I WISH I HAD DVR.

guess what's on TV tonight?

GRAETER'S!!

(aka best ice cream there ever was)

lame that i will be at work.

check it out tonight if you can -- food network @ 10PM EST.

it'll also be on at 1 AM (maybe i'll watch that one..?) and then again at 7:30 PM on jan 15th, but i sort of NEED to watch it before then so i'll try to find out if there's more times.

i seriously love graeters. please let them go national soon ( :

i tried. i really did.

i just completed one of my goals from the DayZeroProject. i was going to blog about it, but the server's down and i can't check it off.

LAME.

apparently the DZP site has been down for a few days but i'm thinking it's gotta be up again soon, right? pretty sure they'd have lots of upset people if they can't make goal lists on new years.

but in case you've been under a rock, i went to ohio for christmas (drove the 1,200+ miles from wausau to indiana to ohio

and then back with my bff boy from work within a 36-hour period)

and i will blog about it when i have a little more time...

...someday...

gameeee stopppp.

been a fun couple of days with surrah visiting me here in wausau, but she left for warmer temperatures in the ohio valley earlier today. lameeee.

i'm not very good about pictures but we did go bowling, watch toy story, get free milk (that leaked all over my fridge), eat yummy grapes, try a sandwich with soft pretzels instead of bread and wake up before 6 AM to go for a run. she's a trooper.

luckily, i remembered to take the one really important picture:

we LOVE game stop.

i mean, who doesn't?

(besides maybe that creeper guy over there)

i'm taking lex to the car doctor tomorrow to get a new (FREE) steering column (what is that? i'm not sure. but i got a letter a lot of months ago that said they would replace it free of charge, so...why not, right?) and then we'll finally be able to get ready for my super-busy christmas weekend where i get to work a lot. yayyy.

in other news, u of u is getting totally pummeled in the vegas bowl.

hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season so far. miss you all.

xox.

but i only want two.

i know.

we got a foot of snow over the weekend and now you think i'm dead since i haven't blogged in forever. the truth is that i've been working non-stop lately, with everyone taking vacations and holiday days. lucky for me, i don't get vacation time so i get to work every day -- rain or shine...or blizzard. but i'm alive and fine and i even shoveled so i can get lex out of the garage (thank you, snow plows).

^ doesn't he look sad in there?

^ this is lex's view from inside the garage, near the tires.

would you believe that lots of (dumb) people still park their cars outside and let them freeze over every night?

i love lex too much to do that to him.

in other news, i happened to look at my thermostat over the weekend and it flashes this message at me:

"replace battery."

i mean, i should have figured my thermostat was battery-powered. it has power and it's not plugged into anything. that's logical. i guess i just never realized that two "aaa" batteries were the only things keeping my house from turning into a subarctic tundra.

so i went to the store to look for batteries today.

and guess what?

they have these REALLY AWESOME BONUS MEGA PACKS.

SUPER COOL! GREAT VALUE! BEST EVER! ONLY 10 DOLLARS!

but here's the thing. i don't want sixteen. i only need two.

and i don't think i should pay $10 for two "aaa" batteries.

so...my hunt continues for non-mega pack batteries.

and hopefully my thermostat doesn't die before i find some...

the last bag of grapes i will ever eat.

oh hello, SIX-DOLLAR-BUNCH-OF-GRAPES.

i guess i don't pay attention to how much my groceries actually cost. but after i checked my receipt, i had to make this decision. those were definitely the last grapes i will eat until they're in season again.

in other news, remember these gingerbread houses i made

with the fam when they came last week?

gravity started to take its toll and the roofs are starting to cave in.

eek!

everyday, the ceilings on these poor graham cracker homes stoop a bit lower. i secretly hope i'm around to watch one of them collapse.

a word of advice to anyone making gingergread houses this season:

if you plan to put things on the roof, you need to add more support!

mom is always right.

i've been stressing this weekend because i need to buy

warm-weather clothes. by the looks of it (online), snow pants

and other accessories were not going to come cheap.

i called my mom. she told me to look at walmart and the boy clothes would be less expensive than the girl clothes. and guess what?

^ pants on the left are girl pants. pants on the right are boy pants. made by the same company, essentially the same thing, right?

^ only the pants in the girl section cost $10 more!!

what's up with that??

i ended up getting the girl pair (since there were only L's and XL's in the boy department) but it was still funny to see how the exact same pants (and even smaller ones that would require less fabric) could be more expensive just because they are marketed towards girls.

and BOTH pairs are exponentially cheaper than

the ones i found online, which were $100+. eesh.

anyways. mom is always right.

also, if you didn't know, my parents and daniel came to visit me for a few days, bringing with them some nice furniture for my apartment (that will surely remind me of ohio) and a few other gifts...

^ like these SHARP KNIVES for cooking.

my mom even cut off the top (before giving them to me)

since they're so hard to open.

^ so i cooked them lots of things for thanksgiving to say thanks ( :

turkey, stuffing, gravy, roasted rosemary garlic potatoes, homemade honey wheat bread, salad, green beans, crackers and grapes.

(plus pumpkin pie from scratch and chocolate brownies for dessert)

a pretty good dinner, yeah?

also we made ginger bread houses.

can you tell which one was mine + DK's and which one was m&d's?

gingerbread house #1:

gingerbread house #2:

anyways...that was our thanksgiving.

plus we watched "a charlie brown thanksgiving," explored wausau, went black friday shopping and ate lots of waffles for breakfast.

pumpkin time.

pumpkin creation #1:

pie!!

^ i covered it in foil when i drove to church

(to feed it to my SS class). some of it got stuck to the top. oops.

but check out that awesome homemade crust ( :

pumpkin creation #2:

pancakes!!

^ because what else are you supposed to do when you have extra pumpkin pie batter + flour + baking soda + milk?

these were yummy and super-easy to make.

also i made some roasted red potatoes (another test-run before the fam gets here on WEDS) and they were good but i ate them before i took pictures. get excited to see all the awesome food i'm going to be cooking over the next few days for thanksgiving!

victory lap.

if you haven't been keeping up, my life has been all over the place. since i started working, my schedule's been different from week to week. but as of last week, i'm officially a daytime M-F reporter. so i thought, hey. now i can get in some sort of rhythm. this week...i did.

every day, i woke up around 6, grabbed something small to eat and then fell back asleep for 20 minutes. then i woke up and ran a few miles (between 4-5 on a NOT-empty stomach, since that's bad for you) before showering and getting ready for work at 9:30. after work, i'd come home, make myself dinner, catch up on news and emails and be in bed between 11 and 11:30. CRAZY. i don't remember the last time i've been on a regular schedule like that in my entire life.

last night was a bit of an exception, since i went out to dinner with some friends from work and stayed out a bit later, but i surprised myself by being awake this morning before eight.

i REALLY don't remember the last time i've seen 8 AM on a saturday morning but it was awesome. i got my oil changed (for FREE), went grocery shopping, bought birthday presents / stuff for when m + d + daniel come to visit for thanksgiving next week (!!!), got a sweater at kohl's with a $10 off coupon and ran four miles before being back home for the ohio state game at 2:30 PM. holy productive, batman.

still on the agenda for tonight: baking a pumpkin pie from scratch for my sunday school class, preparing my lesson, watching the OSU game (hopefully they can make a comeback -- they're down 3-7 at the half) and reading "dispatches from the edge" (anderson cooper's book that i started reading during my oil change).

life isn't perfect, but sometimes it's not bad at all.

counting to 300.

i have a confession -- i have an obsession.

it's all about numbers. and as far as i can tell, there are two parts.

1. the most important challenge i tackle everyday is time. i am constantly battling the clock -- driving from one place to another, shooting video, interviewing people, finding information --all before coming back to the station with enough time to put it all together for the news at 5, 6 and 10. because of this, i am constantly asking myself what time it is and how much longer i have before i need to book it back to home base. all of this...NUMBERS.

2. while i am shooting video, i set a shot and let the tape roll for ten seconds...and i count it out in my head. usually i only need three solid seconds of video for my stories, but ten makes sure i have enough for editing purposes. this is a great habit...until it starts to seep into my personal life. lately i've caught myself counting the seconds during everyday tasks: brushing my teeth, shampooing my hair, stirring my pasta -- pretty much everything. NUMBERS.

anyways, all this -- just to let you know this is my 300th post.

and it only took two years, one month and eleven days.

back to baking ( :

i haven't been doing much baking since i moved to wisconsin

(due to lack of materials, people to cook for, etc) but this weekend i decided to jump back in. here's proof:

^ one of the two loaves of honey wheat bread i baked (from scratch)

then i made brownies for my

(high school aged) sunday school class --

^ i told them opening a bakery was my plan "b" and one of them told me i should change my game plan to make it plan "a."

did i mention i love my SS class?

i put applesauce in it instead of oil which makes it healthy!

did you know i have been collecting these lately?

^ they are pink yogurt lids.

for each one i send in, 10 cents is donated to breast cancer research.

ALSO...i've eaten 40+ yogurts since moving to WI (about 2 months).

AND if you haven't heard about my new blog -- every day is awesome -- check it out. my sisters and some of our friends all post on it once a week and my day is "spontaneous sunday."

PLUS if you didn't know that i have the coolest, most talented roommate / best friend ever, look at this video she made. i love her.

ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low...

i've been in wisconsin for about two months now.

(crazy, right?)

so let's talk about one of the main differences between UT and WI:

MOUNTAINS.

this is a picture i took from the top of the highest

point in north-central wisconsin: granite peak.

(about 700 feet up)

i hiked the mountain with one of the boys from work last month. the trail was pretty much straight up -- crazy steep. but it was a nice hike and a pretty view with all the autumn leaves changing.

for the sake of comparison, here's the view

from the top of "Y" mountain in provo:

how high is the "Y?"

oh you know...about 8,520 feet.

another fun fact:

the cement "Y" itself is about 380 feet high...

a little more than half the height of my new highest mountain ( :

spontaneous sunday - #2.

so when you move to wausau, you get this giant packet full of coupons and sweet deals on things all over the city.

this week, i checked to see what sort of freebies i could get.

and guess what was on the list?

a decorated quarter-sheet cake!!

(actual retail price: $17.99)

...did i need a cake? no.

but it was FREE! so why not, right?

don't worry, mom. i will save it until you (and daniel and dad) come to visit so you can share my delicious free cake with me.

two days left.

if you didn't know, this week was a big election so work has been crazy and i haven't been blogging. but hopefully things will be calming down now and we can all go back to normal (maybe).

also if you didn't know, there are only two open days in the blogosphere if you want to claim them for your own. so far, we have --

* spontaneous sunday (me)

* musical monday (daniel)

* wordless wednesday (mrs. d)

* tickle me thursday (surrah)

* frank friday (micae)

so...does anyone want tuesday or saturday? it's not a big commitment -- you just have to post SOMETHING on your day and think of a cute name for it. any takers?

day one.

yes, i'm also doing a DayZeroProject list and it was actually MY idea that sparked this entire thing, despite being the last one to blog about it / put it on facebook. if you want to look at my list, click here.

i'm really excited to do all of these goals. some will be a challenge, but i thought about what i really wanted to accomplish and i'm happy with the things i decided to choose.

today is day one. so here goes nothing...

spontaneous sunday - #1.

NOW I HAVE A DAY TO POST THINGS ONLINE TOO!!!

plus i posted some funnier clips on my facebook page. the end.

xox from anna.

welcome inside my house!

you walk up the stairs of my apartment and you're in my living room.

(i think it has high ceilings, but maybe i'm just short...)

^ i need to get something to put my tv on...but besides that i love it.

^ the green armchair (that i'm not sure i'll keep) and my $25 couch with cover and ohio state blanket ( : plus a coat closet. the wood molding is the top of the wall. i can see the stairs when i look over it.

^ my living room is right next to my kitchen.

love my mirror art? (i didn't want to buy a hammer so i

put the nails in with the top of my round brush. creative, no?)

the hallway to the right leads to my bedroom and bathroom.

^ i love my kitchen.

^ sooo pretty! granite countertops, black stove

and refrigerator and nice wood cabinetry.

^ this is what you see when you look in the door to my bathroom.

did i mention my bath has hot tub jets??

^ yep. pretty bathroom-y.

^ and then next to my shower is my washer and dryer.

(and a few of my bras...oops)

^ and THIS is my bedroom!!

no decorations (yet) but at least i have a bed ( :

and i turn my ceiling fan on every night.

(how did i live without one for so long?)

^ and my walk-in closet which has tons of room for all my clothes.

...so...

who wants to come visit?

reason #260: why i needed a queen-sized bed.

clean laundry on one side.

space to sleep on the other.

...enough said.

my house -- a preview.

this is the sign outside my neighborhood.

^ see?? it says STRAWBERRY FIELDS!!

"serene, secluded and secure.

living the good life."

yes...it is all of those things.

^ if you drive up to the fork in the road and turn right, i think my apartment is one of those boxes...but i'm not sure which one. some of them are still being built so it's hard to know for sure.

^ this is the gym that i get to go to for free. two treadmills, an elliptical, weight machines and a tanning bed (not pictured). i usually see more people tanning than exercising while i'm working out...

^ this is the outside of my apartment. it's the right door of the two that are identical to each other: #3. the balcony that is shown is mine too!

^ i open the door and go up the stairs to my apartment...

and you'll have to check back to see how cool it is inside ( :

things my sisters (and emily) will like.

1. i started on my 2nd loaf of awesome bread that my sisters sent!

^ it's been in the freezer for a while but i toasted some of it

today and it was still delicious. thanks again!!

2. i sprung for some cleaning supplies.

^ guess what was on sale, mrs. d?!

3. i went to the mall and found two of surrah's favorite things:

^ JEGGINGS!!

^ plus yummy auntie anne's pretzels!

don't worry. i didn't have any without you.

^ 4. plus i think it's funny that they call it soda here.

it's pop. it really is.

5. as i type this, i have chicken breasts baking in the oven (like i used to make with my bff, emily). i went to turn them over and they were still kind of icky when i stabbed the fork in (they're only half done, after all) and guess what was the first thing that came to mind?

"...she was gross."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

other random things:

- i got my picture taken at work (on my day off)

because they want to put it on the website. eek.

- i went to open a bank account yesterday (somewhat unsuccessfully, since i forgot to bring cash to put in it). the bank lady introduced herself to me and i told her my name was anna. and she says, "oh...anna carrera! i've seen you on tv." eek!

- i may or may not be getting a couch today. i paid for it yesterday and it's supposed to be delivered today, but i forgot to get a receipt so i'm hoping it gets here at some point. eek again.