HIGH SCHOOL PROM!

When Cheryl sent me pictures of her daughter, Jackie, and her daughter's BFF, Kaelea, before going to their Boonsboro High School prom last weekend (and begging me to have the rain hold off -- IT DID!) my mind went reeling back to my high school prom. Are you ready to time travel with me? First you need to get your BIGGEST can of Aqua Net, make sure your SWATCH WATCH guard is firmly locked into place (in what ever fluorescent color you desire) and ask mom to tape the Cosby Show because it will be a little while....

Where's my De Lorean?

Never mind, just have a look at some of my year book pictures and that is all the fuel you need to head back to 1989!

First stop: where it all began. You know, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my folks. Yup, two young Baby boomers from Jersey -- all decked out in their proper 60s prom attire. I love mom's blue accents. Check out the doo! I love VOLUME IN THE HAIR! Way to rock the prom gown mama!

Now fast forward to Gen X. By now I am so over my Madonna rubber bangle bracelets and "boy toy" belt. I'm on the fringe of going grunge (not that you can tell in the picture), I had purchased my first pair of combat boots and was wearing them with skirts. By the way, those leggings everyone was wearing this winter? They made their first trip around when I was in High School. Okay, now I officially feel old.

The funny thing is that my best friend in high school was, without a doubt, Alison J. Miller. Yes, you said the "J". It was her thing. A cool thing. Back then, I was Kimmy. Alison lived up the hill from me and, in a scene borrowed right from the Flintstones, Alison and I could see our bedroom windows and blink the lights at night, as if forming a code (didn't Betty and Wilma do that?) Here is a picture of us following the prom (sorry, I didn't scan any prom pics yet...not sure I will as my senior year number was very Laura Ashley ...not my fondest fashion highlight)

In New Jersey, it is typical for a group of your closest friends to go "down the shore". Not to the beach, or to the coast, or to the ocean. NO. It was and forever will be DOWN THE SHORE. In my clique, our friend, Amy D'Eletto, had a WONDERFUL family shore home on LBI (Long Beach Island), where we all headed following the prom. The caption to the right says "Friends Forever". . . We'll come back to that . . .

Strangely enough, the one person I was destined to have my locker next to for all of 7th - 12th grades because of the alphabetical nature of the system, Dave Meluso, I COULDN'T STAND! We ran in the same circles, though, so we mutually tormented each other. One would think that my friend forever, Ali J. would surely trump any friendship with Dave, no? WRONG. Today Dave and I are good friends; just last July 4th, he and his wife Connie came out to the Poconos for a the big fireworks show seen best from my front (non skunk) porch. In fact, it was Dave whom I traveled some 4000 miles to visit one hot summer when I was melting in Alabama, doing the weather for WAFF. Off I went to Anchorage for some summer solstice and glacier good times. Below is a picture taken after a hike up Flattop Mountain, the most hiked mountain in Alaska. So, what am I getting at here? Times change people. I don't regret my friendships. But they do take work. While I am sad to not be in touch with my FF, Alison. I am glad that Dave and I came around to tolerating and liking each other. It's funny how life works itself out.

WHAT BIRD SONG IS THIS?

It wasn't just a nesting skunk I had on my mind over the weekend...

Now that SPRING has SPRUNG, all the wildlife is busy, presumably, getting ready to find mates. With that, comes bird songs. Please play the video below (be sure to turn off the volume on my playlist to the right) and listen to a particularly loud bird who kept singing as I painted my house's exterior. Any guesses as to what it is?

I recall doing my weather from our weather terrace last year and I think there was a similar bird song in the background that I commented about on the air. I might be mistaken, but if it was the same song as the one above, then I think a local birder emailed me that it was the Cardinal's "warning song" . I searched around the internet to try to listen to Cardinal songs and found some similar songs, but nothing matched this one above exactly.

I like how people string together words that sound like the song to help identify it. One woman wrote (somewhere...can't remember where I saw this) that she heard the "CHEER CHEER CHEER PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY" Cardinal song. So far, this is the closest Onomatopoeia I can find (I think that is the first time I have used "Onomatopoeia" in a sentence in 20 years!)

So, I'm going with Cardinal for my guess. What is yours?

Did you know?

• The female Northern Cardinal usually sings (from the nest) to the male? She might give information about what kind of food to bring back -- "Hey honey, can you stop by the grocery store and pick up some skim milk?" (That is how my song with Ben might sound -- but I might add to it -- "Don't forget the Pepperidge Farm Saulsalito cookies, too!" -- that would be my more complicated song.)



• The male cardinal is the brighter red colored one. The female only has reddish areas on her tail and wings and is overall a tan color. Turns out that the more vivid red the male is, the better chances he has of reproducing as he can hold territories with denser vegetation (I guess he stands out more!)

SKUNK!

Heavens to Betsy I think I just spotted a skunk slipping under my back porch tonight! The scene: Kim makes 3 trillion trips from her Pryus to her Pocono home away from home. It is dark (she fails to immediately unload her car upon arrival because she has precious daylight + warm weather to get some outdoor painting done.) So, in the dark she makes the schlep from car to back door and is startled by a rustling noise just off to her left. Frozen in place (as if her elixir for earth worm phobia had worn off & they were swarming at her feet), she nearly drops bag of winter shoes (time to retire Wanda Winter) and sees what she thinks MOST CERTAINLY is the bright white stripe of fur on an otherwise midnight black creature now squeezing under her back porch! Should she proceed or risk being sprayed?!?

Tune in next time for another installment of "As the Skunk Stinks".

Seriously...what humane thing can I do to suggest strongly another location for Mr. Squeezy - under - the - porchy?

Luckily, I escaped having to bathe in tomato soup. (I don't have time for this!! I am throwing Lyndall Stout's BABY SHOWER here in a week!!! (Pretty in Pink!) What if Mr. Stink Bomb sprays all the ladies in their pretty day dresses upon arrival??? SUPER YIKES!)

(THIS JUST IN -- CHECK OUT MY POLL TO THE RIGHT...WHAT KIND OF UNINVITED GUEST WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE LIVING UNDER YOUR PORCH?)

WEDDING WATCH: THE LEXICON (SHOULD I HAVE MY DOC COME TO THE RD?)

For my DW the MOB and I have been arguing about how many people we can have on the guest list. Obviously it is an OOT event, so I want to get the STDs out early. I have chosen my BMs and of course my sister is the MOH. NWR, TIA for reading my blog!

Read on below for your decipher code to all the wedding lexicon you can handle!

So far, gathering ideas for my wedding to Ben has been fun. There are some confusing things that I'll get to in a minute, but I have enjoyed the folks who email me from time to time, asking me about my planning. I heard from Stephanie in Leonardtown, MD (that's her to the right) today and before long she had me laughing out loud -- just the thing this slightly overwhelmed bride-to-be needed.

Stephanie shares these words of wisdom for the rest of us making plans to tie the knot:

I can almost guarantee you that as the wedding approaches you are going to go crazy worrying about all of the details, but don't stress too much about the small stuff ... Shortly after Brian proposed my Dad came to me and said "I'll give you 5 grand to elope and just come back home married." I knew that he was joking but I still thought he was crazy. As we were setting up the reception hall the night before the wedding and my head was spinning, I looked at Brian (my fiance at that point) and told him that we should have taken the 5 grand and run. We were both very stressed because we wanted everything to be just right. I will tell you that I woke up the morning of my wedding and did not have a single care in the world. All of the things that had been making me crazy for months were gone and I was just excited to become Brian's wife.

Side note: Stephanie shares some of the things that went wrong the day of that she laughs about now:

• The guys picked up their tuxes and one was completely wrong
• Her fiance's shoes were 3 sizes too small!

Thanks Stephanie!

As I flip through a dozen bridal magazines -- HELLO -- THEY COST $4.95 EACH!!! WHAT GIVES???

I come across all these wedding planning acronyms. Now, I'm a meteorologist (Duh, no really Kim, tell us more...) Reading weather acronyms is part of my job. Just a simple weather discussion at our local National Weather Service Forecast Office in Sterling VA can have any of these acronyms: AWOS Automated Weather Observation System, AVN Aviation Model, APSG After Passing, AFDK After Dark, AC Altocumulus. And those are just a few of the A's ! I can usually figure them out or look them up. But these wedding acronyms? Where's the manual? Here is what I have figured out so far:

BM Bridesmaid

BP Bridal Party

CP Centerpiece

DH Dear Husband

DOC Day Of Coordinator

DW Destination Wedding

Epics, Eparty, Ering Engagement

FG Flower Girl

FH Future Husband

FI Fiance

FMIL Future Mother-In-Law

GM Groomsman

GTG Get Together

HM Honeymoon

IL Inlaw

MIL Mother-In-Law

MOB Mother Of the Bride

MOH Maid Of Honor

NWR Not Wedding Related

OOT Out Of Town

RD Rehearsal Dinner

RP Repost

STD Save The Date

TIA Thanks In Advance

How do you like the wedding cake topper of me and Ben? A special thanks to Patrice in graphics who made it for me -- LOVE Ben's comb over! Thanks for giving me a Scarlett O'Hara 16" waist!

Ladies (and gentlemen?) Feel free to share with me any funny stories about your wedding planning or big day. Include pictures and I'll share your stories in my blog. I plan on having one blog dedicated to wedding planning about once a week. Have a great weekend!

IN SEARCH OF SNAKEHEADS

I love my job because I get to meet the most interesting people. I can't quite remember how I met CAPTAIN STEVE CHACONAS, I think he emailed me inquiring about a forecast for a fishing trip a year ago, but I can't be sure. Anyway, Capt. Steve is a master fisherman. (Is that a correct term?) In search of bass? Head out with Capt. Steve.
But what is interesting is that lately, his business is taking a turn towards snakehead hunting. Have you heard of these things? If you haven't, you must be new to the area. Here's the skinny: There are two theories as to how these natives from northern China and northern Korea landed in north America -- either someone emptied some with the desire to fish them at a later date or an aquarium got rid of some because they might have been overwhelmed by their size. (This is according to an article I read by Rita Zeidner Special to Inside Smithsonian Research).
Why the concern about snakeheads? Simple: these fish are voracious eaters, often feeding on other fish's young. They tend to move in and take over. No fun for the native species. Have I mentioned their TEETH? CHOMP CHOMP. How would you like those things nibbling on your toes as you rest them over the side of your kayak? The truly unique feature that FREAKS me out and intrigues me at the same time is that these things can breathe oxygen. So, if a pond dries up, they can wriggle (walk) across land for up to 3 days to find another source of water. So, like the cockroach, they don't give up on life very easily.

(SIDE NOTE: I can't believe I can eat a breakfast sandwich as I write this blog and post these pictures!)

Alright...stay tuned for a future update about my snakehead hunting fishing trip with Capt. Steve, Big Ben, and my nephew Zach. I'll be sure to shoot some video (and not fall overboard!)

FLIMSY FLIP FLOPS and an EARTHWORM ALERT

Here we go again...

SPRING RAIN floods out the little boroughs of our NECESSARY - BUT - OH - SO - SLIMY little friends: THE EARTHWORM!

YIKES in all it's capital letter and MEANT - TO - BE - HYPED glory!

It's not easy to avoid these little fleeing, workers of the soil. Don't get me wrong -- I know how important earthworms are. REALLY, I do. I just don't want to see them. LET ALONE POSSIBLY STEP ON THEM IN MY BARELY THERE FLIP FLOPS (that I soooo got on sale at H&M for $5 last month - shut up!) If there is one thing that can stop me cold in my tracks it is noticing a parking lot full of earthworms and the seemingly a p p r o a c h i n g infinity distance between that spot where I freeze and my parked car OVER YONDER.

Luckily for me, when this happened on Sunday, Big Ben was nearby (we had taken separate cars to a church lunch) and my handsome fiance came to my rescue and safely escorted me to my car in the Giant Parking Lot. You can watch the video below to see one 1/1000 of what I saw on my way to my car...

What ARE those rubber band things around the earthworm's neck, anyway? Listen to this: Your favorite wack-a-do is volunteering to go fishing with Big Ben, my nephew Zach, and probably the best pro bass fishing guide in a few weeks: Captain Steve Chaconas. A quick look/see over his website did confirm that he uses lures and NOT FRESH BAIT. Phew! But what on earth will I do if we catch the ever elusive snake head??? More to come on Captain Steve and that should-be-fun trip in a few. In the meantime, HEAVENS TO BETSY, don't wear your flip flops in our torrential rain! That is, unless you like brushing up against our little nightcrawlers... EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!

MY FRIDAY OBSESSIONS -- CROQUET, LEGGO MY IPOD!, SIMPLY VERA...

My mind is darting all over the place as

SPRING FEVER

has set in !! As high pressure idly floats by, all LAH - DI - DAH and taking its sweet time, our dearth of weather has had me thinking about a few different random things. But, come to think of it, RANDOM has become NORMAL for me. So here goes it:

CROQUET!

I want. I need. I found this beauty that sold for $230 on ebay. SHUCKS. I missed it. Isn't it lovely? Vintage. Campy. Soooooo what I am craving right now. With my upcoming nuptials (alright, I have over a year to plan), I'm liking the idea more and more of having a few lawn games at my outdoor reception. This set would have been PERFECT. I'll be watching...

NEXT UP: RETRO BLOCK IPOD SPEAKERS!

I was having a little too-much-fun over at Fredflare.com. It was there that I spotted these awesome ipod speakers that sent me time traveling back to 1979, when I would build the MOST AMAZING LEGGO TOWERS at my Grandma's house. Have a look - they run off the power of your ipod and no batteries are needed! At $25 bucks, I just might go see how much cash I have sitting in my paypal account...

FINALLY: SIMPLY VERA CANVAS TOTE

BUMMER-A-DOODLE-DO! Like my ebay croquet set that got away, this, too, is GONE GONE GONE. Vera's line for Kohl's is really nice: u n p r e t e n t i o u s. I saw this bag and thought it would be perfect because it is a tote AND a messenger bag (I love love love messenger bags.) But when you go to click on it, sadly, it is NO LONGER AVAILABLE. I can't even find it on ebay. SIGH. But it looks like there are a lot of other Simply Vera things to chose from at Kohl's. So, I'll check back later (on my own time of course!)

What are some of your obsessions? Let me know, I could adopt them! Have a great weekend and check back soon as I plan to pose another poll question about some wedding stuff. OH YEAH -- Ben and I have an appointment to decide on engagement pics TONIGHT. Stay tuned...

WHERE IS BUBBLES? WHO'S THIS NEW DOG AT THE GYM?

Time to check in with one of my cats: Bubbles. She went MIA on me the other day. Of the two cats, Bubbles wears a bell. I like that. It makes it easier to locate her (at least if she's moving.) But things were a wee too silent the other day. You know what parents will say? If it is quiet when their kids are playing, someone is up to no good. Apply saying to pets. (Okay, maybe not most of the time as cats do tend to sleep 80% of the time or some crazy statistic like that.) Anyway, I searched and searched and searched and then I had that feeling:

I'm being watched.

(The last time this happened, I was living in Boston. First, my mom was visiting and thought Boodie cat got out. All over the neighborhood she searched only to realize Boodie was watching her from the bedroom window. On a different occasion, I was searching high and low and had that "I'm being watched" feeling. Sure enough I looked up and saw some fur in between the basket weave of one of the decorative baskets high upon my kitchen cabinet. Boodie may have felt secure, but her spot had been found.)

So it only came naturally to me, albeit late, to look up. And just who do I find peering down at me from her safe haven above the fridge? Bubbles. She was anchored firmly so as not to disturb her bell.

And to continue the animal theme...

I've been meaning to introduce you to Royal Fitness' new mascot! His name is Buddy and is just about one of the most adorable little dogs on the planet (next to Marty dog that is!) Roya brings her faithful companion to her gym every day. He gets plenty of exercise (I think she said he gets to run about 2 miles...can you imagine THAT on those little bitty legs?) I have some video of Buddy running. Afterwards, he was all too happy to conk out in his little cage in Roya's office -- he wasn't waking up for nobody. SNAUSAGES or otherwise!

ALL ABOUT OLIVA

If there is one thing I regret about my TV life, it is that I have never been able to work in the same TV market as where my Grandma, Oliva (you can call her Lee), lives. PLEASE don't get me wrong -- I love working and living in the DC area and don't have plans to move. BUT it would be nice if my Grandma could flick on the tube in the morning and hear her granddaughter tell her about the day's weather ahead. I don't get to see my Grandma enough. I miss her. I love her.

I have been slowly scanning pictures of Lee into my computer. How neat is this? She and her girlfriends used to take summer trips up to Lake Erie. They would pay one of their brothers to drive them from Pittsburgh and $7 would get them lodging for the week! Like me and my friends, they did goofy poses...in crazy socks! Times have changed...last year, my girlfriends and I flew down to South Beach from different corners of our country. And, while $7 barely bought me a tonic from our beach side cabana, we did lots of the same things that Lee and her girlfriends did -- we all shared in the cost of lodging, we all left our boyfriends behind for a few days, and we all enjoyed fun in the sun and lots of shopping!

I treasure my time with Lee. Over the weekend I sat down on her bed and interviewed her. You can click on the arrow below and play it too.

Lee met my Grandpa, Robert, during the Great Pittsburgh Flood of 1936. Not in a hurry to give up working quite yet, she challenged a law in place that required married women not to work. You go Grandma! Here is a picture of my grandparents. They shared a marriage that lasted over 60 years. They moved from Pittsburgh to northern NJ and started a family. My parents, too, have been married for over 40 years. So, as I look to build a future with Ben, I have wonderful role models blazing a trail ahead of me. I couldn't let this blog post without one GROOVY picture. It is of my parents from back in the 70s. I think my Dad gave up the comb over shortly after this...

By the way, if you are ever shopping at the Bergen Town Center, in Paramus NJ, be sure to pop into the Carmelite Chapel there. Ask for Lee. She's been a volunteer there for as long as I can remember. I spent many a weekend tagging along with her, arranging items in the shop and getting statues blessed by the priest. I'm sure she'd love to meet you.

I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!

HELLO TO FATHER EUGENE, TOO!
AND HELLO TO GERT, MARY, AND ALL THE OTHER NICE LADIES I HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT!!

THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS' BALLPARK

Will you do me a favor as you read this blog?

It involves time travel...

You see, I meant to post this blog a few weeks ago, when I spent a few mornings doing live weather from the Washington Nationals' brand new ballpark. I shot all kinds of behind-the-scenes video and had every intention of posting it, but then, well, I DIDN'T.

(the truth is that I
accidentally professed my love to the wrong dead president on live TV and was
embarrassed ... at 5:30 in the morning, you can understand that an 8' tall giant
president head of Jefferson might be mistaken for Washington -- they both wear
ponytails with a bow ...)

Oops.

So when you read this blog and check out the video below (reminder -- turn the sound off on my play list to the right if you plan on watching any of the videos), just pretend that Opening Day hasn't happened yet, okay?

Have a look at the stadium from the dug out perspective.

How about exploring the caverns of the stadium below the seats? I'm making the most of my cheap digital camera...pushing the limits of my SD card's memory...all for you!

And may we all look forward to the day when Teddy finally wins the race! "Let Teddy win!"

PLAY BALL!

ENGAGEMENT PICS -- CAN'T DECIDE!

Okay, I had some engagement pictures taken with Ben at the height of the Cherry Blossoms last week. I have posted a few of the proofs here. There are sooooooooooooooooooo many more than the limited few I have posted, but I want to get a sense of which direction we should go:

Stick to the close up? Try to show off some cherry blossoms? Feature a Monument (hello George! Maybe crushes on dead presidents shouldn't associated with my engagement picture...) How about showing off my favorite memorial? (The Jefferson)

What about black and white vs COLOR?

Sitting?

Standing?

Smooching???

Anyway, have a look and then feel free to vote. I have a poll on the right side of my blog. I may post some more pictures later...but for now, I want to get an idea of which way I should go...

You know who made these pictures awesome? Our creative photographer, Amy of Amy Czelusniak Studios. What a pro. (Plus she had just the perfect BOBBY BROWN lipstick that I borrowed...) She knows what works! Thanks Amy!

Thanks for helping me out. Of course, Big Ben gets 50% of the vote...

ANGIE DOWN THE AISLE

3 out of 4 of our on-air morning team are now hitched...

Our ever-fashionable-and-always-on-time traffic reporter, Angie Goff, tied the knot over the weekend down in Columbia, SC. Over the past several months I have had the pleasure of not only working with Angie (her desk is about 15 feet away from the weather office), but getting to know her as a friend. Heck, we're even work out partners!

Ben and I are now paying attention. Anything wedding? Take note! We packed the Pryus and set our sights on the REALLY ANNOYING and FAR TOO FREQUENT SOUTH OF THE BORDER signs as we pointed "Betsy" (my GPS) to Columbia.

I apologize for the quality of the video, especially inside the church. The camera is a bit shaky because I was crying and so nervous for Angie! I had to hold the camera with both hands to stop it from shaking! The video above is ANGIE DOWN THE AISLE! Don't ask me how this happens, but I always seem to be blown away by how fast the "you may kiss the bride" thing happens. It seems more and more, like in most churches, that "the kiss" part is not as big a deal as the tv shows and movies make it out to be. I didn't have my camera on (every time I turned it on it made one of those noises and I hated disrupting the ceremony) and before I knew it, Robert (Angie's husband) was planting one on her...even ANGIE looked surprised!

So I missed the S.W.A.K. The video below is Angie leaving the church with Robert, her new husband!

My favorite part?

VSA (Very Superficial Alert):

Catching the red bottoms of her LOUBOUTIN shoes when she knelt down. With a quick red flash, like a fabulous HAWAIIAN SUNSET, they revealed themselves from under her beautiful lacy gown! LOVE THAT. Hmmmmmmmmm.....Me thinks I have my "SOMETHING BORROWED" idea a brewing ... we do share the same size shoe....

So, with Angie's guidance, I will begin planning my big day. She's already loaded me up with books and magazines. Her Wedding WEDnesday blog has been great (I'll steer clear of Copper Penny Bridal Salon..."no thanks") All this wedding talk had me thinking about the last time I wore a white dress and a veil...Hello Holy Communion! And, sigh, the Dorothy Hammil hair cut was ruling the roost then, too.

BEST WISHES ANGIE AND ROBERT!