The week between Christmas and New Year's is always tough in the news business. Between vacations and lack of anything happening, it can easily turn into the longest week of the year, especially if your stress-to-sleep ratio is out of wack like mine has been. In fact, I've been in a kind of funk for the past two weeks it feels like.

It all started when we had to miss my aunt's annual Christmas party and then Christmas with my grandparents because Alexis got a terrible stomach bug. To make it worse, we sent her to stay with my mom because she was out on winter break so daddy and I wouldn't have to miss work. Needless to say I was not focused on work those three days. Other than getting a touch of the bug myself, Christmas came and went pretty uneventfully (more on that in a post next week), but this past week has been bad. Bedtime has been a struggle all week, I haven't slept well, and work has been beyond stressful for a handful of reasons.

All of these things have combined to create an end-of-year funk I'm having a hard time breaking out of. I feel like I'm not being a good mom, wife, friend, or daughter right now, and all I want to do is burrow into the covers on my bed and sleep until I feel like me again. But of course I won't. Instead I'll do the laundry that's been piling up, organize all the Christmas gifts Alexis got that are strewn from one end of my house to the other, and take down our decorations before the new year. And while nearly everyone else I know will be out celebrating the end of 2016, I think I'll watch a movie with my husband and go to bed early. If nothing else, I'll start off 2017 with a good night's sleep.

Happy New Year.

I started the (Not So) Basic Journalism Skills series two years ago with the goal of sharing some of the things I've learned from the newsroom that weren't taught in school or are often taken for granted as something you should already know how to do. It's been over seven years, and I still haven't run out of things to write about.

Within the past year, I've trained two producers who don't have degrees in broadcast journalism - one was a print major like me, the other has an English degree. There's been a fairly big learning curve, much like during my first few months as a producer, so I've had to come up with unique ways of bridging that gap, which is what inspired this post.

I've put together a list of four tips to help new producers find their footing and keep their sanity during their first month.

1. Establish a Routine
In this business, deadlines are a blessing and a curse. They give you something to work toward, but, in the beginning especially, they can seem synonymous to failure. That's why it's so, so important to establish a routine early. I have a printout that I give all my new producers to help them get started. It's the exact same routine I've been following for the past seven years.

2. Time Yourself
I learned the hard way that having a checklist isn't always enough, especially when you're a brand-new producer. When I first started, I worked overnight by myself. There was no one there to hold me accountable or jump in and save me if I got behind, so I set myself deadlines throughout the night to get things done. I've found this to be very helpful for the last two producers I've trained.

3. Prioritize
My newest producer was having a hard time meeting final deadline, even with a timed checklist. Turns out, we hadn't allotted enough time for her to edit video and had it too far down her checklist. So we rearranged and blocked out her time differently. Basically, we reprioritized so that the hardest thing for her was higher on her checklist. Bottom line, do your hardest thing first. After you've picked your content, that is. It's kinda hard to do anything else before that.

4. Watch/Look Back
This may be the best piece of advice I can give you. Go back and look at past shows, both the rundown and the air-checks, to see how things are put together, how stories are written, etc. This is a visual business, so reading old copy and watching old shows will give you a strong visual of what your end goal should be ... at least in the beginning. Obviously, your goal should always be to improve upon the product.

All of these tips are tried and true. I've used all of them myself or have employed them when training new producers.

For more tips and tricks on surviving the news business, check out my other (Not So) Basic Journalism Skills posts.

It's been a hectic past couple of weeks at work, and I've honestly just been forgetting to take pictures of what I'm wearing. In fact, this picture is a direct result of me remembering during my toddler's bath that I hadn't done a Newsroom Fashion post in a couple of weeks, so I quickly snapped a photo while sitting on the bathroom floor.

There's nothing special about this outfit but it's so comfy and flattering. I'm so glad I splurged on these white jeans from The Limited this Spring and this sweater back when I was pregnant. Now that I'm normal size again, it fits like a tunic so I can wear it with jeans or leggings. Everything I'm wearing is at least six months old, proving once again that smart shopping is always worth it in the end!

I couldn't find anything really similar to my sweater, but I linked to some tunic-style sweaters that come in a similar color that are available at The Limited right now below.

Details:
Sweater: The Limited old (with fringe, textured cowl neck)
Jeans: The Limited old (similar)
Necklace: The Limited old (similar)
Boots: Target old (exact)

Being a parent is tough. I think we all constantly worry that we're not doing enough, that we're making a billion mistakes, that we're not there enough. That last one is what I've been struggling with lately - working-mom guilt.

I love my job. It is an absolute privilege to be able to do what I do every day, and I've worked very hard to get to where I am in my career, but opportunities get off early when you work in news, especially when you're a producer, are few and far between.

My typical weekday starts between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. If I'm lucky, it starts at 6:00 and Alexis sleeps until 7:00, which means I get an uninterrupted hour to get ready for the day and then another hour to spend with her. If I'm not lucky, she wakes up before my alarm, is grumpy because she didn't get the sleep she needs, and the morning is spent fighting to get ready so we can leave the house by 8:00. Alexis is at daycare by 8:15 so I can be at work by 8:30. I get off as soon as my show ends at 5:30, pick Alexis up no later than 6:00 depending on traffic, and we're home usually by 6:30. Her bedtime is 8:00.

Even on days when daddy is off, I still only get to spend a few hours a day with Alexis during the week. And even though I'm a big believer in daycare and the social skills Alexis is learning while there, I still feel guilty that some days she spends more than eight hours there.

When we get home in the evenings, there's dinner to be made, bath time to get through and the all-important bedtime routine to follow. It's 8:00 before I know it, and although Alexis' day is done, there are still things on my to-do list like dishes or laundry, but most nights I'm ready to fall into bed as soon as I know she's asleep. So then there's the guilt of daily household chores often left undone, not to mention the guilt that comes along with feeling like you don't have enough to give of yourself to your partner.

Is there no end to working mom guilt?!

I don't actually have an answer to that, but I am working on ways to feel less guilty about the things I can't or don't do. I'm also working on appreciating the personal time I get instead of constantly feeling like I should be doing something other than something that's just for me.

Are you a fellow working mom? What tips or advice do you have for overcoming working-mom guilt?

Better late than never, right? After a particularly long night with the baby, this Monday was one of the toughest I've had in awhile and definitely one which I have to remind myself that tomorrow is another day.

Happy Monday!

Here's my review of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in a nutshell: if you are a fan of Harry Potter, you need to see this movie. If you haven't seen it yet but plan on it, read no further than this paragraph or risk having the movie spoiled for you. You have been warned.


Here's the general plot line -- Newt Skamander (Eddie Redmayne) travels to the US from England to release a griffin back into the wilds of Arizona. He's traveling with a magical suitcase filled with magical creatures including a niffler. Some of those creatures escape in New York when Newt accidentally swaps suitcases with a muggle, or no-maj as Americans refer to non-magical people, aspiring baker Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler). Newt and Jacob, along with disgraced auror Tina (Katherine Waterston) and her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol) then find themselves in an adventure that's much bigger than recovering escaped magical creatures and keeping the magical world hidden.

The crux of the movie revolves around an American auror named Graves (Colin Farrell) and his secret search for an obscurus, a child that has suppressed his/her magical powers so that they manifest in an uncontrollable form. Graves has enlisted the help of a young man named Credence to help him find this obscurus, wrongly believing it to be one of Credence's adopted sisters. When Credence fails to deliver, Graves essentially tells the boy he's useless, prompting Credence to reveal that he is the obscurus and in the process expose magic to the entire city.

In the end, aurors destroy Credence, and Graves' true identity is revealed - Grindelwald, the evil wizard (Johnny Depp) - setting the scene for a sequel, which will be released in 2018.

Fantastic Beasts is the best movie I've seen all year, and, in my opinion at least, it was better than the Harry Potter movies, and I don't say that lightly but rather as an adult who now has a grown-up version of the magical world that's been a beloved part of my formative years. And just in case you weren't sure, I can't wait for Fantastic Beasts 2.

This is as close to a monochrome look as you're likely to see me. Blending shades of the same color into one outfit has always been tricky for me, but I do like how this oxblood sweater and blush jeans turned out. I was actually inspired to try this combination by a coworker who wore an all-blush outfit one day last week. The only thing I might change next time I wear this is my shoes and opt for wine-colored pumps instead of boots. (P.S. Both my sweater and jeans are on major sale right now, and my boots are 30% off. Links below.)

Details:
Sweater: ShoeDazzle
Jeans: Aeropostale
Boots: Target

• 2 cans of carrots (I prefer Del Monte but it really doesn't matter)
• Butter
• Brown sugar
• Black pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat both cans of carrots on the stove just like you would if you were preparing them normally.
2. Once heated through, drain water off.
3. Transfer into serving dish.
4. Add a few teaspoons of butter (I usually do three but I'm not big on butter).
5. Once the butter has melted, add in desired amount of brown sugar, gently stirring so as not to smush your carrots. You'll want at least two tablespoons but last time I made them I used four.
6. Optional: sprinkle on black pepper to taste.

See, I told you. Super simple and takes about 10 minutes to prepare.

What's your favorite Thanksgiving side dish?

Recipe adapted from this version.

I knew a long time ago, before high school even, that I wanted to be a journalist. I decided that was what I wanted to do and set out on a path that ultimately led to where I am today, which I will admit is not where I imagined I would be all those years ago.

As with nearly everything in life, technology (and the 2008 recession) has transformed the journalism industry tremendously. Instead of working with ink, bylines and column inches, my day-to-day involves video, anchors and commercial breaks. But just because it turned out a little differently from the original plan doesn't mean I'm not living my dream.

See for me it's all about the news - delivering those stories that members of my community need and/or want to see or read. My original goal was to work for a newspaper or magazine, but when the economy tanked in 2008 that part of this industry took a big hit. I didn't give up, though, and applied to more than 100 publications before I was asked to temporarily produce my station's morning show in 2009. Even then I didn't realize that the definition of my dream was evolving. For the first two months I worked as a producer, I was still applying and going on interviews for newspaper jobs. None of them worked out, obviously.

Now, a little more than seven years later, I've gone from morning producer to evening producer to senior producer and now to executive producer. In addition to that I've gotten to pick up a camera and report on stories in my hometown. Sure there have been ups and downs and times when I've considered leaving, but I honestly can't imagine my life without the news.

So what was the point in me telling you all this? Too many times I see people give up on their dreams because it's not working out exactly the way they thought it would. I can't even imagine where I'd be now if I had turned that temporary producing gig because it wasn't part of the plan. The biggest part of achieving your dreams is the journey you take to get there.

Even though things didn't go nowhere near to plan, I didn't give up on my dream to be a journalist. Take it from me, the path to achieving your dreams isn't always straight but it's the twists and turns where you're most likely to learn who you are. You live and you learn and you just might end up exactly where you're supposed to be.

Over-knee-boots have been a trend I've admired on others but been wary about trying out myself because of my height. I worried that the boots would make me look shorter than I actually am. But when I saw this pair, I had to try them. They have an inner ankle zip, ties on the back and a nice cut-out at the knee. The suede, almond toe and heel help make these boots chic. They're pretty tight, especially around my prone-to-swelling ankles, and don't have much bend in the ankle area, but otherwise are comfortable ... so long as you don't try to cross your legs at the knees. Also, this skirt is a new favorite and is on major sale. I linked to it below.

Details:
Sweater: old (similar, similar)
Skirt: Cato
Boots: ShoeDazzle

Last year, I missed out on Halloween with Alexis because I was in a wedding, not that there's a whole lot to do on Halloween with an almost 7 month old. This year we made up for it, and have a pumpkin full of candy to show for our efforts.

First, we took Alexis to an event in my hometown - Pumpkins on the Square. She won third place in the costume contest for cutest contest, and especially liked the bean bag pumpkin game.





On Halloween, we took her to a trick-or-treating event held on one of our area town squares. Churches, businesses and individuals set up around the square handing out treats. There's also music and inflatables for the kids. Hundreds of people come out.








Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

This has been the longest two weeks ever. I never thought I would say that about any time off, but it's true. The past 12 days has dragged by so slowly; it's been hard to keep track of what day it actually is! I'm actually looking forward to going back to work on Wednesday, if for no other reason than to get back into a routine. I'll be going back just in time for the National Peanut Festival and election day, which ought to be interesting on pain pills. Ha!

So here's what I've been doing in my down time, other than popping pills every 4-6 hours, napping and watching bad TV...

1. Keeping on top of my work email. I know it sounds boring, but I get hundreds of emails a day during the week. And because this was an unplanned multi-week leave, I didn't have time to plan accordingly for one of the most time-consuming parts of my routine -- interview scheduling.

2. Pinterest. It's by far my favorite social site to scroll through. My favorite things to pin - outfit inspiration, recipes, and motivational quotes.

3. Online shopping. I do a majority of my personal shopping online because most of our local stores don't have a petite section. Plus, I like to find unique pieces that just don't make it into places down here. So far I've ordered a pair of jeans, new shirt, and two pair of boots (one to replace my everyday brown boots & one just for fun).

4. Blogging. Not writing new ones because I haven't been in the right frame of mind for that, but catching up on all the posts I've missed lately.

Other than that, I've drank more blue Gatorade in the past two weeks than my entire life. I haven't had a soda since before the surgery. Unless something is really salty or sweet, I probably won't taste it. Talking is still difficult but not impossible. And I still can't sleep laying all the way down. Oh yeah, I think I might have developed thrush but it's nothing serious.

Some things you can look forward to next week include a Monday Motivation post and a recap of our Halloween activities.

It's been almost a week since my tonsils and adenoids were removed and I thought I'd give you guys a little progress report. I've been on basically an all liquid diet with some soft foods like pasta and muffins, but nothing tastes like it's supposed to and it hurts to swallow anything. I've probably lost five pounds so far and wouldn't be surprised if I'm down by 10-15 by the time I'm back to feeling 100 percent.

I obviously expected my throat to be sore, but it's so much more than that. Here's a list of everything that hurts - tongue, uvula, jaw, neck, ears ... basically my entire head. I've been taking hydrocodone for pain and Benadryl to slow down the river of snot running down my throat. Last night was the best I've slept since the surgery, but sleep is the enemy because when I wake up my mouth and throat are painfully dry.

They say the second week is worse than the first because that's when the scabs start to flake off, so I've got that to look forward to still. So in the meantime I'll keep drinking blue gatorade and taking it easy.

Congratulations. You've landed your first job in journalism, but are you prepared?

In the past seven years, I've watched a few dozen fresh-out-of-college reporters and producers navigate their first jobs in broadcast. As someone who has a hand in the training of every new employee in my newsroom, I know how important it is to have a good foundation before you walk in that first day. So what skills should you have already mastered before you're hired? In this post, I'm breaking down what I would consider the most important tools you can already possess when you enter your training period.

1. Vocabulary
I'm not talking about what you learned in grade school. No. I'm talking about the vocabulary of your trade. You need to know the terms that will be regularly tossed about your newsroom. You need to know the difference between a vo/sot and a PKG; what the ratings/sweeps period is; and the basic terminology for any equipment/software you'll be working with.

2. Grammar
This is what you learned in grade school, and sadly it's not uncommon for just-out-of-school journalists to be sorely lacking in this department. So bone up on your subject-verb agreement. If grammar isn't your strong suit, I recommend bookmarking Grammar Book.

3. Research
I can't tell you how frustrating it is to continuously have to guide someone through the steps for gathering information about a story you're not writing. Knowing how to research is an integral part of being a journalist. It's something I do every single day, multiple times a day. Tools like Google make it so simple, but you also have to know how to find credible information.

4. Geography
Chances are your first job is not in your hometown or even your home state, and while no one will expect you to be proficient at finding your way around your new home, I would recommend that you get out and explore on your own before your first day. At the very least, look at a map of your station's coverage area and familiarize yourself with the cities and towns you may be visiting.

I also recommend reading this article from Fox Business about the skills many employers are finding lacking in millennials. If nothing else, it should at least give you some perspective on how veterans in this business feel when trying to work with and/or help newbies.

The first day of Fall certainly didn't feel very autumnal here in south Alabama. Our temperatures topped out somewhere in the 90s, which is above average even for us this time of year. Still, Fall fashion is by far my favorite so I definitely wanted to celebrate the changing of the season appropriately. This leopard-print tie-neck blouse has been a favorite ever since I found it on a clearance rack a few years ago, and it paired nicely with this faux leather skirt from ShoeDazzle. I've been wanting to add some leather to my closet and had a credit on my account so decided to click order, and I'm so glad I did. The quality is nice; it has a wrap look without being a wrap skirt, which I have a hard time wearing; and it's machine washable! I'm usually a M/L and wearing a large.

Details:
Shirt: old Rue21 (similar)
Skirt: ShoeDazzle
Shoes: old Cato (similar, similar)

Would you believe I ordered this top as a dress? For real. It's barely even a tunic, and this is a large, but that's the risk you take when ordering from Forever21. Honestly though I love it as a shirt and even used it as a swimsuit cover-up last weekend at the beach. It's pretty see-through so I layered a nude-colored cami underneath. It's also meant to be off-the-shoulder but didn't really work well for me. These faux leather leggings were a $5 splurge last year, also from F21. I'm in the market for a nicer pair with a little more structure and linked to some options below.

Details:
Shirt/Dress: Forever21 (it's out of stock but here are a bunch of white dresses)
Leggings: old Forever21 (similar, similar)
Boots: old Target (similar, similar)

Sorry about the lack of posts last week. I only worked a few days and then we headed to the beach for an anniversary/hubby birthday/baby's first beach trip. We rented this cute little house in Mexico Beach that I'm sad to say I didn't take pictures of and spent three days on the sunny-sometimes-cloudy Gulf Coast. It was a much-needed break from reality, and it's safe to say that my daughter is a water baby. We played in the surf and sand, chased birds, had a beach picnic, and didn't want to leave. (My dress is from ShoeDazzle. My swimsuit is from AdoreMe. They're out of black but this is the same style. I'm wearing medium in both.)