Kerri-Lee's Blog

  

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 Everybody!!

Finally, a chance to sit and blog and catch up with all the gossip I'm sure I've missed over the last  couple days.  I've been swamped with work and assignments and yesterday, I was amongst seals, sea turtles and hippos (Oh my!)

In fact a friend called me at one point and I had to tell him-- "Um, now is not a good time to talk..."  He said, "Why? What are you doing?"  And I said, "I'm on my stomach lying on a dock feeding sea turtules lettuce-stuffed squid."  He politely said he would call back later.

Before feeding the Sea Turtles, the West African experience was AMAZING.  I got to  look right into the face of hippos and throw treats into their huge gaping mouths, and then I got to feed a porcupine!  Patting them on the back is like nothing you've ever felt before.  They have quills of different sizes in different places all over their bodies, and they live with the hippos!  Can you believe they are the one of the only animals hippos are afraid of?!  The porcupine was really cute, just  like a dog, sniffing around, looking for bananas out of my feeding tray.  And they have a very musty smell that reminded me of a ferret. 

Finally the seal show-- and thankfully it was warm out when we did that part of the shoot.  Kia the seal was with me, and trainer Nicole Kodrick.  We brushed her teeth, played with toys, checked her nails, made her dance...  and I got to touch Kia too.  She felt like a wet dog! I loved it...

Well, portions and clips of my trip to the Aquarium will be coming up on the 5pm next week so like always, tune in!

And tonight-- we're focusing on the weather. It's going to be a disaster during the show, so you better tune in for complete information on roads etc.  And be careful tonight!

Happy St. Patrick's day, I'll try to check in over the weekend too :)

KL

 

 

 

Hi Everybody!

Good morning to you all--

Another bright sunshiney day, can't wait to finally feel some warmer temperatures.  Not that it will matter much, I'm going to be inside the Convention Center for part of the weekend taking in the Flower Show!  Gerald Kolpan was kind enough to get me tickets to the event, and I absolutely can't wait.  If you've never been give it a try-- it's fun for the whole family because once you step inside you feel like you're in a fantasy land right away.  The entrance is so dramatic and whimsical and you just keep thinking-- "Wow, I can barely grow an African Violet in a pot on my desk, this is outrageous!" 

Speaking of, I currently have a beautiful big orchid on my desk that I was given as a gift when I started the 5 from the staff at the hair salon we all go to at FOX, Tabu.  I'm trying desperately to keep it alive because it's huge and gorgeous and clearly someone's gone to a lot of work to make the thing look like it does.  Tom Burlington gave me some tips on how he is keeping his orchid alive at home (his realtor gave it to him as a gift when he moved into his house) but I'd love to know if anyone out there has any tricks to the trade.  Please feel free to contribute to my "Save the Orchid" advice fund!!

Gotta get ready for work and the little guy is calling my name, he wants to watch Bob the Builder on PBS Sprout.  Parents-- how great is the "Goodnight Show!"  Love it.

Anyway, I'll be checking in throughout the day as always, would love to hear from you.

Happy Friday,

Kerri-Lee

Hi Everyone, Happy Monday!

Over the weekend Rob asked some of his devoted, fabulous bloggers to visit me on my blog and I was so excited to see the most posts I've ever had waiting for me when I logged on last night and this morning.  I am so flattered you all came to visit.  Do come back and play :)

Had a great weekend, went to NYC and hung out with some dear friends, and now I'm back and ready for an awesome week on the 5pm.  We have some great stories we're working on, and of course, your favorite, Rob Guarino, will be there doing weather.  What's with the chilly temperatures?  And did I hear talk of snow later this week?  I know you weather bloggers love when there is talk of that.  One of my close friends is a meteorologist in Washington DC, and you remind me of her-- she is a weather nut, describes herself as a "Weather Weenie" and she knows her stuff inside and out.  She went to Cornell and she's totally the real deal, a very smart lady who has even chased tornados with die-hard storm chasers.  You all would like her very much. 

This is one of my favorite times of the year in Philly-- The Flower Show is in town so I'm dying to go visit Ireland inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center!  Hopefully the boss won't read this, so I can duck out at lunch and sneak a couple peeks without anyone knowing I'm gone..  shhhh! Don't tell :)

Well, just wanted to let you all know how much I enjoy chatting with you.  And maybe I've made some new friends who will regularly visit my blog so I don't have to borrower bloggers anymore.

Have a great day guys,

Kerri-Lee

Hello Everybody!

Thank you thank you thank you-- at this writing, we have had nearly a thousand votes for the dress poll. You guys are the best! And I love your choice so far... the pink :)

The dress you choose will be featured on tonight's 5pm, so be sure to tune in. And because you all responded so much to our poll, I have even had Giovanni and Pileggio offer to do my hair and makeup. I'm so excited, they are FABULOUS and I know they will do a way better job than I could possibly do. After all, with competition as stiff as Camilla, I have to be on my game!!

So the Royals are officially here, we've been told they've checked into the Four Seasons, and they've got quite a busy schedule for the next couple days. Isn't this fun? The city is making a bigger deal out of their visit than the President's!

Well, I wish you all a (warm) happy weekend, be sure to stay in touch, and I'll try to blog before Monday. Speaking of Monday-- I'll take my digital camera and take pictures of the ball and show them to you.

Thanks for all your help, and wish me luck that I don't trip on the train of my borrowed dress!!

Kerri-Lee

Hey Everybody!

A good friend of mine invited me to go to the Academy Ball with him. Well, I've been so busy working on the new 5pm show that the event came up and I realized the other day-- I have no dress!

I made a call to Nicole Cashman and Associates, and they've always been so good about helping us with segments here at FOX 29. And they didn't disappoint. Within hours, they had an appointment for me set up at Nicole Miller at the Bellevue, Jack Kellmer's son on his way over to the store with some of the most beautiful jewellry I've ever seen, shoes, handbags, you name it. I was in shock! They've all agreed to loan me the items for the night, and I am so incredibly honored to wear their things.

But now I'm stuck.

I don't know which one to wear!

So I had a friend take pictures of me in the store trying the dresses on last night, and our web guys have put a poll on our news page. Could you take a second to visit the poll and vote for the dress that you think would be fitting for Saturday night?

Thanks so much in advance, and whatever you choose is what I will wear.

Can't wait to hear from you,
Kerri-Lee

Happy Friday!

Whew, what a week.

I spent a lot of time this week visiting local radio stations promoting the 5pm, and it was a blast! I love the personalities on our morning drive shows. Justice, GN, Chio... heck the whole crew from Wired was a kick, Preston and Steve-- awesome! Booker, Diego-- soooo incredibly fun and really nice, I could go on and on, they all ROCK! But I bring them up, because one of the topics that came up was Paula Abdul's unusual behavior on some morning radio shows this past week. She was on the FOX station in Seattle behaving, well, strangely. (Youtube.com has clips)

I'm not sure what to make of her odd behavior, though I had a similar experience with her when I was in LA for the first American Idol finale with Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson. I was asking her questions, and joking around with her and she seemed incredibly dazed and out of it. I was telling her about how I played her "tape" (ok, it was the 80's) in my dad's car when I first got my driver's license and drove around singing, "Straight Up" and "Cold Hearted Snake" with all my friends. She looked at me like I was speaking Greek, and I wasn't sure if she had ever heard of those songs before, until I reminded her, she sang them! It was odd, but I brushed it off and figured she was stressed or busy or being a typical celebrity. At least Paula keeps us entertained!

Either way, American Idol is getting bigger ratings than it ever has. If only the 5pm News could come on right after Idol, I'd be set!! I'll have to talk to my news director about that...

Anyway, what are your thoughts on Idol? Tell me what you did this weekend? In fact, tell me anything you want! I love to hear from you all.

Bye for now,
Kerri-Lee

"BREAKING NEWS" Fashion Spread
W MAGAZINE February 2007 Issue
Philip-Lorca diCorcia

So it's out.. the February edition of "W" Magazine. You know you found the right one if you see Nicole Kidman on the cover, and a "Breaking News" photo feature on the inside.

The pictures by Philip-Lorca diCorcia are interesting-- featuring some news reporters and some real models, including Jessica Stam and Raquel Zimmerman. Jessica and I are supposed to be at a birthday party where something has gone "teribly wrong." I'm reporting on it, she's in the bottom photo sitting at the table with a birthday cake on it. FOX's Laurie Dhue is infront of a huge storm, ABC's Andrea Canning in on courthouse steps, one of the models is infront of a burning car... The images are intentionally unsettling, but really, so is a news reporters job much of the time.

It's shot in a very distinct style, dramatic lighting, strange settings. The ceiling has been dropped to make me look larger than life so I look giant. I'm really 5'7 but wearing 6 inch heels. One piece of truth to the shoot-- I've certainly been in people's kitchens before to talk to them about something that has happened in their life, and then told their story.

I've had so many people ask me how this came about. My station was contacted by "W" Magazine and they were asked for a few of us to send in some more photos, and some tape of us actually reporting in the field because a well known fashion photographer was doing a new spread. A short time later, I found out myself, and three other reporters from across the country had been selected. It was a great opportunity to look behind the scenes at how the fashion industry operates, and to meet some models who I regularly see on the pages of fashion magazines.

Take a peek, see if you like it. And for those of you viewers who REALLY see me report/anchor the news, I think you'll agree, it's a far cry from what I normally do, or even look like, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

Enjoy!
http://www.style.com/w/feat_story/010207

Parenting Blog
Kerri-Lee Halkett
Anchor/FOX29

Guess what I did this weekend?!

I went to NYC to do a REAL fashion shoot for W Magazine (it's kind of like Vogue, or Vanity Fair.) The photo essay featured designer clothing on some fabulous women in both the news and fashion industry. Some of the news reporters from around the country included FOX's Laurie Dhue, CBS's Tracey Smith, and ABC's Andrea Canning.

I couldn't believe how excited I was to see what it was like behind the scenes of something like this. I couldn't get anytime off during the week since we're in sweeps, so I showed up for the Saturday shoot. On my day, I "modelled" with Raquel Zimmerman from Brazil (you know her from Vogue covers, H and M campaigns, she's everywhere) and Jessica Stam from Canada (also on magazines and ads all over the place) I was so star struck! We had to pretend we were "reporting" from the scene of a birthday party where something had just gone terribly wrong. Cryptic, I know, but intriguing, right?

They were extremely sweet, and yes, very gorgeous and very tall and very thin and very.. well, very everything most of us aren't. Once I was past how statuesque and lovely they were, I enjoyed being around them and seeing what a day in their life was like.

I ended up wearing a very pricey Jill Sanders skirt, a Gucci top and heels that had to be 6 inches tall. I literally got charlie horses in my arches the second I put the shoes on, they were HORRIBLE, but beautiful. I was determined not to be a baby, but as I was wincing, I could see the models smiling sympathetically. Obviously, they had been there before.

I survived the shoot, and have so many great stories to tell (and some new makeup techniques to try!)and a couple pictures by an incredible photographer to prove I did it.

If you want to check out the entire spread, it's W Magazine's February issue. If you're not familiar with it, it's the really big oversized magazine you've likely seen at your hair salon or spa. And if it doesn't turn out well, or I have a strange expression on my face, just remember how much my feet were hurting and cut me a little slack...

Have a great day,
Kerri-Lee

Parenting Blog
Kerri-Lee Halkett
Anchor/Fox 29

What a fun night I had last night! My little guy, Van, and I spent the evening "harvesting up" the house and getting things ready for Halloween.

I've been in a silent competition with my Center City neighbors to have the most impressive harvest display, and with 25 mums, a bail of hay, a scarecrow and 6 pumpkins all spilling out of my window boxes and onto the sidewalk infront of my house, I think I might be winning! I also have a harvest wreath and witches broomstick hanging from my front door, do you think I'm overdoing it?!

I don't care, I love this time of year and I have big plans for the weekend, including the costume event at Headhouse Square, a trip to Shadybrook Farm and Pumpkinland, and then of course, carving the rest of the pumpkins. Ahhhh, the smell of roasting seeds...

We have two pumpkins already in "Jack-o-lantern mode" and they were shining brightly from the front stoop last night. (I forgot how much I love the smell of raw pumpkin!) Van's new favorite book? Chumpkins! A very cute seasonal read.

Speaking of Van, I thought he would be really into the whole pumpkin guts thing, but he took one look and said, "No no, mama do."
So mommy did, and once he saw how fun gooey icky pumpkin seeds feel between your fingers, he dug right in.

I wish you all a safe and fun Halloween with your kids in the next few days. And if you don't feel in the spirit yet, I highly recommend a trip to Bucks County's Shadybrook Farms, or Delaware County's Linvilla Orchards-- both friends of all of ours on Good Day Philadelphia.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! And share with me some of your favorite moments from this year or year's past, I really love to hear about your kids and your families... Kerri-Lee

Fantastic Philly Radio- with a show just for Kids
WXPN's Kids Corner 88.5FM
Kerri-Lee Halkett
GDP Anchor

When I moved to Philadelphia more than five years ago, friend's quickly turned me onto WXPN, 88.5FM, the radio station at the University of Pennsylvania. Not only is it the home of the World Cafe, but also some of the best and most interesting music and singers and songwriters I'd ever heard. It showcases some great local talent like Catherine Tuttle from Whitemarsh, PA, even my son's nanny, Ami Verrill, has performed there before. I was instantly a fan of the station's originality, it's commitment to music and it's involvement in the community.

When I first started listening, I was single at the time and didn't have any, so one night at 7pm when I heard something called "Kid's Corner" come on the radio, I was tempted to reach for the tuner, but I didn't, something kept me listening. Maybe it was Kathy O'Connell, the program's host and her infectious enthusiasm. Or maybe it was her unique ability to relate to her audience which, at that time of night, is made up of children and parent's driving home from swimming lessons, soccer practices or dinner at Applebee's.
She often has guests on the program and there is plenty of opportunity to sing, learn and even call in. I remember thinking at the time, "When I have children, I'm definetly going to have to remember this program." A couple of years later, I find myself doing exactly that, listening to Kid's Corner in the car, with my toddler, Van. He loves it! And why wouldn't he? It's made just for him, and other kids of all ages and he claps along with the best of them.

I went to their website (www.xpn.org) to learn more about the program so that I could pass it on to you. Let's face it, there is an awful lot of radio that we don't need or want our children to hear. I guarantee you, this won't ever make you or your children blush, and you won't be quickly reaching for the dial to turn the station before something inappropriate is said. This is just plain, good, old-fashioned clean family radio. You'll love it!

Here's the nitty-gritty:

WHAT IS KIDS CORNER?
Created in 1988, Kids Corner is a live, call-in radio show for kids, and a production of WXPN-FM, public radio from the University of Pennsylvania.
Hosted by Kathy O'Connell and produced by Robert Drake, Kids Corner is the recipient of over 20 broadcasting awards including the George Foster Peabody Award. Kids Corner can be heard Mondays through Thursdays from 7-8pm Eastern, on:
88.5fm WXPN-FM, Philadelphia PA
88.1fm WXPH-FM, Harrisburg, PA
104.9fm WXPN-FM, Lehigh Valley, PA
90.5fm WKHS-FM, Worton/Baltimore, MD
and live on the Internet: WXPN Listen Live

Kids Corner can also be heard nationwide on the Sirius satellite radio network; Weekdays from 1-2pm Eastern on the Sirius 'Kids Stuff' channel, #116.

You can reach Kids Corner during our live shows, by calling our toll-free number: 1-800-KIDS-XPN
To submit music for airplay consideration on Kids Corner, send 2 CDs along with a bio one-sheet to:
Kathy O'Connell
Kids Corner / WXPN-FM
3025 Walnut Street
Philadelphia PA 19104

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And if you like what you hear, you might like what you see! You can visit Kid's Corner Studios.
Here's more on that:
Attention Children's Groups and Families!
Kids Corner Family Tours are Now Available!
Kids Corner Family Tours are designed for 7-12 year olds and their adult companions. Tours last about 45 minutes and include a scavenger hunt with prizes. Tours are limited to 25 participants and require advance registration.
To request space on an upcoming tour, please complete our Kids Corner Family Tours' request form at xpn.org

Finally, I always try to include something fun for you parents, too, so here's something you might want to try on your lunch break from work-- it's the World Cafe Live. Spend an hour at noon on Friday's watching some of the hottest acts in music. Recent Guests? Last week some of my FOX co-workers checked out Bare Naked Ladies, I saw Duncan Sheik (of "Barely Breathing" fame) Ray LaMontagne (LOVE his music) played as well as Fiona Apple and the list goes on. It's all free, but first come first serve, and food and drinks are available if you plan to eat while you watch.m We are so lucky to have something like this in Phillly, a station that really is.. "All About the Music."