Mariah Carey. I have loved her since age 13. I can't stop loving her. She has gone through ups and downs, publicly humiliating behavior, bizarre 80's throwback phases, terrible movies, drunken acceptance speeches, and all the rest. People say the match between her and Nick Cannon is weird, but honestly I think it's the most genuine thing she's ever done, followed closely by her role as spokeswoman of Jenny Craig... and I don't care if she does QVC commercials, I will always love her and hope the best for her, as her honey voice and coming-of-age pop music will provide the eternal backdrop for some of my dearest adolescent memories.
This week she released "The Essential Mariah Carey" which is a 2-disc compilation of her most popular and most important (if little-known) songs. All time favorite Mariah song of mine is "Close My Eyes," which I put on repeat 1,400,569,087,923,000 times in highschool.
Also, may I add that her Christmas albums are the best of pop Christmas. No?
Am I embarrassed that this is my first quick take of the week? No. Are you? Probably.
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After pulling a pin out of my toe last week, I destroyed the opposite toe on the same foot by slamming it into the wall. Just thought you might want to know that I am completely irresponsible and not to be trusted with ... feet. Toes, specifically. Watch yo self!
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Legs like Carrie Underwood. That's what I'm going for. It has led me to this great, 20-minute workout that anyone can complete with zero equipment in the privacy of her own living room [or rather, in the chaos of her own living room with spectators while her fiancee watches The Voice and her dogs run all over like reindeers on coke]. All you need is a laptop or smart phone, or maybe an iPad, if you're fancy like that.
You can try it too:
This may result in some sore muscles, but definitely in feelings of self congratulation.
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What are you doing for Mother's Day? I am working, so that everyone else I work with can do something either fun or necessary or mom-related. That's how it goes sometimes, so I'm happy to pay my dues. Saturday I will celebrate with my mom, sister, and family a get-together at Paladar, our favorite Latin restaurant in Annapolis. Do you have any special traditions for Mother's Day, or specific hopes for this years celebration?
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Have you ever spent any time trying to figure life out?
"How many moments of my life have my eyes been wide open, but I've been rushing, racing, sleeping right through? ... Someone, wakemeup... Life is not an emergency."
Last Friday I was happy yet feeling torn apart because I heard the word that more than one friend that I enjoy on a regular basis will be leaving my vicinity for some far-off dream. They'd have to leave to pursue their calling. It was happiness, but a terrible sadness too, because I'm a selfish one and I want to keep close the things that allow me to soar with joy. Goodbyes are hard, but easier if we've fully lived every moment.
This video will celebrate the awesomeness of living life in the moment. Gratitude is key.
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I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought this week about President Obama's declaration that he supports homosexual marriage. I sort of watch wide-eyed as my friends on both sides of the debate plaster their Facebook walls with propaganda that supports one or the other of their opposing positions. Everyone is touched by this conversation eventually, some of us more closely than others, right now today.
I hear a lot about the sanctity of marriage being between one man and one woman, accompanied with the idea that gay marriage negates this sanctity like nothing else in this world ever could. I don't know what I think about the government getting involved in this issue -- it's all a lot more than my brain can handle when it's getting all these mixed signals from my heart -- but my friend Vu said the following about it, and it's something I think everyone concerned by the issue could really stand to take to heart:
Gay marriages will not ruin the sanctity of marriage. Humans (straight and gay) have already ruined the sanctity of marriage. When gay marriages become fully legal, you will find the number of failed gay marriages equalling that of failed "traditional" marriages, not because they are "gay" marriages or because one is better than the other, but because, gay or straight, we are all human and we are all to blame for tarnishing the beautiful things that have been given to us. So the fight to stop gay marriages will not save the rising number of failed marriages. The fight to respect the sanctity of a sacred union can only change that.
And I hope all of us gays, straights, puppies, singles, bunnies and married people can take a moment to think about that, and what it means to be made one as a married couple, and what it means for something to be sacred.
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If you need something brief, light-hearted and distracting to watch, I recommend New Girl with Zooey Deschanel on FOX. You can find episodes HERE, or of course watch the entire first season on Hulu PLUS. It's better than "Friends" (there, I said it), and over ~25 episodes has really started to take shape. It is utterly watchable and you start to feel like the characters are your friends -- the mark of any good young adult sitcom. As the website says, this a dorky, quirky, adorable, offbeat and zany comedy that has come a long way in one season. I hope it will do well a second time. Smart move, Fox.
Also, you can follow Zooey Deschanel on Instagram with few to nil regrets.
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