Weatherman – Married to the Weatherman

Spreading Positivity

April 2, 2020July 3, 2020by Emily Plushnick16 Comments

Jared helped me realize something important the other day. He had just gotten up from our kitchen table after broadcasting the weather for the morning show. This has become our new normal for a couple weeks now as our world tries to get a handle on battling the Coronavirus. He was wearing the top half of his normal uniform of suit, tie and makeup and on the bottom half, his red gym shorts and a pair of socks that probably could have been thrown out a few washes ago. Just to be clear, nothing really matched and yes, it looked ridiculous. He came over to the kitchen were I was pouring a nice hot cup of coffee and getting ready to load up my computer for the day.

He proudly announced to me, “I am going to take this time of social distancing/quarantining and improve some things about myself that I’ve always wanted to, but never had the time for.” I stopped mid-sip, grinning as I thought that this would be the perfect time to share my small list of things I had come to notice over the past two weeks of our work-from-home together situation that I could add to his list of self-improvement goals. Just to be fair to Jared, there are only a couple things on this list and he knows about them, AND seriously… does anyone have a tutorial on how to properly hand-wash dishes? I swear he washes dishes with his eyes closed and hopes for the best. But don’t feel bad for Jared, he has also taken the time to inform me that I apparently talk too loud when I have my EarPods in. Now back to my picture painting of our current situation . . .

I stood in the kitchen thinking. Staring back at him, still thinking.

“What?” he asked, smiling at me.

See this is one of the things I adore about my husband and it’s also the reason people love watching him on morning tv. He is positive and happy. A lot of people already start their day being irritated or run down by the normal stressors of life. Who really wants to turn on the tv and listen to people who are just as exasperated as themselves? He balances out the regular downbeat pulses of negativity that seem so widely circulated throughout society.

Before I could really answer, I thought of my own attitude about this COVID-19 situation. It’s upended my normal routine. I’m no longer able to go into the office, get together with friends, go to our favorite restaurants for Friday night date night, go to Barre class or visit the grocery store and have all the items I need readily available. Life has without-a-doubt changed. I found that within such a short period of time, I had adapted to the attitude of the masses. I was scared, irritated, sad, overwhelmed and bored all at once.

In further thought, before all of this began, I had always complained that there wasn’t enough time in the day, that I couldn’t accomplish certain things because I spent all day at work and got home late, that I didn’t get to see Jared enough because of our opposite schedules, that the weekends weren’t long enough, and that I was too tired or worn down. I’m actually pretty embarrassed to write out these complaints which really are a pile of excuses I pulled from for just about anything, but I hope others can relate.

If I had to give myself a review of my first two weeks of quarantine, I would pretty much give myself a D- and that honestly might be generous. I found myself still tired and still without enough time. And here I am, at home more than ever and with more available time than I’ve ever really had before. My quarantine accomplishments so far include: gaining 6 pounds, taking a 2-hour nap in the early evenings, going to bed late, not wearing makeup, beginning to drink wine again (I had given it up for 2 months), increasing my screen-time by 28% (according to my iPhone), and stalking the internet for new and often grim news about COVID-19. I began to realize that if I didn’t take this opportunity, like Jared, to finally improve the things I always wanted to improve about myself, I never would. It’s honestly as simple as that. If not now with all of this additional time, then when?

Probably never.

Apparently I managed to create enough excuses no matter the situation. And now I’m trying to figure out at what point in my life I became the type of person who does such a thing, but that thought is for later and yes, I’ve got plenty of time.

I don’t want to be one of those people who (God-willing) comes out of this world-wide crisis saying, “I should have used my time more wisely,” or “if I had known, I would have spent my extra time doing X.” The truth is, we never and will never know the entirety of what the future holds. It’s just not possible. Historically, in adverse times people will either let fear of the unknown allow them to self-destruct or to make themselves new and improved. The choice is ours. So I’ve decided that I’m going to take as much control as possible over this situation. I am finally going to get my 10,000 steps in each day (even if I’m doing laps inside the condo), take time to prepare dinner, eat mindfully (with less snacks), finally learn Spanish, improve my health, and take a few moments each day to reflect and to be grateful for what we have right now.

And yes, I will teach Jared how to properly hand wash a dish because he seems so passionate about not using the dishwasher. For the love of life and for my husband, I will champion this moment and turn it into as much positive energy as possible. I hope you do too!

To Jared, on this birthday…

April 24, 2019April 24, 2019by Emily Plushnick9 Comments

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog post and Jared has reminded me about it a dozen or so times. It’s the 24th of April and it seems like a good day to pen something and perfectly fitting since it’s Jared’s birthday. As usual, I wait until the night before his big day to break out his birthday card to begin writing (that is what I am doing now). We have this long-standing tradition of expressing how much we love and appreciate one another in writing on our birthdays. I always look forward to opening Jared’s handwritten card each year on my birthday telling me how much he adores me. It never gets old, unlike each year that passes which in turn, slowly ages us. We are all told that in a blink of an eye, our life is over. Birthdays have always put that phrase into an unnerving perspective for me. In what used to be another year closer to becoming an adult, has fast become another year closer to the other end of the life spectrum. What do we want to accomplish in the next year of life? In the next five? Do we have goals and steps to get there?

One thing I have come to learn (taught myself to learn) is to love without fear and to love without limits. I am blessed beyond belief to love a man who loves me tenfold in return and he shows it unabashedly each and every day. So for his birthday this year and every year I want him to know that I think about him at every moment of the day. I love waking up each morning and running to the TV to turn on News 2 so that I can see him once more. I adore the way he holds doors open for me and pulls chairs out for me to sit in restaurants and even when it’s just the two of us at home. I am amazed by his generosity and his thoughtfulness not just to me, but to so many others he encounters. I love that he cherishes each and every friendship he has and how he never takes them for granted. I love how he thanks each viewer that comes up to him for watching and I know he truly feels blessed. I am amazed how he welcomes my family into our home to visit for as long as they want. I cherish how he wants to take advantage of each moment we have together and to live life beyond the fullest in the small amounts that we share.

I have shined in his grace on some of my darkest days and have been lifted up in his support by a shield of encouragement and strength. In moments of winning, I have been electrified in his embrace and warmed by the exuberance of his pride. Jared has never withheld his love for me whether it has been a really bad day or a really good day for us or one of us individually. He is all that I have ever wanted and beyond anything I could have imagined. On this birthday of his, I want him to know that I am blessed beyond wonder and blessed beyond prayer that he is mine and that we share this life together. Each year that he turns older is a moment that I reflect of how far we come, how deeply we love and how happy I am to be with him. Jared, you are amazing. Happy birthday to the most handsome, brilliant, goofy, loving man that I am blessed to share my life with. I adore you. Happy Birthday!

P.s- He is a huge Orioles fan, so I guess I’ll say go O’s! (just today!) haha

xox

Fall, where are you?

October 7, 2018October 8, 2018by Emily Plushnick4 Comments

I typically give Jared a hard time about the weather especially during long bouts of never-ending rainy or overcast days. This weekend, I decided to give him a break mainly because we were celebrating our anniversary, but mostly because everywhere we went he got a hard time from someone else. To give you an idea… Nashville experienced record-breaking heat Friday through Sunday with the temperatures hitting the mid-90’s. It’s the first full week of October and most everyone is ready for it to feel like fall.

Jared loves when people come up to him to either give him a hard time or to thank him for the weather above. I swear he likes the idea of people thinking he has some sort of decision-making when it comes to forecasting. So for 3 years of marriage we had 3 days of 90-degree heat, but I swear it’s all on Jared and I have nothing to do with it.

We both took Friday off from work and spent the entire weekend here in Nashville. I had been asking Jared to join me at Barry’s Bootcamp for over a year and he finally came through and signed up for a class with me. We started our weekend celebration with an invigorating workout. I loved it (as usual) and Jared survived.

The Gulch was already humming with tourists when our class finished so we decided to grab a smoothie at the Juice Bar and stroll around the area while watching people love on our city.

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For lunch we went over to True Foods to have a light bite. We didn’t want to eat anything too heavy because Jared had made special dinner reservations for us that evening at Bourbon Steak, located at the top of the new JW Marriott in downtown Nashville. We both had been wanting to try the much anticipated Michael Mina steakhouse since we heard of the plans for its opening.

At True Foods, we sat on the outdoor patio under an umbrella that shielded us from the abnormally hot October sun. I ordered the Korean Noodle Salad, Jared got the Mediterranean Chicken Pita and we shared the cold brew coffee topped with shaved coconut. It was delicious and the patio seating made for a fun experience watching people trying to snag a parking spot across the street at Trader Joe’s — that place is popular on the weekends!

Korean Noodle Salad and Mediterranean Chicken Pita

As I mentioned in my initial post, we love to eat and explore new restaurants, however we rarely eat out twice in one day. We try to save money and maintain a healthy lifestyle by cooking at home as often as possible. However, this weekend was truly the exception to the rule and we enjoyed every bit and bite of it!

Now to Jared’s favorite part: Bourbon Steak. He had made these reservations about a month ago and could hardly wait to tell me about his plans to bring me there for our Anniversary. Something you may not know about Jared is when he get’s excited about something he can barely keep it to himself. So I had known about these reservations for a good three weeks and was equally excited. When we arrived at the JW, we were shown to the “express” elevator that took guests from the lobby directly up to the restaurant’s 34th floor. As soon as you walk off the elevator and to the hostess stand you get a peek of the expansive views of downtown Nashville that you are about to experience in the dining area. It was so much fun to see the city lit up in all different areas of downtown. Jared and I agreed that the vibe felt very mid-town Manhattan with a noticeable nod to Music City. The food was equally phenomenal and many of their dishes came with a table-side show of their own — check out the Lobster Pot Pie video.

Burbon Steak — Jared and I at the top of Bourbon Steak – JW Nashville

We finished up our weekend with a lot of needed rest and relaxation — as well as some good news… Jared has informed me that there is going to be a cool down towards the end of the week. YAY!

This Week’s Forecast: happy wife, happy life and fall temperatures. Don’t forget to catch Jared on WKRN-News 2 tomorrow morning.

Cheers!

Emily

The Journey Begins

October 5, 2018October 5, 2018by Emily Plushnick3 Comments

Tonight officially marks our 3 year wedding anniversary and I couldn’t think of a more perfect time to publish this blog about being married to the love of my life and the journey that involves being married to a TV weatherman.

Every day we are together is the greatest day of my life — Nicolas Sparks

October 4, 2015

There’s a lot more to me than being married to the weatherman, but that way of introduction has become common place for me since 2015 and truth be told, I don’t completely hate it, in fact, I’ve grown to love it. After all, it truly is part of my identity. In October of 2015, I married the love of my life on the beautiful rocky blue coast of Maryland. The inner harbor of Baltimore to be specific. The weekend of our wedding, Baltimore experienced a near miss of a hurricane that forecasters gave a 50/50 shot of devastating the area. As all perfect fairytales go, or as my husband would say, as all his forecasts go, we lucked out and the hurricane took a sharp 90 degree turn out to the Atlantic. My future husband (and meteorologist, Jared, correctly predicted (pinky promised me—so it was serious) days in advance that the hurricane would not ruin our special day. It didn’t and we got married. The story doesn’t end there and it for sure didn’t start there.

Being married to a local tv personality and meteorologist has its perks and its fair share of tribulations. I definitely miss the good ole’ days of us going to the gym for a workout and then promptly heading straight to the grocery store to grab a few things on the way home, even though we looked like a complete sweaty mess. And I mean a quick stop at Publix, not a full grocery shop going through all the produce, etc., I mean In and out stop — 10 minutes tops! The discovery of not being able to do that, as you can imagine wasn’t a highlight of my life (That’s a story for another day), but it was a stark reality check that made me realize that being married to a local celebrity was a bit different than I thought.

And just because no one comes up to say “hi” doesn’t mean they don’t see you… or so I’ve been informed. It might not be that the viewers really care what you look like or what your spouse looks like, but you end up giving your appearance a second thought when you get noticed. In all reality, those are the trivial things in life. However, I do question whether I should feel that confident looking like a hot sweaty mess in public anyway … Let’s be real, this is still to be determined.

Truth be told, the biggest struggle is the hours he works. He is up at 2am and asleep by the time I get home at night. I joke that we spend the mornings together, me drinking coffee and watching him on TV while he tells me how to dress for the day. And yes, I am that wife that checks her husband to make sure his hair looks good and his suit looks sharp. It’s just not before leaves the house, I do it when he is on air and believe me it still counts! I’ve had to text him mid-show once that his fly was unzipped.

The TV industry and his job fascinate me and when we are not struggling to find time to be together, it has proved to be a very fun way to experience life.

On the days we spend together we focus on making the most of it and living it to the fullest and yes, sometimes that means lying on the couch all day and ordering in pizza. If that’s not experiencing life I don’t know what is.

Jared and I like to look on the brighter side of life and purposefully focus on all of the positive that surrounds us. This blog will focus on the time we spend together (traveling, eating, cooking, exploring our home of Nashville and beyond), and about the TV world, as well as the aesthetic industry that is my passion and my career in cosmetic surgery.

Let’s face it, life is for the living and we are blessed to be living it.

The “married to the weatherman” journey began on the evening of October 4, 2015. To see a little bit of what that day was like, I’ve included our wedding trailer below.

I hope you enjoy!