A Mama's Rant

10 ways to trim your waste-line and have a green New Year

Between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, Americans take an additional 25% of waste to the curb. That amounts to over 25 million tons of trash for the holiday season. So what can you do?

10 ways to trim your waste-line in 2009

These tips (with a few of my own) come from RecycleBank, a rewards program that motivates people to recycle.

1. Bring your own shopping bag for every shopping excursion, not just the grocery store. I’ve been using the canvas bags I get as freebies at blogging conferences. I make sure to keep them in my trunk along with my coupons.

2. Send e-cards instead of paper cards. Or least make sure your paper cards are made from recycled content. Scour the after-holiday sales to stock up on recycled cards now or buy them through St. Jude’s Ranch for Children.

This year I printed my holiday enewsletter on one sheet of paper. Then I folded it closed (tri-fold) and used some small printing labels I had left over from another project to tape shut. I put my mailing labels on the outside along with the stamp, eliminating the need for an envelope. Next year I plan to use recycled paper.

3. Avoid gift wrap that is not recyclable (metallic) or not made from recycled content. After the holiday season is a great time to stock up on wrapping paper, since it’ll be on sale. The comics’ pages makes great wrap for kids and last years cards can become collage wrap for any box. Or you can put non-metallic greeting cards in the recycling bin or send them to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children to be made into new cards.

Recycle your Christmas cards for charity

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children rescues abused, abandoned and neglected children of all races and faiths from the vicious cycle of child abuse. They provide healing and nurturing in a safe home-like environment where children can learn life skills to start new lives with new chances, new choices and new hope.

One of their fundraising activities is the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Recycled Card Program. The children and St. Jude’s Ranch volunteers turn the previous year’s Christmas cards into "new" cards for the coming season. They remove the front of the cards and attach a new back made with recycled paper.

The benefits are two-fold: customers receive "green" holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of going green. Since the program was started over 30 years ago, it was expanded to include all occasion greeting cards.

The ties that bind: The Duchess

In The Duchess, you’ll see parallels between the 18th century Duchess of of Devonshire, Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) and her 20th century descendant Princess Diana. Both were fashion icons, devoted mothers, a voice for the common people, and a symbol of tragedy.

The Duchess was married at 17 to the wealthy and influential William Cavendish (Ralph Fiennes), the fifth Duke of Devonshire. As Duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana first indulged her considerable energy in high society. fashion, and eventually politics, which was very unusual at the time for a woman of the aristocracy.

Getting a little party planning help from Heinz and Ocean Spray

I’m going to a friend's New Year’s party next week and have been told to “bring family and an appetizer.” So what should I make? How about Ultimate Party Meatballs or Ultimate Baked Brie? Both recipes use a 16-ounce can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce and a 12-ounce bottle Heinz® Chili Sauce and sound yummy. (They're an excellent way to get rid of that extra can of cranberry sauce, too!)

Many more party recipes are featured on the Ultimate Party Meatballs website. With the Super Bowl coming up, I’ll certainly be using some of these recipes.

I’ve also signed up to get more recipes and entertaining tips and the Ultimate Party Sweepstakes to win $3,000 in gift cards or a 4-qt. Rival® Crock-Pot®.

Customize your party with MyMMs.com

As we head into the new year, many of us will be looking at ways to create special gifts and party favors that won’t bust our budgets. One way is to use personalized M&M’s. These are perfect for party favors for weddings, birthdays, graduation parties, and baby showers, and terrific for goodie bags for kid parties. You can even  do corporate logoed M&M’s for your business celebrations and events.

Get personal with M&M’s

I’ve ordered other customized candies, and was eager to see what M&M’s offered. Not only can you pick out your colors and messages, but you can upload a picture of a pet, the birthday boy or girl, or the lucky couple and have them printed right on the M&M’s. (Click here to learn how to customize your M&M’s.)

MyMMs.com also offers dozens of gift options to accompany your customized M&M'S, such as candy dispensers, decorative tins, and MLB-themed containers. (Baseball themed birthday party anyone?) New this year, M&M'S has teamed up with Martha Stewart for ideas to make personalized gifts even more special. (Check out the Personal Wish Jars craft. Instead of plain jars, you could use baby food jars for a baby shower party favor.)

Smartphones for smart moms - Windows Mobile smartphones and the Samsung Omnia

I’m not a big cellphone user and only have it for emergencies or travel. However, with all the new smartphones like the Samsung Omnia on the market, and the amazing deals various phone companies are running for the holidays, I’m thinking of making the jump.

I’m traveling more and would love to take my email on the road without having to break out the laptop and find a wireless connection. Also, I’m looking for a device that would work with my current set up (Windows based PC) and eliminate the need for me to carry around a cellphone, an electronic planner, a camera, and a laptop. GPS and MP3 would be cool, too.

DVD presents for grownups: Swingtown and The Tudors

If you’re looking for last minute gifts, may I suggest a DVD set of a TV show like Swingtown or The Tudors? You may be wondering why I’m recommending them both in the same post. Well, when you think of it, they’re both costume dramas, Swingtown being set in the 1970s and The Tudors during the early reign of Henry VIII. Both also involve a lot of sex, thus my title “presents for grownups” – don’t want to watch these around the kids!

Swingtown

Swingtown - The First Season follows three Chicagoland couples exploring new freedoms and seeking connections with each other through open marriages, drugs, “key parties” and swinger’s clubs in 1976. Since this is a CBS show, the sex is shown in a PG-13 sort of way – no nudity, but lots of adult situations.

The home decor, hair styles, and clothing is dead on. I was 11 in 1976 - only a couple of years younger than the kids in the show. The feel of the times rings true to me, including the freedoms kids had to wander the neighbor and ride all over town on their bikes. Parents seemed a lot less involved those days, and more preoccupied with their work and social life. Not that my parents were swingers, but I certainly remember quite a few drunk-off-their-ass neighbors at my mom’s Bicentennial party. Lots of women were making passes at other’s women’s husbands, and vice versa, too, according to my mom.

I found the show very compelling and ended up watching the whole first season in a couple of days. I loved how the couple that were the open swingers at the beginning of the show end up being the most committed to each other and their marriage. In contrast, the couples that were the most conservative were the ones having affairs and leaving the world of motherhood for careers.

I look forward to seeing a second season even though rumors abound that Swingtown won’t be renewed though CBS, which also owns Showtime, may switch it back to the cable station. If that’s the case, we’ll be seeing much more explicit sex.

A holiday shopping trip to T.J. Maxx

Along with my sponsored shopping trip to Marshall’s, I also received a $25 gift card to T.J. Maxx. (Yes, they’re owned by the same company.) Unfortunately, the nearest one is over 40 minutes away, which is why I’ve always preferred Marshall’s over them. But last Saturday I was headed up for a party only four minutes away from their Ft. Collins store, so off I went.

I’ve found with any Marshall’s or T.J. Maxx that each store has it’s own strengths and characteristics. Some are better for career wear, some have a terrific shoe section, and so on. Also, depending on the management, some stores are cleaner and more organized than others. The Ft. Collins T.J. Maxx is older and smaller than my local Marshall’s. It’s showing its age and management wasn’t as good as keeping the racks tidy and organized, but there were still bargains to be had.

Try Marshall's for inexpensive, last minute holiday gifts

Spoiler Alert: If your name is Paul and you are married to me, please do not read any further. Otherwise, you’re going to spoil your Christmas present surprise.

Now that I’ve shooed my husband away, let me tell you about a great place to shop for inexpensive, name brand items – Marshall’s! The folks at Marshall’s sent me a $25 gift card to do a little last minute holiday shopping and tell you about it.

I’ve been a Marshall’s shopper since the ‘80s and have always gone there for shoes, business suits (back when I was in a corporate job), wallets, and kids’ clothes and toys. My husband is always finding incredible deals on Chuck Taylor sneakers when he goes there with the kids. He usually finds pairs for $8 a piece and stocks up. He also likes going there for golf shirts, shorts and slacks.

Books for holiday curmudgeons and lovers of worse case scenarios

If you’re looking for that perfect book for the Mr. or Mrs. Scrooge in your life, pick up a copy of Christmas Sucks: What to Do When Fruitcake, Family, and Finding the Perfect Gift Make You Miserable

Yes, it’s official: Christmas Sucks - a humorous look at America’s commercialization of the Christmas holiday season and the terrible travel, inordinate amount of preparation, and family strife that accompanies it. You can commiserate with the fact that everyone drives themselves into debt buying gifts, no one enjoys seeing long-lost relatives, and everyone is creeped out by the department store Santa.