My beloved show “Kansas City Live” turns a month old tomorrow.  Like any parent of a newborn, I’m fiercely protective of its growth.  I’ve never loved anything in my life like I’ve loved this show … well, except for maybe my floor seats at Madonna’s “Confessions” tour.

When the show started, I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew is that 1) I adored my co-host Michelle and 2) I needed to learn NOT to read her copy in the TelePrompter.  One month later and those two things still ring true.  But along the way, something refreshing happened … I lightened up.  It took approximately a week for the nerves to subside, but now I feel like I’ve got this hosting thing down to a science.  It’s not brain surgery.  It’s about being affable, congenial and pleasant, three things that come naturally to me.  I’ve even got a motto: Be irreverent, but not inappropriate.

Here are some musings from my first month:  1) You couldn’t ask for a better behind-the-scenes team.  The floor crew is a zany bunch of hardworking goofballs who come in at 3am-ish everyday.  By the time our show rolls around at 10am, they are positively punchy.  I’m not sure whether they’re strung out on Red Bull or just high on life, but it’s fun to sit back and watch the buzz of activity during commercial breaks.  And my God, do they enjoy free stuff.  I passed out some movie T-shirts and you would have thought I gave them each a new car.  I mean, who doesn’t love SWAG … but our crew is especially appreciative of it.

2) High-definition TV is a killer.  It catches every stray hair or errant blemish.  Why I couldn’t have gotten this job when I was ten years younger and fifteen pounds thinner is beyond me?  I spotted a teensy fleck of lint on my black jacket when I was watching the show one night.  I obsessed over it for 44 minutes.  Could have been worse, I guess.  It could have been spinach in my teeth. And I managed to survive live television for an entire week with the worst bout of stomach flu I’ve ever encountered.

3) The fine folks at JCrew are nice enough to provide my wardrobe everyday.  No, I don’t get to keep it.  Yes, I can only wear it for the hour I’m on TV.  And, yes, after much trial and error they now know exactly what I like and don’t like.  (Bright colors, yes.  Earth tones, no.  Plaids, fine.  Horizontal stripes, forbidden.)

4) The numbers have recently started a pleasant uptick.  Being new, our show doesn’t live or die by ratings yet, but it’s nice to see we’re now starting to pull in similar (albeit a bit smaller) numbers than established shows like “Anderson”.  We’ve only been on a month … so there’s nowhere to go but up.

And 5) I wake up every single morning with butterflies, the good kind, in my stomach.  I’m surrounded by a lot of positive energy at the station. No one has an attitude or ego.  And I’m humbled by the opportunity to host the show. I went to my boss just last week and said, “If I haven’t told you lately, thank you for hiring me.  I’m having a ball if you couldn’t already tell.”  He said, “Oh, I can tell.”

Must be palpable, huh?