#ReadThisFIRST: A good morning poem as you start your day!

Good morning! 

Did you rest a'plenty? Are you ready today for the adventures a'waiting? 

Ha. Poet? Not me. But I'm inspired today to rhyme for some reason... 

... coffee. 

Welcome to Friday, and I hope this note finds you well... welcome to the last day of what could be a long holiday weekend for you... and thanks for choosing to #ReadThisFirst! 

Let's start off by watching this dude and a duck... a duck who brushes the teeth and such...

And... let's take a look at the BACKSTREET BOYS x CHANCE THE RAPPER who must have made bank doing this commercial for DORITOS... Did you see this collaboration??! 

Today... is Winnie the Pooh Day: “Oh, bother …” It's also GOURMET COFFEE DAY... so... CHEERS! 

And... some serious news this morning... this coming from New Mexico... where there has been an avalanche near the resort town of Taos. 

Two skiers are hospitalized in critical conditions after being buried by an avalanche near Taos, New Mexico yesterday. Officials say two men – who have not been identified – were found unresponsive and not breathing, but first responders were able to revive them.

Ski patrol and other witnesses at Taos Ski Valley resort teamed up to conducted an exhaustive search of the area to make sure no one else was trapped beneath the snow. The area was later declared “clear.”

"Avalanche mitigation work has been taking place throughout the season and as recently as this morning in the area that the avalanche occurred," Chris Stagg, vice president of Taos Ski Valley, Inc said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the two individuals who were affected by today’s event and their families."

• Speaking if wintery woes, a pair of winter storms are set to slam the Northeast with heavy snow, ice, and fierce winds this weekend. Forecasters say the first storm will lay on a few inches of snow from Pennsylvania to New England this morning. The second storm – which has already been wreaking havoc out west – is expected to be a monster. Dubbed “Winter Storm Harper,” it’s expected to dump a foot or more of snow from northern Pennsylvania to upstate New York and northern New England through Sunday. Snowfall's expected to be heaviest in and around Washington, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

Source: NBC News

This was funny... an ASK REDDIT thread asked peeps to share the biggest FOOD SIN they've seen someone commit... 

Some of the responses:

• My wife will take a handful of raw macaroni and throw it in her mouth, and then pour in copious amounts of vinegar and chew it all together. Still grosses me out watching her. 
• A guy my fiancé used to work with would wipe his chicken pieces with the lemon scented hand wipes from KFC thinking that they were meant for seasoning. 
• My grandma used to love cheesy garlic bread dipped in chocolate pudding. 
• I have a friend who microwaves everything. Eggs, frozen chicken breasts, frozen hamburger patties; everything. He is a well-educated, employed, 47-year-old man. 
• My roommate puts apple sauce on anything … tacos, fish, spaghetti, steak, burgers. He will put it into a bowl of applesauce. It's horrifying. 
• My ex-girlfriend once made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, replacing the bread with two fried eggs. 
• Some ketchup food sins: Pizza dipped in ketchup, ketchup on nachos, ketchup on vanilla ice cream. 

OK … What’s the biggest “food sin” you’ve seen someone commit?

Money class … A majority of Americans wish they had learned more about personal finance while in school. A survey by H&R Block found that 57 percent of respondents wish they had learned about money management and budgeting while in high school and 84 percent said  there are things they learned in school that they have never had to use in real life.

According to the survey, these are the Top 10 Skills Americans Wish They Learned in School:

1. Money management and budgeting -- 57%
2. How to properly do taxes -- 44%
3. How to manage emotional/mental wellbeing -- 42%
4. Understanding credit and student loans -- 39%
5. How to negotiate -- 39%
6. Time management -- 35%
7. Household repairs -- 34%
8. How to make conversation/personal relationship skills -- 33%
9. Car repair and maintenance -- 31%
10. How to find a job -- 30%

The Top 10 Useless Things Americans Say They Learned in School:

1. Pythagorean theorem -- 48%
2. Knowing PI is 3.14 -- 40%
3. Periodic table -- 40%
4. The types of rocks -- 37%
5. The difference between protons, neutrons, and electrons -- 37%
6. Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell -- 35%
7. Naming the presidents in order -- 35%
8. Osmosis -- 32%
9. How to make paper snowflakes -- 30%
10. Photosynthesis -- 30% (SWNS)

 The edible bouquet has become a wedding trend over the last few years ... The latest version? A cotton candy bouquet. (Cosmo) 

Start you New Year’s resolution in February … Maybe the problem people have with sticking to their resolutions is that they jump into them too soon after the holidays. Let’s face it -- January 1st is a day when most of us are exhausted after all the holiday stress and over-indulgence. It’s not exactly a day when we are inspired to make a big change or tackle a new goal. That’s why some people, including the Today show’s Craig Melvin, start their resolutions in February. Craig says starting his resolutions in February helps him ease into the changes, which helps make them last. (Today)

NFL FANS ARE OBSESSED ABOUT THEIR TEAMS

For many NFL fans, this weekend is the best weekend of the season, with only four teams remaining -- and the winners going on to the Super Bowl.

And, according to a new survey, these fans are as excited as ever about following the games. The survey found that the average NFL fan spends 46 hours a month thinking, talking or reading about their favorite NFL team.

84 percent of those who responded to the survey said that when their team is playing, they drop everything they’re doing to watch the game live -- and over half claimed they’d miss a major life event to watch the game live in the stadium. (SWNS Digital)

BUY A BEER FOR WORKERS AFFECTED BY THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Thanks to the website PayItFurloughed.com, people can now donate money to a beer fund that goes toward buying beers for federal employees and contractors who are furloughed or working without pay during the U.S. government shutdown. (WNCT-TV)

MILLENNIALS WHO LIVE WITH THEIR PARENTS ARE BROKE AND MISERABLE

According to a new survey, nearly a third of Millennials still live with their parents – and they’re more likely to be unemployed, miserable and broke than those who live on their own.

Millennials who live with their parents are 5.5 times more likely to be unhappy with their living situation than those who have moved into their own spaces.

And, three-quarters of Millennials who moved out of their parents' homes have full-time work – compared to only 54 percent of those who stay with mom and dad. (Daily Mail)

AND now... here's what's TRENDING on the Internet of Things today... 

Glass: The latest M. Night Shyamalan flick is getting mixed reviews.

Betty White: She celebrated her 97th birthday Thursday with cake and poker.

Mary Oliver: The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet died Thursday. She was 83.

Cardi B: She's speaking out about the government shutdown with some colorful language.

John Wick 3: The first trailer for the Keanu Reeves vehicle has surface online.

#GreysAnatomy: Viewers are weighing in on the show's mid-season premiere.

#HTGAWM: Fans are reacting to the latest episode of How to Get Away With Murder.

ON TV THIS WEEKEND... 

Friday... 

• Jimmy Fallon has Elizabeth Banks (The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part), comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, lifestyle expert Martha Stewart
• Stephen Colbert (repeat) has William H. Macy
• Jimmy Kimmel (repeat) Mahershala Ali, Maura Tierney, Jeff Tweedy
• James Corden (repeat) has Will Ferrell, RuPaul
• Seth Meyers (repeat) has Andy Samberg, Josh Hutcherson, Charlie Hall
• Ellen DeGeneres has Samuel L. Jackson (Glass), comedian Pete Holmes, music by Michael Buble
• Live With Kelly and Ryan has William H. Macy (Shameless), singer Elle King, Good Housekeeping executive editor Meaghan Murphy
• The View has Day of Hot Topics
• The Talk has Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie), Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie)

FRIDAY PRIMETIME:

• Fresh Off the Boat When Eddie gets his driver's license, he finds himself with a list of errands to run for his mom. (ABC)
• Speechless Maya is less than thrilled when Kenneth interferes with her business plans with Melanie. (ABC)
• 20/20 Investigative reporting. (ABC)
• MacGyver When MacGyver takes Riley and Bozer into the wilderness for survival training, things take a turn when they run into a violent group of criminals. (CBS)
• Hawaii Five-0 Adam, Junior and Tani travel to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean when a murder takes place in a remote underwater lab -- and the killer may still be on board. (CBS)
• Blue Bloods (repeat) Danny takes a case involving a drug cartel member who he believes torched his house. (CBS)
• Blindspot The team tracks down a scientist Roman worked with to find a cure to ZIP poisoning. (NBC)
• The Blacklist Liz and the task force track pawnbrokers fronting large quantities of cash to criminal enterprises. (NBC)
• Dateline NBC An in-depth look at the history of allegations against singer R. Kelly. (NBC)
• Last Man Standing (repeat) Mandy comes close to forgetting her fashion designer dreams when she is confronted with rejection and sends herself in a spiral. (FOX)
• The Cool Kids (repeat) Mike and Ryan are forced to get along together when Boyd proposes a compromise to their plans to take him on separate trips by all three going on a trip together. (FOX)
• Hell's Kitchen Three extensive challenges determine which five chefs receive a black jacket. (FOX)
• Dynasty In the wake of a horrific accident, Culhane desperately needs Fallon’s help and protection, while she needs to process the sheer weight of his lies. (CW)
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Rebecca agrees to help out Darryl by offering to babysit and an unexpected guest crashes the evening. (CW)

SATURDAY PRIMETIME:

• NBA Basketball A pair of teams with bad blood collide in Houston as the Rockets host Brandon Ingram's Lakers. (ABC)
• NCIS: Los Angeles (repeat) NCIS joins Hetty's team from the Vietnam War in a dangerous rescue mission to save Hetty from her captors in Vietnam. (CBS)
• NCIS: New Orleans (repeat) Sebastian's high school friend asks for help when her business partner is killed at a gaming convention. (CBS)
• 48 Hours A driven detective uses cutting-edge technology to try to solve the nearly three-decade-old murder of two beloved grandmothers. (CBS)
• America's Got Talent (repeat) Ten fan favorites from around the world face off in the ultimate talent competition. (NBC)
• Saturday Night Live (repeat) From Jan. 27, 2018: Host Will Ferrell; Chris Stapleton performs. (NBC)
• The Masked Singer (repeat) Six undercover celebrity singers don animal masks to conceal their identity. (FOX)
• The Passage (repeat) The United States is threatened by an imminent flu epidemic that prompts a federal agent to retrieve a test subject for a hidden medical facility to perform an experiment with a dangerous virus that could cure all diseases. (FOX)

SUNDAY PRIMETIME:

• America's Funniest Home Videos (repeat) Fishing mishaps; a remote-controlled fake alligator goes after a woman lounging in a river. (ABC)
• Shark Tank (two episodes) 1. A lay-flat cosmetics bag; a boutique shave club for women; cat furniture. 2. (repeat) Alex Rodriguez; a dissolvable protein pack product; a dual-purpose strap that keeps valuables safe. (ABC)
• NFL Football New England plays in its eighth-straight AFC championship game as it visits Kansas City, which contests its first AFC title game in 25 years.
• Dateline NBC (repeat) NBC's durable newsmagazine, featuring a mix of investigations, news updates and interviews.(NBC)
• The Simpsons (repeat) Homer competes against Cthulhu in an oyster-eating contest and manages to beat the mythical being. (FOX)
• Bob's Burgers (repeat) The children discover the dangers of revenge when they become entangled in a sibling rivalry between two pilots after trying to get back at their guidance counselor. (FOX)
• Family Guy (repeat) When Stewie is sent to visit the school's child psychologist for a surprise session, Stewie finds himself revealing important, previously untold secrets. (FOX)
• The Cool Kids (repeat) When Hank starts dating a much younger woman, the gang suspects she may be a gold-digger taking advantage of him because of his age. (FOX)
• Supergirl Colonel Haley is upset after Supergirl responds to a distress call from a Navy ship that turned out to be a deadly alien attack. (CW)
• Charmed The sisters turn to The Elders for advice about Harry. (CW)
• Black Monday (series premiere) Wide-eyed Blair is thrust into the insane world of 1980s Wall Street. (SHO)
• True Detective Hays recalls his early romance with Amelia, as well as cracks in their relationship that surfaced after they married and had children. (HBO)

Daycare Workers Fired After Viral Video Shows Girl Getting Her Hair Pulled - A concerned community forced a daycare investigation after a child was seen on video getting her hair pulled.

In the video, the child doesn’t want to eat and a child care worker pulls her by the hair everytime she tries to leave the table. The person filming laughs. Needless to say, police were informed quickly of the incident.

My Little Playhouse Learning Center took immediate action and fired the workers involved.

And... because you've read this far...

It's Friday. Let's do this... and don't forget to refresh often for new stuff and more...   

#LoveToby

tk@iheartradio.com