It’s been a pretty good weekend so far.  Needless to say, this was the first Fourth of July I’ve had off since before college.  I don’t envy those I left behind in the news business.

Friday, I slept in a little, but then it was time to fire up the grill!  Amy wanted me to cook up quite a bit of meat so we could eat well for a few days.  I grilled steaks, hot dogs, hamburgers and pork chops.  All quite tasty, if you don’t mind me saying.

I spent that afternoon in the shed.  We’re having a yard sale this upcoming Saturday, so I found some stuff before the thunder and rain settled in.  I got out there this morning to finish it, and thankfully I did. Sunday brings church, climbing in the attic to find more stuff to sell and a haircut in the evening.

This is basically my last free weekend this month.  My buddy Jimmy will be here after the yard sale.  I’m going to a Braves game on the 19th with old friends from WTVM and my birthday (July 26th) will be spent back in Atlanta at a Drum Corps International show at the Georgia Dome.  Unfortunately, the corps I marched with in 1991-’92, Southwind, folded a couple of years ago, so they won’t be there.

And let’s not forget the weekend after that… August 3rd…  Linkin Park @ Projekt Revolution!  Holy moly… I just realized I’ll be in Atlanta three weekends in a row…

Oh, geez… then another weekday Braves game with the guys from work a week and a half after that.  Dang… I must love Hotlanta!

Just looking on Drudge Report, and I’m having a hard time understanding why people are calling this woman a pregnant man.  You know the one I’m talking about.  Had the operation and the hormones to look like a man, but kept all the plumbing so she could still have a kid.

This gal is four weeks away from giving birth, and all these media outlets are going nuts over a “pregnant man.” Physically impossible, folks!  Some days it’s no wonder I left the news business.

On that note, happy Monday to you!

It’s getting mighty close to January 2, 2007. That means in about 14 more hours, I’m heading back to work after a 10-day break.

It’s been a great vacation. It’s the first one I’ve had since Christmas 2005, and I don’t count that week Alyssa was born as vacation. It was joyous, but hectic with everyone constantly at the house.

I love my job and station. I’m very blessed to be in a place I enjoy with people I enjoy even more. That being said, I did not enjoy November or December 2006 at work. I haven’t told a lot of people because no one really wants to hear my complaints, but there was hardly a day I was happy to be there.

I imagine it had a lot to do with the holidays rolling around and being anxious for some time off. On the other hand, there were only a couple of stories I really got fired up about (the big one being the local “We Are Marshall” piece). Outside of that, every day was just “eh.”

My two big resolutions this year are knock a dent in the debt and relax more at work. Some would say, “Relax? In news?” Yes, because I can handle the stress better than some. If you’ve never been in a TV news environment with a deadline and breaking stories looming, you’ve never seen stress…

Not everyone can be on television where people recognize you and trust what you tell them. That’s a blessing, and I love it. I just want to capture that fire I had. Now that I’ve been away for a few days, I know it’ll show up again.

Here’s to a great 2007!

Breaking at 10:10 a.m. CST:

This is a story I covered at my old station in Tuscaloosa:

Body of Heaven LaShae Ross found

I’m glad her remains have been located, but I feel so bad for the family. I interviewed them a few times after she went missing in 2003. I went to several vigils and events for her, and it’s sad it ended like this.

I hope there is justice for Shae.