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A few weeks ago I reminded you that Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving. With New Year’s Eve and a long weekend of partying ahead of us, I wanted to share Emily’s story with you. Emily is a mom just like you and me proving that if you drink it can happen to you.

Please designate a sober driver before you head out.

Many of us received expensive electronic gadgets for Christmas-laptops, cameras, mp3 players, cell phones and iPods just to name a few. I don’t know about you but, my kids have lost a few mp3 players over the last few years and as their gadgets get more expensive, I get more concerned about replacing them. This is where Tiger Tag comes in.

TigerTag.com, the world’s first free lost and found network, recently announced the launch of its new service in the US and Europe.  The TigerTag network is powered by Good Samaritans looking to return lost items such as cell phones, laptops, digital cameras and MP3 players by harnessing the power of goodwill.

“More than 10 million mobile phones and two million laptops are lost every year in the US. The majority of people want to do the right thing by returning items they find but often it is impossible to track down the proper owner,” said Eric Lagier, CEO and founder of TigerTag.  “We believe that if you make it easy for folks to return a lost item, most would do so, with a smile.”

A TigerTag is a free, small, neatly designed sticker that is available at www.tigertag.com . TigerTags can be applied to any valuable, such as an iPhone, Blackberry or Nintendo DSi, and each has a unique ID number.  If a tagged item goes missing, the finder simply goes to TigerTag.com and enters the unique ID number.  This triggers a simple but effective reuniting process, starting with an immediate e-mail to the owner. At that point, the owner can connect directly with the finder or have TigerTag retrieve the item and ship it back.

“75% of lost items which carry a TigerTag ID sticker are returned by Good Samaritans.  Our mission at TigerTag is to provide a reliable way to safeguard valuables by harnessing the power of goodwill,” said Lagier.

TigerTag operates a 24/7 service center to facilitate easy recovery and offers those who find and return lost items rewards and incentives for their goodwill.  The company also works with law enforcement to help recover lost items.

It is simple and free to use Tiger Tag. I have signed up and ordered stickers for our valuables I hope you will too.

We love Tyson products in our home. We eat some form of Tyson chicken just about every week. When I was asked to review some of the new flavors of Tyson Any’tizers of course, I said yes! Tyson recently created 4 new chicken Any’tizers:

• Chicken Breast Chunks with General Tso Sauce
• Chicken Breast Chunks with Spicy Sweet & Sour Sauce
• Crispy Breaded Wings with Citrus Fire Sauce
• Crispy Breaded Wings with General Tso Sauce

When my coupons arrived in the mail, I headed out to get some chicken! I could only find the Chicken Breast Chunks with Spicy Sweet & Sour Sauce in my grocery store so I picked it up and brought it home. The chicken is easy to prepare, my 16yo made them for all of us to have has an afternoon snack on Christmas Eve. They were delicious! They tasted just like sweet and sour chicken from our favorite Chinese restaurant. You can serve these as an appetizer or, add some fried rice and it would make a wonderful meal.

I have two coupons valued at up to $10 each to give away! Two lucky readers of The Mom Maven will be able to try one of the new Any’tizers flavors.
Mandatory 1st Entry
Visit the Tyson Any’tizers web page and check out all of the delicious flavors. Then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know which one you want to try.

Bonus Entries:

• Follow @TysonFoods on Twitter and leave me a comment letting me know that you did.
• Tweet this: I just entered to win some Any’tizers from @TysonFoods and @MomMaven do you want some too? http://bit.ly/7Tk8sM (you can do this once a day leave a separate comment for each entry with the Tweet URL)
• Subscribers get 1 entry. Not a subscriber yet? Click on the orange heart in the sidebar. Leave a comment letting me know you subscribe.
• Public Followers get 1 entry. Follow publicly through the Google widget. Leave a comment letting me know you are following.

This giveaway will end at 10pm on Monday, January 4, 2010. The winners will be chosen by random.org.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Jones Soda. All opinions are 100% mine.

In the Fall of 2008 our youth pastor added Jones Soda to our youth cafe. The kids were instantly addicted to the delicious soda made with pure cane sugar and it was a cafe staple for about 6 months. My boys were among those who fell in love with Jones Soda. Aaron loves the Berry Lemonade and Green Apple while Jordan prefers Orange & Cream and Root Beer. Jones also offers seasonal and rather quirky flavors like tofurkey and gravy!

Jones Soda even lets you personalize your soda bottles! What a fun gift or surprise for a special event. How fun would it be to grab a bottle of soda and realize it had your picture on the bottle! I would love to do this for a special birthday present or maybe use a photo of you all geared up for the big game and serve it at your Superbowl Party. I does take 10-14 days + shipping time to get your customized myJones soda bottles so make sure you plan ahead.

I’d love to throw a pirate themed birthday party for Jordan and use this picture on bottles of Pirate Grog (aka Root Beer) with the saying “Yo Ho Yo Ho! A Pirate’s Life for Me!” on the bottle.
What do you think?

You can visit myJones custom soda to customize your own bottles! Leave me a comment and let me know what picture and soda flavor you would use.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Miles of garland, ribbon, twinkling lights and glitter transform Walt Disney World Resort into a winter wonderland during the holiday season. Here is just some of what you will find:

• 737 Decorated Trees
• A wreath 25 feet in diameter adorning the Cirque du Soleil building at Downtown Disney West Side
• 10 miles of twinkling rope lights in the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• 150 tractor-trailer truckloads of decorations for 24 resorts, 4 theme parks, Downtown Disney and other locations
• 15 miles of garland strung and 1314 wreaths hung throughout the vacation kingdom
• 300,000 yards of ribbon and bows draping over Christmas trees across property
• 8.5 million lights strung throughout Walt Disney World Resort
• 98% of the lighting used for holiday decor is now LED



• 11 countries dressed for Holidays Around the World at Epcot World Showcase
• More than 800 performers each night during Candlelight Processional at Epcot
• More than 200 guest choirs during the entire run of Candlelight Processional
• A Christmas tree in the Magic Kingdom with a base 26 feet wide
• One 70-foot-tall tree takes center stage in Disney’s Contemporary Resort entrance lobby featuring nearly 35,800 white LED lights
• 6 lifesized creations cooked up by Walt Disney World pastry chefs, including: One 16-foot-tall gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa baked with 1,050 pounds of honey and involving more than 160 hours of decorating. One life-size gingerbread carousel at Disney’s Beach Club Resort featuring ponies made of chocolate and fondant, giant cany cane poles, handcrafted pointsettias and hand-painted portraits of famous Disney Characters
• 100% chance of snow flurries during Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, taking place on select holiday evenings in the Magic Kingdom
• 365 day of the year that guests can shop for holiday merchandise at the Disney’s Days of Christmas shop in Downtown Disney Marketplace

Source: Walt Disney World Public Relations Department

I love Epcot at Christmas time! The Holidays Around the World celebration is fun and educational and Candlelight Processional is inspirational. We spent Saturday 12-12-09 at Epcot and had a wonderful time.

We arrived bright and early, picked up our park tickets and gold badges for the Candlelight Processional and hit the park. As always, we got fastpasses for Soarin’ and then headed to the single rider line for Test Track. We love riding single rider because we often get to ride with people who have never ridden Test Track and it is fun to experience the ride through a newbies eyes. We spent time in Innoventions-Ron and the boys were all chosen to participate in the game show “What’s Your Problem”
We visited The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Journey Into Imagination with Figment before it was time for our Soarin’ Fastpasses! Crowds were very light for a Saturday.
After Soarin’ we were heading to World Showcase when we saw a crowd gathering at the Fountain of Nations stage. It was almost time for “Joyful! A Gospel Celebration of the Season featuring D’Vine Voices”. Being a family of musicians, we had to stick around for this show-and we were glad we did. It was a wonderful, upbeat gospel celebration!

Next we headed towards World Showcase and Aaron noticed the Lights of Winter archway was missing. I told him Disney had retired the archway saying the technology was obsolete. We all disagreed with Disney as we would often sit under the archway and relax to the lights and music, we are very sad that it is gone. As we traveled throughout World Showcase we all felt that there were fewer decorations than in years past and that left a melancholy feeling around the rest of our day. We were excited that we would be seeing Vanessa Williams as the Candlelight Processional narrator later in the evening; that is until we arrived at the America Gardens Theatre to find out that Chita Rivera would be narrating instead. Granted, Chita Rivera is a stage and screen icon it just wasn’t who we had planned on seeing. I understand that changes happen-I also noticed that Whoopi Goldberg was replacing Kirk Cameron the following weekend and immediately sent a message to a friend of mine who had been going on and on about seeing Kirk Cameron-it is just a bummer when they happen to you.

We had a few hours before it was time for the 6:45 Candlelight Processional so we listened to the Voices of Liberty sing Christmas carols in the rotunda before viewing the American Adventure. Then we traveled though the other countries in World Showcase checking out their holiday traditions. At about 6pm we made our way back to the American Gardens Theatre to get in line with all of the other people with reserved seating. This is when our magic began. A cast member came up and said,”You have a gold badge, you don’t have to stand in this long line. Go to the rope at the center rear of the theatre.” So we got out of the line and went to where we were told where we were met by another cast member who said,”Oh, you have gold badges I’ll be seating you in about 20 minutes so you can come back then, you don’t need to wait here.” Well, we chose to wait anyway and as soon as the theatre was emptied from the previous performance we were escorted to our seats-the best in the house we were told-row 5 just right of center.

They were wonderful seats! We have seen the Candlelight Processional many times and we have sat all over the American Gardens Theatre but we have never had such a wonderful view of the narrator. The great seats were an added bonus because my digital camera decided it didn’t want to take any photos with the flash so I had to rely on the camera on my Blackberry to get this shot of Chita Rivera.

For me it just isn’t Christmas until I see the Candlelight Processional (one of my Disney dreams is to sing in the Processional). Even though I own the CD and listen to it regularly from the day after Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, nothing can compare to the thrill of being there in person.

Thanks to Walt Disney World Event Services-Charles Stovall, Laura Spencer and Leanne Jakabowski for inviting our family to celebrate the Christmas season at Epcot. Merry Christmas!

Disclosure-We received four 1 day 1 park passes and four gold badges for Candlelight Processional from Walt Disney World Event Services. All opinions in this post are 100% mine. If you have any questions please refer to my disclosure statement at the bottom of this page.

I am not a designer purse kind of gal. I have never spent more than $20 on a purse. Prior to last month I owned 1 purse that cost more than $20 and it was a gift, now I have two. Last month I told you about a Sondra Roberts online fashion show. I wrote that post as a part of Buzz Cooperative. For posting that story, I was entered into a drawing to win one of two Sondra Roberts purses. Well….I won!

My purse arrived while I was away for Thanksgiving. I was so excited to see it! It is a red mini-messenger bag and it has come in very handy. I used it on both of our trips to Walt Disney World this month. It carried my wallet, notepad, pen, Blackberry and other theme park necessities. I’ve also used it while Christmas shopping, its cross-body style makes it very secure for shopping.

If you are shopping for an affordable, designer purse check out SondraRoberts.com, I think you’ll find exactly what you are looking for.

Peppermint Stick Lava Cake

Last Friday 12/18/09 myself, my son Jordan, Stefanie & her daughter and Heather & her daughter met at Friendly’s on University Parkway in Sarasota, FL.We were hoping a few more friends could join us but some were sick and others were busy with holiday activities.

The Peppermint Stick Lava Cake was the delicious hit of the evening. Jordan and I each had one and it was DELICIOUS! I don’t know how long it will be on the menu but I have got to go back and have another one before they are gone.

The little girls each had the kids 3 scoop Create Your Own Snowman sundaes, they were adorable. Heather and Stefanie each created their own Happy Ending sundaes.

We had a lot of fun getting to know each other-and eating ice cream. Hopefully we will be able to get together more often and have more Sarasota/Bradenton area Twitter users join us.

This is a Public Service Announcement provided to you from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Please stay safe this holiday season and every day.

Social Responsibility

This phrase encompasses everything from planning the party menu to assessing how guests will get home safely once the party is over. Your role as a responsible party host can keep your friends and loved ones safe.
What Every Host Needs to Know

• Don’t rely on coffee to sober up your guests. Only time can make someone sober.
• Beer and wine are just as intoxicating as hard liquor. A 12-ounce can of beer, a five-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce wine cooler and an ounce and a half of liquor contain the same amount of alcohol.
• Don’t rely on someone’s physical appearance to determine if he or she has had too much to drink.
• Mixers won’t help dilute alcohol. Carbonated mixers like club soda or tonic water cause alcohol to be absorbed into a person’s system more quickly. Fruit juice and other sweet mixers mask the taste of alcohol and may cause people to drink more.

Office Parties

• Arrange for discounted or complimentary rooms when a party is held at a hotel so employees won’t drive home impaired.
• Hire a shuttle or limousine service to provide transportation for those that have been drinking. Promote the designated driver concept in party invitations.
• Do not push drinks!
• If you provide an open bar, be sure the bartender has had server training to prevent over-serving and serving guests under the legal drinking age.
• Hold a contest for employees to create non-alcoholic drink recipes.

Having a ball-Planning A Party with Polish:

There’s a reason it’s called throwing a party– a host has to be ready to catch some curve balls and juggle the unexpected when it comes to staging an event that’s fun, entertaining and safe for everyone. Responsible hosts know that part of showing guests a great time is making sure they get home safely. Dealing with safe driving is an important hosting duty so we’ve compiled some quick tips to help you throw a memorably successful party without tossing caution to the wind.

• Plan activities like party games, door prize drawings or amateur fortune-telling. Planned activities engage people, make for less active consumption of alcohol and ensure that your friends remember the great event long after the last piece of confetti has settled.
• As guests RSVP, confirm that at least one person in each group is prepared to be the non-drinking designated driver.
• Provide plenty of food to keep your guests from drinking on an empty stomach.
• Avoid too many salty snacks, which tend to make people thirsty and drink more.
• Offer non-alcoholic beverages or mocktails for designated drivers and others who prefer not to drink alcohol.
• If preparing an alcoholic punch, use a non-carbonated base, like fruit juice. Alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream faster with a carbonated base.
• Be prepared by having the number of a taxi service on hand for those who need a ride. Also, be ready with some clean linens so you can turn your sofa into a hotel for guests who need to sleep it off.

During Your Party-party food:

• Never serve alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age, and never ask children to serve alcohol at parties.
• Don’t let guests mix their own drinks. Choosing a reliable “bartender” will help you keep track of the size and number of drinks that guests consume.
• If a guest appears to be drinking a bit much, offer to freshen his or her drink with a virgin version.
• Do not push drinks! Drinking at a party is not mandatory for having a good time.
• Have fun – but not too much fun. To be a good host, you should stay within your limits in order to make sure your guests stay within theirs.
• Close the bar 90 minutes before the party ends and serve a great dessert treat with coffee. Remember, only time sobers someone who has been drinking.
• If, despite your efforts, some of your guests have had too much to drink, drive them home, arrange for a ride with another guest who is sober, call a taxi, or invite them to stay over.

If a Guest is Drinking Too Much

How do I approach one of my guests who has had too much to drink? I mean, I don’t want to lose a friend.

The first time is the hardest, but your actions could save your friends life or that you cannot let them drive home because you care. Offer to let the guest spend the night, call a cab, or ask a sober guest to drive the intoxicated person home.

• Engage him/her in a conversation to slow down the drinking.
• Offer high protein food.
• Offer to make the next drink and use less alcohol.
• Don’t be afraid to insist that they sit out the sipping for awhile or switch to beverages of the non-alcoholic variety– sparkling cider makes a great substitute for a glass of champagne.

How will I be held responsible if one of my guests is involved in a crash?

The laws vary from state to state, but you could be held responsible for the costs associated with the crash, including medical bills and property damage and be sued for emotional pain and suffering.
Drunk Driving Statistics

• Overall, in 2007, 12,998 people were killed by drunk drivers with a BAC of .08 or greater.
• On average someone is killed by a drunk driver every 40 minutes.
• During the holidays, the percentage of drunk-driving incidents typically increases.
• Find more drunk driving statistics.

What can I do to help stop drunk driving?

• Be a responsible party host by following the tips in this brochure.
• Tie a MADD ribbon to a visible location on your vehicle as a symbol of your commitment to drive safe, sober and buckled up during the holidays.
• Write letters to the editor of local newspapers expressing your concern over the drunk driving problem in your community.
• Get involved – become a volunteer for your local MADD chapter.

Myths and Facts About Drinking and Driving

Myth: Coffee can sober up someone who has had too much to drink.
Fact: Only time sobers. It takes about one hour to oxidize each drink.

Myth: Hard liquor is more intoxicating than beer or wine.
Fact: A 12-ounce can of beer, a five-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce wine cooler contain the same amount of alcohol and the same intoxication potential as 1 1/2 oz. of liquor.

Myth: Someone who has had too much to drink will look intoxicated.
Fact: Someone’s physical appearance can be misleading. One drink can impair someone’s ability to drive. Judgment is the first thing affected when someone has been drinking and important motor skills are next.

How to Spot a Drunk Driver

These warning signs should be your signal to take down a license plate number, a description of the vehicle and the direction in which it was traveling to report to the proper authorities. Do not attempt to stop the vehicle.

* Straddling lanes or driving on the center line
* Drifting or moving in a straight line at a slight angle to the roadway
* Driving with headlights off at night
* Erratic braking or stopping without cause
* Driving below the speed limit
* Slow response to traffic signals (sudden stop, delayed start)
* Nearly striking an object, curb, etc
* Weaving or zigzagging across the road
* Driving on the wrong side of the road or completely off the road way
* Tailgating