Winter starts today??

For those of you watching this morning after digging out all weekend long,  Sandra Shaw reminded us that the “winter solstice” actually begins today! So, the 20 plus inches of snow that buried us all on Saturday was…a fall snow storm??

Incredible…and rather daunting if it’s a prelude of things to come.

Well, what could have been a miserable weekend turned out quite positive as I look back on everything that transpired here at the station. The crew here did an AMAZING job turning out many long hours of extended snow coverage all day long on Saturday. I witnessed such a wonderful display of camaraderie from the folks braving the extreme conditions outside, to the people shuttling those of us who couldn’t make the drive back and forth. The ones providing food, to those answering phones and guiding us through our coverage, to the many people making sure we got on the air in the first place.

It was a phenomenal undertaking and truly a group effort! It made me incredibly proud to be part of such a talented and professional bunch.

We can all breath a sigh of relief now that the snow has ended…and the Ravens were victorious!! I hope you managed to enjoy the snow over the weekend, despite the way if may have impacted your plans. I certainly enjoyed watching all the sledding and snowman making!!

Sarah Caldwell

Divinity 101

My 8 and 5-year-old boys often catch me off guard with questions I don’t always have answers to,  like yesterday in the car.

“Mom, where’s heaven?” my older son asks.

I take a deep breath and tell him “I’m not sure but some people believe it’s the beautiful place where you go after you die”

“Oh, so is Ella Fitgerald there?…and Louis Armstrong?” “Yes, I think they are” I say.

“How ’bout Ray Charles?” My 5-year-old pipes in. “Yes, he’s probably there too, honey”

“Is Michael Jackson there?” My 8-year-old inquires. “Yup” I reply.

“Oh thank goodness!” he exclaims. “I thought I’d have to go all the way to LA!!”

Needless to say, I almost drove off the road I was laughing so hard. Neither child understood why I thought it was so funny. I’m sure you have some stories like this too. You know, the ones that fall into the “kids say the darndest things” category? Please pass them along because I can’t get enough!

Have a great week and keep laughing!

Sarah Caldwell

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

Happy Friday!

Hope you’re dressed for the cold! Windchills this morning dipped into the single digits in Carroll County! In Baltimore we sat at a 12 degree windchill for much of the morning. There’s more coming our way tonight and tomorrow morning. Plus, we may even see another bit of a wintry mix for Sunday! ‘Tis the season!

Unfortunately–my power is out! Yikes! I went home to get breakfast…and the whole back half of my building is in the frigidity! Please cross your fingers for me–or I may just come in frozen for my morning duties tomorrow! It does, however, make you appreciate the norms of life for many of us! I will be SO HAPPY when that juice comes back on!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Sandra

Snow Count Showdown

We have a winner! 

Thanks to everyone who participated in our snow count showdown contest!  We were amazed at the amount of entries we received.  The majority of you chose the first week of December for the first measureable snowfall and you were right!  35 of you chose Saturday, December 5th.  Congratulations to our winner Vickie Kohlhepp! Her name was pulled out of a hat filled with the winning entries this morning on 11 News Today!   She will get a WBAL-TV prize pack .

Jennifer Franciotti was our morning team winner.   You’ll see what she wins in the next week or two.

Hope all of you are enjoying the wintry weather!

Stacey Wright

Executive Producer

First Thanksgiving

I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the first time ever… and I’m stressed.  We are having 15 family members for dinner, not a huge crowd but a little tight for our tiny townhouse.  Figuring out the seating has been the biggest chore.  I’m trying to tackle this holiday as a producer.  Develop a rundown (or to do list), figure out what’s the most important (that goes first on the list)  and make sure you don’t leave anything out.

The good news is my mother is bringing the turkey.  I definitely don’t trust myself to make a tasty turkey and my mother has traditionally made a delicious bird, so why mess with tradition?  Luckily, other family members have dishes they are known for (my grandmother makes the best stuffing ever) so I’m even getting some help with the sides.

Hopefully, I’ll have everything ready by Thursday and will be able to kick back , watch football and enjoy the day.  That’s what every hostess is able to do, right?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all get to spend it with loved ones.

Stacey Wright

Executive Producer

 

 

The “Santa Clause”

Dear Viewers,

One of my favorite things about this time of year is the “Santa Clause”.   It’s the threat I repeatedly utter to my children to get them to behave,  because “Santa is watching”.  It’s highly effective. 

For example, the other night it was time to clean up the playroom, and like usual they were dilly-dallying because they know once they’re finished it’s time to get ready for bed.  They were moving in typical slow motion, but then I said, “you know Santa is watching and he thinks boys and girls should clean up quickly”.  Boy did that light a fire.  My daughter was practically panic stricken, yelling at her brother “hurry, hurry or Santa won’t leave you any presents.”  I’m not sure he understands the Santa concept yet (he’s two), but the sense of urgency in his sister’s voice was enough to get him hustling. 

I’m going to ride the Santa wave up until the moment they go to bed Christmas Eve.  I know there will come a day when I’ll say “Santa is watching” and they’ll just look at me like “give me a break.”  But until then, I’ll be employing the “Santa Clause” as often as possible!

Ho Ho Ho

Mindy Basara

 

Snow Count Showdown

In case you missed the morning show today I wanted to make sure you were aware of our Snow Count Showdown contest.  Tony Pann is predicting that we’re going to have a snowy winter so we decided to have a contest to see which anchor can predict just how much snow we’ll get.  The loser is going to have to do someone else’s job for part of the morning newscast.  For example, if say Sarah loses she might have to do weather for Sandra. 

The viewers can get in on the action to.   Do you have a hunch on the first day we’ll get a measurable amount of snow?  If so, click here to let us know. Once there you’ll be able to enter our contest.  If you choose the right day you could win a WBAL prize pack.  So far, we have well over 100 entries but you have until next Monday to enter.

Get in on the fun and let it snow!

Stacey Wright

Executive Producer

 

 

Let’s Eat!

Happy Friday!

I had a great start to the morning, whipping up a cinnamon crepe… duck, apple-jack brandy sausage…and a special filet! Actually I was only helping…it was the unique chef’s touch of Chuck Allen at Sacha’s 527 that I have to thank for the fabulous breakfast!  At Sacha’s on 527 North Charles they’re prepping today, for tomorrow’s “Let’s Eat, Charles Street!”

It runs tomorrow from 12-6 in the Read Street block off Charles. It’s free! And it’s not only Sacha’s, but about a dozen different Charles Street restaurants and bars participating….places like Cazbar, where they’re bringing out the belly dancers for tomorrow’s event. And, it’s not only food, but “revitalizing” drinks…everything from specialty drinks to classic wine and beer.

So foodie, or not, check it out and the other shopping and entertainment the picturesque neighborhood has to offer! The weather’s going to be great!:-)

Have a great weekend!

Sandra

Halloween High

We’re still coming down from the sugar high from Saturday…I know it’s Monday!

My boys ate candy all day yesterday and I’m not sure there were even any meals in between. We had a blast, though. My 8 year old was “Batman” and my 5 year old was a ninja and the way they each approach Halloween always makes me laugh. Felix is the older, more cautious one. The younger one, Max, had to pretty much push his big brother up the neighbors’ steps to say “Trick or Treat”. Why is it that the neighbors houses are only “scary” during Halloween? God forbid they have creepy music playing!!

After seeing the fear in my older son’s eyes, I accompanied them up to each door. I was the one saying “trick or treat” most of the time which definitely made me feel like I needed a costume.

Fun times! And the start of many more as we begin the holiday season. I love this time of year!!

Enjoy,

Sarah Caldwell

The making of a prank

Dear Viewers,

Every now and again we have the opportunity to have a little fun on the morning show – and Friday was one of those times.  And if it involves scaring one of your work mates,  so much the better.

A few weeks ago Tony Pann made the mistake of mentioning he was afraid of spiders. (I totally understand, I’m an arachnophobe myself).  The rest of the morning team filed this information away in our brains to be used at a later date.  The Friday before Halloween became the perfect opportunity to scare Tony live on tv.

But finding the right prop became a challenge.  I knew my daughter had a fake spider – but it was lost somewhere in the deep recesses of her room.  I figured it would be easy to find one at the store the week of Halloween. Wrong. I went to four different department stores, drug stores, five and dimes — the proper prop was nowhere to be found.  But we weren’t going to give up – oh no.  At the 11th hour, it was Jennifer Franciotti to the rescue.  She remembered her daughter had a rubber spider (named Squishy) that just might work – and came up with the idea to tie it to the end of her daughter’s princess fishing pole.   Brilliant. 

Now it was a matter of execution.  Jim McKinnon was the floor director that day and with the deftness of a panther moved a huge ladder behind the green screen “weather wall” during one of the commercial breaks without Tony noticing.  We conspired with the producer to pick just the right moment to “launch” our prank. And then it was up to Sarah to climb the latter and do the honors.  The placement was perfect and the resulting squeamish jump by Tony was well worth the effort.  If you didn’t see it, you can check it out on our website. Just click here!.

He was genuinely surprised – and amused… a great sport.  Our prank added a moment of levity to our day – and hopefully yours too!

Hope you had a happy Halloween

Mindy Basara