Christmas time is here...

Okay so not quite yet...

But it's time to start prepping! Ever since I started high school, my family has put me in charge of doing holiday cards and letters. I've written the family update letter, I've picked out the cards, I've addressed, licked, and stamped the envelopes.. I've done everything.

And this year is my final year. I'm a senior in college and this time next year, I'll be out on my own with my own life, job, "family" (my dog), my own everything. It'll be time to move on.

So this year, I want to do something fun and special. Lynsie showed me this cool special Shutterfly is offering! Shutterfly is giving away 50 free holiday cards for Bloggers who blog a post about it. You can sign up/find more information about it here: Sign Up! 

Here is what I've found so far!

My dad once worked for a company based in Israel so for a few years our Christmas cards were very non-denominational and were basic holiday cards. I wish I had known this then! Shutterfly has non-denominational cards that you can find here: Holiday Cards


But since he doesn't work there anymore, I got to look at Christmas cards! Check them out here:  Christmas Cards


And since it's also time to start thinking about gifts for everyone, I looked at their calendars too! I'm thinking about doing it for my mom :). Go look!: Calendars


Plus May is only a few months away...I'm trying not to think about that. But while on the site, I looked at their graduation announceme but nts. Most of them are class of 2010 but I'm sure by the time I get close to sending those, they'll say class of 2011 (which is scary). Go freak yourself out: Graduation Announcements

I took some screen shots of my favorite cards. Let me know what you think!

I think this one is my favorite!

I'm excited to pick one! You can even customize the insides of your cards to include different amounts of text and even add more pictures! This is going to save me so much time this year!

Happy Birthday Mom

For my mom's birthday, I had professional pictures taken of me and my brother. My mom is huge on family pictures and we hadn't had them in a few years. There were pictures of me in high school around the house... and those just aren't cute anymore. Here are a few of them :)

This one is my favorite

I plan on using these for Christmas cards this year! Hopefully I'll be able to put pictures of me and my brother from break as well as some of my KOMU pictures and maybe a school picture in the cards as well. Stay tuned for a post about Christmas card ideas!

Semester Catch Up

Oh hi blog. It's been a busy semester -- but I've missed you.

Here's what you've missed in pictures:

A trip to Martha's Vineyard

My cousin Paige's (on the right) engagement party
(L-R: Halley, Me, Paige)

The start of my producing class!

KOMU Pictures

More KOMU Pictures

Girls Nights

Girls nights going to see Steve Jones (attorney) perform

Double dates with Lynsie

Real cowgirl boots

Halloween at the Office
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
(L-R back row) Jeff (Dopey) Nick (Bashful)
Caroline ( Doc) Craig (Prince Charming)
Morgan (Snow White) Jason (Magic Mirror)
(L-R front row) Brynn (Sneezy) Me (Sleepy)
 Lynsie (Happy) Claudia (Grumpy)

Field producing election night
(Shown here with my reporter)

And a dress up day at the office
Back Row L-R: Claudia, Caroline, Jason, Nick, and Jeff
From Row L-R: Brynn, Me and Lynsie

It's been an incredibly busy semester and I'm excited to leave for Thanksgiving break next week. I could use a refresher before coming back for finals. I only have one final but have papers or presentations in all my other classes. And between the 28ish hours at the station, the 15 hours of class and the scheduled 16 hours of work each week, I'm usually running around like I've lost my head. Pretty sure I would too if it wasn't attached to my body. 

But here's to more blogging. 

Home Sweet Home

I finally took a break from work and the station and came home! It was definitely a rough drive (22 hours all by myself), but I got to see an old friend and had lots of time to think...about everything.

I first stopped in Indiana to see Jordan. He graduated from my high school and Mizzou. We went to an amazing pizza place and caught up. 

                                               

I met his cat Layla. She was so cute and tiny!

I got an early start and ended up getting into Keene, NH around 5. I went to surprise my cousins and grandmother. They were quite excited :) I spent most of my time with them because my great-grandmother wasn't doing very well. She is 88 years old and 60 lbs. To let my grandmother and great-Aunt deal with her illness, I took the girls out for the day the next day. I made them play tourist with me, even though I was born in that town!

                                            

                                            

                                        

This sign was left over from when Jumanji was filmed in our town! I'm quite proud of that :)

                                            

On my way home from Keene, I stopped to see other cousins who are way too tall now! I'm older than all of the cousins I saw by four years and I'm a contender for one of the shortest. Not cool. 

Since then, I've just been hanging out with my family. Turns out, my brother also sprouted and is now 5'9" at 13 years old. Makes me feel old. 

We're going to the beach tomorrow and I can't wait! It's one of the bonuses of living on the coast!...even if it is New Hampshire.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go

This summer at work has been a whirlwind but it's slowly starting to calm down...sort of.

I work for a law firm prepping documents for court cases we either go to or have a local attorney in that area attend. We work in 4 states: Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Before the summer, I had started to work more on the Missouri cases than just entering documents. This means more time spent communicating with Courts and Attorneys.

Then the summer started...

The two people who worked on prepping documents left - one for good and one just for the summer - leaving me to do all four states as well as entering documents. I was swamped.

But for the first time all summer, I'm a day ahead. I'm so excited that I am continuing to work so that it stays that way when I leave next week for two weeks. I feel bad for my manager who will only have two people at a time during the two weeks I'm gone. It seems it's prime time for people in our department to go on vacation!

I'm quite pleased with the summer, even with all of the stress and worry it caused me. I've learned a lot and started to make more decisions on my own without consulting my manager (which is a good thing most of the time). I was also named Employee of the Month last month and was quite proud that not only did others notice I was working my butt off, but they recognized it to the entire office.

I'm looking forward to this next semester. I have several days that I will be working with Lynsie and I am excited for her to come back and teach me more! :)

A Weekend in the Country

I got some much needed fresh air this weekend. As always, it was amazing.

I finally got to meet the other bridesmaid in Lynsie's wedding party! She has quite the cute 4 year old too :). We met with the woman who is making the bridesmaids dresses so she could talk with Lynsie regarding what she wanted and she took our measurements too. Her house was so cute! It was very antique-y. Gorgeous.

The Howell County Fair was in town the same time I was so Lynsie and I went to the fair together! I love fairs and haven't been to a county fair in years! I also went to my first truck pull!

It was an interesting experience to say the least. It threatened to storm, but luckily it didn't! We didn't stay too long though. Some of the rides didn't sit well with our stomachs.

Saturday was spent in Springfield! Lynsie, her mom, and I were wedding dress shopping! I must say, the dress Lynsie chose (the first one she tried on!) is the perfect dress for her. It's simply gorgeous. 

Of course I also got to see two of my favorite puppies! 

Boots isn't very photogenic...unless he has a hanger around his head. I guess dogs are like children and would rather play with things like boxes and hangers than expensive toys...or in this case, bones :) And of course, Dozer kept a very close eye on the other pups to make sure he got the most attention :)

Lynsie's garden also produced its first tomato and I got the honor of picking it! There were also cucumbers! I think I'm going to need a cucumber garden some time in the future to handle the amount of cucumbers I eat!

It was an amazing weekend, as always! I learned a lot about car maintenance while getting ready to leave, which is nice for my upcoming trip! 

I love love love the county. But I did happen to see this on my way home and it made me giggle inside. Gotta love the outdoorsy types!

Maggie Contreras, Producer.

I'm officially done with reporting! Forever! And ever and ever and ever!

That's right! Broadcast 3 is over!

I officially start my producing class next semester and I couldn't be more excited. I've waited for this class for three long years.

BUT


I started "producing" the morning show at KOMU on Wednesdays! I am still in training but I love it! I'm really only writing content so far but it's an excuse to practice my "creative writing". Plus it's the morning show so anything goes. It's less "serious" than the other newscasts. It's a great learning experience.

That's the view from one of the Producer stations in the control room!

Sure it means weird hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but I love it so much that I don't care. I'm getting my hands dirty and that's what the #1 Journalism School is all about!

New Look, More Posts

Breaking news...

A new look! I'm playing around with it still though. But I like the new features Blogger has!

Coming up...
At least 5 more posts! I'm doing a huge blogging update this weekend. Each update will have it's own post so check them out!

Stay tuned!

First Live Shot

Here is the video for my first live shot! It was for the morning show on June 4th. Since the show is two and a half hours long, there are many hits, hence this is a compilation video. Let me know what you think!

Top 2 Tuesday

Better late than never right?

Top 2 Tuesday sponsored by Undomestic Momma

Today's Topic: Top Two Books!

1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - This is revealing my nerdy, sci-fi side. I love Star Wars, Star Trek, and everything in between. This book was one of two books we could choose from for 9th grade English Summer Reading. I was the dork that read both the "boy" book and the "girl" book (The Locket - good read as well!) but that's not the point. There is an entire series on Ender and his adventures. I would highly recommend it for anyone with an imagination.

2. The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich - So it's not just one book...the entire series is amazing. I literally laugh out loud (ask my roommate or my parents) and it's got everything in it - it's a comedy, romance, and mystery! What more could a girl ask for?! 

I must give credit for knowing about these books to my amazing roommate Katy. She's also gotten me on the Spellman File Series by Lisa Lutz. I recommend those as well!

I'm in the process of making a compiliation of my first live shot! I'll be sure to share when I finish! But in the mean time, head over to the Undomestic Momma to play Top Two Tuesday (It's not too late) and link up!