About a year ago, our friends Dave, Ken and Molly at ZZU asked me to join an esteemed group. Now, every Thursday morning at 8:30, I join Molly, Kalae Chock, Leslie Lowe and Phaedra Hansen on the "Panel of Women." As Dave, Ken and Molly like to say, we're real women, talking about real issues... really. It is absolutely the most fun I have at work every day. I actually get to laugh, be honest and show my personality (yes, a personality! Shocking!). It's a big change from the serious, child-killer, polygamy stories I usually do. Unfortunately for my husband, I often share stories about him that are not so flattering. I've been shocked in recent months to realize a LOT more people recognize me from radio than anything I've done on TV. On New Year's Eve, a woman at a convenience store recognized my voice before she ever looked up at me. I'm not bragging, I hope it doesn't sound like that. It's just very strange to be recognized purely from the way I sound.

This recognition has both pros and cons. First, I've had people call in with TV news story ideas because they heard me on the radio. But, it has its downside, too. My husband is being recognized for things he'd rather not be known for. A guy at the gym approached him and said "I hear you cry at movies all the time." Mr. TV Sports Guy LOVED that(truth be told, though, he DOES cry at a lot of movies). And, a lot of my freakish tendencies have become public because of things I've said on the radio. Everyone now knows I have freakishly-short T-Rex arms. And, most notably, Kalae Chock let it spill that I have a freakish obsession with Abe Lincoln. That has become the subject of a lot of conversations I've had over the last few months. AND, people are now bringing me their Abe Lincoln mementos. One guy brought me a head of Abe Lincoln he found outside a dumpster in Spokane. It is now a permanent fixture in my office. Check it out:

In short, I'm not complaining. I actually LOVE doing these brief radio gigs, as it's something totally different than what I do every day. So, keep listening - or start this week, if you haven't heard it before. I'll be on vacation this week so I won't be there, but I'm sure they'll find a way to make fun of me in my absence. But, if you listen, do me one favor: go easy on my husband! He has enough to deal with, trying to live up to Abe Lincoln.