A SEASON OF RE-INVENTION

Allow me this opportunity to apologize for not posting for some time. It has been a whirlwind of a time.

I want to say thank you to each and every reader of this blog. You have laid witness to my emotional voyeuristic tendencies. Most time it was without judgement, although I am well aware that my musings were not always politically correct.

I have engaged in much introspection over the last couple of weeks. My life over the last six years has been through a series of crises, disappointments and perceived failures that would have taken out most people. Yet, I arise one more day to the fact that I am still here.

Previously, I have alluded that the massive economic downturn being experienced these days is nothing more than the re-set button being set on all of our lives. We can have the courage to move forward or to die emotionally and psychologically where we are. For most, it is a choice that is solely ours.

For those of you who have not been regular followers of this blog, I started this blog for the purpose of healing. My anger was misplaced pain, resulting from gross frustration and an immense desire to be understood as it is for many women - particularly Black women. There is goodness within. It just came to a point that I felt that every time I attempted to demonstrate or share that goodness, life was kicking me in the teeth one time too many.

I committed myself to spiritual honesty and integral truth. I cannot fake it. I cannot be someone whom I am not, nor do I want to be. I have paid an enormous price for this choice. Yet, it is a choice I still do not regret - in spite of the pain.

I will be taking a break from blogging for a while. Don't get me wrong. I haven't given up on the blog or writing. It's just that the time has come to engage in the next chapter of my life. It has almost been a year since I endured the unthinkable, however, I have learned more than ever that I am a survivor and in a million ways, my journey is just beginning.

What I have gotten most from this blog is the value of loving oneself right where one is...the good, the bad and the ugly. I have struggled to get back to the person I know myself to be. By nature I am loving, kind, generous, smart, compassionate and forgiving. However, we live in a world that will test our resolve in relation to such quality in an effort to make you as ugly as it sometimes can be. Overtime, anger and frustration began to take its toll and I lived, moved and achieved out of fear and not out of love. I have committed myself to a life of doing things out of love.

I do not have all the answers, nor have I reached the ultimate state of enlightenment. Yet, I am confident I am well on my way.

I know that I am loved and that I am blessed. I know that I am to live my life with passion and courage with a faith and trust that only is required of those who are called to a purpose beyond normal human comprehension.

The next year will be crucial as I prepare to send my only baby girl out into the world. I am convinced I am the most blessed parent in the world. If there was only one thing I would be forced to name that I've done right, it would be her.

Feel free to continue to post comments. I will continue to check periodically, yet I will not be posting for some time. I appreciate your patience, understanding and support in this regard. I will answer comments though.


I encourage you to be strong and hold on to your faith. God is always with us even though there are times we may not feel like it. Embrace the peace of God that does exist and surrender to living in the now, in this moment. When life gets ready, it has a way of showing us that we are not always in control. However, it is in these moments we can turn to the Christ consciousness that let's us know we do have the power to arise. We may just need to go through a wilderness experience prior to our spiritual resurrection.

Wishing you love and peace now and always.

And always remember...

Be free. Know peace.

SONIA SOTOMAYOR IS TAPPED BY OBAMA TO SERVE AS THE FIRST PUERTO RICAN JUDGE ON THE SUPREME COURT

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's choice of Sonia Sotomayor to join the U.S. Supreme Court will generate a sharp political battle in the Senate over her liberal positions but she is likely to prevail.

Sotomayor's selection would do little to change the court's 5-4 conservative majority as she replaces another liberal. Republicans promised to her give her respectful, rigorous scrutiny during the summer months.

She would be the first Hispanic and second woman on the high court, and fulfills Obama's objective of choosing someone without a privileged background, given that she grew up in a housing project in the Bronx in New York City.

* If confirmed by the Senate, she would replace the retiring David Souter, who was a reliable liberal vote for the court's minority.

Souter was known as "Bush's mistake," because he was far more liberal than the Republican President George H. W. Bush realized when he chose him.

Obama's choice was evidence that he did not intend to make the same mistake, since Sotomayor, unlike Souter, has staked out fairly liberal positions on many issues.

Story comes courtesy of Reuters.

Does this mean we'll be celebrating Puerto Rican Day Parades at the White House? I sure hope so. I'm truly digging the new flavor of America's melting pot.

FRIDAY LIVE - MORE SPOOFS ON OBAMA

Alright all. It's the Friday before Memorial Day. Feeling good after a great week. I'm in the process of finding out more about this Obama impersonator. If anyone has any info, please share. I think his stuff is comedic genius.

Let me know what you think.

GLENN BECK ON THE VIEW

While Glenn Beck is getting his butt whupped, pay close attention to Elizabeth in the process. By the way, the beauty is that now "angry conservative commentators" can be finally held accountable for their arrogance and gross exaggerations. I love it!

BLAME IT - BARACK OBAMA SPOOF

O.K. All, I think I just had the best laugh I've had all year. You have got to check this out! Hilarious!

66 YEAR-OLD BRITISH WOMAN TO SOON GIVE BIRTH

Is it fair to say that when God made us, He knew what he was doing - so now why does he need help?

She's a 66-year-old successful career woman about to become a first-time mom. Elizabeth Adeney, now eight months pregnant, will be one of the oldest new mothers in the world.

Chatter on the Internet ranges from wonder at the miracle to harsh criticism, with one post calling Adeney's decision to have in vitro fertilization an example of "breathtaking selfishness." When she's 85 years old, her child will still be a teenager.

Dr. Jamie Grifo at the New York University Fertility Center told ABC News that although "pregnancy has risks associated with it at any age & the older the woman, the greater the risks."


Older women who get pregnant could have trouble with "high blood pressure, which can complicate placental development. They can develop diabetes in pregnancy, which has to be monitored. Preterm labor is an issue in the older patient and of course, Caesarian delivery and the associated surgical risks."

But, Grifo added, these risks are "very treatable, so as long as an older woman has a healthy heart, their outcome for pregnancy is very good."

In 2004 New Yorker Aleta St. James became the oldest American woman to give birth when she had twins. She was nearly 57. A year later, a 66 year-old Romanian woman became the world's oldest mom. Then, in 2006, Carmela Bousada of Spain, who was nearly 67, took the title.

And last year, Omkari Panwar from India stole her crown. Desperate for a male heir, she underwent IVF at age 70. She got her wish when she gave birth to twins, one of them a boy.

According to Grifo, "There haven't been that many women over the age of 50 who have attempted pregnancy and now that the technology exists more are doing so."

But should they be allowed to? Grifo told ABC News that "We don't tell a 14-year-old unmarried woman she's not allowed to have a child. Why should we tell a 66-year-old woman who is healthy and wants to have a baby that she can't. Who's to say?"

Guess what? There is no way you will see me pregnant at 66. Wow!

For more on this story, visit, ABC News.

OBAMA GIVES ASU A LESSON IN BUILDING A BODY OF WORK

I can't help but wonder just how ridiculous those regents must have felt sitting and watching President Obama captivate the audience with his words of wisdom. It was as if he showed them that he was way too good for an honorary degree from ASU anyhow.

Very proud to call President Obama my president.

OBAMAS HOST A POETRY JAM AT THE WHITE HOUSE

So can we officially call the White House the Black House?

The Obamas hosted a poetry showcase at the White House Tuesday night, with a bassist, candles and soul claps to properly set the mood.

The spoken word extravaganza was laced with a DJ spinning tunes in the hallway for wine sipping guests, including acclaimed director Spike Lee and TV broadcaster George Stephanopoulos, as the President and First Lady paid homage to the art of spoken word.

“We’re here to celebrate the power of words and music to help us appreciate beauty and also to understand pain,’’ Obama said.

According to the New York Times, the headliners included James Earl Jones, who recited a monologue from "Othello," Brandon Bennett from New York, who dedicated and translated his poem into hand signs for his deaf sister and Chicago poet Mayda del Valle.

Ms. del Valle, 30, said the she never imagined an opportunity to display her poetic talent, inspired by her Puerto Rican upbringing, amongst political Washington elites.

“To be able to go in the White House and to represent my grandmother and my ancestors, it really means a lot,” she said. “It’s a generation of women that don’t often get heard, you know, these old Puerto Rican women that no one ever really thinks about. To be able to use my voice to represent them on this kind of platform is really powerful.”

Former First Lady Laura Bush, who had to cancel her her 2003 poetry symposium when several performers planned to poetically protest the war in Iraq, was also in in attendance. Mrs. Bush brought along with her writers who highlighted the works of Langston Hughes, Mark Twain and women writers of the West.

The poetry jam is one of many hip soirèes the Obamas have hosted at the White House since their arrival in January. Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow are just a few who have entertained an enthusiastic crown in the East Room.

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers said in reference to the gathering, “our goal really is to bring the house alive. We’re all American, but all of us come from different backgrounds. We want to expose Americans to other Americans that are doing brilliant work.’’

Poetic justice has officially been served at the Black House, ahem, the White House.

This story comes courtesy of Livesteez.com.

OBAMA SPEAKS AT ASU GRADUATION WITHOUT AN HONORARY DEGREE

As President Barack Obama prepares to give the commencement address at Arizona State University, I struggle not to be angry with the university for choosing not to give the president an honorary degree. Is ASU just out and out racist?

Hey, the question has to be asked and I am not afraid to ask it.

Meanwhile, Arizona State University officials have created what one professor calls a public relations mess with conflicting explanations about why Obama will not receive an honorary degree.

The school's spokeswoman, Sharon Keeler, initially said Obama — who earned his own Harvard Law School degree in 1991 — hadn't established enough of a "body of work" yet to warrant a degree. If this is not a crock, I don't know what is.

ASU President Michael Crow says that's not the case. He says the school has had a policy since 2003 not to give honorary degrees to donors and sitting politicians, but the school is thrilled to have Obama deliver the commencement address at Sun Devil Stadium. To honor the president, Crow says, the school has named a scholarship program after him. "His election is a fantastic historical turning point," he says. Whatever!

Following Obama's address, university president Michael Crow was to award five high school students with scholarships named after the president. The President Barack Obama Scholars program will offer them up to $17,000 annually to pay for tuition, books, room and board. So, it would have been a problem to name a scholarship after the president AND give him an honorary degree from one the most consistent top 10 party schools in the country?

Virgil Renzulli, an ASU spokesman, said ASU hopes the scholarship will serve as a national model for universities aiming to make college more affordable.

"We know that for Arizona to be competitive and the U.S. to be competitive we have got to produce more college graduates," he said. "We hope this (scholarship) will have a lasting effect.
Whatever!

The bottom line is the line of logic to not give the President of the United States who has made significant achievements a honorary degree is disgraceful. However, leave it to the president to always do it up in style. He's still going to speak. I know I am inspired as well as impressed.

Let me know what you think.

Portions of this story come courtesy of USA Today and the Associated Press.

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