The Hubby's Sewing Skillz

I don't sew, but there is a sewing machine in my house.
It is for my jack-of-all-trades husband.

He likes to bring it out once in a while and make pillow covers, blankets, or VESTS for ugly sweater parties.

His latest project? A doggy sling!

Like a baby sling, it's for carrying Yoda around hands free!

You see, we like to sneak Yoda into stores with us.
So we'll usually stuff him in a hoodie or jacket and let his head poke out the neck.
With the Yoda Sling, we can bring him places and not worry about stretching our sweaters.

So practical right?

Can't you tell how much Yoda loves it?!

Tom even made a hole for Yoda's tail!!

Can you handle the cuteness?

P.S. The American Flag will not be residing on that wall for much longer. We were just trying to get the wrinkles out.

The Heart Cake on Studio 5

Yesterday I did my first real segment on Studio 5.
I was soooooo nervous, but everyone on the show was so nice and helpful!
Check it out!
(The original blog post is here. The heart cake on my blog actually looks better than the heart cake on the show.)

Please don't make fun of how many times I say "I know, right?" like a valley girl.

Please do make note of how awesome my nails look. Thanks to Ashley for the awesome french manicure!!
And thanks to Annie for teaching me how to curl my hair properly!

A few people have asked about my apron.
It's from Anthropologie.

Also, don't forget the purse giveaway closes Feb. 5th.
Enter here.

New Shoes!

It doesn't take much to get me excited.
Like new shoes for instance!

When these came in the mail, I SQUEALED with joy!
I mean, come on, how often do people blog about new shoes?
It's the small things in life, right?

You know what makes this purchase even sweeter?
They were only $15, down from $80, with free shipping!!

This calls for a song!
This is one of my favs right now. I first heard it in Canada.
It's about new shoes!!

A Doggy Birthday Party!

Our little Yoda is one year old!
I never in my life thought I would throw a birthday party for a dog, but here I am!

First things first.
You HAVE to see the invitation I made for Yoda's doggy friends.


This was the perfect excuse to invite my friends and their dogs over and have a dog-friendly cake!

My friend Mallory from Livin' Sweet is known for making amazing cakes, but I think she's outdone herself with this one.
It was a peanut butter cake with carrot shavings on top.
Yoda loved the carrot shavings!

Here's us presenting Yoda with his cake.
Yeah, we put Yoda in his Christmas outfit, so sue me.

All the dogs LOVED the cake! It was gone in minutes!

Here's Roxy eating her piece.
Roxy is my friend Ashley's dog.

Harry in this adorable elf costume.

Pete, in his hilarious Christmas sweater.
Both Pete and Harry are Mallory's dogs.

This is Cali. My friend Gaby "borrowed" her sister-in-law's dog just for the party! LOL!

And last, but not least, this is Cleo, Aaron and Ashley's new dog.
She's huge, but was probably the calmest one at the party.
She's such a good dog.

Here's Yoda cleaning up the crumbs.
I was going to get plates for dogs, but come on.
They're DOGS!

For the humans at the party, we had a hot chocolate bar with all the toppings you could dream of, including my new favorite, eggnog whip cream. So yummy!

We also had three kinds of marshmallows: mini marshmallows, strawberry marshmallows and GIANT marshmallows.

Ever seen a dog try to eat a giant marshmallow? It's hilarious!!!!

The marshmallow is almost as big as his head!

Some of Yoda's friend even brought him presents! That sure was a surprise!

The first gift we opened made me burst out laughing.
It's a dog Snuggie!

The second gift was a stocking full of dog toys!

Even when some of the guests were leaving, Yoda was still the life of the party.
Watching him play with his friend Roxy was hilarious!

Here's our birthday boy all pooped after the party!
Make fun all you want. We had so much fun!

My Real Job

With all this photography, I bet you forgot what my real job is.
Here are a few of the promos I've produced for KSL during this past ratings period.

This is the most recent promo. I got to work with Nadine Wimmer on this one. She is the nicest, most talented anchor ever! The eye-opening story airs Monday at 10.


This next one was for a story by Jennifer Stagg. Definitely one of the BEST reporters at KSL. You should see how many friends she has on Facebook. Everyone loves her.
The story is definitely a tear-jerker, so beware if you watch the complete story.


This is a promo for an "Ed Yeates Special". He's our medical reporter. He actually retired a while back, so he only comes back for the REALLY good stories. The full story is here.


This next spot isn't a promo for a regular story, it's a promo for our COVERAGE on Election night.
We call it a POP, or Proof of Performance spot.
I take clips that actually aired on television and make them into a promo that shows off how AWESOME we are.


These promos are only a fraction of the reason I've been so busy lately.
My boss has been off for the past month and a half because of surgery and I've been working his night shift. It's a nice change, but A LOT of work on top of the fact it's also Sweeps.
When this month is over, I think I deserve a day at the spa, don't you?
(Tell Tom will ya?)

Yoda the Tiger

For Halloween, our dog Yoda transformed into a ferocious tiger!!

Sooooo cute! Best $3 costume ever!

Occasionally Yoda would try to catch his fake tail. It was super hilarious so I tried to catch it on camera.
Beware, the video may give you motion sickness, but at least you can watch it in HD!!

For Halloween, Tom was a...
...Cubs fan.
(He was even wearing Cubs Crocs)
I'll let you make your own jokes here. I have to live with the man.

For work, I wore a blond wig.
But 8 hours later I was ready to rip the stupid thing off.

So for the ward activity, I borrowed a pink wig and wings from a friend so I could be a fairly princess.
Not bad, considering I put it together an hour before the event.

That's my friend Ashley. She was a hot Cat Woman.Yes, I realize these pictures are blurry.
That's what happens when you let someone else use your camera. LOL!

The Things I Do for my Blog

Like getting up at 5:30 in the morning to take pictures of a stranger.
The other day my friend Ashley was doing a shoot for Studio 5.
(This is Ashley. Can you believe how good she looks at 6:30 in the morning?)

The story was about a dad who gets up every morning to wave to his teenage son on the school bus.
The kicker?
This dad dresses up in a DIFFERENT costume everyday to embarrass his son!
I know, hilarious right!
He's worn more than 40 costumes!
I went along because I thought it would make a pretty great blog post.
Here's some of the pictures I took during the shoot.
What does the teenage son think about his crazy father?
Turns out he thinks it's pretty cool and he's even gotten some extra attention from the ladies.
Today Dale, the crazy dad, is a red devil. This is his wife. She takes pictures every day for their super-hilarious blog: waveatthebus.blogspot.com
You can see ALL the different costumes on their blog. He's been everything from a princess to Nacho Libre!
That's me and Dale! (I don't look as great as Ashley at 6:30 a.m.)
Dale doesn't just wave at the school bus, he waves at all the neighbors as they walk and drive by!
Everyone thinks he's a hoot!
Dale trying to show affection to his son.
Like father, like son.
Ashley doing a standup for her story.
And here's Dale waving at the bus!
Did I mention he has a fake leg? He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident 20 years ago, but his "replacement" totally works with his costumes.

Here's the story that aired on Studio 5.

Isn't he awesome!

I kinda want him to adopt me.

Talking Pumpkins on Live TV!

I'm almost puked from nervousness today.
Seriously.
I've had a month to prepare for this (unlike my other Studio 5 appearances which were only days notice), but nonetheless, I was 10 times more nervous.
You see, I had to TALK on television.

If I hadn't promised some people I would post this, I'm not sure I would.
I've been picking it apart in my head all day.

I can't believe there are people who do this for a living!
Don't be fooled by the fact I may look like I'm having fun.
I'm just excited about my new blazer. (It's cute right?)
Definitely the plus side to my TV appearance.
Yay for new clothes!

A Sure Sign of Sweeps

We're not actually in sweeps yet, but we're gearing up the promos and pumping up the promotion already.

Because I'm the only girl in my department, I tend to get the sappier stories. Here are my latest two promos.


Here's a link to the story.


Link to the story.

My Hair is Famous!!

I did it! I was on T.V.! And I wasn't super nervous!

I mean, there were kids in the same segment, and they didn't bat an eyelash, so I really had no excuse.

Here's the clip. That's actually my hair in the freeze frame. Cool eh?
I'm about 2 and a half minutes into the segment if you want to skip to it.
Beware: the mole may freak you out!

Believe it or not, that hair style only took about 5 minutes to throw up.
It took longer - and was much more painful - to take out!
But the hairspray brushed out nicely, and left my hair really soft for the rest of the day.
Everyone who saw me that day was surprised my hair survived the torture.

Look who was on TV today!

It's ME stuffing me face with dessert!
Watch for Tom too!

I love that I'm getting credit for discovering a store that's been open for 10 months already. LOL!
In reality, I feel like I was the last person to find out about it.
I was taking pictures so I could blog about The Chocolate, but ended up giving them to Studio 5.
But this makes a much cooler blog post, don't you think?

And if you think this is cool, stay tuned!
I'm going to be on Studio 5 FOR REAL this Monday, October 18th.
I'm going to be a model!
Well, a witch model...
Modeling witch hair...
Whatever! Make all the jokes you want. I'm excited!

Ukraine Temple Promo

It wouldn't be General Conference in Utah without a documentary from Carole Mikita.
Here's the promo I produced for her documentary on the Kiev, Ukraine Temple running this Sunday at noon on KSL 5 TV.

Mama Strang learns Thriller

My mom and nieces learned the Thriller dance at our Family Reunion.
Luckily I had me camera on me.
So glad I didn't miss this moment!
You can even watch it in HD!

Working in T.V. has its Perks

Look who I met today!

It's BYU's Stephen Jones, or should I say, the "New Spice Man".
He was on Studio 5 today as part of the segment "His Perspective". Check it out if you have a minute, it was hilarious!

Wanna know what Stephen's favorite blog is?
Check it out.

Okay, I know that was totally shameless.
But TOTALLY worth it!
Thank you Brooke Walker for planting the idea!

Shooting the video with Stephen was so much fun! This guy is hilarious!
Here's a cut down of our shoot.

That's me giggling in the background while I'm holding the camera.
Who knew "Harker Herald" was such a tongue twister.


Joining us on our little tour of the newsroom were a couple girls who also appeared on Studio 5.
I told them I would post their photo.


I feel really dumb because I didn't realize who they were until after our adventure.
On the left is Kami Watson from the blog Sweet Charli, and on the right is her sister.
I feel like an idiot because I already follow her blog! I'm a huge fan! She's really creative. Today on Studio 5 she did a super-cute segment about how to turn shirtsleeve cuffs into chic bracelets.

So there goes another average day working in television...
Okay, not really.
But still, my job is pretty awesome.

July Sweeps

Here's a promo I produced for July Sweeps.
Story airs this Wednesday on KSL 5 News at 10.

Ad-nalysis Sunday: BYU Old Spice Spoof

This video was posted THREE days ago and already has nearly ONE MILLION views.



BYU stands for Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. It just happens to be where my hubby went to school. Go Cougars!

BYU is also a religious school, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That's why the "celestial sandwich" comment is HI-LARIOUS!

Did you notice there's a man lying on the ground with a sideways plant at 0:16-0:19?

The actor is a BYU student named Stephen Jones. He's also a member of a campus comedy troope. Watch some of his standup on YouTube. He's super funny!

The commercial is REALLY well shot. The quality is amazing! It was produced by the Multimedia Production unit at the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU. Good for them. It looks so professional!

My fav line?
"Did you know that 8 out of 5 dentists say that studying in the library is 6-bagillion times more effective than studying in your shower?"
I laughed out loud when I watched it the first, second, even the third time around. The sentence makes sense until you analyze it and realize it makes absolutely NO sense!

And of course "I'm on a cart!" is pretty great too.

Makes you want to go to the library, doesn't it!

Ad-nalysis Sunday: Emmy Nods

Remember my first Ad-nalysis Sunday post (or was it my second?) about this commercial?



Well guess what! It was nominated for an Emmy!
Did you even know commercials were nominated for Emmys? Neither did I!

Want to know what other commercials were nominated?
Well, it's no surprise most of them are Super Bowl commercials.
I could do an Ad-nalysis Sunday post on each one and really drag it out, but you know I'm too impatient for that.

Absolute "Anthem"


Love the music in this commercial!
I don't even want to think about how much it COST and how much TIME it took to put all of that together. But it sure made an "exceptional" commercial.
I love that the motto of this commercial can apply to anything in life. "Doing things differently leads to something exceptional."

Coca-Cola "Finals"


I'm not in love with this commercial. I doubt it will win the Emmy. But it's an interesting concept and they sure put a lot of work into it.
For me, it's just too many things happening at once. Plus, I'm not a fan of "fantasy-themed" anything. It's too "Gulliver's Travels."

Snickers-Mars "Game"


Can you say anything bad about this commercial? It's Betty White! Love her!
I can also completely attest that "You're not you when you're hungry" is a true statement. Just ask my husband!

Audi "Green Police"


Catchy, holds your attention, and makes you feel good about recycling.
I love this commercial, but that's because I'm an eco-nerd who brings her own bags to the grocery store.
Now I want an Audi. But then again, who doesn't want an Audi?

Nike "Human Chain"


A feel good Nike commercial. Perfect for the Super Bowl.
Love love love love LOVE the song!
I pretty much love the whole commercial. It gives me goosebumps.
A SERIOUS contender for the Emmy.
P.S. Can you name all the celebrity athletes in this commercial?

What commercial do you think will win the Emmy?

Sidenote: The 2010 Primetime Emmy Awards will air live August 29 on NBC (KSL 5 in Utah).

Ad-nalysis Sunday: Hyundai Sonata

Generally, I hate car commercials.
But I don't hate this one!



Finally, an out-of-the-box car commercial.
Isn't it like a breath of fresh air?

I love that you don't even know it's a car commercial until near the end. But you don't forget it's a car commercial. I think the point definitely gets across.

16-year-olds are on the road. Get a safe car.

Almost anyone can relate to this commercial. One, because we fear 16-year-old drivers. And two, because who doesn't LOVE that song from Sound of Music. It totally brings you to a happy place.

I love the simplicity of this commercial. There are exactly three scenes. Three cuts. The bedroom. The car. The text.

I don't envy the person who had to put together the bedroom scene. That's A LOT of stuff. But who knows? Maybe they got lucky and one of the producers had a teenager who's room was already this messy.

As always, let me know what you think of the commercial.

The end.

Ad-nalysis Sunday: Fedex

I saw a FedEx commercial a while back, around the time I started doing these Ad-nalysis blogs. I thought it was funny, but I couldn't find it on YouTube so I never blogged about it.

Occasionally I would think about this long-lost commercial and cry a little inside because I couldn't share it with you.

Today, I was determined to find it.



What is it about a stupid man, doing a stupid thing, that always makes us smile?

I suppose I feel like I can relate to this "boss". When I get really good service somewhere, I try to let them know I'm impressed. I'll ask the person's name, and tell her she's doing a great job. It's dorky, I know.

The actor in this commercial just takes this concept to the extreme.
And it works. I love him! I love his dorkiness and sense of pride.

I love the pace of this commercial. I think that's what keeps me interested the whole time. There's a lot happening in 30 seconds.

Other than that, there's not much too this commercial. It just made me smile. What more can you ask for?


***On another topic...
Congratulations to Jackee for winning the muffin giveaway!

She said: "We would LOVE to try out your yummy muffins. And the cool thing is...it would be really easy to get them to us:)! I think something with cinnamon would be fun."

It will be easy to get them to her because she lives just down the street!

Ad-nalysis Sunday: Jeans Diapers and Pajama Jeans

By popular demand: The Jeans Diapers commercial.



"I poo in blue!"

Personally, I hate this commercial, and this product.
Why would you want to put your baby in something that looks like CROPPED short shorts? Jeans are pants. Pants cover legs. Diapers don't cover legs.

Buuuuuut, I can see why moms would think it was adorable.

They're probably thinking: "This would be perfect to draw even more attention to my half-naked baby!"

I have to admit, this is one commercial where bathroom humor is appropriate.

"When it's a number 2, I look like number 1."
"The coolest you'll look pooping your pants."

Unfortunately, you don't catch the clever dialog the first time to watch it. I don't know about you, but the only thing I heard the first time I saw this commercial was "My diaper is full!" Gross.

Other things I hate about this commercial:
1. The voiceover. Annoying. Why does he have a weird French accent? Is the baby supposed to look French? I don't get it.
2. The editing. The cuts in this commercial don't match the music. It bugs me every time I see it!

Moms, please don't put your kids in diaper jeans.
Put them in Pajama Jeans instead!



Now THOSE look cool!