Hi! I grew up in a one-stoplight town in rural Nebraska and my whole family still lives there with three churches, a bar, and a courthouse. I left because I like lots of people and taller buildings, and I don't like cold weather. On those rare days in Texas when it gets snowy and icy, you'll find me inside Googling beach vacations. I don't plan to leave Texas now that I've been here for most of my adult life because the barbecue and fajitas are just way too addictive. I've worked in radio from the moment I graduated from college at the University of Nebraska, and besides getting the hang out with cool people like you every day, I love sports, great restaurants, self improvement, and meeting new people. I love all movies starring Melissa McCarthy or Julia Roberts, and all TV shows with home improvements or food in them. You'll probably hear me talk about my three daughters on the air, along with the challenges of being a single mom. I'm on several of the dating apps, because trying to meet someone in person these days is way too creepy.
Jen Austin
When Do You Take Down the Christmas Tree?
Now that Christmas is over, it's probably time to take down the tree. For most of us anyway. One percent of the population leaves the tree up all year! You know who you are.
How long is too long? Most people take down the tree by early January, and some of us ripped it down as soon as the last present was passed out.
Weight Loss Program Starts January 7th in Tyler
Every year around the holidays, many of us eat a ton, and then a week later we wonder why in the world we did that to ourselves. Because it tasted good!
If you had to give up the skinny jeans for looser pants this week you're not alone. Carrie Underwood said on Twitter this week, "Had a great Christmas! Lots of family and lots of FOOOOD!!! Had to put the sweatpants on! #stuffedandhappy"
Longview Church Remembers Newtown Victims
Many images are imprinted on our minds after the Newtown, Connecticut shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, but perhaps one of the most impressive and peaceful images is that of the 26 wooden angels that were erected on a hillside, in memory of the twenty students and six adults that were shot and killed December 14th.
One Longview church has put up a display of their own to honor the Newtown victim
Get a Gift Card You Don’t Want? Trade it for Cash!
Gift cards are more popular than ever it seems. They were an easy gift this year for many of us, and quite a few of us received them too.
The research firm CEB TowerGroups says around $110 billion worth of gift cards were sold this year in the United States, up ten percent over 2011.
But if you received one you don't want, you can exchange it for cash.
Here's how it works.
If You’re Returning Gifts, Know the Rules
As Christmas winds down, your family may be setting some gifts aside to be returned. It happens to us all. And some stores prep by stacking up 12-packs of Coke and making a maze, anticipating an onslaught of returns. They want to keep the lines orderly as we stand there waiting to exchange a bad sweater.
If you have items to return, it's important to know the rules. Some stores have tightene
Dreaming of a Wet Christmas?
So it's not white. It's a wet Christmas.
The rumbles of thunder make it seem more like April than December, and if you're traveling today expect the rain showers to continue until around 3pm. Rain chances decrease after that, but are still possible through tonight. If there is precipitation falling tonight when the temperatures turn even colder, a smidge of snow hasn't been ruled out.
Kids Get Ready to Track Santa
If your kids are anything like mine, every time they look up into the sky right now and see anything that's not a cloud, the moon, the sun, or the stars, they think it's Santa. If they see a white tail behind an airplane, they think it must be the dust left behind by Santa's reindeer. Young kids across the globe may be hovered around a computer soon with their parents, tracking Santa's every move.
Longview Restaurant Patrons Burst Into Song
We've heard of flash mobs, that pop up suddenly in public places and dance.
Now perhaps East Texas is starting a new trend of song mobs. Those eating dinner inside a Longview Restaurant Saturday night sang a Christmas song together.
City of Tyler to Offer Christmas Tree Recycling
This weekend your Christmas tree is probably well-lit and gorgeous, standing watch over a multitude of neatly-wrapped gifts and providing a warm holiday glow in the living room. This is the best weekend of the year for the tree.
On Wednesday, the tree will be bare of gifts and the kids will be playing their new Wii games while you start thinking about the task of taking down the decorations and t
New Traffic Signal is Going Up in Tyler
Tyler is getting a new traffic light right after the Christmas holiday.
This is a busy travel weekend, and the constant buzz on the roads should hit a lull between Christmas and New Year's Eve. That will give drivers in Tyler a chance to ease into the habit of stopping at one extra place near TJC and UT Tyler.
Travelers Hit the Road for Christmas
By Monday and Tuesday we'll be sitting comfortably around the Christmas tree, sipping egg nog with family and trying to figure out how in the world a Furby really works.
In the meantime, it's a big ole traffic jam! Today and tomorrow are two of the busiest travel days of the year.
Triple A estimates 7.7 million Texans will be traveling more than 50 miles from home between Saturday and January 1. M