Sigma Style: Have a Very Green Christmas
This year, Americans will send nearly 2 billion holiday cards, use more than 38,000 miles of ribbon and leave millions of Christmas trees on the curb. Does that mean you should feel guilty for having a great time? Nah. Neither does it mean forgoing any of the elements that make the holiday season special. "You don't have to sacrifice the celebration for sustainability," says Zem Joaquin, founder of ecofabulous.com and eco-editor of House & Garden. Her advice: be "eco-wise." Here are a few secrets for an environmentally friendly—but still festive— holiday season.
Lights. Buy strings of LED lights, which look the same as conventional incandescent bulbs but last longer and use 80 to 90 percent less energy. LED lights, like the 300-light garland for $8.99 at homedepot.com, are also safer since they barely warm up. And invest in timers that automatically shut off your lights and cost as little as $9.99.
Shopping. Instead of coming home with 15 shopping bags, bring your own to the store. Afraid of being stopped for shoplifting? Danny Seo, author of "Simply Green Giving," fastens receipts to the outside of his bag with a paperclip showing that he paid for his purchases.
Wrapping. Instead of buying your paper, get creative with what you have around the house. Wrap presents in posters, decorated grocery-store bags or pages from glossy fashion magazines. Or put a small present in a beautiful scarf and "make the wrapping part of the gift," says Jennifer Hattam, lifestyle editor for Sierra magazine. If you love traditional wrapping paper, buy the recycled versions from sites like fishlipspaperdesigns.com and paporganics .com ($4.99 for two 24- by 36-inch sheets). The latter site also sells biodegradable ribbon made from cotton and soy-based inks.
Trees. "Always go real," says Seo. "A fake tree is petroleum based. It's not biodegradable." One answer is to buy or rent a live tree (see livingchristmastrees.org for more information). Or get a cut tree and, after the holidays, take it to the county recycling facility, where it can be turned into mulch.
Cards. This year consider going paper-free. Direct friends to your family blog or create a free multiphoto card or an online slideshow on photobucket.com. You can add holiday music, snowflakes and bits of text, and then e-mail friends and family a link.
Parties. Use metal flatware and real glasses and dishes —especially if you own an Energy Star-certified dishwasher, says Jenny Powers of the Natural Resources Defense Council. If you're using disposable plates, pick recyclable paper, not plastic or Styrofoam. Use cloth tablecloths instead of throwaways. Then wash them in cold water to save energy. See all-laundry .com/environment.asp for more tips. And if you need a new party outfit, check out treehugger.com for suggestions on how to "green" your wardrobe. Then kick back and toast the holidays with a glass of (organic) champagne.
An urban myth is a modern folk tale, its origins unknown, here is the story and lets see if you believe.
My daughter and I had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas & decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus Cookie". It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown "I'm afraid not." Well" I said, "would you let me buy the recipe?"
With a cute smile, she said YES". I asked how much and she responded, "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!" I said with approval, "just add it to my tab".. Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. I looked again and remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe - $250.00". That's outrageous!!!
I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them that the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any POSSIBLE interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge.. They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe - we absolutely will not refund your money at this point." I explained to her the criminal statutes which govern fraud in Texas. I threatened to refer them to the Better Business Bureau and the State's Attorney General for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, we don't give a damn, and we're not refunding your money." I waited a moment, thinking of how I could get even,or even try to get any of my money back. I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250.00, and now I'm going to have $250.00 worth of fun."
I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus... for free..She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this" I said, "Well you should have thought of that before you ripped me off", and slammed down the phone on her.. So, here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250.00 dollars for this... I don't want Neiman-Marcus to ever get another penny off of this recipe....
This is an urban legend. Neiman Marcus does not know where the story came from , but the all I know is that this is great holiday cookie.Ingredients
Directions
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Over the past month, DOS has had several events. The first event took place on November 15, 2009 , when the chapter celebrated 87 years of sisterhood. The fabulous event was filled with Sorors, young and young at heart, Rhoers and invited guest. Soror Vikki Sorrells, of the Alpha Lambda Sigma Cleveland graduate chapter, gave a beautiful speech. During the program undergraduate sorors and Rhoers were recognized for their achievements. The evening was full of bonding, good food and fun.
On November 21, 2009, the chapter held a special viewing of the movie "Precious" at the Drexel Theatre. The movie brought out sorors, rhoers, friends and family. The theatre was full for the event. After the movie viewing, there was a panel discussion, where local professionals answered audience questions about the movie and issues that came up in the movie and how we can deal with them in our community.
DOS hit the road wi
th family in friends, for some shopping and gambling in Michigan on December 5. Half of the bus went to shop at a local outlet mall and others went to Greektown for some gambling fun. Some got lucky with the deals found at the mall and others hit the jackpot at the casino. Fun was had by all. We can not wait until next spring when we can do all all again. Hope to see then.Poodle of the Month: Soror Deniesha Newby
Soror Deniesha Newby is the mother one son, Anthony. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a bachelors degree in family resource management. She currently works for The Ohio State University in the department of student financial aid department of the Coll
ege of Medicine. Deniesha became apart of this great sorority by being inducted with 8 other women through the Delta Phi chapter, at The Ohio State University. Through her years of being active in the sorority she has held positions of treasurer, anti-basileus, parliamentarian and Sergent at arms.When asked why she chose to join Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc, she states that she had no prior knowledge of greek life prior to arriving at The Ohio State University. She states that the sisters on the campus (OSU) were so genuine and kind. They also had many programs on campus and most of all ..they graduated.
Even though that sorority has many programs, the ones that Deniesha chooses to focus on are Founder's Day, Wee Savers and many other community programs.
The thing that Deniesha would like people to know about her are that she is shy and sensitive. She also states that someone recently stated that she was a task master...but she is unsure if she likes that.
- Happy birthday to all sorors celebrating in the month of December.
- Happy Sigma anniversary to all sorors who celebrated in December.
- Look for the upcoming financial seminar in January.
