B-L-O-G

I spent almost two hours of my night last night watching the spelling bee on ABC. It is amazing how much that thing has grown over the past few years. Not only do they trot out THE Tom Bergeron to host it, but Erin Andrews of ESPN fame is there doing "sideline" reports. It has to be really cool for the kids for it to get blown up the way it has.

You can't help but think about the kids lives when you're watching that each year. How in the world do you get into it? Do you do a couple of spelling tests at school and do well, and then get chained to a dictionary? I'm sure that most of the kids enjoy doing the work. Maybe I just sensationalize it in my head. I'm thinking I need to get Connor started early. Instead of teaching him how to say words, I'll teach him how to spell them.

-Lithgow

Oh my

Two things really caught my eye last night. First, I saw the ratings that Jon and Kate pulled in on TLC. Can you believe that this whole deal brought in 9 million people to watch the season premiere? In the cable world, that is HUGE. I can't complain too much...I was one of them. If this is all one big marketing ploy, boy did it work...


On a more positive note, I think a show just solidified itself in my top 5 of favorite TV shows. That show would be Wipeout on ABC. How great is it? You get a solid hour of time to watch people fall and get hit in the face. I loved it. They added in some new pieces to spice up season 2. If you haven't seen it, google it. I'm sure there are clips online. I cried I was laughing so hard.

-Lithgow

As promised...

So yesterday we covered the reason for my soreness. Today, we can cover a reason for mental soreness. Over the weekend, I got caught up on the show Jon and Kate Plus 8. If you live in a cave, it's a show on TLC with a husband and wife who had twins and sextuplets.

The show had it's charm until Monday night. The fun before hand was a mix of the bickering between the parents and the cuteness of the 8 kids. Now though, you just have to be disgusted watching it. Jon apparently cheated on Kate and Kate is crazy so she'll drive you nuts in her own right. The only good thing going for them is their son Aaden. He is awesome.

I have to admit that I had never seen the show until this scandal broke and it has lost me in less than a week. I guess I'll just keep my eyes peeled for the reruns.

-Lithgow

Weekend of milestones..

It was really hard to decide what to write about from this weekend. There were two big parts of the weekend for me. There's the side of being with family and all the things that happened with them, or the huge Jon and Kate Plus 8 weekend. Hmmmm....We'll start with the family. TV can wait.

We had a chance to see a lot of our family as they came by to visit Connor. It is always a good time to get together. The biggest day had to have been yesterday. Bethany's parents came over to help us do some yard work. I didn't really have a clue of what we were getting in to. Our main mission was to plant some bushes in front of our house. On one side of the door, the previous owners had laid rock down. It was ok, but not real great. The other side was the wood chips that I despise.

We ran into a few issues throughout the process. As it turns out, rock is harder to dig into than just dirt. Who knew? We got 5 bushes planted in a good amount of time and moved over to the wood chip side. Should be easier right? It's just wood chips and dirt! Well apparently, the previous owners of our house had two MASSIVE bushes that they just chopped at the base and left stumps under the wood chips. We spent some good time tearing the 2 stumps out of the ground. One of them must have taken 2 hours with a lunch break. We had to get our strength back! My father in law had to tie up a rope to his truck and try to rip it out.

Needless to say, we got the job done, but my body is telling me it was not a good idea. I just won't bend over for a week.

-Lithgow

Thank you!

I have to thank my wife who just reminded me I needed to do a blog today. Friday's are just rough for remembering this. I think it's because I had farming that had to get done. Sometimes harvesting just has to trump all. You gotta make money when it's there to be made. If you are on Facebook, join Farmtown and become my neighbor. I feel like Fred Rogers, but that's alright.

I'm not gonna lie, I have already checked out for the weekend. I have Monday off and my sister is coming over to see Connor, so I've got a lot to look forward to. Stay safe and enjoy the weekend. We'll see you Tuesday!

-Lithgow

Not too bad...

Last night was a big TV night for most people. I know that American Idol's finale is always a big deal for a lot of folks, but I was very excited for the Criminal Minds finale on CBS. If you've never seen the show, it's all about the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI and their fight against serial killers.

Last night's episode was very good and quite bizarre. Without getting to gory, people were mutilated and pigs were involved. That makes for a good Criminal Minds episode. In typical Lithgow fashion, I forced myself to stay up until the most exciting 5 minutes in the history of the show when one of the main characters is shot and the crime is resolved I promptly fell asleep. My wife (thankfully) woke me up to tell me what happened because she knows me that well.

In other news, a couple good country shows were announced for the Illinois State Fair. Josh Turner, Jamey Johnson, and Chuck Wicks for one with Montgomery Gentry, Kellie Pickler, and James Otto for the other. For the cost, pretty good shows.

-Lithgow

It's a sad day

I have to take a moment and pay tribute as it is a sad day in Central Illinois. Greg Trumbold from WAND inspired me to start blogging on the website. Well as of today, it looks like he is giving it up. At least I assume that is what he means from his post today. Either way, props on a good run for the weatherman.

I am really looking forward to this weekend. Sadly, one of the main reasons is that our buddy Lavell is cooking pork butt for a co-worker's son's graduation party. He is the "Chocolate Thunder" that is going to lead our grilling team at the Moweaqua Pow Wow and no one does it quite like him. I am thinking about having him cook one just for me to take home. I've learned quickly if he has the smoker going, you better get some meat in there because he doesn't do it very often.

Oh and by the way...how bout those Cards last night? Once a year Piniero pitches like an all-star, so apparently we have that out of the way. Big game'

-Lithgow

Think Positive

Yesterday was such a nice day. Bethany had to work, so I had a day at home with just the boys. Connor has gotten really good at sleeping all day if only one of us is home, but will stay awake if we're both there. I think he just likes spending time with us.

I like to think positive. It's one of those things that gets me through every day much easier. I'm having trouble trying to figure out why people have to find things to rail on that has nothing to do with them. So much of what I do is based on positive energy, I'm just struggling with getting going after how my day got started.

Here's to a better day tomorrow!

-Lithgow

Back to it

I'm doing my best to get back to the blog since I missed it on Friday, so bear with me.

I had a blast this weekend. We celebrated my father in law and niece's birthdays. The best part was the gift that we got Ed for his birthday. If you listen to the show, you might have heard us talk about the Off Road Commode. If you've never seen it, it's basically a padded toilet seat that you hook into your toilet seat. We got one for Ed, and it is the coolest thing I have ever seen. It holds up to 500 lbs and looks hilarious coming off of a truck.

We had Big Al from Moweaqua in studio today to talk about their Flat Branch BBQ in the park. We are trying to get our buddy Lavell to sign up to be in the Pro Division for the cook off. You would have to cook chicken, pulled pork, beef brisket, and pork ribs. He is weighing it, but we have already volunteered to be on his team. I'll log the ventures of "Chocolate Thunder and the White Boys" right here on the blog!

-Lithgow

AHHHHHH!!!!!!

Today I was driving into work on I-72, and I can usually pick up the station right before I hit Monticello. So I flip on US101 and it is just pure silence. I knew right away today was going to be a bad one. Once I got to the station, I found out that we had been off since 2 something in the morning. I'm assuming that it's because of the weather, but I'm too low on the food chain to find those things out. I started thinking. I set my alarm to a radio station over in C-U. If they are off, I'm not getting up in the morning. So to all the people who have US101 on their alarm clocks, tell your boss I'm sorry. If you need an excuse, have them call the station. We can be your doctor's note.

So today, when I would normally be doing work, I have eaten biscuits and gravy and gotten my farm up to standards. I got to plant a bunch of pumpkins and buy another house. If you are on Facebook, look Busboom and I up. We would love to have more neighbors. I promise you'll get hooked.

Well, hopefully we will be making our stop in Clinton today for Hometown Voices at Snappers, but at this time I guess it's up in the air. Once again, I know nothing.

(As soon as I hit post on the blog, we got back on the air. So Snappers in Clinton is on for today!)

-Lithgow

Just Wasting time

I guess we are in for some weather today. I was in one of our other studios this morning when we had a power surge here at the station. It's a little scary when you hear a big pop and the equipment is no longer working. Fortunately, everything turns back on very quickly, so we are still on the air.

I think that today would have been a good day to just curl up in the covers and go back to bed, but my mortgage brought me back to Decatur. Oh well, just make the most of it right?

If you read Busboom's blog yesterday, he was on a tear about Mt. Dew. I think he only shows up here when something bothers him. Where are the happy stories? Anyway, he isn't blogging today because we are stocked with the dew again. We can all be relieved.

Yesterday, I saw something that I thought bears mentioning. I was driving in Urbana on Cunningham Ave, which is one of the busier streets. There are 4 lanes where we are at the University Ave intersection. At the light, as with most stop lights, the green arrow gives the people turning left a chance to go and then everyone else goes. Right? Makes sense. Well yesterday, Bethany and I were heading to do some errands when we are at this intersection. The guy in the GMC truck in front of us ignores the arrow and drives into the intersection. If not for the other driver, we would've witnessed one heck of an accident.

The moral of the story is that for the few minutes you are in the car, PAY ATTENTION. There are basic things that happen everyday that should seem routine by now. Let's all be safe.

-Lithgow
(I guess Busboom does have something to complain about. He may post today.)

Celebrate

Before I get started, Busboom came by and posted...it's below mine if you want to check it out.

The folks from the Decatur Celebration released their lineup yesterday at Central Park. I gotta say, usually the bands have to grow on me a bit before I see how well they did. I think this year they have put together a pretty good three days of music. I think the beauty of it all is that there is probably at least two musical acts that you would enjoy seeing.

The booking of Richard Marx seems to be the biggest one. I know that is was leaked a few weeks ago, but the word is that people are very excited to check out. I think Joe Diffie should be pretty cool. Of course, not everything there is my cup of tea, but if I'm wandering around that day I'm sure I'll stop and take in as much as I can.

All in all, you're not going to please everyone when planning something like the Celebration. I'm sure Fred and his people learned that very early on. There are plenty of people who don't understand how much money it takes to bring in someone like Joe Diffie, let alone a bigger name. I mean why can't we have a free show in Decatur with Toby Keith or Kenny Chesney? Come on! Good job to Fred Puglia and the Celebration staff.

-Lithgow

Mountain Dew Mayhem

I cannot understand for the life of me how the Pepsi man in our building can be so heartless to allow the Mountain Dew to run out in our pop machine. This happens all the time! It should be rather obvious that if you are selling it...replace it! Our part time help drinks it like kool aid and Scott and I need it for our life blood in the mornings as neither of us drink coffee. If our pepsi man wants an economic stimulus package...MAKE ANOTHER SLOT FOR MOUNTAIN DEW! An increase in sales might mean an increase in your pay, and for the love of god the way these people drink Mountain Dew in this building just put in a dedicated cooler for nothing other than Mountain Dew products.

Until all coffee comes in a green can and is cold...

Boomer

Back at it

Today is going to be tough. I had such a fun weekend that with many highlights, it's hard to start up again for work. My father in law and I went to see Star Trek on Friday, and it rocks. I may not be great for advice on this because I have never seen any other Star Trek movie, but this one rocks. Below is a very funny SNL video promoting the movie. Beware, there is some adult language.



Bethany also got to celebrate her first Mother's Day yesterday. She celebrated by sleeping in til noon, which she never gets to do anymore. She deserved it.

I think the highlight of our weekend though was Saturday. I was feeding Connor his bottle before we hit the road to drive home from Mt. Zion to Urbana. As he normally does, Connor lets loose with some gas right on my leg. It felt really hot, so I mentioned it to my wife and her family. They all said, "You've never felt that before?", like it was something normal to feel heat from his gas. After he finishes his bottle, I lifted him up to notice that my shorts were covered in poop. Yes, my son had his first big blowout, and my shorts were the victim.

Isn't it amazing that I was crapped on and can still say I had a great weekend?

-Lithgow

What a day

Yesterday, we had the chance to go to St. Louis for the Cardinals Pirates game. We were there to cover the Mt. Zion St Teresa game that was played afterward. Scott and I were able to have the opportunity to experience parts of a Cardinal game that you normally don't get to do with just your regular ticket.

We met with our representative, Matt Kitchell, from the Cardinals. He informs us that he was able to snag us one media pass. It turns out that a media pass at Busch Stadium is like the golden ticket for Willy Wonka. You get to go places and see things only seen by the employees (unfortunately no Oompa Loompas were seen). I head up to our seat as Busboom takes advantage of the pass first. He was able to hang out on the field during batting practice.

As we met up behind home plate, I take the pass and decide to go check out the press box. The only regret I have from my time in the press box is that I did not steal any food. It was all right there, and I walked away. I may never live that down.

We were able to see a lot of the underbelly of Busch III. Walked by the locker rooms. Got in the dugouts. Walked around on the field. Even called the high school game live too. A big thank you to everyone involved.

-Lithgow

MURDERER!!!

I have to come clean, and what better place than the Scott & Scott blog. I am a murderer. Yesterday, I took the mower out to tackle the beast that is my yard. The backyard grass had grown taller than our Jack Russell in a week and a half. The mower tackled almost the entire yard until I got to the final strip of grass.

As I pushed towards the last part of the yard, the mower gave a grown and putted to a stop. I tried and tried, almost like giving CPR, to pull the starter on it's way again. As of this morning, my lawn mower is on life support and the final part of my yard continues to become a rain forest.

RIP

-Lithgow

I did it!

Yesterday, our family had a big milestone. Bethany returned to work for the first time since Connor was born. Our schedules work out well so that I can return home before she heads off to work. That means that yesterday was my first day alone taking care of Mr. Connor.

I am happy to report that he is still alive and well. He really didn't give me any trouble, other than not wanting to go to bed. I had to be a little proud of myself, but even more proud of my wife. I know that it was hard for me to go back to work after he was born, but I am used to it now. She has spent two months at home caring for him, and now has to leave him at the house with me. That must be scary!

The one plus is that she gets to talk to people that aren't her husband! I think re-joining civilization will be great for her. The only things she gets to hear about now are the stupid things I do at work. So day 1 is down. Hopefully they are all as good as yesterday was.

-Lithgow

Damn you Iowa

My wife and I took Connor to the Quad Cities this weekend to meet his great grandma. We had a lot of fun and ate a bunch of Whitey's Ice Cream, but one thing ruined me. We went from Moline across the river into Iowa. Once we got into Iowa, I looked at my phone. My phone is one of the QWERTY phones that opens up for texting. Somehow, entering Iowa fried the inside screen on my phone.

I have been a lifelong fan of the Fighting Illini. I must let all the Hawkeyes know that this attack will not go unnoticed. I will vow to boo the Hawkeyes louder and harder than I ever have before.

-Lithgow

Let's get to the weekend

I have a feeling this work day is going to fly by faster than I can handle. I have a good amount of things to get done before I go, but I have a feeling it's not all going to happen. I normally write the blog at 5:30, and I'm already an hour behind on it.

There is just too much excitement around the office for me today. I'm excited because our family is heading out of town this weekend. I think everyone else is excited because Busboom ordered some deep dish Pizza Factory pizza.

I have to say I think the thing that is getting me behind is because I had to get my work done on Farmtown. If you're not on, get on Facebook and join the excitement. Boomer and I are both on, and we would love to have more neighbors.

-Lithgow