Today is October 27, 2008, four days till Halloween. The reporters here at KTIV have been busy coming up with fun new ways to tell stories about Halloween, whether they be inexpensive costumes or haunted houses that are good for the whole family to go to. This time of year, many houses are decorated with pumpkins, ghouls and goblins. But as I was driving around town over the weekend I saw the most ridiculous of Halloween decorations: Santa Claus and the nativity scene.

Christmas is 60 days away.  That’s 9 weeks! I’m sorry but it’s just too early to be seeing that in people’s front yards.

I’m all about celebrating holidays and sharing your family traditions with your community. However, I think it’s over the top to start celebrating a one day holiday at least 1,440 hours before the holiday actually begins.

People can start decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Twenty eight days should be plenty of time to hang up lights and all of your chatchkies, and in that same time period your neighbors should get sick of it all. So by the day after Christmas, everyone should be happy to see it come down and packed away for another year.

So for now, remember it is only fall. There are still leaves on the trees. You should savor it while you can, because before you know it, you will be shaking your fists at the sky, cursing about how cold it is and how much snow you have to shovel.

Keep the Christmas stuff in boxes, at least until your kids have eaten all of their Halloween candy and your Thanksgiving turkey has been roasted.

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Today, I hung out at West High School while people set up for Sarah Palin’s visit. (I might be her for Halloween I haven’t decided; it’d be an easy costume).

It was interesting to me to find out that the Halloween dance scheduled for Saturday night had to be postponed until November 1. Those high school students are awesome for giving up their high school fun night for Sarah Palin. One of the students I talked to didn’t even know who Sarah Palin was until this week. It brings me back to a much simpler time when all I worried about were things like the high school dance.

It’s weird to me that there are people out there who don’t even know who Sarah Palin is. But, then again, did any of us know who she was 8 weeks ago? While I know elections are important and an exciting time (and a long day at work), I’m looking forward to not hearing about the candidates anymore. I’m looking forward to people actually getting things done instead of talking about getting things done. And if my prediction is correct, West High School’s Halloween dance will be just as good the day after Halloween instead of the weekend before.

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I’m not one of those people who complain about gas prices very much. My husband does enough of that so I don’t like to waste the energy. I just pay what it costs and I move on with my life. But I do seek “those people” out when doing a high gas prices story. Believe me, I’ve done plenty.

But more than noticing gas prices going up, I thoroughly enjoy watching them come down. Everyday, I come to work and I drive by Wal-Mart on Floyd Boulevard. Within an hour of my arrival at Channel 4, I’m out the door once again heading to a story. I’ve noticed (today especially) that gas prices are trickling in a downward spiral. I LOVE seeing that. When I got to work this morning, gas was $2.26… now, 9 hours later, it’s $2.18! Now while I’m well aware this isn’t as cheap as we’d all like, I’d just like to say, that I’m thrilled with the prices going down!

Now, let’s just hope they stay that way.

p.s. it was 88 cents when I worked at the Casey’s near the Southern Hills Mall in high school. I AM getting old!

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For those of you who don’t know, I married Al Joens 7 weeks ago. We met at work more than 6 years ago now. The wedding was the most wonderful day of my life (so far). The ceremony was so special to me. Al is my best friend and I still cannot believe we’re married. He’s a great guy and I feel really lucky. Having so many people around that care about you and want the best for you is all so overwhelming. We had friends and family from Arizona, California, Illinois, and South Carolina, just to name a few. And then they day is over in a blink of an eye.

My advice to brides: take each moment in and make a memory. There will be so many and then after 7 weeks they all start to mold together. I can’t imagine how I’ll remember it in 7 years!

The wedding was awesome, but the honeymoon was even better. Al and I headed to Jamaica the first week in September. It’s so different from life in Siouxland. We relaxed everyday, jumped off a 30 foot cliff, went on a zip line tour of the jungle, and ate so much food I often couldn’t move. I would love to be a professional vacationer.

This picture is right before dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I took about 86 pictures of the sunset on our vacation. Beautiful sunsets like these can allow anyone to be a good photographer. I would often take other couples’ cameras and take tons of pictures for them because I wanted to savior every single moment of those beautiful Jamaican sunsets. Al made fun of me and told me to quit harassing people… but I KNOW they got some great pictures too! By the way, I hope you enjoy Al’s goatee in this picture, I begged him to keep it and cover it with make-up for work, but he didn’t think our boss, Bridget would find it too appealing.

So now, 7 weeks later, I still daydream of that fantastic wedding day, followed by a perfect honeymoon. And while I’m happy to have life back to normal, I can’t believe it’s all over. But now, the best part has begun… life with Al. I would like to thank everyone who has wished us well, congratulated us, and thought of us during this important time in our lives.

p.s. my name is Lanzourakis on-air… but in real life it is Joens. So you can call me Mrs. Joens if you see me out and about!

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One of the songs I remember best from when I was little was a Halloween song. It spelled out the word and of course, now in my thirties, it is the one word I always spell right.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and through the years the way I celebrate has definitely evolved.

When I was little, it was all about the candy. When I was in college it was costume contest and cocktails. But my favorite Halloween phase is the one I am in right now as a mommy.

I love picking out, or in my daughter’s case, helping to pick out my children’s costumes.

My daughter is in the princess/super girl phase. My son on the other hand, is still small enough for me to be the decision maker which I completely take advantage of, as I have been know to dress him it teddy bear costumes and other cute characters that fit his personality.

The next phase in the Halloween evolution of me, probably has something to do with handing out penny’s and popcorn balls, which I look forward too as well.

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The final presidential debate is over and just like weddings, graduations and babies… I don’t know where the time has gone.

In the beginning I was a very enthusiastic. I watched every debate, Republican and Democrat. I went to see Barack Obama speak and I caucused with my hubby.

But for the last few months, I have lost interest. Negative campaigning and tabloid journalism hasn’t been able to garner my attention. I don’t think I’m alone.

But, today as I counted down the days to November 4, I got a little of that initial excitement back.

I love election coverage. I spent 2000 and 2004 on the edge of my seat. I don’t think this year will any different.

So, on my political agenda, voting early, because it’s easier and counting down the days to our excellent political coverage on KTIV.

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I am blogging much later than I had planned today. I spent the day researching and writing about a piece I’ve been working on since last week.

I worked in the news business for years before coming to KTIV. The lesson I learn everyday is that I still have a lot to learn and to me that is a good thing.

Everything from how your voice sounds to what type of makeup is going to work, I am still learning and I appreciate all of the lessons I am learning from my co-workers and friends.

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I’m Brooke Bickford Balkenende and I am a producer here at KTIV.

I am the mother of two wonderful little children and I am married to my soul mate and best friend.

I feel I am very lucky to be doing what I have always wanted to do.

In my short time here at the station I have done everything from reporting and anchoring to editing and producing.

The people are what make this job really special. I feel like I am surrounded by people just like me. Funny and crazy, yet very competitive and passionate about the product that we are all putting out over the air.

There are so many elements that go into a newscast. For people at home it is 30 minutes, but to us here it is a rollercoaster ride of getting the elements of the newscast together and piecing together the puzzle which ends up being each and every newscast.

There are days when I really believe that news will not make the air, but it always does.

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The Ag stories went great yesterday and I didn’t get called out to any fires!!!!! Yes! Travis Olson and I actually shot several stories. My personal favorite shot was climbing up the tractor…(watch for Mon’s Ag Report and you’ll see.)

I was kind of bummed I didn’t get to cover the historic locomotive that came through town on Thurs. But I did see Chief Photographer Tia Heidebrecht’s footage. It looked really good!! Great Job Tia!!!

How about the debate last night? It was everything I thought it would be. The one commentary I’ll add is…They should have switched to decaf!

Since this is my last blog for the week let me take a moment to say thanks for reading this and be sure to check out KTIV.com often.

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I covered 2 fires on Weds morning…one in Correctionville and the other in Sioux City. It seems a bit ironic that Fire Prevention Month began with a pair of blazes. Fireman Joe Rodriguez saw the irony as well and commented on it during his interview. I hope the rest of the month goes a bit smoother for all area fire departments.

I live in a rural area and get to see the fields changing daily as harvest begins. Today I get to do a pair of Ag related stories and I’m pretty excited. Every time I work on Ag stories it reminds me of Bruce Scheid. He is greatly missed here at the station. If you’re reading this Bruce…have some coffee ready because I’ll be stopping by again in the near future…and I’ll bring you some homemade jam!!!

Don’t forget to watch the VP debates tonight. We’ll be showing it here on NBC!!!!!

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