I had a lot of "whew!" moments this weekend.

First, I successfully dropped the puck at the charity hockey game, Slapshot2: Paint the Rink Pink. The game raised money for the PA Breast Cancer Coalition.

It featured the Hanson Brothers from the comedy, Slap Shot and everyone wore pink laces and wrapped their sticks with pink tape...pretty awesome.

My whew! moment: I did not fall flat on my face.

Afterwards, we went to dinner at Blue Pacific in Lancaster. I have been completely spoiled - sushi two weekends in a row!

My favorite roll was the TNT - a crispy sushi roll of tuna, salmon, avocado, drizzled with soy syrup and spicy mayo. Yum.

My whew! moment: I lost my keys. Mistakenly left them in the bathroom. And even before I realized they were gone --- the hostess found them and returned to them to me!

Here's a peek inside of my desk at Fox43. I am part of a cubicle "pod" - including the Morning News Producer, Tiffany and writer, Toshi.

The lint brush is my weapon of choice to fight dirt on my suits. Living with a yellow lab and an orange cat, I'm always covered.

My calendar is filled with my favorite animal - penguins. This was from April - I was quite sad to flip over to May because I love the baby penguin's belly.

I have a bamboo plant to promote luck. I'm not sure if it brings me any luck, but the little sign in the pot promises it will.

I also keep pictures of Caliente, Andrew and me and the beach. If I have a writer's block or need a break, these pictures are a great refresher.

Plus, I always wipe down my desk and keyboard with disinfectant. We just did the story about how some are dirtier than public toilets - ick!

Yesterday I visited the 2nd graders at Orendorf Elementary School to give a weather talk. I was forewarned by their teacher, Mrs. Baublitz, that they were very bright students, and they did not disappoint me. The students were very alert and eager to learn and participate. They asked very intelligent questions and knew the answers to many of the questions I asked them. Being able to talk about the weather to children and knowing that I am giving information that will keep them out of harm's way, is one of the many reasons why I love my job. Take a look at these faces, some may be future meteorologists!

Fox43 Morning News reporter Mike welcomes a new bundle of joy - Avery Louise! Take a look. She was born Friday, May 9th at 2:39 PM. She is 8 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long.

And big sister Kaylee is already stepping up to the plate. Mike says Mom and baby are doing great. Talk about an awesome Mother's Day Weekend!

Plus, I celebrated my friend Meredith's 26th birthday this weekend. We went out to a great Morrocan restuarnt - where else - but on Meredith Street in Philadelphia.

(She's the one wearing black - she's going to kill me now that I've blogged about her. Happy b-day Mere!)

I was blessed to be able to spend Mother's Day with my mother. I really do not get to see my parents as often as I would like to. They live in Roswell, GA. which is a suburb north of Atlanta.

My mother came to see me this past weekend and I was so excited and content I didn't know what to do with myself. She and I have always had a very close bond. We have a wonderful relationship. She is truly my best friend!

I took her out to brunch at the Willard InterContinental Washington, which is a hotel in Washington, DC. Both the hotel and the brunch were absolutely magnificent. We dined in the Crystal Room and they had such a variety and abundance of food. If you have never frequented The Willard before, I highly recommend that you do so.

When I walked in and looked up, I realized why they call it the "Crystal" Room!

One of the many food stations....this one was the omelet station, yummy!

So for this week's "In Your Backyard" we have a sneek peak of the upcoming Picklefest in Dillsburg.

This weekend's event will have chocolate covered pickles, pickle soup and of course a pickle eating contest.

It was my bright idea to test out who could eat 2 pickle spears the fastest among myself, Lynette and Ryan Oberholtzer from the Fox43 Traffic Center.

We are making lots of faces because chomping down on pickles - with a hint of garlic - is a bit too much. I'm rethinking my idea right about now.

You can see Ryan's plate is empty - he came in first. Lynette was second and I came in third. I didn't even start my second pickle spear.

At the Picklefest, there is one guy who can eat 12 whole pickles in 5 minutes. Can you stand it??

Also at Picklefest, you can tour the Dill Tavern. It's an interactive, living history museum. There you can touch artifacts and eat food cooked right in the hearth. We learned all this from Larry Klase.

As you can see, I had to boost up my height - again. This rock helped my vertical challenges.

Traffic, a crazy lady and leaking oil nearly ruined my Sex and the City Tour.

After years of anticipation I finally embarked with my friend, Lauren, in New York City. It was a fabulous Saturday when we boarded the bus in front of the Trump Plaza.

From there we drove by sites and locations where they filmed scenes from the show and the movie.

Our first snag hit when a city transit bus blocked two streets in the Meat Packing District. A tricky detour set us back almost twenty minutes.

From there we visited "Carrie's Stoop" in East Village. The guide told us to be very quiet on the street. It is could be becuase the neighbors are sick of SATC, fans showing up and the tour coming through. However, one lady just sat on her front steps - yelling, screaming and shouting at us. I did manage to snap a picture - even with an elbow in it.

Next we devoured delicious cupcakes from Magnolia's Bakery. People wait hours for these treats. Decadent.

Afterwards, we went to load up on the bus again but couldn't because it was leaking oil! We had to wait almost an hour for a safer ride.

It was all fabulous - even with the setbacks. It was a day of scenarios that could have happened to any of the SATC characters.

When is the last time you had a slumber party? Well, for me it was this past weekend. It wasn't exactly my friends sleeping over....it was seven (7) year old girls who are friends of my 7 year old cousin! She had a birthday slumber party. I'm sure you can imagine how it went, but for all the unsuspecting people out there, here is the rundown. We went roller skating, we went to Chuck E. Cheese's, we came home watched a movie and ate popcorn, we did hair, nails and makeup, we had a fashion show and I was the emcee, we played hide and seek then we made ice cream sundaes. Now as a reminder, through all this there is constant screaming and laughing and once we got back to the house, you can add Velvet (my dog) barking, running/stomping and a guitar playing to the list of mind blowing noise...it was truly something you would see in a movie! A little after midnight I could finally hear a pin drop. The following morning the girls woke up to a delicious chocolate chip pancake breakfast. The birthday girl opened her gifts and the playing and yelling resumed until around noon, that is when the parents came to pick up their little "angels".

This week we're airing stories on "Hundredfold Farm: It Takes a Village."

There's nothing else like it in the country - a small, eco-village in Adams County where the neighbors live off the earth. It resembles an early colonial settlement.

I learned about Hundredfold Farm through the Keystone Builder's Assocation. For a few weeks, I've been talking with one of the homeowners, Lenny. We finally set up a date for the interview - Tuesday, May 13th. A picture perfect day that set a great story against a beautiful background. Photographer Anthony Tanzi and I spent about 6 hours there!

According to the Cohousing Association of the US, there are about 100 cooperative communities in the country. But homeowners, here at Hundredfold, say their neighborhood is one of a kind. It is sustainable with food, water and energy.

Make sure to watch Fox43 Morning News and Fox43 News at 10 this Wednesday and Thursday for stories, "It Takes a Village."

It is remarkable how the people in my stories "It Takes a Village" are living on Hundredfold Farm in Adams County.

Not many of us can live on a cohousing, eco-village with our own waste water treatment plant! But we can all learn from the one of a kind community.

Watch "It Takes a Village" here:

You've been hearing it everywhere -- the economy is lean. Just check out the latest cover of TIME. A piggy bank with its ribs showing!

My "piggy bank" on the other hand is pretty "fat." It's because I LOVE change. I love hunting for coins underneath the couch cushions, junk drawer and washing machine. Doesn't matter - pennies, quarters, dimes. It's all money to me. And when I have lots of coins in my wallet - it makes me feel rich.

So it definitely makes "sense" to hang onto your cents. I have more than 50 bucks in my jar. (which has an automatic counter that keeps track of how much you drop in - great gift for people like me) I plan on keep collecting until my summer vacation and then I'll splurge. It may just be enough to fill up my car!

It was such a great weekend. I spent my time "beaching it" down in Sea Isle - absolutely beautiful.

And here's my first book on my summer reading list. It's A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Last summer, I read his first book, The Kite Runner. It was great - and so far so is this one. It's about different generations of women growing up in Afghanistan.

My boyfriend Andrew also competed in his first triathlon in Sea Isle. It's the Tri for Our Veterans. He swam 1/4 miles, biked 12.3 miles and ran 3.1 miles. He finished and we are all very proud of him!

I snapped a picture of this guy competing in the race, carrying the American Flag. It was nice to remember that's why we celebrate Memorial Day - to remember and thank those who have served our country so we can have our freedom.

There are a few things I can't get enough of right now...

First is the Eggo Whole Grain Waffles. Each slice is only 70 calories!!! It's delicous - add a little lite maple syrup, maybe some fruit and you're off! These really keep my full through the morning show.

I also love Klondike bars, but these Slim-a-Bears are even better. I can't get enough of the name - my favorite is the toffee. Plus, its only 100 calories per pop -- sign me up!

Memorial weekend was definitely a memorable one. I flew to miami and had a glorious time. In two days I was able to bask in the sunshine, lay out on the beach, soak in all the beautiful palm trees and enjoy the nightlife that the wonderful city has to offer. I didn't "swing" dance but I did "freestyle" dance the night away...I was living "la vida loca"!

Did somebody say sailing? What a beautiful day to do so!

Look at the beautiful palm trees swaying in the breeze!

Kiersten and I went swing dancing yesterday and we had an absolute blast! Although we both like to dance, we were inexplicably nervous. We soon realized that we had no reason to be, because the steps were very easy to pick up. Everyone in the studio kept asking me if I had done this before and I said no, this is totally my first time! I like music so much that the rhythm and the steps came naturally to me. I highly recommend swing dancing to everybody!

Kiersten and I are two swingin fools!

My partner is about to spin me around and I am loving it!

Today is my grandmother's birthday, Ginny "Nana" Andersson. This is a picture of her when she visited Harrisburg last fall. Happy b-day Nana!

Yesterday I had the type of day where you ask the question " Are you kidding me?" Let me give you the run down. I left my phone in my vehicle (which is something I never do on purpose) and Velvet, my dog, and I went into Petsmart. We came back to the car and Velvet got in first like he always does. We drove away and that is when I realized that I didn't have my phone. I pulled over and searched the vehicle frantically. Once I realized it was not in the vehicle, I drove back to Petsmart, went in to check to see if I left it there....I didn't! Luckily, right when panic was about to set in because I thought someone had stolen it, my mother called, therefore verifying the fact that my phone was not stolen but indeed still in the vehicle. The ring sounded like it was underneath the front cupholders and that is when the first "are you kidding me?" took place. Before we went into Petsmart, I put my phone on the cigarette lighter and ashtray cover. When Velvet jumped in he pushed the cover which made it pop open and my phone slipped in between the cover and down on the floor under the cupholders. After I knew my phone was in the vehicle, I drove to T-mobile so they could keep calling me to detect the exact location of my phone. Once it was confirmed that the phone was under the cup holders, I drove to my mechanic, Larry. He and another mechanic saved the day! Tools had to be used to take out my cupholders to get to my phone...."are you kidding me?!"

This is how I placed my phone before we went into Petsmart

Once the ashtray popped open my phone slipped between the crack

They had to take my cupholders apart to get to my phone