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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Thankful.

From February 2006...

I have always envied people who live near their parents...i'd hear them gripe and complain and i'd think..."wouldn't that be cool to live close to your parents so you could see them whenever you want - wouldn't that be a luxury instead of maybe a week out of a year and then again when there's a funeral to attend?" Tomorrow i load up the kids and head out to Iowa...a place where i use to joke "it's not the end of the world but you can see it from there...the big thing in the summer is to sit on my brothers roof and watch the storms roll in...i try to time the vacation so we get at least one tornado warning while we're there...

But lately the trips to Iowa have taken a different tone...my grandma is 98 this year, and my dad is fighting cancer and i find myself holding on to them a little bit longer and begging for stories about when they were younger...you know, the stories they've told a hundred times that i use to be able to say in my sleep...like the one where my aunt met Elvis Presley and was so nervous that when he asked her who her favorite singer was she blirted out "Pat Boone" (totally true)...Elvis thought it was funny BUT for years afterwards when anyone said something STUPID we'd say "Pat Boone."

Every spring my mom and i visit the graves of my great grandparents to lay flowers but the last couple of years she's taken to pointing out the spot where she and dad want to be buried and i find myself being jolted by an incredible burst of pain...like, someday it's going to be my turn to bring my daughter here to lay flowers and honestly, i don't think i'm ready for it, and time which use to move so slowly in Iowa is now suddenly moving too fast for me...but you know what..?
Tomorrow is a time for celebration because i'm going to go home and see my family and even if i win the lottery someday...I will never be as rich as i am now, at this moment.

November 2008 update...

My grandmother passed away later that year, and my grandfather-who i told you about last year when he got married again at 92(!!!)-just had a stroke about 3 weeks ago and doesn't know anyone including his lovely 85 year old bride...but you know what, i'm so thankful because my dad who had been fighting prostate AND colon cancer, is winning the battle! And my stepson Mark who has been to Iraq TWICE, is currently home on US soil and i'm incredibly thankful for that. And sure, i'd like to go home to Iowa to see my parents this Thanksgiving, but i have three kids at home, neighbors whom i love, one turtle and one demented dog, and i'm going to really enjoy this Thanksgiving surrounded by all of them.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

"He's not my president..."

Just wondering...I didn't vote Obama...do i get to say "he's not my president..."

Because for the last eight years, that's been the thing to say when your candidate loses. "He's not my president."

I've never understood that, "he's not my president." But the bottom line is, whether i like it or not, he is going to be the president, and honestly, this nation NEEDS him to be successful, so the bottom line is; I didn't vote for him, but Obama is my president.

Just one thought President-elect Obama,

You promised your daughters a dog if you won the election...might i suggest one of our beautiful Wisconsin greyhounds? See, this way your daughters would have the joy of a dog who acted like a cat...sort of a two for one deal...just think about, ok?

Cindy Huber
ps...God bless our veterans and their families...thank you very much for your sacrifices.

It's so hard to say goodbye...

For most of this fall, i've been bringing my pots from outside into the house to protect them from the cooler autumn nights, but my husband finally put his foot down today saying the entire house was starting to smell like moldy dying plants, which is something coming from a funeral director...i would have thought his nose would be immune to that by now...but noooo....which is why, on this last sunny freak 70 day i'm gathering up my potted outdoor plants and saying goodbye.

So i'll start by saying goodbye goofy low hanging plant whose name i can't remember but i think started with a "b", i'll really miss banging my head on the bottom of your basket everytime i walked out the front door...but it was worth it because you looked stunning most of this summer.


Goodbye metal bistro set, which in concept, should have worked, but we didn't count on the tree branch that hung directly over the table, or the birds that ate the berries directly over our table, and then used the table as a pooping target...or at least that's what it looked like most of this summer.


Goodbye hobbits playing chess who did a poor job of protecting my ferns from the rabbits and chipmunks...have a nice winter rest in the garage, perhaps you can protect the lawnblower from the snowblower, or vice-versa.

Monday, November 03, 2008

VOTE!

I was amused at how all the local news channels were covering the election...folks, this occurs every four years, until they started interviewing people who were in their 40's and 50's who have never voted until today claiming they didn't feel they had a voice before...then i was annoyed...shame on those people...you had a voice...you just chose not to use it!

Not me...i cast my vote every four years and some years i'm real excited about the choices, and some years, not so much. I've also written a candidate's name on the ballet because the man i absolutely respect, Ralph Nader, needed my vote, regardless of whether he had a shot or not, because as he has said...

"A vote for someone you don't believe in, is a wasted vote."

Plus, my vote canceled out Julie Davidson's...sorry Julie...; )

Thursday, October 23, 2008

This could have been anyone of us...


Seriously, this could have been anyone of us on any given day..."but Cindy, i don't drag race..." Perhaps you don't...it's been years since i was challenged to a race and yes, i did use to race back in the late 70's...i was a very good kid (i think anyway) who worked fulltime, and went to college fulltime and didn't drink (well, in the early years anyway)...but yes, i did race my dad's 76 Buick "boat" down Highway 47 at speeds at over 100 miles per hour, and this was the era before seatbelts-no one i knew wore them. And i have no excuse for it. I can't even tell you why i did except someone said "hey Cindy, i'll beat ya to Denny's" or something stupid to that effect...At any time i could have lost control and killed myself, or just as important, i could have killed someone else, someone who didn't deserve to die just because i wanted to shave 3 minutes off my drivetime to Denny's.

Stupid, stupid, stupid...and i still can't tell you why i did it...i have no excuse; i did it and i was lucky, and so was everyone else that day. I was a good kid, doing something incredibly insane, and i was lucky it didn't cost me.

Yet, i see the same mistake happening over and over on Highway 45 on my way to work and back every single day...not that anyone is officially drag racing
...No officer, they're not drag racing, they're just late for work, or running late, or in a hurry, or not paying attention with their speed...
Honestly, it seems as i've slowed down, everyone else is speeding up...if i drive 55 on I-45 i'm afraid i'm going to get run over by a SUV or a truck...don't believe me...feel free to follow me home tonite at 8pm...it's a lot of fun, believe me, but it's not for the faint of heart...

This picture above (reprinted from WTMJ 4) absolutely breaks my heart and my sympathy and prayers are with the family of Justin Meyers, but don't think for one second that couldn't be one of us at any given moment, on any given highway here in Milwaukee.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

They're like cats...except they're dogs and they need a foster family

Question...would you like a dog but worried about long term commitment? Also...do you think this picture of Flanders and Fiona is cute?!

I just got an email from Ellen Paulus of Greyhound Pets of America-Wisconsin chapter...there is a real pressing need for foster homes for these Greyhounds...there is just too many retired greyhounds and not enough homes...but this isn't like adopting an animal where you have to take care of it for years and years...(you know, like adopting a turtle, i found out i'm on the hook for 75 years!)
Anyway, here's the email
..."Greyhounds make wonderful pets and there is always a surplus of them. People think they'd be wild and energetic, but nothing could be further from the truth. They are really laid back and calm dogs. More like cats actually."

Hi, we're adorable, and we need a home.

Greyhound Pets of America could really use your help to act as a temporary foster homes for these ex-racers to make a transition to home life while waiting for a home. If your interested, just email my friend Ellen at pauprint@execpc.com. Or if you want, check out the greyhound website at www.gpawisconsin.org.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

NO MORE AUTOGRAPHS!



Ringo Starr has announced on his website that as of October 20th, he will no longer be signing autographs or answering his fan mail...and you know what's weird? Up til today, i couldn't have cared less about a Ringo Starr autograph and now all of a sudden i WANT ONE! That's right, 24 hours ago if you had said "hey cindy, Ringo's in the hallway passing out autographs--do ya want one" i'd be like, "nah, not right now, i'm checking to see if the coffee's fresh...or trying to download Beyonce ringtones or watching paint dry..." But now that Ringo has given us some kind of deadline, i'm frantically trying to come up with a Ringo address...

So i went on line and to the best of my knowledge this is his fan mail address;
Ringo Starr
1st Floor
90 Jermyn Street
London SW
146JD
UK

I have to give Ringo credit, i do have to tell you he has a reputation for being one of the nicer celebrities in the business and who does, in fact, answer his mail which was also the basis of a famous Simpson episode which appeared in 1991...(yes, i'm a Simpson geek-it was the greatest episode ever)

Oh, and by the way, Ringo's got a new cd coming out...it's called Liverpool 8....hmmmmmmmm, publicity stunt?

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Random thoughts from a simple mind...

Only OJ Simpson, found guilty of all 12 charges of kidnapping and robbery by an all white jury, could claim he was a victim of racism...which, i believe was the same claim made by others after he was found not guilty of murder by an almost all black jury 13 years ago!

News flash...apples can lower your risk of cancer, diabetes, and lower your cholesterol...cool...when they turn it into a pill I'll start taking it!

So another presidential debate...um...i mean town hall meeting comes and goes and Obama and McCain must think we're stupid...ok...maybe not Obama and McCain, both whom i personally like but neither one of them said or offered up one real thing that i could go, "you have my vote..." I mean there was nothing new to go on (one's about change although I'm not sure how since he didn't go into details and one is a maverick, but couldn't really come up with anything that separated him from the current administration) and i guess maybe i should blame their handlers, press agents or whoever is telling them what to say...or i could just go "screw you both I'm voting Nader!"

And tomorrow John Lennon would have been 68 years old...what a waste huh? And the guy that shot him, Mark David Chapman, recently tried to get paroled after 28 years...it was denied of course...do you remember the reason Mark gave for killing a Beatle? He wanted to become famous!...Well Mark, if you wanted to spend less time in jail, maybe you should have killed someone a little less famous!!!

Monday, October 06, 2008

True ghost story...or why i don't get coffee after 8 here.


After suffering through the final Brewer loss of the season, and unwilling to subject myself to yet another Packer disaster, i decided to take a little walk through the woods...me, the dog, and an interesting tree...hey wait a minute...look closer...did that tree just wink at me?
It's interesting what you can find if your just willing to look a little closer, like here at work, for instance...now i don't believe in ghosts...but i do believe that there are people here that do...and that's because a certain little spirit has been bothering them late at night...apparently this ghost shows up sometime after 8 pm when most of the employees here have gone home and are listening to Terry Love on the radio...now i want to emphasize that this certain "spirit" has never bothered me ever...I've never had the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I've never had the chill of fear or whatever you get when something from another dimension shows up...but that might be because this--whatever it is--doesn't particularly care for me...nope...this "spirit or mist" likes to bother the female jock on our alternative rock sister station...showing up late at night to peek through her window while she's on the air...it doesn't hurt that she's cute, young and blond i suppose...making me suspect that this is a male spook...although, it scared the heck out of another of their early morning weekend jocks, who happened to be male, which makes me think that the spook overslept...which again, makes me suspect it's not only a male ghost, it's probably a teen...one of our older jocks who is "in tune" to this sort of thing once observed this spook who was walking around late at night wearing a baseball cap and cut-offs and little else...which struck her as weird as it was late December...oh, and she could see through him--that was the other tip off that something wasn't normal...however, when this "thing" realized he-it-whatever was being observed...he disappeared...totally freaking her out...which is why when she comes to work late at night she always brings coffee from home now, and which is why I, who firmly doesn't believe in such nonsense...never goes into the last place this spook was observed after 8 pm (the kitchen)...not because i believe or i'm afraid, but because i figure i have enough problems with the live ones...why cheese off the undead?

Friday, September 05, 2008

Lose ten pounds in two days! My new diet "secret!"

I once had a friend who lost almost 50 pounds in one year, and when i asked her how in the heck she did it she said one word..."gallbladder"...(or is that two words...I'm not sure because on the surface it looks like two words but when you type it out as gall bladder...see, it looks weird, doesn't it?!)

Now I'm not one to play the blame game but "curse you Wisconsin State Fair" with your half price Cream puffs and your delightful funnel cake stand situated directly across from where i was forced-against my will-to stare at your sign while i attempted to do a live broadcast from the fair...I've had nothing but stomach problems since. I've spent the last 3 weeks being sicker then a dog and like any concerned person, went directly to a informed source to further research my painful problem...that is, i called my mom...(she use to be a nurse and because of that and because of the fact that she is my mom...she officially knows everything...and she did, too!) I told her that lately everytime i eat something i get sick. She carefully considered this statement and then replied, "what are you eating?"...(see?...mom knows how to ask the tough questions!)

And i gotta tell you...i like to eat crap...or more specifically...fried crap...fries and Flintstones vitamins capped with a vanilla coke...(honestly, who needs drugs with you have vanilla coke-and it's still legal...although good luck finding vanilla coke!) And yes, i know i was on a big radio station contest with the awesome folks at LA Weight Loss and honestly, when i followed their plan i lost the weight, and i can just as honestly tell you that fries, and vanilla coke were not on it...or cream puffs...or funnel cakes...or deep fried snickers...i'm telling you i was doing great til the State Fair and then i fell off the eating healthy wagon right into the pits of deep fried heavenly hell!--(with a fringe on top.) Unfortunately willpower is not my God.

It was then i remembered my friend from Green Bay. She lost a lot of weight because of her gallbladder! She didn't get it removed until it became...well, almost a dangerous situation...You've seen that pill that advertises that it will flush out your fat when you take it with meals...sure, the one with all the embarrassing side effects like gas, and painful stomach upset, and exploding diarrhea...well, a gallbladder is like ALL that but without the 50 dollar price tag for 60 caplets...in other words, i'm getting the product for free!

On the plus side, i've just spent the last week cutting down on fried and greasy foods and it was a lot easier then i thought...and what made it so easy was everytime i cheated and ate something that tasted better then heaven, i had to grab a book and head to the bathroom...so now i'm looking at food and thinking to myself, is that delicous Taco John fried potato yummy thingy worth leaning against the toilet for three hours waiting to throw up...?

So after i consulted my mother the nurse, do you think i did the natural follow-up and consulted the doctor-haha...i mean the internet...you betcha! It's amazing what information you can find if you type in gallbladder detox...WOW! (pages and pages of stuff...(and not one piece of internet porn!) Unfortunately every single piece of gallbladder detox starts out the same way..."STOP EATING FRIED FOOD."

So i've found one detox recipe i think will work...or actually because it's about the only one that's easy enough for me to attempt...it involves 1. 8 ounce glass of apple juice, blended with 4-6 cloves of garlic that i have to roast for about 30 minutes...(now, i've never roasted garlic before...do i then put the roasted cloves directly into the juice or do you crunch them or...i always just buy garlic salt so i wanted to check with you first...) ...then i have to add ginger root and after i blend it all...i'm suppose to drink it...um...maybe i should call a doctor...right after i eat this donut one of the kids forgot to hide...

Monday, August 25, 2008

Actually, it was a quiet week...


Heeeeeeeey, it could've been worse, it could have been Alf. Speaking of celebrities, now it can be revealed that actor David Duchovny's recent rehab stay for sex addiction was actually an addiction for internet porn...couldn't they have just saved the money for rehab and canceled the internet?
So THIS is why Joanne Beachum couldn't work over the weekend. Our Joanne went and adopted this kitty (yes, the one pictured) from Purebreadcatrescue.org. And yet, amazingly enough, they still have a couple of cats left if you want to adopt a kitty, or cat...go ahead, check for yourself! Now how weird is this...the author of the best-selling novel THE Horse Whisperer, his wife, her sister and brother-in-law are all in the hospital after eating poisonous mushrooms they picked in the woods, cooked, and ate. It was serious enough that they all had to have dialysis. (You see, that right there, is why i only eat cheese pizza!)

Cloris Leachman is going to be one of the oldest dancers ever on Dancing with the Stars. Cloris is 82. Julie Davidson and i got our butts kicked by a 72 year old in a dance competition so do not rule out Cloris! (By the way, that is my grandmother Reba V. Davidson with Cloris...my grandmother use to babysit Cloris when she was a little girl) Meanwhile, everyone who was ripping on Republican John McCain for being too old, is now ripping on his running mate Sarah Palin for have a pregnant teenage daughter...(honestly i could care less...what does a pregnant teenager have to do with starving polar bears in Alaska or global warming or less foreign oil, cuz that's what i'm worried about this year)

Friday, August 22, 2008

My "next year's garden"

(This is a picture of one of my gardens, and that thing on the right is something called "lambs ear" which is very soft but doesn't do anything...it doesn't bloom, it doesn't smell...my grandson likes to pet it...but if you want it i'll trade you it for some black eye susans)

I have a saying this time of year when i know i did everything i possibly could to make my garden nice, but somehow it didn't match my vision, and now the season is coming to an end. I go "maybe i didn't get it as nice as i wanted, but there's always "next years garden!"
It's no secret in my neighborhood that i'm gardened challenged. I once planted a pretty cherry tree i bought for four easy payments for my grandma's 99th birthday, and that tree didn't even survive to the fourth payment. Then again, i've had some happy surprises. Like three years ago when i planted a sprig of peppermint because i like the smell of peppermint and exactly one year later the peppermint had pretty much overtaken the entire garden. Now to you, this could have been a big crisis, but i had just discovered how to make mojitos and now, just about every August 1st, i dig up the entire harvest of peppermint, invite the neighbors over and i'm the life of the party! Plus, the peppermint battles the "snow on the mountain perennials" i stupidly planted a few years ago. Now, that's a stinking crisis!

(This picture is next years next years garden)
I start out the summer with a dream, one or two garden coupons and a gardening catalog. I know exactly where i'm going with this, and how nice my garden is going to look...til i get to the gardening place and then it's like i have ADD...oh wait, i do have ADD. Then it becomes "boy oh boy look at the pretty flowers, and oh, i want that one and that one..." Then i go home and my husband goes "oh my God, how much did you spend?!" So i start digging holes and eventually i find a place for everything i bought. I'm out every morning with a garden hose and miracle grow and my weeding thingy i bought off the internet and "is that another weed?...darn it!" And it's always a happy surprise when plants thrive and prosper, and then again it's always painful when they crash and burn...and wilt...and die (kinda like being a Cub fan). Then again, i've discovered things that are pretty cool along the way, like rotting bananas don't always have to attract fruit flies on your kitchen counter...you can bury them next to the rose plants for fertilizer, and cheap beer your never going to drink can be used to kill the bugs that are trying to kill your roses...and, that's about it i guess...
So this growing season is over and maybe my garden didn't turn into the garden of Eden i'd been hoping for... but that doesn't matter, cuz there's always my "next years garden."

He leaves the light on for me


If you've ever wondered what this radio jock does after she leaves the station...wait...you've never wondered...not ever?! Shoot...because, when i was a little girl listening to the radio and television, i use to imagine all of my favorite celebrities leaving the airwaves and heading out to their fabulous lives which involved mansions and kids didn't try to stay out all night. But honestly, perhaps celebrities are humans, just like you and me, who put their pant legs on, one leg at a time. ("more cowbell please")

And maybe none of them are lucky to have someone waiting home for them, like i do. Sure, my babe Max is only 12 pounds soaking wet, and honestly, i know that for a fact because he spilled over his water dish the other night in disgust because his food bowl was empty, and then for the fun of it--and because i had a couple of vodka lemonaides in me--i said "hey kids, the dog is soaking wet, let's weigh him!"

But, much like death and taxes, acne breakouts just before a special event, or a craving for a hot fudge sundae two minutes after Kopps closes for the night...my baby is always waiting for me...with his leash...ready for a walk regardless of whether it's raining, sleeting or lightning...which is comforting in a weird sort of way, knowing at least one person in the house is glad to see me, although on the other hand...doesn't anyone else walk the da*n dog during the day!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A CarTune Contest i'm excited to give you!

I wanted to start this by saying "i hate getting old!" Ok, now that i stated the obvious, i just want to tell you how excited i am to share this contest with you. I first heard about profractional lazer two years ago on a tv show called LOOK TEN YEARS YOUNGER (where they put women in a glass tube in the middle of a mall and have people try to guess her age). Usually people would guess the women older then they really were, the women would freak out, the show would give them a profractional treatment and trot them back out to the glass tube where people would say, "wow, look at how young that sourpuss looks"-ok, i was the sourpuss because i figured i'd never be able to afford anything like that. Flash forward two years later and the treatment is not only affordable, but everyone is doing it...Kathie Lee Gifford-for instance, and this radio station.

That's right, this is me, looking like, well, the sourpuss that needs profractional help, or a weekend in the Dells...either way, i was lucky enough to team up with the great staff at TLC Lazer and Skin Center of Oconomowoc and experience a profractional treatment for myself.

This is immediately after the procedure. Ugh...i hate posting these photos but that's part of the deal...there's no way i'm going to promote something without trying it out myself!

This is RIGHT after my profractional treatment. I was somewhat nervous to post these next couple of photos because your looking at these and going "what the heck?! Ouch, why would anyone do that?" And here's the reality, i'm not in any pain...not at all, in fact i'm actually thinking about where i'm gonna stop to pick up lunch. And then i went to work...and grossed everyone out. Most people do this and go home, but i had no pain and figured shoot, i work in radio, whose gonna see me? The guy at Burger King seemed a little worried and asked if i needed any medical attention but i said "no, just a BK Mocha Joe and a whopper junior, no mayo and i went to work.

This is one week later after my profractional treatment and i'm feeling great...my eyes have moved up to where they were a few years ago, and my skin feels brand new. Most of my wrinkles are gone and i haven't had an acne break-out since!

If you want to check out TLC Laser of Oconomowoc at www.tlclaserandskincare.com--there's a link to their place on our home page at B933fm.com website cuz darn it, i'm not getting their web address to link with my site...i'm gonna try to fix that tomorrow.
Congrats to my CarTune GRAND PRIZE WINNER...Rose Karl! : )

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

I got to stop standing next to skinny people in photos.



Honestly, i got to stop standing next to skinny people!

However, i didn't mind it so much last weekend when i met Dancing with the Stars Elena Grinenko and Tony Dovolani--Tony was the partner of country singer Sara Evans when she dropped out of Dancing with the Stars. Fred Astaire Dance Studio was doing a "Night out with the Stars" and for 50 bucks you could get a dinner, dance, and hang out with the celebrities...and by celebrities i mean Tony and Elena, i was just there cuz i'm a huge fan.

So there i am, the fat one in the picture, but for once i didn't mind because, well...look at Tony. He's super hot! And i've got my arm around him! So anyhoo, i tell him my sad pathetic story of how i ended up sixth place in a dancing competition that only had six people in it. And how one of them was a 71 year old sausage king...who outdanced me! Then Tony looked at me with his deep dark eyes and softly whispered...ok, now i'm just messing with you...he simply said, "did you have fun?"

And honestly, i did. I didn't place first but i had a blast, and developed an appreciation for how involved some of these dances are. When you watch the dancers on the tube you and i are simply looking at their costumes and enjoying the music they selected, but the judges are studying their foot movements because each dance has it's specific foot placement. (That, i'm pretty sure, is what sunk me in my dance competition.) And then Tony told me that they have no idea if they are going to dance in any specific season and are notified just about the same time it's announced to the public. They are also just as surprised with who they are assigned to dance with and find out about a day before they actually meet their celebrity partner. And then someone took this picture and they were off to mingle with the other fans...but not before i told them about deep fried snickers which Tony thought sounded delicious. So if Tony looks a little heavier this fall...

DEEP FRIED SNICKERS recipe
*from recipezaar.com*

Snickers candy bars
funnel cake mix
frying oil

1. Push popcicle sticks into Snickers bar from bottom about half way up.
2. Freeze Snickers until frozen solid.
3. Funnel cake batter
4. Dip frozen snicker in batter.
5. Fry in hot oil until golden brown (just a few minutes).
6. Remove from oil and drain.
7. Top with powdered sugar if desired. (Cindy note: heck yeah!)
8. Can also use twinkie if you want.
9. After a few of these, make sure you are not standing next to any skinny people if someone has a camera.
10. Repeat.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

I saw YOU at the fair...


Luckily-for this listener anyway- i didn't run into Peta, although, this hat gave me a great idea...when my dog dies i'm having him stuffed and turned into a hat!

You know what i love best about the fair? You run into everyone you know...like Chris, (pictured above with her beautiful family), an awesome angel (although she prefers to be called nurse) who helped me and my friend through our externship at St. Lukes Heart Failure Clinic. (Hey Chris, say hi to Cheryl, Sue, Tammi and Nancy for me-i love you all!!!)
My daughter and her friends Elizabeth and Emily...we discovered a sad truth; although funnel cakes are TOTALLY AWESOME(!)...not if you eat one first thing in the morning.

You've met our midday hostess Julie Davidson, right? As wonderful and sweet in person as she is on the air. (She was also very sweet and humble the night she kicked my butt in a celebrity dancing competition...although we both got beat by a 72 year old sausage king) Pictured with us is my adopted son "promotion guy" Ryan in a rare photograph...you may think we're smiling and having a good time but actually Julie and me are holding on to Ryan so we can get a picture of him.

So what was our promotion guy Ryan doing when not getting his picture taken? Another promotion guy stood in for this shot.

This is our over-worked staff here at Milwaukee radio and without them, there is no B93.3 radio!

This is the lovely 2008 Alice in Dairyland who kindly offered to go on the air with me everyday and talk about all the great products Wisconsin produces...like bison burritos, duck fahitas, maple sugar cotton candy and...wait a minute...how did this TMJ bag get in the shot?!

Here's a shot of a listener who said hi...too bad i didn't get his name, but he sure seemed nice...

Friday, July 11, 2008

My daughter's summer garden


My daughter has the green thumb i always wished i could have. Ummm, i'm not the only one who noticed how nice her garden looks!

Summer Vacation in Phoenix, where everyday is 110.


Who goes to Phoenix in the summer? People who actually think there's such a thing as "dry heat."

When my son proposed a trip to Phoenix this summer to see the Brewers take on the Diamondbacks, i tried to talk him out of it..."it's hot down there, it's a desert, it's over 100 degrees everyday in July," to which he replied "yes mom, but it's dry heat."..to which i should have replied, "sure kid, say hi to my buddies the tooth fairy and Elvis"...but i didn't, because i'm an optimist, and occasionally i use bad judgement, like thinking i have more in my checking account then i do and that there is such a thing as "dry heat not being as bad as...well, humid heat. (dumb, dumb, dumb)

The tip off should have been the incredibly cheap rate we got on an awesome luxery hotel there with water park, but then again, see tooth fairy above. Nonetheless, it was cool being trapped in an air conditioned hotel room with the entire famDAMlee while waiting for the sun to go down so we could use the waterpark since it was too freaking hot for us when the sun was up because everyday there was 110! We were forced as a family to talk to each other, "hey kids, how are you doing?" "I'm hot mom, how much longer til the sun goes down?" Still, it was conversation, something that we don't tend to do anymore since the kids are teenagers and don't want to be hanging with mom and dad and stepdad anymore. (Oh, and by the way, we dragged my first husband out with us-if anyone should know what hell is like, it would be the first husband who was married to me for 9 years. Still, he thought Phoenix was slightly hotter then being married to me!)

Say what you will about Wisconsin winters being too cold, but still, it's not 10 below zero every single day of winter! It's over 100 just about every day of summer in Phoenix except when the monsoon hits...making it muggy, and 110!

While vacationing in Phoenix, we came up with the grand idea of visiting the Grand Canyon, which, on the map, looked like it was only a couple of hours up the road...um, which it's not...more like five hours and 5000 feet higher...but it was well worth the trip as pictures of the canyon do not do it justice...viewing the Grand Canyon is more like an experience, and thrill. The Grand Canyon grocery store however is more like a head scratcher. Here you are, on the edge of the canyon with a little grocery mart that carries all the essentials you might need for such a vacation like food, soda, beer, charcoal, chew, and First Response Pregnancy Test, which was displayed right next to the chew! I'm guessing after you finish your chew, you can find out when Junior's due.
My family learned a very important lesson this summer in Phoenix and that is hot is hot, whether it's "dry" or not, which is to say, how would i like to be cooked in the 110 degrees, baking in the oven, or in the crockpot, set on high!

Oh, and trapped in the hotel room during the day, we also learned daytime tv sucks!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

The Weight Loss contest is over!


Well, the contest is over, and as you can see, LA Weight Loss really worked! I look just like Christie Brinkley, cool huh?! And we all know what being beautiful and thin has done for her life!


Seriously though, it was a successful contest and HEY(!)...who put this picture of a hippo and a turtle in here?! This was suppose to be my picture...oh well, cute picture isn't it! I love turtles.


Ok, here we go, i'm hanging out with my friends in this photo (i'm on the right), and although i didn't even come close to winning our weight loss contest, i'm a winner because i got to meet and compete with three of the nicest contestants ever!
Congrats to our Funjet vacation winner Greg Castle, who--while losing 40 pounds--still had time to bake all of his competitors a cake! (It was delicious too, thanks Greg!) Also a big atta-girl to our runner-ups Renee, our sixth grade school teacher from Milwaukee, and Lynette, our mother of three from Hales Corners. Renee lost 25 pounds, and Lynette lost 22! God bless you all, your winners in my book!

Cute picture of Julie Davidson


Julie Davidson says she reads my blog...oh yeah, let's see how long it takes for her to notice her picture on my blog...good thing i didn't get one of her eating potatoe chips...that's because i'm afraid of paybacks, bad karma, and the amount of dirt Julie knows about me!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Confessions from the most unpopular girl in sixth grade at Summerdale Elementary


Hi, i'm Cindy Huber, and i was the most unpopular girl in sixth grade at Summerdale Elementary in Rockford, Illinois. I'm not even sure how it happened, or how i won the "unpopular lottery," just that there was a girl in my class who was even more unpopular then i was, and when she moved, it was my turn. I can remember that it started with catty comments, which i pretended not to hear, so when that didn't work, my tormenters moved up to paper wads and light shoves when the teacher wasn't looking. I tried to ignore it back then and even today i'm not sure why i did, because today i never turn away from a fight(!)...but back in the early 70's-when i was an 11 year old kid-i tried to ignore the spitwads, the taunting and the occasional kick on the shins, or swat on the head, hoping my bullies would get bored and find a new victim, but they didn't. Sadder yet, i'm sure the teachers knew, partly because i was always trying to move to the front of the class, where it would be harder to attack me, or always offering to stay after school to clean the chalkboards under the theory that if i just stayed late enough, my tormenters would get bored and go home, but my teachers never said a word, and eventually-one night-my bullies waited until i came out, and then jumped me.

After i got beat up, i went home. My mom felt horrible and put ice on my face, but my dad was furious when he saw me...AT ME.
"How many hit you?" he asked.
"Well, there was a bunch of them," i said.
"How many hit you?"
"One."
"What'd you do next?"
"I ran home."
"The next time i hear you ran from a fight, i will kick you butt when i get home!" And that was the end of it from my father. Sounds harsh doesn't it(?)...except he was right, because the very next day when i went to school, my bully was waiting once again, so this time i threw the hardest punch i could muster directly at her belly.
She threw a punch and then i threw another, and then it was over. The bully murmered some excuse and left. Perhaps it was boredom on her part, or she recognized that her prey was no longer easy. I can't remember if she moved on to anyone else. I just remember how much it sucked to have someone want to hurt you, and that no one, not the teachers, or even your school friends would help you out. I was truely on my own in sixth grade.

Maybe that's why i took this kid's beating on a city bus so bad...six bullies kicking the crap out of him, and no one on the bus...not the bus driver, or even the other riders tried to intervene. Just the opposite, the driver continued to drive, and the bus patrons all looked the other way while kid was being beaten. Honestly, that p*sses me off so bad, i'd like to kick their butts!

My heart just goes out to this kid, but i, the most unpopular sixth grade girl at Summerdale elementary school, wants to tell him this; "that which doesn't kill him will only make him stronger"...because it will.

Ps...if this kid ever wants to get in touch with me, i would be willing to help out with giving him rides to school next fall...and to show him the best way to throw a punch, because thanks to sixth grade, today i'm an expert on it.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Happy Memorial Day to you...

Here's wishing a wonderful and blessed Memorial Day to you and your family, and just as important, say a prayer for our troops and our veterans who made this holiday possible.
This is my favorite picture of my stepson, Mark Olsen, who is serving in Iraq in the marines. It was taken at Christmas time.

The first Memorial Day was "celebrated" um, observed, in 1865, to honor those who lost their lives in the Civil War, but these days this holiday has turned into a kickoff for summer...but not to us. There isn't a day that goes by that we aren't scanning CNN when their showing the troops in Iraq to see if we can see our son. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't jump when we hear the news say "new bloodbath or increased fighting in Iraq today".....we grieve for those parents whose sons and daughters aren't coming home...everyday is Memorial Day for them.

We thank God everyday that he has spared our son.



This is my stepson Mark "at ease" at a Chuckie Cheese in November...although honestly, have you ever seen a marine at ease? We miss him very much.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

BEE Fit for Summer, so far....

Here's an idea...



Ok, ok...if that doesn't work for you, plan B;

About three weeks ago i sat down with my co-workers and read 162 emails from listeners who wanted to challenge me in the Bee Fit for Summer Contest and we apparently chose well, because...well...i'm getting my "phat" butt kicked!

Our baker from South Milwaukee Greg (who goes to the LA Weight Loss in Oak Creek at 8907 South Howell), bakes delicious cakes for a living and has already lost over 18 pounds in two weeks! He just emailed me yesterday to tell me that thanks to his weight loss, he has already been able to cut his blood pressure medication in half!

Our mom Lynette from Hales Corners (who goes to LA Weight Loss in Greenfield located in the Steinmart Plaza by Southridge) has lost over 9 pounds, and our hardworking sixth grade school teacher Renee (who goes to the LA Weight Loss Center in Menomonee Falls) was telling me how she had a huge event to attend and was worried about how she was gonna resist all the delicious food at this thing, and how the fine folks at LA Weight Loss showed her that she could still have her cake (and eat it too!) and still lose weight...and Renee has lost over 9 pounds!

Ps...i've lost over 5 so far but this contest is only beginning...so to Lynette, Greg and Renee, i say "bring it on!" : )

Monday, April 21, 2008

My grandma's dash


I've been thinking about my grandmother, Reba V. Davison, this week...she would have turned 100 this Saturday. She almost made it too, but i think losing her son and having to go into a nursing home was more then she could bare.
I was trying to think of a way to honor her, being that the cherry tree i planted in her honor didn't make it, further proof that her green thumb skipped my generation! A wonderful listener of my show emailed me this poem written by the awesome Linda Ellis whose wise words both comforted me, and made me cry!
Warning: Keep the tissues nearby as you read this...you will need them.
I read of a man who stood to speak, at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning to the end. He noted that first came the date of her birth, and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years. For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth, and now only those who loved her, know what that little line is worth. For it matters not, how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash, what matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard, are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left, that can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough, to consider what's true and real, and always try to understand the way other people feel. And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more, and love the people in our lives, like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile, remembering that this special dash, might only last a little while. So when your eulogy is being read, with your life's actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?


My grandmother would be very proud of what we have to say about her dash.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

In Praise of "Nothing Special"



I remember the night we took this picture...it was sometime in late fall of 2004 and i picked up some KFC for supper...and just for the heck of it, i pulled out the camera and snapped some shots of everybody.

My stepson Mark, (he's the cute kid sitting next to my daughter whose sticking her tongue out) asked me "why are you taking pictures, nothing special is going on" to which i replied "exactly, that's why i'm taking pictures." I mean, there wasn't any particular reason to be taking pictures except maybe that disposable camera had been sitting on top of the tv for half a year and i was curious to see what i had taken pictures of so i was gonna finish up the film and take it in to Walgreens...

But when i flash forward to the year 2008 and look back at these pictures...they suddenly take on a new meaning to me...there's my incredibly handsome then 17 year old stepson sitting in the front room with his brother and stepsister enjoying original recipe chicken and mashed potatoes...nothing special...he's probably thinking about how he's going to convince his dad and me to let him go out with his friends for a couple of hours, we're gonna tell him we really don't think it's wise on a school night and he's always gone and why doesn't he just stay put tonight and hang with the family...then he's going to complain we're too strict and that he stayed home a couple of nights ago and maybe he'll stay home tomorrow and c'mon, it's just for a couple of hours he'll be home by ten.
He's in Al Asad, Iraq now, it's his second tour of duty....it's about 9 hours later then here which means he's probably just waking up now and getting ready to do God knows what...he told his dad, mom, and me that he's going to what they call Camp Cupcake which is suppose to reassure us that he's going to be safe, but we watch a lot of CNN and FOX especially when the headlines "new blood bath in Bahgdad" scroll across the screen...before he left last year he told us he was going to be guarding a water tank and it turned out to be a lie...he was the guy in back of the machine gun on top of a hummer guarding a convoy...this time he'll be inside the Humvee driving...

So this picture is just a snapshot of a "nothing special" night in late fall of 2004...a another boring night where nothing special was going on...and i'm glad i got a picture of it.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Anatomy of a Weight Gain


This is what i first looked like when i started at B93.3 in August. I had lost over 30 pounds with LA Weight Loss, and had actually been off the program for over 5 months when this picture was taken and had not gained one pound! I was still walking on a daily basis and i was watching what i was eating.


Here i am about two months later and i'm up about 5 or 6 pounds because i had started school (fulltime) and was slowly starting to re-introduce the bad habits that had gotten me to 204 pounds in the first place...and what the heck am i doing at a rib eating contest?! The only tip off is i'm starting to wear a sweatshirt draped around my waist.

Now, as you can plainly see, i've got a bulge starting once again but i don't seem to notice because my teeshirts have gotten bigger...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Be Fit for Summer Contest...the one where we didn't think anyone was going to enter


Man, i wish it were that easy!
I mean, howabout if scientist could invent a magic weight loss pill so we wouldn't have to rely on willpower anymore! Honestly, they can put a man on the moon, but they can't invent a fried chicken or chocolate malt that melts fat on your thighs!

This is what i looked like when i first started here at B93.3 last July. I had lost over 30 pounds on LA Weight Loss (204 pounds and got down to 169) and kept it off!...Until the last couple of months when i slowly allowed the bad habits that got me to 204 creep back in again; Here's how it happened...i went back to school fulltime and i was working here at B93.3 (that's right, blame the radio station) and instead of using the common sense that LA Weight Loss had taught me, i slowly introduced the bad habits that had originally gotten me to 204 pounds in the first place! (If i stop at McDonalds and have a couple of fries or drink Coke instead of Diet Coke, whose it going to hurt?)

I have never been more disgusted with myself! After all that hard work, it only took a couple of months (no lie) to put that weight on and the only one i have to blame...is me!

I don't know about you, but i'm getting sick of radio jocks-including ME-telling you how great a diet is...as if that should inspire you, especially if you followed my last journey through the weight loss jungle...after all, wasn't i the jock who told you how great Metabolife was? (I was and it was until it was deemed unsafe and taken off the market) If i'm going to do a very public diet on the radio, the least i can do is give you a chance to join me! And because LA Weight Loss taught me how to eat, and how to lose weight eating real food, they were the people we (B93.3 and me) approached with this idea; How about a contest where people could write in 93 words or less why they would like to challenge me in a BE FIT FOR SUMMER CONTEST...easy right?
WRONG!
We had 162 entries, (after the doubles/duplicates were taken out) and every single one of them, heartfelt, heartbreaking, and honest. And i related to each and everyone of them! I knew i was in trouble and i called in the promotions staff, and coworkers (six of us, including me, all who were either fighting the battle of the bulge, or had won the battle). I want you to know that each and every one of your 162 entries were read, and argued about. The first 100 eliminations were somewhat the easiest because of health problems (some of you are battling cancer and heart failure and i honestly think that you have a hard enough battle to worry about without adding a public weight loss challenge on your plate!-you are also in our prayers)

The next 50 entries were the worst! Honestly, you all should have won, but we only had three slots. Now the real arguments began, and we all had our favorite entries and people we felt should win. I had about 15 i was pushing for, and so did everyone else. We then cut the entries down to 20, and then 10, and finally to 5 listeners, and we still couldn't agree. I can tell you now, that when we announced this contest last week, my promotions boss and myself thought we'd be lucky if we got 5 entries! Our LA WEIGHT Loss contest ended at midnight, March 30th and by 6 pm last night (March 31) we still didn't have a clear winner!
Want to know why it took so long to announce a winner today? We still weren't sure on the last winner...

Finally, this afternoon (at 5:15) we had our three challengers;
1. Renee Clark of Milwaukee who told us about being a 6th grade teacher (who gets taunted by some of her kids because of her weight-she was our clear cut favorite)... 2. Gregory Castle who owns a bakery and is facing a 50th birthday this summer, and 3. Lynne Litzenberg whose weight battle began nine years ago after she quit smoking and switched to food, who was worried about how her bad food habits have transferred to her 3 sons (one who is graduating this year and she was terrified at the thought of being in pictures with him), and was also worried about a 25th high school reunion (motivation).

Were they the most deserving winners? I think that's impossible to say for sure, because this was such a subjective contest. I even eliminated two very dear friends of mine that i know personally (i love you DawnEllen and i will call you this week), and have witnessed their battle with their weight (and who i knew were worthy)because i was over-ruled; Angela of West Allis, for instance, she just turned 40 with enough stress on her to cause a heart attack (she has a son in Iraq), Paula of Muskego who i'm probably gonna call up and exchange recipes with, (or maybe email, i don't want to bother you during dinner), Kelly of Waukesha you are "one sassy-you know" and have exactly the same challenges as me...lets do coffee soon...Kate of Franklin whose trying to get in shape with her husband and Kathy from Milwaukee who wants to go from a 14 to a 4 or 6...trust me, you can and if you need a walking partner i'll find a way to make that happen...Debbie K of Greendale who was munching jellybeans while driving home from work...you should have your own blog! I LOVED your entry, but i was over-ruled...Amanda of Milwaukee has a fiance in Iraq that wants to look good for her upcoming wedding-God bless you and i hope you and your husband-to-be have a long and wonderful life together...i loved loved loved an email from a listener who told me how she cheated on her honey with her lover Haag N Daaz-you were in the top 5(!)...and a very inspiring email from
Susan Duvall of Wauwatosa: Turning 60 in April, i need to lose at least 40 pounds. I went back to college at age 56 and am now a fully licensed Registered Nurse. I have shown perseverance and dedication to achieve one of my life's dreams and losing this excess weight would be the other. Help me achieve this new goal/dream for beginning my 6th decade.


Some of your emails were heartbreaking and incredibly inspiring and much too personal to share here but i will email you to see how i can be of help.

All i can say is we tried to make the best decisions possible, and to thank you so much your entries.

Cindy Huber
April 1, 2008