I positively love Halloween. I really do!! It's a fantastic holiday because of how it turns what's scary into what's fun. And, it's one of those holidays both the kids and adults can groove on. AND it doesn't involve me spending $600.00 on presents and Hallmark cards. So. There you have it.

It's the day before Halloween and I'm spun up about it.

So, for those of you who normally see me at 5pm.. I'm not on 'extended leave' or quitting KGW (I took a call from someone who thought I'd left the station to go work at the competition). I've just been cranking out my special reports for November which is why it's been so busy. And when I do that-- there is no one to write my health wraps-- hence the extended absence. Which is also why I'm not blogging about anything health related. I always tie the blogs into the health stories I run, so instead-- you get photos!!!

Here is the producer for the show I anchor, the lovely Miss Kate, who pointed out that she somehow, inadvertantly managed to match her outfit to our scripts. I was like, "You HAVE to let me take a photo!" LOL.

Let's welcome Blog Buddy Joe's NEW BABY ZAK!! He's about 6 weeks I think and cute as a button!! Thanks for sending it, Joe!!

Rob sent me this photo from his trip to Cabo Wabo to see Sammy Hagar on his birthday!! By the way: I'm so front and center at Van Halen in December. That'll be a FUN show.

Debi writes about my necklace:

Nice to see you on the noon news. Love your rock (aka necklace). Had to turn on the big tv to get a bigger picture of it. It is gorgeous!! Did you have it handmade for you?

See here for the full report on it!! ((Stef's necklace Blog ))

Allright.. Enough for today.. I have a funny spider shot from McGorge Scott to post.. and a few more comments from folks-- including "Tell it like it is" Rick and his thoughts on banning smoking. He actually sent me a funny comment that was just too controversial to post here-- but I'll add his smoking comment tomorrow to see what you think.

Til then! Stephanie Stricklen knows a thing or two about email.

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 7:07 AM | Permalink

Meh. That's how my week was last week. I had some great days and two really tough days work-wise. I'll spare you the details, but I hope things work themselves out.

As for my blog: YES Rob.. you're right. I've been absent. And I have a boatload of pictures from everyone to post and the like. But, it's 1:30 and I have to go get my car fixed if I'm going to get to work tomorrow (ignition switch). So, I will leave you with a photo I took at OHSU's Center for Health & Healing. It's now the new screensaver on my iPhone. Enjoy until tomorrow (when I WILL blog again).

Steph Stricklen has email. Yes, she does!

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 1:25 PM | Permalink

Blah blah blah.

That's how I feel today. Blah. I spent most of the weekend asleep, but didn't start really feeling it until Sunday. Good thing, too, because I had the Doernbecher auction to emcee Saturday.

Here are some pics:

From left to right: Erika, Kris (one of my three best friends in the whole wide world), Michelle, me, Megan, Sunny, and Kris's mom Linda. By the way, can Kris rock a dress or what?!

And next; Michelle and Linda.. and then Joe Donlon and me. Kris was all over the camera that night! Yay, Kris.

Here's Kris and Joe Donlon:

And here's what it was all about. This is me interviewing Jake.. a really cool kid who has been through a lot after fighting a rare cancer more than once. We were raising money to build Doernbecher a new pediatric emergency department and I think we really helped get them closer to that goal! THANKS Jake!!

I'm going home now.. back to bed. See you tomorrow. sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 8:24 AM | Permalink

Russ got to meet OZZY (rock on). I told him he should blog about it, but hey-- you know how time flys. Of course, I'm not going to let a great photo like this go to waste so I'm sharing now!!

As I've written before, I'm so not a reality TV girl BUT I have watched his show and will cop to liking it!! And, I used to listen to his older music a lot in high school.. so, I'm stoked that Russ got to hang out with him.

Neil writes: I enjoy watching you in the morning and sometimes I will catch you at noon, I even enjoy seeing on the evening broadcast, But girl you work way too much..

Don't get me wrong, my wife and I enjoy seeing your wonderful smile and enjoy your very up beat personality. But the bottom line here kid is you work way too much and hard!! Take time off and enjoy life with your family.

Now normally you might wonder if I'm including this because I'm in need of some ego-strokage. That, or I'm hoping someone will show it to my boss. Nope, not this time. What's funny about this email is that I've been taking LOADS of days off in the past few weeks. I have lots of extra vacation to burn before years end-- and, in fact, the boys on my newscast (Russ and Nick) have been giving me such a hard time about it-- perhaps THEY need to read this. ;-)

And, yeah, anytime you send me compliments I pretty much think you rule and try to brainstorm ways to post them without making myself look like an egomaniac.

Mark writes about the program to give middle school students birth control without telling their parents: I will say that I support the concept of birth control for middle schools. The reason is, some young men and young women have *NO CONCEPT* of responsibility. Having birth control available to middle schools makes sense because that is when puberty begins (for the most part, unless we're talking about precocious puberty.

Parents need to do everything possible to prevent the accidental pregnancies that happen during the teen yrs. If parents don't talk to the kids; which is *their* responsibility; where else are kids going to get appropriate information... certainly not from other teens!!! That's just scary to think about!!!

One gal shared this regarding Oprah's illness:

i was thrilled she's bringing attention to hyper and hypothyroidism. it's a very important medical topic to discuss because so many people have it. 18 years ago, after i my son was born, i was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. i had difficulty losing my last few pounds and i was so tired i couldn't move. people were telling me i was tired because i had two children. i thought it had to be more than that. i remember how difficult it was just to stand up in a shower. my doctor finally found the problem. she said i was like a "wind-up toy" that was slowly winding down. if i had continued for another 6 months like that i would have gone into a coma. ANYWAY, the great news is i've been on synthroid for 18 years and i feel great. it takes about a year to adjust the dose properly. i know exactly what oprah was feeling. the exhaustion is so devastating. she's fortunate to have gotten it diagnosed.

Roger wrote this after my little flu shot tantrum (really, more of a rant I had on this blog): I've always been wary of flu shots, but after this I might just be a little more open minded.

Thanks, man. I do appreciate hearing that!!

Still to come: blog-reader Rob gets to meet Sammy Hagar and has the photogrpahic evidence to prove it! Blog-buddy Joe welcomes his new son into the world and shares a photo AND Michael shares some cool Hawaii photos!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!! Off to anchor the noon... Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 11:18 AM | Permalink

Mornin' everyone!!

Okay.. so I had a boatload of vacation leftover this year since I saved a bunch for a Mexico trip that is now a Maui trip, but not until '08. And we have a use it or lose it policy so I'm blowing through days off like crazy!

Bottom line.. that's why I've been gone and not doing daily blog updates.

If you workout-- you'll want to read this!! Here's the MRSA info from the AM show..

http://www.kgw.com/news/specialreports/stories//kgw_042007_gym_germs.f720f52.html

People wrote me immediately after that story aired to tell me their MRSA stories... and I've previously done stories on schools.. where wrestlers likely picked it up from the floor mats-- not to mention how common it is in hospitals.

One other reason you haven't seen me at 5pm-- special reports. I'm knee deep again and am a bit excited about the one I worked on yesterday. While I can't give you the full rundown yet.. let me just tell you it involved my mutt Milo.. seen here at work where he got to hang out with me all day.

Man, I wish he could come every day.. but he's part Shar-pei and gets pretty territorial pretty fast. He actually decided my desk was "his space" and started protecting it. Not good considering cam 4 is right next to me.

Anyway, he'll make an appearance in an upcoming story in November.

Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 5:30 AM | Permalink

I'm feeling a little en fuego today, so bear with me as you read this..

Just think if there was some horrible accident or crash or explosion or something that killed 36,000 of us. Just like that. I mean, that's just beyond the scope of imaginable, right?

But the flu kills that many people every single year, and because it happens slowly and often quietly in hospitals and nursing homes not a lot of people pay attention. And I've heard allllll the normal excuses for skipping the shot: it doesn't really work, I'm healthy and don't need it, etc. etc.

Well, it does work. It doesn't give you the flu. The government is not trying to place locator beacons in your arm, so you can remove the foil from your head. And if you're so healthy, then you know what-- don't do it for yourself. Do it for the person you might pass along your 'mild' case to, should you get it. Before you ever even know you're sick you are contagious.. did you know that?? Yup. You're a total germ-spreading factory for like 2 days before your body starts reacting. And your 'mild' case might just level someone else.

And by the way: 90% of the time when you tell me you have the flu.. you don't. You have a cold. God's honest truth on that one.

Off the soapbox. Thanks for humoring me.

Flu shot info:
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/imm/safenet.shtml
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-25-flu-myths_x.htm

Since Halloween is my favorite holiday.. McGorge Scott really nailed it this time by emailing this photo!! He says his little practical joke only made one buck nervous!

I'm pooped by the way.. emceed an event last night for the OBC and I think the "decaf" I was supposed to have was actually leaded. Like I need caffiene. MIDNITE before I fell asleep. That's probably why I'm punchy this morning.

Janice checked out the WedMD article on the wrinkle busting foods and wrote about one of the doctors: "Susan H. Weinkle, MD.. says it is difficult, if not impossible, to prove that specific foods affect wrinkling one way or another."

Thought it was funny that a person with a name that could be pronouced as 'wrinkle' is a dermotogist commenting on wrinkles.

Kirsten wrote about Light the Night: Light the Night is a wonderful walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. I have walked with a team, Team Kevin, since 2001. That was the year my late husband was diagnosed with lymphoma. . This was our sixth year of walking. Sadly, it was also the fifth year since my husband had died from lymphoma. LLS is a great organization that helps a lot of people and their families that have been diagnosed with blood cancers. It was nice to see you mention it and have a link to it. I wish it could get more press here in Portland.

Blog buddy Joe (and new dad) writes: Are you a big airshow buff? You should take your crew up to the Abbotsford Air Show outside Vancouver B.C. some summer! Me and my buddies go occasionally! It's a great show (and since it's in Canada, everyone is very polite!) ;-)

Oh yeah. Abbotsford- CHECK. More than once, too. And yes, those Canadians are sure an easy bunch to get along with-- if I could stereotype an entire country ;-)

sstricklen@kgw.com

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 5:44 AM | Permalink

As always, I'm going to start things off with a link to one of my favorite websites for medical news: WebMD.

This is more on those wrinkle busting foods... and why do I seem to remember Pamela Anderson eating a whole lotta salmon a while ago in an effort to keep away the crows feet??? I mean, it's not everyday you get to say to you're thinking of Pamela in the context of a health story. Anyway, here it is:

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20071008/vitamin-C-may-slow-skin-wrinkling

And here is a little blurb on the ol' appendix. I still have mine. The husband does not. He says it's pretty painful to lose it unexpectedly, too.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071008102334.htm

Good to know I have something in common with a wombat. That tidbit o' knowledge should come in handy some day.

McGorge Scott has yet another round of awesome pictures. He should make a calendar. I'd buy it. :-)

Speaking of wildlife: my friend pointed this out to me. Have you seen this??? WILD! And cute. (Yes, my crutch word "cute" makes a reappearance in the blog.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3NueKXS6dk

Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 11:57 AM | Permalink

Today is the day:
~ I give myself a peptalk because my vacation is over and I'm back at work.
~ I try to readjust to my normal early morning wake up schedule.
~ I force myself to run another 5 miles after a week off.
~ I tackle my work blog for the first time in 6 days.

Let's talk about tonite's 5pm story about Microsoft and Healthvault.com.

First, here is a link to healthvault.com: http://www.healthvault.com/

I strongly suggest that if you are interested in doing something like this-- or you are just curious for more information-- head to google and click on the news tab. Then search for "healthvault". I say this because the bloggers have one take, the general press has another, and business websites yet a third. It might be a lot of digging, but I want you to see what's out there.

Onto other topics.. Man, I'm STILL tired. My vacation was excellent.. I met up with my good friend Dar (a rockin' Canadian gal who lives in British Columbia.). She produces airshows and runs one of her own-- so we checked out the California Int'l. Airshow and did some wine tasting. I got to see the Blue's ((http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/)) perform again AND the Canadian Snowbirds ((http://www.snowbirds.dnd.ca/))-- a real treat since I've had the excellent fortune to fly with both teams. AND, I got to say hi to Sean Tucker ((http://www.poweraerobatics.com/)) and his coordinator/narrator Brian who I haven't caught up with for years.

Needless to say, since Dar made this happen.. I brought her a nice bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir as a thank you for organizing the trip. But lo and behold-- she shows up with TWO gifts for me: a bottle of BC wine that I'm very much looking forward to and..

Yup.. had to totally thank her on the air this morning for my new, beautiful necklace.. and I love this shot as Nick Allard leans in to check it out in his monitor. Both the boys (Russ and Nick) love the necklace, and a bunch of the newsroom gals have their eye on it, too. So THANKS, Dar!! It's stunning.

Hey, any of you do Light The Night??
http://www.lightthenight.org/site/c.itJZJ7MOIwE/b.817395/k.A5C9/Portland_Walk.htm

Well, not only did some of the guys from BMC West in Vancouver do it, but they pulled a Britney (minus the emotional breakdown, the hard partying, and poor taste in evening attire etc etc) and SHAVED THEIR HEADS after reaching their fundraising goal!! Here are two pictures sent to me by Jim ((sporting the moustache)) who works there. Nicely done gentlemen!! Nicely done.

Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen if you like her necklace so she can tell Dar that it's a big hit!

Posted by Stephanie Stricklen at 11:48 AM | Permalink