Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

We can't thank you enough!

This is our 100th blog to date! We weren't exactly a blogging bunch, but you guys really stuck with us (even when we took LONG Christmas break)!

We hope to continue feeling the love and support from you guys, and we love getting the feedback!

So keep telling us what you think by comment, email, or phone call! We want to keep hearing from you. You make us better!

So from the entire Morning Show and staff here at WBTV...Thanks!

It's the Mega Recession Saver Blog!

All week long we've been showing you some good tips on how to easily save a few bucks around the house.

Who knew you could just change a few things and save so much money!

So we've combined all our reports and have them here for you to watch one more time! Just click the pictures to see the video.

Day One


Day Two


Day Three


Day Four


Day Five


Now go out and save some money...and ENERGY!

Maybe I'm Just Green With Envy

Forbes Magazine, what did Charlotte do to you? I'm usually not one to defend a city I live in, just because I live there, but there are exceptions.

You may have heard on the news, Forbes Magazine has published an article naming America's Most Jealous Cities. Charlotte ranked number 2 on the list. According to Forbes, the list was made up of cities with the highest property crime. The thought is, if people are stealing, it must be because they are jealous.

I suppose Forbes makes a valid point, there is a lot of property crime in Charlotte. But my thinking is, it's better to have a lot of property crime, than a lot of violent crime! Maybe the magazine's next article could be "America's Most Hateful Cities" or "America's Most Laziest Cities" for cities with high unemployment rates. Seriously, it isn't nice.

I've heard a lot of people talking about how stealing has nothing to do with jealousy but instead with poverty rates. Honestly, I'm not that worked up on why people steal ( I don't defend criminals), I'm more upset that Forbes Magazine has nothing better to do than to beat up on Charlotte (AGAIN) and to make light of crime trends.

My question is, why doesn't Forbes Magazine look on the bright side of life? How about "America's Most Modern Cities" or "America's Greenest Cities" or even "America's Most Beautiful Cities." ... After all we are number 2 in the number of people who undergo plastic surgery.

What's the old saying? Something about people pick on you because they are jealous of you... Hmmm makes you wonder if it's Forbes Magazine that's got the jealousy Jones.

You're Only Crazy if You ANSWER the Voices in Your Head...Right?

That's right...its getting to that point where the anchors, Chris and Chuck are starting to hear voices in their heads.

I don't know if its the early hours, the lack of sleep or too much coffee - but you gotta watch out for those extra voices!

(click picture to watch video)

So Who is Your Favorite?

We did one of our longest polls ever...and you responded in huge numbers!

With all the campaigning and hoop-lah around the elections this year, we wanted to know what you really think. But I have to admit, the poll kinda surprised me.

Obama and McCain appear to be the big winners nationwide, but that's not what our poll showed. The poll started BEFORE Mitt Romney dropped out of the race.

33% - John McCain
29% - Hillary Clinton
27% - Barack Obama
12% - Mitt Romney

So what do you think? Will McCain and be the big winners in North Carolina, when its Primary time?

So What Happens During Commercials?

Dancing....and LOTS of it.

Sometimes the anchors have to blow off a little steam, and you know - every once in a while, those commercials have pretty good songs.

(click the picture to watch)


Yes...feel bad for us. And pray...pray hard.

Looking for a Good Movie? It Could Save Your Life!

That's right...save your life.

How crazy is this? A firefighter in Colleton County, South Carolina was walking out of a Waffle House - when he was shot by two men fighting over a gun...and didn't know it!

The reason he didn't know? He had a DVD in his pocket, and the bullet was stopped by the DVD!

That's just crazy.

Instead of getting shot, he only has a bruise. He didn't even know he had been shot, until he noticed a bullet hole in his jacket, the shattered DVD case and a piece of the bullet.

And as much as I'd love to add more irony and say the DVD was Touched By and Angel, Highway to Heaven or Saving Private Ryan....it was just a TV show about fire extinguishers.

Oh well...

Nightmare in the Lunchroom!

You know, I'm starting to feel REALLY old these days.

Why?

Because I've started using the "When I was in school, (fill in the blank)" a LOT lately. I'm starting to see what my parents were talking about, when I was in school myself.

Seems like schools are becoming more and more dangerous. If you aren't worrying about getting beat up (or shot), you have to worry about MRSA, tuberculosis and now tainted beef!

I'll be the first to admit that I always assumed cafeteria food was tainted, but that was just because of the taste.

Today, students in local schools are learning that they could have eaten tainted beef. This is all part of the 143 million pounds of beef being recalled...the largest beef recall - ever!

Charlotte Mecklenburg County Schools aren't the only ones though, 25 districts in North Carolina are affected. The local ones are Caldwell County, Cleveland County, Gaston County, Hickory Public Schools, and Rowan-Salisbury Schools.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture released a full list.

You know, with all these problems, I can see how home schooling is becoming a more legitimate option for parents.

Dem der chillins might not get one of dem fancy edumcations, but hey, it's all good!

Horseback Riding Adventure

Following Valentine's Day every year is my wife Kara's birthday. I get a couple of days between the two very important dates but they feel very much like one big celebration to me. I'm always looking for a little something different to do and this year, I decided to take her horseback riding. Considering her love for horses from years spent growing up on a farm in Texas, the first mention of my birthday idea received rave reviews from Kara (sigh of relief for me-hah).

We went to Latta Plantation on Mountain Island Lake this past Saturday for the two hour sunset ride followed by a BBQ dinner next to a bonfire. To say the very least, it was an extremely successful day as we both had an absolute blast along with a few stories afterwards. Here are a few pictures from the adventure...

Here's Kara posing with Benny in his corral before the ride... who proved to be a huge challenge for her! Despite her years of experience with horses, Benny took a little while for Kara to adjust too... how many times did I look back only to see Benny and Kara wondering off the trail somewhere?! LOL... I tell you what, if I was on Benny he would have taken me to Salisbury. So it was definitely wise she was riding him rather than me-hah! Note his tongue sticking out, perhaps this was a clue as to what he thought about the idea:)

This was my horse, Little Charley. His funny quirk was chewing his tongue which you see on the upper left. That was pretty hilarious to watch. Little Charley was an outstanding horse to ride! Probably helped that I buttered him up with bisquit treats before our ride which you see in the upper right:)

On the left side you'll see a picture Kara took from on top of Benny showing one of the trails we were on. I'm some distance ahead of the two of them. The picture next to it on the right is Clint Eastwood... excuse me, I mean that's me on Little Charley next to the shore of Mountain Island Lake.

I just want to thank the entire staff at Latta Plantation's equestrian center for the great ride followed by the steak and chicken dinner afterwards!! That meal was simply awesome! Our only complaint after the ride, extreme soreness in the lower back and 'backseat' if you will. Wow... it was tough to sit down the next day-hah! But it was all worth it as I had a blast and Kara was very pleased with her birthday weekend:) Success...