Earth Hour - It's the least we can do. Right?

My family has participated in Earth Hour every year. What we really enjoy is that our neighbors do too. We all congregate outside and chat while the kids run around or star gaze.

It really is the little things. John Lavallo from The Takeout Group sent me the following information in an email. I felt like it was something I could pass along to all of you.

Earth Hour occurs this Saturday, March 27th at 8:30PM (local time) around the world. EarthTV presents LIVE camera feeds from Paris (Eiffel Tower), Sydney (Opera House and Harbour Bridge), Berlin (Brandenburg Gate), and Munich (Church of our Lady). Tune in to earthTV.com to catch these landmarks turn off their lights to support Earth Hour. In addition to these live feeds, tune in this weekend for delayed transmissions from Dubai (Burj Kahlifa and Burjf Al Arab), Hong Kong, Amsterdam, New York (Empire State Building), Auckland (Sky Tower), and Melbourne (Arts Centre and Crown Casino).

About Earth Hour:

With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries, Earth Hour--organized by WWF--is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

Who said aging was hard?

I am going to be 42 this year. I am not sure where the years went. It seemed that not too long ago I was pushing 40 and thinking it would be a turning point in my life. Perhaps the only thing that really changed was that I stopped caring so much what other people think. I do what I want and I say what I feel and so far, that has not gotten me into any trouble. The one thing though that I did notice last year, and I’ve noticed more this year, are small laugh lines around my eyes. My mother in law suggested I invest in the best anti wrinkle cream and get a jump start on the aging process. I’m not sure I buy that just yet. I use a moisturizer every night. I think, for now at least, I’m covered.

Home Remedies - Acne Treatment?

While my husband and I were talking one night, we were discussing the things we have done or tried during our lives. Once my husband put those little marshmallow peep Easter candy things in the microwave to see what would happen. Once I pierced my own ears with those little finger pokers that diabetics use. I got them from my grandma. This one other time, I read in an email that coca cola would clean our toilet and get rid of the rust stains. That did not really work. However, the coke did take the crud off my battery cables on my old 89 Ford. So, there was that. However, one thing my husband confessed to was trying home remedies acne treatment when he was a teenager. One time, a friend told him to lay in front of a tanning light and it would basically burn the acne off his face. He tried. He burned. His acne got worse because he had to use burn goo on his face. I told him that was a smooth move. I hope our kids are brighter than he was back then.

Minor remodeling

So, I upgraded my kitchen this past weekend. The neighbor is getting a divorce. His wife left him with the house and kids and dog and moved into an apartment. I feel bad for him. He sold his house and is moving to a smaller apartment. He sold us his kitchen appliances for a very, very good price. They're all Kitchen-Aid. The selling point, for me anyway, was the dishwasher. It doesn't make a sound. My old dishwasher, well, suffice it to say we couldn't watch a movie in the family room and run the dishwasher at the same time because you could barely hear the movie. It was that loud. Now, it is whisper quiet. So, next week I hope to buy my new sink and faucet. Then, all I have left to do is tile the back splash and I will have the kitchen I have always wanted (well, for this house anyway).

Avoid Stress!

One thing I worry about is that my weight loss will plateau eventually and I will have a hard time getting going again. I went so far as to check into things such as weight loss accelerator plans, colon cleanse benefits and even those treatments where you wrap yourself in plastic wrap and sweat off a pants size. I finally decided that I will cross that bridge when I come to it. In the meantime, I’m not going to stress. Because stress causes belly fat. Didn’t know that, did you?

Bad skin runs in the family

When I met my husband, it was not love at first site, but it did not take long. However, as the time went by, and we were finally married, one thought occurred to me. We wanted to have children. My skin is typical combo, T zone oily, dry, dry, dry cheeks. His skin however was horrible when he was a teenager. He had such bad acne that he went to a dermatologist weekly and had may different procedures to clear up his skin. My worry was that our children would have bad skin and finding an acne remedy would be difficult. However, our 18 year old daughter has never had more than a minor breakout on her forehead. Our 13 year old has some blackheads here and there but otherwise, so far, so good. For now, we are in the clear. Hopefully, it stays that way.

Lose that weight!

Since September, I have lost a substantial amount of weight, nearly 40 pounds. While I would like to say that it was easy and quick and took hardly any effort on my part, but that would be untrue. Losing the weight has not been quick or easy. I would like to say to follow my bullet list of quick weight loss tips and wala, you’d be rockin’ those skinny jeans in no time.

However, I cannot tell you that. I can tell you this: cut back on sugars, cut out soda (or at least switch to diet), drink more water (ya ya ya they always say that – but it’s true), cut back on portions. It is NOT A SIN to leave food on your plate (I promise). Do those things, then start with small exercise. I do squats while I’m making copies or waiting for a fax. I do a high kick march between my office and the copy room. Sure, I look like an idiot, but I don’t care. I part far, far away at the grocery store. And since September, 2009 to now, I have lost nearly 40 pounds and I went from a size 16W jeans to a size 13 in juniors!

Classes are almost over..;

I am currently taking an ethics class. It has, by far, been the easiest class I have taken so far. The topic is one I am familiar with and comes easiest to me. I have one final paper to write, which I will be working on tonight, and then I have some other tasks to finish up and Sunday, I will be done.

D.O.N.E.

for about 12 hours, and then I start my next class Monday morning. Such is the life of a Master's student.

Secret Agent Chic

Doesn’t the Symbol LS2208 sound like a totally cool undercover name? Or maybe the name of an undercover operation. That I am in charge of. That I am the lead agent of. That I control.

No one in my real life would know. I would be the hip soccer mom by day, hot undercover agent by night.

I’d be the one with the skin tight black suit who stealthy slinks around at night, planting bugs and taking secret video surveillance with my high tech gadgets. Until I got caught that is. Then I’d go back to the boring night clerk who uses the Symbol LS2208 for its true purpose, as a bar code scanner.

Workin It!

I have now lost over 35 pounds. I went crazy and got a tattoo as a gift to myself. My boss saw it the other day. That was a proud moment.

AnyWay....

I have been working out with my elastic bands because I just cannot bring myself to do cardio any more. I'm so tired of those perky little skinny girls telling me to work it! However, as I get stronger, I wish I had some way (or somewhere) to do things like pull ups or push ups that put me on an angle. Then I saw this contraption called a dip station that allows just that. Now, I'm contemplating. Will I really use it? Or will it be like that thigh squeezing thing that still lives in my attic?

Snap!

I have a 1700 word paper due tomorrow.

%&#()^&#)^&#)@!!!!

We're a gaming family

In my house I have three video game systems. However, the one we have the most games for is the playstation 3 (which I am surprised it still works due to the abuse it takes on a weekly basis). This system is by far the favorite of my kids. They have many sports games, although wrestling is their favorite for the third year in a row. They also have the guitar hero rock game thing with guitars, they have a classics game with Pacman and Galaxian and Dig Dug. They have computer games and hand held games. If I didn't know better, I would be afraid ,y daughters would grow up and be 27, living in my basement, sitting around in their underwear all day, eating junk food and playing some wrestling game. But man, if I could just get my hands on a copy of Donkey Kong!

It's my happy place

Ya know, there is one thing in the world that I really enjoy the smell of, besides Cinnamon or fresh baked cookies or Apple and Honeydew kitchen smelly things, oh and fresh laundry, it is the smell of cigars because they remind me of something. I’m not sure what, as I have no childhood memories or the like wherein I am reminded of someone I love when I get a whiff of cigar scent. No, instead, the smell of cigars reminds me of a place in my mind. A gigantic home library, the kind with floor to ceiling dark wood shelves lined with books, the classics to the trashiest of novels. There is no computer in this room, only nail head leather furniture, an old fashioned world globe that has been spun the equivalent of miles around the actual earth. This room embodies what I want to have someday as my personal den. It also has a faint smell of cigars. I don’t know why.

Do I need one of these too?

I am not a fanatic when it comes to exercise. I have a really expensive quilt holder treadmill in my bedroom and I use it at least three times a year. And that's just because husband says he is going to sell it on the internet and buy a mini race car. It's a use it or lose it thing.

I do however have a pedometer that I use routinely. And when my steps are on the low side, I think about using the treadmill. I don’t really use the treadmill, but I do think about it and that should add three or four hundred mind steps right there.

So, that said, I do not really understand why people need to own their very own finger pulse oximeter unless they know exactly what they’re doing with it. I mean, in medical offices and hospitals, it is used to check oxygen levels and even pulse rates. Are they used in gyms too?