Do I generally don't like cleaning unless I am in SUCH a good place where I have virtually nothing else to do and am super zenned out on the idea of riding my house of scary MFs like dust mites.  I will go 3 months without cleaning at all, then clean for one day straight, dusk till dawn.

Maybe now that I am getting more and more eco-minded cleaning products I will clean more.  Like the other day I got this 'bag of stuff' called ECO-ME that allows you to make your own cleaning supplies - I had actually thought of inventing a simple kit that would make the whole measuring of the vinegar / baking soda / lemon scent / whatever - easy.  It was like the owner was in my head, I had even come up with that name for the product.  Whoaa... the universe is conspiring to help us all - don't it feel great?

Check out the all natural cleaning supply kit here - http://www.eco-me.com/homepage.html.

And for those of you that have any thoughts on dusting, dust mites, or all natural cleaning supplies... chime in!

Off to clean... well, first I might take the Crick on a run... okay I am not off to clean who am I kidding?  - Jen

Neem tree oil - with all its various uses - is my new favorite cosmetic catch-all.  What coconut oil was for last year (and yes, I am still cuckoo for coconut... it's my moisturizer of choice, and, occasionally, serves as dinner as well), neem is for 2006. 

Neem soaps cleared up a crazy rash I had on my arm, neem oil left my skin soft and smooth, and a neem mosquito gel kept me bite-free during all of the cleanup of my roof garden before my move (and yes, other people around me were getting bitten).

So check out the wonder tree when you have a chance... apparently, neem is softening (skin), strengthening (immune system), and - wonder of all wonders - even spermicidal.

-Heather... off to think up some more neem uses...

Honestly, I feel so incredibly fortunate to have found the best business partner and friend in Heather. (Yes, we met at a bar so don't think you always have to meet romantic conquests there.. open your mind to meeting business partners and Biters... I digress...). 

But dude, today starts my first vacation in 2 years, and I am writing a blog on dog poop bags, and it was the lovely (poopy) Mizz Stephenson that assigns who does what blog which day. 

I will tell you though that in Bozeman - which is a very doggy town - there are dog poop bags in every park that are the bio-degradable kind. I have trained the Cricket to go off the trails in the woods though so we don't have to mess with it.  However one day she made a little mistake and so I used the "stick - n - flick" method.  I got lots of laughs from dog owners and scowls from non-dog owners.

Off to walk the Crick... I am just taking her for swims more these days as it has been so hot - Jen

My junior high science teacher is the person who submitted today’s tip on solar camp gear.  He’s an avid camper – taking students on float trips to learn about Lewis and Clark, spending weeks on end in Yellowstone...  When it comes to camping, he knows his stuff.  When it comes to teaching, he also knows his stuff, and often teaches it wearing a little hat with a propeller on top.

I, on the other hand, haven’t been camping since 1999.  At that time, I ran around the San Juan Islands, which are painfully, deliciously gorgeous.  Just don’t ever get into an argument with a Canadian about whether or not the Islands should be part of the US.  Trust me on this one.

-Heather… off to pack more boxes…

How did you Veg Head Biters come to vegetarianism or more conscientious eating?

So I am off now to a meeting in ATL with a Board member of Earth Share - life in Hotlanta is good. I love the crickets that get louder as the nights get more sultry. - Jen

Is the word "advancement" an oxymoron in and of itself?  Will whatever form of life that is left in 500 years look back and laugh hysterically at us for inventing things like plastic and the Hummer? Why is it that progress always mean "more" - not necessarily universally better?

Okay, I think I have wax-paper poetic long enough on this topic.  But it is something on my mind a lot -- I think of how great things like pesticide and factory farms were thought to be when they were first invented.. getting more yield, faster, cheaper. 

Plastic is one of those things too that has helped advance our society a lot, especially in the medical field. I just feel like we, as a society, take things too far.  Like, "oh great plastics rule and are cheap to make so let's hurry up and find a zillion applications for them and skip a lot of the testing (like what they do to food when heated up in the micro)."  Seems we are so smart on the invention side, then so rash on the application side.  And quite honestly, we could be much MUCH smarter on the invention side.. like designing things that are continually reused - a concept called "cradle to cradle."  Right now things are designed with the "cradle to grave" (ie: landfill) mentality.

But we were talking about plastic baggies and such.  So here's the thing.. they usually smell evil, taste yucky, and have awful by products from the production process.  Plus, lots of plastic can only be "down cycled" - you can't turn a plastic bottle of water into another plastic bottle.... it has to go down a step, like into a park bench or speed bump. 

My goal is to give up plastics entirely... and I started by replacing my Tupperware plastic waterbottle with a stainless steel one from SIGG, washing the plastic bags I do use with the Bag-E-Wash - and like the tip mentioned, I tend to, um, acquire food storage things from my mom.  So what is left? The big storage boxes that I have my winter clothing in are plastic, my horse buckets are still plastic, and I am sure some other things are too but it is hot and I can't remember every tiny thing.

Off to get my teeth polished by my Biter bro... ironic, he is a dentist, and gives everyone the Ideal Bite. From HotLanta, Jen

In case you all didn't know, there are now 55,000 of you reading this tip each day...  Soon, we'll have to switch all our Bang for the Bite statements to read: "If 100,000 Biters did this..."

I see the growth in little ways - 2 of which are directly related to my impending move (I'm leaving Brooklyn in a week - more on this later this week, I'm sure):

First, 2 different sets of people came to see my apartment during an open house (I was showing it for my landlord), and when they saw my office and the Ideal Bite stuff there, they said "Hey!  I'm a Biter!"

Then, I posted my air conditioning units for sale on Craigslist, and most of the people who wrote in asked about their energy efficiency.  Now, since we hadn't published this tip yet, we can't take credit, but I have a pretty good hunch that those respondants were Biters as well...

-Heather... off to take a nap after WAY too many late nights...

Every so often, when sitting on a barstool, or crouching in a yoga position, someone invariably says to me (usually in a shocked voice): "Heather!  You have a tattoo!"

My favorite thing about this exclamation is the fact that they say it as if I didn't know - somehow they believe they're illuminating for me the haunting truth that someone held me down and drove needles of ink into my body without my knowledge.

My second favorite part of this whole discussion is the fact that people continue to be shocked by it.  As though it was some hugely transgressive action that warrants a disclaimer.  For some reason, my "girl next door" Montana self is inconsistent with a simple tatt on my lower back.

For me, the tattoo is one of the least transgressive things I feel like I have ever done.  I thought it out for a long while.  Had a friend design it.  Shopped around for the best tattoo artist in SF to do it.  Took great care in healing it (unlike the 3 times I've had my navel pierced and rejected it).  There was nothing spontaneous or rash or rebellious about that choice.

To me, it's just an inked world, and these days, a tattoo is no more transgressive than an ear piercing (or 5, as the case may be).

So ink away, people.

-Heather... off to dream of anchors and hearts with arrows and the word "Mom" ...

I have recently
self-diagnosed myself with A.D.D. I think a lot of people have it, and
it is induced by how we live, not a mal-functioning of the brain.  I mean, this whole multi-tasking thing is sick, and I am a definite junkie - so believe me I speak with raw emotion.

For example, I had to upgrade my computer because my old one was always crashing when I had more than 5 things running.  Hello!
How could I play iTunes, work on 3 different MS Word documents, be
crafting an Excel chart to show off to Heather, pretending to help our
artist pick colors in PhotoShop, etc etc with only a max of five? 

Long way of saying that magazines are just my speed.  Love
them and their little articles. Besides ODE being the smartest, coolest
magazine on Earth content wise, they also rock serious Kasbah because
their articles are so short.

And
soon I might actually get a VK.. where I can actually finish a whole
issue of ODE... wow how amazing and exciting. Not going to the beach but
to the lake to be with my best friends in the world in Atlanta... oh
wait, I still have to be in a bathing suit, I should really stop eating
‘this here' brie with a fork.

Off to read for 3 seconds before I fall asleep. Jen

I would
love to run a paperless office but there is really no way I could do
it.  I would love to send only e-cards but I would miss my little miss
pretty note cards with handwritten sentiments. 

So
now I cut myself some slack by buying 100% recycled paper from Staples
for just a few cents more, I use both sides of the print paper by
putting scrap into the feeder for non-important print outs, and I
totally spoil myself with all types of ALT PAPER...

Note
cards and pretty paper is expensive-ish anyway, so why not get
something that shows you are different, and slightly cooler than the
average Bear... because, indeed, you are a Biter Bear!  And actually,
my favorite note cards are by Mudlark and they are gorgeous, 100% recycled, and come in a reusable box.

Off
to write my ex boyfriend on some of my pretty alt paper... okay I won't
but I can't stop dreaming about him!  "Just Say No" to recycling of
certain things.  Urg.  - Jen

So, you are either an animal lover or you're not. Feel
free to stop reading now if you are not, or read on to understand what
makes animal lovers so goo-goo-gaa-gaa when it comes to our fine furry
friends.

Four Reasons Animals Rock:

1. Animals are pure. (Think about it.) The exception to that is usually when a human interferes. Just look at what we have done to the pit bull.
2. Animals connect us. They are not human, they are not earth. But they are this living breathing entity that exist, somewhere between humans and earth.
3. Animals don't hold grudges. (Okay, unless we are talking about cats, skunks, or donkeys. Those three animals are known to hold grudges. I
   think it makes them more intelligent, but some would disagree -
   especially when they come home from vacation and their feline friend
   immediately urinates on the luggage.)
4. Animals can make you laugh. And laughing is oh-so-good. For example, it is pretty hot here now, and so Cricket takes any opportunity to swim in lakes or creeks. When
   she swims, half her face is above water, these two big ears acting as
   sails, and this nub of a rudder that wiggles as she cruises along. Her name is The Crickadile. It is a site to be seen! (We have a photo in the Cricket album, on the right.)

Off to get the Cricket out of the flowerbeds...oh never mind, she looks too cute there -

Jen

I've had stretch marks on my hips for YEARS.   Since I've never had a baby and never grown so fast or gained so much weight that the body couldn't keep up, I've always wondered about those marks.

So when we were researching today's tip, I found myself sleuthing - was it lack of nutrients?  Lack of water?

I guess I'll never know, and it will remain a mystery.  But for now, I plan to up my water intake for the sake of a little vanity.

Meanwhile, since they've been with me for years, I kinda like those stretch marks...

-Heather... off to stare at pics of my new nephew...

Um, when I was a kid, according to me mom, my favorite toys were canning rings. 

And if you think about it, they are pretty great toys:

Bang them together?  Make a lot of noise.

Chew on them?  They taste sort of metalic and make for good teething rings (OK, so I don't know if the metal is so healthy, but I turned out OK).

Throw them on the ground?  Make a lot of noise.

Sadly, not many people these days are canners, so there are woefully few canning rings around.  But the bigger point is this:

Toys are amazing.   Toys can be educational.

But boxes can be toys.  Do we really all need all this STUFF?

-Heather... off to try REALLY hard not to go completely broke buying toys for my brand-new, day-old nephew...

1)  Prune juice popsicles

2) Vegetable milkshakes

and for a special treat, a spoonful of peanut butter.

I used to have to sneak down to the neighbors to get some sugar or white bread.  But I never got sick as a child, and have a pretty decent immune system to this day.

Any strange concoctions that you feed your babes or your mom fed you?

Off to try out this "just add water" all nat dry dog food for the Crick...

PS:  big shout out to Happy Baby - friend of mine that I met three years ago at a Net Impact event in B-school... she now has a very cool all natural baby food company... Happy Baby - awesome concept, awesome product! go Jess (and Shaz).

Why do we love baby clothes so much?  Does it bring back fond memories of dressing up baby dolls?  I don't know, but I have two things to confess to you Biters around this topic:

1)  One day Heather and I, after a phenomenal business meeting took ourselves to champagne at Balthazar's and concocted a hilarious plan.  It was based on one of your comments to us - "Hey ladies - why don't you have kids so we can comment with authority on baby-related tips."  So we decided to have a sweepstakes around impregnating me so that you Biters would be happy.  Is that wrong?  I am starting to have "baby pangs" after all so this could work out great for everyone... especially if the winner of the contest is hot.  Lol.

2) I love the Crick so much and do the whole goo goo gaa gaa with her a lot... so am afraid with a real baby I might be so obsessed that my life would change drastically...  well I guess of course it would, but I mean, I might never let the baby out of my sight.  How would I work?  How would I ride?  How would I run in the park with the Crick (oh yeah they do make those little jogging strollers but is it legal to ride a horse with your baby in a papoose?)

If you have any thoughts to share on baby clothes or any of the two confessions / questions, go for it.

Off to dress the Crick up ... kidding, I only did that once - Jen

I mean, yes. It's fun. Yes, it's sort of saucy and naughty and feels good. But there is an equal amount of slipping and taking turns under the faucet and trying not to touch the dirty curtain, isn't there?

I had a boyfriend a long while ago whose parents had a shower that was HUGE and had two showerheads. This might not be the best for water conservation, but it certainly made the joint shower a lot more fun.

Last time I showered with someone, he actually knelt down and scrubbed my legs with those scrubby hand mitt things. Since I was really ill at the time, it was this strange and lovely gift, and might be one of the nicest (albeit not the sexiest) memories I have of a communal shower.

So my charge to you - if you are reading this, and have a shower buddy: jump in the shower together sometime in the next week. Do it under the pretense of saving the world. Exfoliate legs or wash hair. See what happens...

-Heather... off to shower. Solo...

When I was a child my parents paid me $10 to mow the lawn, which I really liked for two reasons: I would cut diagonal lines into the lawn (satisfying my right brain), and second, I would zen out (quieting my over active left brain).

It was a gas motor, and since then, I hadn't mowed a lawn until my recent move to Bozeman.  My roommate is a bit lawn-freaky - and he bought a cheap reel mower and he said it sucked.  Then he bought a slightly more expensive one and we love it. No fumes. Little noise. Perfect for this 1/4 acre.  So I pitch in - get some sun and exercise and good roomie points.

Off to watch him mow the lawn.. Jen   

... I'm just not a soda drinker.

Whether all-natural, or aspartame and benzene-free or not, I am just not that into it, so I can hardly blog effectively about it.

Which brings up a good point and a little notice:

Because there ARE topics - such as soda - that Jen and I don't have a lot of personal insight into (shaving male beards and the need for viagra would be other such examples), you are going to start to see more "characters" showing up in our tips and blogs.  In the beginning, these folks will be some of our other Biter employees, such as Toshio and Sara, and as time goes on, it might just be some of you (more on that at a later date).

-Heather... off to clean up after watching the fireworks from my rooftop last night...

I am this low maintenance person (well, in most ways) that can't be bothered with hairstyles (hence, the Marcia Bradey look for most of my life) and am known for taking the simplest route when it comes to personal and home care. 

For clothing care, I can't remember home rememedies to get stains out, like wine and grease, of which I seem to have a preponderance of stains. So I just press my luck and hope that the normal clothes washing gets the stain out, and then if not, I use the clothing for riding / workout gear, or take it to Good Will.

Well, knowing that we had this tip coming up, I bought some EcoCover stain remover, and gave it a really hard test.  I had dropped some greasy food on my favorite pants - then washed and dried them - but ALAS they came out with the grease stain still.  (Great, baked in now due to the dryer.) 

So I pretreated them with the EcoCover stuff, and scrubbed for 20 seconds with the plastic bristles that come as the top part of the big stick of the stuff. And VOILA! stains are gone.

I just sent word to our editorial team that I would love if they could add this recommendation to today's tip if not too late... we shall see if they are sober and can get it included.  If not, give Eco Cover a try if you can't rememember good home remedies or can't be bothered, like me.

Off to a 4th of July rodeo in Livingston...  Jen