San Francisco's an hour away from wine country, so it makes sense that our office is full of wine snob-I mean, connoisseurs. But whether you're a connoisseur, or hate the stuff and just keep a bottle of pinot noir in your pantry in case of unexpected wino guests, it still helps to know what some of the vocab words on the label stand for.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is the government department that handles wine labeling, and it's created four categories of green vino:
1. 100% organic wine is made from 100% certified-organic grapes grown on an organic farm, and doesn't contain any added sulfites (a preservative in most wines).
2. Organic wine contains at least 95% organically grown grapes from an organic farm, without added sulfites.
3. Made with organic grapes means the wine has at least 70% organic grapes. Added sulfites are allowed.
4. Contains organic grapes just tells you the wine contains some level of organic grapes (less than 70%), and producers can add sulfites.
-Toshio...off to drink a beer...
I'm not sure how I ever got started on sparkling water, but it slowly but surely has become a staple at home. A cold glass of carbonation beats out any other drink post bath, and after adding sparkling to an old-fashioned cocktail on a whim, I can never go back.
And I've thought about how these DIY soda machines end up saving resources and energy used creating bottled water, but it recently occurred to me how much personal energy I save by using one. No hauling a case of glass bottles to my Zipcar, through the 30-ton front door, up the elevator. No shuffling of golf clubs, suitcases, amps, and old fencing gear around in the closet to make space for it. After drinking it: no stacking the bottles, taking them down the elevator, or loading them into the recycling bins (with the risk of running into weird neighbors).
Now I just need to get a few of them into my fave local restaurants, like the bottle-conscious eateries we've covered in NY and Chicago.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to fizz...
I spend a lot of time in bars. While I'd venture that this has enhanced my social life, it has had a less positive effect on my wallet, and resulted in more than a few instances of morning-after regret.
So... I'm hereby instating a rule for myself - for every "unit" of alcohol (glass of wine, bottle of beer, shot of liquor) I drink, I'm drinking one glass of water. More cash and less chance for self-embarrassment can't hurt my social life, right?
-Toshio...off to do something totally sober...
When I recently tried to donate blood, I was turned away because I had "spent three or more months in the UK from 1980 through 1996." The fear is that I may have been exposed to mad-cow disease during that time, but in truth, I ate little more than cheese and crackers, Nutella on crackers, and Cadbury chocolate (with a side of crackers). And I drank tea, tea, and more tea - up to, seriously, 12 cups a day.
Why? Because it tasted good, soothed my frozen bones, helped achieve the sensory boost needed for slogging through critical theory, and was quick to make. Like supersonic quick, thanks to the electric kettle we had. Ever since, I've kind of marveled at how few people here at home use them...how loooooong we wait for that pot to boil!! It's such an effort comparatively, but electric kettles haven't always been easy to find.
I just ushered a new Breville Ikon kettle into my kitchen. Wish me luck moderating my tea consumption.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to crack open a box of crackers...
Seriously, this stuff is ridiculous. It's basically Tylenol and caffeine, and for some reason they only sell it in the UK (meaning I stock up when visiting friends in London), but it works like nothing else.
-Toshio...off to finish packing...
Now, you'll forgive me if I don't...quite...remember what went into that batch of "cocktails" we mixed up and threw some pomegranate seeds into, but it was something like this punch. Pretty much, pomegranates, sugar, and miscellaneous booze equals good times.
Happy holidays!
-Jenifer Morgan...off to Hades...
This has always been my problem with owning a commuter mug-the need to wash it every day before getting to making a cup of tea or coffee...and so many of them have complicated parts, so it can take some effort to clean it thoroughly - clearly, not a morning person. (Feel free to chuckle at how pathetic that sounds - nay, is.)
For me, it's all about the regular old ceramic mug (preferably one with a funny message or cute animal on it to fight a.m. grog) that gets a quick rinse daily, but a real wash only on weekends. I can't take it with me, but I'm sure you won't be surprised that I also consider walking to work in the early morning and drinking tea or coffee at the same time...challenging.
-Jenifer Morgan...off pick up a commuter mug for my favorite carpooling rise-and-shiner...
Here in the States, for the longest time, this was an odd concept. People viewed sparkling wine as something to have once a year on New Years or to celebrate a big event like a wedding.
Between a stint living in Europe and having a sister-in-law who loves champagne so much that she - literally - smacks her lips after taking a first sip, I now see champagne as an everyday kind of wine. Having some cheese? Break out the bubbly. Decorating a Christmas tree? Gimme some Tattinger. Going to a tailgate party? Why not throw in some Mumm? Hiking? Bollinger strikes a chord...
But if there is a guy around, he's gotta be the one to open it.
-Heather...off to open some champagne with Dad, who is painting my house...
But my afternoons tend more toward tea, and these days, as I'm obsessed with all things green... Even my tea consumption is leaning in that direction, with green tea breaks in the afternoon.
I like to focus on the antioxidants, and pretend the caffeine ain't there.
-Heather...off to find some green tea after too many nights of insomnia...
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
So it's not so simple - now what? As the Bite says, I think we can start by just educating ourselves about how the stuff we buy is produced, and when we can - dare I say it? - buy less stuff.
-Toshio...off to think about something a little less perplexing...
And while I still usually go the way of tea (we'll do a tea roundup soon!), sometimes the java jive is worth a jitter or two. It's also central to grandpa's migraine quick-fix - two aspirin and a stiff cup actually works sometimes. In addition to the blends in today's tip, I like Allegro (esp. Organic French Roast) - at home, instead of a plastic drip contraption we use a ceramic drip one (these can be hard to find but last forever), which allows you to masterfully control coffee strength and is a snap to clean.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to move in Allegro tempo...
Yep, I worked at the Dairy Queen.I was 15. Brian Crawford worked at the Dairy Queen. I had a crush on him, on and off, through high school, so working at the DQ seemed like the right thing to do. (For some reason, the owners of our little Libby, MT, DQ only once let us work our hormone-laden shifts together. True tragedy.) I worked there for a whole month until I got the much more coveted job of working at the video store. Free VHS rentals = assumption of giant increase in popularity. (Not really sure that worked.)
DQ? I made a lot of root beer floats during that month. I also accidentally made a lot of unordered Blizzards that I needed to eat instead of letting go to waste. Bummer.
-Heather...off to buy some Ben and Jerry's...
Which is why I stick to green tea as my afternoon upper. But if you're an energy drink junkie, I recommend Kaboom or Steaz from a taste perspective. I only wish they'd been around four years ago to make all the Jager bombs I drank in college slightly more palatable.
-Toshio...off to score some green tea...
My bro'll be a junior in college next fall. He says his allowance doesn't seem to go as far as it used to, so he appreciates the money he saves by forgoing conventional bottles. My nutrition-obsessed sister is wary of plastic leaching into her drinks. My mom likes that the aluminum keeps water colder, longer, and my dad just likes the look of the things.
SIGG-lovers: Why'd you get your SIGG?
-Toshio...off to see what's showing on Nick at Nite...
OK, so I once wanted to marry Gavin.
Then he seemed sorta slimy to me (besides, he's a little too pretty. I want to be the prettiest one in the relationship).
Now, with his recent ban on individually bottled water in SF municipal offices, I just might love him again. I just might.
Then again, I think I am a little old for him. ;) He's definitely a little old for me...
-Heather... off to get a crush on someone appropriate for once...
Anyway, it never occurred to me - or I was in snooze mode when he told me - that inflated tires also meant saving gas money (not to mention gas). But I did hear rumors (albeit from incredibly unreliable sources) that playing the radio and driving a dirty car lowered gas mileage. I always wondered, and at last I know, courtesy of my favorite NPR guys and yours, Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk, that those are just mileage myths. That is, unless, as Ray replied to one caller, "...you're cleaning off some enormous, mutant, three-dimensional bird dropping in the shape of airplane flaps."
-Jenifer Morgan... off to make like Icarus, minus the plunging-into-the-sea-to-my-death part...
One of my friends in college did her biology thesis on the Asian gene - the gene that makes Asians turn red in the face, and become achy and naseous after just a drink or two. She tested people who were Asian, white, and half-Asian/half-white. I'm in this last category.
Going into the lab, I expected a cocktail party. Wearing labcoats, she and her assistant would serve drinks, and then she'd break out her tape recorder and ask each of us how we were doing after drink one, drink two, drink three, and so on. Later, she'd take out her magnifying glass to inspect our complexions. Was our skin as it was when we arrived, or were we redder than red?
Tragically, she just swabbed the inside of my cheek and that was that. I never got my results, but I'm pretty sure I have the gene. I mean, I can binge drink with the best of them, but unlike my white roommate back at school, I can't roll out of bed the next day, ready to start the party all over again. And, sadly (and I speak from experience), just because liquor's organic doesn't make those hangovers any better.
-Toshio...off to say the alphabet backwards...
Beer is my favorite drink, hands down, and it was one of the reasons why parting Portland, OR, last August was such sweet sorrow. The town has more microbreweries than anywhere else in the country -Bridgeport, McMenamin's, Full Sail, Hair of the Dog, Widmer, you name it - living in Portland you really have no need to consume beer produced outside of a 25-mile radius of Mt. Tabor.
The place is also home to the only movie theaters I know of, outside of Asheville, NC, where you can order a pitcher of microbrew before you take in a second-run movie. I miss you, PDX, and promise to return soon!
-Toshio...off to drink some of my new local microbrew, SF's Anchor Steam...
My absolute favorite bulk food find?
Organic Mint Tea in teabags (seconded only my my mad love of bulk steel cut oats or granola)...
But I find myself more intrigued by those bulk items that are surprising - the shampoos and laundry detergents and honeys...
What's the most surprising bulk item you've found?
-Heather... flying back to SF...
A little insight into my advertiser-geek background...
In the world of groundbreaking campaigns, "Got Milk" takes the cake. Not only because we can all quote it, or because it's been copied every which way to Sunday... No, the campaign was groundbreaking, because it's such a perfect representation of the way that solid research can affect how an entire generation of people feel about a specific topic. In '93, milk sales had been in a 20 year slump. The CA Milk Processor Board hired Goodby (an ad agency) to help them revive lagging sales. Here's where it gets interesting:
When Goodby did focus group research into how people feel about and use milk, they discovered one overarching truth: no one ever thinks about milk until they need it and it's not there. Research showed that milk only became important when a person cooks, pours a bowl of cereal, or, yes, has a great, big mouthful of peanut butter (as in the first "Got Milk" ad), and they discover that they are out of milk. Thus, they created an entire ad campaign that focused on occasions when people "need" milk, and don't have any.
There are parallels to today's tip - not only because the tip was on milk... Seems to me that people's attitudes toward the planet are similar - we don't even think about things like clean air and water and forests until they're not there.
Wouldn't it be amazing if we could do the research and the work to come up with that one, singular, life-changing, slightly funny ad campaign that could ask an entire world if they "got green?"
OK, so that is a bad example and worse copy, but you get the idea.
-Heather... off to drink wine, not milk...
Not only am I completely addicted to the smell of fresh-cut grass, I also have a strange, childhood-nostalgic attachment to the taste of chewing on grass. As a kid, I'd sit on our lawn, book on my lap. reading away, aimlessly pulling blades of grass carefully, so that they would "squeak" out without breaking, and I could chew on the soft white end of the blade. Bizarre, but true. I couldn't get enough.
And god only knows what fertilizers were on that lawn I was eating...
So maybe I love Amazing Grass so much because it reminds me of being a kid - whether chewing the ends of barley grass on my grandparents' farm, or just eating our own lawn at home. In any case, it's nice to know that it's also good for me. Try out the powdered version in some apple juice with a little water...
-Heather... off to make an Amazing Grass nightcap...
What did it take to lead me on the path to an insomnia cure?
A year off, actually. I was lucky enough, a few years ago, to have a whole year off. No obligations. No work. No apartment, even. And - most importantly - no alarms.
Once I had some time to let myself truly SLEEP, I learned what normal sleep meant for me. After years of professing "Oh - I only need about 5 or 6 hours a night..." I learned that my body really wants about 8 hours and 15 minutes. Sometimes a little less, but certainly not 6 hours...
Ever since that year, I've slept better. Sure, I still struggle at times and go through stressed-out periods where sleep is elusive. In those times, I reach for my all-natural options, breathe deeply, do some shoulder stands, and thank the stars for a gift of a year that taught me how it felt to experience life with a clear head and a good night's rest.
-Heather... off to prep for bed...
These days, I'm just not a huge juice lover. But every so often, enjoying a lovely "flash-pasturized" or fresh-squeezed juice drink in some single serve bottle, I wonder: what is best for the planet? Is it the same thing that is best for ME? Should I go for the organic, single-serve bottle, or throw my lot in with the multi-person, reconstituted cardboard version?
Hmmm. Sounds like a good tip topic.
-Heather... off to rework the editorial calendar...
Who knew that we were all at such risk of constant dehydration? I mean pick up a magazine or watch an ad on tv, and sooner or later, you'll be convinced that your body is in severe need of hydration, electrolytically imbalanced and lacking in peak performance.
Oh puhlease. When I grew up, kids playing sports drank... well, water. And that water? It came from a tap, not a plastic bottle with a label.
But if I were buying the need for electrolytic sports drinks (and trust me - as a girl who occasionally imbibes too much of a different kind of liquid, there is something miraculous about potassium-laden sports drinks for a hangover cure), you can rest assured that I would be reaching for the ONE Natural Coconut water. As with many things, I was a complete skeptic until I tried it.
I promise - that stuff is GOOD.
-Heather... off to remember a world where a bench of kids playing basketball all drank out of the same refillable water bottles...
So here I am in again, in bed, feeling crummy. I am so ready for the major cold snap to be over. And who ever heard of a back to back cold? Could it be a sinus infection? Urg. I could have been at the barn. I could be eating fabulous food in my friends hot tub. But no. Here i am. Feeling sorry for myself.
So to help that, I think I will just make a hot toddie instead of hot chocolate, as I heard once that they help cure a cold. I doubt it, but at least I will get some good sleep tonight.
In case you've never had one:
- Juice of one lemon (juice it by hand and hope for lemon chunks)
- Two tablespoons of honey (locally produced if possible)
- A double shot of good whisky (a malt if possible)
Pour in boiling water, mix with a spoon.. voila... bed time.
Off to make a hot toddie, but of course.. jb
Okay, so back in the day Heather and I tried an all natural hangover helper that I found online, and well, while we had fun trying it for the first half (ie: the night before), the second half just sucked. And it was a hot, sticky July day in NYC, and we had lots of work to do. Eww. Hell.
Finally we found one that really works. It is called Fight Back. And it is my new best friend.
Ever since entering my 30's, the saddest thing has been my loss of ability to drink all night and then go run and play and work just fine the next day. Now if I have a bottle of wine, forgetaboutit. The next day is just toast.
However, being the diligent (and slightly drunkie) Biter that I am, I tried (and then retried) this product. And it worked so well that I now tell everyone I know about it, because come on, who doesn't just LOATHE a hangover? Sure, you could drink less. But life is short and I am pretty good on the whole, so I am not about to take away one of my true joys... a good bottle of a wine and a good buzz.
Off to make New Years plans... and yes, they will definitely involve making sure I take my Fight Back before getting too nuts that night. - Jen
Okay so I have been kindling a new friendship with a certain gentleman. We have known each other for a few years, and I have always had a crush on him since I saw him speak at a certain event that brought ranchers, environmentalists, developers, and old-time community members together... not only into the same room, but onto the same philosophical page.
This certain gentleman is a tad older and reminded me of Richard Gere, and at the time, was married. So I kept my batting eyelashes to myself.
Now however he has been divorced for about a year, and moved down the street. We have gotten together for wine and cheese and eco-talk on multiple occasions. He has called me his eco-soul mate, and well, I have confessed my crush ever since I heard him speak eloquently at the event.
Anyway, the whole point of this? Recently we discovered we both came into the enviro movement because we both wrote a term paper on the destruction of the Brazilian Rain forest in high school. (And being quasi-organized, I found mine and photocopied it for an Xmas present for him.)
I ended my term paper with "Clearly, the forest is more valuable when left standing than when cut." How profound. ;-) But seriously, this little berry (the acai) is amazingly delicious and packs a punch of some of the most important nutrients and anti-oxidants. What else has yet to be discovered out there? We HAVE to figure out how to curb development and ranching in the forest... we still burn down like 50 acres a minute or something heart-wrenching like that.
Okay, I could go on for hours, but I think instead I will turn to my new eco-soul mate, open a bottle of wine, and bend his ear instead of burn your eyes. ;-)
Off to find him and that wine... Jen
Since I am bitter due to the fact that I STILL haven't seen Casino Royale yet (hot, hot, hottie, OMG), I can't say for certain whether or not James has switched to organic cocktails as he moves into his new image. If anyone has seen the flick and can comment, please do let us know.
In the meantime, regardless of James's proclivities, in honor of our own organic cocktail tip, I figured I'd talk about Cocktails for Carbon...
Yes, Biters, if you are here in SF, swing on by Elixir (Guerrero and 16th) tomorrow night. Yours truly, along with our Biter t-shirt models, will be guest bartending. We are buying carbon offsets with our tips, in an effort to, well, justify our drinking.
See full invite by clicking on the picture.
-Heather... off to bone up on how to make a perfect martini...
So about 4 years ago I went to the Bioneers conference in Marin (seriously WELL worth it if you can go or attend one of the satellite conferences; it's coming up!). There I had the good fortune of meeting the Guayaki brothers. These two cute, hippy-ish man-boys that were doing a phenominal job of bringing this good tasting yerba mate' to market, and doing it in this amazing sustainable way.
So happy to see they have really started to get "out there" and appeal to more people than just the 20K or so at the conference that were all vibing on the stuff.
They were nice enough to give me about 40 sample packets of the stuff, so I have tried most flavors, and tend to go for the less-intense, more girly stuff. But as a coffee-junkie, I was surprised my taste buds responded so favorably to the stuff.
It is a bit of an acquired taste though... don't get me wrong. I feel like only the truly acquired can sport the mate mugs that are made of ceramic or gourds and have a silver built in filter / straw.
So if you are feeling the need to try something different but are a bit of a girly-girl, start with the premixed stuff from Pixie, and then see if you can reach the acquired state of being with the gourd.
Off to mix up more girly Pixie stuff until I see Dave and Steven Karr and get 40 more packets - Jen
As the studies pile up, we can say something we wouldn't have said twenty years ago: The average person is better off if they include alcohol in their diet. And in my book, beer is a natural choice for the health-conscious 21st century.
Yes, indeedy, beer makes for a great dinner in a pinch. It is easy to prepare, fun to drink, and is nicely complimented with a side dish of chips. Don’t do this every night, of course, but every so often – beer makes up my favorite evening meal.
Best of all, it is now proven that consistent (not excessive) drinking is good for your heart. To top it off, scientists at Okayama University in Japan have rather agreeably discovered that unidentified compounds in lager and stout may help to prevent DNA damage leading to cancer.
The old advertising slogan "Guinness is Good for You" may be true after all.
Historically, beer was viewed as a nourishing diet staple like bread, based on grain. One style, doppelbock, was even dubbed "liquid bread" by the monks who relied on it for sustenance during Lenten fasts. In earlier times, beer was the healthful mealtime beverage for young and old alike and a source of valuable nutrients.
Somewhere, we lost sight of beer's essential wholesomeness. Now, research has documented beer's medical and nutritional benefits. If an "average" 12 ounce bottle of beer sported a Nutrition Facts label, it would tell you that beer contains:
· 150 calories.
· 0 fat
· 0 cholesterol
· 0 caffeine
· 0 nitrates
· 1 gram of protein
· 13 grams of carbohydrates
· Significant amounts of magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, and biotin
· Impressive amounts of B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxin), and B9 (folate), with smaller amounts of B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B12 inotisol and choline.
· 92 percent water
Ben Franklin said: "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." I agree.
Off to (but of course) drink a beer – Jen
After spending a weekend at a family wedding, trying to come up with ever new and varied answers to the question "So. Heather. Think we might get to see YOU doing this sometime in the future? How old are you now anyway?" I feel a need to write about being in love.
So, it might seem a little strange, but yep - I fell in love with my water filter several years ago when it got me through SE Asia without ever having to buy bottled water. I just filled my hotel room sink with tap water, stuck the filter in, pumped away, and viola! Clean water. Never got sick.
Well... check that. I DID get sick, but not from my water consumption. After months of eating only cooked-to-death veggies while traipsing throughout a veritable vegetable HEAVEN, visiting markets dripping with every imaginable amazing fruit and veg, I found a lovely little British guesthouse in Siem Reap, Cambodia. They had this huge mixed salad on the menu, and I just couldn't resist.
Take it from me - RESIST. Just trust me. I spent the next 5 days holed up in hotel room, cursing the gods, trying to stay hydrated, and watching the same 4 bad B movies on the one English TV channel in my room.
But it wasn't my lovely filter's fault.
-Heather... off to start a week-long detox... expect grumpy blogs in a few days...
... 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...
That is one of my favorite toasts when doing shots of tequila... it translates to "up high, down low, in the center, down the hatch!"
I am not so tough that I could sip tequila like a fine malt liquor, but I do like a shot every now and again to really get the juices going. And margaritas made with fine tequila and fresh lime are TO DIE FOR... and of so much better than the type you get from Mexican chain restaurants in Nebraska (or Montana or anywhere except S. CA and Miami and S. Texas).
And luckily I never got sick on tequila in college so I can still enjoy it from time to time. In fact, in college, we just did body shots with it, so indeed I have fond memories.
Off to adorn my sombrero in anticipation.... arriba! Jen
My first day back at my MBA program after a summer internship in Montana running an ecolodge was great… our Net Impact club had gotten Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield founder and then CEO, to come speak.
He attracted quite the crowd, and he came with not only a presentation in PowerPoint, but also a very down to earth attitude and honest answers to hard questions.
I remember the answer to someone’s question that basically asked him, “why did you sell out?” And his answer was, “well, we hope to change the way Danon does business.” I liked that, it was a bottom up approach, and I don’t think big business and good business are inherently antithetical. If you look at all the advantages that big businesses have, it should be easier for them to go green (in that they generally benefit from bigger profit margins from benefiting from economies of scale, and can make demands of their supply chain - like go green or else we will find someone who will!).
The main reason big business has not been able to “go green” ironically is due to the stock holders, or at least the stock market at large expecting them to squeeze out profits quarter after quarter (the reason why Wal-Mart must keep opening stores or its stock might actually not go up, and whoooa nelly wouldn’t that just be terrible – I say sarcastically.)
So what I hope to have happen is topline growth… ie: they create profits by enhancing their brand and expanding their market share by doing business BETTER, thereby attracting more consumers to their product.
Off to have my Stonyfield smoothie for a quick breakfast (or “brecky” as my buds in Ireland used to say) – Jen
When I was younger, I loved Starbucks. Before the world changed, and there was a coffeeshop on every corner - when Starbucks was the only show in town - there was something so comforting about there being a "fast food joint" for coffee.
As I've gotten older, my tastes have changed. Sure, I still grab Starbuck's coffees when in airports or a pinch. All in all, I gotta admit - their coffee is good. But mainly, I get cappuccino from my little, local, Frenchie deli these days.
All that aside - let us know your thoughts on today's Green Chip Company Showcase. What do YOU think about Starbucks? Have any questions you'd like answered? If so, fire them our way, and we'll get some feedback from the Starbucks gang...
-Heather... off to brew a pot...
I took a red eye flight last night from LA to NY. Personally,
unless you are landing in a foreign country or are STARTING your trip,
not ending it, I think one should avoid redeyes at all costs. It's just too depressing to show up at dawn and start a work day.
In spite of the woman who threw a hissy fit and had to be taken off the flight before we could take off (true story), I did, however, have quite a nice flight - partially due to the fact that people couldn't get enough of my water bottle. In a world where apparently you are supposed to have a toy dog or a baby in order to get picked up, I learned last night, that it's really the water bottle that does the trick.
Apparently, I am not the only one who has a mad love of my SIGG water bottle - nearly everyone who saw me sip out of it remarked on it and asked where they could get one. I was a one-woman marketing machine for SIGG.
-Heather... of to download LA photos...
So in spite of wind chills in the teens, my inner garden freak is percolating. My mad crazy love of the world is becoming more pronounced.
Which leads me to planning for my rooftop this year - ideas about seeds and roots and shoots and herbs.
In a way, my planting is beginning to follow the rules of biodynamics (although, sadly, I am not growing grapes). And one element of biodynamic winemaking is to harvest according to the cycles of the moon.
So - interesting garden factoid to consider:
If you are planting "Roots" - things that need to grow deep and dark (think potatoes and carrots and anything that needs a big root base) - you should plan during a waning moon.
If you are planting "Shoots" - things that need to grow out and up and across and get tall (think flowers, climbers, and most veg)- you should plants during a waxing moon.
The theory is that if the moon can pull the ocean higher when it is getting full, it will help the seedlings to sprout and pull them out of the ground, and if it makes those same tides lower when it wanes, it will ease up on the pulling and let the roots take hold.
It might be complete garbage.
But I gotta say: anything that has the argument "I can pull the entire OCEAN at my will" has some credibility with me.
-Heather... off to dream of sprouting sweet peas...
Question of the Day: When you have a slumber party with someone (take that however you choose), do you:
A - make coffee together in the AM at home and sip from ceramic cups; or
B - go out and get cappuccinos so you can take a cutesy walk down the street to the coffee shop?
While there is a "right" answer for the greening of the world, there's no "right" Biter answer. I do both. Let's face it - either way - we're only drinking coffee together if I actually like you.
-Heather... off to shrink in mock mortification since my Mom just read that...
This is not to say that I don't know that I need to cut back on my caffeine consumption. However, I am still not perfect, and I have given up LOADS that I love, and I don't take meds, so a little wine and coffee (or a lot) ain't gonna kill me.
Well, it might. But I am still not giving up the caffeine until I do my February detox (and then I will -without a doubt - survive on Equal Exchange's Decaf. I can't express my love for that enough). Stay tuned for angry-girl ranting blogs from yours truly then...
-Heather... off to load up on coffee with Jen before a round of meetings...
PHOTO ALBUMS
