Kerri-Lee's Blog

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Come over to the wild side, and play ... all the fun is on:

www.kerrileetv.com

To my fabulous faithful bloggers: calling JT, Shaikens, Richdoy, Cooler, Crazy, Deck, Jack Frost, Dewey Devil, NJ Dirt tracker, Paul, wow...

the list is long and I can't type all my favorite handles, but YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!  I want you all to participate :)

First the Primary Special that we are airing each week, now we're diving headfirst into the hybrid of internet/tv news coverage.  We are launching a new internet venture at FOX 29, and involves a blog, my blog, about life on and offline in Philadelphia.

My station has called it  www.kerrileetv.com and basically, it has me as a go-between the local web, the community, bloggers,  you tube, news sites, and our newscasts.  Cool, huh?

Visit our new site now, but keep in mind, there are still test pages, and it's a work in progress.   But this will be our new meeting place, and we can bring our chat to a whole new level over there...  sign on, get a new name, or use the old one from here, but become a part of it. 

See ya at KLTV!

Hi All,

And you thought I forgot about you!  Never.  In fact, bloggers, gather close, I have a surprise for you... only I can't tell you just yet what it is.  It's a big fat secret, but we may have a new home, our blog room may soon look a little different.  You know, same kinda place, just different paint on the walls.  Stay tuned :)

Alright, so Happy St. Paddy's Day.  You better be wearing green!

I am at work, working on "the secret" but wanted to at least check in, so here's a little rambling about... well, Lambertville!

Last week I had an event to go to, and the organizers knew I would be rushing from work, so they sent a car to come and get me.  I tried to pretend it was totally normal for me to be hopping into a chauffeured vehicle, with a guy named "Joe" opening the door for me, but it wasn't, and it was such a treat.  Partly because Joe was just a really great guy.

He said he was from Lambertville, and I couldn't have been more excited to hear that.  There are many towns in the Delaware Valley that I love, but Lambertville, NJ is one of the tops. 

I kind of "discovered" a couple of years ago, when my friend Jodi Applegate and her husband bought a cottage across the river in New Hope.  Every chance I got to go visit her, became an exploration of the quaint BYOB's on both sides of the river, and soon I had my favorites.   But what struck me most of all, is that this hidden gem is just a drive from NYC and Philadelphia, and it was somehow able to maintain all of it's originality and uniqueness. 

Is it possible, that in this age of strip malls, shopping centers, and towns that look identical no matter where you go in America, that a town this charming could still exist?

I'm so glad it does.

Ciao for now,

KL

I was at Foster's Homeware at 4th and Market Street the other day and as always, I found a ton of stuff that I may or may not need for my kitchen and home.  I was nearly at the end of my "gathering" when I saw the kid's section.  They had some really cute gifts, great wrapping, and then... this book.  I had recently heard about it, and when I opened it, I realized why so many people love it and are giving it to every eight year old they know.

It reminds me of my 5th grade teacher, Mr. Newman, from Cordova Bay Elementary School in Victoria, BC.  Forget that book, "I learned Everything I Need to Know In Kindergarten," for me, it was the year I turned 10.  We were all kind of scared of Mr. Newman, and especially intrigued the day we had a half-day, and he showed up at school in a turtleneck sweater and jeans... "What?  Mr. Newman had jeans?"

Anyway, we would do something called "Morning Drills," and he would ask 10 questions based on things he taught us.  Like what temperature will water boil? How many inches are in a yard?  What is the capital of Saskatchewan (it was Canada, afterall)  Mr. Newman made sure we learned basics, facts, things that myself and the rest of his hundreds of students would learn many years later--- that we were really glad he "drilled" into our heads.

This book reminds me of those days, and those drills.  So I bought one for my little man. 

He's only 3, but it will eventually teach him how to make a paper airplane, build a treehouse, learn about different bugs, understand first-aid basics, and he'll even know some basic Shakespeare.  He'll learn about the Seven Wonders of the World, the Rules of Soccer and how to play chess (mommy might skip the lesson about "How To Hunt and Cook a Rabbit")  I found myself getting excited about the first clear night so we could take the book and try to identify some of the things we see in the sky above us.  Cool book, huh?

Oh and girls?  They made one for you too :)

Enjoy being "Dangerous" and "Daring" kids.

KL

Hi Everyone!

Happy Monday-- just going through some of the news today, and checking out various headlines.  This one caught my eye for a couple of reasons.  Read it, then I'll explain.

Tanning Salon Patrons Are Not All Young, Local Expert Says

by KYW's Lynne Adkins

A local researcher has found that tanning salons are not just for teens getting ready for prom. 

Older Americans are throwing out the sunscreen and heading off to the tanning salon in surprising numbers. Dr. Carolyn Heckman (right), a behavioral researcher at Fox Chase Cancer Center, surveyed more than 29,000 adults and found that 14% of people in their 40s and 10% above 50 use tanning beds, putting themselves at a higher risk for skin cancer:

"Absolutely, I was surprised that older adults were indoor tanning, especially because skin cancer, like all cancers, occurs more often in older adults, so they are at a more immediate risk of skin cancer."

She says skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in this country.

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I remember sitting in the doctor's office at the campus health center at Arizona State University waiting for a routine checkup, when I looked up and saw a picture of an alligator's skin closeup.  The caption read: Lay out in the sun, and just think, your skin will look like this too!

I looked at my own brown glow, and thought, yikes.  Would it really look like that?  I was 22, I couldn't imagine wrinkles, and frankly didn't really care to think about "down the road..."  I was worried about "now," and that meant baking in the sun every spare hour I had between classes. 

Not sure what changed, but as I entered my late 20's, I decided to get out of the sun, "Go With My Own Glow," something I wouldn't have been able to believe possible since I had been such a sun worshipper. I was on the Eastcoast at this point, and though I was loving weekends down the shore, I was worried that it was all going to catch up with me.  Skin has a long memory, the doctors say...

Well, now I'm 36 and I'm thinking of trying a "Summer in the Sun" again.  I miss that golden glow, and a 10-year break-- doesn't that count for something? 

This article has me rethinking things again (buzzkill).  Thought I'd share it, just in case your conscience also needs to be reminded of the risks of skin cancer,no matter what your skin type.  I'm still going to do the sun thing this summer, but I'm going to lather up with sunscreen.

Isn't this a pretty picture of the Jersey Shore-- How many days until Memorial Day?

LOL

KL

Hi Everyone!

It's Sunday, I'm taking a break from a nasty kitchen renovation (SO gross, I won't elaborate, but I may post pictures and I feel like I did in this picture with mud all over my face.. that dirty) and catching up on emails.

How often do we cringe over those emails that we get from people that are seemingly annoying forwards?  I try to always look at them, because someone sent them to me, so I know they meant something to them, but so often I find myself thinking-- wow, 180 new messages in my inbox, I am going to have to gloss over these pretty quickly to get through them, and I have to hit delete more than once.  That said...

My Uncle forwarded my mom who forwarded me, some interesting points about, well... life.  There was a time that I was unable to relate to a lot of them, but as I've gotten older, and life has touched me in various ways, good and bad, I can now read a list like this, and well, really "get it."  So I'm going to cut and paste them for you, and save you having to get the forward from my Uncle Warron (no matter HOW awesome he is).  Ok-- I know, these email "lists" are annoying, but I swear, you'll find at least one point that will make your week better. 

39 Tips for Better Life - 2008

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It
is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if
you have to.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,
'My purpose is to __________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

7. Make time to pray. It provides us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild
Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new
and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires,
issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a
college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years,
will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. GOD heals.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends
will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to Death!!!)

37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following
statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the
most of it and enjoy the ride.

There are so many good ones here-- I like eating Alaskan Salmon, and forgiving everybody, and thinking the best is yet to come.  I always enjoyed Sophia Loren's comment, that what keeps her fit, and young and happy and beautiful and smart-- is believing that there is still something exciting around the next corner.  I do too, though my "eyewear" isn't nearly as awesome as hers :) 

The movie, "As Good As It Gets," doesn't apply to us, does it?  I swear, it gets better and better,  Or at least we can believe that and work our hardest to make sure that's the case, and you know what, I believe wholeheartedly that it DOES get better and better and better....

"

"Life isn't fair, but it's still good."

It certainly wasn't the day this photo was taken.  An Eagle squirting me with a high pressure hose?

Ouch.  But it got better :)

 KL

Yep-- you heard me right, Trashtalk '08 is swinging into high gear!  And this time I have a pretty heavy hitter helping me out-- Mayor Nutter.

He and I have been organizing clean-ups and going into neighborhoods in desperate need of some straightening up for nearly a year now, so we got to know each other well on the "Trashtalk" level, and he told me last summer, "If I become Mayor, one of the first things I want to do is organize a massive, city-wide cleanup."  Well, once again, Nutter is keeping his word and the cleanup is going to be announced in the very very near future (like Monday at a rally in Love Park)  Not only that, the city is unveiling a website that will allow every single Philadelphian to get involved by clicking on where they live, and finding out the staging area on that day for their neighborhood. 

Philadelphians--- PLEASE, we need your help!  And actually, it might be our responsibility to get the litter off our streets, out of our schools, and away from our blocks, because uh... we put it there.  This is the reality, and the part of this whole thing no one ever wants to admit to, but there wouldn't be litter and an enormous trash problem if we didn't drop the stuff on the ground in the first place. 

So, make your communities shine, and your streets sparkle by helping the Mayor and I out.  I am meeting Nutter today in a trash ridden neighborhood to highlight the problem and to encourage response from anyone who has pride in this city and wants to make it look as good as it should.  Believe it or not, there are cities around the world that don't have trash problems, and they look amazing.  We are not there yet, so help us work toward that same goal.  So, gather all your friends together, and get them involved!

I know you're all thinking, "It must be Spring, KL is on her trash kick again."  You know what?  You would be right!!!!!

Now please please please help me out!  Enter "Trashtalk" in this websites search engine to see some of our pieces from last year or just click right here, and you'll see this whole trash thing is catching on. Block captains-- I love you all, and thank you for your continued service and dedication.

More to come on this....

KL

Hi Everyone,

The above picture is of my friend from growing up, Marvin Nicholson.  I don't know exactly what he's doing, I just know he's clearly in desperate need of a haircut-- major "hair alert" going on there.  His pic will make sense, only if you keep reading today's blog entry :) 

So-- hopefully you stayed with us after American Idol last night to watch the "Super Tuesday Two" elections coverage last night on the FOX 29 News at Ten.  Bruce Gordon and I watched the numbers come in and then tried to make sense of them as results became clear.  What a night!  This is so exciting, I LOVE this stuff! And the best part of all of this is that everyone seems to care, for the first time in a long time about what their vote means and how they can make it count.  Not only is this history we're watching, but Pensylvania now matters a whole lot to what happens next. (Yay, PA!)

Expect to see national media crews chowing down on cheesesteaks inbetween live shots from various parts of our AMAZING city, and both camps will start making regular appearances in our neighborhooods and in our communities.  In fact, Chelsea Clinton is already stumping for mom, HIllary in Philly today.  Keystone State-- get ready for your close-up!

The Obama Camp will also be heading our way, and how weird is this, a very close friend of mine is Barack's National Campaign Trip Organizer (I think that's his official title, or close to it)  He and I worked at the Cordova Bay Golf Course together when we were 18 years old, and have stayed friends ever since.  Marvin Nicholson is hard to miss--he's a tall, stringy 6'8 (with the crazy hair you see in the pic above) an enormous personality and a quick wit.  How did Marvin go from being my beach bum friend with a bright red Jeep Wrangler (with a kicking stereo BTW) to political helper guy? Marvin met John Kerry while he was working at a Surfing/Sailing shop in Boston, and  so impressed Kerry, that Marvin became his, "Chief of Stuff" as he used to put it during his presidential run a few years back.  Hopefully Marvin will be better luck to Barack, as he's now HIS right-hand man.

So, if you see a really really tall guy walking around town, and you find yourself at an Obama rally, tell him, "Hey Merv, KL said to say hi!"

In the meantime, PA, let's welcome "You Decide 2008" to town!

KL

Hi Everyone!

As a "Geek-ette" in training (what, with all this blogging I'm doing now) I thought Oprah's effort last night to do something daring, and technologically forward was great-- a massive live webcast.  How cool!  Um, maybe not. 

Here's the problem-- it didn't really work.  There is good news-- 500,000 people showed up online to check out her "New Earth" philosophy with writer Eckhart Tolle.  But there is also bad news-- The entire thing crashed after about 45 minutes.

Yikes.

Here's one blogger's take on the "event."  I laughed at the irony of her closing her laptop to watch something on tv instead.   

Hi Everyone, Happy Weekend!

I tried to post this yesterday at work, and spent at least 45 minutes putting together a clever post, only to have it time out, and disappear into cyberspace.  Frustrated, I decided Friday night was not the night to stay late at work to re-post.

I had to shoot a headshot and some special "webshots" for a new FOX 29 microsite I'm working on at Philly Style Magazine's headquarters yesterday, so being the newly crowned "Techie" that I am, I brought my Flip Cam! (My friends now call that thing, "KerriCam")  Anyway, if you want to see a behind the scenes look at the photoshoots we do for the billboards you see around town, or the headshots that are posted on this very site-- here's an example!

Micheal Spain-Smith is the photographer and here's how dedicated he is to his work.  At the beginning of this little movie Click here to watch my video you see him holding his eye and looking at the shot.  He scratched his cornea severely the night before, and spent hours in the ER, so he can barely see, and the light from the shoot is KILLING his eyes.  He kept going though, and still made me stand in the all the strange and crazy positions he makes us stand in.  However, when we see the pictures afterwards we are SO glad we listened to him-- he totally knows his stuff.  I always joke with him, "MIchael, don't make me look good, I want to look BETTER than I really look!"  He cracks up and reminds me he's not a magician, and I then decide to appeal to the graphic department back at FOX to bring out their strongest airbrushing kit. 

You also see Meagan, the very talented makeup artist, pulling off the belt from my pants.  There is a very good reason for this, I promise!  Apparently it was showing up in the pictures and causing my jacket to bulge a little bit, so, Meagan is called in and off it goes.  Well those are all the secrets I can share, or at least show-- believe me, there are others and they were all performed safely behind a locked bathroom door! LOL

Hope you had a great Saturday, Spring temps coming on Monday!  YAY!!!

KL

Hi Everyone!

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Spring, so I've been busy examining window boxes on my Center City street to find even the smallest hint of a crocus, or daffodil pushing through. Guess what-- they are trying!

This is such a fun time of year since we will soon say goodbye to those brittle boring bare branches, and hello to lush, lavish, lovely leaves. Yep, I'm a sucker for Spring.

Now that you know that, you will understand my weekend plans-- http://www.theflowershow.com/home/index.html

The 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show looks AWESOME and I know I will run into tons of you there (hope to, at least!!) I love the "Jazz it Up," theme and maybe New Orlean's Mayor will actually have something nice to say about our beautiful city after he sees this LOL

Anyway, check out the trees in my "backyard." They have blossoms on them! And I have a song from a "Little Bill" episode in my head every time I look out the balcony off my bedroom at them.

Little Bill gets stage fright during the School Spring Pageant. He's dressed up as "grass" and is too scared to say his lines. In the end, he remembers a lesson his teacher taught him-- to take a deep breath and blow his stage fright away. He gets the line out and all the kids are thrilled, and continue on with their song-- "Spring is here, Spring is here, it's the best time of the year..."

I agree.

KL

Hi Again,

What is happening to me, I can't stop blogging! What... two in one day?  Three posts in two days?  OUTRAGEOUS!!

But I have so many things to tell you all, and my station loves it when we post and blog and chat (how awesome is my station?) so I guess I better do what they say, right? :)

Ok- so the "Hot Nanny" emailed me tonight.  Ashie is Van's first nanny, and she directed me to HER blog that she is doing for a class at school.  Of course I had to check it out, and in true Ashley fashion, it's hilarious.  She has always cracked me up and her crazy random comments about American Idol in tonight's post, just reminded me of all the nights we spent with a baby between us laughing and giggling at the show. 

We used to joke about Simon's tight black tees which we weren't so sure he should be wearing (I had a red carpet close-up that made me wonder if it was the best look for him) and Ashley would ask me about the time I interviewed Paul Abdul and embarrassed myself by admitting, shortly after I got my driver's license, I would listen to "Cold Hearted Snake," CONSTANTLY in my dad's car.  Paula wasn't sure what to make of that, I think she thought I was busting on her album-- so NOT the case, considering to this day, I still know every word to every song.

Anyway, what I remember most about Ashley, was the way she would tell me stories.  I used to try not to let on how funny I thought she was because I wanted her to continue and not think I was laughing AT her.  For example, she always seemed to have crazy dreams, and when she would re-count them in the morning, it was beyond hysterical.  Check out her blog, she talks about some of them-- I think one of her posts recalls her "MIchelle Pfeiffer--Rocket Launch" dream.  

http://hottnanny.blogspot.com/

That is SOOO Ashley.

I soooo love and miss her.

XO KL

Hi Everyone!

So I was opening mail at my desk, and in a pile of packages, I saw a box from NATAS, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  Sure enough, the Michigan Emmy Entries had arrived-- I had promised our local chapter president I would help judge some of the entries from around the country, and it turned out to be Michigan.  Ok-- that's on my to-do list for tomorrow.

 But wait, what was this other box, about the same size?

I opened it up thinking it was more emmy entries, and what a surprise!  They were beautiful candles from a company called, BEELUXE.  The sender? KC Christian, a viewer I met last week at a Philly Mag event.  She was there with her sisters and mom, named Peggy.  She said they were loyal 5pm viewer, and we spent time chatting, laughing, and eating (it was the Philly Cooks event, afterall)  The next I mentioned on the air meeting Peggy, and a sent out a special hello, since I knew she would be watching. But I never expected in a million years a beautiful handwritten note, and a box of beeswax candles with some of the most incredible scents I'd ever smelled!

Beeluxe.  Hmmm, hadn't heard of it, but wow, those candles!  So, I decided to check out the company online.  Guess what I discovered? It's a local company from Bucks County! 

"BEELUXE is nestled in the 300-year-old village of Fallsington in historic Bucks County, Pennsylvania."  Here's the link to the website: www.beeluxe.com

Thank you KC, Peggy, and Beeluxe.  I have been smelling these candles all night-- and I'm not sure if I like "Shore Thing, Front Porch Swing, or Day at the Races" best.  Aromatherapy (much needed in a newsroom) can do wonders for the soul.  I can't wait to get them home and burn them!

Smile,

KL

Hi Everybody!

So I've been spending some time with our web department, and Matt, Scott, Torr and Frank are going to be helping me out a little bit in the near future.  I can't get into a ton of details, but soon-- our little blogging community can go hog wild in a place all our own.

Prepare to spread the word to our former members, and let's invite some new ones-- I'll tell you more when I can.  In the meantime, I'm going to be experimenting with this blog a little bit, so bear with me, I'm by NO means a techie.   That's why our main web guy is going to set me up with our "Geek Squad" contact so I can learn the ropes.

"Matt Web" is going to help me tonight.  We are going to experiment with video from my new "Flip Camera."  It's fairly inexpensive, you can get them at Best Buy, and for 170 bucks or so, you can make little movies or pictures out of anything, anywhere, anytime.  Yes, very cool.

So I've been carrying mine around and I'm going to attempt to link some videos to this blog.  In the future, I'll blog about a topic, and link pics or videos that match the topic.  But again, what I'm linking now will really have no major reason for being linked except that I'm practicing :)

First-- some footage from "Philly Cooks" that celebrated 100 years of Philadelphia Magazine.  John Bolaris and I hosted the event, and the camera person taking the video?  WIP's own Anthony Gargano.

Finally-- a link to a short video of my little guy playing while we waiting for breakfast at a Center City diner on Saturday.  It is sooooo smart for family restaurants to have a "bag of goodies" handy! 

There you go, if I can learn how to do this, so can you.  Hope you don't mind being my guinea pig for a little while, but I'm a fast learner, I promise!

Ciao for now,

KL