being awesome.

i've been meaning to update my blog. really...i have. but between all the craziness around the newsroom lately and me actually trying to have a social life (movies! hockey games! dinner dates with friends! basketball games! polar plunge! cooking! planning sunday school lessons! parties!), my blog life has been lacking. but don't worry...

i've been practicing.

and soon...i'll be awesome too.

20 hours in wausau.

yesterday afternoon i could see my balcony.

this morning, i could not.

hello, foot of snow that fell overnight.

good to see you too.

welcome to wisconsin.

maybe i've just never paid good enough attention to national current events before this past year or so, but it seems like ever since i moved to wisconsin, it's been all over the news.

from our flash floods in the fall to our overnight 15+ inches of snow...from our missing girl (who nancy grace still talks about) to our parents who decided to pray over their daughter instead of take her to a doctor (sadly, the girl died from complications due to diabetes -- totally preventable if her parents would have done more than exercise their "faith" over her)...from the packers winning the super bowl to wisconsin teams beating #1 unbeaten OSU teams not once but TWICE. crazy.

and now -- our governor wants to fix our state's budget by doing some major cost cutting and the entire state is up in arms about it. a bunch of our senators FLED THE STATE to escape having to vote on the bill today. i mean, seriously, people. can we be a little more ridiculous?

if you don't know a lot about our budget crisis, it's pretty standard. click here for a link to a CNN article that explains it more.

basically, wisconsin is poor (like pretty much every state in the country) but now our governor wants to fix it all within his first month and a half in office, by getting rid of collective bargaining for unions and cutting some health care and other benefits for state employees. one of our photographers likened it to "fixing" a family budget by saying, "oh, this year we just won't buy food." sure...it will save you money. but also, it's not healthy. i still haven't decided what i think about the issue, since it still needs to pass through the legislature and that could totally change all the rules. but the people here are passionate and it's been interesting to watch the drama unfold.

what is also not super-healthy?

toy story macaroni & cheese. but it is delicious.

so here's to you, wisconsin.

way to get in the national spotlight and make my life as a reporter

interesting (if not totally ridiculous) on a day-to-day basis.

FIFTY DEGREES.

it was literally fifty degrees out today.

on my way to see sean, i even drove with my window down.

plus, i saw grass for the first time in months.

i think it's going to be a good week ( :

dear no-stick pan:

we're officially fighting.

remember when you actually didn't let food stick to you?

that was cool.

you will be replaced as soon as i can find the money (hopefully -- good replacements are super-pricey).

xox from anna.

the minneapolis / st paul airport.

did you know i went to utah this week?

i did.

i flew both ways through minneapolis.

both times...i got delayed.

here's my pilot for minneapolis --> wausau:

he was trying to get us an earlier slot, but to no avail.

here's the food i ate while i waited:

yes. it was my birthday brownie.

and yes. it was delicious.

also while waiting in minneapolis?

some lady from across the waiting area says,

"HEY! you're on tv in wausau!"

small world, right?

anyways. flying can be crazy but it does have its bonuses.

while walking to my final plane, a guy stopped me

and asked if i had a delta skymiles card.

i told him my dad did.

and then he asked if i was the primary card holder.

i said no.

he said if i got my own, i'd be eligible for awesome bonuses.

so i told him i was only 17 -- not quite old enough for a credit card.

the end.

...right?!

NOPE!

i say thanks and start to walk away

and he chases after me and gives me this:

bonus alarm clock / calendar thing? yes, please.

"oh, i knew you'd sign up if only you were old enough."

haha. thanks, dude.

anyways. now it's back to the grind in the newsroom.

today i did a story at the humane society

and this kitten tried to come home with us.