Then & Now

I am so homesick for Utah... Someone please remind me why I left...?

L - O - V - E

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints!---I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!---and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

A Racial Question...

So I got to thinking about people who are of multiple races and I started wondering something; Maybe one of you can help me solve this...

Why is it that when someone is half one race and half another, people always refer to them as the darker race?

Example... I have a friend that's half Caucasian and half Korean. Yet, when people who don't know her name are referring to her, they would say "you know, the tiny, little cute Asian girl." Or if someone is half Caucasian and half African American, they'd be referred to as "Black."

Why is it that the half CAUCASIAN part always gets overlooked? If someone who was 1/2 Chinese and 1/2 Caucasian was to fill out one of those "check which box best describes your race" or whatever, do you think they would be more inclined to check the "Caucasian" or the "Chinese" box?

Maybe I'm the only one who would even think of something like that... I hope that doesn't seem racist of me, because I'm definitely NOT!!! I am just curious...

One of my guy friends is half Caucasian and half Asian and I always tell him he's my favorite "cocky-asian" :) Another one of my friends is Asian and for the longest time I referred to her as the "lazy asian" and now we condensed it to the "Lasian." :) Gotta love Hollywood for putting the word-meshing thing into everyday play. "Bennifer" "TomKat" "Branjolina" etc...

Annapolis

Call me crazy, but one of my favorite things to do in my spare time is explore! I love going all by myself to a city I've never been to discover it's hidden treasures. Annapolis, MD is about an hour away, so today I plan to go there. I am hoping to get some good photos of the Navy yard and the harbor, etc. Until I have pics of my own to share with you, here's a taste of things to come.

My So-Called "Life."

At various points during the course of a normal day something funny will happen and I'll think to myself, "self, this would make an interesting blog; remember this!" Of course, I never do. Thus, my posts are what they are. So, uhm...Sorry about that! :)

Here's an update on my so-called "life," however:

Saturday was supposed to be the start of a relaxing, quiet, 100% me-time filled week... The family that I nanny for was going to Ocean City, NJ for their yearly family vacation. I was invited to go, but opted to stay home so it would actually FEEL like a "vacation" for me. Day 1 was GREAT! Day 2 was Great! Day 3 was great! Day 4 (*sigh*) it all came to a depressing halt.

You see, I take care of two children; a 7 year old girl and a 9 year old boy. The boy has high-functioning Autism (he doesn't stop talking, bounces a lot and does not understand or pick up on normal social Qs) and mood disorders (he'll go from sweet to wicked in the blink of an eye.) (The girl has no special needs.) Anywho, so on the morning of day 4 (at 7:30 am) I received a phone call from the mother informing me she could not handle her son's non-stop violent behavior and constant cursing and so she didn't know what to do with him other than to (are you ready for this) have him brought home FOR ME to take care of whilst everyone else remained at the beach.

Sure enough, a few hours later the dad (the parents are separated but met the mom half way home to pick up the son) dropped the 9 year old boy off for me to take care of for the remaining 4.5 days. It was at that point that I realized my "week of relaxation" was long gone. We are currently on day 6 of my 'would-have-been' vacation. The first two days of him being home have been very challenging, I'll say that much. Luckily, when it comes to him, I somehow find the strength to keep my "cool" and not scream everything that runs through my head. It's all about "choices." IE: "Okay, well, you can choose to follow the directions I'm giving you, OR you can choose to go to your room and take a time out. It's up to you, doesn't matter to me." His school therapist taught me that one, and I gotta tell ya, it works every time. :) Thank God for small favors!

So anyway... that's pretty much been my life over the last few days. Before hoping online and posting these useless ramblings I was making homemade cards, kinda scrapbooking-style. Yeahhh, I'm soooo Mormon, I know... What can I say? I lived in PROVO for three years. (And I loved every second of it, I must add.)

So anyway... Yeah...That's all for now.

The Benton

One day I plan to own a grand hotel in either New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles and I plan to call it "The Benton." Why? Well, first of all, I think it sounds like an awesome name for a posh hotel, and second, I want to hire Benton Paul to play there. See the picture above? Yeah, that's Benton. He's pretty much amazing.

The above photo is one he sent me to edit (this being the finished product.) Good times. I just wish I could have been there to take it myself. If you haven't heard his new stuff, you're missing out. He is putting out a new album around Christmas, and I plan to be in Utah for the CD release. It's sure to be a rockin' good time. You can catch up on some of his tunes at either of the following sites: http://www.bentonpaul.com or http://www.myspace.com/bentonpaul

And like every great musician, his songs are available for download on itunes. Show the brotha' some love. After all, he IS going to have a hotel named after him one day. ;)

High School Days

** POST HAS BEEN DELETED BY AUTHOR **

I'm so sick of...

I am so sick of guys who play "the game." Argue this all you want, but the game is for guys in high school. That's all I'm saying for now. I'm too upset to write anything else.