I love doing my morning show with Bill Hemmer.

In late 2004, I left my much-maligned home state of New Jersey for the supposedly greener pastures of Astoria, Queens. I'd finally be in the mix, living off the subway line, able to go from audition to audition during the day and from late night show to late night show in the wee hours of the morning.

When I was four, we moved to a farm outside Springfield, Missouri. We had a radio show from that farmhouse. My dad always wanted a farm. We used to go out and milk the cows every morning and then do a radio show with a remote control from our living room. We'd start by singing 'Keep On The Sunny Side.'

I was a government employee in the morning and a writer in the evening.

What is news? It's hard to quantify. Certainly news has changed completely, and the morning shows are not really designed to bring you the news, except to tell you what happened overnight, and the rest of it is a kind of magazine mentality - a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It's harder to be an educated and informed citizen.

We have to choose every day to be active participants. To wake up in the morning and choose this life and make something of it is an incredible thing. Not many living creatures have that option. We have so many opportunities and options - it's a huge burden, but it's also the most freeing part of our lives.

There's a new holiday tradition in my life, and it comes with an open door policy. Starting at 11 a.m. on Christmas Day, friends, family, whoever, is welcome to swing on through my place - I'll be cooking and drinking from morning till night.

'Good Morning America' is television to a fare-thee-well.

When I was in the hospital they gave me apple juice every morning, even after I told them I didn't like it. I had to get even. One morning, I poured the apple juice into the specimen tube. The nurse held it up and said, 'It's a little cloudy.' I took the tube from her and said, 'Let me run it through again,' and drank it. The nurse fainted.

I Sellotape whole tins of sardines to my face at night, attach two squeezed lemon rinds to my armadillo-skinned elbows, and put cucumber on my eyes. By the time I'm finished, I look like a fruit salad with added fish. In the morning, the pillow is pretty much a write-off.

My mornings are really about being with my children, so I tend to lay out my outfit the night before when my children are asleep so I can have a quick turnaround time in the morning.

My great-grandfather started in the coal mines, and my great grandmother made 10 pounds of bread every Saturday morning that we delivered to the neighbors. It was always about giving back. These kinds of things drive me to make a difference.

My morning rituals are typical. I wake up yearning for a few extra moments of rest. I express gratitude to a higher power for the breath in my body and the blessings in my life. I shower. I dress. I eat breakfast. I exchange laughter and words with my beloveds, embracing each other as we say our daily goodbyes.

One improvement I have learned from my childhood experience with my father: I do not threaten punishment in the morning. That was awful. Late into the night I would lie awake tossing and wondering what he was going to do to me. Usually he did nothing. A quiet, impressive 'talking to' was all I got.

I would get up at 3 in the morning and write. Or sometimes I would write at midnight. Or I would write when my child napped. It wasn't a burden. I was so enthused about what I was doing at the time that I really didn't mind.

Every girl/woman in the world has flaws. Instead of focusing on your flaws when you look in a mirror, focus on the parts of you that you love; try to do this every morning. You will ooze confidence all day long.

I watch films that inspire me and make me want to go to work the next morning, that really push you and motivate you. So in that aspect, I look up to a lot of people.

Exercising first thing in the morning ensures that you'll have the time for it, and it improves your self-control and energy levels all day long.

When I get up in the morning I usually check Twitter.

I'd prefer no practices and just Saturday, Sunday. Just qualify Saturday morning, race Saturday afternoon, and race again Sunday. Less laps of nonsense and more laps of meaningful business.