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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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February 3, 2017

My Television Debut!

I got the email on a Friday.

“We would like to have you on our show, AM Northwest, to promote your book and we happen to have a time slot we need to fill THIS coming Monday. Are you up for it?”

My reply to them was a resounding YES with the added reassurance of  “Oh no, having such little warning is no problem at all!” while inside I was trying to figure out how on earth I was going to get everything ready in time. It didn’t help that my very first book signing was that Sunday and my son had a swim meet too. Oy vey!

In hindsight, though, I think it was much better to not have more advanced warning because that would have just meant more time for me to have panic attacks and nightmares about being on live TV!

I left the house very early Monday morning for the drive up to Portland and after pulling into the studio parking lot my nerves really kicked into high gear.

What if I miss a step in the craft demonstration?

What if I forgot some of the supplies?

What if I forget how to talk?

What if my nose looks big?

You can see how quickly my thoughts went into a downward spiral.

I made my way to the studio door and was buzzed in and directed to the ‘green room’ (which wasn’t actually green at all) and was shown where I could freshen up and then told to just wait there until the producer came to get me. Before I knew it, I was being whisked backstage where they showed me where to set up my craft demonstration.

backstage at AMNW

The plan was for me to show how to make these Book Page Bird Nest Ornaments which are included in our book ‘Life in Season‘.

Book Page Bird in Nest from At The Picket Fence

I quickly got all of my craft supplies laid out on the table and quadruple checked to make sure that I had everything just right.

A production assistant came and got my microphone hooked up and before I knew it the table was being wheeled into the studio. I was introduced to the lovely host of the show, Helen, and given minimal instructions before we went LIVE in 3.2.1.

AMNW Studio

Are you ready to see how I did? Click here!

Whew! I’m not gonna lie. I had such a hard time watching it back afterwards and was very critical of myself, that I looked in the camera when I wasn’t supposed to, my shaking hands and the fact that I said the word ‘awesome’ one too many times but at the end of the day I chalked it up to a really cool once-in-a-lifetime experience.

AMNW with Helen

That was until…they asked me to come back again! What?? That’s right! Just last week I had the opportunity to do another craft demonstration live on the air!

This time I decided to show how to make these fun and easy Valentine’s Day Poppers.

diy valentine's day poppers

And let me tell you, this time I was WAY more relaxed.

Want to see how I did this time around? Click here!

I can honestly say that I never would have imagined that I would have these opportunities and it’s so incredibly humbling and frankly just a lot of fun!

And I’m so grateful to have you join me in this adventure and meet me here at the picket fence,

Vanessa signature

10 Comments Filed Under: Book, Good Ideas

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Comments

  1. Michelle says

    February 3, 2017 at 3:45 AM

    You were great on TV! Very natural and beautiful. I foresee you becoming a regular guest on their show!! Thx for sharing the fun popper idea. Will be making these with the grandkids!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      February 3, 2017 at 7:29 AM

      Thank you so much Michelle! Have fun making the poppers. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Margaret Allegretto says

    February 3, 2017 at 5:17 AM

    Congratulations Vanessa!!!!
    Well done!! You’re beautiful!!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      February 3, 2017 at 7:30 AM

      Awww…thanks so much Margaret!

      Reply
  3. Bonnie says

    February 3, 2017 at 7:25 AM

    What a great opportunity! I’m so happy for you.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      February 3, 2017 at 7:30 AM

      Thank you Bonnie!

      Reply
  4. Rose L. says

    February 4, 2017 at 12:28 PM

    Cool! I probably would stutter and drool! LOL

    Reply
  5. Richella Parham says

    February 8, 2017 at 1:16 PM

    You are just the best. I am so happy for you! You looked beautiful and sounded great. Proud of you and for you!!

    Reply
  6. Angie g says

    February 11, 2017 at 9:35 PM

    I love you Vanessa! You were so wonderful on TV!!!!! I finally got a chance to check it out and I was so delighted. You sound so confident and at ease. I am sure you were a ball of nerves, but I couldn’t tell.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      February 12, 2017 at 5:06 PM

      Oh thank you so much for your kind words Angie! I was definitely a ball of nerves. LOL!!

      Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
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“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work..." Job 37:5-7
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The day after Christmas I found myself laundering The day after Christmas I found myself laundering and folding all of the linens we used the previous night as we hosted my husband's side of the family for dinner and other festivities. As I laid out each cloth napkin and folded them one by one, I couldn't help but be struck by what a simple, yet meaningful, task it was. It's such an honor and privilege to be the hostess and, at this stage of my life, I realize that this has almost one hundred percent become my role now. Our parents are in their 70's and have either downsized significantly or simply don't have the energy to take on hosting duties for a large group. I could resent this. I could feel overwhelmed by it. But, instead, I'm choosing to embrace it knowing that, someday, I too will pass the hosting torch and I hope that I will be welcomed with love and attentiveness. So, I fold the linen napkins, taking pleasure in the way all of the creases line up and how neat and tidy they look in the drawer of my dining room buffet. These seemingly simple chores are part of the lifeblood of homemaking and my attitude towards them can either be one of gratefulness or grumbly-ness (yes, I'm making up words now). 

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