Authentically Nita

Located at 15th & Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA. Across the street from City Hall.

The photo above is the Independence Visitor's Center located across the street from the Liberty Bell Center. The Visitor center is located at 6th and Market Streets and they are open 363 days a year from 8:30am to 5pm. The Liberty Bell Center is located on Market Street between 5th and 6th Streets. The photos below begin with the outside of the center. Exhibits outside of the Liberty Bell Center Inside the Center: The Bell was first called the "Liberty Bell" by a group trying to outlaw slavery. In the 1800s, the Liberty Bell traveled around the country to expositions and fairs to help heal the divisions of the Civil War. The actual Bell No one knows what caused the bell to crack. The first bell cracked not long after it arrived in Philadelphia from London. In 1753 a new bell was cast using the metal from the English bell. By 1846 another crack had began to affect the bell's sound. The bell was repaired in 1846 and it was rung for George Washington's birthday cele...

This park is home to many squirrels and a great place to walk your dog. But me, I like to come here when I'm in a bad mood. On days like today, I can just sit under a tree and enjoy the breeze. It's serene. Sent from my Cricket mobile device

If you've read my previous blog post about FDR Park in South Philadelphia, then you already know how wonderful this park is. It's a great place for leisure and family fun. The park's playground has recently recieved a serious upgrade! The old playground here: Has been transformed into this super fun playgroud below! My children love, LOVE this new playground. I personally think the old one was fine, and my favorite activity is still, feeding the ducks :) To read my previous blog post click here: FDR Park aka The Lakes

Are you ecologically friendly? The Global Footprint Network has a great way for you to find out just how green your routine really is. *Click here to take a quiz and see how eco-friendly you really are* The above link will take you to Global Footprint Network's website where you can take a quiz to determine your ecological footprint. I thought that I was doing pretty good before I took this quiz back in January. I found out that if everyone lived like I do, we would need three planet Earths to sustain us! Sounds crazy right? Well, what's even crazier is that right now, our country's ecological footprint is even higher than that. It would take over 5 planets to sustain us if everyone lived like the average US citizen. Since January, I've been making big steps to change my ecological footprint. I'll be sharing those steps in upcoming blog posts.

My mother gave me a flash back yesterday. She called me to come from out of my comfortable position on the couch, walk all the way upstairs and turn off her lamp. Wow! I thought to myself. It reminded me of a story my dad used to tell me. Well, perhaps it was more of a lecture than a story. It went something like this: "Juanita, I know you're not whining because I told you to get the remote off the top of the TV. Back when I was a kid my mom would call me from upstairs. I would have to stop playing and walk all the way downstairs to change the channel for her. Then, I had to stand there, and keep turning the knob until I found something she liked." Now, when my dad was a kid, remote controls and color TVs did exist. But he says that he was so poor that they had a black & white TV and no remote. (He was a black kid in North Philadelphia, from the projects, with no father in his life, so he's probably telling the truth). Well anyway, I broke the news to my children...

I went to the Wissahickon on April 9th, 2011 and planted trees with the Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers and students from the University of Pennsylvania. There were 35 trees that needed to be planted. There were flags marking where the trees were to be planted. Our group picked the spot where we would plant our first tree. We had to do a little invasive plant removal to clear away three feet around where the tree would be planted. Most of it had been removed already and the dead vines of the plants were everywhere. We also had to dig up the root of the invasive plant that was in the spot where the tree would go. Once the invasive was removed and the hole was dug. We planted the tree. The first tree we planted was a Hackberry Tree. The Hackberry Tree produces berries and it’s a good food and shelter tree for wildlife. The second tree we planted was a White Oak Tree. The White Oak is going to grow big and also provide shelter and food for wildlife. After we planted the trees we then ...