Andrea_Robinson's Blog

Hi Everyone!

   Well I am back from my few days off! My husband and I had such a great time in San Francisco. It was so cold (by my standards, I am a Phx native afterall)! I looked like such the tourist, with my 10 dollar San Francisco fleece that I bought on the street. The highs were around 65 degrees, lows in the 50's. It was absolutely beautiful! We saw all the sights, rode bikes across the Golden Gate into Sausalito then to Tiburon, ate way too much food, rode the cable cars and walked at ton! Sounds great, right? Well, here is the big bummer, Chris and I bought a camera when we got there, a fairly nice one. Ours was old and hasn't taken a decent quality picture in some time, so we thought what the heck, let's bite the bullet and get it, that was Sunday, by Monday night we had lost the brand new camera with all of our pictures! We called the cab company, the ferry service, and the restaurant and nothing turned up. Not only were we out the money, but all the pictures I said I would share with you are gone. It was not the best way to end the trip, but nonetheless, we had a fantastic time, I appreciate all of you suggestions for things to do and places to eat, we got through a lot of them!

Hi All!

  We have several road closures happening this weekend. The big one is taking place on the Loop 101. Northbound Loop 101 will be closed from Baseline to Rio Salado Pkwy from 11pm tonight until Monday morning at 5am. Crews are continuing to work on the carpool lane addition. You will have to exit at Baseline and use the frontage road to Rio Salado Pkwy and then re-enter the freeway. There are several other mini closures off and on this weekend, we put the complete list on our website, under the traffic tab. Hope you have a safe and fun weekend!

Hi all!

    I am going on vacation this weekend, my husband and I are headed to San Francisco! I am so excited, its my first time there. I actually gave the trip to Chris for our wedding. The weather forecast is 65 for a high and 55 for the low...that's chilly in my book. Anyway, I'd love some recommendations...where to eat? what to see? what to do? We are only gonna be there for a couple of nights and 3 days. If you have ideas, send them our way, Chris and I would love some direction. I will take some pictures and show you guys when I get back.

Just a quick note for all...there will be no road closures over the 4th of July holiday weekend. Great news for all of you getting out of town...but if you are heading out be sure to leave yourself some extra time the freeways will be very busy this afternoon. Hope you all have a safe and fun 4th! Enjoy your long weekend.

A quick traffic heads up to all of you...the Eastbound I-10 will be restricted near the I-17 Stack tonight. It will be narrowed to 2 lanes from 35th avenue to the I-17. Crews will be out laying rubberized asphalt on that portion of the 10. Work will begin tonight at 9pm and will re-open by 5am, just in time for the morning commute. Have a great rest of the day and happy travels!

I am headed to Disneyland tonight! We will be live all morning long tomorrow. The brand new Toy Story Mania ride is opening up and Disney is letting me check it all out. If you have plans to head to Disney this summer then be sure to check it out. I am excited, I will let you know how it is when I get back on Wednesday!

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to let everyone know about a great event going on Saturday night (June 14). It is the 2008 National Public Safety League Championship Game. The FDNY(NY Firefighters and Police) taking on The Phoenix Thunder. They are playing at 7pm at Cortez High School (31st Ave and Dunlap) The Phoenix Thunder (www.phoenixthunder.com) is a non-profit organization of police officers and firefighters from across the valley who compete in tackle football games to raise money for local charities. The Thunder competes in the National Public Safety League(www.npsfl.com), a league consisting of 24 teams of public safety professionals across the country. The Thunder has chosen to support 2 charities for this season, the 100 Club of Arizona, which provides financial assistance to families of public safety officers who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. They are also supporting the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides assistance to those men and women of our armed forces who have been severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations around the world. Tickets are 10 bucks to get in, and I invite all of you, your families, and your kids to come and enjoy are great ball game! I look forward to seeing all of you and thank you for helping to support a wonderful cause.  Have a fantastic weekend!

This morning we were talking about how one valley company is footing the gas bill for their employees, sounds too good to be true, well there is a catch but I have to say I would definitely do it if it meant free gas. Jobing.com is paying for their employees to fill up their tank, and all they have to do is wrap their car in that plastic film, you know for advertising purposes. That's it! The company has been offering it for sometime now, but with the cost of gas prices soaring, they have seen many more of their employees signing up for the program. I would have absolutely no problem driving around with my company's logo plastered on my car if it meant saving hundreds of dollars a month! Would you do it?

Father's Day is on Sunday, so how will you be spending it? Are you and the kids doing anything special for dad? I am making breakfast for my dad. We have been doing it for the last few years and he loves way more than going out. Last year I made omelets for everyone, but this year I'm doing a breakfast casserole..we have the entire menu picked out..I went online and found all the recipes. I think in the end it will definitely be cheaper than going out to eat, but regardless it is just so much more relaxing. I will let you know how it turns out. I'd love to hear what you all are doing, what about gifts, cards?

The weekend is here but getting around Scottsdale may be tough. Lots of constructin going on the Loop 101. Starting tonight at 10:30pm the Eastbound lanes of the 101 from 56th st to Scottsdale Rd will be closed until Monday at 5am. Durning that time the Westbound lanes between Scottsdale Rd and 56th st will be shutdown from Saturday at 5am to 6am Sunday. You will have to use Union Hills or Bell Rd. Avoid it if you can, those surrounding surface streets will be busy. There are several other minor restrictions taking place over the weekend, to get those, click on the traffic tab on this website. Hope you all have a nice weekend, be safe!

Yesterday Chef Scott showed us how to make some simple and delicious snacks for the the upcoming Superbowl(the recipes are on our website, just click on the AZAM tab). I don't know about you but the food on Superbowl Sunday is one of my favorite parts of the big game. My favorite is guacamole and chips, all different types! Have you begun planning what you're gonna make or bring to your party? What are your favorite snacks to enjoy while watching the game?

Today, ADOT is unveiling 12 freeway drive time signs, with hopes it will help estimate your commute from point A to point B. For example, the signs will give an estimation as to how long it will take you to go from the inbound I-10 from the west valley to the stack. Six signs will be up along the inbound lanes of the most traveled freeways during the morning commute and the other six with be present for the outbound commute in the afternoon. Diane Ryan will have more information on this coming up in a live report in our 7am hour. So, do you think these signs will be helpful or is your commute just tough no matter what?

As many of you may know, I got a puppy about a week ago. Her name is Lilah and she is a 7 week old yellow lab. She is precious but also very "busy". She is into everything! We are crate training her and she is slowly getting used to it. The first couple of nights were bad, she cried the whole time. The last 2 nights she has slept through the night. She loves to chew! I have tons of chew toys but those don't seem to be good enough. Puppies are a lot of work but so worth it! I love her dearly and everytime I see her I light up. My question to all of you dog lovers and owners...Do you have any good tried and true training suggestions? I am all ears! Thanks!

P.S. I will post pictures soon!

Just a couple of road closures to let you know about this weekend. Downtown Phoenix will be restricted starting tonight...Westbound I-10 from 7th St to 7th Ave beginning at 11pm tonight and reopening on Saturday at 5am. WB traffic will have to exit at 7th St and use McDowell Rd then reconnect onto the 10 at 7th Ave. Folks in the North Valley....watch out for the NB I-17 closure. That will be closed at the Carefree Hwy starting at 10pm Sunday, reopening at 5am on Monday. Southbound will be narrowed to 1 lane at that same section from 9pm Sunday to 5am Monday. One more note...several on-ramps will be closed along the Loop 101 from the West Valley to the East Valley for installation of the traffic lights that will improve the flow of traffic getting onto the freeway. I know lots of you will be out and about this weekend running errands and doing your Christmas shopping so thought I'd give you the heads up on some of the minor closures that are happening around the valley. Take care and have a safe and fun weekend!

Okay...I have a confession...for the last week I have started listening to Christmas music! I think this is the earliest in all the years that I have given in to my guilty pleasure. If I could listen to Christmas music all year long then you bet I would! I have satellite radio in my car and there is a station called 'Holly' , they started with the tunes on November 1st. The 'Sounds of the Season' station on Cox has also started.  To go along with the music I also started shopping too! I love the holiday time...Thanksgiving is my favorite! The smells, the people, the sounds, everything is different, in a good way! So...do you think I am crazy? You know...listening to "Jingle Bells" this early! What are your favorite things about this time of year?