Goodbye FOX19!

Farewell, FOX19 viewers!

It’s not without some sadness that I find myself writing my final blog for FOX19.

Wow. It's hard to believe this is my last day. It went by so fast. I guess that's a sign I enjoyed my five years at FOX19.

It was a little more than five years ago that I signed on as a WXIX reporter, coming from Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I was so thrilled to be able to come to Cincinnati and live in a big city. Living and working here has been all that I hoped it would be and more. That may sound cheesy but it's true. I have met so many great people and formed lasting friendships.

Me with my new co-anchor, Pete Scalia

Reporting for FOX19 allowed me to cover an important breaking news story one day and hang on a trapeze to showcase a circus in town the next. It's a job that's hard to leave. But being a morning anchor is an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I am excited to join the ABC22/FOX45 team in Dayton where I’ll co-anchor alongside Pete Scalia.

I want to thank everyone so much for watching my colleagues and me at FOX19 the past several years. Live TV can certainly be an adventure, but we enjoyed our jobs and worked hard to deliver a quality product every day. I hope it showed.

Top 10 things I’ll miss (and a few I won’t – you’ll have to guess which are which):

1. My close friends on the show and my main photographer Dale.
2. The camaraderie behind the scenes, like chatting with Sheila while we put finishing touches on our makeup.
3. Rob’s cornucopia of strange morning foods like beef jerky, watermelon, Greek yogurt, and popcorn.
4. Frank’s annoyingly chipper attitude at 3:30 AM.
5. Live shots at GABP when Reds fans camp out for Opening Day Tickets, and Opening Day itself.
6. Getting out of the warm FOX19 truck to do a live hit in the cold – 8 times per morning!
7. Setting up at our four favorite live locations: the courthouse, CVG, the police station and… the salt pile.
8. Watching countless salt trucks get refilled during bad weather at the aforementioned salt pile.
9. Dressing up in a German Dirndl for the start of Oktoberfest.
10. All the viewers who got up with us each morning and especially those who were so nice when I saw them around town.

Thanks everyone. I will really miss being on the air here in Cincy. I really appreciate your support. Remember I'm not too far away. You could buy a really strong antenna to watch me in Dayton!  :)  Best wishes and Happy Thanksgiving!

I love CrossFit!

I may like high heels and mascara, but I am proud to say that I can also do pull-ups. :)

Box jumps!  Man, I'm moving fast! :)

Have you ever done a workout where after six minutes you are out of breath and the sweat is dripping off? If you've tried CrossFit, you'll surely say yes. For those who haven't, let me explain.

CrossFit is a mix of strength and conditioning, combining weightlifting, sprinting, and gymnastics. The goals are cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, balance and coordination. CrossFit athletes run, row, jump rope, climb ropes and carry odd objects.

I've been working out at CrossFit NKY in Florence three times per week for two years. All CrossFit gyms are linked and there is always a prescribed workout of the day which changes every day. Here's an example from Wednesday:
- 5 dumbbell push jerks (25 lbs)
- 7 box jumps (2' box)
- repeat, completing as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.

Sounds simple, right? Well, I went non-stop and completed 25 rounds. That means I did 125 push jerks holding 50 pounds and 175 box jumps in 15 minutes. It was exhausting (it always is) but I feel a exercise high and a sense of accomplishment afterwards.

Luckily, Lucas is a better trainer than he is a photographer. :)

CrossFit is for anyone and everyone who wants to work hard. I've been in classes with people of all ages and all skill levels. This picture is of me, Laura and Stephanie doing pull-ups. Laura is in college and has worked super hard to become one of the instructors. Stephanie is pregnant! Yes, it is hard to tell. She started recently and does a workout tailored to moms. You can see she is also using a band to do pull-ups. Adjustments are made based on a person's strength and skill. I should know, it took me a year to get rid of the band and start doing pull-ups on my own!

I highly recommend trying CrossFit. There are at least 4 different locations in the Tri-State. Of course, I'm partial to Coach Lucas and all the great people and athletes at CrossFit NKY:)

Landor Project

I have never claimed to be an artist.

Okay, that may be a bit of an understatement. I really can’t draw at all. So when I was approached about being part of the Landor project, I was a hesitant at first. Especially because the assignment was kind of abstract and artsy. But after Micah Paldino from PB&J explained it as a unique way to journal for a week, I decided to give it a try.

Landor is a consulting and design firm. A little while back they decided to try an experiment.  They asked their employees to stop whatever they were doing every day at 1:10 PM and document exactly what they were thinking and feeling at that very moment. Workers used this experiment to inspire and get creative. Landor created a window display to show off the creativity of the finished projects. It was such a success that the company wanted to share the idea and let the people of Cincinnati express themselves. That's where I come in.

Last Friday I got my journal book. That's picture of it. I'm kind of embarrassed to show off the sketches, but it's kind of funny to see how bad I am at drawing. I was also instructed to choose a word, pick a color, and take a picture. This all had to be at 1:10 every day for a week. I have to admit I was sometimes napping at that time, so I had to wait to "get creative."

My work and that of the other participants will be made into one big window display.  If you want to see it, just head to the corner of 7th and Race at the Shillito Building.

Now that it's done, it was interesting to flip through and remember where I was at that moment throughout the past week. Another thought I had was maybe I should take an Learn to Draw class, you know for any future pictionary games. :)

Cyclones Take the Ice

Hockey is back in Cincinnati. Hi, it’s Meghan:) If you like beer, fighting and intense action then you're going to love watching a Cincinnati Cyclones hockey game. I know I do. More on that later. But first the team.

The Cyclones are the defending Kelly Cup Champions. This season they're off to a slow start. But the games have come down to one or two goals and are still packed with action. The Cyclones are the minor league affilate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators. Nine players are returning from last year’s team (Aubin, Ehgoetz, Robinson, Pierce, Reynolds, Sheahan, O’Hanley, Krantz, and Roeder). They're skating under a new head coach, Jarrod Skalde. He has put together a team that's bigger in stature but still quick and skilled.

You can catch me at some of the games either watching or serving as your fan cam hostess. That means I walk around with a mic, like I was on Tuesday night when that picture was taken, and play games with fans in the stands or during periods on the ice. The crowd is a lot of fun. It can get kind of rowdy with people booing and yelling insults at the opposing team. But I guess that's what happens during $1 and $2 beer night.

Oh, did I mention that yet? Yes, Big Beer Tuesday means $2 24 oz. Labatt Blue and Molson. Wet Wednesday means $1 12 oz. Miller High Life and PBR. There are ton of other promotins going on through the season. A few highlights include Kids Eat Free Nights, Santa Bobblehead Night, Kids Jersey T-shirt Night, Pink in the Rink and Child Abuse Awareness Night. The next big one is Saturday, November 13 with Throwback night. The Cyclones will be throwing back prices to $8 tickets, $1 pizza, hotdogs, and soda. The Clones will also wear retro jerseys.

Definitely check out a game. You'll have a fun, inexpensive night. Go Cyclones!!