It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Headed home on Sunday to spend Christmas at my parent's house.















Dad and I take a break from wrapping presents to relax by the tree. it's a tradition at our house to wrap the gifts the night before christmas. i think it's just because we put things off to the last minute. haha. even funnier...we end up wrapping our own presents sometimes. mom just sticks a box in front of you and says "wrap this". once it's wrapped, you find out that you were wrapping your own present. haha.















mmm...nothing says Merry Christmas like a fresh pineapple.















Everyone's got their crowns on for dinner. (its an english thing, ask ellie to explain)















Here i am...probably unwrapping a shirt.















Tortie has to be part of the action. hope we don't throw her away by mistake.















Mom and Dad open their gift from ellie and i.















Gram opens her gift too.

Wrapped presents tonight before i head up to my parents house tomorrow. I guess the pile of shiny bows and ribbons was just too much for the girls to resist. I got LOTS of help from them.

Perhaps i've raised expectations a little high by calling it the "First Annual Spectacle of Lights". It's more of an exhibit, not really a spectacle. Still, this is my first time decorating a house with lights. Give me a few years. By the time we get to "the 5th annual spectacle of lights" it'll be huge.















Feel the power of the Spectacle of Lights.

I found the music game on myspace, and tried it out. it's fun, so i posted it here.

1. Open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod).
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing.
5. New question– press the next button.
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool.

Opening credits:10 MILES BACK- THE CRYSTAL METHOD
Waking up:IMAGINE-SHOLA AMA
First day at school:BREAK IT OFF-SEAN PAUL/RHIANNA
Falling in love:RENEGADE MASTER-WILDCHILD
Breaking up:WHOLE AGAIN-ATOMIC KITTEN
Prom:GET UR FREAK ON - MISSY ELLIOT
Life’s okay:MACHETE-MOBY
breakdown:FREAK ON A LEASH-KORN
Driving:CLINT EASTWOOD - GORILLAZ
Flashback:IF EVERYBODY LOOKED THE SAME - GROOVE ARMADA
Getting back together:MOUTH FOR WAR - PANTERA
Wedding:THE LAUNCH- DJ JEAN
Birth of child:TRIAD-TOOL
Final battle:DANCEHALL VIBE - FREESTYLERS FEAT. TENOR FLY
Death scene:MADSKILLZ - BT
Funeral:FIRED UP - FUNKY GREEN DOGS
End credits:DON'T WAIT - DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL

Almost finished with my first week at FM97. We had the holiday party last night, and it was so much fun! We were down in the catacombs at Bube's Brewery in Mt Joy. everyone was in the mood to celebrate, and we had a blast. Pics are coming soon i promise. haha.

Settling in to the new station has been really easy. I've been surprised at how smooth the transition has been. This is one of the nicest studios that i've ever worked in. There's 4 flat screen monitors, three keyboards, a Voxpro controll panel and three computer mice (mouses?), so it's a lot to keep track of. haha. I think i've got it figured out, but i'm sure there's little quirks that will creep up in the coming weeks.

just wrapped up Day #1 on FM97. There's nothing crazier than your first day on a new radio job. not only do you have to meet everyone and make a failed attempt to remember all their names, but you have to figure out how all those damned buttons work in the studio. Luckily, i got through my first show without saying KISS-FM. i'd say that's a major accomplishment. Listen on Wed or Thursday, and i'm guaranteed to mess up. after a few days, you get comfortable and complacent...THEN you say the wrong station by mistake. haha.

ok, time to make the trek back home.
cheers

Saturday night was the CC Harrsiburg Holiday Party. We all headed out to Felecita Resort for a night of dinner, dancing and assorted craziness.




















Yes, i wore a suit. I have no idea why there's blue lais at a HOLIDAY party.




















Nick says "cheers" in his stylish cowboy hat. i guess he's working for the country station tonight.















Rob and Chris from the traffic department take a break from the partying and get their photo taken. Just remember, the next time you're listening to the radio and getting an up-to-the-second traffic report...one of these two yahoos are delivering it! haha. it really does inspire confidence. also, these are the best "singing traffic reporters" in central pa. they are truly kareoke kings.















Rob...part-time traffic reporter, full-time entertainer. He's performing a stunning rendition of "I swear".















Jen, Jilly and Monica decided to go with matching red dresses. Ellie decided to join them for kareoke and sang "wannabe" by the Spice Girls. Clearly, this was the highlight of the night for everyone.















Cheers to you! Yuengling really should pay me for this. I got the logo in the picture and everything















Bob "the showstpper" Hauer along with Carrie and Lauren. Bob entertained the crowd with his version of "sweet caroline". Carrie was the big winner in the raffle and won a new TV. Now we're all gonna go over to her house and watch tv.




















Ellie and i all dressed up for the party.














Here's a picture of gavin, who's taking a picture of me.

What a wild and crazy week it's been. As most of you know by now, i'm leaving 99.3 KISS FM due to a corporate realignment. While it was a little unsettling at first, It's actually been a blessing in disguise, and i can't wait to get started on my new path. Luckily, we don't have to move or sell the house.

So...what's happening? First off, i'm staying with Clear Channel....I'll just be in more places..try to follow along, there's a quiz at the end.

1. I'll be the new afternoon host on FM97 in Lancaster. You can hear me on 96.9 from 3p-7p Mon-Fri, plus random weekend appearances.








2. I'll continue doing weekends on 106.7 KISS FM in Rochester. You can wake up Saturday mornings from 6a-10a, and wind down from 4p-8p on Sunday evenings.






3. I've expanded my freelance imaging empire by adding two great stations! I'll be producing imaging for WILD 95.5 in West Palm Beach, FL.






4. On Thursday, Mark Anderson contacted me about freelancing for him. His imaging director will be off for an extended period of time, and a friend recommended me to him. It took me all of three seconds to say YES. So i've added MIX 94.1 in Cincinnati to the roster!







Whoooo . get all that? good. After all that change, i couldn't be happier. I'm able to continue my great relationship with everyone here in Harrisburg, and expand my horizons at the same time. It's been five years since i was able to just focus on the creative side of radio, and i can't wait. This is really a new start for me.

Went to Lancaster to see the new facility and meet everyone. Aaron and I already discussed how to decorate the office (these are the IMPORTANT things in life). I've got more bobbleheads than we have shelf space. this is an issue.

Thanks to everyone for putting up with me this week while i've been sorting through everything. Now i've just got to get the rest of my crap out of my old office.

The Holiday party is tomorrow night, can't wait!

cheers
hurley

It's been a long time coming, but i finally got my right eye done today. As you might remember, i had correctice surgery on my left eye back in March. I was originally going to hce the right eye done shortly afterwards. However, due to a minor complication i had to wait. The left eye finally got settled, and today was the day for the other eye.

So i went in at about 2 today. Theygave me my drops and startd the IV. went into the chilly operating room at about 3, and hopped on the table. Joked around with the docs for a few minutes, and then they put something in my IV. my arm felt cool and then...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

next thing i know, i wake up and i can see clear out of my right eye. wow. that was even easier than the left eye. woooo

called the taxi and got my ride home. i hate when taxi drivers make it obvious that they're taking their sweet time. Wow. we went 15 miles an hour the entire way back. Old ladies on the sidewalk were passing us, and they were walking! oh well. i got home, and now i'm gonna devour food...i haven't eaten since midnight! i need fooooooood!

I spent most of the day Sunday decorating, and YES i hung up my lights outside. What's it look like??















Wow. exciting. yes, i know...you can't really see it...but believe me, it's damned good looking.

You see the square lights in the front window? those aren't typical christmas lights, they're actually chili pepper lights. no, i never completely escape my love of chili peppers, even in the holidays.

Sunday was "decorate for Christmas Day" We pulled out the tree, lights and decorations and got to work. It's exciting, because this is the first Christmas here in the new house.















Jasmone helps ellie with the tree....sorta. Seems like she's struggling a bit. She probably wants to get down so she can swat the ornaments.




















Here's the tree all lit up and sparkling.




















The stockings were hung by the chimney with care... The green one was given to me as a gift when i was very young. It's seen a few christmases! And yes, we have little stocking for the cats. shut up, it's cute.















Ellie getting to work on the tree. She let me hang all the outside lights and the window lights, and she worked on the tree. This tree actually flew here all the way from England 2 years ago. We weren't allowed to have real trees in our old apt complex, so ellie's mom flew over to visit and brought a fake tree with her. seems like it wouldve been easier to drive to Target, but who am i to complain?















Georgie is helping me sort out the lights. Why does she ALWAYS look guilty??















The tree's all set up, and the girls are in their spots. It won't be long until the start knocking down ornaments. That's the reason we hang all the breakable ornaments on the upper part of the tree.















Hangin' up the lights outside. FYI: Santa, if you're reading this..i need a taller ladder. i had to get up on my roof to hook up the lights out front, and i almost died many times. A taller ladder would help me avoid an untimely death by falling into my flowerbeds.















The fireplace looks good. I'm admiring my work.