What does this mom want for Mother’s Day? To sleep in late, go running with my friends, return to a delicious breakfast prepared by my family (in a cleaned-up kitchen), and then to not be interrupted or rushed as I shower and dress.

And, just in case you’re remotely interested, here’s what I don’t want to do: Prepare (or plan) a meal, wash a dish, do a load of laundry. You get the idea.

What about gifts and cards? I love homemade cards and have saved every one I’ve ever received, even though I am notorious for prematurely recycling kids’ artwork. If I had to choose something money could buy, a gift certificate for a massage would top my list. Or perhaps, that money is better spent on dinner at my family’s favorite restaurant.

I wondered, though, if I’ve been writing about sustainability for too long or if this is how other moms feel. So, I shot an email to a group of friends (some of whom wouldn’t be caught dead carrying a canvas bag) and posed the same question.

To sum up their answers: Less stuff. More experiences. Everyone wanted time to themselves as well as quality time with their well-behaved families (no bickering or full-blown fighting allowed). 

In short, the gifts that many moms will truly appreciate are light on the budget and the planet (and heavy on gratitude).

Sleeping late was the clear winner. Here are some of the other suggestions that come straight from mothers:  

• Make mom a meal (or two). Breakfast in bed was most popular, but it depends on the woman. If she is the type who wouldn’t laugh over spilled coffee, then it’s best to pick something else.

• Insist that she take the day off. Walk the dog, take out the trash, or take on any of mom’s regular chores.  

• Accompany mom to her favorite places without complaining. Some ideas: take a bike ride, pack a picnic, go on a long walk, visit a museum, or bring her to a movie of her choice. 

• Let her take an afternoon nap or curl up with a novel.

• Make her a card. For older children, write her a poem or a letter. My friend Ellyn had a terrific idea: “If I could have anything in the world, what I’d love most is a long handwritten letter from each of my children (21 and 19) about what they are thinking, feeling, and looking forward to at this point in their lives.”

• Bring her a flowering potted plant, such as azaleas, instead of cut flowers. She can transplant into the garden (with your help) or continue to grow it indoors.

• Buy her a gift certificate from her favorite spa, yoga studio, or restaurant where she might like to take a friend. Give her a homemade gift certificate for four weekends of dog walking, family dinner out the first Sunday of every month, or family supplied tech support on demand for a year.

If you could have anything in the world for Mother’s Day, what would you most want?

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green’s users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

Reuters - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso held out agreements on fighting the financial crisis, global warming and swine flu as evidence of deepening ties with sometime rival China Thursday, sidestepping tensions over the past.

Reuters - A nuclear power station at Chinon in central France was evacuated on Thursday after a phone call warning of a bomb, power supplier EDF said.

AFP - Nazir Mirani, 47, is the third generation of a humble family committed to saving Pakistan’s blind dolphins, an endangered species swimming against a tide of man-made hazards.

AP - Federal agents raided a Chicago suburb’s government offices Wednesday to look for evidence of any crimes related to allegations the village knowingly drew drinking water from a tainted well for decades.

AP - Environmentalists claim in a lawsuit that federal agencies violated the law by approving plans that would expand oil and gas development in New Mexico’s San Juan Basin — one of the nation’s largest natural gas fields.

Oil: it’s a dirty word in much of the green community. It’s blamed for international conflicts, global warming, and wildlife-killing spills. We can all agree that it’s best to avoid using the cruel crude as much as possible, but if you’re like many of us who still rely on fossil fuels to get around, you can at least check out Greenopia’s new Oil Company Rankings Guide, and spend your dollars with more impact.

According to the guide, BP ranks as the overall greenest oil company for it’s past investments of oil profits into alternative-fuel research. The company also scored high for the transparency, breadth, and accuracy of its environmental reporting.

Unfortunately, it’s also true that BP has been scaling back its once ballyhooed commitment to renewable energy, ever since its top leadership changed back in 2007. The New York Times and others are not bullish on BP’s interest in working with an eager Obama administration to provide a more diverse mix of energy supplies.

Still, there aren’t a lot of other choices when it comes to big oil. Going further down Greenopia’s list are Sunoco and Shell, ranked #2 and #3, respectively. The world’s largest oil company, the massively profitable Exxon Mobil, ranked 6th.

Even though it may not appear that way, your choice at the pump can make a difference to the environment. That’s because there are significant differences in the impact that oil companies have, from carbon footprint for extraction, to hazardous waste produced to water used. To rate these ten companies, Greenopia used a six-part analysis method, which included greenhouse gas emissions and oil spill efficiency.

“Fossil fuels are pretty much at the top of any environmentalist’s black list,” said Doug Mazeffa, director of research for Greenopia. “But until alternative-fuel coalesces into large-scale market availability, cars are a vast and current fact of life and they are powered by refined crude oil. Our Greenopia consumers had a strong desire to learn where they should be buying gasoline.”

Check out the rest of the Top Ten in the report — and find out where Hess, Citgo, Chevron and others ranked!

More from The Daily Green

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Fuel Rationing, Chemtrails and Bush-Cheney Oil Men: IPCC Ex-Chair Speaks Out

Oil Industry Commercial Misleads the Public

Ayana Meade is an assistant editor for Greenopia.

Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc

AP - The Obama administration, in a major environmental policy shift, is leaning toward asking 195 nations that ratified the U.N. ozone treaty to enact mandatory reductions in hydrofluorocarbons, according to U.S. officials and documents obtained by The Associated Press.

AP - The primary U.S. lab for renewable energy will receive $110 million in federal stimulus funds and another $83 million will go toward wind energy and other alternative power and efficiency projects, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Wednesday.

Reuters - Six in 10 U.S. residents — more than 186 million people — live in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution, the American Lung Association reported on Wednesday.