At the Silicon Valley Moms Group Holiday Party, I received a bunch of fabulous free products and learned about some terrific programs, vendors, and charities. One such product was Olive Smart Sacks, reusable grocery sacks that hold a lot, but are compact when not in use. I have a lot of reusable bags, so honestly didn't get a chance to use my Olive Smart Sacks until just recently. I had cleaned out my car, so the only thing in the front of the van was the little sack with the three Olive Smart Sacks in it. My other reusable bags were all stuffed in the truck. It was the perfect opportunity to take my new ones for a spin!

When I unwrapped them, they looked a little small. I admit I was concerned that they might not handle my grocery shopping. I considered going back to my car for the larger bags.

When I checked out, the bag boy laughed a little, "Hey, I thought these were pillowcases!" he exclaimed, noting the texture of the fabric, before making a joke that people could actually use pillowcases for their groceries if they wanted, "Maybe just cut some holes out?" he said, before revising, "Or just grab 'em from the top!"

Indeed, the Olive Smart Sacks are very silky and comfortable. The material feels thin, because it can bunch back up into a small place, but is sturdy while remaining soft-to-the-touch. And to my amazement, the three "small" sacks that I brought held a LOT of groceries! (Olive Smart also has a pack of six bags, which of course would bag up twice as much.)

I'm really happy with my trial run of the Olive Smart Sacks. They are certainly more attractive and more compact than the rather stiff variety I have stuffed in my trunk.

What really intrigues me though, is that the company has the "Olive Smart Fundraising Program," an affiliate program for schools and non-profits. Olive Smart will contribute 20% of all sales that your organization sends to their website. I frankly can't stand the various types of fundraising we've had for our school and gym, it is usually stuff that I don't want to purchase but feel like I have to to support the school (or to earn prizes for the kids.) But these reusable bags are practical and stylish enough to actually make sense as a fundraising product. (To learn more, email info@olivesmart.com with the subject line "affiliate program.")

I'm glad I tried out the Olive Smart Sacks -- they'll definitely come in handy time and time again.

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Disclaimer: Olive Smart Sacks gave the attendees of the SV Moms Holiday Party a three-pack ("Half-Sack") of their silky bags. We were under no obligation to post about them and I will receive no compensation by posting twice (once in the general party write-up and once above.)

Three years ago we moved from a big house with a little yard to a little house with a big yard. I had excited ambitions for planning my own garden, but my plans fell flat. Embarrassingly, the gardening work the previous owners had done was wasted when my purple thumb came along. In the midst of my farming failure out in our back yard, I noticed that the containers I planted in our front yard actually did well. A lime tree gave us limes for our beer, and an initially small rosemary plant is now enormous and can provide seasoning to whatever I happen to be cooking. (Okay, I don't cook much, but I have big plans for that, too!)

I hope to plant other easy-to-grow herbs in containers in an attempt to incorporate more fresh seasoning into my (future) cooking, and to essentially take "baby steps" towards having a more sustainable experience. Maybe I'll cook more if I know I already have basil, sage, and rosemary growing right there?

It was with a hope that I can make this a reality that I happily accepted Mom Central's opportunity to review Triscuit's Home Gardening Program. Triscuit has placed plantable herb cards in four million boxes of Triscuit crackers. I was fortunate to receive one of those boxes in exchange for spreading the word about their program.

During "Earth Hour" we were at a hockey game, but they weren't going to turn out the lights on men with sticks, sharp blades, and hair-trigger tempers. But hopefully my family and I will do something meaningful for Earth Day - two days from now. (Today is apparently some sort of pro-marijuana holiday, which I guess is "green" in its own way. Our old phone number - with a different area code easily confused with ours - was the number for a medical marijuana dispensary. That was an interesting thing.)

At church Sunday, I was thrilled to find a green-centered sermon accompanied by some unconventional and exciting "hymns." One such hymn included a coyote, and was truly gorgeous. I don't talk about religion much because I know it is quite polarizing, and I'm of the belief that people can find meaning and spirituality a variety of different ways, so I don't want to give the impression that I'm attempting to preach a specific faith here. But let's just say that I was pleased that Sunday's sermon was about positive impact and respect. It was about being good stewards of the Earth. It was not about politics - as environmental issues frequently can be - it was about a way of life that honors what we've been given.

One of my old pals, Wubbzy, has already been educating kids about the need to be sensitive and respectful to our environment. On a regular basis, Wubbzy and his pals teach kids about positive social interaction, and about respecting each others' differences.

Last week turned into One Big Teachable Moment. Or, I suppose more appropriately, it was several moments with a common theme.

I've always been relatively eco-conscious. I feel guilty if I can't find a recycling bin (and will sometimes carry an empty can around with me until I do.) I am always turning off lights in the house (except there are certain ones that I want on even though my husband turns those off!) I conserve water, and I donate items to "re-use" day.

But I know I'm not perfect. I have plenty of appliances sucking energy when they aren't in use, and sometimes I forget my cloth shopping bags when going to the store, or purchase bottled water because I neglected to wash out my re-usable bottle.

My eco-efforts are a work in progress. Similarly, the way humans harness energy and deliver it to the population is a work in progress. Last week I had the opportunity to learn about PG&E's smart meter from Silver Spring Networks during an event hosted through Mom Central.

Some time ago I was running a giveaway here. I posted it on Prizey, and while I was over there, figured I'd check out the other giveaways going on. One in particular caught my eye - for some bars from Core Foods. As a super-busy person who is always in my van chauffeuring someone to something, or at my computer with deadlines that don't involve the oven timer, I was attracted to the idea of 100% organic, raw, whole food to-go. Often convenience bars are filled with bleech, but these sounded good. And so I entered to win a case. Why not? I figured.

Well, I didn't win. But, Core Foods emailed me promoting a deal from this company called blissmo. For a deep discount I could get a sample set of all the Core Food bars, plus a voucher for an entire case of my favorite flavor.

I'm not a super-big iced tea drinker, although I'll have it on occasion. And lemonade is tasty and refreshing, but is often a bit too sweet for my tastes. Imagine my forehead-slapping surprise when I came across a solution to a problem I didn't know I had. Amongst my latest blissmo box of yummy treats was a single bottle of purity.Organic iced tea + lemonade.

Yes! People put all kinds of sweeter and lemon in their iced-tea, why not lemonade?

I tried the drink with a little skepticism, but also excitement. Verdict = yum! It is refreshing, not too sweet, and not too bitter. It is the perfect mix of flavors. It is satisfying without being heavy.

This stuff is half organic lemonade and half fair-trade black tea. It isn't from concentrate, and does't pack as high a caloric punch as many sweetened drinks. Each 2-serving bottle is 80 calories per serving, for a total of 160 calories per bottle.

purity.Organic iced tea + lemonade is sweetened with cane sugar, not any of that crazy HFCS. And there are no unpronounceable ingredients. The bottle is made of PET rather than glass because the company says it is lighter (takes less energy to produce and ship) and because it can be recycled to make many new products.

I'm definitely excited by this lemonade-iced-tea blend and will be looking for it at my local grocer.

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Disclaimer: I just happened upon this drink in my blissmobox and thought it was innovative and delicious enough to share here. I will not receive commission or compensation if you buy from purity.Organic; however, if you sign up for blissmo emails I'll get a tiny kick-back if you purchase one of their deals.

I'm a big fan of the cool "tasting" or "sampler" box subscriptions that have popped up recently. What better way to try new products and learn about companies with which I'm not yet familiar? I'm especially impressed when these services focus on small businesses and eco-conscious ventures.

I was thrilled to learn about Conscious Box, a monthly taste (or feel) for pure, sustainable products from planet-friendly businesses. This isn't a greenwashed situation; Conscious Box states that it actively seeks out organizations that provide fair wages and ethical business practices as well as a quality product. They strive to be zero-waste, creating their encouraged-to-be-upcycled boxes from recycled materials and soy-based inks.

I was fortunate enough to receive a November box from them. Included in this month's shipment are: a full-sized Kind bar (one of my favorites!), Honest Kids' Appley-Ever-After juice, Mary's Gone Crackers double-chocolate wheat-free gluen-free vegan cookies, Funky Monkey pink pineapple freeze-dried fruit, CocoaWell "true energy" capsules, tiny packs of Glee gum (both mint and lemon-lime,) samples of two products from Pharmacopia (verbena body lotion and body wash,) samples of two 100% Pure products (vanilla bean body cream and green apple body cream,) and a small pack of Living Nutz vegan bodacious banana bread walnuts. What a stash!

It used to be tricky to find all-natural food or cosmetics without artificial chemical additives. I am thankful for companies like Conscious Box who are finding such products to introduce to people like me. Although I can browse the aisles of my local grocery store to buy things without requiring the postage to my doorstep, I like knowing that someone has done the research to know whether an "all-natural" product truly is "natural" or if a company behind an excellent-looking product isn't actually as wonderful behind-the-scenes. I'm glad Conscious Box is on the lookout for the real deal.

Thank you Conscious Box for sending me the November box to test. I'm definitely enthusiastic about your service and look forward to learning more about the trusted products and companies.

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Conscious Box sent me their November box for free. I will receive no other compensation. The words and opinions above are my own.

UPDATE: The Conscious Box folks were kind enough to send me their December Conscious Box, too!

Last week I had the pleasure of attending not one, but two luncheons surrounding holiday greetings. Admittedly, I get nervous when I learn about "competing" products because I end up loving them all, and don't want to choose one over the other.

Well, I'm in luck because although I got to check out the latest offerings from one of my long-term favorites - tiny prints - the other luncheon I attended dealt with a very different product, so I won't feel guilty for profiling them both, here. (So stay tuned...)

So... tiny prints and I go waaaaay back. Seriously.

I learned about them way back in 2008. Family and friends gushed about my holiday photo cards that year, and so in 2009 I noticed many of the holiday cards we received had "tiny prints" on the back. Of course, in 2010 I kept up the trend, and posted about them after a tour of their digs. Last year I sent the naughty/nice flip card, and the recipients absolutely raved about it.

That makes this year's card a challenge, since I think last year's was The Best Ever. But... here are some designs that I've saved in my "favorites" at tiny prints:

I spent a good portion of the day wrapping up family gifts using the various wrapping paper I stored in the shed. Sometimes I'm careful as I unwrap my own gifts so that I can re-use the paper. But, I've got to admit that seeing a few silverfish and spiders squashed against some of my older saved paper made me think maybe this isn't such a great route. (For the record, I put tape over the squished remains of our insect friends so that they wouldn't touch the actual present. And I'm giving those presents to my husband.)

Yeah, so I'm not perfect. I buy gift wrap from my kids' fundraisers, and I use it.

When my kids were small, I had a separate roll of "Santa wrap" which of course was used only from the gifts from Santa. (I had heard too many tales of clever toddlers wondering why Daddy's gift to Mommy was wrapped the same as the gifts to the kids from Santa.)

I even got different wrap for each kid so they knew which belonged to them: For my older green-aficionado, it was shiny green (of course.) My younger son then got peppermint-striped paper. I kept this up for several years, and used a lot of paper.

Last year, I decided to get lazy.