The strangest thing happened to me today- my grandmother “friended” me on facebook! Strange- not because a grandmother is up on the hottest social trend of this generation- but more because there’s no possible way this friend request came from my grandmother. You see, as I type this, she happens to be in the hospital recovering from a broken hip. Add to that her Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the fact she doesn’t own a computer, you pretty much get a clear idea that someone else is behind that friend request. I just wonder who it is!!! 

Why does something as fun and fascinating as facebook have to be filled with hidden dangers like hackers and impostors? I know, we don’t live in a perfect world (sigh!) but it is so alarming and shocking when it’s your 80-year old grandmother’s personal information being used against you to try to connect and steal even more personal information from you!! 

I don’t know if I’ll ever know who is really behind my grandmother’s profile; I’ve reported it to facebook so hopefully they can track him/her and end their evil ways.  

So the point of this post: be careful out there in cyberspace… evil lurks!

(yeah, like you didn’t already know that!)

Cheers and Sneers-

April

What are your “big bold goals” in life? If you think about it, these are really scary to set. It’s saying to yourself “I am worth it, and I deserve it”. Just two days ago I attended a luncheon where the keynote speaker talked about living your life with intention… setting big goals and putting yourself on a path to reach them. In order to do this, you have to quell that Negative Nelly that seems to constantly whisper in your ear, telling you all the reasons why you can’t and shouldn’t have all your dreams come true. We all have that voice inside of us that steers us in a negative direction. But in order to dream big, you have to ignore that whisper (that sometimes is VERY LOUD) and say “I am worth it, and I deserve it”.

The thing of it is- I know when I set my mind to things, the door of opportunity just seems to fly open. It’s happened to me again and again in my life. There was the time, at the very beginning of my career, when I was first offered a news reporting job right out of college for a small-market TV station in south Texas. It payed absolutely no money, and the hours were horrendous. Everyone in my family tried to talk me out of taking the job as they were simply worried I would not be able to keep a roof over my head at such a small pay rate (it was below poverty wages!). But I never once thought about the money. I had worked so hard all through college crafting my dream of becoming a news reporter/anchor that nothing was going to stand in my way of taking this job. Plus, I had spent the last 6 months sending demo reels to news directors all across the country only to be bombarded by rejection. Yes, I absolutely jumped at the first job that come my way!!! Looking back on it now, it was the best decision I could have made. I was dreaming big for myself and that’s all I needed to do. I worked hard, managed to pay my bills somehow, and learned an awful lot about the news business that first year. Before I knew it, I was moving on and UP to a bigger market that thankfully paid a little more money.

My point is- I look back on that period as a time when I was “dreaming big” and didn’t worry about the “how”. I didn’t worry about how I was going to buy groceries and pay rent, I didn’t worry about how I was going to handle being so far away from my family, I didn’t worry about how I was going to move up the ranks and get a better job… I just went to south Texas and started reporting the news.

Another time dreaming big has played out in my life is when I decided to leave the news business and look ahead to a freelance career in cable television. I had been out of the business for a couple of years and was now living in a brand new state where I had absolutely no contacts. I didn’t know a soul in the cable television industry and had no idea how I was going to get my foot in that door. Once again, I didn’t worry about the “how” and just got busy focusing on my big dream of hosting an entertainment-type show for a large cable network. I had always said “I’d love to host a show on HGTV one day…” Well, I’m here to tell you that big dream came true, too. I’ll never forget when Cecil Stokes of Tentmakers Entertainment called me and offered me a job hosting a 5-part series on DIY Network (a sister network of HGTV). I wanted to cry with joy. Another big bold goal coming true.

So now, I’m tasked with setting a new big dream. It’s been some time since I’ve done any on-camera hosting work as I’ve been a little busy these last couple of years having babies and being a mom. It’s been wonderful to stay at home and focus my work efforts instead to producing and writing. I’m always thankful for my blessings- and being able to stay home with your kids when they are little AND still have a career is a real win-win. But now I feel it’s time to once again “get in the game” and seek new opportunities for on-camera work in a field I’ve loved for so long.

So here’s the new big bold goal for me: I want Guy Fieri’s job on Food Network. Seriously! I am even willing to spike my hair and grow a goatee if I thought it would help. To criss-cross the country sharing the love of food with viewers in the most bizarre “hole-in-the-wall” type restaurants has got to be the most fun I can imagine. I mean, I don’t just want to be on camera and host a show for the paycheck. I really don’t. I want to do it because it is so freakin’ fun!!! And nothing seems more fun to me than being on TV  and talking about food.

So there it is. While I’m pretty sure Food Network isn’t going to fire Guy tomorrow and call me up, I do know that by putting my big bold goal out there the universe will go to work and do its magic.

What will your big bold goals be? I’d love to hear them and share in your glory when they come true. For I know that if you put it out there, it’s amazing what you can accomplish!

Cheers,
April

One of my main goals in continuing to have a career and raise a family is to have “balance” in my life. It’s one of the main reasons I decided to leave the corporate world of television many years ago- long before children were ever in the game. Career and workload alone can suck a lot of life out of you- if you let it. And let’s face it - we all let it sometimes. But when you add kids to the mix, things can get really whacky. 

Well I’m here to tell you this working stay-at-home-mom of two is out-of-balance. The only thing I could think about today was the idea of checking into a hotel. Literally, at least 4 different times today, I almost turned my car around to seek the nearest room key. It was all I could think about. I did NOT want to go to the grocery store and buy milk. I did NOT want to call Bank of America to find out if my identity had been stolen. I did NOT want to call Terminex about the critter we found in our kitchen. I did NOT want to pick up the kids from pre-school and beg them to take naps. I did NOT want to cook the turkey breast that’s been thawing in my refrigerator for 5 days. I did NOT want to water my flowers- the same flowers that made me so happy when I planted them earlier this week. NO- I did NOT want to do any of those things. All I wanted to do was turn around and check into the Westin downtown, take a bath, get into their fluffy bathrobe, crawl into their 2000-thread count sheets, and lie still in the silence. I would have even thrown in a workout in their gym for good measure at some point. And room service? Oh man, did I want room service tonight!!

But here I sit, at the kitchen counter, typing this. Two kids sleeping so peacefully in their beds. The hum of the dishwasher reminding me of the good meal I had at home (yes, it was that Turkey breast). My own bed calling me, waiting to envelope me in my not-to-shabby 600-thread count sheets. My good and faithful dog, Oscar, waiting patiently to go upstairs when I do. The only thing missing is my wonderful husband, who is out-of-town to run his 4th half-marathon of the year. (He’s the one getting the hotel treatment tonight!!).

So, yes, I may not have wanted to do all those “things” today, but I still see the beauty in the mundane. That doesn’t mean I have ruled out the idea of checking into a hotel. I’m still thinking that one over… It sounds like a really great idea. And it might just be the trick to getting this busy mom the balance she’s so desperately seeking.

There’s good news for this has-been reporter. I’m slowly discovering the power of my voice again. It started with this website, and more specifically, this Blog. Just in the few posts I’ve made since taking this website live have invigorated me. Then came facebook (to which I fully admit to being 100% addicted). Now, it’s Twitter. I’m brand new to this latest internet sensation, but I figure surely I have enough brains still left even after giving birth twice I can sort it all out. And… I think it’s going to be a lot of fun! Hey, if Ashton Kutcher can tackle CNN surely someone will be interested in what I have to say! (??)

This is such a fresh approach to getting stories told, sharing tidbits of someone’s life, instantly connecting to friends and family across the globe. It inspires me to engage again. For the first time in a long time, I’m willing to put my reporter hat back on and go to work telling stories (my own or those of others willing to share with me). So stay tuned as I figure out the land of blogs, twitter, digg, and so many more that I don’t even know about yet. (Warning to my techno buddies- I’ll be calling you!)

In the meantime, if you are twittering, follow me at apriladamstv. I look forward to “tweeting” you soon!
April