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.)

Down here in south Alabama, Fall doesn't usually start until Halloween or the National Peanut Festival. While everyone else is celebrating September as the start of the Fall season, we're still dealing with 90-degree temperatures and high humidity, which means the tall boots and cozy sweaters are still off limits. I've been on the hunt for a thin, dark-denim jacket for awhile and finally found this one at Old Navy. It is the perfect layer to take a "summer" dress into fall without adding a lot of extra weight and giving you heat stroke. This particular jacket is actually cropped, but since I'm super short it hits me where an un-cropped jacket hits average height people. I'm wearing a medium.

Details:
Jacket: Old Navy
Dress: old Walmart (similar)
Shoes: ShoeDazzle (similar, similar)

We had a pretty low-key Labor Day. In fact, this is the first Labor Day I've had off in the last six years. We did a little shopping for the baby and some work around the house. I've been waiting for a good occasion to wear this pretty dress, so I figured why not wear all white on the last day you're allowed to? Not that I actually follow that pointless fashion rule. Anyway, this dress is still available on eBay, costs less than $10 and also comes in black. My sandals are sold out but I linked to some similar options.

Details:
Dress: eBay
Shoes: ShoeDazzle (similar, similar)

I've heard it from family members, friends, coworkers and even strangers -- are you ready for another baby yet? Or, when are you going to get that baby of yours a brother or sister? And when I tell whoever is asking that we're not having another baby, they usually wink or elbow me and say something along the lines of you'll change your mind. Not a week goes by that this exchange doesn't happen. No one seems to actually hear what I'm saying, that my husband and I have decided one child is enough...

It was about this time two years ago that we found out I was pregnant. We were extremely excited but chose to wait until three months into the pregnancy before we told anyone outside of immediate family and my boss. We wanted to be sure that everything was okay before we shared out joy with the world.

It was tough keeping the secret, mainly because I had morning sickness and enhanced motion sickness and pretty much any strong smell (cleaning supplies, perfume, food) made me nauseous. I'm pretty sure there were days I was green around the gills.

I didn't have a lot of the pregnancy symptoms you read about or see in the movies. Instead of craving a bunch of weird foods, I had aversions -- especially meat. I had an ungodly amount of snot throughout my entire pregnancy and nosebleeds that lasted for up to an hour sometimes. The closer I got to my due date, the more I swelled and the higher my blood pressure rose. I did everything my doctor told me - drank more water, walked, exercised, kept my feet elevated as much as possible. Still, I was miserable and in pain.

After I had the baby, my blood pressure didn't go down, and instead of getting out of the hospital after two days like most new moms, I had to stay. My blood pressure refused to cooperate. I had preeclampsia, a condition that can be fatal for both mother and baby. Thankfully, Alexis was fine, but I most definitely was not.

All most people know is that I had to stay in the hospital for a week. Few know how bad it actually was because I haven't talked about it. It was terrifying. It was that experience and the knowledge that things wouldn't be much, if any, better in another pregnancy that led my husband and I to our decision to stop at one child.

It has nothing to do with not wanting more children. There may come a day when we decide to grow our little family of three, but if we do it won't be through another pregnancy. You see, we've decided that my health and my life as well as that of a potential baby isn't worth the risk of going through preeclampsia again.

It was not an easy decision, and not one that we made lightly. In the end, my husband decided that he would rather create a happy life with just one child and me rather than two children without me.

I have a happy, healthy, perfect daughter. And she is enough.

There's something about a striped tee that is so classic. I've gone through a couple different striped shirts in the past few years but none have ever really been what I was looking for until this one from Old Navy came into my life earlier this summer. It's perfectly slouchy; works well with skirts or pants; and is so soft. I love the way this outfit turned out, especially with the lace-up flats.

Details:
Shirt: Old Navy
Skirt: old The Limited
Shoes: Target

This was my "Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hermine" coverage outfit. It stayed pretty overcast all day so it didn't get as hot as it has been. September is the unofficial end of summer ... unless you live in the South. Down here we'll stay warm through October, which makes dressing a little tricky. You want to look seasonally appropriate but not die of heat stroke. This outfit is borderline and might not work on a warmer day, but it will definitely be on repeat when Fall finally gets here.

Details:
Shirt: ShoeDazzle
Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: ShoeDazzle
Bag: Target