Puppies and Book Paradise: Thinking Out Loud #61

Happy Thursday and happy Novemeber! I hope you had a great Halloween👻 at the station people could bring their kids in to go trick or treating so it was pretty cute to see all the little kids in their costumes. I didn't dress up or go out I was too busy working, but I'm not much of a Halloween person anyway. I have already started seeing Christmas advertisements and it's MUCH too early for that. After Thanksgiving I'm ok with, prior to that I am not. Anyway, let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud and I promise there's cute puppies!

1. PUPPIES! I got to play with puppies as part of my job over the weekend. I was technically there covering a Halloween event where owners could bring their pets dressed up in costumes. How can your heart not melt when you see this adorable puppy who had a bit too much fun passed out on the pavement? I got tons of puppy kisses and I wanted to take all the dogs home with me. Dogs are seriously the best and any kind of cute events I get to cover with dogs I'm all about🐶

2. While I was covering a store opening a little boy came up to me, tugged on my pants and said, "I watch you on the news." My heart instantly melted, plus he was the cutest little boy. Even though I had to wake up ridiculously early to be at the opening when he came up to me it made my day. I let him talk on camera and he had to say hi to his mom. That part didn't make it on air, but it made my day knowing he was happy. 

3. I'm not a chip person at all. I never have been, but I made chicken tortilla soup over my weekend and I wanted something for the tortilla part. I've seen people rave about siete chips before, so I figured I'd give them a try. They're so good! They're not ridiculously salty and they're perfect in chicken tortilla soup👌 

4. Even though I'm in the minority out here of not being a college football fan, I had a pretty cool experience reporting on the huskers. I was assigned to cover a fantasy camp the team was holding and part of the experience was a tour of the facility, heading out on the field, and a behind the scenes look. It was pretty sweet to run out of the tunnel and onto the field. I got to talk to former Heismen Trophy winners to so all in all it was a pretty sweet experience. 

5. Major nerd moment! I was covering a book sale benefiting the city libraries and it was like walking into bookworm paradise. The sale was in a warehouse and it was just endless rows of book😍 hardcovers books were $1 and paperbacks started at 50 cents! I could have spent so much money in there and not to mention time. Good thing I didn't have my wallet on me because I most definitely would have gone home with lots of books.

6. This quote is spot on. It's easy to reciprocate being mean when someone is mean to you, but it takes a lot of grace to be calm and kind in not so nice situations. Be kind, the world could use a lot more kindness. 

Have a great Thursday and a fantastic weekend, and don't forget to check out the recipe for crockpot turkey vegetable soup I posted! 

Did you do anything fun for Halloween or dress up?
What are you looking forward to the most about the upcoming holiday season?

Crockpot Turkey Vegetable Soup

Happy Monday! I have a hard time remembering what day it actually is because Monday is actually my Wednesday since Saturday is my Monday. Talk about confusing🙆 anyway I hope you had a good weekend and got to enjoy some downtime. 

I've talked about meal prep before, but it really does save me during my work week. I prep both lunch and dinner so I can just heat stuff up throughout the week. Working long hours everyday in the news room and flip flopping between day shifts and night shifts doesn't leaves me a lot of free time. I've been using my crockpot a ton to prep and one of my recent favorites has been this soup. Browning the turkey with chili powder has packed in a lot of flavor and in the soup it pairs perfectly with the other spices and vegetables. Tag me on instagram or Facebook if you try it!

Crockpot Turkey Vegetable Soup

• 1lb lean ground turkey
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 32 oz. sodium free organic chicken broth
• 1 cup tomato juice
• 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup green beans
• 1/2 cup carrots, sliced
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• red pepper flakes to taste
• pepper, to taste
• OPTIONAL: chili powder season, to taste

In a pan over medium heat pour a drizzle of olive oil and brown ground turkey. I added chili powder to the turkey as it was browning to give it more flavor. Once browned, remove from heat and set aside.

Place all ingredients, including browned turkey, in crockpot. 

Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. 

Store in airtight container in the fridge or freeze for later use.

Self-Care and Sunrises: Thinking Out Loud #60

Happy Thursday! It's FINALLY my weekend after what seemed like a ridiculously long week. This week I started flip flopping between nightside and dayside and it's the absolute worst because I'm running on literally no sleep. Aside from work craziness the leaves are finally showing color around the city and it's gorgeous! Fall is the best- next to summer of course🙌 Let's jump into this weeks thinking out loud!

1. As a reporter I get to interview a lot of really awesome people, but this past week I got to interview one of my favorite people in Nebraska. I was doing a story about teen driving safety when I interviewed a state trooper, I soon found out he was the genius behind their twitter. NPS literally has the BEST tweets and the trooper is just as hilarious in person. It just goes to show that not all cops are bad, he happens to be one of the nicest people I've interviewed with so far. Not to mention his tweet about a runaway pig still cracks me up😂

2. Fall is FINALLY here! I'm so excited that the leaves are finally changing color here. My parents have been sending me pictures of the leaves changing at home for weeks now so finally seeing color here made me really happy. How can you not smile when trees are this gorgeous?!

3. I've been finding ways to indulge in self-care on my weekends since my weeks are so chaotic. One of my favorite ways to relax is to take a bubble bath or do a face mask. I love this face mask because its 100% organic, it's a small business, and they are so nice. I'm not paid to say that and I didn't get free product from them. I purchased it on Amazon and I haven't looked back- it makes my skin feel amazing and it's the perfect way to relax after a long work week👌 

4. Another part about my job that I love is I get to see some really pretty small towns. I had to drive about half an hour outside Lincoln to shoot a story and as soon as I pulled into town I loved it. It was like driving back in time with the downtown looking like something out of an old americana movie. I really don't know how people sit behind a desk all day, I'd much rather be out exploring and interacting with people in the community.  

5. I shared this picture on my instagram, but it is one of my favorite from the week. I love watching the sunrise and seeing while finishing up working out made my day. Creation never ceases to amaze me.

6. I had a total geek out moment yesterday. One of the stories I reported on was a city book sale to benefit the city libraries. It was a giant warehouse with rows and rows of books. They were selling books for one to two dollars! I wish I could have spent hours there searching through all the books but sadly I had to get back to station to edit the story together.

7. This past week a movement has swept across social media to shed light on sexual harassment and sexual assault. Working on camera tends to let people think they can say whatever they want about you, especially on social media. Luckily I have very thick skin, however I have gotten some truly graphic tweets sent to me and it was more than disturbing. I have been sexually harassed at the gym and in numerous places throughout my lifetime. My story goes deeper than just harassment, but it's something I'm not ready to talk about and I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to talk about. However, I love that light is being shed on this issue because it's so pervasive in our culture. Women have feelings too and we deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I choose to speak out with all the women and say #metoo because I don't want to stay silent anymore and I can only hope something good will come of this movement. 

8. I LOVE this quote🙌 I've never been one to care about what people think about me, but I think it's an important lesson for everyone to learn. People will always judge and be mean and talk about you, but you have to be you. Own who you are because the people who really matter love you for who you are, flaws and all.

Happy Thursday and have a terrific weekend everyone🎉🎉🎉

What is your favorite thing to meal prep? (I need some inspiration!)
What is your favorite way to show yourself some self-care?