Back on Memphis radio for now

Been a crazy last few days, but here is the deal. I am back on Memphis radio .... at least for now. I am filling in at the news desk at 600 WREC AM for Memphis Morning News, weekday mornings from 5:30-9am. As you may know, longtime news director Tonya J. Powers is now in New York City working at Fox News Radio! How cool for her. So I am excited to attempt to fill her shoes on the program.  I like to tell folks, if you happen to get tired of hearing the same song on FM radio, feel free to find me. :)

Maybe it's time to blog again......

Today I stumbled upon my blog......the blog I stopped writing the day I was let go from my radio home of over 18 years. I know many of you follow me on Facebook (KarenPerrinMemphis) or on Twitter @KarenPerrin901, but blog readers may think I'd fallen off the face of the earth. In fact, I have not. :) I have continued all my work with non profits...emceeing events, judging contests and serving on committees and boards. I've been doing the mom things....shuttling my two boys to almost every sport practice and event possible. Sometimes I cook, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I clean my house, sometimes I don't. So that part of my life has been business as usual. ;) I'll try to jump back here and blog more often...but in the meantime, please follow me on FB and Twitter for sure. I'm there most everyday. :)

Have an amazing day!

Where is Karen?

While at work on Thursday July 26th, 2012, I had no idea it would be my last day on the air. The radio station is taking the morning show in a different direction. While my bud Steve will remain, the new changes don't include me. I just want to thank you all so much for allowing me to be a part of your lives for the past 18 years whether on FM 100 or 94.1. I'll still be here with you on online, but my mornings won't be the same without you.

I may still blog here from time to time but best to find me on facebook www.facebook.com/KarenPerrinMemphis and/or on Twitter @KarenPerrin901

Thanks for googling me today and finding this post. :)

Midtown is Memphis

Midtown Memphis.

Until the day she died, my grandmother called Midtown her home. For 17 years I worked in Midtown. Over the last 10 years, I have taken my boys countless times to the Memphis Zoo in Midtown. Each time, I would make that long drive down Poplar, or sometimes take the interstate to Sam Cooper just to shake it up. Lately though, with my office in East Memphis, I don’t make the trek as often as I once did. But Saturday, it was time for the Cooper Young Festival and time return to Midtown. It is an annual tradition here in Memphis…..plenty of music, food and shopping. I took my youngest son with me. He begrudgingly went as a few years earlier when I took him he was burned by a passerby’s cigarette. No, he doesn’t remember the cool tie dye t-shirt I bought him that year, or the artwork we did….he remembers the guy who accidently burned him. But with the promise of a snow cone when we got there (and pretty much no other choice since my husband and other son were on a hockey trip) we made our way to Cooper Young. It was a gorgeous sunny day. The area was packed. Parking, as usual, was at a premium. The smells of Pronto Pups, crepes and I am pretty sure falafel burgers wafted through the air. Not only food vendors lined the streets, there were stages of music, clothing, jewelry, art and so much more. Our Classic Hits 94.1 KQK booth was set up by the main stage. I introduced the instrumental band Glorie (who were really good!) I met Karen Brown who was set to take the stage after them. I didn’t get to hear her, but with a name like Karen you know she had to be good. :) I also saw lots of friends I had not seen in a while, met many listeners and fb friends. It was a nice day.

As we left the festival, we took a few minutes to drive around the area where I worked all those 17 years, the WMC building. No longer does the big sign on the front of 1960 Union Avenue boast that big steamboat sign as home to both WMC radio and TV. Instead, the sign only reads Action News 5. I did notice on the side of the building was a big banner of my friend/former co-worker Dave Brown and that made me smile. I saw the corner of Union and Cooper that is no longer had a church but a drugstore, the Chick Fil A that (sadly for me) opened after my office moved to East Memphis. I saw the once new houses near the Zoo that now blend into the landscape, all looking majestic, yet disguising their more recent construction. I saw Snowden, the school where my dad and his brother and sister went to school. A school that is still there and, at last check, one that still performs well. My dad lives in Midtown, so we still make the drive on a regular basis. But on this day, we didn’t just hurry up and rush to his house. We took some time to (as Elvis would sing) stop, look and listen……. and remember why the bumper sticker from years ago read “Midtown is Memphis.”

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"Hey Karen, how you doing on that workout plan?"

How is the "new" workout plan going? I blogged about it.


Week 1: Recap Zumba, Zumba, Master Step!, Zumba, weekend off. (See previous blog for more details.)

Week 2: Started off with Monday Zumba…yes the busiest day of the week at the gym. I call it “Good luck finding a parking place Monday.” Then Wednesday of this week, I passed on the ol’ master step class. I got off work in time to go to a lunch class. This was labeled as a strength class for “special population.” What on earth did that mean? Later I gathered it was perhaps for those looking to start a program or as the instructor mentioned “empty nesters.” Could I hang with these women was my question? Perhaps I was younger than some, but all these ladies were regulars in this class and most appeared to be pretty fit. In this class they use “props”…I guess that is what you would call them….weights, a weight bar, giant fitness ball, bands etc. I was a bit overwhelmed but I got all the stuff situated around me, but decided to pass on the hand weights of any poundage as I got the feeling this was the class to cause the major burn factor. Good thing I went to that class too….I got in one more Zumba class that week...it was then…life got in the way of planned exercise

Week 3: My husband had eye surgery, so I missed Monday night Zumba, but took a midweek day off work and snuck in a Tuesday morning Kickboxing class. I liked it but can’t go again due to my work schedule. I think I did one more Zumba class that week, but that was it for the week. With my husband unable to drive, I was in single parent mode and it was tough to get to classes.

Week 4: Recovering husband, friend in town and work obligations fell at the same time as the classes I wanted to take. This made this week a complete bust. No classes at all for me. Thus, I am learning the downside of taking scheduled classes instead of working out on a machine whenever I have time. And class times have always been most difficult for me with my early morning schedule. I want more midday class options which don’t always exist.

Week 5: We went to the beach, vacation week…should I even write about week 5? Sure there was a fitness center at the condo……but I was on vacation! :) Hopefully that beach walking I did helped a little. :)

Here we go…entering week 6: Up 4 lbs from vacation and not having visited the gym in weeks, today is a new day. Exercise class tonight is my plan….however, if I am not at work tomorrow, we can all blame Zumba. :) lol

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Next time, I'll think first....

I try to buy products made in the United States whenever possible, so it is a bit ironic in my attempt to be patriotic, I ended up with junk labeled “Made in China.”


Here is my story, wanted to accessories with red, white and blue this Independence Day weekend. Since I thought of this hours before the event, my focus was finding said items…to be honest…who made them was the furthest thing from my mind…cute was the main thought. So I visited a couple of stores I don’t usually shop in but I knew would offer cute, colorful jewelry to fit the bill. Store Number One: I buy a set of royal blue and a set of red bangles. In Store Two (which I may have been in once since I got my ears pierced when I was 16) I found 4th of July themed jewelry 50% off…I bought 2 necklaces and a couple of hair accessories. Knowing the quality of what I was getting was pretty junky, I even joked with the salesperson and asked would my neck turn green the first time I wore it. (She said, not the first time.) =)

So, I am dressed and feeling cute and patriotic as I go to emcee the Collierville Independence Day celebration. Since I shopped so last minute it still has not occurred to me I am adorned in all imported junk jewelry…. until I got home. The second I pulled in the driveway, my necklace simply broke….the charms slid down into my bra (!) and the necklace down my back. Then I go inside, proceed to take my bracelets off and I am horrified to notice two inches of my arm at my wrist is bright blue! The stupid things faded from being in the heat. And as I type, my arm is still blue… all of it won’t scrub off! The lesson…buy American! Sadly, I bet I couldn’t have even found many similar red, white or blue items made in the USA. :( My simpleton answer? Let’s make more things in the USA! I’ll pay more…but in order to buy them, they must exist. :)


Happy Birthday America :)

On The Way to a New Me ... Week One. :)

My re-entry into the world of fitness.

Some of you may have seen my fb posts, if not you may not be aware of my re-entry into the world of physical fitness. A week ago Saturday, my boys wanted to go to the gym/spa where we have a family membership. They wanted to play basketball. Fine, I told my husband that they could go and I’d just stay home. Well, he wouldn’t go for that. I dug deep into my closet and found my bright white workout tennis shoes….not new, just rarely used.  Off we went to the fitness center that we joined last year but visited less than 5 times. As my boys (now 8 and 11 years old) hit the gym, I ran into my neighbor Michelle who asked if I was there for the Zumba class. When I said no, she said “Oh you should so try it.” At this moment I realized, I had a choice to make….work out with my husband and listen to his ridicule of how out of shape I had become….or go to Zumba………………… I chose Zumba. :)


My thoughts on fb after the first class: “Went to a Zumba class over the weekend...it reminded me of trying to learn dance steps at cheerleading camp when I was in high school…feeling uncoordinated and at least one "8 count" behind! lol And I know, I know…if I drag myself to a 2nd class it will be better…..right? ;)”


My thoughts after the second class: “Just got back from Zumba, 2nd class ever. My thoughts: 1) Doesn't really matter how bad you are, everyone else is either trying to figure it out too or so good they just want to look at their own self and 2) It is almost as challenging to find a place to park when you go to work out in the evening. :)”


First class was Saturday, second class Monday….but no Zumba class offered at my gym on Wednesday…back up plan. My thoughts after I obviously thought working out twice put me in the mindset I could do all the workout stuff I did when I was 17! Lol


My next post was “Perhaps a tactical error in my new workout plan. No Zumba offered tonight, so I attempted a step class instead...seems it was an advanced class...lol. I left early but am sure gonna feel that tomorrow. :)”


And here was my post the morning after! “ update: I am indeed paying today for that master step class last night... even though I only stayed for half I should have left when she said we were using two step benches....one in front and one in back....ouch.”


Week two update to follow…..since I am in the middle of it now!

:)