Well, we couldn't take the crown... but we did wear itl!

Our KING5 Rowing Team didn't exactly surprise anyone by coming in fifth place but at least we looked #1! We should've practiced earlier than two days ago. But we don't take ourselves too seriously!

The Windermere Media Cup is a lot of fun -- teams from all of the stations get together and learn enough about racing to do a couple of heats. The winner gets a $500 check to the charity of their choice!

Five must've been the lucky number because Team KOMO won for the fifth year in a row. Those guys are dedicated!

It was such a great event! Big thanks to all the organizers, coaches, and volunteers. I wish I knew how to row! It was a lot of fun to be on the water on such a beautiful day. And it was awesome to see friends from other stations!

I really enjoyed learning rowing terms and trying to work as a team to get our oars in the water at the same time. It is such a great way to meet people and get exercise in at the same time. 

The real Windermere Cup is this weekend to celebrate opening day of boating season. More than 800 rowers will compete in the prestigious event on Lake Washington. I hope I can see it in action!

I recently took on a new schedule change at KING and I'm really enjoying it!

I started anchoring weekend mornings with Amity Addrisi. I just admore her (admire + adore) -- she is a smart journalist and a great friend and partner.

I have never been on a lady news squad before so this is exciting! Plus, it gives me a chance to switch up my work week and that keeps things interesting. And, I love the whole weekend AM crew from our producer Mark to our director Andy to our photographer Doug to our editor Keith to our writer Susan and to our meteorologist Ben Dery... and everybody else! LOL

You know all these things happen with a little luck and timing. I am sad we no longer see Natasha Ryan at the desk for now (she's having baby #2!) but our viewers have been so nice to me so far and I am grateful. And who knows, hopefully we can convince Natasha to come back! She has been so fun to watch since I moved to Seattle and our newsroom really misses her!

I'm still kind of stumbling along the weekend mornings but I hope you'll join us -- we start at 6 a.m. on Saturdays and 7 a.m. on Sundays! It's also nice to sleep in a bit on the weekends since my alarm clock goes off at 2 a.m. during the week!  

If you're my mom, you might want to know you can always find us here: kng5.tv/WatchKING5 ​

So for now, we'll see you in the AM! If you tweet us in the mornings we'll give you a shoutout. We love seeing you online. :) 

I am in AWE of this incredible story. David Cowan says his highest recorded weight was 435 pounds. He says he probably weighed more than that but he didn't track it.
​
Well... today he's shaved off more than 200 pounds and he's inspiring so many others.

David talked his brother Andre into getting healthy and now he's down 120 pounds. INCREDIBLE!

Now the two are helping others get healthier. We're featuring the brothers Wednesday morning and they'll both be joining us live on Facebook at 7 a.m. PST -- bring your questions!

Can't wait to share their inspirational story!

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!

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

Does this look good to you? What if I told you this whole dish is less than 200 calories? I never thought I could get behind spiralized zucchini and cashew cream sauce but it is legit. It really tastes creamy... hard to believe when you find out it's just nuts and water.

It is super easy to make -- I go back and forth between zucchini and sweet potatoes.

I got my spiralizer from the Hip Foodie Mom -- she now uses a Kitchen Aid attachment so she has no need for one she gave me!  Yahoo!

When I make these, I roll out four or five zucchinis for the week.

I really like the recipe from a Pinch of Yum but I add a little pinch of pesto or Parmesan cheese to mine. Whatever I feel like!

• 2 cups cashews
• 1¼ cup water or broth
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Place cashews in a bowl. Cover with water and soak for about 2 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly.

Place soaked cashews in the bowl of a food processor or blender with the water, garlic, and salt. Puree until very, very smooth. Thin out with more water to desired consistency. Store in fridge for 3-4 days or freeze.

I had the coolest opportunity to host a fireside chat with GIPHY founder Alex Chung. What a humble, intelligent, creative, honest person! He had no issue with talking about how to start a start-up, venture capitalists, angels and all the stuff that makes my head spin about business.

Alex is from the Seattle area and has been behind a number of start-ups... it's the nature of the industry.

His company is basically a Google for GIFs. (Make sure you say it with a hard G -- we're not talking peanut butter here.) His company is worth at least $600 million... but to him, it's just on paper. He joked that he still lives in a one-bedroom apartment in New York City.

The event was hosted by the Korean American Coalition, Twitter Devs of Seattle, PuPPy, and TUNE. What incredible groups of people!

These are the kind of events I live for - don't get me wrong, I love helping organizations and causes but helping facilitate real, genuine conversations is what building community is all about. Plus I don't get a ton of anxiety trying to be funny.

Alex talked very openly and honestly about what it takes to start a start-up. He is so successful and brilliant but he was able to give us a few takeaways that even the dullest bulbs can understand. I say that because when you're surrounded by a bunch of techies you tend to feel a little inadequate with a journalism degree.

Alex is not afraid of failure. Once you listen to Alex, you may start wondering if you've been playing it too safe. I mean, here's a guy who's had a number of start-ups with the understanding and acceptance that many will fail. Does it stop him? Nope. 

Alex believes work should be fun. Alex will tell you that building a start-up is much like creating a band. You should surround yourself with people you like, people you want to go on a road trip with, people you like to have fun with. I know most of us can't always pick who we work with but I am going to try to go a roadtrip mode.

Alex says money isn't really all that it's cracked up to be. I mean, that's what I took from it. If your company is worth $600 million or $600, what does that change? The valuation of a company is what it's worth on paper. That being said, Alex is doing aiiight but the company so far hasn't really generated revenue. Don't worry, it's coming. I mean, Alex thought what I did for a living was cool... and the whole time I was thinking, "man, I wish I could be in charge of a multi-million dollar GIF company."

Special thanks to Matthew Benuska for the pics!  

BTW, there's a tech talk November 30 at TUNE on Cassandra for Analytics!

I'm not going to lie, this is stolen from the south. This is Carolina crab dip adjusted to fit the perfect Pacific Northwest potluck. 

There are a few things that the south does better foodwise than anywhere else -- spicy shrimp and grits, oyster roasts, Calabash shrimp, hush puppies and CAROLINA CRAB DIP.

Since we're in crab country in the Pacific Northwest, I thought I'd share my crab dip recipe. Admittedly, it's taken from the Oceanic Restaurant, one of the most well-known restaurants in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. It is a must-stop for because of the incredible views! 

OCEANIC'S FAMOUS CRAB DIP

1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup mayonnaise
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon horseradish
2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste

1 pound crab (the recipe calls for Backfin crab but since we're in the PNW, let's go with Dungeness)

Saute the garlic in butter under tender. Add the flour, cook for about five minutes and stir constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in the mayo, cream cheese, lemon juice, horseradish, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Fold in the crab. Spoon into a baking dish and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

*Recipe from Seaboard to Sideboard from the Junior League of Wilmington NC​

I literally googled "downtown Seattle date night" and surprisingly found little help. ​

The first result was about the summertime, so I didn't put much stock into the rest of it. So here's what our date night looked like -- nothing too crazy but in case any newbies or visitors want an idea, here are some starters... 

1. Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar - The restaurant was started by D.K. Kodama in Hawaii. He and his restaurants are award-winning and wildly popular. The latest opening in Seattle is the brand's first on the mainland.

Until the end of November, you can order a $16 Michelle Li "TLC" roll made with spicy salmon, cucumber, avocado, habanero-infused masago and aioli (to name a few ingredients.) $8 will go to the Pike Place Market Foundation, which helps support the people who live and work at the world-famous Pike Place Market. 

Jake Whittenberg and I have a friendly wager. His roll - the KING 5 roll - is up for grabs as well. His charity is Mary's Place. His roll is made with tempura shrimp, king salmon, avocado, cucumber, spicy tuna and jalapeno masago. OMG!

2. Seattle Art Museum - A short walk will bring you to the museum but there is a catch -- it closes at 5 p.m. most days. However, do a quick search for the museum's REMIX night and you've got it back as an option until midnight! People in line were so excited about the event... really something for everyone there.

3. Dessert at Shug's Soda Fountain and Ice Cream: Super bright and airy. One scoop will only set you back about $4 and you may even get a little more like 1.5 scoops if you order it with a waffle cone. I highly recommend the salted caramel. ​

4. Unexpected Productions - Improv at its best right inside Pike Place Market next to the Gum Wall. Funny folks with a great knack for customer service. It's one of Yelp's most rewarded places thanks to director Kent Whipple. Try to go to Seattle Theatresports, the city's longest running show! It's a really entertaining group!

I hope that helps anyone who might be looking for an idea or two. I am too old and cheap to spend it barhopping -- so at least here are a few things that can give you a Seattle memory!