Explain in one sentence what it is you do.

I am a CBS weather anchor for WCIA-TV, responsible for forecasting the weather in central Illinois five days a week. Aug. 19 will be my 33rd year anniversary.

What time do you typically get up? What do you do the first hour of the morning?

I usually get up between 7 and 7:30 in the morning and the first thing I do is feed my 16-year-old cat, Misty, and spend some snuggle time with her. I then vacuum the carpets. She sheds, and my husband is allergic. Then it is time to hit the exercise room, treadmill, weights, elliptical. Twice a week I bike for 10 miles.

What did you have for lunch today? Where? Who with?

Today, I had lunch at home sitting on our deck, watching our beautiful pond swan, Sophie, enjoying the solitude with a ham and provolone cheese sandwich, some fruit and my book. It was glorious.

Best high school memory?

Friday night football games. I was a cheerleader and we had pep rallies, bonfires, snake dances ... the smell of fall ... cherry Cokes at the local corner drugstore and bowling alley. The entire town shut down and everybody came to the Friday night football games. Still great memories.

Tell me about your favorite pair of shoes.

A pair of decadent high heels that I wear only for special occasions and only for a couple of hours. They kill my feet. Black strap satin with a bow and rhinestones on the side. I will always keep them because they make me feel special.

What does a perfect Sunday afternoon include?

Sundays are special. After church, if the weather permits, a round of golf with my husband. Coming home, cooking out, sitting on the deck watching the sun go down and maybe watching a movie. Perfect!

Was there one book you read as a child that you still cherish? Own? Read?

I have a first edition copy of the book "Little Women" given to me by my grandmother that I cherish. I still have it and reread it every once in a while. It reminds me of my grandmother whose love of books I inherited.

Where on Earth are you dying to go? Why?

Monaco. Prince Albert, who was a young teenager, baby-sat for my children years ago and he always told me to come and visit him at the palace. He probably wouldn't even remember me, but I still would love to see the beauty of that principality.

Tell me about your favorite pet.

I love animals and have outlived more than my share of cats and dogs but my very first pet was a white rabbit that I simply named "Cottontail." Ingenious of me, wasn't it? I loved that bunny. My dad made him his own hutch but I would secretly smuggle him into my room at night. He made the softest pillow.

Have you discovered as you matured that you are becoming like one of your parents? Which one and how?

I have always been more like my father. He never met a stranger, and my love of people comes from him but as I mature I am becoming more like my mother, who was a gentle soul full of beautiful wisdom, and according to my children, I am becoming more like Grandma every day. "Now that's exactly what Grandma would have done." I am pretty proud of that.

What would you order for your last meal?

My last meal would consist of barbecued lamb chops, grilled by my husband. Risotto with asparagus. A spinach salad with arugula, pecans, gorgonzola cheese, a few strawberries and the 'piece de resistance' for me, a hot fudge sundae with mint ice cream and lots of pecans as a topper. I definitely have a sweet tooth.

What can you NOT live without?

My children, my grandbabies, my husband, my cat, my books and my friends. I could not do without them.

Who do you have on your iPod?

I am very eclectic. Beethoven, Carly Simon, Luther Vandross, Foreigner, Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Faith Hill, Jim Brinkman, Lionel Richie. To name just a few.

What's the happiest memory of your life?

Other than the birth of my children, my wedding to my husband, Lou. He healed my heart, and I saved his, and we both were given a second chance of happiness culminating in our marriage 10 years ago, when my two sons walked me half way down the aisle to my beloved father who walked me the rest of the way. That is the most cherished memory.

If you could host a dinner party with anyone – living or dead – which three people would you invite?

Katharine Hepburn, whom I greatly admired and had the opportunity to interview many years ago in a morning TV show in Boston, Mass. Dr. Seuss. I love his books. And I would love to have one last dinner with my father.

What's the best piece of advice you've given?

I told a young weather anchor, years ago, who was very talented and very ambitious, to remember that when climbing up the ladder of success, that he should always be respectful to the people he was passing up, because you never know, if you fall back down that ladder you are going to pass by those very same people. I hope he took the message to heart; I have kind of lost track of him through the years.

What's the best piece of advice you've received?

My mom told me one time that we are all born into this world with certain talents. We all have them and we are all different but those talents are only on loan from God, and as with any loan that we accumulate in life, be it a car, a college education, a home, we have a responsibility to pay it back and the way you pay back a "life loan," as she put it, is to give back, to share those talents with your fellow human beings. I have always tried to live my life that way.

What was your first job, and how much did you make an hour?

My first real job other than baby-sitting at 10 cents an hour was a cashier at our local movie theater, and I think I made 50 cents an hour.

Do you have a bad habit? What is it?

I guess my worst habit is I just can't sit still for very long, relax, get off the treadmill, slow down – whatever you call it. I just feel there is still so much I want to do and accomplish before the sand runs out of the bottom of my hourglass.

How do you handle a stressful situation?

I have always had a certain amount of stress in my life, especially in my job: "Lights, Camera, Action (Live)" in a window of time you have to adhere to. It's like opening night of a play or a three-minute extemporaneous speech every night, and add to that severe weather which affects people's lives and property and you have got major stress. My best way of dealing with stress is a lot of deep breathing and exercise. There's nothing like a long invigorating walk or bicycle ride and I've got my "feet back on the ground and my mind in cruise control."

What was a pivotal decision in your career, and how did you arrive at that decision?

When I graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in broadcast journalism in the field of communication, there were few opportunities for women in television other than children's programs. I was Miss Judy on "Romper Room School," hosting the afternoon theater and cooking shows. I was given the opportunity to be part of the local newscast as the weather anchor. My background was not in meteorology but I felt so strongly that I did not want to be the typical "weather girl" of that time, and I knew if I were going to be credible I would have to have the education to back it up, so I went back to the university and spent a year at the National Weather Service in Madison, Wis., as an apprentice before I ever ventured before the television audience. Probably the best career decision I ever made.