You know you're from Philly when...

So on Sunday one of the Sacrament Meeting speakers had recently moved to the area from Utah. She was highly emotional and obviously felt a bit lonely and out of her element, so I am trying not to be too judgemental...

(BUT...)

She explained that her family had moved here after living in Utah for a very long time, but originally she was "from here" having lived in New York as a child........................

This comment struck me as, well, hilarious, because the last time I checked this is southeastern PA, which is no where near New York.

Now I realize this terrified Utah transplant was probably referring to "here" as in "the east coast". I will give her benefit of the doubt that she was not referring to "here" as "the mission field" which is one of my TOP Mormon Culture pet peeves.

Anywho, I thought I would compile a list of reasons that you KNOW you're in Philadelphia area, just to help her out.

• You know how to spell Schuylkill River
• You don`t call a cheesesteak a Philly cheesesteak or a hoagie a sub
• Seeing the Liberty Bell is not that big a deal
• You hate Kobe Bryant
• Your favorite dessert is "wooder ice"... or Tastykakes.
• A vacation at the Jersey shore (pronounced "Down the shoore") is better than going to an island (there's more stuff to do, plus you know everybody.)
• You don't think that "Wawa" sounds funny... and you recognize and fully appreciate it's awesomeness.
• You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but "Philly." And New Jersey has always been "Jersey."
• You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA" (pronounced Peeay). How many other states do that?
• You know what "Punxsutawney Phil" ( A Ground Hog ) is, and what it means if he sees his shadow.
• You know that Blue Ball, Intercourse, Climax, Bird-in-Hand, Beaver, Moon, Virginville, Paradise, Mars, and Slippery Rock are PA towns.
• You know that driving is easier in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
• You know what a mummer is.
• You think Ben Franklin is the MAN.
• You have an uncontrollable urge to buy bread and milk when you hear the word "snow".
• You say the correct pronunciation LANG-kist-er instead of the mispronounced Lan-CAST-er, and LEB-en-in instead of the equally incorrect Leb-a-NON.

Pennsylvnia is sure NOT New York, but it's a pretty awesome place and a place that should be appreciated.

=)

what it boils down to

"If a child is given love, he becomes loving... If he's helped when he needs help, he becomes helpful. And if he has been truly valued at home... he grows up secure enough to look beyond himself to the welfare of others." -- Joyce Brothers, 1974

ugh

It's been a rough week (and it's only Tuesday!).

going green

I was really inspired by this article I read in Ladies Home Journal (my mom sends them to me once she's done). Here are some easy changes that I think are helping reduce garbage and save the earth: Re-examine lunch:

I bought one of these bad boys for about two bucks at the grocery store. Not only does it keep Isaac's sandwich from getting smooshed, it saves me from using a sandwich bag every single time. BONUS: apparently several of his friends have them and they are the cool thing to bring your sandwich in. He brings his lunch to school in an awesome old school metal lunchbox too, so I am not wasting a paper bag everytime.

I used to buy bottles of water in bulk. Then I came to realize how irresponsible I was being using single use plastics (for more info look here, here and here). My friend Jami converted me to being a water bottle carrier and educated me a lot about the importance of using a metal one instead of a plastic one. I keep it with me at work and in the car, take it with me to the gym for yoga, and it fits in my bike cage.

I used to grab a spork packet from the cafeteria each day to eat my lunch with. I always discarded the straw immediately, used the napkin and the spork and then tossed the whole package into the trash. Now I just bring my own silverware back and forth from home.

Recycle obsessively: Where my parents live they can only recycle newspaper, not regular old paper. This would drive me crazy. I have a big bag on the floor or my pantry where I dump all the junk mail, toilet paper rolls, cardboard packaging from food items, Isaac's old school papers, etc. etc. I can leave it on the curb with my garbage, but now the elementary school where I work collects paper to be recycled as a fundraiser. Their other fundraiser is recycling juice pouches like these:

So, I'm making some good strides, but there is definitely room for improvement. I own a ton of those cloth grocery bags but I never, and I mean never, remember to take them with me to the grocery store. I still would really like to give composting a try.

What works for you? Would love to know.

So sick and weird... This state official has a blog completely attacking a gay college student. Watch the video. The guy is beyond creepy. "Do you consider yourself a bigot?" "Absolutely not. I'm a Christian citizen excercising my first amendment rights."

(SIDENOTE: I have a major crush on Anderson Cooper.)

This combined with the sad suicide of Tyler Clementi has me feeling really down.

Why can't people treat each other civilly?

hahahahaha

My horoscope for the day: You need to remember that there are limited productive hours in the day because some of them must be reserved for sleeping and eating. Although you can pack a lot of activity into a short amount of time, your tendency is to take on more than you should. You might even believe that you're being practical, or even cautious, but you can convince yourself of nearly anything now. Make your life easier by lessening your commitments before things get out of hand.