I wouldn’t go so far as to say I am an uber charitable person.

Mostly I’m in it for the free booze. That, and it gives me something fun to do while activating my warm-fuzzy-feel-good sensors.

But sometimes,  on the rare occasion, I puts my sensors into major overload. Take the charity motorcycle ride I did for example.  We went to six different stops, at each stop the participants got amazing food and a poker card (except the last). At the final destination the winning  poker hand won $100. They also had a killer raffle drawing, live music and more amazing food.

Sounds super fun, right?

And it was…

Until I met the reason for the ride. Child cancer patient, Andrew. Then, Andrew’s mother hugged me.

It went from super fun to super real, really effing fast.

I suppose I should back up and say that I actually helped organize and promote the charity ride for my client. That would explain the mother hugging me and all.

Freaking heart breaking.

But you know what? We raised over $2,400 that day for the Hess Cancer foundation.

THAT is the true reason I get involved with charity events.  Seeing how one event can make such a huge difference in someone’s life.

It’s just awesome.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Out and About, sometimes I get on a soap box

I need to get something off my chest.

It has been bugging me for a while, so I’m just going to come right out and say it:

Akon, you are a douche bag.

Why?

Well, there are several reasons, but the one I am referring specifically to is your song “Sexy Bitch” or “Sexy Chick” as the radio friendly version calls it.

Here is a slice of the lyrics to get things started:

She’s nothing like a girl you’ve ever seen before
Nothing you can compare to your neighbourhood hoe

I’m tryna find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful

The way that booty movin I can’t take no more
Have to stop what i’m doin so I can pull up close

I’m tryna find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful

Dam girl
Dam you’se a sexy bitch
A sexy bitch
Dam you’se a sexy bitch
Dam girl

Dam you’se a sexy bitch
A sexy bitch
Dam you’se a sexy bitch
Dam girl

Really, Akon?

Really?

OK, here’s the thing, why not just come right out and say that you have no respect for women and only see them as sex objects, Akon? Why throw in the absurd line that you are not trying to be disrespectful? Because guess what Akon, calling someone a “sexy bitch” or saying someone is not your average “neighbourhood hoe” is shockingly not a complement. It actually is disrespectful.

Do you see what I’m talking about, Akon?

Also, it doesn’t help your case when you and your no-name buddy, David Guetta, film yourselves in a music video that completely objectifies women. I’m sure many men dream about a house/pool filled with almost naked women and only two dudes. Good for you that you have the money to film a music video that looks like soft core porn. That is your artistic right I suppose. But don’t lie and say you are trying not to be disrespectful, because, again, you are, Akon. You are.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

sometimes I get on a soap box

My darling baby sister and her boyfriend decided to “take a break”. Almost simultaneously, Karina the Russian split up with her dirty rocker boyfriend. Both of my girls have been going through the standard grieving process: anger, crying, regret, cleaning, revenge and finally the let’s go get piss drunk, turn heads and break hearts stage.

I assure you, this is the standard breakup protocol.

We have been going through the process together for years and nearly have it perfected. Only, this time it’s a little different. I simply don’t have the energy to participate in what just may be the most important step; the last one! It’s not that I don’t enjoy going out and having a drink with the girls, I do, it’s just that I don’t have the energy to go out and party with a vengeance. Not to mention, I don’t think once you are in a stable relationship (which you would like to keep stable) that you should.

But… my girls needed me, so I came up with a compromise we could all live with. I met them at the first (of many) bar for a few drinks, and when they had successfully turned enough heads, crushed a few fragile egos and were ready to move on, I did the same. Only I moved on to the warm awaiting arms of my sweetheart.

As I was getting ready to leave, the girls asked me if I was sure I didn’t want to continue on with them. I told them I loved them with all my heart, but that I was good. My darling cousin M.E. – who was also along for the girls night – looked at me and said, “You know, that’s all you have to say. ‘I’m good.’ Because you are. When I met ED I knew you two were good together. I can’t remember the last time I could honestly say that I am good. But when you are, that’s all you have to say. Go home to your man now while we go try to find some.”

It was the sweetest, most understanding thing a single girl could possibly say to someone in a relationship. It was as if she was saying even though they were each going through their own relationship battles, it was OK for me to be happy.

We (or at least I) spend so much time worrying about loved ones trials and thinking if we are actually happy, it somehow means we don’t care. Or we beat ourselves up for not reaching the ridiculous standards we set for ourselves. Sometimes feeling like we deserve to be happy, is so much harder than it should be. It may sound odd, but having permission to be happy? It’s a totally freeing feeling.

As we start a new week, I hope you will grant yourselves permission to be happy. And if you can’t, then I officially grant it for you. You are wonderful just the way you are. Be happy. You deserve it too.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Dating debating, sometimes I get on a soap box

In my career, there are certain parts to it that I absolutely LOVE. One of which is the ability it affords me to help out non-profit organizations like the Therapy Animals of Utah or TAU.

TAU (previously known as Utah Animal-Assisted Therapy Association or UAATA) is an organization that focuses on the healing power that animals bring to those in need. They take their therapy animals to childrens cancer hospitals, rehab center, hospices, assisted-living centers and so on. The joy that these animals bring (and not just dogs mind you, they have cats, miniature horses and guinea pigs too) is so incredible. There are stories after stories of disturbed patients who hadn’t spoken in years that once they had a non-threatening animal come nuzzle up to them that they began speaking again. Children who have been through traumatic events who start to smile again because a dog licked their face. I’m telling you, it’s heart wrenchingly good stuff here!

I first got involved with TAU about six or seven years ago. A very good client of mine, Beehive Bail Bonds, requested my help to promote a fund raising event, “The Squatters Chasing Tail 5K Fun Run”, that they hold annually. I was a radio sales rep at the time and was able to get a few stations to run commercials promoting the event free of charge.

Since that time, Beehive has continued to be my client and I have continued to promote their event, but in a slightly grander scale. I am proud to say that each year it has grown and if my efforts had something to do with it, I am absolutely thrilled about it.

This year we had an additional fund raising event where we locked a local radio personality, Jay from 107.9 The Mix, in Jail and had to raise $1079 to “bail him out” with all proceeds going to Therapy Animals of Utah.

Our Reno 911 Beehive employee and Jay, our imprisoned DJ

Jay interviewing one of the therapy teams

Little man Tate, the Chinese Crested Hairless therapy dog

Even though I had to be there at 6am, I still forced a smile and answered the phones. Chairty will make you do the damndest things.

I’d like to say that raising the money was simple, but that would be a lie. It took a long time and quite a few donations from radio employees, Beehive employees, myself and my agency to really get the ball rolling.  I fully understand that times are hard and asking people to give up any of their discretionary income is a tough thing to do.

That said, if you do have tons of money and no where to donate it, consider Therapy Animals of Utah.

OR

If you live in Utah and want to participate in the Fun Run, it is this Saturday (11/7/09) at Wheeler Farm. You can walk or run the course and dogs are welcome (of course) on leashes. This will be my first year actually running the course. If you hear a funny weezing sound coming from the bushes, it’s probably just me trying to remember why I thought running would be more fun than walking (seriously though I have been training… which means I’ve gone running like 3 or 4 times. Yeah, I’m totally prepared).

Anyway, you can find more information HERE.

Hope some of you drag your fannies, and your puppies fannies out there. There is food and a raffle drawing too!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Random, sometimes I get on a soap box

Sometimes dating a man who does professional fitness for a living is a real pain. He goes around using “technical terms” and “facts” and completely ignores a little thing I like to call logic.

Me: “So I ate 6 cookies before coming to the gym tonight.”

ED: “Six cookies! Why?”

Me: “Because I needed a snack and I knew that our work out tonight would cancel them out. That’s how it works. I’m surprised you didn’t know that. Plus I had milk, which is healthy, so, you know, that helps too.”

ED: “Sweetheart, that is not exactly how it works.”

Me: “Um, yeah it is.”

***

Yesterday my amazing friends Sarah and Susan responded to my plea for relief from the bondage of homework. We met up at the Utah Arts Festival and even though they chose not to share the dress code with me (bitches) it was exactly the break I needed.

And wouldn’t you know, they share the same brilliant logic as me!

We figured the calories from the wine, beer, pizza, hot dogs, ice cream and fries we collectively consumed all didn’t count. You see, when you are at an outdoor festival or event nothing counts because they are so few and far between that it’s practically a crime NOT to take full advantage. Plus we were out in the hot sun sweating out any pesky calories that may have gotten into our food. Also, should there have been any calories, we were totally covered because we all pretty much skipped breakfast but still managed to do individual morning workouts.

So, yeah, a day of no calorie guilt with my girls! How sweet is that?

Oh and the best part is, as an added bonus for me, Sarah and Susan both agreed that the fact I worked out on a Saturday night counts as double calorie canceling points. So in reality, I’m like way ahead in this whole calorie canceling game and can eat 6 more cookies today!

Psshh! Fitness coach my ass. I should write a book on this stuff.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Lessons Learned, sometimes I get on a soap box

I had to delete a friend from Facebook.

Now, let’s be honest for a minute here. There are very few things that one can do to make me feel the need to cut them out of my “virtual friend network” because really it’s not like they are “real” friends. Don’t get me wrong, a handful of my Facebook friends are real life friends as well as virtual friends, but I’d be lying if I told you I had over 200 real friends; I’m just not that cool nor do I have the energy to be a friend back to that many people. But I digress….

Really there are only 2 ways to get me to delete you. The first is to insult me, my friends or my family. The second is to show intolerance and/or prejudice to another race or lifestyle. In this particular instance both offenses were committed.

Delete.

Sometimes saying goodbye is not so hard. In fact, it is as simple as the click of a mouse.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Random, sometimes I get on a soap box

I’ll be the first to admit, sometimes I fish for complements. It started when I was little girl. My Mother would take my sisters and I shopping for school clothes and when we got back we would force my Dad to sit there while we did a fashion show of all of our new digs. With each new outfit I would ask “Daddy, what do you think of this one?” and being the well trained man that he is (having a wife and 3 daughters did the trick), he would always respond that it was “very nice” or “cute”. If his enthusiasm wasn’t quite what I hoped for I would give him THE LOOK. You know, the look that says Dad this outfit deserves much higher praise and if you don’t recognize that I might just cry, or at the very least pout! To which my Dad would either validate with higher praise or give me a hard time because he is mean like that.

ED has not received proper training. He keeps insisting on this whole honesty thing. “Babe what do you think of this top? Do you think it is too tight or can I pull it off?” Pause… More of a pause… I give him THE LOOK… Still more of a pause! Finally, as I am already yanking it off to find something else, he starts in with “no, I think it’s OK. I’m just trying to thing of what everyone else will be wearing and yes, I think it will be OK.”

I realize that is a very minor example, but he is like that with almost everything. The other day I read a blog post from Wasatch Woman’s Magazine that was talking about honesty and giving opinions and it got me thinking further about this component to my relationship with ED. I have to admit that I really do like dating someone who has an opinion. He is constantly opening my eyes to different points of view and it keeps things interesting. I also know that he will never let me leave the house looking inappropriate, which truth be told is really a good thing. But every now and then, when he doesn’t give me the simple complement I am fishing for, when he over analyzes and complicates things, I look at him and say “could you please just lie to me? Right now I don’t want to hear the truth.”

Is that so wrong?

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Dating debating, sometimes I get on a soap box

Did you know that according to a book that I did not read but my friend Heidi told me about, that more old relationships are ended in January and new ones formed? I’m serious, there is some sort of study that somebody did that shows that right after New Years a lot of people break up. Something to do with New Years resolutions and finding true happiness… plus no one wants to be the asshole who breaks up right before the holidays so it is perfect timing. Then on the flip side those who are smart and stay single for the holidays are also looking to start out the New Years with love and if they get moving right away they can actually form the beginning of a meaningful relationship by Valentines Day. True story.

Now that you have been updated with this news, I must warn you that there is an epidemic that has been sweeping the country. It has been going on too long, it’s time somebody brought it to light. The epidemic of which I speak is Environmental Dating.

Do not be fooled by it’s eco-friendly name. When Jack Johnson sang his plea to “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” he was NOT referring to dating. Reduce your consumption, reuse your clothing, recycle your cans – not your men. I know, I know, I am one of the biggest offenders of Environmental Dating and I am sure it comes as no surprise that Karina the Russian was the one to point it out to me. She has adopted the policy of once it is over, it is over. You don’t piss off a Russian, and there certainly are no second chances. If it didn’t work out the first time there was a reason and time will not change that! Unfortunately, I am not so tuff. I tend to have an all too forgiving heart that lands me back in the arms of previous loves. BUT the first rule of marketing, well maybe not the first or really any rule at all, is that if you put a name to something it becomes scary!

Beware of Environmental Dating!

See? Doesn’t that sound scary? Like something you really want to find out about and avoid? I thought so. You can thank me later. I’m just doing my duty as a single citizen.

Blogfully yours,
Summer

Lessons Learned, sometimes I get on a soap box

The past week has been an incredibly challenging one for my family and for myself. Now that the viewings and the funeral are over I am finally able to sit back and reflect on everything that happened.

I’m not a super private person, but my feelings of regret and sadness I will keep to myself. Instead I wanted to share a few stories/memories that I will take with me.

My older sister deliberated on whether or not to bring her 9 yr old son (Daemon) and her 4 yr old daughter (Rowan) to the funeral but in the end was talked into bringing them. She and I walked her son up to the casket to say goodbye to his great grandpa that he had only met twice. We had all tried our best to explain to him that grandpa had died, but it was OK because he is in heaven with Jesus. When we approached the coffin, trying to stay strong but felt the tears about to fall (yet again), my nephew looked at his great grandpa with a studious eye, taking everything in, but all he said was “it’s sad.”

I went to sit down on one of the sofas aligning the room. Daemon came and sat down next to me. I felt inclined to share some of my adult wisdom with him, to comfort him somehow or maybe it was to prepare him.

“Wow… So I guess this is your first funeral… But unfortunately you will be going to a lot more in your life time because eventually everybody dies.”

Not super smooth, I’ll admit. But I was grieving and it was the best I could come up with. It didn’t phase him however. He looked right at me and said, “Yes but they also live! People get born and they live and they live and they live. Then when they are older, like 89, they die. It is the circle of life Summer.”

He said it so matter of factly. I just stared at him and the tears came unabashedly rolling down my face. Here I am trying to tell him about the harsh realities of this world. In an instant he spins it around to let me know that even though there is death, and yeah, that sucks, there is also life! My grandfather lived a long happy life and I would like to believe he would want me to do the same! In fact I know he would. So that is what I intend to do. Keep on living. Keep celebrating life. Learning from every experience, good and bad, cause that is what grandpa would want me to do.

Blogfully yours,
Summer

Lessons Learned, Loved One(s), sometimes I get on a soap box

I had originally planned to post about my Metallica experience, but I think that can wait a day. Yesterday was possibly one of the greatest days of my life. I woke up, got ready just like any other day, then I went in the rain to go vote. I was fortunate that there was not much of a line. I started to cry as I pushed the button to elect Barack Obama as our next president. Never in my life has an election meant so much to me. Never in my life have I cared as much or been so informed, or involved. I came to work with a sticker over my heart and a smile on my face.
I went to class after school and thank god for text messages and good friends who kept me updated as each state announced their results. At one point the teacher announced that Obama was ahead. One student grumbled and “oh no!” I looked over at him like he was an alien because that’s about how much I can relate with non-Obama supporters. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, I guess I just forget sometimes that there are people out there who do not have the same as mine.
After class I got in the car and turned on NPR as I drove home. I picked up a salad from my favorite Greek restaurant and rushed home to watch as the results continued to come in.
I was sitting on my couch eating my salad, giving little pieces of chicken to my cat Aurora, when they announced that Barack Obama would be the next president. I screamed and started cheering. I’m sure my neighbors all heard me, but I didn’t care. Let them hear me I thought!
I watched McCains graceful and well spoken speech. I watched President-elect Obama’s powerful acceptance speech. I couldn’t help but cry. This was a defining moment in history and I am so excited that it happened in my lifetime. There is a buzz in the air and it is infectious. I really feel that we CAN make a difference. My own personal efforts to do what I can to make this world a better place don’t feel in vain any more. I have hope. I have pride for our country once again. I am looking forward to the future instead of fearing it. In short, Summer is a happy girl today!

Blogfully yours,
Summer

Just me, sometimes I get on a soap box