Facing the End...

The Oprah Winfrey Show ends on May 25th....but you knew that already....

Whether you like her or not, you have to admit she has made a huge impact on lives and pop culture.  Everyone knows who she is.  Everyone knows of her generosity.  Everyone knows her television show has been on for 25 years...if you didn't know these things, wake up, take heed and find out what you've been missing before it's too late.  The lessons she has taught us are many.  You have the power to be the person you want to be.  YOU have the capacity to forgive, to heal and to love.  She and Gayle King have shared their friendship with us and reminded us of our BFFs and all the fun we have together.  One of Oprah's favorite quotes from Maya Angelo is, "people will always show you who they are.  Believe them the first time."  I love that.  Her guests have been the celebrities we love, the controversial figures we needed to learn more about and the everyday people we were inspired by.

I will be watching on May 25th, and yes, I will be have a little lump in my throat and tear in my eye.  Good-byes are just not my thing.  While Oprah will do many things on OWN, I will miss the consistency of a show that's aired every day since I was 20 years old.  While I didn't watch it all the time, I knew it was there.  Thank you, Oprah, for the lessons, the laughs and the inspiration.  I wish everyone was a little more like you.

Finding the Perfect House

It's not easy deciding where to live.  So many factors...what's the neighborhood like, how far is the commute to work, are there stores nearby...and of course, is the house perfect.  I love my house.  I've been living in it for almost six years.  Finding this house was a process I won't ever forget.  You wouldn't believe how some people show their house.  One place we looked out was a complete piggery.  Stuff was everywhere.  The next house was just even worse...the woman had, in her bathroom sink, a dirty cloth she used to remove the 10 pounds of make-up she had on the night before.  Really?  Driving to see what eventually became our house we were a little worried.  It's near a college and when we turned down our street, it didn't look the best.  About halfway down the street, it started to turn nice.  Then we saw our little house.  Our eyes lit up, but we hadn't been inside yet.  By now we knew what could be behind the doors of a seemingly nice house.  Then we walked in.  This was it!!  I'd always heard that when you find the right house, just like when you find the right person to marry, you just know it.  Well, we knew it.  The house was perfect.  It had everything we said we wanted and it was immaculate.  The people who live there obviously loved the house too.  It was a seamless transaction and we couldn't be happier.  I really want to hear how you find your house.  If you're in the process of looking for one, tell me what kind of horror stories you've encountered.  I know some of you have some stories that are doozies, so let's hear 'em.  And remember, no matter how many times you walk into the wrong house, when you walk into the right house, you will know it.