Tonight is the Earth Hour 2009 event.  Turn off your lights for one hour, 8:30 - 9:30p.  And that is exactly what I've done.  There are no lights on in my house.  I am sitting here in bed, in the dark, typing this, talking about Earth Hour. 

The point of this event is to show the world that we choose Planet Earth over Global Warming.  And the point of that is to make an influence at the Global Climate Change Conference. 

So I signed up as a participant.  I was asked to blog, tweet (twitter) and picture my participation.  And I can say I've done it all.  Though you cant tell because of the flash, I am sitting in the dark.  

Attempted to make a chocolate mint cupcake, or a batch of them, this morning.  I went to ice them, and 'FLOP!' off the top went. 

Now, Plan B.  (dont know what that is at the moment, maybe I'll paint a door in the meantime)

Tonight, Heather Armstrong was at the Oak Brook Borders store for a reading and signing of her new book, It Sucked and Then I Cried .  Heather is the author of the most read personal blog, dooce, on the web.  I've been reading her blog now for about a year, year + half.  She is very realistic, not pretentious at all, and bottom line, funny. 

She's just as funny in person.  I went to Oak Brook to see her in person, to see this virtual persona that makes me feel good about my simple, normal life.  I purchased her new book, listened to her read a couple of pages from the book and answer audience questions.  After the discussion, the book signing commenced.  With close to 150 people in the Borders, I wasnt about to stay and wait. 

I can lay in bed tonight, as I do every night, reading my new book and probably stay up way too late as I cant put it down!

Monday was our last day in Philadelphia.  And when I say last day, I mean there isnt any reason for me to ever go back to Philadelphia. 

We had to be at the church at 9:15a, for the service that started at 11a.  So to kill the time, all the grandchildren sat together in the pews and talked, remembered all the good stuff about Grandma + Grandpa.  It was exactly what Grandma would want, all her grandkids together.  It was a great hour + half.  It definitely will be one of those good memories I will have. 

All of us at the luncheon afterwards were so so drained.  I think we were relieved the worst part of the final goodbye was over, but still sad.  There wasnt too many laughs like there were on Sunday, or even prior to the service when we were sitting in the church.  We sang Happy Birthday again, just so the birthday people would know their day was still special to all of us. 

I am convinced they should have a drink cart in the cemetery to serve the families post closure ceremony.  I could have used a drink after kissing Grandma goodbye.  But she's finally with Grandpa, probably dancing and smiling, happy.  Definitely, happy. 

Luncheon:
 
*my sister Laura, my nieces Megan + Sara, my cousin Ian + fiance, Danielle

 
*my cousin Rebekah, her husban, Ian + newborn daugher, Olivia

 
*my Aunt Syrl, and Uncle Mike (sitting)

 
*cousin Ian, holding Olivia, Danielle, Aunt Syrl + Mom.

 
*niece Megan + 2nd cousin Gavin, both March 22nd b-day babies. 

 
*goodbye Philly.

Miss you already, Grandma.
 

Today we caught up with the rest of the family.  Its a weird feeling to see all of the cousins all grown up and parents.  But its also a good feeling to see we've all turned out pretty good. 

All 12 grandchildren plus 4 great-grandchildren.  (no matter how many pictures that were taken, not one captured everyone's eyes open or smiling) 
 

The people above are the offspring of these people:
 
*Uncle Donald, Aunt Syrl, Mom and Aunt Dorothy (not in birth order)

Today is also my niece's birthday and my cousin's son's 1st birthday.  There was ice cream had at dinner.
 

We, my family + I, are in Philadelphia for a sad event.  My grandmother passed earlier this week.  She was 95.  She had an absolute great life.  I dont believe she had any regrets.  In her honor, basically the entire clan is in Philly for the funeral.  It'll be so nice to see everyone.  It'll be great to catch up and remember the childhood.  We, my immediate family, arrived tonight.  So, my sisters, brother and I headed out for a few drinks. 

We tried this angle.
 

Then we tried it again,
 

Then finally we asked someone to take the picture.
 

We need to do this more often.  I love them.

Sundays should alwasy be spent with family or friends.  Or both.  I really do enjoy spending time with my family and friends sitting around a dinner table or being out shopping or going to an event.  Just having them in my presence for a few hour makes me feel good.  I feel good seeing them, seeing their happiness or helping them/listening to them with their struggles.  It is this bond that makes me feel whole, a valued member of society. 

Today, after I worked, and spent some quality time with my ipod, I met my friends for dinner to celebrate Heather's birthday.  I love Heather.  She is fun, sincere, loving, caring and most of all always has a good story. 
 
*Heather and I

 
*The whole gang, minus a few people

 
*Cant go out without the boys goofing around - Eric + Dan

I purchased an ipod many years ago, probably now 6, maybe 7 years ago.  I've never been without it since.  I listen to it all the time.  Working out, taking a walk, cleaning the house and most recently, painting.  I dont know what I would do if ipod were to ever go away.  For right now, its a part of my soul. 

Today I was driving to work, and was stopped by a freight train.  I was admiring the sunlight and the bright blue sky when I thought, 'where's my camera?'.  Luckily, it was in my purse. 

Today's freight.
 

I found this walking into the grocery store tonight.  What an awesome idea.  Not all books can be sold on ebay or craigslist.  Why not donate them?

I seem to forget that I subscribe to Body + Soul.  I cant remember when I got my last magazine.  It was a pleasant surprise today when I got the mail.  My favorite part is the last page.  

This month's Ten Thoughts on Whole Living. 
-Give yourself time to consider what you most want to contribute to the world.   
-Worth doesnt begin and end with a bank account.  Appreciate your true abundance. 
-Skin is a living, breathing organ.  Select your beauty products wisely. 
-the earth's future and our own are linked.  Live in a way that supports both. 
-Better eating starts with small, positive steps. 
-Amazing things happen when you opt for healthier choices.
-Aging well has less to do with what you avoid and more to do with what you embrace. 
-Make every effort to be gentle with  yourself.
-A close network of friends and family can sustain you in more ways than you know. 
-The decision to let go may be the most important one you ever make. 

I really like reading these.  I like feeling good afterwards knowing that doing good, doing better for me is feasible in these small steps and thoughts. 

Tuesday morning I watched on the morning news an interview of a kid who has become a YouTube star.  He has been filming himself singing or lip syncing.  He is 13, and he is funny!  Its a joy to watch this because he doesnt care what others think ... in fact he is quite courageous for putting the videos out on YouTube.  Good for him.  He'll be successful one day. 

Check his videos out on YouTube.  There are quite a few lip syncing videos that are quite comical, especially the 'backup pussy cat doll'. 

I like this time of year for new clothes.  All the bright colors, light weight fabrics and simpleness about them.  A week ago I'd taken a day off work to take a stab at my to-do list.  I did get a couple of things on the to-do crossed off, but while doing so, I did some shopping on QVC, as daytime tv is less than par. 

The deal of the day was this jacket designed by Chloe Dao, Project Runway season 2 winner.  When I first saw it on tv, I thought it was okay.  Then I looked at it on the website, and thought, maybe not.  But I ordered it anyway, and when I tried it on last night, I fell in love. 

Also, this dress from Avon.  I never shop with Avon, but I saw the dress in Better Homes and Gardens, and you bet I am buying it.  Not because it was in BH+G, but it is the perfect dress for spring and summer. 

Today is March 8th.  Cant believe its March already and I am cool with that because that means spring is right around the corner which means warmer weather.  Yay!

Its been raining here for the last couple of days.  I was out trying to run errands yesterday and I could feel my mood as less than par.  As I was walking out of Target, spending more money than I needed to trying to lift my mood, I mumbled the words, 'lion day'.  This is the first time in YEARS that I've recalled the saying 'march comes in like a lion, and goes out like lamb'. 

Proof of the lion day.
 

There was a lamb day on Friday, giving hope of the nice days to come here soon. 
 

Its so true when they say how the weather can affect one's mood.  Friday, I was happy, wearing a bright green sweater and feeling hopeful the lamb days start to appear more often.   

There has been quite a bit of talk about Twitter and twittering during the State of the Union address.  I signed up for Twitter earlier this year, at the urging of a friend.  Its fun.  You post what you are doing to the website, periodically throughout the day, week, month, however often  you wish.  There are some Twitterers who tweet often and others who dont.  (Tweet is a post.) 

Apparently, according to the news, senators were tweeting non-stop during the address.  Even one senator was called out on it, and she claimed she stopped tweeting right before the address began.  Steven Colbert found that the address started at 9:19p and she tweeted at 9:25p.  I guess you can blame them for doing it, saying it shows disrespect to the president and the government.  I cant help but ask the question, what were they tweeting about?  Was it personal stuff or about the address? 

You can follow people and see their tweets as they are posted.  So if I was following my Illinois senators, and they were tweeting during the address, I'd be reading their input on the address.  If this were the case, I would be alright with the tweets, and the senators taking the time to provide this information to their followers. 

However, tweeting about someone's new haircut, suit that needed to be pressed or their grocery list is unacceptable during the president speaking about the current state of our economy.  Am a bit disappointed in our senators.  

Here's a peek at my twitter page.    

You can now find my blog on Delighfulblogs.com.  It's a pretty cool feeling knowing that in the pool of 3200 blogs, I am in there somewhere.  What are the chances someone browsing thru this list and picking mine to read?  Probably minimal and that's okay. 

I had to write a point of my blog and why I have it for the submission to be posted.  I had to stop and think about it for a while.  I had started this thing years ago to get nonsense out of my head.  Then I used it to document my travels and now, though I'll still document my travels, I find it to be my life diary.  This captures my everyday life.  This will be kept forever, and someday I can look thru the archives and be reminded of all the little stuff I did to keep myself happy and to make me a better person. 

I hope you find the same inspiration from this as I have.