4. Joe ft. Papoose "Where You At": I was listening to this song on my way home from work, and I forgot how much I love it. The first time I heard this jam was on this guy's MySpace page, who was absolutely gorgeous. He could be a bit irritating, but I can't front on dude's appearance. He was beautiful on the eyes, and he always had great R&B and hip-hop songs on his page. He's also an impressive author. When I wasn't reading his work, I used to go to his page just to hear what new music was out (he was from the East Coast so he always seemed to have it before anybody else). Anyway, the "smile" is about the song, not him, but I can't mention the song without acknowledging who indirectly introduced the song to me. I totally hope his career goals are going well, too, but then again I have that same wish for everybody!

5. Getting errands done: I know this seems like a goofy thing to be smiling about, but I feel like I've accomplished some real stuff when I get all of my errands done. I woke up today and did five loads of laundry, went to the grocery store, went to the mall, cooked lunch, worked eight hours, did yoga and still have time to chill. To be able to have enough energy and time management to get this stuff done makes me happy.

6. Ellen's best celebrity scares: I watched this video and cried laughing at some parts. When Taylor Swift fell, that sounded like it hurt. Steve Harvey's scare was one of my favorites but it's not on this video. Click here to see his.

7. CNN's "Kids on Race": Although there were parts of this program that were disturbing, others obvious and some eye opening, I smiled because I think I'd have had a positive outlook if I took this test as a kid. The reason I say this is because my mother was absolutely adamant that I be friends with a diverse group, go to a diverse high school and I don't recall there ever being a negative word spoken about different races from anybody when I was growing up. My father would make sure I went to company family events with him and introduce me to kids of all ages. On Saturday, I was browsing through photos of my seventh birthday party (surprise party) and I had a diverse group there. It's strange because as an adult I've heard a few folks I've known all of my life make some really strong comments about race that I didn't even know they felt. It caught me by surprise but caught them by surprise when I didn't co-sign (and it's not going to happen!). But the perk of being raised in a household to be open-minded about race is that it's far more difficult to sway my opinions. I have absolutely no patience for racism regardless of what others may think. I went through an incredibly angry stage in college because there was so much blatant racism, but even when I came home from school, folks had to reel me back in. You can't change everybody's opinion on race, but at least I can confidently say mine is in perspective. I would've preferred to stay in the naive state I was in before college, but it is what it is. At least I can say I am truly comfortable around a diverse group and can/will talk to anybody.

8. Giving my great great aunt a manicure: This was more for her than it was for me, but that girly stage never quite goes away. She had chipped nails and I took that as an opportunity to pounce. Nail polish remover. Nail polish (had it with me but couldn't polish a few toes because my sandals would've messed them up, did it at her home). Cotton balls. Soapy water and a bowl. I was ready to roll. It reminded me of my nail design days in elementary school. I was doing everybody's nails back in the day. Small things like spending time with her and her saying she "feels pretty" make my day. At 30, I want to feel pretty and at 100, I know she does, too.

9. Signing the "thank you" book at the library: My neighborhood library is currently planning some kind of townhall meeting about why it shouldn't close. There are two library ladies (Jeanette and Emma, I think those are their names) who are always really nice to me when I come. I like it when they check out my books or chat for a bit. They're both always busy, but every single time, they're nice. Jeanette reminds me of a cousin of mine named Faye, a little edgy but funny as ever. I didn't go to the townhall meeting (not sure I can) but I did sign the "thank you" book to let them know I appreciated them. They're good people and I love libraries. Anytime I see a bookstore or a library close, it's draining. But let's keep this blog on a brighter note, shall we?

10. Cookie Dough ice cream: This goes against my whole health streak and trying to be more conscious of portion control, but Market Pantry has a great (and economical) brand of cookie dough ice cream. Go Target! You never disappoint.

3. Ask Yee's videos on The Breakfast Club: I must admit that some of the advice on this show made me think, "Ugh, life is so much easier for people not in a relationship. These folks' lives absolutely suck!" But the fun bickering back and forth between Angela Yee and DJ Envy was hilarious. DJ Envy was kinda mean to the lady who he felt wasn't that bright and shouldn't have kids, but the way he and Charlamagne tha god treated her had me cracking up.

4. Watching "Golden Girls" reruns: I watched every last episode of this show as a kid, but it took being an adult and recording the syndicated version to get all of these sex jokes that completely went over my adolescent head. Not only that, but these women clown each other for days. Rose told Blanche she was some random name for the time right when dog poop turns white. DAYYUM, that's rough!

5. Jason Pitts on "The Game": I would be absolutely relieved if Tasha Mack was not on this show. Her character makes a perfectly good show extra hoodrich and she's annoying. I mute the television every time she comes on, but ironically enough I love Brandy's character Chardonnay mainly because she's not trying too hard to be "down." It's natural, not loud. And I can't get enough of watching Chardonnay and Jason Pitts together. Coby Bell is hilarious to me, both in his punch lines and physical comedy. He doesn't have to say a word and even a raised eyebrow or his random dance moves send me into fits of laughter. I watch the show 99.9% of the time to see him and Barry Floyd, who was a great interviewee by the way.

2. The opening to "Right and a Wrong Way": I have no idea what Mario is up to these days, but the opening high note he hit on this song (from the "Go" album) makes me glow and flap my hands around every time I hear it. I love this guy's voice. I think he's underrated in a bunch of mediocre singers from today's R&B. He can truly sing, not just carry a note, but I think the more hip-hop feel of him drowned out his natural talent. If you don't think he can sing, just listen to that one song. I'm sure it'll change your mind. It's my absolute favorite song from him and one of my favorite of all. (Yes, I'm still a little annoyed with the "ink not mink" controversy but that doesn't change the sound of his voice. I'd still buy every last CD he put out.)

3. Eight-hour phone conversation: I could talk to my mother for hours and hang out with my grandfather all day long, but there are very few people outside of those two (and my godfather, who I talked to a couple hours last weekend) that I could just hang out with on the phone. I had a conversation last Saturday night that lasted from around 11 p.m. until 8 a.m. in the morning. I literally feel asleep on the phone and didn't remember saying goodbye. When you voluntarily want to talk to someone that long, you know the conversation is good and you two connect. This is no surprise to me, only confirmation of what I already knew about him.

4. The proposal on "Whitney": Thanks to "Whitney" on Wednesday nights, I have had Khia's "My Neck, My Back" stuck in my head for the past few days. That had to be the tackiest proposal on sitcom television, but I love Whitney Cummings and Chris D'Elia on that show. Those are two very funny people. The only couple I know of that amuse me more than them are Kyle Barker and Maxine Shaw (you know you want to add "Attorney at Law").

5. T-Mobile customer service: Yeah, this is going to sound like a major plug, but there's a reason I've never switched from T-Mobile cell phones or contracts in 11 years. Their phone customer service is always top notch. Yes, their T-Mobile Album web option still doesn't work for other cell phone providers, but I've talked to three representatives and three more technicians who tried their best to help me. I even got a couple credits for not being satisfied with their photo section not working. One even called me back on Saturday to let me know she hadn't forgotten about my request. That's the type of service that'll keep me as a customer. I'd recommend T-Mobile anytime, anywhere. Even when I called with my mother on the phone, I told two representatives, "She has U.S. Cellular, but please don't hold it against her." The representatives both laughed.

I've been the person who got an apology and still brought up the incident repeatedly. Sometimes you do it out of habit and other times you're just so beyond belief that said incident happened that you still harbor anger about it. I get it. Then I stopped it. Both reasons are counterproductive. If you know an apology is genuine and you really want to keep a relationship (friendship, family, significant other) together, you're going to have to let that incident go. If you accept an apology, really know what "accept" means. From Merriam Webster: "to recognize as true: believe" or "to receive willingly." So when you say you accept an apology, you're actually supposed to willingly believe that person meant it.

Yes, we've all heard the term "forgive and forget." For those folks who say "I will forgive but I won't forget," yeah, you can do that but you'll wear yourself out constantly trying to remember it, reenact it and throw it back like a boomerang. Round of applause for your great memory, but buddy, you don't win a prize.

Sometimes a person can apologize for something so much and the other person continues to throw it back at him/her. Tread lightly. Don't draw your big guns unless there's a real war going on. Keep shooting those reminders around and best believe eventually the person apologizing will eventually get so tired of you and your elephant memory and finally say "Fuggit, I'm out." So while you may have gotten your apology and that person may have cared about getting past whatever situation it was, you could become your own worst enemy if you don't let it go. If you're 100% okay with not continuing the relationship, then cool, you got what you wanted. But if you didn't want to be around this person in the first place, may as well have not accepted the apology and just gone about your business. If you did though, then you just shot yourself in the foot. Ouch! Now you have a grudge, the person left you alone and you have nowhere to place this anger accept on the next person who definitely isn't going to pay for the last person's mistakes.

Accept the apology. Enjoy tomorrow. Move on.

3) The steering wheel of the Kia Soul: I got into a car accident a couple of weeks ago. Of course that's nothing to be happy about and I was really disappointed to see the dent and scratches on my passenger side. But I have to give a lot of credit to the guy who hit me. He took full responsibility because he knew he was wrong, his insurance company covered it and they also covered a rental. I do not think Kia Souls are attractive cars (I don't care how many hamster commercials there are for them), but I loved the hell out of that steering wheel. It controlled the volume, the radio, the CD player, satellite radio, cruise control and all the normal stuff. I wish I could've taken that steering wheel and put it in my car.

4) Seeing my Suzuki after it'd been all fixed up: I love my car. People who know me well know that I take care of cars. I'll drive a car until the wheels fall off, but I also baby my car. Car washes every couple of weeks when the dealership let me. Waxes. Cleaning. Vacuuming. An old co-worker used to shake her head about me having a new car smell in 2010 when I got the car new in 2007. So seeing it with the dents wore me out. But coming out of the collision place and seeing my car all fixed up and shiny was wonderful.

5) The call I got from my mother that a surprise visitor was in town: Outside of a grudge and a big argument, it takes a confident and brave person to show up at my parents' house to let me know he's in town. And to admit to my mother we'd gotten into it but he still wanted to see me could've totally went the wrong way. But he did it anyway, and I thought it was flattering (regardless of whatever the results may be).

6) My new haircut with layers: Some people get manicures and pedicures to relax. Others get massages. Me? I like to get my hair chopped off and get a "new" me. My beautician Fran did a great job of layering my hair (see photo below), and I love the new look. Even better, the style is staying around awhile. I can wrap my hair, shake it out and I'm good to go for the rest of the day. I've only had it a week though. We'll see what a real hassle it is once I wash my hair. 

7) Losing 15 lbs. on Weight Watchers: I read Jennifer Hudson's book. I thought it was great. I couldn't figure out why I was gaining weight as a vegetarian. A month into the program and this program isn't playing around. You really can lose a couple pounds per week. I lost 11 lbs. so far. I don't want to be a size 6 again. I'm neutral on being a size 8 again. I'd prefer to be a comfortable size 10. But a 12 concerns me because of diabetes being hereditary in my family. I'm concerned about health not just because I'm a vegetarian, but for superficial reasons like, "Dammit, I already eliminate a lot of fatty foods and drink/eat soy like it's nobody's business. I'll be damned if I give up milk chocolate, too." Weight Watchers taught me a lot about portion control. It's not the foods I'm eating. My exercise program is great. It's all about portions. Great articles on their site about it.

8) Watching Lamar do the "Thriller" dance: I crack up and rewind the scene in "Khloe and Lamar" when he had insomina and did the "Thriller" dance to the whale "sleeping" music. Those sound effects were horrible, but his reaction was hilarious.

9) Joe Budden's story about hiding under the bed: Although I think The Breakfast Club should put itself in the Donkey of the Day section for their Black History Month highlights, that story about Joe Budden hiding under the bed made me laugh so hard at work. Laughing at work is always a good thing.

10) Angela Yee making Maino sweat when talking about relationships: He literally got so nervous talking about her on The Breakfast Club. I respected him for not wanting to put so many women on blast, but it was still fun to listen to him weasel his way out of questions. I like that he didn't go the tacky route (like Charlamagne The God) and just spill off all these women he's slept with, would love to sleep with and talk about how he wants to suck farts out of butts. (That is the nastiest ish I've ever heard.)

11) Maino's "Day After Tomorrow" CD: "That Could Be Us" is definitely my jam, but I could listen to "Cream" and "Gangstas Ain't Dead" all day. Check out my review on Amazon to find out why.

12) Jason Pitts and Brandy on "The Game": I stopped watching "The Game" a couple years ago. It became so lame when it went from a comedy to a drama, and I think Tasha Mack is absolutely obnoxious. However, Jason Pitts is the reason I keep watching the show. Initially I didn't think Brandy would work as Chardonnay, but she does a great job as the love interest and those two are cute, too. I like her on this show way more than playing a politician on "90210." (I hate to say that because a black woman politician versus somebody being "real" seems like a step down, but her acting is better on "The Game.")

13) Whitney on the run: I think Whitney Cummings and Chris D'Elia are a cute couple. That episode of her taking off running during a mugging entertains me for two reasons: 1) She's missed her calling in track; 2) She took off running again when she thought there was a fire and pushed him. They're really affectionate on that show and I think the two of them were meant to be on a show together.

14) A co-worker telling me he was glad to have me on the fourth floor: When you're working with a new group, you never quite know how it'll go. I'd filled in for Breaking News a few times, but to be permanently down there was something I hoped worked out but you can never tell. I was getting ready to leave when one of my co-workers (Sean) on the MoD team told me it's good to have me down here, sometimes people sat at my old desk but I complete their circle (our desks are more like a circular square but that's neither here nor there). I thought that was so sweet and totally unexpected. It's nice to feel welcome in a group, even for loners like myself. Come to think of it, Lauren, Danielle and Meredith were quick to welcome me, too -- two of them even before I actually moved downstairs.

15) My grandfather's latest creation: On Sunday I saw him and he's improved his masterpieces. He told me he had to do something stupid to relieve the tension after doing his income taxes. One night he tried to stand on his head. And then Saturday he decided to create another man out of office supplies.

16) "Hi neighbor" from Meredith: Going back to number 14, I saw Meredith in the lady's room and said "hi neighbor to her." She spoke and then she left to go back to her desk. I went to the desk next to her and she went, "Shamontiel, are you down here for good?" I said, "Yeah, didn't you hear me say, 'hi neighbor.'" She goes, "I thought that was because we were peeing next to each other." I laughed so hard at that. Her response makes me laugh while I'm typing this. That was the most entertaining way to welcome me to the fourth floor.

17) Run-up hugs from Faith: I think I've mentioned my parents' German Shepherd in past posts, but I can't help it. I'm crazy about that dog. I saw her Sunday. I opened the side gate, she came running around the corner (my mother was in the backyard so she was initially distracted), I squatted down and reached my arms out for a hug. She's not exactly friendly to everybody, but when she likes you, she loves you and is so warm. She reminds me of me. She also has a long memory and won't let me cut her paw nails again. I don't blame her. I hated it as much as she did.

18) Gardein vegetarian food: I love this brand name more than Morningstar Farms, and I never thought anything would beat it. Their orange chicken is addictive, and I found a new item to be addicted to: their herb chicken. It's not cheap and Whole Foods Market is not purse friendly, but I'll take expensive healthy food over inexpensive junk food any day.

19) "Key & Peele" old school skit: Jordan Peele walked up to Keegan-Michael Key during a deejay skit. Jordan asked him to play some old school. Now not only was the old school stuff Keegan named relatively new, but Jordan didn't even go for the Earth, Wind and Fire songs. This man went straight back to those boppity bop songs you hear in black and white movies. If that wasn't funny enough, the lady in the pink suit coat was doing hip-hop moves to it. Watching those two dance was great! I love this show. It's the best skit comedy show I've seen in a long time.

20) Watching Grandad tap his feet together: On first look, my grandfather is pretty cool. Old school cool, like Kangol hats, polished dress shoes and suit coats cool. He doesn't go many places without his shades and tends to stay out of everybody's way, posted up against a wall or sitting in the back of the room. But watching him uncut when he's cracking jokes is a delight, and I've had the pleasure for 30 years. When he really thinks something is funny, he kicks both his legs up, taps his feet together (yes, like Dorothy) and cracks up laughing. If he does that clap-feet move, you know you've truly tickled his funny bone. He did that a couple times today when I drove to his house to hang out. It amuses me every time no matter how many times I see it.