Hey - it's Friday!  I know we've all got Olympic fever so let me start with congrats to the Canadian Women's Hockey on their outstanding performance last night.  A gold three-peat, thanks to their 2-0 win over the USA.

Oh, it's going to be an exciting weekend - GO CANADA!  Today, by the way, is National Do Over Day.  Let's hope that the men don't have one thing they wish THEY could do over when midnight rolls around.  Game time is 9:30 pm, by the way.  Join the party with me and everybody else who wants to join in on Facebook.  We've been having a blast there this week, cheering together during these great, great hockey games.

Now, I can't help thinking I may have ranted a little too strenuously here yesterday.  The sheer volume of supportive e-mails tells me that I guess I might have, but I thank you sincerely.  Sometimes it's good just to get stuff off my chest and if I can't do it here...well, then, where?

Now, before I forget, here's something I figured you'd really enjoy: Friday Feedback to Wednesday's journal about forgetfulness.  Hope you had a chance to read it. Now...your e-mails...starting with Ellen:

I smiled all the way through your journal entry this morning - welcome to my world of forgetfulness! And wait it gets better! Wait until the first time you are stopped in the middle of a sentence because you forget the word - it is there in your head - it just won't come out! Not a name or place - I've gotten used to that - now I can't get the words out of my head and in to my mouth! Brought it up to the doctor and her reply started with "well you know you are over 50 and this sort of thing is quite common..." Oh, ain't life grand! Have a terrific...?? Ellen

I LOVED your blog, sis. I can so relate. As I'm taking more and more courses in gemmology, I need my gray matter and it doesn't come to me like it should. Or used to. So frustrating.

But then, we do come from good stock (Grama Velma the card shark) and if we keep using our noggins, hopefully we'll continue to forge new neural pathways. All I can say is, thank god for Google for all of those times when I'm talking to the folks and none of us can think of so-and-so who starred in !

Ah Erin. Our dear friend on the radio. As to your memory blanks...Welcome to my world! Not to rain on your parade, but this is just the beginning. Have you seen "Menopause Out Loud"? You are probably too young to be in full menopause, (although my younger sister is only 48 and is in the middle of it), but I tell you from experience....the memory is the first to go. My mind used to be like a steel trap. I could call up details and facts about all kinds of things.

Now....well to best explain it, do you recall the TV commercial about dial up internet where the family is talking to each other and they stop in mid sentence and there is an internet bar at the bottom of the screen That's ME! The up side is that my family finds this most amusing so at least I'm entertaining.

Oh girl do I relate - it is mostly people's names that I can't come up with. Including, but not limited to members of my own family and people I work with. I've gone to calling some of the people I only work with occasionally and non-regular customers at the restaurant "hun". Fortunately no one has been offended and it has saved many moments of empty space and blank stares or calling someone by the wrong name.

My worst one was going to introduce my new daughter-in-law to a friend and I couldn't remember her name - my daughter-in-laws name... fortunately she has a great sense of humour and eased me out of a sticky situation with grace and a hug. As she said later, she's seen me forget my boys names at times and I'm the one who named them so why wouldn't I get hers wrong from time to time. Boy I love that woman.

If you find the trick, tool or exercise that helps with it - please pass it on.

Good Morning Erin! Try doing crossword puzzles. It helped me! Sometimes when we have a lot on our minds, we just can't remember all the stuff we need to.

Don't sweat it, we all grow older, and you are doing it very graciously, re; photo from Tuesday. Have a great day, Erin. Warm regards Cindy

I, like you found that my mind was slipping last year. I am a few years older than you (and a few months younger than Mike) .

I bought myself a Nintendo DS lite with it I also bought Brain Age 1 & 2 then my son got me Flash Focus for Mother's Day. (Helps keep your eyes working properly)

I use it everyday and have found that it has really helped. There is also a Sudoku section on Brain age as well.

It may help. Good luck - Anne

Hi Erin, I totally understand the subject of your blog today...memory failure. You and I are approximately the same age, give or take a year or two. I have been dealing with my memory and hormone issues for a couple years now, but there's light at the end of the tunnel.

I know you are all about health and natural health wherever you can. You need to read this book: The Hormone Diet by Dr. Natasha Turner, Naturopath (Chapters carries it). I've read the book 4 times since August (can you tell my memory was bad!!) There's so much in it that makes sense and she breaks it down into 3 chunks so it's not overwhelming at all. I started seeing Dr. Turner in November and I've never felt better.

We still have some work to do, but my memory is better, I'm sleeping great, my diet has improved, my skin is smooth again and I wasn't even in terrible shape to begin with. My next step is working in the exercise, but you've already got that part covered. She teaches you that it's all about diet, timing, sleep, exercise, relaxation, etc. From what I hear from you on the radio and thru your blog, you probably only have to tweak your diet (and maybe not) plus the timing of your meals and snacks. Just a friendly suggestion...read the book or you can also go on Dr. Turner's website: www.clearmedicine.com for info.

Can't wait to travel with you and Mike so I'll be listening. Take care and have a great day!  L.

Finally, to end this week with a few smiles, these notes about - what else - memory, forgetfulness, etc..  Here's a sweet note from Linda:

Erin....calm down ....trust me (I just turned 51)...the 40's are a roller coaster of different "changes"!!!

I, too, really worried about my memory, especially because my maternal grandmother had Alzheimer's!!  So, every time I "forgot" something, I got truly scared!!

But I'm here to tell you - "you will be okay"!  I feel I am much better in that "area" now - although there are times when I'll enter a room and forget why I was going there!!!
I would tell you to have a glass of wine and go with the flow - but since you don't drink anymore - have an herbal tea and go with the flow!!

And...thank the boys for getting you through on air (and) put them on alert ...this could take a few years!!

With friendship, Linda

Hi Erin, I just read your blog and had to laugh, welcome to the world of me, although I'm into the other side of 50, I swear all my girlfriends have the same complaint.

Welcome to M--------. The next thing to watch for is the great personality trait bitchiness. I keep telling my family I'm no more bitchy than I was before, they just happen to notice now. LOL Have a great day and maybe a nap. Jill.

Erin

Welcome to Thursday - and I look forward to sharing your comments and advice emanating from yesterday's "forgetful" journal.  That comes tomorrow in what I like to call Feedback Friday.

You know what else I like?  When we do "First Time Fridays" on Ticket Blitz at 8:15 or The Wiseguys at 7:15 on CHFI.  That makes me happy - giving people who don't usually win or play a chance at prizes.  Love to spread the luck, and the love.

We do answer our studio phones for more than just contests and yesterday, after we talked about the exciting hockey game against Russia that was just about 12 hours away, the lines lit up.

"What about the women's hockey?" callers asked, some in tones nicer than others.  I even got one very, shall we say, "anxious" e-mail about the fact that we were talking men's hockey, had barely acknowledged Canadian women medal winners, the women's hockey team and so on.

So here it is: we talked men's hockey yesterday because men's hockey was coming up last night.  Today, in addition to recapping last night's convincing 7-3 victory over Russia, of course we'll be plugging the fact that Canadian women take to the ice at 6:30 pm our time for the gold medal against the American women.  We'll also be talking about other highlights past, and ones that we'll be watching for today.  That's what we've been doing all along.

Our job, as I like to remind people, is to reflect the interests of our listeners.  Yes, it's also to generate interest and you can be sure that that is what we'll do today in terms of time, names, back stories, etc. but for heaven's sake, who wasn't talking about the fact that Crosby and Canada were taking on Ovechkin and the Russians last night?

As for the comment about us not talking Canadian women, we went heavy on the Rochette story and, of course, the McIvor win (and aired her many great comments afterwards) in our Olympic chats and produced OIympic bits, most of which (due to time constraints) run prior to 7:30 am.

How it can be that someone who hears only part of a show can surmise the content of the whole four hours is beyond me.  Then again, so is taking the time to call or write and complain - to anybody.  I've had some pretty dreadful experiences (usually having to do with things like service by airlines or hotels) but I don't think I have ever taken the time to write or call and complain. Okay, I did go on TripAdvisor once to kvetch about having to pay to use the gym at a Niagara Falls hotel, but that's just one time.  Seriously.

Now, back to the show.

When we're wrong, we're wrong.  I sure don't mind being corrected.  Hell, as I often say, you know WAY more than we do.  I will listen and learn if someone can enlighten me, always.  But I have to ask people please just to trust us on a few things - like judgment - that comes from a combined, oh, 130 years of radio experience in that studio.

In the middle of trying to get at least 6 and often 7 songs into an hour, along with news, weather, traffic, commercials and that stuff we do that some people lightly blow off as "chatter" but which is actually thought-out, planned and researched, we can't delve into every topic, every hour!  Sometimes we'll hit on that one thing that really matters to you (and God knows we try) and sometimes we'll have to do it later.  Or we run out of time in an hour or a show and we never do get to it.

I can't tell you how often we finish a show and I'll say, "Oh, we never got to that story..." (the Vancouver Olympic transit system bus driver who had a heart attack at the wheel Monday near a bridge and the passenger who took the wheel and saved the day) or Mike will say, "Let's save this one for tomorrow" (the fact that hot dogs should come with choking warnings for children).  We simply cannot fit it all in.  Even if we were at the CBC with no commercials, no 7 songs an hour and all the time to talk in the world, we couldn't fit it in.  How we wish we could!

Just know that we all strive really, really hard to get to it, and get it right.  If we don't, well, that's 'cause it's live and we're human, and like your all-too-fast morning clock, ours, too has only 60 minutes.

Oh and most of all?  GO CANADA!  Women, men, everyone!  Hockey players, curlers, skiers, skaters.  Snowboarders, bobsledders, lugers and skeletoners(?).  Whatever you're doing, if you're doing it for Canada, we love and are proud of you all.  After last night's drama with the women's 3000 m relay where we won bronze that became silver with Korea's disqualification, plus the 1-2 punch of gold and silver in women's bobsleigh - who could ask for better games than these?  AMAZING!

Oh, and thanks to everyone who posted about 150 comments as we watched the games together last night.  Hope you'll join us on Facebook again tonight!

Welcome to Wednesday.  Now that's more like it!  An 8-2 Canada win over Germany in men's hockey, and on we go to the medal rounds.  Quarter finals tonight at 7:30 (not the dreaded midnight start we'd been told earlier) so we'll get together tonight at Facebook again and have a great time cheering on Team Canada!

Continuing with yesterday's thread about how time flies, something else occurred to me, another sign that the sands of time are blowing by like a desert windstorm.  And thankfully, I made a mental note of it (in permanent marker, not just on the white board in my head) so I remembered it.

It's about memory.

Now, let me preface this by saying a few things.  Physically, honestly, I've never been in better shape.  Except for shoulders that I bunged up over Christmas when I didn't check the weights I was bench pressing (smooth, Davis), I feel amazing for someone North of 40.  I take almost a Dixie cup full of supplements both morning and afternoon (including the all-important Omega 3's).  And - with the exception of the very odd sin, I eat pretty sensibly.  I don't touch alcohol (nor do I drink it through a straw!) so there's no pickling involved.  Or preservation, if you want to look at it that way.

Where was I?  I remember.

It's about my mind.  I think it used to be pretty quick.  Some days it still is - usually where a retort is required - and I'm grateful for that.  But the search engine that runs my brain has gotten bogged down, either with too many minutiae or just the rust of age, and my grey matter is not sparking the way it used to, when I need it most.

For example on Monday, I brought up the movie The Invention of Lying, a clever conceit in which no one in the world knows how to lie except for the character played (charmingly) by Ricky Gervais.  As I mentioned a scene in it, I came to the name of the headlining actress and drew a blank.  What comes out then, when you're in a "seat of your pants" situation, is a 20-questions kind of exchange like, "You know her - she played Sydney on that TV show - married to Ben Affleck..." and voila, one of the guys will come up with the name Jennifer Garner.  Bacon saved, on we go.  Live radio - it's there and gone and you just move on.

But what scares me is that it seems to be happening more often.  And I don't know what to do about it!  I could be safe and not start sentences for which I don't have a complete and full ending, but I used to be able to pull that stuff out of the sky on a nanosecond's notice.  It's just not happening for me anymore.  And like a skydiver who fails to check his parachute before jumping, because he knew it was there last time he needed it, I just jump.  I'm lucky; the answer comes to me or I land on the mental marshmallow mattress of my friends' minds.

I can blame a total lack of sleep on Sunday (thanks, Team Canada!), I can blame my body clock being out of whack (gracias Mexico!); I can blame any number of things.

But mostly I have to blame the inevitable march of time, and perhaps rather than fight it, get frustrated or wonder what else I can possibly do to sharpen my brain (I am already doing more Sudoku than any person with a job ought to be doing) what I really have to do is this: convince my mouth to stop making promises my brain can't keep.

If I can only remember to do that, I'll be fine.

Well, I guess that's more like it.  Winter returns - or arrives - depending on your point of view.  At any rate, if we thought we were getting out of February without putting on boots, I guess we had another thing coming.  No doubt snow machine aficionados will be glad of the white stuff...skiers...kids...People For the Preservation of Snow Men...I'm running out of folks who'll be happy...

Oh, yes!  People like my brother-in-law up in Horseshoe Valley, who augment their income by doing snow clearing.  To say it's been a quiet year for them is an understatement.  White means green, you dig (or shovel)?

Hey - I didn't mention it yesterday, as I had a lot on my plate here, but Rob and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on Saturday.  22 years.  Hard to believe.  I like this pic from just a few weeks ago.

What's even more difficult to get my head around is that our time together is possibly half over.  Or more.  Don't want to get all morose on you here, but when I stopped and did the math and realized that although I'll still be under 70 in another 22 years, Rob will be up in the northern part of that next decade.

But before that thought totally bummed me out - that our time together may have more sand in the bottom of the hourglass than in the top - this also occurred to me: nobody gets any guarantees.  Ever.  There isn't a promissory note written on parchment somewhere that says I get to spend X number of years with my best buddy.  We just have today.  And sometimes we don't even have that.  We just have now.  And if that isn't a reminder to try to be aware, to be grateful, to be loving and kind, then I don't know what is.

Here's to appreciating the moments we have with the people we love.  Life doesn't come with guarantees.  Except, that if the calendar says "February", we're likely going to get snow.

Take care and enjoy this day - and thanks for spending a bit of it here with me.

Hey!  Thanks for coming by and starting this new week.  Can you believe we've almost made it to March?  A milder, friendlier winter we couldn't have hoped for.  It's an incredible thing to land home in Toronto after a work/play period away and not have to deal with sweeping, shoveling, shivering and cursing Old Man Winter.  Now, of course, there is snow on the way as of this afternoon with precipitation on and off all week long.  So it looks as if February isn't going out without a fight.  But still, it's been nice...

It's good to be home to see crazy happy dogs (and yes, wilted and rather sad plants), but even better to be back in our old familiar studios today at Bloor and Jarvis.  As much as I love to travel (and after the chill of Florida, we were treated last week to little more than cloud, northerly Mexican winds and rain) there's so much to be said for getting back into the swing of something you enjoy doing - like waking you up every morning with my good buddies, Mike, Gord and Ian.

Don't you love Julie James?  She did a great job filling in last week and it's so nice to have our show in Julie's and Gord's and Ian's very capable hands.  Hats off to Darren for turning his sleep schedule on its head for a few days there, too.  We've got a great team and we're lucky.

I can also say without a word of exaggeration that it is FABULOUS to be back in the homeland of this year's Winter Olympics - watching and cheering, gasping and cringing as Canada took on the US in hockey last night!  From our hotel room last week, we could get neither NBC nor CTV - completely missed the Opening Ceremonies - and I swear to you that last Thursday night it was through constant updates on Twitter (and Facebook, thank YOU!) that Rob and I followed the heart-stopping excitement of the tie, then overtime, then shoot-out win for Canada versus Switzerland.

Some of the tweets were laugh-aloud funny; others showed how cranky people get when they can't see their Office or Grey's Anatomy episodes.  Honestly people, the Winter Olympics happen once every four years!  These women and men have trained their entire lives for a few minutes on a hill or a track or on ice, and what's written in their obituaries - a long time down the road - will be decided during those few minutes.  Makes you wonder how people can be so myopic and self-centered.

It's like people who only go on to our CHFI Facebook site just to post that they hate something, or some singer, or wouldn't listen to a particular show or (my absolute favourite): "Who cares?"

Well, everybody cared last night...when, as the game began, I opened up a conversation on Facebook so we could all cheer (and later commiserate).  In the end, we shared some 70 comments and I must say it really does feel like a roomfull of people watching the game with you.  Maybe we'll do it again sometime! For now though, we have this reminder from Doreen: "At least Virtue and Moir are in first going into the free dance tomorrow (Monday)!!"

She's right.  We live to skate another day - even if it might not be men's hockey.  Canada's men's medal chances dimmed somewhat last night, but we have figure skating and some awesome women's hockey to look forward to (8:00 our time tonight) - among many, many other highlights yet to come in this week's Olympics.  Virtue and Moir's event is at 7:45 pm.

Today I'm getting caught up and already having to try to get some sleep.  Last night's 10 pm finish, a rather adrenalin-injected sleep, and a 2:50 am alarm didn't really combine for a great rest, but you know what?  I wouldn't have gone to bed and missed that hockey for anything.  After all, life is too short!

Thanks again for coming by and have a great Monday.

Hello - and thank you for coming by.  I hope this shortened work week is agreeing with you, and by the way, Happy Lunar New Year!

You may be asking, "Why isn't she there this week?" and I have what I hope you'll see is a good explanation.  With the ratings system having changed, the windows of time in which Mike and I can be away have closed.  Our next chance to recharge these batteries (which can only be compared to a computer battery that, with time, refuses to hold a charge) comes in June.  So we've taken a week now, while we can.

I hope you'll understand.  We leave you in the very capable hands of Julie and Darren, and return to mornings with you - where we belong - on Monday.

In the meantime....

Anyway, are you wondering where you fit in and what to expect?  Well, just for fun, I've included a link to a site that answers some of those questions.  Here it is...

Enjoy this, have a great week and Mike and I look forward to sharing mornings again with you starting Monday.

Happy Valentine's Day this Sunday - and Happy Chinese New Year.  As a Tiger myself, I'm really excited about the year ahead!  E.

It's impossible to believe how quickly this week has gone, but I had to start today's fourth day of Disney broadcasts with a picture of our Canadian pavillion here at Walt Disney World Epcot.  It's here that this evening's opening ceremonies will be broadcast and it promises to be incredibly moving.  And now, back to our show.

Hope you heard "street-mosphere" entertainer Dean Daniels singing on our show yesterday.  Given just a few details about Mike, The Wise Guys and me, and about three minutes' notice, he wrote a song and performed it.

You'll find video of the song at www.chfi.com (thanks for all your work, Jay Kennedy!) and here's another shot.

After the show at 9, it was off to Epcot to a huge facility/sound stage near the Canadian pavilion.  Here the media gathered, along with literally hundreds of Americans (and a few Canadian families) being honoured at Walt Disney World.

We were greeted by a few Disney executives and then, the star of the show (or one of them) came out: Kermit the Frog!

He was later joined by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's Ty Pennington.  Yes, Ty was there in person, but I could only get a good shot of the screen.

And then, the moment we'd all come to see.  The pillars of white balloons had been hiding a Guiness Book of World Records winner...

...the world's largest structure made of canned food!  How many cans?  Try 150,000 of them, or roughly 100,000 more than the previous record set last June in New Zealand.  And see the Disney characters in that structure?  Imagine - it took four days to set up this display and by late yesterday all of those 44 tons of food had been loaded onto a "can-voy" of trucks headed for parts of the South Eastern U.S. to be given to food banks to provide 70,000 meals for the needy.

It all had to do with Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" volunteer incentive, a first-of-its-kind effort to help inspire one million people to perform volunteer service.  And in just six weeks, some 600,000 people have registered and performed their day of service.  How about that?  You can find out more at www.disneyparks.com.

Now, even though we're south of the 49th Parallel, we're still bursting with Canadian pride over tonight's opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Games. Mike and I got into an athletic mood after spending an evening at ESPN's Wide World of Sports.

There, media had gathered to hear about the innovations that are coming to Walt Disney World Resort.  Over the next three years, they're embarking on the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history: the Fantasyland Expansion.  With additions like Dreams Come True with Cinderella, A Birthday Surprise for Sleeping Beauty and Belle's Village, it sounds absolutely incredible.  We just hope we'll still be coming down to do shows when it's finished.

You don't have to wait three years for this though: Disney's turning up the night-time magic this summer with the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade.  Boomers can bring their children and relive the memories; we're glad it's back.

By the way, I thought I'd leave you with a taste of spring time.  Although temperatures here these days are hovering around freezing (and you wouldn't believe the e-mails I get saying "enjoy the warmth!") it's hard not to think Spring Training when you're in Florida at this time of year. Here's the field at ESPN where the Atlanta Braves will hold theirs next month.

And as we get set to head to the airport today to spend a few days in actual warmth (you're in good hands next week with Darren Osborne and Julie James) I want to wish you and yours a very happy long weekend.  Hope you're off Monday and can spend lots of time with your family cheering on Canada in our bid for the first gold on Canadian soil (or snow, or ice).

Here's our good-bye picture for this week - with a Field of Dreams feel to it, from a place where dreams really do come true.  Hope you've enjoyed sharing this week with us, both on the air and here with my journal.  And G-O Canada!

This is where we did our show yesterday and today - the Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney's Boardwalk, one of our favourite spots on this amazing 40+ square mile property.  It's close to everything and walking distance to EPCOT. And, given the temperatures just before sunrise this week, it's where we're hoping do our show tomorrow as well.

We were outdoors for Tuesday's show.  Our set-up looked like this, and here we have Mike, producer Gord Rennie, CHFI and Rogers Broadcasting engineer Tony Spadano and me.  All in all, it's been a seamless bunch of shows.  I think when it's over, we'll wonder where the week went!

Even though the weather has taken a distinctly chilly turn here - overnight it was down to about +2 degrees - it doesn't keep guests out of the heated pools.  Canadians are famous for hitting the water parks down here when it's 10 or 15 degrees 'cause when we want to have fun, nothing gets in our way.

By the way, don't let a fear of crowds keep you from visiting during March Break (which begins a month tomorrow).  Americans stagger their spring break, and they're mostly in April anyway.  So if you're thinking of coming down, check out the rates at www.expedia.ca and start planning your dream vacation.  It doesn't have to cost you a mint, either.  Yesterday we toured the All-Star Music Resort, where rooms start in the $90 range.  It's a treat for the eyes, too, from the brightly painted building and rails...

...to a gigantic xylophone...

...and lots of other funky accents.

Of course, the pools are heated to about 28° C, so no fun is ever totally dependant on the weather.

The hospitality here at Walt Disney World Resort has been warm, and nowhere was that more evident than at Cat Cora's new restaurant on Disney's Boardwalk.

Who's Cat Cora, you ask?  Then you don't watch Food Network!  She's the first - and only - female Iron Chef (an enormous distinction), has two cookbooks with another on the way this year and is a bona fide rock star in the glittery, grease-spattered world of celebrity chefs.

Kouzzina (which means "kitchen" in Greek) is a Mediterranean flavoured restaurant starring recipes that are favourites of Cat.  Although she grew up in the US south, her dad Spiro is Greek, and it's from there that she derived her inspiration.

Cat was more than willing to come and meet us, especially when we dropped the name "Toronto".  She loves our city.

Tiny, isn't she?  And she has a six-month-old baby!  We talked about the fact that she and her partner Jennifer made headlines last year when they were each implanted with the other's fertilized egg.  They now have four boys, including last year's additions: Thatcher and Nash.  Cat says Nash (who's four months younger) is already as big as his 10-month-old brother, and she expects she'll be looking up at him when he's four years old!

Cat later addressed the crowd and answered our question: has opening the restaurant at Disney been a family hit in her house?  The resounding response: "Yes!"  She remembers coming down as a kid when her parents had to scrimp and save - and this was before EPCOT.  Cat and her family now reside in Southern California.

The kitchen was buzzing with activity (imagine preparing meals with the Iron Chef herself in your presence)!

On top of that, the meals and orders weren't staggered.  We all had the same delicious selections (many little servings of fabulous flavours like cinnamon chicken and a type of Greek lasagna) and we were all served at the same time.  Quite a feat!  Obviously, we were pleased.

That's (from front, bottom going clockwise) Dawn, her fella (and our producer) Gord, then Marnie (yesterday's Wise Guy and Canadian rep here at Disney), Chris Roop from Expedia.ca, Tony Spadano our CHFI engineer, Debbie and Mike Cooper and my Rob.  Nice big family table, huh?

And to wrap it all up - instead of Cat Cora's usual Ouzo (with which she ends her show) - a lovely trio of desserts.  The warm donuts at the top left, served in a cup with crushed brittle on the rim, was the biggest hit, I think.

Cat came and joined us for our broadcast yesterday and was able to tell Patricia Tuzi, our Wednesday Disney World Family Trip winner, about her restaurant.  It was a real pleasure having her on with us and she hinted later about having a new TV show in the works outside of Iron Chef, so we'll be watching for it!

Today, we're catching up on a great volunteer program that Disney has going on.  Maybe you've seen the TV ads on ABC with Kermit the Frog and the actor James Denton who plays Mike Delfino (hunky plumber and long-suffering husband of Susan) on Desperate Housewives.  Maybe Denton will show up?  After all, Superbowl QB Drew Brees was here for a parade in Magic Kingdom Monday, so anything's possible.

Talk to you tomorrow as we get set to kick off the Vancouver Winter Games and a long weekend together!!!

Welcome to Day Two of our Four Days of Disney broadcasts from magical Walt Disney World Resorts here in Orlando. Tomorrow, we'll share pictures of our broadcast site at the beautiful Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort.  But here's the Ferry Godplanner, Merry, who joined us to tell our winner Cindy about the Family Trip for Four that she had just won on 98.1 CHFI!

After the show, we toured the newest Vacation Club property at Bay Lake Tower, which is adjoined to the Contemporary Resort (and its monorail station).  Here's the view from one of the two bedroom suites.  Imagine lying in bed and watching the nightly fireworks at Magic Kingdom!

We're joined by fellow broadcasters from around North America and one from South America.  There's only one other Canadian station here this week and we're the only English-language station invited to do this, and the only Canadian morning show!

The radio roster goes like this: Brazil, Houston (two separate Hispanic stations), NYC (English and Hispanic), Montreal, Boston, Mexico City, Baltimore (two separate stations), Chicago (English and Hispanic), Hartford, Detroit, Dallas (two stations), Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  And of course, Toronto!!!  No matter where we're broadcasting to, all of the stations' hosts, producers, engineers and promo people agree: we're fortunate to have been the radio stations chosen to give away family trips to this incredible dream destination.

You do think you're dreaming when you look out of the windows at our hotel, the Animal Kingdom Lodge's Kidani Villas.  You see animals grazing and wandering around in the sunshine.  There are numerous observation areas where you can just sit in a rocking chair and admire the animals who called Disney's Animal Kingdom home.

This fellow actually brayed for us - sounded like a cross between a donkey and a horse.  And yes, he sounded cross, too!

These are Roan Antelopes, which have been placed on the IUCN endangered species list.  They seem quite content here, though.

This one might have been asking, "Do I have something in my teeth?"  I'm not sure how I would have answered, given that this fellow can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h.  He wins that race for sure!

Speaking of meal time, how do you suppose an eighteen-foot giraffe gets to the grass on the ground?  Well, a little awkwardly, I guess.

I caught these two "necking" and you can see by this shot just how close they are to the Kidani Lodge's rooms.  And look closely - this is a completely 100% family friendly!!!

They warn guests to keep their sheers shut, as there are surveillance cameras on the animals.  I think it's probably at least partially to keep the critters from looking in (or watching Animal Planet on your room's wide screen TV).

When the cart with the food shows up, that's the best time to capture the animals on camera.  Here, a few of our friends enjoy a "spot" of lunch.

And these two have that "watchu lookin' at?" expression on their very interesting faces.

From an upstairs window in the hotel, we captured this ostrich.  Talk about a view!

Have you ever seen Ankole Cattle?  They also go by the name Watusi, like the dance.

While they didn't shake their booties, they could have had us shaking in ours, had it not been for the electric fences.  Here's a Wa-three-si.  Sort of.

And after viewing the animals, we wandered a little more around the Kidani Village property.  In addition to a great fitness centre, you can find oodles of pools and hot tubs, and they all fit into the African theme of this Kingdom resort.

Oh and speaking of pools, this is the one near our broadcast site yesterday at Bay Lake Tower.

Just like a scene from The Sopranos, there was a duck warming his little feet on the steps of the pool.

Well, we're going to duck out for now as we enjoy another busy, busy day at Walt Disney World Resort.  Today, we do our show from Boardwalk Inn's Atlantic Dance Hall.  It's our one show indoors this week, so we're going to savour it - and hope that you enjoy every minute of these shows that are bringing you the magic of Disney - literally - with all of the trips that CHFI is giving away for the next few weeks.

Take care, be well and we'll talk with you again here tomorrow.

Erin

Welcome to Day One of our Four Days of Disney broadcasts from Orlando, Florida, where it's beginning to warm up.  Yesterday saw plenty of that famous Florida sunshine, so while we're still in hoodies, at least tourists are getting a little colour to take home with them.

We're doing our show this morning from Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort and we'll have pictures of our site here tomorrow.

As you've gathered, for us, it's a work week and we've already begun hitting as many of the sights you'd want to share with us.  I hope you saw the Magic Kingdom evening shots from Monday's journal; if you heard Darren and Julie and didn't think I'd post one, well, check them out!  Even those days I'm not on the air (unless I'm taking a week off) you know there'll be something here for you.  But today, we're turning our sights on EPCOT!

Right after Rob and I went to get our group's Fast Passes (so you can be given a designated time - within the window of an hour - in which to return to an attraction rather than wait in line for 45 minutes or more) we went to The Seas to relive the Nemo & Friends Finding Nemo clam ride.  When that was done (and yes, we found him - not to ruin the surprise!) we walked up to the observation deck and enjoyed some close-up visits with sharks, fish and yes, maybe even Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo.  Duuuuuude!

The Seas is a don't miss, but so is The Land.  It was there that Gord, Dawn, Rob and I dangled before an Imax-style screen and enjoyed the incredible experience of free flying and hang gliding over California in the peerless "Soarin'" ride.

Of course, the land itself was a little shell-shocked after the frosts that made headlines last month.

We've been thrilled to introduce Disney to Gord and Dawn since it's their first visit.  We insisted they do "Soarin'" and "Mission: Space", the interactive rocket simulator experience that we so loved and which is hosted (on video, of course) by Gary Sinise, from CSI:NY and Forrest Gump.  Mike actually got a little queasy with the centrifugal force that simulates G Force, but I totally loved it.  I take no responsiblity, however, for our bumpy landing on Mars, do you hear me?

As usual, Mike and Gord had to show off their brawn.  Here they are, rockin' my world.  (Or Mars.  Sometimes they're one and the same).

Sometimes it's not the rides that turn you inside out or the animatronic experiences that "wow" a first-timer at Walt Disney World.  For Gord, it was the dream of riding Disney's famous park transportation system, the Monorail.  Here it comes...

...and here he goes!  Gord was one happy 30+ kid at EPCOT, I'll tell you.  And why not?

We took the Monorail and then hopped a bus to Downtown Disney.  There you'll find Characters in Flight, La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil (a show completely unique to Disney World), and numerous fun stores and interactive experiences.  I can't quite figure out kids: they come to Disney World and then they want to play with Lego, but I guess it's the same reason boxes are often the biggest hit on Christmas morning.

Oh, and there IS a Christmas store.  That's where Mike and Gord found a replacement Wise Guy for Ian this week, plus a spare should one of them get lost in the Haunted Mansion.

I was tripping the Lightyear fantastic with my friend Buzz.

When along came Mike to remind me of who my true dance partner is!

We'll have more pictures tomorrow, including some of the incredibly wild sights at our hotel.  Okay, we're talking actual wildlife and it's right off some of the guests' balconies!

Take good care and thank you for coming by.  Hope you've enjoyed today's show and we look forward to bringing you more family fun from Walt Disney World as we pack up and do our show from the Boardwalk Inn, Atlantic Dance Hall, one of our favourite spots for a show.

Good day and welcome a brand new week of what should be fun shows from down here in Orlando at Walt Disney World Resorts.  (What - again?)  Yep!  And the reason is that we're doing shows from Disney World so that we can give away a Family Trip for Four every single weekday for weeks and weeks, right after the 7:30 am news.

We had a blast watching the Super Bowl - an awesome, fabulous, decisive win for the Saints when New Orleans can use whatever morale boost she can get - and frankly the ads were a huge highlight.  Look for the Letterman ad (featuring Oprah and Leno), the Doritos "barking lab" ad, Betty White in a Snickers ad (with cameo from Abe "Fish" Vigoda).  You can be pretty sure that www.chfi.com will have a link to the best of the best - take the time to watch them for some great Monday laughs.  I hope that cbs.com lets Canadians link up and yuk it up.

So, why aren't we on the air with you today?  Well, they're still setting up the broadcast sites for all of the stations that are doing shows live here this week.  Tomorrow we're at Disney's Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower, which we passed through while taking the Monorail to Epcot yesterday.  We'll share some of those shots tomorrow, but in the meantime...let's see some pictures!

We arrived Saturday at Orlando airport after a smooth and brief Air Canada flight.  And our cars were awaiting us - wait, whose name is on that sign?

Erwin never showed up, so I took the ride :)  After a half hour drive we arrived at our home base.

We unpacked in our room in Kidani Village, which consists of a bedroom, two full baths and a nice living area with full kitchen.  Even a dishwasher!

Then it was off to spend the evening at the Magic Kingdom.  When you come to Walt Disney World - and we hope you do - you have to see the famous castle first.  Just as we arrived, Main Street was alive with a brief celebratory parade!

And, of course, I had to get all teary because eight-year-old Lauren wasn't with us.  (18-year-old Lauren would have had a good time too, though; producer Gord and his lady Dawn are here for the first time and they're as thrilled as any kid could be!)  Oh, and the castle at night is something to behold.

Here I am volunteering to take pics of a family...I love to offer up my shutterbug services when a whole family wants to get in on a shot!

Here's the castle, on which they shine colour-changing lights throughout the evening.

As you can see from the pictures, it's none too warm here.  We're layering and bundling a lot and glad that most of our shows are indoors here this year.  You can be sure that sweatshirts and hoodies (as well as blankets and scarves) have been flying off the hangers at the Disney stores.

Hope you enjoyed Darren and Julie James this morning.  Be sure and join us tomorrow live at 5 am and don't miss the Disney Trip a Day Giveaway on with CHFI.  It doesn't matter what your age or whether or not you have little ones in your life, this is still a magical place.

Lots more photos tomorrow here - and thanks for coming by.

Erin

Welcome to Friday!  More feedback this week and (not entirely surprisingly) some had to do with the photo I included yesterday - quite gratuitously, I might add - of one Mr. G. Clooney.

We'll get to that in a moment.  First though, from Sue, this touching note about yesterday's reference to SIDS and the hopes that word about a possible chemical malfunction in a baby's brain may be the cause of it:

I was glad you added this one. Years ago my parents woke up to find a 2 month old baby girl dead. Now we realize it was SIDS, but back then all that was known was a "perfectly" healthy baby went to sleep and didn't wake up. Years later my mom saw that "reason of death" was listed as "strangulation". Very upsetting to say the least and when she told them it sounded like she had put her hands around her baby's throat and choked her, she was told that's how it was listed because "for some reason the baby couldn't breathe and therefore it was classed as strangulation". What an explanation for a mother who lost a child.

I'm glad its since been changed to SIDS (although, that far back the wording can't be changed) and now they are closer to finding out the real cause of this heartbreaking problem.

Have a good one Erin and thanks for commenting on items such as these. You've helped bring some comfort to people. I'm gonna phone my mom and tell her about the SIDS. A little comfort certainly won't hurt even after all these years.  Sue.

On Monday I wrote about missing the light in our life that Lauren provided when she was home.  It's funny; as I was writing it, I thought how lucky we are not to have had to live with the permanent loss of a child, which of course some parents do experience, as we read above.  Then I got this from Diane:

Your comment about children resonated with me.  Can you imagine the grief of parents who lose a child to illness, accident or estrangement?  If we find it hard to face an empty bedroom when they've flown off as independent people, what must it be like to stand in the doorway when there has been a catastrophe?  That's the story behind the story of so many headlines.

Hello Michelle - You are so right – he is amazing skater and person.

See my girls skate also, and one time my youngest was at a competition (she came in 1st).  Well he was there signing his new book, we got to meet him and took pictures with him and he gave advice to my oldest daughter how to land her axel.

We also went to see Battle of the Blades which he was amazing, and also the show.  I will to have wake up (Friday) on my day off to listen.  I can't wait to hear what he has to say.

Speaking of sweeties, hooking up, etc. I got some great feedback from yesterday's random George Clooney shot.  This one made me laugh out loud - got it in the afternoon:

Heard you on the radio this A.M. and knew Georgie was going to be on/in your journal so-- waited until now (12:56 P.M) to read and drool so I can make it thru this afternoon!!!!!! Thanks for the boost!!

Good morning Erin:  Talking about George, I have loved him since I first saw him in an episode of Roseanne.  The man has been a hunk his whole life.  How does he do it?  I only wish that one day I will meet him, and hopefully I will still have some looks left.  Please George, "COME HITHER".

Have a great day Erin, Love you guys.

Thanks Erin ! A George Clooney eye-popping pick me up photo if I ever did see one ! Oh my indeed !

Warm regards Cindy.

You were talking today about your journal and the George Clooney 'come hither' photo, BUT I have to say that I think Michael Buble oozes loads of George Clooneyesque.  Just look at the guy - look at his smile, his eyes, his movements.  I think Michael Buble has the same charm and charisma that George has.  You've gotta agree with me Erin!  All the best!

Finally on this February Friday - one more light-hearted note to warm things up.  This one's from Linda:

Just so you know....I am so there with you on the George Clooney "thing"!!!

Enough said - thanks for starting my day with his picture!

Take care - travel safe!  Linda

Take care and have a great weekend.  Lots of pictures here next week too, but this time, Rob is going with me and he can take the web duties off my slate.  As Rob often reminds me, "Would George do that for you?"

(Actually it's more like: "Would George put up with that from you?")  Tee Hee.  I'll write here Monday from the House of the Mouse.

Bits and bites for a Thursday...
 

Oh my.

I'll be back with you here tomorrow.  Right now, I'm going to go think married thoughts, and I would encourage you to do the same.  Oh my.

and....

User, n.  The word computer professionals use when they mean "idiot."  [Dave Barry]

In honour of yesterday being Groundhog Day, I'll repeat today's journal at the bottom of this one.  I would love for you to share it.  The reason many readers couldn't find it during their morning coffee is that the company whose services we use for this website decided to do some allegedly scheduled maintenance (their schedule, not mine).  Sorry about that.

Now, for today's...

Well, now that the new season has begun, are you caught up in the final chapter of the TV show Lost?  Can't say that I am.  We watched seasons 1-3 and then, once we got tired of trying to figure out when it was going to be on (and how many months we'd have to wait for another episode), we gave up.  Eventually we picked up the 4th season on DVD, but got so sidetracked (and frustrated) just trying to find the final episode of Season 3 to refresh our memories that we never did go forward.

Anyway, that ship seems to have sailed without us.  Maybe one day we'll get all caught up, but by that time there's little doubt we will have heard details on the episodes we've yet to see.

I'm okay with that.  Life goes on and it tends to go on regardless of whether we're keeping up.  I won't get all bent out of shape if I happen to hear who died on the H Bomb (it's pretty obvious, given that she was starring in another show this year) and any other details.  'Cause I remember this ridiculously cranky e-mail I got a few years ago...

Remember in 2004 the incredible streak that Ken Jennings had on Jeopardy!?  He went 75 games, winning a total of about three-and-a-half million dollars (including money from a tournament of champions), becoming a Jeopardy! question/answer himself in the process.

Well, about a week before that streak came to an end, the Associated Press - or a similar news service - published a story telling us that Ken Jennings had been beaten in the previous day's taping and would go down to defeat during his 75th appearance (in the week ahead).  That story was carried everywhere, including in a local newspaper here.  That's where I found the story, and that was my source when I relayed it to radio listeners.

I've often thought about the e-mail that came in later, and I guess the reason is because I wonder if I could have handled it all differently, or if it would have mattered had I tried.  We told our audience that, "next week, Ken Jennings' record-setting streak on Jeopardy! is coming to an end..." and a man wrote asking why we'd ruined the entire surprise for him.  Like the rest of us, this guy had gotten caught up in Jennings' amazing streak (the ratings for Jeopardy! were so high that it became the #1 syndicated TV show in North America) and was downright angry that we'd told him when it was going to end.  For all I know, he was angry it was ending, period!

I got where he was coming from.  But on the other hand, unless he had himself been sealed in a meat locker on Venus, there was no way this man was going to avoid hearing or reading about the pending fate of Utah's famous brainiac.  Were we, as broadcasters, wrong to pass along what was already out there?  Or should we just have played dumb and gone along with the "what's going to happen tonight?" game that we'd all enjoyed for 75 episodes?

I don't know.  To this day, we're careful about spoilers, but only as far as logic takes us.  Now, if the Oscars are on a Sunday night and people are taping them in hopes of being surprised on Monday, well, that's not logical.  Even if you turned off your radio, you'd pass a newspaper box with Sandra Bullock's lovely mug on the front page.  Similarly, if there's a Leafs' game on a Saturday and you're at cousin Edna's wedding, you're really going to have to work at it to avoid seeing or hearing how many goals they lost by, before you get to watch your game tape Sunday morning.  Or whenever you sleep off the reception the night before.

The point is, in this age of making TV convenient for us through time shifting and PVRs, we are then hit with the other side of the technological coin: instant information.  You're inundated with it, whether on Twitter or Facebook or even www.chfi.com.  All that information is right at your fingertips.  So much so, that those fingers are far too busy to have a chance to plug your ears or cover your eyes.

Have a great day and thanks for coming by.  Now, scroll down for my journal from Tuesday.  I think you'll like it, even if the picture does kind of make me look kinda cross-eyed.  And if you've already read it, you can go ahead and peruse it again.  After all, it was Groundhog Day, wasn't it?  Wasn't that movie about doing the same thing over and over and over and over...?

Erin

Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.  [Les Brown]

Hey there!  Welcome in.

As you know, I happen to work for a radio station that loves Michael Bublé.  And I mean LOVES the man.  And it's not just because he's Canadian (which, of course, he is) or because he has been a great partner with CHFI, or because he's crazy talented.  And a little bit crazy.  Those would all be reason enough; after all, CHFI Loyalty Club members are still buzzing about the "Up Close and Personal" evening we enjoyed with Mr. Bublé a few months back.  And to top it all off, if you're an LC member, you've gotten a very special musical birthday card from Michael, Mike Cooper and me.  So, you see, we're in pretty thick together.

But this past Saturday I came to love this BC native just a little more.  How?  Watching him sing on Saturday Night Live, that's how.  Yes, we've seen him sing "Haven't Met You Yet" - a great version on Oprah comes to mind - but last weekend we got to see something else in his singing.  He is so in this moment, revelling in the success that he has worked for, so long and so hard.  His eyes sparkled, he smiled and far beyond just putting on an act, he was having the time of his life.

He should be.  This IS the time of his life.  He won a Grammy on the weekend, he's heading out on what promises to be his biggest concert tour ever, he's engaged to be married (all right, so he's done that before, but anyway…) and is finally getting his props as more than just a Sinatra wanna-be.  In years past, he has had moments where he seemed jaded and world-weary; whether that was part of the "rat pack act" or the way he really felt about life and his climb to the top, I'm not sure.  But we saw it first hand, and the change that we've witnessed in him in the past year or so is little short of wonderful.

Sounds funny, but it brought me to tears to watch him living his dream and really truly enjoying it on Saturday night.  We're thrilled to be part of it, and to be witnessing it from such close range.  And you can, too.  On August 10th, Michael Bublé brings his tour to the ACC.  CHFI is giving away 4th row tickets to that show today, then 3rd row tomorrow, 2nd row Thursday and on Friday you could win front rows plus a meet & greet with the man himself.

I haven't been to a concert in a while but I'll tell you, this is a show I am not going to miss.  After all, how many chances do you get to be part of someone's dream coming true?

Thanks for sharing mine, and coming by again today.

Hey there!  Welcome in.

As you know, I happen to work for a radio station that loves Michael Bublé.  And I mean LOVES the man.  And it's not just because he's Canadian (which, of course, he is) or because he has been a great partner with CHFI, or because he's crazy talented.  And a little bit crazy.  Those would all be reason enough; after all, CHFI Loyalty Club members are still buzzing about the "Up Close and Personal" evening we enjoyed with Mr. Bublé a few months back.  And to top it all off, if you're an LC member, you've gotten a very special musical birthday card from Michael, Mike Cooper and me.  So, you see, we're in pretty thick together.

But this past Saturday I came to love this BC native just a little more.  How?  Watching him sing on Saturday Night Live, that's how.  Yes, we've seen him sing "Haven't Met You Yet" - a great version on Oprah comes to mind - but last weekend we got to see something else in his singing.  He is so in this moment, revelling in the success that he has worked for, so long and so hard.  His eyes sparkled, he smiled and far beyond just putting on an act, he was having the time of his life.

He should be.  This IS the time of his life.  He won a Grammy on the weekend, he's heading out on what promises to be his biggest concert tour ever, he's engaged to be married (all right, so he's done that before, but anyway…) and is finally getting his props as more than just a Sinatra wanna-be.  In years past, he has had moments where he seemed jaded and world-weary; whether that was part of the "rat pack act" or the way he really felt about life and his climb to the top, I'm not sure.  But we saw it first hand, and the change that we've witnessed in him in the past year or so is little short of wonderful.

Sounds funny, but it brought me to tears to watch him living his dream and really truly enjoying it on Saturday night.  We're thrilled to be part of it, and to be witnessing it from such close range.  And you can, too.  On August 10th, Michael Bublé brings his tour to the ACC.  CHFI is giving away 4th row tickets to that show today, then 3rd row tomorrow, 2nd row Thursday and on Friday you could win front rows plus a meet & greet with the man himself.

I haven't been to a concert in a while but I'll tell you, this is a show I am not going to miss.  After all, how many chances do you get to be part of someone's dream coming true?

Thanks for sharing mine, and coming by again today.

Welcome to Monday - and February.  Keep your faith.  This is the month we start hearing the words "grapefruit league" (for baseball) and "rebuilding" for hockey.  It's the month we can be forgiven for peeking at the calendar's next page, to remind ourselves that the word "spring" is right there in print.

February, as cranky as it can be, is a blessedly short month, and one that's loaded with excitement, starting with the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.  Kind of looks at this point as if we're hoping for white on Canadian soil as much as we are for gold, silver and bronze.  But it's Vancouver!  Anybody knows that you're never guaranteed snow there in winter.  Wonder if trucking in the white stuff figured into their budget projections?

On the home front, February's exciting, too.  Starting with 98.1 CHFI: all this week we will be getting qualifiers at 7:30 am for a third 7-night family cruise aboard the Disney Magic.  That will be given away to a lucky CHFI Loyalty Club member on Friday.  And then next week we begin a string of shows live from Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.  Promises to be fun, with lots more Disney giveaways.

Tomorrow's Ground Hog Day.  Yeah, whatever.  A rodent predicts the length of winter depending upon whether he does/doesn't see his shadow.  Just a mid-winter diversion and an excuse for people in top hats to drink in the morning.  Of course, so is a Canadian winter!

In fewer than two weeks we have Valentine's Day, a day that many wisely use as an excuse to stop and tell their significant other (or family members) just what they mean to them.  There are the cynics who say that they don't want to be "told" when to express their affections, but after doing a four-day workshop (book and CD) over the Christmas holidays in which Rob and I did little more than re-connect and express our love, I have to say that any excuse - mandated or not - is one we should embrace.  And never, ever forget how delightful a surprise can be!

On February 20th, Rob and I will mark 22 years together as husband and wife.  I was thinking this past weekend just how quickly time really does fly.  In those 22 years, so much has happened, including our welcoming of a little baby who grew (all too quickly!) into an amazing young woman.  Now she's gone from our home and at times we wonder if those 18 years really happened.

It's like you're given this precious glowing gift to hold on to and enjoy.  You try to remember to admire its luminescence every day, but when "life" gets in the way, that orb of light can be set aside so that other duties can be attended to.  One day, the light flies away to its own new home, and you're left with a world that's not dark, exactly, but is missing that warming glow, that thrilling spark, that was so much a part of your own life for so long.  And so briefly.

Anyway...that's pretty deep (and likely corny) for a Monday.  But February is filled with so much for so short a month.  Stay warm, enjoy each moment and thank you for starting your day, your week, your February here with me.  Be well.  Enjoy the light - whatever form it may come in for you.