Full Biography

Jason Mraz hails from Mechanicsville, VA, where the singer/songwriter grew up amidst the sounds of the Dave Matthews Band and local roots musicians the Agents of Good Roots. However, it was Mraz's interest and participation in musical theater that served as his first introduction to music. Following high school, he moved to New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, but dropped out a year later when he took up the guitar and began to focus on songwriting. Nonetheless, Mraz's training as a vocalist would later show itself on his debut album, which was marked by the pure clarity and range of his tenor range.

After busking around New York, Mraz eventually returned to Virginia; in 1999, however, he made his way out West and settled in San Diego, CA, having been drawn to the city's coffeehouse scene and historical support of singer/songwriters, most notably Jewel. Mraz began playing shows and soon landed a weekly residency at the local hot spot Java Joe's, which had previously played host to Jewel during the early stages of her career. He also formed a duo with drummer Noel "Toca" Rivera, who accompanied Mraz's acoustic material by banging the djembe. Together, the musicians honed a live show that featured as much comedic banter as actual music.

Over the next two years, Mraz's following expanded outside of the San Diego limits and began to encompass Los Angeles, garnering the attention of record labels. Mraz signed to Elektra Records in early 2002 and returned to Virginia to write and record his debut album, a project that saw him working with producer John Alagía (the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer) and his high school heroes, the Agents of Good Roots, who became his backing band. The resulting effort, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, was released that same November, blending Mraz's early influences with elements of country, roots rock, and coffeehouse folk. The buoyant first single "Remedy [I Won't Worry]," which Mraz had co-written with pop hitmakers the Matrix, proved to be a big hit, and Mraz headed out on the road to support it. One of those shows, an October 2003 date at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, was later documented on Mraz's summer 2004 live release Tonight, Not Again. The album tided his fans over until July 2005, when the songwriter returned with the sophomore studio effort Mr. A-Z. Mraz's popularity reached a new high in 2008 with the release of We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, which peaked at number three and spawned his first chart-topping single, "I'm Yours." The concert album, Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess: Live on Earth, followed in 2009.

I'm yours, lyrics

Well you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
Now I'm trying to get back
Before the cool done run out
I'll be giving it my bestest
And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some

I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
Listen to the music of the moment babay sing with me
I love peace for melody
And It's our God-forsaken right to be loved love loved love loved

So I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours

Scooch on over closer dear
And i will nibble your ear

I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror
And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
And so I drew a new face and laughed
I guess what I'm be saying is there ain't no better reason
To rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons
It's what we aim to do
Our name is our virtue

But I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait I'm sure

Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours
Please don't, please don't, please don't
There's no need to complicate
Cause our time is short
This oh this this is out fate, I'm yours!

Treat Your Guests to Autumn-Inspired Smoothie Desserts for Thanksgiving

No Thanksgiving meal is complete without dessert and many would say it is probably the best part of the whole dinner, or the course your guests anticipate the most. This year, consider serving a unique and pleasantly surprising end of meal treat – the dessert smoothie. Why just serve the same desserts everyone expects like pecan or apple pie? By adding a just few simple ingredients the smoothie can be reinvented as a rich and sweet indulgence. So forget spending hours in the kitchen peeling apples, making home-made pie crust and chopping nuts … it is time to get out the blender.
Europe’s Best, a new line of fresh, gourmet frozen fruits available in your supermarket freezer, makes it easier than ever to blend a dessert smoothie. The fruits come in a bounty of varieties from harvest fresh cranberries to raspberries to blueberries, among others. Now that farmer’s markets have packed up for the winter and fresh fruit is harder to find (and the prices have skyrocketed), the price is even something to be thankful for: a 21-ounce bag carries the suggested retail price $2.99 to $3.99. You don’t even have to wash and cut up the fruit, so relax and watch the parade or the football game. With its fresh-picked taste and convenience, Europe’s Best frozen fruits make blending dessert smoothies quick, easy and sinfully indulgent.
What’s Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie? Serve up a tart twist to the autumn staple with frozen cranberries.
Pumpkin Pie Dessert Smoothie (Serves 6)

3 cups orange juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups partially frozen Europe's Best cranberries
3 cups chilled solid pack pumpkin
3/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 cups vanilla ice cream

Place all ingredients in blender and mix using the on/off pulse function until the ingredients are mostly blended. Continue blending and increase the speed until smooth. Serve in hallowed mini pumpkins and top with crumbled graham crackers.
For a twist on the after dinner drink, add a swizzle of fun to your Thanksgiving with a dessert smoothie infused with Grand Marnier.
Cranberry and Grand Marnier Smoothie (Serves 6)

2 cups milk
3/4 cups Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
1 cup vodka
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup partially frozen Europe’s Best cranberries
2 cups partially frozen Europe’s Best raspberries
2 cups vanilla or white chocolate ice cream

Follow same instructions as above. Garnish with shaved orange peel and serve in a brandy glass.
For a quick, healthy breakfast before the big meal, try a Breakfast Smoothie (Serves 1)

1 cup Europe’s Best Sunburst Mango
1 cup Europe’s Best Select Raspberries
1 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup honey (or just sweeten to taste)
Your favorite or multigrain cereal

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately in a small bowl.

About Europe’s Best

Europe’s Best picks all its fruit when fully ripened; the fruit is then washed and individually quick frozen and packaged in convenient, re-sealable pouches within hours after harvest. The company’s proprietary flash freezing process prevents any loss of nutrients and seals in natural flavors and no sugar, preservatives or coloring agents are added. The ten gourmet frozen fruit varieties are now available in select retailers across the country. Log onto www.EuropesBest.com for store locations and additional recipes.

Europe’s Best, headquartered in Montreal, is a new company specializing in the development, packaging and distribution of premium quality frozen products. Through partnerships with major national and international suppliers of fruits and vegetables, they offer consumers the finest frozen food at the best price. The firm distributes its products to the retail market under the Europe’s Best brand.

Thanksgiving Tales

One of my favorite Thanksgiving dinners when I was growing up wasn’t even turkey; it was pizza. We were supposed to go to my aunt’s house for dinner, but my sister and I woke with colds, so we couldn’t go. This was before grocery stores were open 24 hours, so my mother had to feed us the only food we had in the house: a frozen pizza. She was upset, but for my sister and me, there was something gloriously naughty about not having turkey for Thanksgiving. Between coughing and sneezing, we enjoyed our rebellious pizza and couldn’t wait to tell our friends about it.
At another Thanksgiving, I walked into the kitchen to help my mother serve the turkey and we both saw the possible disaster at the same time: the cat on the kitchen counter next to the turkey. I will never forget the sight of my mother’s horrified face as we listened to the guests in the next room blissfully unaware of the turkeyless possibilities. There was a long pause as she weighed her options. My mother swore me to secrecy and we served the turkey. She never told anyone else why she threw half of it away. She told me that was just a precaution, because as she slowly explained, she didn’t really think the cat had actually touched the turkey but she didn’t want anyone to eat something that had cat breath on it. (Uh oh, you won’t tell my relatives will you? I’ll have to tell everyone that’s ever eaten at my house that they can’t read this article.)
Another favorite Thanksgiving of mine was the first one that my husband cooked when we were newlyweds. My husband had proudly decided that he would cook the turkey. He was excited about doing it until he realized that in order for us to eat at lunch time he would have to get up at 5:30 AM to put the turkey in. And he didn’t realize that he’d have to put his hand into the turkey to get the giblets out. I didn’t realize he was so squeamish. He complained so loudly the next morning that I wordlessly crawled out of bed, ripped the giblets out of the turkey, and with a disgusted look, I dared him to wake me up again.
That was also the Thanksgiving that we learned our most important lesson about using a food processor – never, never try to make mashed potatoes in one. The lady on the other end of the food processor hotline that we frantically dialed was very kind and sympathetic. I bet she’d been getting those calls all day. Unfortunately, food processors take the air out of mashed potatoes. Imagine the opposite of light, fluffy potatoes- that’s what we had. It was like mashed potato glue. Thank goodness for a box of instant mashed potatoes.
Men’s need to carve turkeys always amuses me. Did you ever notice that men can lounge all day in front of the television doing nothing to help with dinner, but they spring to action when the turkey is set on the table. Suddenly the women who have been cutting, chopping and peeling for hours (sometimes days) can’t be trusted to hold sharp objects. Only men can carve the sacred bird.
Every year on Thanksgiving, I consider cooking something different: maybe ham or roastbeef, but I can’t quite bring myself to change the tradition. But I always make sure to have a frozen pizza just in case.
Happy Thanksgiving!

When Laura Browne isn’t musing on life’s little ironies, she loves to write. She is the author of a serious, but practical and fun to read book for women in business, Why Can’t You Communicate Like Me? How Smart Women Get Results At Work available at www.inyourfaceink.com or www.bn.com. Ms. Browne helps women become more successful in corporations through WOMEN Unlimited, a nationally recognized resource for cultivating leadership excellence, www.women-unlimited.com. She offers workshops in California and Arizona.

Thanksgiving history

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a holiday in the United States and Canada; it is closely related to European harvest festivals.
The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621. After a good harvest, the Pilgrim Fathers, who had travelled to America aboard the Mayflower, organised a great feast. They also invited their Indian friends, who had helped the Pilgrims through their first year in the New World.
After that first Thanksgiving, the holiday was not observed regularly and not usually in autumn. In 1863, however, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed an annual Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November. In 1939, President Roosevelt changed the date to the penultimate Thursday of November to enlarge the Christmas shopping period, which starts after the Thanksgiving celebrations. Not all states followed Roosevelt’s declaration though, and so in 1941 the United States Congress finally decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November (which sometimes is the last, sometimes the penultimate Thursday).
In the United States, Thanksgiving lasts four days now because most people also get the Friday off. The holiday is celebrated with family and friends, and a huge dinner is served in the early afternoon or evening. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner is a roasted turkey served with stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans and various pies for dessert.
In Canada, the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1710. For about 200 years, it was held for example when a royal child was born or when a battle was won. It became an annual holiday in 1931 and is now celebrated on the second Monday of October.

English Vocabulary – Weather

Weather: What's the weather like today?; What will the weather be like tomorrow?; Nice day today, isn't it?; What awful weather!; What a lovely day!; It's raining.; It's snowing.; It's …; Tomorrow it will be …; Yesterday it was …; sunny; cloudy; overcast; foggy; stormy; windy; cold; warm; hot

Exercise on the Weather Forecast

Complete the sentences according to the picture. (You may only use each word once.)

in Scotland will be around degrees.
In the Scottish mountains, it will be .
Further to the south, the will be very unpleasant.
It will be with temperatures around degrees.
The east of England will be with a few occasionally.
In Northern Ireland, it will be , but .
People in the of England will have a nice day with a lot of .
However, it won't be that there either.

Confusing Words

Weather – Whether

Exercise - A Poem about the Weather

Whether the weather be fine.
Or whether the weather be not.
Whether the weather be cold.
Or whether the weather be hot.
We'll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather .
Whether we like it or not.

English Vocabulary – Geography


Geography: arctic; Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean; mountain; mountains; state; earthquake; river; temperate; is bounded by; capital; island; climate; continent; coast; country; sea; bordering country; national park; North America; ocean; Pacific, Pacific Ocean; San Andreas Fault (also: San Andreas Rift); lake; steep coast; beach; valley; tropical; divided

Exercises on Geography – Great Britain

Complete the sentences. (You may only use each word once.)

Great Britain is an .
It's divided into three : England, Scotland and Wales.
London is the of England and the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland).
The Thames runs right through the city.
In summer many British people spend their holidays by the .
England has some nice holiday resorts with lovely sandy .
But there are also steep , like in Dover or Folkestone for example.
If you want to see Nessie, then you must go to the famous British , Loch Ness.
It is in Scotland and so is Great Britain's highest , Ben Nevis.
If you climb Ben Nevis and the weather is fine, you will have a wonderful view over the below.

Shopping

Shop Assistant: Can I help you?; What can I do for you?; Are you being served ?; Sorry, we don't sell stamps.; Anything else?; It's on offer.; Buy two for the price of one.; How much / many would you like?; What size do you take?; Sorry, we are out of bread .; Would another colour do?; Would you like to try it on?; The fitting room is over there.; The dress suits you very well.; Pay at the cash desk / till, please.; I'll take this to the cash desk / till for you.; Here you are. / Here you go.; You're welcome.; That's 20 euros/euro altogether .; You don't happen to have any change , do you?; Here's your change.
Customer: I need ...; I'd like a bottle of milk, please.; Have you got souvenirs ?; Do you sell stamps?; Where can I buy post cards?; Where can I get a film for my camera?; Where can I find newspapers?; Are these bottles returnable ?; It doesn't fit me.; It doesn't suit me.; I don't like it.; It's too small / big / wide / tight / expensive .; I'm size ...; Have you got this in another size / colour?; May I try this on, please?; Where can I try this on, please?; How much is it?; That's all.; Where is the cash desk / till?; Could I get a receipt , please?; Could I get a (plastic) bag, please?; (I'm afraid/ Sorry) I don't have any change .; Do you accept credit cards?

Asking for and Giving Directions

Asking for and Giving Directions: How do I get to …?; What's the best way to …?; Where is …?; Go straight on (until you come to …).; Turn back./Go back.; Turn left/right (into …-street).; Go along …; Cross …; Take the first/second road on the left/right; It's on the left/right.; straight on; opposite; near; next to; between; at the end (of); on/at the corner; behind; in front of; (just) around the corner; traffic lights; crossroads, junction; signpost

Exercise on Asking and Giving Directions

What's the best way to the post office? (Use the map for orientation.)

Excuse me, where is the post office, please?
at the next corner.
Then until you come to the traffic lights.
there.
The post office is the cinema.

Exercise on Asking and Giving Directions

Fill in the words below correctly. (Use the map for orientation.)

continue, end, excuse, get, left (2x), next, opposite, right, second, straight on, thank, turn, welcome

me, how do I to the cinema?
Go .
Turn at the corner.
Then take the road on your .
to the of the road.
left there.
The cinema is on your , the castle.
you very much.
You're .

Hotel and Restaurant

Accomodation: accommodation; dormitory; double room; family room; twin room; single room; double bed; youth hostel; bunk bed; fill in a form; reception; receptionist; key; book in advance; B&B; vacancies; no vacancies
Hotel: arrival date / date of arrival; departure date / date of departure; room service; air conditioning; make a reservation / book a room; request more information; complete / fill in the form; staff; cancel a booking
Restaurant: eating out; bill (The bill please.); bottle; dessert; drink; hungry; thirsty; menu; order (Are you ready to order?); restaurant; set meal; table (A table for two please.); guest; waiter , waitress; Here you go.; tip (Shall we tip the waiter?)