For seven seasons, Dancing with the Stars has been a crowd-pleasing hit. What’s not to love? Whether you love cheering for your favorite celebrities; watching sexy, sassy, or snarky dance routines every week; engaging in some family-friendly reality fun; or endorsing your competitive side by entering DWTS pools (or voting for your favorite dancer until your votes are maxed out)– Dancing with the Stars really seems to have it all.

What’s more, the show has proven that working out can be fun, and that dancing is an excellent way to shed some unwanted pounds, build muscle, and start living an overall healthier lifestyle. I know I signed up for Zumba and impulsively bought the DWTS Cardio Dance workout DVD without batting an eye.

As DWTS has increased our awareness of fun ways to stay fit, it’s also a great vehicle to demonstrate that fitness comes in all shapes and sizes. In the past, we’ve seen DWTS combat some of the Hollywood stereotypes that distort women’s body images across the country. Remember when all 167 pounds of Laila Ali made it to the top three? How about when Sabrina Bryan, who is “chunky” by Hollywood standards, was sent home simply because everyone thought she was too talented to need their votes?

Most importantly, consider the fact that normally the beauty queens and supermodels are the first to get the boot: Paulina Porizkova, Shandi Finnessey, and Shoana Moakler are among the competitors who never saw round three, and thus, they all blend together into one generic DWTS loser, while fan favorites like Marisa Jaret Winokur show you that being skinny doesn’t mean you can move. Read More »

I have never gone out with anyone who cheated on me (to the best of my knowledge). Like most other people, I tend to think that cheaters are the scum of the Earth and that they should be ostracized from society to sufficiently pay for the way they deeply hurt their partners by doing something so stupid.

However, if I give it some thought that’s more in-depth, I realize it’s not even close to that simple.

I’ve never cheated, no, but I’ve come damn close. Close enough so that if I was my boyfriend, I’d be really, really upset with me. I could make excuses all day—I didn’t realize what I had, my priorities weren’t straight, I was selfish, I was stupid… but at the end of the day, I still came pretty close.

There’s got to be something—some kind of line—that separates me, the almost-cheater, from someone else who actually has cheated. I don’t think I’m speaking ignorantly when I say that most cheaters regret their actions and feel bad about them.

But this post isn’t about why they do it—it’s about whether cheating is ever excusable. Read More »

As far as relationship milestones go, moving in together is right up there with getting engaged and having a child. It may not seem like such a huge deal initially, but it’s really one of the bigger make or break moments in a relationship.

Deciding to live with your significant other is essentially committing to a practice marriage; you will find out how often he wears the same pair of smelly socks, that he has a difficult time digesting Mexican food and calls his mom twice a day. This doesn’t mean there is something fundamentally wrong with him, you will just finally get to see all the not so shiny things about him–things that ultimately shouldn’t matter if you are in love.

After all, he’s going to know how scary you look in the morning, hear you fart, and discover that, indeed, you sometimes poop.

Being that its such a huge step, it goes without saying that moving in together is not something to be taken lightly. Here are some things to consider before taking the proverbial plunge. Read More »