May 2010

National Mom's Nite Out San San Diego: Update

Hi! Long time no see. Where the heck have I been?! I've been putting together this little party for my San Diego mom friends. It's taken a lot of my time, but it's worth it. I think we've managed to put together another really great party. I still have a few things coming down the pipe, but here's the latest info:

Thursday, May 6th 6:00 - 9:00pm 
Porto Vista Hotel in Little Italy, Ripassi Rooftop Lounge
1835 Columbia Street
San Diego, CA 92101
619-544-0164
www.portovistasd.com (for directions, do not use Mapquest! I got lost)

*Please RSVP if you haven't already. If you can't get to the Facebook page let me know in comments and I'll make a note. 

*Valet parking is available. It's free with a drink purchase. Keep both your valet ticket AND the bar receipt for it to be valid.

Keep me in a safe place!

*We will have hosted appetizers from 6-7:30 including chicken and veggie skewers and sliders. Our drink special is the Strawberry Bahama Mojito for $6. I wanted to call it the Assless Chap but I was outvoted. Happy Hour menu pricing will apply too.

Speaking of assless chaps, meet our server for the evening.  He posed for this photo that's on one of the hotel room walls. Any of you waving single dollar bills or engaging in inappropriate touching may be asked to leave. In other words, he's all mine! (kidding honey, love you)

The view from the roof is amazing! It's breezy too. Despite the heaters, I'd still bring a jacket or wrap. Hell, bring a Snuggie if you want to.

If you need a room for the evening, Porto Vista has offered a $99 rate with code VIRTUEIMC.

We have free 5-minute chair massages from Edwin at Pacific Relxation Massage. You can purchase additional minutes as well.

All you need to bring is money for the raffles, any food/drink you want to buy and tips for the valet and staff. Raffle tickets are the same price as last year: 1 for $5, 3 for $10 and 10 for $20.

A few things on the raffle table: A Dooney and Bourke bag, A Vado pocket cam (similar to a flip), $100 gift card to Seaport Village good for any store with carousel rides and Ben and Jerry's cones too, a one year supply of Dropps laundry detergent, E.L.F makeup and brush set, $50 gift cards to Hanes.com and lots more.

I need to thank Charity and Deb for their help again this year. Also, I enjoyed getting to know and working with Nora from the Porto Vista. Her professionalism is greatly appreciated. Thank you, ladies!

I love my sponsors, they've been great! I'm so happy to be working with many again and grateful for the ones new to this year. Your contributions and donations are what is making this such a fantastic event! (in no particular order)

Porto Vista Hotel

Seaport Village

Wilton

Dropps Laundry

Carolina Pad

The Tote Buddy

Froots

See Here.com

Hanes.com

Bumbleride

Sweet Funky Vintage

Big Honcho Media

Ketchum

Eyes, Lips, Face

The Vintage Pearl

Give Daddy.com

Skoy Cloths

Handstand Kids

Dove Chocolates

Studio 19

Boogie Wipes

Me and Goji

VPG Printing

Evolve Salon and Day Spa

Pacific Relaxation Massage

Theresa Rose jewelry

Build A Bear

Hasbro

Family Adventure Guidebooks

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

*Charity, Deb and I contacted sponsors directly or were referred by the National Mom's Nite Out creator, BSM Media. We have not been paid to promote any business. All sponsors donated their products/materials for use as a door prize, gift bag or raffle item.

Ready, Set, Walk!

I can't believe how fast the year is going! Last year when I was getting ready for the 3 day, I felt like I had all the time in the world to prepare. I was so wrong. November will be here before I know it. I'm heading out for my first walk of the year. I've set my goal today for four miles. My ankle isn't 100% but I went to see my foot guy again and now I have supports in my shoes. I can't train in the pair I have for too much longer since they (literally) have a lot of miles on them. New ones are definitely in order. 

I don't want to make the same mistakes I did last year; namely not training enough and not training on the same streets as the walk route (ie lots of hills and curbs, I may have to do a whole post on curbs!). I also didn't train with my fanny pack last year (BTW I hate the term fanny pack. Is there something better? Butt bag? I think I'll use that).

I used a small backpack last year and hardly carried anything in it. As a result, I wasn't prepared for the weight of all the stuff I lugged around during the walk. Having all of that weight on my lower back definitely changed my stride so this year I'm wearing my butt bag from the start. Mine is from Eddie Bauer and I love it because it holds A LOT. It has adjustable rubber bands on the sides to hold the water bottles in place. That doesn't seem important until the third time you bend over to tie your shoes and they fall out, rolling in everyone's way. Not that I'd know about that from experience. Ahem. This is what I'll be taking with me on training walks:

Two water bottles

Snacks (as the walk gets closer I carry a lot more food)

Sunscreen

Lip balm with sunscreen

Wet wipes

Hand sanitizer
Camera (I'll start carrying the video camera too)

Hair ties

Cell phone

iPod

Nike Plus pedometer (for the iPod)

Business card case with debit card, ID and a little cash

Not pictured: toilet seat covers (for emergency porta potty stops)

Hat (either my wide brimmed straw or a ball cap)

I carry a lot more during the actual walk. My suggestion to first time walkers is to decide early on whether you want to use a backpack or butt bag and carry it from the get go.

I'm excited to be an online ambassador again this year. I'm happy to help newbie walkers any way I can. If you're in San Diego and want to train with me, let me know! There are other ambassadors all across the country.* We'll all be posting our progress and tips. We're here to help, support and encourage. If you have questions, please ask!

*Links to @the3day's profile on Twitter with all the other ambassadors.

Earth Day 2010: International Housewares Show Finds

"The Earth is what we all have in common" - Wendell Berry

I've got a long way to go towards living a truly green lifestyle. I may not ever get there since there are things I can't see myself giving up (public transportation in my area stinks), and some things I can't see doing (composting) but I'm being more aware. I read labels more than I have before. I combine errands. I've added a few organics to our diet. I'm sure my next car will be even more fuel efficient than my current one. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless. 

I saw several things at the International Housewares Show that have stuck with me because I know they would be easy for me to work into my family and our lifestyle.

The Green Garmento

I like this because I dryclean a lot of my dresses, shirts and my nice jeans. We also take Phil's uniforms in once a month for reserves. I try to remember to take the hangers and plastic bags back but more often than not they end up in the trash. I think it's great that their site offers carbon offsetting from the shipping of their products.

Nellie's All Natural

They had the cutest booth. I think that's what really caught my attention. That and the woman doing the demos in a bathrobe and slippers. Sign me up for that job, please! I've seen Nellie's products at my Crate and Barrel outlet. The dryer ball interested me the most. I've heard they do a good job in speeding up drying time.

Sometimes I have to run the dryer twice and I don't know if it's better to divide one washed load into two smaller ones and dry them; or run the dryer once, take out the items that dry the fastest and then finish the cycle. I'm not sure I'd switch to their laundry powder because of the eczema in our house and the limited availability, but I'd be curious to know if it's more cost effective than liquid laundry soap. Have you used Nellie's?

Simple Green Naturals

I already use Simple Green, especially after we make bacon or use the George Foreman. It's awesome for breaking down all that fat. I think the Naturals are a good addition to the product line. They smelled good, which is key for me (I tried Simple Green Green Apple. Bad. Really bad.). One change I hope they make is to offer those little concentrated refill canisters across all their product lines so we don't have to buy the big plastic bottle each time.

Spaghetti Scrubs

Pic from the site, I forgot to take one at the show

I'd also glanced at these in Crate and Barrel before the trip to Chicago. I'm a bit skeptical about their effectiveness. Most of their line is made with peach pits, walnut shells, pumice stone and corn cobs. They're designed to replace cleaning agents but can be used with a small amount of product. I see myself using one for my cast iron pan since they're not supposed to be washed, only rinsed with hot water, but sometimes stuff gets stuck and I end up scrubbing. If the Spaghetti Scrub won't ruin my cookware I'd give them a try. Sponges are definitely on my 'things I feel guilty while using them' list.

Copco To Go Cups

I'd seen the hot drink cups at Bed, Bath and Beyond before the show. I was going to buy one of hot cups but the people at the booth were giving them out. Yay! I've used it almost every day since I got back. It holds a Grande at Starbucks or the 20 ounce from 7-11 (my new recessionista obsession). It's dishwasher safe but ours is broken so I can't vouch for how it holds up in there. I have re-heated coffee in the microwave though. Once I get the cold cup (above) for smoothies I'll be all set. Copco is a division of Wilton, the bakeware company. I didn't know that before the show.

These last two aren't from Housewares, the companies are local to me.

Skoy Cloths

Samples for Mom's Nite Out swag bags

Also on my guilt list are paper towels. I make a conscious decision to buy recycled but if I don't have a coupon I buy whatever is priced best. I really like these because they come from a local, mom owned company. Michelle and Karen live just a few minutes from me! These cloths are biodegradable and can be sanitized in the dishwasher or microwave. I didn't see these at the Housewares Show. I got a cloth in the swag bag at women's expo I went to last weekend. I wrote to them, asked if they'd be willing to donate to my Mom's Nite Out party and they said yes!

The Tote Buddy

Pic from the site

Another local business and Mom's Nite Out supporter. I met Julie at another women's networking event. I was looking for her business card to ask about Mom's Nite Out and then I got an email from her. It was meant to be! If the back of your car looks like mine, this is will definitely help. The Tote Buddy holds up to 10 reusable bags. It helps with 'forgetting them in the car' and fits well under the shopping cart. Julie has offered code 'earthday' until 4/30 for a $2 discount.

In some ways I think we, as a society, will never completely be able to undo the damage we've done to the planet. Cell phones, computers and cars are here to stay. I do think there's a lot more we could and should be doing to protect the ocean and other precious habitats. I don't think global warming is a made-up phenomenon.

Watching shows like Discovery's Planet Earth and Life have started great discussions in our house. I may not be able to make big changes but I can make the effort and pass those habits on to Tyler. I guess that's the best way we can all start healing the planet, by educating our kids and having them learn from our mistakes.

What changes have you made since last Earth Day? Do you think the 'green movement' is overblown?

*This is not a sponsored post. None of these companies asked me to post about them and I didn't tell them I was going to. Other than the product donations for Mom's Nite Out, I'm not benefiting from posting. These are things I'm genuinely interested in and feel comfortable supporting, especially the mom owned businesses.