So why aren’t we celebrating?? Get into the spirit! Be environmentally friendly. Throw a party hotter than global warming. Make your friends green with envy. Reduce your work load…. Okay, you get the idea. Now get out there and get ready to celebrate with these Earth Day ideas.

1. Skip the morning shower and go for the hippie-chic look instead.

2. Break out some candles, some home-made booze and throw an Amish theme party! Who conserves energy better than people who don’t believe in it?

3. Reward your favorite eco-hottie with a global-warming make out sesh.

4. Talk the local produce guy into giving you an Earth Day discount, then invite your friends over for an earth-friendly veggie fest.

5. Recycle the mountain of Coors Light cans you’ve been stashing.

6. Make hemp jewelry with your favorite stoner friend.

7. Boycott your classes. Do you know how wasteful college campuses are?

8. Don’t go anywhere you can’t get to on a bike. Work is too far away? Darn, looks like you’ll have to take off for Earth Day.

The anticipation and build-up for the evening mean it’s never as good as you expect it to be. And no matter how much planning you do and how much money you spend, New Year’s Eve always fails to be an extraordinary night. Just because it’s the last night of the calendar year, doesn’t mean it’s going to be any more fun than any of the others. Trust me.

Reason #1 I Hate New Year’s Eve: First of all, it’s essential that you plan ahead. If you don’t make your plans well in advance, you’re risking having nothing to do. Parties get booked up, your friends make other plans, and you’re stuck watching the ball drop with your parents. I don’t like planning ahead. What if I’m forced into deciding to attend a party and then something better comes along? What if, in November, I don’t know what I’m going to be in the mood to do in December?

Reason #2 I Hate New Year’s Eve: Then there’s the expense. If you want to go out, you’re going to have to spend money, and probably a lot of it. Take last year, for example. A group of my friends made plans to go to a bar. We dished out the $75 that would allow us access to an open bar, bought fancy dresses, and got all decked out for the night of our lives. When we arrived, the bar was absolutely disgusting, the food nasty, and the people incredibly sketchy. It turned out we were only allowed to drink well liquor (when we could get near the bar). It also turned out that we could have paid $10 at the door and been allowed to attend the same party and order our own drinks. As if I would drink $65 in Grey Goose. The bottom line is that bars can charge whatever they please on New Year’s Eve and people will pay it. People like me.

Reason #3 I Hate New Year’s Eve: Midnight is just awkward if you’re single. When you’re single on New Year’s Eve and the clock hits midnight, you are left with only a few options. You can: a) Use this opportunity to hide in the bathroom and pretend you don’t realize it’s midnight, b) Participate in a group hug with all your other single friends, assuming you have any, or c) Kiss the guy closest to you, who may or may not be a huge freak. As you can see, none of these options are very appealing.

Reason #4 I Hate New Year’s Eve: It’s freezing out. You want to wear a cute dress and heels, but you’re going to freeze your butt off in the freezing, snowy cold. This is never fun. I’d rather be wearing sweat pants. In my bed. With a bottle of champagne.

This year, I’m giving it one more try. My friends and I made our plans in mid-November and are spending even more money this time. We have determined that by spending $110 to attend a party at a classy bar, we’re guaranteed a good time. Of course, we’re wrong. And it will probably be miserable. And next year we’ll go through the same thing all over again. Only it will be more expensive.

Pass the champagne, please.

A: Awesome.

Yes, yes, I realize alcohol will be involved at most of your New Year’s Eve celebrations, and that’s cool with me, but it’s just not my scene. That doesn’t mean I don’t like to party, though! How do I enjoy myself without the booze, you might ask? With these tips, of course.

1. Be with other alcohol-free people.

Let’s face it—if your friends are a bunch of boozers, they’re probably going to want to hit the drink on New Year’s Eve, and you’re probably not going to have much fun without them. You could always stay sober while they knock them away, but I think it’s far easier and more fun to spend the night with a group of people who are more interested in enjoying each other’s company than getting totally smashed. If the people you’re with aren’t drinking, you probably won’t wish you were.

2. Do something really, really fun.

When was the last time you went bowling at a 24-hour lane or played billiards at a pool hall? Have you been to a theme park recently? What about indoor mini-golf? Plan an amazing night with your friends that is packed with so many fun activities that you won’t have the time (or the desire) to hit up the bars. Honestly, you’ll be having such a great time that you won’t even miss the alcohol.

3. Have a theme.

A theme can tie any party together and ensure that it won’t be boring. You could throw a Halloween-style bash and encourage everyone to come in costume, make a monster cake to celebrate the new year, and serve black currant Kristian Regále sparkling beverage as “blood.” Make up your own fun theme – maybe you want to put together a cupcake party or a British-type of gathering where everyone scarfs crumpets and drinks tea while holding pinky fingers out. Whatever it is, themes are awesome. And funny. And don’t require alcohol.

4. Go a little crazy.

Try doing something you’d never normally do, like taking a road trip to NYC to see My Morning Jacket at Madison Square Garden or busting into your old high school with friends to spend some time roaming the halls and reminiscing.

If you have any other sweet ideas for tossing the booze and doing something else great instead, speak up!

[Image courtesy of designofsignage.com.]

The beauty of this situation is that it does allow you to do Patron shots at 2 pm; the drawback is that it creates the perfect opportunity for you to employ some…self control. While the former is deff a fun and adventurous route (see your tagged Facebook pics for evidence), it’s not always the smartest way to kick off your fall semester. After all, there is something to be said for NOT getting knackered your first week back at school–here’s why…

5. You’ll Look Like a Freshman

Characterized by lack of regional fashion knowledge, deer-in-headlights look and–of course–INCREDIBLY inebriated state of being. Obviously, this is not what you want to look like while you’re out on the town. Even if this is your very first week in college (Congrats & welcome!), the frosh look is still one you’ll want to avoid. Instead, keep it classy, limit yourself to a few drinks (or none at all if you wish) and enjoy the amazing feeling of being a sophisticated, very adult-like lady.

4.It’s a Small World After All

If you’re a regular around here, you’ll know how we feel about the not-so-randomness of college. While it might seem like an excellent idea to get schwasted and enjoy the anonymity that campus life offers, think twice before you go all out. The people you meet now may be unfamiliar and seem random, but 3 months from now, the same crowd will still be at their (and your) favorite bar. Just beware that while you think you’ll never see each other again, the odds of running into them (via class, outings, football games) are quite high…just be careful of the impression you make.

3.Sorority Recruitment

If you are a PNM (potential new member) BEWARE of going out and letting your wild side loose. Yes you’ve been cooped up at home fresh out of 12 years of academic lameness, but now is not the time to go crazy, especially when it comes to drinking. The best rule of thumb you can use to govern your behavior is to think of rush as a job interview.

You wouldn’t want the head of your dream job to witness you making a complete ass out of yourself, so just be conscious of the impression you’ll make on the active members of your Greek community while out at the bars–because rush is essentially an interview. Another FYI: Sorority women have eyes in the back of their head, even if you think you’re getting away with less than appropriate behavior, trust me–there will be a witness (aka sister!) somewhere.

2. Recovery come first day of school

Let’s not forget the reason you’re at college! Um, education. So yes, this is a freebie week for you to enjoy being back at school with all of your friends, but that hangover is going to kick in at some point and you absolutely do not want it to be your first day of classes. Your semester should take precedence over your partying, so make sure you prioritize buying books over buying rounds for everyone at the bar.

1. Your Reputation

This goes back to college not being the big huge nameless place you thought it was. Your good name is something that, once tarnished, you can never get back. By establishing yourself that first week back as the girl who holds the record for most vomit-inducing drink combinations, you pretty much eliminate the need for any other reps. (like smartest, most beautiful, classiest woman alive).

I’m not saying the inclination to drink anyone under the table and ability to recite impromptu Shakespeare can’t coexist, but the two sides of your personality will absolutely duel for recognition from your peers. So if you want to go down in history for being the Irish Car Bomb champion of the bar, go right ahead. Just be wary that your title might be harder to shake than you might think.

Well, apparently, one of your editors has found something not to love. The very thing many of us equate with the 4th…

Try these fun drinks, and remember kids DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. Ride a bike instead.

!POMEGRANATE MARGARITA!

Ingredients:

Lime wedge, plus more for garnish

Salt

Ice

4 ounces white tequila

2 ounces Triple Sec

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

1 lime, juiced (optional)

Club soda

WHAT TO DO:

Pour salt onto a plate or shallow dish. With a lime wedge rub along the rim of a glass and dip glasses upside down to salt the rim. Fill glasses with ice.

In a cocktail shaker with ice place the tequila, triple sec, pomegranate juice, and lime juice. Pour into the salt-rimmed glasses and top off with club soda. Garnish with a lime wedge, if desired.

Try a MICHELADA!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lime, cut into quarters

Kosher salt

2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

3/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)

1 cup Mexican pilsner-style beer (recommended: Modelo Especial)

Ice

WHAT TO DO:

Rim the outside of a tall, chilled pint glass with 1 quarter of the lime. Pour salt on a plate. Press the rim of a glass into the salt to rim the edge. Squeeze the rest of the limes into the glass. Drop the limes in the glass. Add the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Fill glass with ice, add beer, and stir.

Courtesy of: Foodnetwork

CHEERS!!!

If, like me, you live in a large city, you’ve been hearing about New Year’s Eve for almost as long as you’ve been hearing about Christmas. Giant parties in giant clubs, complete with open bars, fancy food, and “hot people!” have been pushing themselves into your email inbox and popping up in conversation; urging you to fork over $100-300 for a place on the guest list.

Even if you don’t happen to reside in a metropolitan area, you’ve undoubtedly heard about a house party here and there, polling your friends to find out where and how they’ll be saying goodbye to 2007.

The point I’m trying to make is—everyone always seems to have something to do on New Year’s. Some house to crash, some club with a bouncer who can get them in, some party of a friend of a friend’s, a First Night celebration out in the frigid cold…staying home just never seems to be an option.

But what if it is—at least for you? What if you don’t have any plans this year? What if the plans you do have don’t sound as appetizing as they usually do? What if spending a night sloshing in high-heels and trying to grab someone before midnight isn’t your idea of a good time?

If all your friends are out partying, and you’re staying in with the TV and a glass of champagne, all by your lonesome, does that make you a freak?

Even though I have a few options this year regarding a New Year’s celebration, I can’t say that I’ve always found myself partying like a crazy woman on Jan 31st. For one thing, I’ve been home for the last couple of years in a beautiful but quiet New England town where the only parties around are thrown by kids 18 and under who still think blush wine is an acceptable beverage. And those parties in Manhattan? $100 is too much for me to blow on one night, even if that night “is the biggest party EVER!”

Celebrating quietly by myself has been never a problem for me, although I often feel embarrassed when I explain to friends that I did not, in fact, get wasted and wear a silver party hat.

Am I continually missing out on the best celebration of the year?

What are your New Year’s plans? Are you one of the party-harders and proud of it, or are you planning on ushering in 2008 with a horribly tacky MTV special and some popcorn?

I spent twenty five minutes in the greeting card aisle of CVS last night. I literally picked up and restocked every single card in the entire store before leaving in a frustrated huff with a card that was far from appropriate for the situation at hand.

It is not that the folks over at CVS don’t have a wide enough selection of cards – they have like 10,000! – it is just that there are some occasions that just don’t quite fit into the limited card categories that exist. Sometimes people may want to buy a card for something a little more specific than a generic birthday/thanks/anniversary/holiday/sympathy/etc/ card.

You know; like when you want to thank your guy for respecting you. Or a good friend for being there when you need her most. Or for a situation when you just can’t seem to find the right words.

When Hallmark can’t seem to get your point across clearly, someecards.com is the place to go. It is a one-stop shop for all your card-giving needs. And since it has so many fabulous and hilarious cards to look through, this site is also the perfect procrastination alternative to good ole Facebook.

Even though it won’t get chilly for another few weeks, the mere promise of shorter days, schoolwork, and winter hats constantly ruining perfectly styled hair is enough to make me a little depressed…at least until fall fashions go on sale.

For many of us, Labor Day is a last hurrah; our last 24 hours to wear white pants (which perhaps some of us shouldn’t be wearing in the first place?), last day to barbeque without standing by the grill in a jacket, and last 3-day weekend for a while.

It’s also a party, whether we’re partying with friends or throwing our own personal celebration that consists of doing absolutely nothing—and enjoying the hell out of it.

In honor of Goodbye-To-Bathing-Suits weekend, I’ve found the perfect cocktail to commemorate a summer gone by.

Frozen Watermelon Margarita

* 2 1/2 cups seedless (or seeded) watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes

* 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

* 4 ounces tequila

* 2 ounces orange flavored liqueur

* 1 3/4 cups ice

* lime wheel or watermelon wedge (for garnish)

Stuff all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. If desired, add a bit of sugar to the rim of each glass before garnishing with a lime wheel or a watermelon wedge. Serve immediately.

…And remember, not only are the cops out in full force this holiday weekend, but ruining a good time by getting yourself wasted is a lame way to end any celebration. Just ask Andy Dick.