I heard that today was National Puppy Day, and I can’t miss an opportunity to share about my dog Jackson.
Jackson is technically not a puppy as in he is 4 years old, but to me, he will always be my puppy!
Jackson is so sweet.
And he is so silly.
He loves a good nap!
And he loves to take walks!
He isn’t the brightest, that’s for sure, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly. He is my best friend.
I don’t like to think about where Jackson would be right now if maybe I didn’t get adopt him. I also don’t like to think about what will happen when he is no longer here.
The best thing about dogs is they live in the moment, so that is what I will do too.
Hi everyone!! So here’s a weird fact about me, I LOVE making lists. I mean, I am constantly making lists. Lists of things I need to do, lists of things I want to do, lists of books I want to read, movies I want to watch, even lists of things I want to buy. I just am always making lists.
It helps me to stay organized, and also to sort things out in my brain.
So here is a list of some of my favorite things. I was thinking I will start here then break it down into subsections of those favorite things, because why not?
So, here we go!
DOGS: specifically my dog Jackson but really all dogs!
TV SHOWS: I love watching shows. I am constantly watching multiple shows at once, because my mood depends on what I am wanting to watch.
BEING OUTSIDE: I love being outside and feeling the sun on my face. Walking, biking, reading outside, swimming. I love being outside.
READING BOOKS: When I was in college and high school I would even make lists of the books I read each year, keeping track of how many books and which ones I loved.
MY FAMILY: I am convinced I have the best family in the world. No matter what, they are always there for me, and I wouldn’t be the person I am without them.
MY FRIENDS: I also have the best friends in the world. I may not have that many friends, but quality over quantity in my mind.
COFFEE: I don’t really need to elaborate, do I?
LEARNING HOW THINGS WORK: And by that I mean, understanding why things work the way they do, the behind the scenes of things. I love listening to these watch back podcasts because it is so intriguing to me learning how different shows were made.
SUNSHINE: I just love it when the sun it out. I am so much happier. It doesn’t even have to be warm, but when the sun is out, I feel joy!
SKIING: I have been skiing since I was 3 and it is my favorite! I raced in high school and I still enjoy it to this day!
Well, that’s it! Those are my Top 10 favorite things!
I want to hear yours though, because I love learning about people!
It’s hard to believe that 2022 is almost over! I have been thinking a lot lately how fast this year went by, and how crazy it is that it’s almost a new year!
I’ve never really been a fan of New Year’s. I hate staying up late, and I often feel sad, because I think of all the things I wanted to do that year and didn’t.
But, what I’ve learned lately is that life just keeps going, and most of life is the mundane, the boring, the day to day things, but when you look back that is sometimes the most memorable.
Here is a recap of my 2022!
January started with my two best friends! I miss them so much!
Then we celebrated Jackson’s birthday! I don’t actually know if this is his birthday since I adopted him, but let’s be real, he doesn’t know either!
February I had the best time skiing at Sun Valley. I had a day off in the middle of the week and decided to ski by myself! I felt so free!
In March, my favorite Bruce’s came to visit and we also went skiing at Sun Valley!! I love my two favorite Bruce’s!
I also turned 25 in March! We took this picture on my birthday!
In April, my mom came to visit and we had a great time shopping and doing all the things we love to do together! I love my Mom so much!
In May, I spent a lot of time outside with Jackson!! We went on lots of walks, read lots of books, and enjoyed the beautiful weather before it got too hot!
In June, I found out I was going to be competing at International Junior Miss as Miss Idaho! This was a goal I set for myself back in 2019! Just goes to show that sometimes your goals take a while to accomplish, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on it!
July was super fun! I started my new role at KMVT as the morning show co-anchor!
My grandfather also passed away in July, I miss you Papa!
In August, Trevor and I went to DisneyLand and California Adventure! I am sharing this picture because I was so proud of myself for not letting my fears stop me and I went on the Incredicoaster!
In September we celebrated Trevor’s birthday with these great friends!! I’m lucky to have so many great friends!
October was exciting! We bought a house! I love this house and it’s finally starting to feel like home!
November was so busy! I flew back to MA for one weekend to surprise my mom for her birthday!! We pulled off the surprise!!
Then, it was time for Internationals in Florida! What an amazing week with new friends and my family!
December was full of Christmas cheer!!
Now, these are just some highlights of the year. Most of my days were just full of work, taking care of my dog, cooking, cleaning, food shopping, and just doing daily things.
There were also a lot of sad days, and a lot of happy days. And right now as I’m ending this year, I am very sick.
But, I choose to look on the positive side and hope that 2023 will be a year full of accomplishing goals, growing, and happiness.
Growing up, I had lots of goals, lots of dreams and ambitions.
For a little while, I wanted to be an actor on Broadway.
Then I wanted to be a princess. Don’t ask me why, I just wanted to marry a prince so I could be a princess and have all the fancy jewels.
Then my goal was to go to college so I could graduate and be a news reporter and eventually work my way up to being the host of Good Morning America.
So, I went to Suffolk University and I had 5 internships and 3 jobs and commuted from home to school every day. I mastored taking the train, and learned all the ins and outs of Boston.
And I loved it. I mean, honestly I LOVED it.
I took classes that were hard but would prepare me for my job, some of which I still think about today.
On May 17, 2019 I got a job as a reporter. On May 19, 2019 I graduated college.
On June 10, 2019 I began my drive to Idaho for my first job as a reporter at KMVT News in Twin Falls, Idaho.
I was excited, scared, nervous, and really happy.
I was moving from Easton, Massachusetts to Twin Falls, Idaho to start my career.
A 2,546 mile drive to prepare myself for what was about to happen.
And here is what I now know:
I greatly underestimated how hard it would be to move literally across the entire country by myself at the age of 22.
The greatest way to learn is by doing the job. College was awesome and great, but my goodness, I’ve learned more in the past year and a half than I did in 4 years of school.
Nothing will prepare you to cover a fatal car accident, or horrific house fire. Nothing.
You will go home at night and not be able to forget about your job.
You really don’t get a day off.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, your day will not go how you planned it.
But, there is one thing I have learned over everything else that I will carry with me for the rest of time:
Life has its own plans for you.
I mean, growing up I had all these dreams and goals and things I wanted to do, and moving to Twin Falls, Idaho wasn’t one of them, wasn’t even a thought that popped into my head.
But it has without a doubt been the best decision I’ve ever made.
There are people I didn’t know 2 years ago who now, I couldn’t picture my life without.
The people in this community are some of the nicest, most genuine, most caring people I know.
I mean, I really just love being a part of this community, with all my heart.
Now, I’m not saying you should just drop your goals and dreams and hope for the best, but I am saying that some of the best things to happen in your life and too good to imagine, they are too good to dream up.
I guess what I’m saying is, be open to all the possibilities that come your way, because sometimes the most unexpected ones are the best ones.
I still have so much to learn, so far to go, so many more mistakes to make, so many more stories to tell.
And I am so excited to see all the things that happen to me that were too great to dream up.
1 Year ago on this very day, I started working at KMVT. I remember I was so nervous walking in that day, wanting to make sure I would make a good first impression.
It was the greatest decision ever to take this job, not only have I learned a lot about being a good journalist, but also about life.
Moving here was hands down the hardest thing I have ever done. I had just graduated college, and I left everything I had ever known and worked for to move here. I was lonely and sad, and some days I still am. But, most days I love it.
I used to be the type of person who was always working towards my next goal. Whatever I was doing wasn’t good enough, it could be better, I could be better. And while I still have goals and dreams, I have realized that if I live like that I will never be happy with where I am right now.
I love living in Idaho. It’s beautiful, the people are some of the nicest I have ever met, and there is so many fun things to do.
This job is stressful, there is so much that could go wrong, and I don’t want to do a bad job. But, the best thing that I ever could have done is plan ahead. I know I contradict myself, because I also say to live in the moment, but if you don’t plan ahead, you won’t get your work done in time, and make it in time for the shows.
I do miss my home in Massachusetts, but at the same time, I have made a home here, with people who I love.
The most important thing I have learned since moving here is everything works out. Maybe not what you imagined or pictured in your head, but sometimes even better. I love working here at KMVT News, and I love living here in Idaho, and I am excited to see what my future holds, but for now… I’m just going to be happy.
Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well!! I was talking to Andrea and Andrew on Tuesday, and they said how I should document one day in my life and make a blog post about it, so that’s what I did. Throughout the day Tuesday I took notes, took pictures and well… here we are.
Here I am, just getting to work.
I get to work at a different time every day, it depends on when I set up my interviews and all of that, but on Tuesday, I got to work at 10:30 in the morning, clearly just out of the shower.
We have been doing a lot of our interviews over Zoom, or FaceTime.
I have a great set up figured out for how I conduct my online interviews.
Heading out to get B-Roll
Even though I can do all my interviews over the internet, I still have to go out and get B-Roll!
Saw these beautiful flowers while I was out getting B-Roll.
My boss told me to wash one of the KMVT cars while I was out, which is one of my favorite things to do.
CAR WASH!
Lately, I’ve been craving chicken all the time, so after the car wash, I headed to get Chic-Fil-A before I start editing.
YUMMY!!!Time to start editing.
After I ate my food, I started editing. Editing can be very tedious, but somedays it pays off. On this day, I loved my stories. It took me about 3 hours to finish all my editing, but it was worth it. Everyone has a different editing rhythm, but I have found one that works for me.
In the recording booth, ready to track my package. Selfie with my boss Kade on my way back from the recording booth.
After I lay down my voice and finish all my B-Roll, I have to export!
I have little notes to remind myself of things!
After I finish all my editing and writing and exporting, I have to start my web stories.
Web story time!
The station has been weird lately, many people are working from home, and all the stories have been related to the virus in some way or another, but we are doing our best!
After my web stories are written, I have to wait until the show is over to clip my videos, so they will be on the website.
A very time consuming process.
It was around 7 o’clock when I finished all my work and went home to see… my pup pup Jackson.
Always so happy to see me!
I made my dinner, which was just leftovers and sat down at my table by myself to eat it while I watch some Netflix. My nightly routine.
Now, this was just my Tuesday, and the thing is that I never really know how my day is going to go when I get to work. There are so many unknowns. A few weeks ago we had an earthquake 8 minutes before the 6 p.m. newscast and had to change our shows. One night, there was a house fire at 8 p.m, so it’s random and you just never know what your day will hold.
Laying in bed with my puppy.
Then I got ready for bed, took Jackson out to go to the bathroom once more, and went to sleep.
Hello all, Let’s talk about something fun, something adorable, something handsome. My puppy Jackson.
I adopted Jackson from the Twin Falls Animal Shelter in the end of July, and that was the best choice I made since moving here. He is 1 years old now, or at least that is what everyone thinks, since he was adopted, I just picked a birthday and made it his.
Jackson is just so cute.
He has no respect for your personal space. He hates being alone, he never wants me to leave.
The best thing about him is he just loves life, no matter what we do, he is happy and ready to do it. A walk, the dog park, sleep, playing with his toys, he is ready and excited.
I make him cuddle with me.
The best thing about dogs, is they just live in the moment, whatever is going on right now is all that they care about. Which is probably the thing that I am the worst at. I wish I was better at it, but I’m not.
So thank you baby boy Jackson for always being my best friend.
Elizabeth Joy Hadley 