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	<title>Paradise Preoccupied</title>
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		<item>
		<title>Another one bites the dust &#8230;</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/anotheronebitesthedust/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/anotheronebitesthedust/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:30:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anne lamott]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[case of the shakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friedrich nietzsche]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[futile attempts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[glimmer of hope]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2501</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Years come and go and like with many that have rolled around lately this year I can&#8217;t tell which I dislike the most: the coming or the going. New Year&#8217;s Eve is a turning point and I can almost not remember the last time I didn&#8217;t spend a portion of the event not engaging in [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2501&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>35</slash:comments>
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			<media:title type="html">Shit years</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Merry Christmas!</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/merry-christmas/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/merry-christmas/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Dec 2011 11:36:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Island life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seychelles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas concert]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2496</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s the Day Before Christmas and the Tenrec is Stirring It&#8217;s the day before Christmas and the house is a wreck The kids are excited like dogs, cat and tenrec The tortoise is unfazed and Ryan&#8217;s asleep and I&#8217;m hoping like crazy the turkey will keep. There&#8217;s a breeze in the palm trees some waves [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2496&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/merry-christmas/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>27</slash:comments>
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		<title>A Seychelles Christmas Tradition …</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/a-seychelles-christmas-tradition/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/a-seychelles-christmas-tradition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:26:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Island life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seychelles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[airport cargo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christmas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christmas gifts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christmas tradition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fedex delivery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mail order]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2489</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Christmas gifts being rather a big deal for 9-&#38; 6-year olds, a top priority in the run-up to the holiday is getting some … gifts, that is. Wandering the maze that is Victoria&#8217;s huddled shops in search of anything that is age-appropriate and not complete crap that will fall apart on first use is one [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2489&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/a-seychelles-christmas-tradition/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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			<media:title type="html">OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Fill in a blank &#8230;</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/fill-in-a-blank/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/fill-in-a-blank/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:04:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[I wanna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poetry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WTF?]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2486</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been getting a bit of mail lately expressing concern over my lack of posts … my hunkered-down state of silence. For the caring concern, I am more than grateful; in fact, I consider each reaching out a lifeline. For any who actually wish access to the machinations in my head, here are some recent [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2486&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/fill-in-a-blank/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Sands</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>It was a dark and stormy night &#8230;</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:37:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multiverse]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[String theory]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2481</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last night&#8217;s spectacular electric storm put paid to any thought I&#8217;d be alone in my bed as bursts and rattles and booms brought the kids to me fairly quickly. Hunkering down in a mass of cuddles through blinding flashes and rumbles of thunder that shook our livers, conversation naturally turned to nature before broadening out [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2481&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/it-was-a-dark-and-stormy-night/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Sands</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">light</media:title>
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	</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Tribute to Steve Jobs</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/a-tribute-to-steve-jobs/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/a-tribute-to-steve-jobs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:42:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Celebrities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Island life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Loss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Chinese Checkered Past]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seychelles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Macintosh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scott Adamson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Jobs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2477</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In February of 1985 I got married. It was a lovely wedding, a nice day, the day after which my new husband, Scott, and I took off for some post-ceremony together time in San Luis Obispo … one of our favorite places on the planet. We had been together for about five years by that [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2477&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/a-tribute-to-steve-jobs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Sands</media:title>
		</media:content>

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			<media:title type="html">Apple SJ</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why I don&#8217;t write about adoption much anymore &#8230;</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/why-i-dont-write-about-adoption-much-anymore/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/why-i-dont-write-about-adoption-much-anymore/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:27:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Adoption]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adoption Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adoption News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[England]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[International Adoption]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[orphans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nepal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK adoption]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2473</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I haven&#8217;t written about adoption in a rather long time … Heck! I haven&#8217;t written about much of anything … but an article in today&#8217;s BBC sets wheels to spinning and fingers to keyboard. Hundreds of parents in Nepal are struggling to come to terms with the fact that their children have been adopted by [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2473&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/why-i-dont-write-about-adoption-much-anymore/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>10</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Sands</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Making a difference: Tabitha USA Update</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/making-a-difference-tabitha-usa-update/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/making-a-difference-tabitha-usa-update/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2011 05:43:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cambodia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poverty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tabitha USA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2468</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An end-of-year update from one of the most effective organizations on the ground in any country &#8230; Dear friends and partners, Today is the last day of our program year and what a year it has been. We had so many goals &#8211; so much we wanted to do. We had so many dreams we [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2468&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/making-a-difference-tabitha-usa-update/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Sands</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>“The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.” ~  Winston Churchill</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/%e2%80%9cthe-best-argument-against-democracy-is-a-five-minute-conversation-with-the-average-voter-%e2%80%9d-winston-churchill/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/%e2%80%9cthe-best-argument-against-democracy-is-a-five-minute-conversation-with-the-average-voter-%e2%80%9d-winston-churchill/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Sep 2011 07:24:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cambodia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Elections USA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[England]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Seychelles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The United Nations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The USA from the outside in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Churchill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Adams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[McCarthyism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thomas Jefferson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2463</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Election furor in the US. Some of that here, too, with the National Assembly vote very soon. Palestine&#8217;s bid for membership in the UN will be vetoed. An execution in Georgia took place. Austerity measures are protested in Greece. Facebook makes changes. Just a few of the topics swirling this morning that bring to mind [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2463&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/%e2%80%9cthe-best-argument-against-democracy-is-a-five-minute-conversation-with-the-average-voter-%e2%80%9d-winston-churchill/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Poster</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>9/11 Refections</title>
		<link>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/911-refections/</link>
		<comments>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/911-refections/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Sep 2011 10:00:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Sandra Hanks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[American thoughts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[9/11]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[future]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global warming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[grandchildren]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sea level rise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twin Towers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[war]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Trade Center]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/?p=2458</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ten years ago today I was on a sofa in North Carolina staring into the beautiful eyes of my granddaughter who had just passed her first month on earth. My daughter had handed her into my care so she could get a bit more sleep and I was about as content as I&#8217;ve ever been [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com&amp;blog=995722&amp;post=2458&amp;subd=sandrahanksbenoiton&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://sandrahanksbenoiton.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/911-refections/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Towers</media:title>
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