Six years ago, a crazy person (my friend Scott) convinced me to run the NYC Marathon. The best parts: The NYC crowds; seeing my mom after the 59th Street Bridge (aww); and my college buds running the last mile with me. The worst parts: my now crappy knees; watching a 75-year-old man run past me; and my deteriorated running shoes.

I was in a panic over finding a shoe that wouldn't tear off my toenails, but never considered its impact on the earth - until I read Cradle to Cradle, which goes into the poor design of most shoes (combining organic materials like leather with non-eco ones like rubber, vinyl, and adhesives - making it difficult to fully recycle). Since then, I've found some orgs helping to keep millions of pairs of shoes outta landfills. Check 'em out:

• Reuse-a-shoe turns your old sneaks into basketball courts, tracks, and playgrounds.

• RecycledRunners.com has a list of shoe donation programs across the United States (benefiting the homeless in your area).
  

• PlanetAid.org will send them to developing countries, with drop-off containers in major cities.

-Senior Editor Theresa...off to wash the grime off my old pair so I doesn't have to buy new...

Dunno about you, but when I was first learning to write in cursive, I practiced most with my own signature, writing it over and over again in different ways. And if you compare my signature at age 7 and age 22 and age...um, today, they are vastly different. Left slanting, then straight up and down, and now...well, barely legible. You have to wonder about whether handwriting really does reflect aspects of your personality - which would make sense enough, since that changes too.

Anyway, before you perfect your own e-sig, check out this little article. I can't recommend it as the quintessential resource for such things, but hey, it's at least as interesting as some of the forwarded "funny" emails you're bound to get today.

-Jenifer Morgan...off to write it out...

I've got love for Seattle. In fact, I was this close to moving there last April, but decided I just wasn't done with the Bay Area yet. It's one of the greenest cities around - fertile ground for a new Local Bite edition.

SustainLane's just-released 2008 rankings of the greenest U.S. cities places it at number three, right behind Portland and SF. Check out the full list here, and sign up for the Seattle Bite if you haven't already.

-Toshio...off to take full advantage of SF's Indian summer...

Our house went up in two days. Four Mack trucks, two cranes, and 30+ scurrying men turned four boxes o' house into the Snavely family home, 2.0. It was pretty incredible really, the transformation from individual pieces into comfortable cohesion.

We opted for a modular home, which is prefab's younger, more flexible but often more expensive, sister. The diff is modulars come in modules (eh?), lending themselves to more options designwise than prefabs, which come ready-made - leaving you with nothing to stare at but the "Wide Load" sign when you're cruising down the interstate stuck behind one. Our Timber Creek is too big, but beautiful: well-insulated, with bamboo flooring, solar panels, a gray water system (don't tell), low-flush toilets, low-VOC paints, and on-demand water heaters.

But, most importantly, my mama wakes up every morning in the midst of a passionate love affair with her home.

-SF Editor Hanah...off to challenge the fam to a sock-slide competition down the hallway...

Every Monday morning, the Biter bunch meets for a brainstorming meeting. Yep, Monday morning. The first minute (mile) is rough: most of us staring blankly at our laptops or the ceiling. Then our memories get a jolt and out comes the occasional bit of brilliance, like Hanah's "Come As You Aren't" for a Halloween costume tip this week. As we near the end, we start to lose steam, and the finish line can't come soon enough. (I always feel bad for the city editor who has to go last.)

After a good brain workout, I like to indulge in my fave brain food: sleep. Unfortch, I have to wait until I get home. But I can't get enough of it; I'm an oversleeper. I crave it always. When I don't get 'nuff sleep I get cranky, just as I do when I don't get chocolate - and the only thing better than chocolate is an afternoon nap. Hmmm...

P.S. To get good sleep, here are some natural sleep remedies from Body and Soul mag.

-Senior Editor Theresa...off to crawl underneath her desk...

The worst thing about winter in NYC? The dry, cold air. It was brutal on my skin - I looked like I had a permanent cold for four months, red and flaky all around my nose.

So I did what any NYer would do, I went to what my friend touted as "the best dermatologist ever." The guy handed me a bunch o' creams and I was all clear - for about a minute. Back in his office, I met with his partner - a woman around my age who casually said to me: "These creams are fine as long as you're not trying to get pregnant." Uh, I wasn't, but what? (A steroid was a key ingred in at least one.)

I darted outta there and started my search for something natural - and that's when I saw her, a woman at Le Pain Quotidien, all glowy and clown-nose-free. I asked her what she used, she said olive oil. I later dabbed a little on my face, and that's when the clouds parted. It totally worked. (And unlike the creams, I didn't have to go back for more so soon).

-Senior Editor Theresa...off to find other home remedies hiding in my cupboards...

There are hardwood floors throughout most of my flat - fertile ground for big, fat dust bunnies. You don't even want to see the ones chilling underneath my bed.

Still, I'd prefer a bunny any day to the chemicals (such as benzene) in most carpets. Not the nicest place for you or your baby to spend too much time crawling around.

-Toshio...off to sweep the floor...

Another great clothing annoyance besides lint is pilling - you know, those little nubs of fiber that commonly collect on sweaters, especially under the arms. They're kind of like that tiny eyebrow that's too short to pluck, an itch in your inner ear, and cowlicks - totally nonfixable...or so they may seem...

Instead of tediously pulling them off, one by one, or worse, chucking the poor body-warmer entirely, try one of these handy sweater comb contraptions if you don't have one already. You need to be especially gentle with cashmere, but this little beaut really helps keep sweaters looking smart and will last forever (my own's going on five years).

-Jenifer Morgan...off to rattle my brain on a different subject...

Oscar Wilde once said, "Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast." Thank you, Oscar.

Still, I am compelled to remedy my a.m. lack of brilliance with a cup of coffee every morning. The roomies and I take turns buying coffee to feed the group addiction (I won't lie - my most recent offering was a sample of Buywell's Screaming Monkey blend from work - delicious), but last time it was my BFF Leandra's turn.

So, she brought home Lesbeans. Sound it out.

Lesbeans (I would link here but I guess they don't do the Interweb in HI) is coffee grown and handpicked by lesbians on the Big Island. Judging from the utopian imagery on the packaging, it looks like a pretty sweet setup - lots of frolicking, etc. I'm not sure if it's fair-trade, shade grown, and organic, but if it is, I'll mos def buy it again, just so these ladies can go on doing what they do.

-SF Editor Hanah...off to vote with my dollars...

The new toothbrush and sugar-free lollies were always pretty sorry consolation for trips to the dentist - especially in days of old, when you had to sit with "chocolate- or strawberry-flavored" fluoride gel trays propped in your mouth for 15 minutes, drooling like a river and waiting to answer the inevitable "How's school?" question with a grunt. All after a goodly amount of radiation, no less.

My obsession with flossing probably stems from a fierce desire to minimize conversation with hygienists and their unnaturally perfect teeth. Unfortch, I still have to go, but now there are all kinds of environmentally conscious dentists popping up - some even offer massage and other snazzy perks. We ended up tipping one that Heather tried out, and next month, I'll be heading to Toshio's tooth-fixer-upper, who's doing all kinds of good eco-things.

If you've got a great green one you can recommend where you live, share it in the blog!

-Jenifer Morgan...off to chomp on some greens...

I find myself crushed, crushed, crushed that we are coming to the end of berry season, as I have been starting my days with the best, healthiest, most insanely delicious breakfast ever:

• Straus organic whole milk yogurt
• Organic flax seed oil
• Organic berries from the farmers market
• Kashi 7 Whole Grain Nuggets cereal
• Trader Joe's Organic Grade-B Maple Syrup

Yogurt gives me calcium and probiotics; flax seed oil provides heart-healthy omega-3s and keeps me from getting hungry; berries taste amazing and provide fiber (strawberries or raspberries) or antioxidants and bioflavanoids (blueberries); Kashi gives me a whole-grain, crunchy-nutty-happy thing - and apparently grade-B maple syrup has not had the trace elements and healthy bits stripped out of it.

Highly recommend you get yourself some before the berries have breathed their last for this season...

-Heather...off to brew my coffee...

While brainstorming around the topic of shorter showers, one of the other editors (a copy of Worldchanging goes to the first person to correctly guess which one in the comments) suggested peeing while showering could save the water you'd normally use to flush your toilet. I was this close to personally researching the topic when I came across this feature from our friends at Grist.

It's good to know we're not the only ones willing to tackle the big issues.

-Toshio...off to scrub the tub...

I love water. I drink about three liters a day. I went to college to study it inside and out. Oceans are overwhelmingly cool, rain is amazing. And water's the one thing we truly can't live without (though I might argue that this merits consideration as well).

But put me in a boat on top of the water, and bad things happen. I once had the chance to go sailing with a friend, and ended up spending most of the day on my back, trying to retain my lunch. I went waterskiing with my family; the boat kinda-sorta sank, requiring us to swim to shore (long story). I went white-water rafting, and a woman in our boat fell out and ended up requiring stitches.

What does this have to do with motion sickness? I don't know. But stay away from boats if you want to live.

-Senior Editor Mike...off to continue his landlubbing ways...

Imagine yourself having just spilled something awful on your shirt. Soy sauce? Liquefied cheese grease? Whatever. It doesn't matter what you spilled, because after you perform this simple trick, it never happened.

Heed: Post-spillage, what you need to do is assess said spot and completely ignore the impulse to dip your napkin into your water glass and dab at it. Dabbing sets the spot. Instead, pick up your water glass and pour, seriously, pour a generous helping of water onto the spot and just leave it. Sit in it. Let it be. Own the damp. Sure, you're sopping wet and you look a bit foolish, but you'll dry out and everyone else'll still be schlepping their finest to the dry cleaners biweekly, like suckers.

-SF Editor Hanah...off to sit and wait patiently for the OMG-this-trick-changed-my-life notes to start flooding in...

Stain slayers for almost any spill (thanks, Theresa):

• Beer (and any kinda liquor): For washable fabrics, presoak in cold H2O, then wash in soapy H2O.
• Blood: For a little spot, you can actually spot treat with your own spit (sounds gross, but hey, it's your blood). For bigger stains, rinse with cold water, then soak in a solution of 3 Tb of ammonia to 1 gal of cool water for an hour. Then wash as normal.
• Candle wax: Let the wax cool and remove with a dull knife. Place a paper towel on either side of the stain and press with a warm iron. Wash away any color stains with soap and baking soda in hot water.
• Chewing gum: Apply ice until the gum hardens and then scrape the gum off with a knife. Next, soak the stain in a mixture of water and liquid detergent.
• Chocolate: Soak the stain in a mixture of 4 Tb of borax and 2 1/2 cups of warm water.
• Coffee or tea: Stretch the fabric over a bowl. Pour boiling water (use your coffee maker or hot pot) through the stain from a height of about 3 ft. If the coffee had milk in it, spray with a stain remover first.
• Grass: Rub the stain with detergent. You can also try a mixture of 1 part alcohol to 2 parts water and let it sit for 15 min.
• Lipstick: Rub with white vinegar and rinse.
• Sweat: Soak the stain in salt water for an hour. Next, rub a half and half solution of white vinegar and water on the stain. Rinse well and wash.
• Tomato sauce: Soak in cool water for about half an hour. Apply a stain remover and rinse, then apply clear vinegar and rinse.
• Wine: For white and red wines, soak the area with sparkling water as soon as you can. Pour salt over the stain and then stretch it over a bowl. From a height of about a foot, pour boiling water through the stain.

The other night, I realized just how far I've come in my quest for green living since we started the Bite in 2005. A devout Italian wine lover (in truth, a lover of all things Italian, in spite of having a very American BF), I have long crowed about how I refuse to give up my Italian wine even though I live smack in the middle of CA wine country, with great local varietals at my doorstep.

But last week, while having dinner with Kay and some other friends, I was trying to remember the name of an Italian dessert wine (Vin Santo) and it took me a good 10 minutes to come up with it. (Of course, that could be chalked up to dehydration after Burning Man, or the fact that I was three glasses in...) Vin Santo, of all things - a wine I probably drank once a week for 6 years - and I have become such a vino locavore that I couldn't remember what it was called. 

I can't decide if I love or hate the fact that I am actually walking the talk more and more each day...

-Heather...off to swill some Aglianico...

There's one thing laptop cases can't protect me from: computer screen-related eye soreness. I tried acupuncture a few times, but it didn't work - probably because I really needed to address the root of the problem and just try to avoid staring at screens so often.

I used to complain about it all the time, much to the boredom of my coworkers and friends; now I suck it up and do a couple things that help the strain a bit:

1. Went to the optometrist for special glasses that put my eyes in a more restive state while I'm looking at the screen.
2. Try following the 20/20 rule: For every 20 minutes I look at the screen, I take 20 seconds off to focus at some object far away in the distance.
3. Drench my eyes in Visine.

Am I missing anything?

-Toshio...off to gaze out my window at unsuspecting strangers walking below...

When you live downtown in a city, you get so used to walking everywhere that sometimes you can develop a false sense of proximity and ease. On more than one occasion, I've energetically set out to the grocery store (about a 35 minute walk each way) only to find myself feebly straggling along the final three blocks (uphill on the return) under the weight of an overzealous shopping spree.

So just a few tips from a seasoned hoofer (mind the f): 1. Skip wearing flips or shoes with even a modest heel, and go for truly comfortable, balancing shoes that help you walk, even if they're really weird-looking (do try to avoid wearing these in public, though), 2. Wear a backpack to carry your reusable bags there, and to carry the heavier things (champagne, cantaloupe) on the way back, 3. Go for reusable bags with straps that fit over your shoulders rather than ones you have to carry in hand (unless you like not feeling your fingers), and 4. Shop in moderation - save the bulk almonds and other less-perishable stuff you don't need immediately for a monthly car trip.

-Jenifer Morgan...off to straighten things out in yoga...

Should I say "tomato" or "to-mah-to"? Are they fruits or veggies? (Sure taste like veggies.)

Tomatoes always seem to be throwing curve balls my way.

But thanks to researching this tip, I now know for certain that I shouldn't put them in the fridge, at least until they're fully ripe, or they'll go squishy. Coulda saved myself from eating hundreds of soft, unappetizing, wrinkly cherry tomatoes if only I'd known sooner.

-Toshio...off to demolish an heirloom salad...

• John Patrick - this designer's new-classic, higher-end pieces for fall incorporate organic and recycled wool; shop list here.
• Skin and Threads - we're fans of this Aussie company's new, modern, fall collection, not least its eco-merino blends; available in select stores.