Ask Casey No. 2
My former life as a TV news reporter, my least fave part of my home, my thoughts on skin lasers, and more.
Hi friends!
Welcome to “Ask Casey” here on Substack! This series used to live on my blog, but it feels like this platform is a better fit for more casual and conversational content like this.
If you have a question, drop it below, and I’ll do my best to answer it next month!
What did 21-year-old Casey think she would be doing at age 36? Certainly not being a content creator!
Ha! I love this question. Ever since I was in middle school, I wanted to grow up and be a news reporter. My ideal job was to be like Katie Couric on The Today Show. I loved writing and storytelling, and as a dancer, I enjoyed performing and being in front of a crowd. I thought it was a good way to mix my intellectual strengths with my personality.
I went to Notre Dame to study Film, Television, & Theatre and journalism. At school, I got a lot of great writing experience and hands-on production work with video shooting and editing. During my summers, I interned at every single news station in Chicago to gain experience and create a “resume reel” of all of my on-camera work.
If you want to start in TV news, you typically start in a small market and slowly work your way up to bigger ones. During my senior year of college, my mom and I visited all of the small markets around the midwest and I dropped off my resume and DVDs of my work to each news station. We made a big road trip out of it and I still remember it vividly! It was so much fun.
A few months later, I got an email from a news director from a small town in Wisconsin (Wausau) and she said she could hire me as a one-man band journalist for their station. I was thrilled. I moved to this tiny town where I didn’t know a soul the week after graduation and dove into work.
I worked as a one-man-band reporter, which meant that I was the videographer/editor/reporter all in one. Every morning, I would come in and pitch story ideas and I would then get my assignment for the day. I’d make calls and try to be out the door as quickly as possible to go capture the interviews and video that I would need to bring my story to life.
I’d then drive all over town, interviewing people, getting video, etc., and come back to the station in the early afternoon to write and edit my story. Then, I would present my story for the 5 pm and 6 pm newscasts and then record another segment for the 10 pm news. It’s hard for me to remember all of the exact details, but I believe my schedule was about 8 am-7 pm, working Wednesday-Saturday. I then did a stint anchoring the weekend news, toward the end of my time in Wausau. It was a super fast-paced job and I was just kinda thrown into the fire! But wow, I absolutely loved it, except for the shitty pay and weird hours. Here’s my reporting reel from back in the day. Cringe-worthy if you ask me!
I made barely any money, but it was one of my favorite times in my life! I’m still friends with so many of my former coworkers.
I left Wisconsin in 2011 and headed to St. Louis. There, I worked as an on-camera host and video producer for Anheuser-Busch. This job was a lot slower-paced than my news career had been, plus I had videographers and editors at my fingertips to do those parts of the job for me. That was great, because the quality of my work skyrocketed thanks to those pros!
I traveled a lot for this job, heading around the country to interview wholesalers, cover Bud Light events, and even interview celebrities. Here’s a look at my hosting reel and my producer reel to get a sense of the kind of stories I did.
I ended up starting the blog while I was working there because, if I’m honest, I was kinda bored. I was used to the “go go go” life of a news reporter and at Anheuser-Busch things were much slower. I spent about three years in St. Louis and then moved to Chicago to work for WGN as a producer, where I won two Emmys for a Home Improvement Show I produced.
It’s interesting looking back on my decade-long career in TV and video. I feel like much of it was setting me up for where I am today! And no, I don’t have any plans to return to television, unless it is in a DIY/design capacity.
So, to answer the original question…I definitely thought that by age 36 I would be a news anchor in Chicago, or better yet New York!
However, I think everything worked out exactly as it should. I now run my own successful business (and it’s a lot more lucrative than working in local TV news. ha!). I still use many of the same skills - writing, editing, storytelling - just in a different way!
I think 21-year-old Casey would be surprised by where I landed, but also incredibly proud!
How are you balancing spending time with both kids? I’m also a mom of two and I’m so excited to have a 5-year-old who can do really fun stuff with me, but my other is 2 and that’s a different vibe. I’m trying to figure out how to not favor one over the other.
The struggle is real with this one and we are a constant work in progress to make sure we’re spending equal quality time with each kiddo.
Right now, Ellis is in a huge daddy phase, whereas Rory is in a huge mommy phase. And for a while, we were just going along with that to make life easier. For example, I would put Rory to bed most nights because that’s what she wanted. And that was only making their parent preferences worse.
We eventually put an end to that and now we switch off every night so we can each have special alone time with the kids. It has helped!
As for fun activities, we’ve built in alone time with each kid and our schedules. On Wednesdays, I pick Rory up from school and we have a special snack at home. Then I take her to swim lessons for the evening while Finn gets alone time with Ellis.
On Saturdays, Finn takes Rory to her math camp while I have a special date to Starbucks and the park with Ellis.
I totally get the older kid vs. younger kid thing and how that makes things difficult. Ellis is almost 3.5 and is getting to a better age to do things together, but for some things, he is still too little. It’s a lot easier to go get my nails done with Rory and then head out to lunch because she is almost 5 and is great company. Plus, Rory has no afternoon nap to work around.
Growing up, my dad often took my brothers on fun “boys’ outings” (sports games, fishing, etc) and it always stung to not be included because I was a girl. I want to make sure that we spend quality time with each of our kids and that one isn’t ever excluded because of their gender.
Long story short, we try our best to be aware of it and fall short sometimes.
What’s the incredible throw blanket you always recommend?
I feel like I talk about a lot of blankets, but my guess is this follower is talking about this one because we probably have six of these in our home. Every person in our house has their own and we even got small ones for the kiddos for nap time. It’s so soft and gets better and better with every wash.
New to our house is this weighted blanket. This is currently on our bed and while it’s not soft and cozy like a traditional blanket, it’s very soothing being under the 15-pound weight of this thing. I get in bed at night, put this thing on top of me, and wow…instant relaxation!
What’s your least favorite part of your house?
I struggled to think of a good answer to this one because I’ve transformed just about every inch of this home into something that works for our family. However, two spots come to mind.
Our basement: It’s probably my least favorite spot in the house. I’ve certainly made great use of the space with the gorgeous mural, space room, and cozy lounge seating. However, the low ceilings do kinda kill the vibe and I wish Finn had more space for his office.
We don’t have a dedicated mudroom in our house and I’m dying for one. I have plans up my sleeve to create a makeshift one in our front area but haven't gotten to drawing up the plans just yet. We use both our front and back doors to enter and exit our home and it can be a challenge corralling all of the coats, backpacks, and shoes. I feel like we’re constantly running from the front to the back of the house to get what we need.
Can you talk about Fraxel and any other skin maintenance you do?
Yes! I first did Fraxel (a laser treatment at the dermatologist) a few months after having Ellis. My pregnancies gave me bad melasma on my cheeks and my derm recommended it to get rid of it. It worked wonders!
Three years later (last fall), I did it again to improve my skin texture and tone and get rid of sun damage. I absolutely love it and I think it really makes my skin look good. However, it’s pricey! I think I pay about $1,200 for mine.
If I had all the money in the world, I would do it every fall to get rid of any sun damage from the summer months. For now, I’ll stick to every other year or so!
Other than that, I have a very simple skin routine. I’ll plan to do a newsletter soon all about it!
I need a set of tools for myself. What’s a beginner tool set to hang photos, curtain rods, etc?
Sounds like you need a good power drill! It’s a homeowner must to tackle all of those things you mentioned. I recommend this kit because it comes with everything you need. Then, you can read this post that breaks down exactly how to use a power drill as a beginner.
Other than a drill, here are other things to stock a beginner toolbox…
I would start slow and add a few things with each project around the house. Before you know it, your toolbox will be full!
That’s it for this edition of “Ask Casey!” Thank you for being here, for asking thoughtful questions, and for letting me share a little slice of life with you.
Drop your questions for next time in the comments below, and I’ll see you in February!
xo,
Casey
I love your ideas on how to make special time for each child! I definitely struggle with that.
I also appreciate that you’re breaking it up during the week. I was thinking I’d have to figure out time with each child on the weekend, but a special weekday time for each would also suffice.
I love this post! I had fun watching your clips from your TV days — which has me wondering: is there a reason why news reporting uses a similar cadence? Does it help with clarity? I’m guessing there’s a reason for this and I’d love to know!