to have found a niche and give new-ish meaning to what we do as journalists each day. The blessing is that I'm just getting started at KING 5, moving towards something similar to what I've done for the last five or six years. It's really been great to start talking with viewers again on social and trying to be relevant in their lives. AND the coolest thing is that everyone is working together to make it happen. I'm just a small part of it. You know, we've got all this fancy equipment - which is incredible - but it costs nothing to actually have a genuine conversation with the people we're supposed to be serving. That's always been my philosophy and that will always be my motivation. I could get on my soapbox about relevant social media but I'll just sit tight. I think in this day and age, it's so important for journalists to be genuine and transparent. I have enjoyed watching and learning from some great, intelligent people (ahem, Amy Wood, Stephen Clark, Sarah Hill, Maria Quiban, Melissa Carlson, Stefanie Cruz, Shelly Leslie...) and I think it's really important to mention journalists are all still learning from each other. I could never do what I do without the incredible support from my peers and mentors! Plus, the competition keeps getting tougher and tougher out there, so we are all helping each other get better and better. Thank you for another incredible year. It saddens me that I'm no longer in Wisconsin (or North Carolina or Missouri) but we are all still as connected as we let ourselves be.
On a personal note, thank you for following me and supporting my dreams. I hardly ever write about the difficult times, the struggles, the challenges... because I don't want to bog anyone down. But it has been a long journey and there have (and still are) times when Jim and I don't know what the hell we're doing with our lives. But we carry on and we thank our family and friends for their support. What we do is not about awards and it never has been. But it is nice to be recognized for work that we believe is relevant and important. Thanks! xo |
archives:
September 2020
|