Maggie takes the train

I don't know why I'm so excited about this but today I unexpectedly took a train back to my apartment. Usually I take the metro home after work but I had to meet a friend closer to where she worked and because I got lost trying to get back home, I finally found a train station and decided to take the train back into town. I realize taking the commuter rail is something people do every day but I still think it's quite fun to do things unexpectedly like that. My family and I only used to take trains when we were on holiday or going to some special event or something like that. Traveling on a train seems special to me even if it's just going home. (After all, home is a nice place to go to.) Plus this train helped me get home safe and sound and warm which was lovely as it was cold out.  So for once getting lost was quite fun and slightly nostalgic. Hooray for unexpected pleasures!

Doctors' Day

Today is Doctors' Day which was started in 1933 to remember the first administration of anesthesia by Dr. Crawford W. Long in Jefferson, Georgia, in 1842. Since it's Doctors' Day, I'd like to use this post to thank the doctors I've had in my life. I've seen quite a few of them but I don't see that as a bad thing. I'm alive today because of the efforts of many doctors and I couldn't be more grateful. I'm also grateful to my parents for ensuring that I always got the best possible care. I know that hospitals and doctors' offices aren't really thought of as pleasant places to visit but all the doctors I had were really friendly and I liked that they always treated me as  a person as well as a patient. I remember early on when I was very young one doctor said to my mum something to the effect of that I was really cute and my parents shouldn't let me date until I was 32 so I'd stay out of trouble! Why he thought I'd be more responsible when I turn 32 I still don't know but somehow I think it's funny now.

Doctors have also pulled strings to help me have fun. Once I had to have an unexpected surgery and it just so happened I was due to have a party to celebrate graduating from high school in the afternoon of the next day. When my doctor found out about it, she scheduled the surgery immediately. I came out of hospital the next day and the party was a lovely coming home present. So I celebrate Doctors' day and all the doctors who have helped me throughout my life because my life is better and happier as a result of their efforts.

Make way for turkeys!

Boston is famous for the story Make Way for Ducklings (a group of ducks settle in Boston's Public Garden). Well, today I saw two turkeys that people in Brookline, MA made way for. They really did strut down the road like they owned the place, with their heads held high and everything. Cars didn't seem to bother them, when they were confronted with one, they just kept right on walking. I'm not sure where they actually came from but clearly they're going places and they weren't about to let anything stop them!

Random facts

Since I'm all for increasing people's knowledge about things I thought I'd share some random facts that I think are fun. 

• It's physically impossible to swallow your tongue. (Therefore, I wouldn't recommend trying to do it. )
•  Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump.(Which is probably a good thing-just think of the noise it would make if they could jump.)
•  Snails can sleep for 3 years without eating (Snails really know how to nap!)
• Rubbing banana peel on mosquito bites will help stop the itching. (I'll have to start stocking up on bananas in the summer.)
• In 1982, Larry Walters tied 24 weather balloons to his lawn chair in Los Angeles and climbed to an altitude of 16,000 feet.( Now I really want to replicate the experiment!)
• In the year 1900, for a women to be a telephone operator she had to be between the ages of 17 and 26 and not be married. (Now I know how pickup lines got started-single men couldn't wait for the operator to "pick up" the phone!)
• The Hundred Years War lasted for 116 years. (After100 years had passed people got tired of counting.)
• In 1778, fashionable women of Paris never went out in blustery weather without a lightning rod attached to their hats.(They must have had electric personalities!) 
• The parachute was invented by Leonardo da Vinci in 1515 (I wonder what he decided to jump off of to test  how effective parachutes are.)
• Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark. (So it's not surprising that he invented the light bulb!)  

Sources: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~bingbin/
http://old.epilepsyfoundation.org/local/kentuckiana/myths.cfm#.UzY9KqLNnIY
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1006385-1-000-random-facts?page=2
http://funnyshit.com.au/facts.htm
http://www.funology.com/facts-about-people/

Everyone's a Star to Me!

"Every man and every woman is a star" -Aleister Crowley (British Oculist and Mystic-1875-1947)

I really like this quote mainly because I believe in its truthfulness and I like the fact that the man who wrote it really believed in magic. Maybe we aren't all in movies or big shows but I believe everyone is good at something and has a lot of gifts to offer the rest of the world. When I was younger there used to be  an amateur theater company close to my house that would put on plays for kids and I used to like getting the actors' autographs because one day when they made it "big" then I could say I knew them when they got their start which felt cool at the time. I like the idea that everyone has the opportunity to make their mark on the world and to be remembered for it. It may sound a bit strange but in a way I wish I could get all sorts of people's autographs because I see it as yet another way I can show people how awesome I think they are in general.  I also believe there's magic in all of us and that magic should be recognized as much as possible. I hope everyone lets some of the light that I know is in them shine out through their talents because I believe everyone has star power that needs to be seen, felt, and most of all enjoyed!

 

I'm proudly wearing purple to show that epilepsy can be empowering!

I learned about this really cool organization called the Anita Kaufman Foundation who started a "Purple Day" initiative to get people all over the world to wear purple on March 26th to raise awareness about epilepsy and get people talking about it.Very briefly: people are said to have epilepsy only after they have had more than 1 seizure. There are many different types of seizures that can effect people in many different ways, some fall down, others may stop talking abruptly and start smacking their lips or pulling at their clothing. No seizure is exactly alike. If you'd like to learn more about epilepsy please click here.)

So as you can see below I wore purple today. What I like about the shirt I'm wearing is that it says "Empowering Young Women With Disabilities." I think the shirt applies because in some respects I think being diagnosed with epilepsy has been a strangely empowering experience. I was diagnosed when I was 19 and if you'd asked me at the time whether I felt empowered the answer would have been an emphatic no! However, since then I've come to feel empowered by it. Having epilepsy has helped me to see the strength that people have, (myself include)d in refusing to let epilepsy stop them from doing things they wanted to do. I've met some amazing people who have epilepsy and I feel empowered by their example as they make me want to grow and be a better person and to find more ways to help others.

I know that having a condition that appears to take all the control over your body away from you at times, probably seems like a very disheartening thing to experience. However, because I've gone through such experiences I really believe I can get through them if they happen again and so they don't feel so frightening to me. Perhaps this is because I've been lucky that my epilepsy is now well managed that I'm able to see things in this way. However, I still think there are so many things in life that are out of everyone's control and yet people somehow always find ways not just to "get by" but also to thrive! So I'm going to thrive and perhaps where purple more often while thriving! If you'd like to read more about Purple Day click here.

Hooray for Kids' Resilience!

I never really got into March Madness. Don't get me wrong, I like watching basketball and it was always fun to go with my family to see Michigan State basketball games as I grew up not too far away from Michigan State's campus. However, I was proud today to see that one Michigan State player named Adreian Payne  was featured in the Huffington Post because of his friendship with a little girl named Lacey he met who was fighting cancer when the team went to visit kids who were in hospital. I liked the fact that the friendship lasted and that it inspired Adreian and helped him grow. As a result of their friendship Adreian wanted Lacey to be present at his senior night ceremony just to show how much she meant to him. To me this story is a testament to the power of resilience that kids have especially when they face something really difficult like fighting cancer. I think the power of that resilience should never be underestimated as it seems to do so much good not only in helping people like Lacey survive but also in bringing people together. I'm also glad that basketball teams make a point of visiting kids in hospitals, not just because it cheers kids up (which is great) but I figure it gives players something to play for that's bigger than themselves and their team which I think more than anything helps them really be winners. That said, I still root for Michigan State no matter what the outcome is for March Madness. Go Spartans!

Some "Rules" I want to live by

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey

I believe there's a little bit of heaven in everything, I just have to find that bit (although finding that bit can take a while sometimes.) I've sung in T (metro) stations without caring what people think. I have also danced not caring who was watching me but then again, dancing by oneself isn't as fun as dancing with other people. Regardless of what I do/have done, I want to continue to love people no matter what. Even if you don't dance or sing, I hope that you find something good in your life every day and that you always love at least one person because love is one of the best things that exists on this earth. 

I love accents!

Everyone has a voice and I think I (like my mum) am attracted to that trait about people more than a lot of things. For example, my mum loves David Attenborough's voice (he's a British naturalist who did BBC nature show commentaries. I don't think he does them anymore because according to Wikipedia, which of course is the source of all knowledge, the man is 87. Still he does have a very nice voice-see the clip below.) I think it's so funny that from the way someone speaks, others can often figure out roughly where that person is from. I rather like the idea that we carry a little bit of where we're from around with us in the way we speak. Personally I think I have a mash up of a Midwestern US accent with perhaps a little British mixed in there somewhere from my mum. Now that I've moved to Boston though, I've found I sometimes also wind up with a tiny bit of a Boston accent, which of course makes me feel wicked smahht! Whatever my words might sound like and even that sound changes, I think I'll always like the idea that I carry a little bit of my home, family, and friends with me in the way I speak. It's yet another reminder that my home and the people I love most in all this world are always with me, which is the main reason why I'm glad I have an accent!

For your listening pleasure (and also because he's my mum's favorite naturalist), the clip below is of David Attenborough. His voice has always sounded very soothing to me.

A Real Life Sister Act!-Even nuns can Rock

I love the movie Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg ( if you haven't seen it Whoopi plays a night club singer who I think witnesses a murder and gets placed in a nunnery as a sort of witness protection thing. In the process she teaches the nuns to sing gospel/contemporary music in order to reach out to the public in a bigger way.) Anyway, I was really excited today when I saw this video clip of this nun in Italy who went on The Voice Italia and sang "No One" by Alicia Keys. To me this nun was an example of how if you have a gift it should be celebrated no matter who you are or what your job/vocation might be. It made me smile because it was unexpectedly cool and really fun to watch! (P.S.  for those who don't speak Italian click the CC button at the bottom of the Youtube clip screen and it translates everything for you.)

Really cute kids

Kids have a tendency to make me smile. For your viewing pleasure, here are some clips of kids being their awesome and/or funny selves.

I saw this little boy on the Ellen DeGeneres show who had a heart disorder but an awesome heart nonetheless. In any case, he made my heart feel good!

This little girl sang really beautifully and her sweetness factor was off the charts!

Little kids are smart! Which is clearly demonstrated by the little boy below!

Yes there is an International Day of Happiness!

On March 20th 2012 the UN declared March 20th the International Day of Happiness recognizing happiness as a goal in the lives of human beings. It was stated that: " Social, economic and environmental well-being are indivisible. Together they define gross global happiness.”  Although I like to think every day is a day worth celebrating happiness, I also like the fact that the UN uses "gross" to define happiness (gross meaning nothing taken out) I think if you're truly happy nothing is taken away from that feeling of happiness and maybe that's a matter of not letting anything take away from that happiness. Maybe people aren't wildly happy all the time (although being wildly happy is kind of fun in small doses). However, I figure if I can maintain a level of happiness (enough to smile and laugh quite a bit each day) then I'm doing pretty well. So I hope today was especially happy for everyone and that you could celebrate it!

I didn't think I would...but I did!

There are many things I didn't think I'd do
Like go to school far away from home
Or live with people I didn't previously know
And because I moved in with strangers
I made great friends who I now very much love

I never thought I'd travel 500 miles by bike to see places I hadn't seen
Or hug random strangers for the pure joy of seeing them happy
These things seemed slightly crazy before I did them
But the doing taught me many things
 Like how life is wicked fun!

Even though I've done things
There's still so much more I want to do
After all, a life is full of things to do
Which is why I plan to tick things off my bucket list
As there's always more to be done!

I believe that everyone
Has a life full of doing really great things
Which is one of the things I love about people
And why I hope in your life dear reader
You go on many adventures in the days to come!

My favorite muppet....

Apparently there's a Muppet movie coming out soon which is very exciting to me mostly because I grew up very much in love with Sesame Street (so much so that my mum used the show to teach me how to tell time-she'd say "Margaret, we'll go out in an hour." Since an hour sounded like an eternity she'd then say "it's not that long-just one Sesame Street" which of course was enough explanation for me.) Anyway, the fact that a Muppet Movie  is coming out got me thinking that if I could be a Muppet I'd like to be Kermit the Frog just because I like singing and he's very soulful with songs like "It's not Easy Being Green" and "Rainbow Connection" He's also funny so he has the right combination of good traits that makes him loveable! So even if it's not easy being green, he makes it classy!

St. Patrick's Day Jokes

Since I like to think St. Patrick had a sense of humor and because in the Catholic faith, today is his feast day, I thought I should share some St. Patrick's Day jokes. See below:

Jokes from:http://tinyurl.com/pcc2v28

Q: How did the Irish Jig get started?

A: Too much to drink and not enough restrooms!

Q:  When is an Irish Potato not an Irish Potato?

A: When it's a FRENCH fry!
 

Q: Why can't you iron a four-leaf clover?

A: Because you shouldn't press your luck!

Jokes from: http://tinyurl.com/ozoamj7

Q: Have you ever heard of the 6-leaf clover?

 A: I haven't either!

Man 1: I went out drinking on St Patricks Day, so I took a bus home.

Man 2: So?

Man 1: Well it may not be a big deal to you, but I've never driven a bus before that night!

source: http://www.jokes4us.com/holidayjokes/stpatricksdayjokes/stpatricksdayonelinersjokes.html

 Jokes from:http://tinyurl.com/qavzebe

Q: What is Irish and left out on the lawn all summer?
A: Paddy O'Furniture! 

Q:Where can you always find gold?
A: In the dictionary
 
Q: How can you tell if a leprechaun is having a good time?
A: He is Dublin over with laughter!) 

Q: What type of bow cannot be tied?
A: A rain-bow!) 
 
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Irish!
Irish Who?
Irish you all a happy St. Patrick's Day!

Closing Ceremony of the Sochi Paralympics

So comes to an end the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi. I liked the ceremony and the fact that it was Tetris themed. I especially the ceremony's message "I'm possible." As to the ceremony's message, it was presented in what I felt was a rather nice, with one of the Paralympians climbing up on a rope solely using his arms to put an apostrophe between the "I" and "m" to change the word "impossible" to "I'm possible" (see below.) To me, everyone has so many possibilities in life and so much potential. This is something that I think is especially true of people with disabilities which is why I'm really glad the Paralympics exists. It taps into that potential and showcases it on a world stage. I hope that maybe some time in the future the Paralympics will be even more widely broadcast during evening TV like the Olympics was so that even more people have more time to watch it and see the awesome things the athletes do while competing in their events. I want more than anything for everyone to believe that anything is possible. I'd like even more people to watch the Paralympics because everything in it shows that people can accomplish anything they want to do, no matter what challenges they face.In keeping with the Paralympics' focus on spirit and motion,  whatever your goals are in life, I hope that you keep moving towards them and that you do so with a lot of spirit!

My favorite birthday with my sister

It's my sister's birthday today! It got me thinking of a past birthday she had where we went with a bunch of her friends and got makeovers. I think it was the first time we'd ever gotten  a professional makeover. Why is this so memorable? I think it was one of the few birthdays she had which was really "girl themed." It was nice because my sister wanted to  feel pretty and make sure everyone else was able to have fun and feel pretty as well. There's something nice about getting all dolled up like that. We all looked fabulous, my sister most of all!

A cheer for all Paralympians

To Paralympians

You've made it to the Paralympics!
Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!
In whatever your sport you compete
Whether it's skiing, snowboarding, curling or playing hockey
No matter what happens I know you'll do great!

I know you'll do really well
Because you've come so far already
And there's always more to do
Which is why I like watching all of you
Because all athletes inspire me too

Although I have been sledding
I think it would be cool to sled and play hockey all at once
And I'd like to race on skis down a mountain as fast as possible
It all sounds like fun.
And it must be even better once the race is won

To me everyone in the Paralympics is a winner
Because you've come so far
And I hope that you'll never let anything stop you
So you can go even farther
Which is why I continue to root for everyone
And as always I wish everyone the very best!

Everything can be a blessing!

I was reading today about Joany Badenhorst who is competing in the Paralympics snowboarding competition. Joany's leg was amputated in an accident on her family's farm in South Africa. Despite this, now that Joany has a new prosthetic leg, she views her injury as a blessing as without it she wouldn't have been able to compete in the Paralympics. I think that's a really cool way to look at things in life-everything is a blessing in one way or another, even if it may not seem like it at first. The snowboarding competitions start this Friday. I wish her the best of luck! To read more about her click here.

Fall down? Get up and WIN!

A Canadian cross country skier named Brian McKeever won the men's visually impaired 1 km race in 3minutes 59 seconds today. He came back to win after he fell down during the start of the race. It's been called one of the great races in Paralympic history. I'm so pleased he won and the picture below showing Mr. McKeever jumping up and down after he won, really expresses the joy that I think comes from winning after a struggle. The story reminds me that falling doesn't have to be the end. However far people fall, there's still always the chance of getting back up and winning in the end!

Photo from: http://tinyurl.com/pnrhu4u

Spirit in Motion!

The Paralympics motto is "Spirit in Motion" and according to the Paralympics website, the Paralympic symbol of red, green, and blue Agitos (half disc-like symbols) are red, blue and green because those are three colors that are in some part of most of the world's flags. I especially like the fact that the 3 symbols come to a central point which is meant to symbolize the movement of athletes to come together to compete. I like the motto and symbols because I think people with spirit regardless of their circumstances as long as people can work together, there's nothing that people cannot accomplish. The motto of moving people is apparently meant to also show that Paralympians inspire people and are strong willed. I like to think that, among the good things about having a disability is that people with disabilities have a unique ability to inspire people and as long as it's inspiring someone for the better I think that's a wonderful thing. I'm forever inspired by Paralympians as their strength and courage does move me and it makes me want to be better in doing whatever it is that I want to do. So in part to honor them, I've now decided to have motion and lots of spirit in my life!

UK wins their first ever Winter Paralympic Gold!

It's official the UK has won their first Paralympic gold for a Winter Paralympics! Kelly Gallagher won the women's Super-G race ( A super giant slalom skiing race.) Kelly and her guide were able to get down the mountain in 1 minute 28 seconds. What I like most about her story is the fact that she had finished in last place in the downhill race on Saturday. I like how people can bounce back and win like that. After all, if you don't have to do any struggling for it, winning isn't as much fun. Plus, once you've worked so hard to achieve something, especially something as big as a gold medal at the Paralympics, I figure you've come too far to give up when things don't go so well. At the very least, I think it's really wonderful that people can even get as far as to compete in the Paralympics (or the Olympics, for that matter) because it shows that they've reached the highest level of skill.  The fact that they were able to go so far, makes all those involved in the Paralympics seem like winners to me. I'd give them all medals if I could but that would probably make medals really boring. I'll have to think of something else, hmmm, brain cells working-still thinking. When I come up with something I'll ship the prizes off to Sochi!

Paralympics Day 2-sports can unite and reunite people!

One of the many things I love about sports is that it can unite people towards a common goal. It can also reunite people. Today at the Paralympics for example, a cross-country skier named Tatyana McFadden was finally reunited with her Russian birth mother. Tatyana was adopted as a child as she was very ill with spina bifida (read about the medical condition here.) Despite her disability and warnings that she wouldn't live long, Tatyana did grow up and has gone on to win 10 medals for wheelchair racing in the past 3 summer Paralympic games.She came in 5th in the cross country race today. That aside, I think the fact that she found her family is the real prize for her. It's nice that an event like the Paralympics can reunite people like that. To me, Tatyana McFadden is doubly blessed to have a very supportive adoptive family and to have found her birth family as well. I hope that she takes home an 11th medal to add to her collection.  However, no matter what the outcome is for her in Sochi, I'm really glad she has a family that loves her as having a loving family is better than any prize I can think of. Best of luck to her!

Day 1 of the Paralympics

Day 1 of the Paralympics' sports included sledge hockey, the biathalon, downhill and cross country skiing.  I liked the skiing the best, mostly because it also involves blind  (both legally blind and completely blind) people competing. They have guides that help them on the course. The guide and racer communicate via radio and they talk to each other through microphones on their helmets. I think it must take a lot of faith from both guider and athlete that the other will guide them safely down the hill. I read an article about it (you can read it here ) which said that guides give the skiers short commands so they can safely compete. As much as I support Team USA,(and liked the hockey game they played against Italy and won!) today I'd like to highlight the story of a British woman  named  Jade Etherington who is visually impaired and got 3rd place in the women's  downhill skiing competition. She's the first British woman to win a Paralympic medal in that sport which I think is pretty cool!  It shows me that there are no  limits to what  people can do. I'm glad people don't let blindness  (or anything else for that matter,) stop them and because they don't let  anything stop them, they go on to win medals! You can read more about Jade Etherington here.

March 7th- the first day of the Paralympics!

As I feel the Paralympics merits even more fanfare, I want to further publicize the fact that the opening ceremonies for the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia was today. I liked the ceremony and especially the fireworks and dancing. It was really beautiful. I also liked watching the athletes enter the stadium, it felt good to see so many! The things I like best about the Paralympics in general is that it shows that anyone can achieve greatness and great success no matter what circumstances they face. They have really cool events that are virtually identical to those of the Olympic games, they're simply modified the events to meet the needs and abilities of the competing athletes so they can really showcase their talents. For example, they have sports such as ice sledge hockey. Sochi is apparently the biggest Paralympics yet with more athletes than ever before which makes me even more psyched about it!!!! I hope people watch it. Even though it's not as widely broadcast in the US you can still watch it online here. Best of luck to everyone competing!

 

Places I'd go.....

Since it's been really cold in Boston people were talking today about where they'd go if they could go some place warm. It got me thinking of places I'd like to go because I've always liked traveling-it's fun to see places and do new things. Below is a list of places I'd like to go. I'll try and get to all of them as I'd like to be a globe trotter!

•  Puerto Rico-I have some friends I'd like to visit and it looks beautiful.
• Louisiana - I'd like to go to Mardi Gras and eat real Cajun food that's made there.
•  Cuba- I'd like to see it especially for the historical aspects because I like history-plus there's the appeal of it being a forbidden thing to do. 
• Georgia-I'd like to see Savannah and all the history there.
• Alaska-there's a story behind this: my mum has this audio tape of me when I was about 3 and in it she's interviewing me and my grandparents "for posterity" and she asks me where I'm from and I say "Alaska"  -I'd never been there (still haven't yet). I think that I'd seen some show about it or something or I was just a confused little kid (or both) Anyway, I'd like to see Alaska even if I'm not from there.
• Guyana-Apparently it's like Eden there so I think it's worth a visit!
• Kenya -my parents went there once and said it was an amazing experience.
• India -maybe not the whole thing but New Delhi I'd like to see and of course visit a really good friend who lives there. 
• Brazil-I'd like to see Sao Paulo 
• Italy-I'd like to see the leaning tower of Pisa, Rome in general and Pompeii-providing the volcano doesn't erupt!

Why I'm still excited by Paddington Bear

They're making a movie about Paddington Bear and I'm excited! For those of you who don't know of Paddington Bear, he's a bear that travels from "Deepest Darkest Peru" to London and winds up in Paddington Station in London where he is found by the Brown family. I loved the stories about Paddington Bear when I was younger and the TV series that sprung out of it.  I still like it because I think there's a part of me that just stubbornly won't grow up (I hope it stays that way) and that part of me still likes stories like Paddington bear. Since, as I said, I was very excited today when I found out they're making a movie about Paddington that's coming out in December (yes it is a long way off but I'm still excited!), below are some things I like best about Paddington.

• Paddington Bear loves marmalade-he has good taste in jam!
• When the Brown family finds Paddington, he has a tag on his suitcase saying "wanted on  voyage" which to me meant he'd get to have all sorts of adventures and trips.
• I liked how when he's found Paddington has a tag pinned to him saying "Please look after this bear. Thank you" Perhaps it sounds bad but I liked that sign-to me it meant someone wanted to try and make sure that he was always taken care of.
• He always wears a hat -very proper like (he got it from his Uncle Pastuzo of course).
• Even if he makes mistakes his heart is in the right place.

Un Poema Sobre Español

Porque me gusta Español y quiero practicar escribiendo siento como este es mi oportunidad. Por esta razón abajo de este mensaje esta un poema. ¡Escribí este solamente porque yo  puedo! 

Me gusta Español

Me gusta  Español
Porque el sonido está tan bonita
Porque puedo hablar en esta lengua
Significa que puedo hablar con más personas

Porque puedo hablar en esta lengua
Puedo conocer  más
Es posible que puedo ayudar más personas  también
Estas son las cosas más importante para mi
Y quiero escribir este poema como un regalo para ti

Who I'd like to party with

After the Oscars, one of the things people seem to talk about is parties afterwards. Since I haven't been on the invite list (yet!) to any after party I thought I'd write about people I'd like to party with.

• My family and friends top the list. I should host my own little after party for all of them someday. It's going to happen -just have to plan it all out so it rivals everyone else's!
• The members of the Liberty Belle Chorus because they have so much energy and life and love which is why I'm so happy to join the group! 
• The members of American University's Gospel Choir because they bring a lot of joy to life and every performance they do is like a party.
• Pharrell Williams-As a very short open letter to him-I'd like to thank him because when I feel down his song "Happy" never fails to put a smile on my face. It makes all the difference in my life and I hope he keeps making really great songs that make people feel really good inside.
• Ellen DeGeneres-I really like how she dances in all of her shows and is always fun and funny!
• Russell Brand-I just think he has a lot of energy and his spontaneity is awesome!  
• Harry Potter-Ok I realize he's not real which is fine-I'd just like to have a magic wand!
• Bennedict Cumberbatch-He's intelligent, funny and does a great Alan Rickman impersonation!
• Jim Parsons from the show "The Big Bang Theory" I'd just be so amused to have him at a party.
• Allen Leech-He plays Tom Branson in the show Downton Abbey, he just seems so....eye candyish and nice! :)

Prizes I wish/am glad they had/have at the Oscars

I'm all for giving out awards for things and since its Oscar Awards night I thought about some awards I wish they'd give out.

•  Best humanitarian actor/actress. I'm glad they have this award! I like actors like Bono whose done a lot of humanitarian work in general  and actresses like Charlize Theron who designed an outreach project to help combat AIDS in Africa. I like the fact that they're letting their star power shine to do something good which is refreshing!
• Best dressed-let's face it, really the only reason I watch the Oscars is to see all the pretty dresses
• Best photobomb-I don't know exactly win people started "photobombing" but it can be really funny!
• Best short acceptance speech-a good speech is a short speech.
• Funniest acceptance speech-it's always good to laugh!
• Best motivational acceptance speech- I heard a speech by someone named Gerda Weissmann Klein  (click here to watch.) I liked how she said that "all of you who know the joy of freedom are winners."
• Best thank you-I really like it when people thank their parents during their speeches. 
• Best Oscar moment-I think Adrien Brody kissing Halle Berry would be up there on that list.
• Best red carpet interview-I never knew June Squibb was a stripper on Broadway. (Don't know quite why that's amusing to me, I guess it's just the way she described it.) Anyway, amusing interviews are fun.
• Best presenter/emcee-they really make the show better!

The Secret to Happiness According to the Dalai Lama

According to the Dalai Lama the secret to happiness comes from  "One, warm heartedness. That brings inner strength, more self confidence. That reduces fear, that reduces suspicion. So we need friendship, friendship entirely based on trust. So that's one thing. Then in order to pay more attention to these things, you see, we must use our intelligence in order to know the reality more holistically. So a combination of warm heartedness and sharp intelligence. Combine these two things, then your life becomes more healthier, more wiser."

So really the recipe for true happiness is simple: add together good friendships warm heart, and a good mind, and stir!