Trei Johnson's Blog

I got very sad news from my mom yesterday. My cousin, who has AIDS, is pregnant. She already has 2 children that her mother takes care of because she is addicted to crack.  A couple of years ago, she got so sick, we didn't think she would live much longer. Now...she's pregnant! I'm not sure who will take care of this child, but it sickens and saddens me that this poor defenseless baby will be born with a disease that has no cure. The worst part is that it could have been prevented. It also makes me wonder how a woman that doesn't take care of the children she has and is infected with AIDS, is given the blessing of a another child. While there are other couples that are married for years, healthy and dying to have children. I know you're not supposed to question the "Higher Power", but it does make me wonder.  I just hope a miracle happens and he or she is born healthy!

Hey Moms!! I found a website that is FANTASTIC!! It's a web community where you can ask questions, get advice, give advice, review businesses, form play groups and more!  I just signed up and found great topics and good advice. Sometimes it's just nice to know that you're not the only one with certain issues. If you'd like to give it a try go to www.mamasource.com.  You'll have to put in your email address and your zip code and then voila! It takes you to your local community!  Good Luck!

I don't understand the IPhone Phrenzy!! I'll admit I'm not much of a Gadget Girl.  I have a MP3 player on my phone and I've probably used it 10 times.  So, there's no chance of me spending $600 bucks for a phone.

On June 29th the iPhone, which combines a wireless phone with music and video-playing capabilities and Web browsing, comes out.  The device is one of the most highly anticipated U.S. product launches of the year.

Here are some key facts about the iPhone.

* Its main feature is a 3.5-inch touch-sensitive screen with one physical button. Programs are accessed by touching icon and text is entered with an on-screen keyboard.

 * It costs either $500 or $600 depending on whether it has 4 gigabytes or 8 gigabytes of flash memory.

* It has Wi-Fi wireless technology for high-speed Internet Access and Bluetooth for use with wireless accessories and other devices.

* It has a 2-megapixel camera.

AT&T has exclusive rights to the phone for at least two years.

Granted, this phone is very cool!  But cool enough to stand in line and then spend $5-$600 bucks for it?  Not me. What about you??

 

Am I the only one who is sick of Paris Hilton stories? Why are we counting the days that she's locked up?  I agree with covering her when she was let out of jail. And I think coverage when she got sent back to jail made sense. But to cover every single day this girl is behind bars....I think it's ridiculous.  I get that people are facinated with the rich, but to this extreme?  Are we more concerned with a rich princess going to jail for breaking the law continuously, than we are for the men and women fighting for our freedom? I'm hoping the answer is no and that the media are just misguided in their news coverage.

Wednesday night was one of the most embarrassing nights of my life!  I took Jordyn out to Ruby Tuesday (I love their salad bar) for dinner. When the waitress brought the check I handed her my debit card. 2 minutes later she brought it back and asked if I had another card because it had been declined. Since I had just made a deposit an hour earlier I knew something was amiss. I called the automated system that told me I had plenty of money to cover the $19.55 bill. I told the waitress to try again. She did....it didn't work.  I checked my wallet and I only had $18 in cash!! I asked if they'd take a check for the balance and the tip (there is money in my account, really), they couldn't.  The manager tells me not to worry, he'd cover of the rest. Then a kind woman sitting across from me said she'd pay the balance! I was touched and humiliated all at the same time.  I told her thank you, but no thanks and ran out the door to head home to grab my other credit card (if I carry them, I WILL spend money).  I went back to Ruby Tuesday and paid ALL of the bill. Unfortunaely the nice lady was gone, so she thinks I'm either broke or a scammer. The manager thanked me profusely and said most people wouldn't have come back. Later that night after calling the bank and holding for about 20 minutes....I found out their computer systems were offline! They said the problem should be fixed by the morning. I'm going shopping today....those computers better not embarrass me again!!

So, am I the only one this has ever happened to?

I got this as an email from my friend Bernard and thought I'd share them with you! They sound great.  Good Luck

GREAT TIPS:

  1. Reheat Pizza
  Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove , set
  heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No
  soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really
  works.

  2. Easy Deviled Eggs
  Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal , mash till they are all
  broken up. Add remainder of ingredients , reseal , keep mashing it up
  mixing thoroughly , cut the tip of the baggy , squeeze mixture into egg.
  Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

  3. Expanding Frosting
  When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store , whip it with
  your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to
  frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar
  and calories per serving.

  4. Reheating refrigerated bread
  To warm biscuits , pancakes , or muffins that were refrigerated , place
  them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will
  keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

  5. Newspaper weeds away
  Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet
  newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with
  mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening
  plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

  6. Broken Glass

  Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass
  you can't see easily.

  7. No More Mosquitoes
  Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

  8. Squirrel Away!
  To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
  cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the
  squirrels won't come near it.

  9. Flexible vacuum
  To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an
  empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be
  bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

  10. Reducing Static Cling
  Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a
  clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when
  wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static
  is gone.

  11. Measuring Cups
  Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot
  water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your
  ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right
  out.

  12. Foggy Windshield?
  Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the
  glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works
  better than a cloth!

  13. Reopening envelope
  If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include
  something inside , just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an
  hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

  14. Conditioner
  Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than
  shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way
  to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it
  in your hair...

  15. Goodbye Fruit Flies
  To get rid of pesky fruit flies , take a small glass fill it 1/2" with
  Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid , mix well. You
  will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

  16. Get Rid of Ants
  Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it , take it
  "home", can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,
  especially if it rains , but it works & you don't have the worry about
  pets or small
  children being harmed!

  17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
  The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things
  around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and
  he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean.
  (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He
  told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to
  the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh
  material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.
  WELL...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through
  it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh
  that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film , but
  it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft
  and static free - that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel
  waxy when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on
  your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer
  units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He
  said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to
  keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with
  hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six
  months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!
  How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know
  dryer sheets would do that. So , I thought I'd share!
  Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The
  water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the
  mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I had
  it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right Thru
  the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what
  he was talking about!

Tuesday morning Tom was reading a quick story about the pet poll we have here on myfoxorlando.com. While he was reading we were showing all kinds of animals. At the end I said: "I think my cat is pregnant". Just as I said that the story changed to an update of Jennifer Kesse, there was a picture of her over his shoulder. Tom, in this awkward situation, handled things very well.  He kinda gave me a look of 'okay, where did that come from?'. But here's what wasn't relayed over the air....I was going to ask you, the viewers, to tell me how I can tell for sure that my feline is pregnant, and to blog me with any information. But I never got the chance.  That's unfortunately what happens on live tv.  Ooops!  Sorry about that everyone...I'll start asking for blogs about my kitties when I know this won't happen again.

I told you a couple of weeks ago about a new Good News franchise we're starting here at Fox 35.  I received lots of support from viewers and bloggers. But.....I didn't get enough stories.  Do you know anyone who deserves recognition for the great things they do? Someone who is constantly doing for others and never utters a complaint?  The kind of person that is raising 2 kids alone, volunteers at a soup kitchen and reads to elderly patients on the weekend.  Do you know anyone like that?  If you do...PLEASE email me at trei.johnson@foxtv.com. We'd love to talk to him or her and do a feature story on their life!

  A Michigan cop isn't getting any jail time...in fact...he's not getting punished at all for keeping confiscated marijuana and then baking brownies with his wife and chowing them down! 

Let me back up.  A police officer arrested a guy who had weed in the car, instead of turning it in to the police department he took it home!  That's right he took the pot home and he and his wife decided to bake pot brownies. Problem is they got too high and had to call 911.  On a 5-minute tape of the call he told an emergency dispatcher he thought he and his wife were overdosing on marijuana. Evidently he said he thought he and his wife were dead and they needed an ambulance.

Sanchez originally told investigators that his wife took the marijuana out of his cop car while he was sleeping. He later admitted that he got the marijuana out of the car himself and put it in the brownie mix, police said. 

So no charges, no jail time. The only good outcome is that he is no longer a cop!  What do you think? Should this guy have been punished? Or was his slap on the wrist enough?

There's a new study that say's less people are getting divorced, probably because more people are living together. It's great news divorce is down, but is shacking up the solution?  I was talking to a guy that just got married, he lived with his wife a year before they tied the knot. He said living together proved they were compatible. I was raised that you live with someone ONLY if you're married to them or, at the very, least engaged. I think men have the whole 'Why buy the cow if you get the milk for free' mentality.  So, is my way of thinking old fashioned? Is it better to live with someone before marrying them?  If you live with someone is the man less likely to fully commit?  And lastly, do most men want to live with women they don't think are good enough to marry?  

Wait until you hear this story!  A $10 dry cleaning bill for a pair of trousers has ballooned into a $67 million civil lawsuit. Plaintiff Roy Pearson, who is also a judge in Washington, D.C., is suing a dry cleaners for losing his pants. Pearson says in court papers that he has endured "mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort." The Chung's lost his pants the first time in 2002. They gave him $150 for them.  Then about 3 years later, Pearson says they lost his pants again.  First, they offered him $3,000 in compensation, then $4600, and finally $12,000.  Pearson refused.  Now he wants $67 million dollars.

According to court papers, here's how Pearson calculates the damages and legal fees: He believes he is entitled to $1,500 for each violation, each day during which the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign and another sign promising "Same Day Service" was up in the store -- more than 1,200 days. And he's multiplying each violation by three because he's suing Jin and Soo Chung and their son. He also wants $500,000 in emotional damages and $542, 500 in legal fees, even though he is representing himself in court. He wants $15,000 for 10 years' worth of weekend car rentals as well.

How absurd is this?? To me it's even worse that this man is a Judge, someone who is supposed to uphold and honor the law...not abuse it!  I feel even worst for the Chung's who have had to pay legal fees for 2 years on this ridiculous case.  What do you think??  Is this guy entitled to $67 million dollars for a pair of pants??

I hear all the time that viewers are tired of all the BAD news!  Now, Fox 35 wants to change all that!! Tom Johnson does What's Right With Our Schools and now I will be doing something similar....What's Right With Our Community (the name is still being decided).

But I need your help!  Do you know someone that is selfless, hardworking, determined and loving, and is constantly giving back to the community?? I'm talking about the single mom who works 2 jobs, is raising 2 kids and still manages to volunteer at the local retirement home?  Or, a person that despite many obstacles and challenges has managed to overcome his struggles to become a mentor?  If you do, post your story here or email me at trei.johnson@foxtv.com. Isn't it about time Central Florida heard some GOOD news??  

This is an excerpt from an Associate Press article:

Rural Georgia high school holds first integrated prom. For the first time, the faces of students at the Turner County High School prom were both white and black. Each year, in spite of integration, the school’s white students had raised money for their own unofficial prom and black students did the same to throw their own separate party, an annual ritual that divided the southern Georgia peanut-farming county anew each spring.

I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but isn't this kinda sad? We've been sending people to the moon for years, can clone sheep and our technology is out of this world...but racism and segregation still exist! I'm proud of this group of seniors for finally taking a stand to end this old tradition. But why didn't the classes before them take action?  What do you think??  Should we be proud or saddened?

I picked my daughter up from school the other day so we could have some one on one time together. We went to Ruby Tuesday's at the Seminole Town Center, they have a salad bar to die for! Anyway, we sat outside because it was just beautiful, there were already 2 women on the patio. About 5 minutes into our dinner, one woman began to swear. I ignored it. As she drank more, she swore more and she got louder. By the 3rd expletive (it rhymes with witch)I had enough. Here's how the conversation went

Cusser: "That *witch* picked up his phone."

Trei: Ma'am, my daughter is only 11, she really doesn't need to hear that."

Cusser:"Just eat your food"

Trei: "I'll do as I please. But I need you to stop swearing."

Cusser: "She's never heard swear words?"

Trei: "She doesn't hear that from me"

Cusser: "It's not my fault your daughters sheltered."

Trei: "Do I have to go get the manager?"

Cusser: "Do what you want"

I then got up and got the manager. She told them she didn't know *witch* was a swear word. He told them he disagreed and that they had to stop. They did, but they made snide comments the remainder of the time.

So what is the deal? Is it now appropriate to not only cus in public, but in front of kids too? Am I the only one that's seeing this more and more? Is there anything we can do to stop it?

"Will you shut up?"  It seems that was the consensus among the Fox 35 staff when I lost my voice Thursday morning. I didn't think I sounded that bad, but the more I talked the worst I sounded and the more my head and throat hurt.  Then my Executive Producer snatched me off the desk, and poor Tom had to do the 8am show all by himself!  Sorry Tom, I would've stayed. Then to top it off, as I was leaving the studio, Efrain, one of the production crewmembers, said my voice was annoying!! Isn't that sweet?

So, how do I keep from getting sick?  This is my 3rd or 4th time this year!! It's irritating (I'm sure my managers agree)! Do you have any 'stay healthy' tips you can give me?  At this point I'll try anything!