A Look Back At 2011 And The Start Of 2012

Is It Really 2012 Already??? As we closed the books on another year earlier this month, I got to thinking how crazy 2011 was. Especially weather-wise. We experienced everything from a major blizzard, to one of the worst severe weather seasons, to drought and heat. The blizzard of 2011 was quite the experience. I spent the night at the station for two days, covering one of the biggest stories of the year.It was an exciting year for us weather folk, but also a year that makes us realize how fragile and precious life really is.

My perspective of severe weather began to changed on April 22nd, Good Friday, when St. Louis was hit by an EF-4 tornado. For the first time, I knew people who had been affected. My grandmother's house was severely damaged and her next door neighbor, that I have known all my life, had her house completely destroyed. I walked through the damage and saw first hand the sheer destruction. I prayed I would never have to see something like that again.


This is my Grandmother's next door neighbor, Mary's house... Well what was left of it.
But exactly one month later, the unthinkable happened. My life was forever changed following the May 22nd Joplin Tornado. And I thought the damage in St. Louis was bad. I have never seen EF-5 tornado damage. To this day, I can close my eyes and see myself standing on the hill looking down on Joplin High School. No one is around, night is falling, and it is silent. All around me, complete devastation. That will haunt me for the rest of my life. Because of this experience, I have a new perspective on life. Anytime I think I am having a bad day, I think of the people that I have met in Joplin. It could always be worse. Please, if the sirens are going off, heed them. Go down in the basement. Just do it. It's only 15 minutes of your time, it could save your life.

As we moved into fall exciting things continued. I was moved from the weekends into the weekday evening shows. While it took some getting used to, I have really grown to love this shift. I enjoy working with the people I do. They have become like family. KOMU really does have some of the best people in the business, both in the jobs they do and the people that they are.

The fall also began my final semester of grad school at Mizzou. I completed my degree in December and am officially a Master of Meteorology... if that adds any credibility to what I do ;) It took me a full two years to complete and I am happy to be done with school until I decide to go back and get a Doctorate.

2012 has already had its ups and downs, just like any other year. But I am looking forward to working towards my next big goal: obtaining my CBM Seal. AKA the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal. It is a tough one to get, but I am starting to study and work towards taking the test. Once that is complete, I am going to have to start thinking of a new project or goal.

An Emotional Month

So I left off with my trip to Joplin exactly one month ago today. It was a beautiful service and there was not a dry eye in the entire crowd. A moment of silence was observed at 5:41 pm for 161 individuals who lost their lives in this devastating tornado. Now that the people of Joplin have had time to grieve the loss of family and friends and get over the initial shock, everyone was wanting to share their stories.

Also that week, after stuffing my belly with lots of turkey (hopefully you all had a great Thanksgiving!), I was headed to Kansas City for the Border Showdown which may be the final meeting between MU and kU for a long time. Sat up in the Press Box for the game, was a cool perspective. However, I was going crazy because I couldn't cheer for the Tigers. It was a fun experience but from now on you will find me cheering with the fans!

Following the Border Showdown game, I had quite a bit to get done and accomplish for the end of the year for my Masters program. Probably the biggest relief for me came when I finally handed in my masters thesis to the graduate school and they approved it. Then it was just two test, a paper, and one homework assignment that would stand between me and graduation. After a stressful week, all was accomplished. I walked across the stage on Saturday December 17th at 6:30 pm, shook hands with Brady Deaton, and accepted my fake diploma with a huge grin on my face. It was a big milestone and big accomplishment for me. I started grad school when I became a full time employee at KOMU. Working 40 hour weeks and going to school part time took a bit of a toll on me but in the end it was all worth it! I held my head up proud with my parents and brother there to witness it. But I couldn't have done it without our Morning Meteorologist, Eric Aldrich, who also walked the stage with me that day. My partner in crime throughout grad school. A big thanks to him for being such a great friend and co-worker!

Where did this year go? I can't believe Christmas is a few days away and before you know it 2012 will be here! I will have more to recap next week before we head into the new year, and by then I should finally have my graduation pictures posted on the blog for all to see. Merry Christmas to you all!

It's The Little Things In Life

So I left off last time with the Cardinals winning the World Series. I feel it is only appropriate to start off with this picture. At the Mizzou vs. Texas game on November 12th, I had the opportunity to meet Cardinals third baseman and MVP of the World Series, David Freese.



David Freese and I at the Mizzou Game


If I wasn't already floating on cloud 9 after witnessing the World Series win, this continued to keep me up in the clouds! He was a very humble guy, a little shy and quite too. He definitely brought us some luck and helped us win the football game that day!

Also in the last few weeks, one of my best friends Angie, who recently got engaged, asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. And the way she did it was so cute! Sneaky.. but cute! She is from St. Louis too so she had told me that she was going to be in Kansas City visiting a friend and would be swinging through Columbia and stopping for lunch. So we made plans to grab a bite to eat and catch up a bit. When I arrived at Addison's I was greeted by Angie, her mom, her two sister-in-laws, and her fiances mom and sister. I was a little surprised at first and then two of Angie's best friends showed up. Jamie who also lives here in Columbia, and Amy who drove in from Kansas City to meet Angie "to try on bridal gowns". When we sat down at the table, we each had a card with our names on it. I opened it up and it was a beautifully written note from her about our friendship over the years and at the bottom, she asked if I would do her the honor of standing by her at the alter as a bridesmaid. It was a very special afternoon for all of us. I will have to take note of that creative way of asking to be apart of the wedding.. so clever!

Angie and I at our friend Brandy's wedding this past July.

Lots of things going on this week.. Heading to Joplin tomorrow. They are having a memorial service for those who lost their lives 6 months ago. It will be an emotional trip and I will be sure to write about that when I return. Also, Thanksgiving is only 3 days from now! Looking forward to seeing the family and spending some time with them before heading to Kansas City for the MU vs. kU game, which may or may not be our last. May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, be safe everyone and eat lots and lots of turkey!

Heroes Get Remembered But Legends Never Die.

I figured I would start off this blog post with a quote from one of my favorite baseball movies of all time.. The Sandlot! How appropriate given the events of the past few days. For those of you who don't already know.. I am a HUGE Cardinals fan!

I bought tickets with my younger brother Matt for Game 6 which was supposed to be played on Wednesday. You see our ratings period (sweeps) began on Thursday and since we are not allowed to take off during sweeps, I wouldn't have been able to go to Game 7. (Hence the reason we bought Game 6 tickets instead.) Well when it got pushed back due to rain, I wasn't going to be able to go. I was devastated. So we came up with a plan. We sold the tickets for that game and bought Game 7 tickets hoping it would come down to it. Everything happens for a reason.

After the best comeback game I have EVER seen Thursday night in Game 6, my adrenaline was high. I am not going to lie, I was getting worried there towards the end. But I never gave up on the Cards. David Freese is a hometown hero and he is the reason I would get to see Game 7 (I was really excited to see him get MVP, he deserved it!). It was almost impossible to sleep that night and I had a lot to get done before leaving the next day to head back to St. Louis.

One of those things was an event for Special Olympics. Since I am a little daredevil, I was chosen from the station to repel down the 13 story Jefferson Building. Mind you I am terrified of heights but when it comes to helping out organizations and charities, I am willing to put my fears aside. I had a great view of the city, the river, and the govenor's mansion which was just off to my right. I couldn't look out too much because I didn't want to have a panic attack. I made it down in 8 minutes and I couldn't be happier to have my feet back on solid ground.

That's me repelling down the Jefferson Building! Crazy I know..

After repelling down the side of the Jefferson Building in Jefferson City for Special Olympics, I returned home to watch the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Texas Rangers in Game 7 of the World Series. My brother was beyond excited and we were just like little kids in a candy store. Smiling from ear to ear the entire drive downtown. We got there a little later than expected and didn't get to grab dinner on The Hill, a typical tradition in our family. So we got in the stadium early, got some jumbo hot dogs, and grabbed a few cold ones. I love ballpark food! The game was great, the atmosphere was indescribable (you really just had to be there), and the memory will last a lifetime. On Friday October, 28th, we witnessed history in the making. The Cardinals won their 11th World Series!

Me and Matt, right after winning the World Series!

"Weather" You Like It or Not

Welcome to my behind the scenes look into my life as a TV Meteorologist. I figure I will ease you into this. So this is how I decided I would start out. One of the first questions I get asked is why did I want to be a Meteorologist? What on Earth possessed me at such a young age to want to do this? So I will answer that. At the young age of 7, I saw a waterspout in Gulf Shores, Alabama. This started my fascination with weather. I also had the chance to visit Fox 2 News in St. Louis and meet Dave Murray, the Chief Meteorologist (I gave him a picture of that waterspout). The hustle and bustle of the news station intrigued me. I must admit, I always thought TV was so glamorous.

Prior to wanting to do this, I wanted to be an actress. But I was a realist even at that young of an age and knew that would be extremely difficult. So I decided to combine my love for weather along with my killer acting skills (ha!) and focus on a career in Broadcast Meteorology. I would imitate those who would do the weather all the time. I was also the kid that was standing outside looking up to the sky while the tornado sirens were going off. WARNING: Never do that, heed the warning of the weather folks and go to the basement!

Flash forward about 10 years.. As I got ready to graduate from High School, I was torn between which College to attend. I had the choice, University of Oklahoma (Too far away), St. Louis University (Too close to home), or The University of Missouri (Just right..!). I feel like the three bears with their porridge right now saying that. But it is true. I wanted the college experience but the comforts of being close to home (Not to mention the best Broadcast School in the world to help with my On-Air endeavors). I must mention that I am pretty close with both my parents and my younger brother Matthew, so it wasn't that hard of a decision for me to make.

My Brother and I at the Mizzou Football Game

So off to the University of Missouri I went. During my undergraduate career, I managed to work two jobs, (Mizzou Rec Center and KOMU), balance 16-18 hours of school, along with the rest of my extracurricular activities (Sorority, Volunteer Work, ect). I managed to do just about everything I wanted to do (minus studying abroad, you should really do it if you even have an incling to) and paid for everything on my own, something I am very proud of. Needless to say, I had the time of my life but worked my tail off to get to where I am today. Work hard, play harder right?

Living the dream. I'm the evening Meteorologist at KOMU-TV 8.

After a 'half victory lap', I graduated in December of 2008 with a Bachelors Degree in both Meteorology and Communications. I stuck around KOMU long enough to convince them to give me a job so I could stay here in Columbia and work. I really didn't want to leave, I felt like this place was a second home to me (St. Louis will forever be my home, no matter where I go). There was so much more for me to learn, so much more for me to still explore. So what did I decide to do? I went back for grad school to get a Masters in Meteorology (I'm crazy, I know). Working 40+ hours a week in addition to keeping up with classes has been a struggle, but I always seem to maintain that balance. I will finish up this December with that degree. That brings me to the here and now. That's just a little insight into my life.. for more, standby!