My Thank You Note to Oprah

Dear Oprah,


As much as I want to scream and shout that your show has now come to an end, I just have to suck it up and realize that while it lasted it helped change my life. I am what you would call an Oprah Show baby. There has never been a time in my life that the show hasn't been on air. In my younger years, Oprah was a constant background noise and evolved to become a voice of reason as I grew and matured. I can remember watching you interview the cast of Friends before their final season and from that moment on I became your biggest fan! I watched as much as I can and soaked up all that you were saying. I lived for the episodes with Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, the episodes with Dr. Oz's uncomfortable tips, and the episodes where you and Gayle had the absolute craziest adventures.

More than anything, I lived for the empowerment you have given to young women around the world. For that Oprah, I have to say thank you. I've never been the most confident person and have struggled with my own self confidence. I was never the skinniest, never the most popular, never the most outgoing. The one thing that I have always has a lot of is dreams. For as shy as I was in person, the goals I have in my life are anything but quiet. It was through you Oprah, that I realized that it didn't matter what other people thought, it was me who controlled my destiny. I knew that I could be the woman I wanted to be. I could be something special. I could be phenomenal. Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Women" speaks to me as it does to you. I will be something special.

It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

So it is because of myself, and a little bit of your encouragement, that I am now a senior in college at Gonzaga University, majoring in Public Relations. I just returned from a year abroad in Florence, Italy where I was able to see the world and expand my horizons. I hope, no I know, I will be working in the entertainment industry when I graduate, maybe even for my DREAM job at Harpo. My life will be nothing short of crazy beautiful!

Love you girl,
Maddie Murphy

Future Job??

I look forward to Oprah's Favorite Things show every year. Not only do I look forward to the housewives going bat-shit-crazy over the loot Oprah hands out, but I also just love getting the inside scoop from one of my favorite girlfriends. There is nothing better than sitting down to lunch with your favorite ladies and coming out with a whole list of hidden gem products that you will soon be utterly obsessed with! As America's favorite girlfriend, Oprah has given us women an artillery of products to use at our disposal. With the end of Oprah, and truly the end of the most fabulous Era, in sight, I feel like I have to take over for the Queen. Each Tuesday, I'll try to share a little something-something that I just can't live without. I can't use my best Oprah voice to shout "You get a Car. You get a Car. EVERYBODY gets a Car!" just yet, but I can give the inside scoop on all things favorite.  

May 24, 2011 

 Benefit Erase Paste

I don't know about you, but I get the craziest black circles under my eyes. Working at a hotel, I can't have me looking like I got in a bar fight the night before when in reality I'm just flat out exhausted because of the morning shift wake up call. I literally can't live without this little miracle. I use it everyday, and it helps make me look a little bit more morning glory.  

Find it at Sephora for $26.  

Joisy Recap: Posh Problems

I have to be honest here: I am completely obsessed with the Real Housewives of New Jersey. The past two seasons have been nothing short of epic. The family dinners, the matriarchal showdowns, and the unbeWEAVEable scandals have given America even more reasons to hate on the state of New Jersey and have given me all the more reason to use words like Joisy, bubbies, and familia. When learning that the much despised Danielle Staub would not be a member of the cast this season I was more than a little nervous. I was nervous that the absolute insanity that I had grown to love would be missing and instead replaced with mundane family drama. My hunch was not incorrect, this season is going to be completely filled with la familia, but the drama that is present is anything but mundane.

Bravo has introduced us to two new cast members, Melissa Gorga and Kathy Wakile, both of whom are related to our beloved Teresa Giudice. These family members don't play nice. As we learned in the first episode there is deep-seated drama between Teresa and her brother Joe, who is Melissa's husband. It seems to stem from Teresa's fame and Joe's lack of fame, but that could just be me. Joe and Melissa seem to be little jellie bellies about Teresa winning her way into America's pop culture obsessed hearts. Last week's premiere gave us a huge preview into the intense drama that is sure to be brewing all season long. Joe and Melissa's sons christening was anything but a Pius occasion. There was bubbling over of the famous Italian temper which resulted in a full on brawl between Joe Giudice and Joe Gorga. We discovered the historical tension between the two because of Teresa and Joe's fathers attitude towards both his son and son-in-law. As much as Joe argues that this all was started by Teresa and Joe, from my point of view the entire christening mess was all his doing. I have a feeling that the drama this season is going to be a tug-o-war match of epic proportions.

The Cutest Joisy Diva's

This week's episode which was centered around the historical Posh Fashion Show (Can we please flash back to last years weave pull...), so you knew it wasn't going to disappoint. Before diving right into the fashion drama rama, I want to take a second to highlight the parenting we see of this show. We are all in awe of the ultimate matriarch, Caroline Manzo. She is obviously a proud mama bear, almost too much so, but you know with 100 percent certainty that she loves her children. So, I want to highlight another one of our wives, my much beloved Teresa Giudice. Tria is given a ton of crap because of her economic crisis and her famous Italian temper, but boy does she love her kids and she is actually doing good job raising those little hams. She is spending time with them, as seen on last nights Halloween festivities (a moment where her brother and Melissa chose to go to a club instead of spend quality time with the kids...), and those girls are turning out to be adorable. I am a proud member of Miliania's Mafia because that child is the absolute funniest thing I have ever seen.



The Classiest of Kims

So, Posh Fashion Show 2.0 was a success for the most part. The drama was kept to a minimum, even with all of Kim G's instigating. Please don't get me started on that woman. She is a crazy old lady, stirring the pot to continue on her 15 minutes of fame. Moving on from that, we see the beginnings of a fight between first cousins Teresa and Kathy. Kathy had no reason to pull Teresa aside at the show to question her parenting skills. She knew that would get a rise from Teresa. I thought I like Kathy, but now I'm not so sure about her. Only time will tell, but currently I'm on Tria's Team Fabulous.