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Entry bubble New Year's Resolutions

By: Colleen | December 31, 2007 | Category: General

So long to 2007, the year when Britney officially went bonkers. Bring on 2008 and whatever it has in store—I'm predicting many more Hollywood divorces and rehab stints.

For us everyday Joes and Janes, it's New Year's resolution time! Each year, millions of Americans resolve to make themselves or the world around them better. Here is a list of the most popular pledges for the next 365 days.

At the top of the heap: Lose weight. No big shocker here. As the holiday season comes to a close, we're all carrying around a little chub. Many thanks to all those cookies, second helpings of mashed potatoes, and the rounds of drinks with friends. The time has come to get back on track, or better yet—the treadmill.

Others hope to get their finances in order. With personal debt at an all-time high (student loans anyone? Years of credit card abuse?) now is the perfect time to sit down and take a hard look at your money. Get on a payment plan, stop spending what you don't have, and work your way to a desirable credit score.

Those living behind a computer screen 9-5 each day vow to take a trip. Most Americans to not even use the full vacation time they are allotted each year. Allow me to help rectify this by letting you in on a secret: the work will always be there, and the universe will remain intact should you not be in the office for a few days. A plug for a few of my favorite vacay destinations to give you some ideas: Key West, FL. Nassau, Bahamas. San Diego, CA. London, England. Places to avoid: Boston, MA. The entire state of Ohio.

Never one to be entirely conventional, here are some ideas for resolutions that stray slightly from the standard.

  • Use coupons more frequently
  • Drink more water
  • Make purchases from local businesses instead of large chain stores
  • TURN OFF THE BLACKBERRY

Best of luck with whatever resolution you chose this year!

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: blackberry   britney   colleen   coupons   credit   destination   finances   loss   new   resoltions   vacation   water   weight   year  

 

Entry bubble America Recycles Day

By: Nancy | November 15, 2007 | Category: General

In honor of this being the 10th annual America Recycles Day, I wanted to dedicate this blog entry to my favorite recycler, Gov Gab's editor, Becky.

When most people start a job, their initial questions include "Where's the restroom?" and "What time is lunch?" Two years ago, Becky's first questions were along the lines of "Does this office recycle envelopes with windows in them?" and "Whom do I call about proper disposal of this burned out fluorescent light bulb?" Mmmmmm...I dunno. Let me find out. But in the meantime, the ladies room is down the hall on the left and lunch is at noon.

Though we appear to be kind of an Oscar and Felix pairing, the slightly sloppy Nancy and the fairly fastidious Becky have more in common than you'd think. In addition to a shared interest in public radio shows like This American Life and anything involving chocolate, we're both into recycling.

Becky may live a little more of an 'evolved' recycling lifestyle than I do. But I can still rinse a mayo jar and flatten out a cracker box with the best of them. And because my county has curbside, commingled recycling pick ups that allow me to put cardboard, paper, glass and certain plastics all in the same bin, there's no excuse for me not to recycle.

I've become a good kid about things that shouldn't be put in the trash or regular recycling bin, too.  Electronics, batteries and gunky liquids like used oil and paint require special handling. It's tempting to bury that stuff in the bottom of a bag of regular trash, but if we don't dispose of those things separately, their chemicals could end up in the water supply and I'd really rather not bathe in battery acid.

Reusing things like water bottles and shopping bags is another recycling habit that Becky and I share. It's kind of fun to tote a department store bag to the lunch table and then rattle coworkers by pulling out a soda bottle (or in Midwesterner Becky's case, a pop bottle), refilled with milk. We'll eventually recycle those bottles and bags that we're reusing. But giving things like plastic bottles another life before they hit the blue bin means that we're using fewer new containers, which saves us money and saves energy resources since fewer new bottles will have to be manufactured, filled and shipped to stores.

Get on the recycling bandwagon with us! If you're not sure how your area handles recycling, just type the name of your town or county into USA.gov's search box along with the word 'recycling,' and if your locality has a website, like Montgomery County, Maryland's entertaining blog, Talkin' Trash, you'll find it on USA.gov.

Happy America Recycles Day to you, and to Becky. Maybe I'll save this post and use it again this time next year…

 

| View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: maryland   nancy   plastic   recycling   water  

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