As I've mentioned before, my fam is all about the detailed wish lists. We publish them bi-annually for birthday and the holidays, with links, color specifications, size info, even pricing.
Mom's Day...not so much. It's all about improv, for better ("Wonderful!") or for worse ("Oh...my."). But here's a sampling of past Biter MD gift ideas, all of which at least appeared to please:
Hanah: took Mom to a local Klezmer show
Kay: delivered and planted a shrub at Mom's house
Elisa: gave Mom tickets to Safari West
Jenifer: gave Mom a mid-day hangover via mimosa-heavy brunch
Toshio: um, signed Mom up for Green Dimes
Jen: used to give mom backrub coupons as a kid, then carwash coupons as a teen
-Jenifer Morgan...off to improvise...
I tried to find a common thread here, but came up empty-handed. Hope you enjoy our genre-busting, Biter-iffic springtime mix...
1. Life of Everything by Larkin Gayl (Co-founder Heather)
2. Hello Bonjour by Michael Franti (Co-founder Jen)
3. Where Do You Go To by Peter Sarstedt (Editorial Director Jenifer)
4. Fly Paper by k-os (SF Editor Mike)
5. Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks (SF Intern Natalie)
6. Rich Girls by the Virgins (LA Editor Molly)
7. Paper Planes by MIA (LA Intern Aaron)
8. Be Easy by Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings (Chicago Editor Alison)
9. Fake It by Seether (NYC Editor Beth)
10. New Soul by Yael Naim (Marketing Manager Hilary)
11. Shake the Chandelier by the Gourds (Bozeman Intern Jen H.)
12. If I Had Eyes by Jack Johnson (Graphic Designer Kinsey)
13. Perfume by Patrick Fletcher (Senior Sales Exec Kay)
14. Reasons to Love You by Meiko (Production Manager Elisa)
15. Killalady by Justine Electra (Assistant Editor Hanah)
16. Collarbone by Fujiya & Miyagi (Assistant Editor Hanah, again, who charmed me into letting her include two songs)
17. Jeopardy by the Greg Kihn Band (me, Toshio)
-Toshio...off to finish up my playlist for a club night happening this Saturday at SF's dive-y Deco Lounge....
A few weeks ago, I watched a few of the undersea episodes of the amazing Planet Earth series, including the one where they happen upon a vampire squid. So there's a crappy YouTube video of it, but the proper footage from the DVD is far more impactful.
Anyway, it truly blew my mind, changed my perspective on the world just like the idea of black holes or the idea of gravity affecting time.
How does this relate to farm sanctuaries? Well, the fact is that animals are amazing - even the less exotic ones. They make the world more interesting. And it's worth taking the time to notice, even better if you can help them out in the process.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to take a gander at a goose...
I'm working intently 9-6 (all for you, Heather and Jen), but I do take time out to send the occasional Someecards.com ecard to an officemate. I'll know the recipient has opened the ecard because they'll break the stifling silence that tends to pervade the office with a massive laugh.
They even have some eco-themed ones:
-Toshio...off to get the memo...
PS. See the Biter team make some moves in JibJab ecards here and here.
We've posted Radar magazine's "100 ways we're trying to go green" on one of the doors in our SF office.
I think you'll find #63 especially relevant.
-Toshio...off to respond to a million confused emails...
During this year's Earth Hour, I'll be in beautiful Bodega Bay (yep, where The Birds was filmed). Barring any deadly avian attacks, I plan to pour myself a cocktail and kick back on the porch to admire the night sky. No candles, no big event...just me, the stars, our half-full moon, and the sound of the sea.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to look to the skies...
Best BC?
The kid sitting behind you on a red-eye flight, screaming, and kicking the back of your seat.
The worst?
The little chubby-cheeked, cherubic toddler (yes, probably the same kid, different day) waddling down the sidewalk, staring intently - and quite seriously - at puddles and leaves and broken concrete and birds...reminding us all that life is, quite simply, pretty rad.
-Heather - off to explain to the boyfriend why I don't really want to eat the babies I see, even if I describe that need to squeeze and nibble on them as "eating"...
My family's amassed a mother lode of perfectly usable basketballs, surfboards, and ski wear over the years.
Sooner or later, it'll get donated to Goodwill - and I was thinking: If I ever need to buy sports equipment for future kids in my life, used gear makes sense - and not just because it's cheaper. It took me a while to break in those baseball mitts, and whoever gets to them first is one lucky son-of-a, because like a good deck of cards, most sports equipment is best when it's already played a few games.
-Toshio...off to score some points...
(To my right, we have Brett's Surly Karate Monkey - the HyMINI's in his utility bag on the back. You wouldn't want to get in a fight with this bike.)I have a HyMINI wind-powered charger that usually doubles as an LED bike light when I'm getting around San Francisco at night. It's lighter than it looks, and charges up even when I'm not biking fast as the, uh, wind. I love the efficiency of the gadget, and, last but not least, it works great as a conversation piece when you're parking your bike and wanna chat up the cute biker chaining up their bike next to you.
-Toshio...off to ride like the wind...
The vegetarian and self-professed "treehugger" has plans to open a wind-powered male brothel in NV dubbed the Stud Farm. If that kind of info isn't enough to jumpstart your Ecorazzi addiction, um...
-Toshio...off to start my own venture...
She wouldn't share the juiciest bites, but here's a real, live page from Heather's journal.
-Toshio...off to reveal some dirt...
Last week I went skiing in beautiful Lake Tahoe. And after reading a good chunk of global warming research last year, I took great joy (I mean, more than usual) in spending a week outside, surrounded by snow. It was just plain fun, totally rejuvenating.
It's great to see the National Ski Areas Association working toward making sure we can all continue shoop-shooping for years to come. Check out its Sustainable Slopes environmental charter. Tons of major ski areas have signed on, including one of my favorite little gems, Mt. Rose.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to indulge in a little après work cocktail...
-Toshio...off to water our Hanukkah bush...
Then the CFL went on! I realized that I could use it to get the teapot on my mom's Christmas wish list. Gift: found. Fifty dollars I would have spent on gift sans card: still in bank account.
It won't work with every gift card, but if you don't want anything for yourself, and you don't want to swap or regift the card itself per today's tip, consider using it to buy something that someone you love needs or desires.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to spend my art-store credit on my nephew...
But every year, during the holidays, we'd make cookie cutter sugar cookies using the recipe from the old original Betty Crocker cookbook (not all that eco, but the recipe is below, and they are still the best you'll ever taste).
I always loved baking and decorating cookies each year. I adored using Red Hots as the clappers for the bells. Loved putting those really hard silver BB-style decorations on the points of the stars, wondering if I'd break my tooth on them when it came time to eat them. Reveled in mixing the most-likely-poisonous food coloring into the frosting and watching those initial striped swirls streak through the creamy whiteness.
My Michael-Jordan-worshiping brother? Not so much his thing. In fact, we eventually banned him from cookie decorating (which was his aim all along) after he decided to mix all the colors together and make all of his cookies a mud-like grayish brown color. Brown stockings and sleighs and stars and trees?
Somehow just not as tasty.
-Heather...off to make some rum balls, heavy on the rum...
Recipes from Betty Crocker New Picture Cookbook [copyright date has disappeared], typed as written.
Ethel's Sugar Cookies
- ¾ C. shortening [part butter]
- 1 C. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla (Mom and I like to use ¼ tsp almond instead)
- 2 ½ C. Gold Medal Flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
Butter Icing [For extra richness, add 1 egg yolk.]
- 1/3 cup soft butter
- 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- about 3 tbsp. cream
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
I didn't love the new jute mat in the same way, and in a fit of largess, ended up leaving it at a villa in Bellagio, Italy last year, figuring it would give good yoga karma to hapless travelers to Lake Como. (Isn't that always the case when you replace something you worshipped with a new version? The replacement stands no chance.) However, yoga mat #3 has since fared much better in my esteem. I lovelovelove the Jade Harmony rubber mats. A little heavy, but VERY sticky, and I feel like my current blue baddie is gonna last me for ages.
I'm still not sure I'll ever love it as much as my ripped up, worn out, PVC-laden original, though. It's just like childhood love drama and the occasional initial drag on a cigarette when a little tipsy...not at all healthy, but sure as hell feels good.
-Heather... off to do a little down dog...
Queue one up if you're stranded indoors with the fam during the holidays - if for no other reason than to prove (once again) that you're the clever/agile/coordinated one.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to bowl another strike!...
Even if you can't forage for them on your own, I recommend roasting some in the oven while you queue up Christopher Guest's Best in Show to enjoy the best nut-referencing screenwriting in Hollywood history, namely a scene with the character Harlan Pepper of Pine Nut, CA.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to pick a peck of pine nuts...
Clearly, those days are over. Between my Treo and my laptop and my exchange server, I'm almost never disconnected from the Internet, let alone my email, phone, or digital calendar. In fact, if it's not in my Outlook calendar, I'm probably not showing up for it.
So I find it fascinating that I am spending a great deal of time these days with people who seem to be a throwback to a previous time - planning their days in paper notebooks and scrawled on old-fashioned calendars and whiteboards. Now, this would seem much more romanticized to me if these weren't also the same people who were slavishly devoted to their iPhones and Blackberrys (hmmm... do you even change that to a "berries" if it's a brand name?), texting more in a few hours than I do in a week.
What's your game? You live your life with little pop-up phone notifications reminding you to go to yoga, or do you plot it all out on paper?
-Heather...off to schedule a meeting in my calendar (complete with an alarm notification)...
And although I now have a great, ventilated ski jacket, a pair of ultrainsulating socks, and waterproof gloves - all of which make spending time outside that much more comfortable - at the end of the day, as long as you're warm enough, don't worry about what you wear, just get outside and play.
There's no better way to celebrate the fight against global warming than taking a snow day.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to go walkin' in a winter wonderland...
-Toshio...off to write my holiday cards...
Last New Year’s, my neighbor (about whom I know almost nothing) rang our doorbell and handed over an exceptionally generous, completely unexpected gift: two Baccarat crystal champagne flutes. (My jaw is still dropping.) Let me tell you, if you are so inclined as to give a stranger an incredibly expensive gift this season, that’s the way to go…in fact, if all you need is the stranger part, I’m happy to volunteer.
-Jenifer Morgan…off to run my finger ’round the rims…
-Toshio...off to ride my (non-fixed gear) bike home...
What's the D? I admit that it's a perhaps sad point of pride that I can pack a month's necessities in a day pack and tidy carry on while maintaining a certain element of luxury and comfort in transit. But the fact is that less stuff, better stuff is an important aspect of living a greener life, and it absolutely translates to travel gear, whether you consider yourself jet-set or not. Bring clothes and shoes that go everywhere, a few hair pins to wrangle errant locks of hair, and figure out how to access travel info you need online at your hotel.
You'll suddenly have room for all kinds of little items that will truly ease the stress of your journey - a 2-oz lavender-geranium beeswax travel candle, for example.
Have any personal travel essentials you want to share? Tell us in the blog - and safe holiday travels!
-Jenifer Morgan...off to avoid claiming my baggage in public...
My perfect nephew, Quinn, came to stay with me over the Thanksgiving break (his parents came, too, but they didn't give me nearly as many baby breath sloppy kisses, so they don't rank quite as high in my esteem). It was the first time Quinn and his mom had seen my house, and since said house is decidedly un-child-friendly, I was a bit nervous. Would he pull over my glass end tables and cut up his perfect alabaster skin? Would my hardwood floors conk his head and knees? Would my sharp-clawed cat get to his Sinatra-blue eyes? And then even if he did manage to travel the pitfalls of my 100 year old house - what would he DO there? I don't have any toys. No cars to vroom-vroom, no stuffed animals or balls or even books that might keep a 16 month-old occupied for 5 minutes or so. Should I go buy books and games and trucks that beep?
Oh puhlease. Quinn did just what kids the world over do. He played. He ran and he played. He played with the cat (no scratching), he ran up and down the hall, loving the slidey-ness of the wood floors (not too much conking). He kept me company while I baked pumpkin bread and Thanksgiving side dishes, his little butt scooting on the kitchen floor, while he beat a cake pan with a wooden spoon.
And suddenly, I saw the world through his eyes - the newness of a place he'd never been, the noise of a makeshift drumset, the loud purr of a kitty. And you know what? That world is pretty damn good.
These little folks? They don't need all the "stuff" we think they do. Hell, at this age, they are never going to remember the things you get them - these items that end up in basement corners and landfills in a matter of years. Until Quinn will remember opening the present, he's gonna get three kinds of gifts from me: money for college, books to read before sleep, and donations to save the world so that he will always have places to run around.
-Heather... off to adopt a penguin...
Just in case you missed it in your Ideal Bite Daily Tip, check out today's Green Tuesday specials just for you Biters. Your power to affect change through your purchase choices continues to grow, so if you are gonna spend anyway, go on and make that money green(er)!
Note: Codes were good only on November 27, 2007, and are no longer valid.
- Blooming Lotus - personal care products. Get 20% off of orders over $40; enter BITER in the coupon code field at checkout.
- Brilliant Earth - diamond jewelry. Get 10% off pre-selected earrings and pendants; just enter IDEALBITE in the reference code field at checkout.
- BTC Elements - apparel, jewelry, and gifts. Get 15% off; enter THEBITE in the coupon code field at checkout.
- Burt's Bees - beauty and personal care products. Get 20% off; enter BITERS20 in the promo code field at checkout.
- Caldrea - home-care products and candles. Get 20% off; enter BITER in the coupon code field at checkout.
- Helen E Riegle Design - handbags. Get 25% off; enter GREEN2SDAY in the promo code field at checkout.
- Patagonia - outdoor apparel. Get 20% off; enter N6252 in the promo code field at checkout.
- Saffron Rouge - beauty products. Get 20% off of orders over $50; enter BITE INTO in the partner code field at checkout.
With new LED technology, these light shows can be just as spectacular at a tiny percentage of the energy costs. In addition to switching to LEDs, consider getting a timer for your lights - nobody's looking at 'em at 3 a.m. anyways, and the birds will sure appreciate it.
-Toshio...off to fly south for the winter...
Witness the results of my recent conversations with the Biter team:
Brett (tech guru):
"We always make turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving. Just some little buns, turkey, and mayonnaise (or some other condiment)."
Kinsey (graphics master):
"My mom's favorite thing to do with leftover mashed potatoes is to make patties out of them and fry them up in a pan. They get all crispy and delicious on the outside, and gooey-mashed-potato-goodness on the inside. She's half-Swedish, so I guess it's sort of her take on a potato latke. Yum."
Beth (NY Bite editrix):
"We always made ‘Thanksgiving on a sandwich,' which was turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce on bread. Messy, yummy, awesome...especially with the cranberry sauce. Otherwise, we'd make a turkey casserole - boil up some lasagna noodles, layer or dump everything in (except the cranberries), add some chicken stock, and bake it for a while. Nothing fancy..."
Hannah (party planner):
"Here's one from my Dog: Kelsa says that instead of wasting plastic wrap or tinfoil, and in order to conserve the water and energy you would use to wash Tupperware, leftovers should just be placed on the floor for the dogs."
Jen (close friends with a chef):
"Well, you could always make soup stock with the turkey carcass. Strip off the meat, throw it into a pot with as little water as possible, and boil the crap out of it. Don't worry about clingy bits of skin or herbs, since they'll add to the flavor. Add lightly sautéed veggies, water, a little white wine or sake, barley or rice, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs at the end and voilà! Add the leftover meat just before serving."
We know you can do better, so post your own ideas in the comments.
-Toshio...off to change my skivvies...
Biters:
The time has come for a new generation of Thanksgiving dinners. A local generation that is light on the pesticides and heavy on deliciousness.
Submit your local Thanksgiving menus, reap the rewards (a copy of Paul Hawken's latest book), and if you ever falter, let this training montage from Wet Hot American Summer help you get your booty back on track.
-Toshio...off to drop and give you 20...
...a man after midnight! (If you know what band sings those lyrics, consider us friends.)
OK, so for better or for worse, a man - before or after or even at the very stroke of midnight - never made it onto my Christmas list. But it's been the Morgan way to make an official Christmas Wish List all my life - it's as much a tradition as eating take-'n'-bake pizza on Christmas Eve before taking silly family photos. Mind you, our lists have never been strictly material. On this years' lists (yes, we've already exchanged them) are things like ski-lift tickets, help weatherproofing the porch, a donation to the Jane Goodall Foundation, and a logo design (although only one of the family is actually capable of designing anything). I personally have always found relief in understanding what will bring my family comfort and joy.
There is one exception to the list-sharing, and it has to do with that man after midnight thing. There are just some people you ask for things like new baking pans, left-handed scissors, and dishtowels...and some you don't.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to remind my niece that she owes me her list...
P.S. If you’re hankerin’ to add some compassionate and sustainable fashion to your list, don’t miss our faux-fur tip next week, and in the meantime, bid on one of two high-fashion, faux-fab handbags here and here—proceeds benefit the Animal Protection Institute.
Trust me - paying good money for that copy of Nicole Richie's The Truth About Diamonds would've been way worse than the walk of shame I endured leaving the circulation desk.
-Toshio...off to see how the baby's doing...
Some people consider this long-term knowledge to be an asset in the workplace.
Others simply think of it as blackmail fodder.
Instead of using that fact as an excuse to throw Jeni-who-wore-unicorn-tee-shirts-her-entire-childhood under a bus for making me write a blog about yarn, of all things, I'll stick to the topic at hand. When we were about 10, we were both in 4-H, and we took a course on crocheting. I'm sure we made beautiful potholders that matched our hairbands and friendship pins.
But I think that was the last time we probably thought about yarn until we researched this tip. Who knows? Maybe now we will grab an organic skein and make a sweater or two. I'm just not really sure where she's gonna put the unicorn decal.
-Heather... off to do my 25th year of penance for ruining Jeni's Ralph Macchio poster by kissing it with lipgloss on...
Beth
Elisa
Kay
Hilary
Brett
Hannah
Jenifer
Jen
Heather
Who's got the creepiest virtual representation of them all?
-Toshio...off to get over the flu before the weekend comes...
Nothing shocks me anymore. One of my best friends has pretty much done it all, indulging in fetishes most of us didn't know were fetishes, like hypothermia. For the past decade I've lived vicariously through him, and now I'm totally jaded when it comes to sex toys. Got to say, though, the one in the picture brought a creepy smile to my face, since it's the perfect fusion of two of my most favorite things ever.
MSG and Styrofoam, I mean.
-Toshio...off to get some ramen...
But, really, you've heard smoking's bad for you, right? Not as bad as smoking crack, but a long-term habit ain't gonna do your bod any favors. If you want to, well, crack that habit, check out the quitting resources at the Center for Disease Control.
Oh, and support the kids at No Butts About It, who are working to get smokers to clean up after themselves.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to if, and, or butt out of somebody's business...
In short, lingerie has never struck me as something to wear while wandering around the house on your own (itchy lace and creeping thongs), and why bother donning any during already-hot-enough new flings, or wearing any out in the hopes of a random hot evening? (I'm lucky if my legs are shaved, let alone if my underwear matches.)
Since I am perpetually single, then, this tip - at first glance - seems not to apply to me.
But lately, I am subscribing to the "If you build it, they will come" theory of life, and thus, have decided to put on some Mon Cherie hemp knickers.
-Heather...off to clean out my underwear drawer...
PHOTO ALBUMS
