Best invention EVER!

I'm a toothbrushing fanatic. I carry one w/ me in my car, at my desk and sometimes in my purse. I went to the dentist yesterday and got so caught up in my work that I didn't realize how close it was to my appointment. It was to the point that I was going to be late, so I rushed through the sales cubes downstairs and asked if anyone had mouthwash (cause God forbid that you go to the dentist w/ unclean teeth!). Amy had something better....a Colgate Wisp. It's a disposable toothbrush with toothpaste already on it. It's so awesome that you don't even need water for it to work. I'm going to pick up several of these tonight. I hope you take my advice and do the same! Love them!!

It's for the kids

Every year, we move the radio station to Iowa City for a two-day broadcast at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. We spend the months leading up to the broadcast meeting families, recording stories and doing production and during the two-days we share our experiences with our listeners, invite families to share their story on-air and simply help and encourage people to make a donation.

Despite all the work that goes into this, I absolutely love this event. I love meeting the families and keeping in touch w/ them throughout the year. I cry as I listen to the stories of all the hardships many of these families have gone through. I celebrate for every obstacle these children have overcome - it really is an emotional and rewarding two days.

This year we are taking a new approach to an old idea - in the past year's we've had listeners collect change in a program called Coins for Kids. Coins for Kids allowed listeners to claim containers at our studio, spend four weeks soliciting for change from their co-workers, neighbors, family members, etc. At the end of the collection period, we would have a big party and award our top fundraisers with prizes. This year, we opted to change coins for kids to an online fundraiser called Miracle Messenger. Miracle Messenger allows one to sign up or form a team and utilize their contact list/address book in their email to solicit for donations. The fundraiser has a page that shows the status of their collections/fundraising as well as allows people to leave messages on their message board, etc.

Soooo...w/ that being said, I've signed up and would love if you'd make a donation. Anything can help, regardless of how big or small your donation is. I know that the economy is tough and completely understand if you cannot make a donation, but feel free to pass the information on if you'd like. You can access my page by clicking here!

Many Thanks!

The bandwagon's rolling by, I might as well hop on!

For the longest time, I have always said that I'd never get an iPhone. I hated (and still hate) how people that have iPhones seem to be so disengaged in real-life conversations b/c they prefer to have twitter or facebook conversations or how they are always checking email or playing games or something. I vowed that would NEVER be me. Secretly though, I was envious. I wanted to be able to go online when I was bored on a bus or have a GPS at my fingers or change my facebook update - but b/c my phone carrier was Sprint, I knew that I was out of luck.

Well, my luck has changed - in a way of speaking. My mom told me a few months ago she was kicking me off of the family cell phone plan. *gasp* I couldn't believe it! I don't use my phone that much, other than for texting and the occasional call to family and close friends, which used little to no minutes on the plan depending on the time of day I was calling. But I did understand her POV when she said that I'm 27 and should be old enough to have my own plan. So, after weeks of research for plans - how many minutes was enough? could I really use over 1500 texts per month? Is a data package really that important? I decided to splurge and get an iPhone. It was my mother's day gift to myself, even though I'm not a mom and I didn't even get my mom anything other than a card!

So, I am now the proud owner of a new iPhone. Don't ask me how it works...I honestly have no idea. It doesn't come w/ an owners manual so to speak and I've been too busy to really mess around with us. Plus, to top it all off, I live in the one section of DSM that is void of an AT&T signal, so it's hard to use in my apt. (guess I didn't do enough research to know that little snafu!)

Oh well...despite all my complaints ab/ the iPhone and the users, I'm very happy w/ my purchase. However, you will not find me engrossed in my iPhone twitter or facebook conversations like others find themselves. And if you do, I give you permission to slap me. Thanks!

Sweet Baby James

Iconic singer/songwriter, James Taylor, made a pit-stop at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines on his Down Home tour on Thursday, May 7th. Several years ago, I created a list of artists and bands that I have to see before I die and James Taylor was on the top of this list. Knowing, b/c the show was at the Civic Center which only seats 2700 people, the concert would sell out quickly, I got my tickets before they went on sale to the general public (one perk of working in radio) b/c I didn't want to miss my chance to see JT. I think, when the show finally went on-sale, that it eventually sold out in five minutes!

Prior to the show, I had several people tell me they had seen JT before and it was a terrible show. He didn't play his hit songs and focused more on obscure tunes. While I know that I shouldn't believe and listen to someone else's review, I couldn't help but thinking that I spent $140 on tickets and he wasn't going to play my favorite songs?? I shouldn't have let that sway me, b/c ten minutes into the show JT showed the set-list to the audience to prove that he was going to be playing a specific song that was being yelled out as a request.

I've seen hundreds of concerts in my life - enjoyed most of them, but have been disappointed by several too - but the JT show ranks up there in great concerts. He SOUNDS exactly like he does on his albums. His voice is simply amazing, in-tune, mezmorizing and so much more. He has a very dry and funny sense of humor, he joked w/ the audience ab/ his water bottle being mistakenly filled with water and not vodka (he's a recovering alcoholic FYI) as well as jested with obnoxious fans that screamed out requests and "It's My Birthday" between songs.

No words can really describe how I felt when he started to play Fire and Rain, my absolute favorite song. I just closed my eyes and started to feel a bit emotional - have no idea why - and so glad that I spent $140 on tickets to the show.

Will JT come back to DSM? I hope so. If he does, I hope I can get tickets to see him again. If he comes to your neck of the woods, you have to see him. It's a show that won't disappoint, I promise!

It takes me back...

...I feel so incredibly old and out of the loop at the moment. My FAVORITE band (And by favorite, I mean, my favorite band throughout high school and college, not so much anymore), Better Than Ezra, just released their seventh studio album today, May 12th. I had no idea they were even in the studio recording anything! I heard their newest single in March, Absolutely Still, and really liked it, but just figured they were testing the waters of radio to see if they were still relevant (which I think they are...the song is damn catchy).

You can download their newest song, Absolutely Still, for FREE by clicking HERE.

Anyway, what makes me feel old and out of the loop is that besides the fact that I had no idea they were releasing a new album, Paper Empire, today, is that I didn't know the drummer, Travis McNabb, had left the band! He is apparently drumming for country band Sugarland, so kudos to him - but for some reason, and maybe it's only in my mind, the band just doesn't feel like the band I remember getting excited to go at The Vogue or when Stefanie and I would blast it in my car at 2am during the summer of our Senior year b/c we were bored. Oh well though, I guess things will never really stay the same. The new album, from what I've been able to stream on lala.com, is pretty decent. I hope you take the time for a little bit of a listen. Let me know what you think.

Great article on the new album: Monterey International

Mississippi and back to Birmingham

I started my six hour drive back to Birmingham early on Monday morning. Ashley had given me a few suggestions on places to eat outside of Jackson, MS (her hometown), which included a Penn's Fish Cafe, where cornmeal catfish are served. Delish! I had all these grandiose plans of going to see some plantation homes and visit some museums along the way b/c I didn't have to get to Birmingham too early, but unfortunately, everything of interest - Vicksburg, Civil War battlefield area, and Natchez, home to all the fancy plantation homes - were well off the beaten path, i.e. the interstate, by a couple of hours. So, after a few detours in Jackson, I headed to Birmingham and made it there right around dinner time.

Dad and I had lots of things we wanted to do that we weren't able to do the first day I was there - such as visit Sloss Furnaces, hit the Birmingham Botanical Center and go and get some art at a local art shop in his neighborhood called The Naked Art Gallery.

Sloss Furnaces was pretty amazing. Since Birmingham was built b/c it was the perfect tri-fecta to make Iron Ore, Sloss Furnaces is the one place that really shows the history of the city. Built in the late 1800's, this was the place where Ire Ore was created and shipped off for further use and production elsewhere. In the 70's, the furnace was shut down and the owner eventually donated it to the state to help preserve the history of the factory and continue to show Birmingham-ites a glimpse into their great past. Now a historic landmark, this museum is free to walk around and tour. Pretty eerie but awesome at the same time. Apparently, Sloss Furnaces also hosts concerts throughout the year and the day after I was leaving Birmingham, Wilco was playing there. (bummer...I should have planned a bit better.) It is also said that Sloss Furnaces is one of the most haunted places in the United States....and I kinda believe that!


You can find various ironworks sculptures around the grounds at Sloss too. Pretty awesome!


After a visit to Sloss Furnaces, we went to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and walked around. While I'm not a huge fan of botanical gardens, it was nice to get outside on a beautiful day and enjoy the weather. We headed straight to the Japanese Garden area where we saw plenty of flowers, geese and turtles!





Before we headed back to the airport for my trip back to Des Moines, we stopped by The Naked Art Gallery, a block away from my dad's apartment, to pick up some souvenirs of Birmingham, including crafty Vulcan magnets! :)

All in all, this was a fantastic vacation. It had been three years since I had taken a trip of this magnitude. It was so nice to not worry about work and just enjoy spending time with friends and family. I can't wait for another opportunity to visit the South, and hopefully will be able to do it soon!

The Crawfish Boil!

So, prior to my trip to the South, I decided that I'd be adventurous and eat as much of the local foods as possible. I had already had my fair share of BBQ and grits, so while in Baton Rouge visiting Graham and Ashley, we opted for a Crawfish Boil. I love seafood, especially fresh seafood, and I was told that this would not disappoint. Graham and I drove to a small corner gas station store where they sell fresh crawfish, corn and potatoes daily. If you don't get there early enough though, they sell out. Thankfully, we were there early enough! The gentleman asked how much we wanted and we ordered 3lbs. Not knowing exactly how they would look or where they were stored, the gentleman opened a larger trashcan and proceeded to measure out 3lbs of crawfish, or mudbugs as they are sometimes referred to. I was such a tourist that I had to take a photo.

Eden, Ashley and I took a brief trip to campus to see Mike the Tiger and when we got back, the eating began. Now, you might be wondering, how exactly do you eat crawfish? Well, in the south, they have a nice little saying that explains it all: Pull the head. Suck the head. Peal the tail. Eat the tail. It took a few to really get the hang of it, but they were delicious!




After peeling and sucking on three pounds of Crawfish we called it an evening. It was late and both Ashley and Graham had to work on Monday and I had a six hour drive back to Birmingham for the remainder of my trip to the drrrty. Despite the shortness of time I actually spent in Baton Rouge, I look forward to going back again soon to see Ashley, Graham and Miss Eden as well as experiencing more of the city and life there. It was such a fun time for the <24 hours I spent there.