Ideal Bite

OK, so when Biter Evelyn Chen sent this tip submission in, I gotta admit, I laughed out loud.  It seemed ridiculous.  But I loved the idea so much, we put it in the queue to research.  If it panned out, we figured we'd tip it.

Lo and behold, a little research paid off, and fact is... it IS better to "go before you go."

Of course, don't be stupid - bladder infections... all pain and antibiotics - aren't so great for the environment either.  So don't hold it unnecessarily.  But on that DC to NYC or LA to SF run...

Spend your pennies before you fly.

-Heather... off to buy a plane ticket... Read the full post... 

Insomnia started plaguing me when I was 11.  Yep, 11.  Daylight savings time hit, I couldn't sleep, and, well, it was all downhill from there.  I spent years unable to sleep.  I tried everything.  Things would work for a while, but then I'd hit a bad stretch again.

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 Read the full post... 

When I first moved into my current place, one of my housemates compared my eating habits to a middle schooler's. At 24, I guess I'm not "eating my age."

I'm sorry - actually, I'm not sorry - I will never be the person who gets his nosh on with a bag of baby carrots and a dipping bowl of baba ghanoush. OK, once in a while, maybe, but all the while I'll be trying to fool my taste buds into believing that what I'm actually consuming are extra-buttered popcorn and Mentos.

I'm way more into salt than I am into sugar. My favorite snacks list includes jerky (I'm jonesing for some of the fake kind as I write this), sauerkraut, salted pistachios, sunflower seeds, and I'm the only person I know who salts his French fries, every time. I know high sodium intake's bad for you, but I drink six glasses of water per day...so it balances out, right?

Admittedly, you can Read the full post... 

I've been starting here at this screen for about 20 minutes, trying to figure out what to write in today's blog.  See, last time I blogged about makeup, I referred to myself as a cosmetics whore.  Apparently, people out there have strong feelings about the word "whore," even when used in a tongue-in-cheek, self-effacing kinda way.  People took umbrage at my use of the term (god bless JK Rowling for naming Dolores Umbridge), and they weren't quiet in letting me know where they stood on my self-reflexive use of the term.

So I sit here, staring, wondering what on earth to write.

Because here's the deal: the term - when applied to my rampant, insatiable love of all things cosmetic - is just too apt.  I can't really think of a better way to describe it.  Close friends know that I'm the first to admit that I have a slight makeup addiction.  Don't even get me started on Read the full post... 

As most Biters know, I am not over-domesticated.  I end up ordering out more than cooking in (or heating up a pizza, etc), and well, of recent, with all my animals (dog, 2 cats, 6 chicks, and a horse), I had to get some help with the cleaning. The one thing that I love to do though is laundry.  I can take my time and sort colors, put pre-wash stain stuff on places where above-mentioned pizza may have dribbled down onto my white sweater, and just slow down a bit on Sunday am.  (This is one area where Heather and I are exactly the same - we both love doing laundry.) I then set aside some time to call friends while I fold.

Well, it took some convincing for me to use the cold cycle. I just love clean clothing, and I get dirty quite often (think: riding clothes!). 

But I did a test with two slightly smelly turtlenecks that I Read the full post... 

The birds are chirping, I had my old garage guttted (kind of similar to spring cleaning which I am too busy/lazy to do) and I am in an all-around better mood.  So the thought of patio furniture and such is fantastic... it means we have arrived at the time where you WANT to be outside.

YAY! I made it through a tough MT-winter. 

To celebrate my new edition to the lawn was not furniture but instead (drum roll please) - a CHICKEN COOP!  It was built green because I used scraps of siding that I found in my garage when above-mentioned-gutting.  And I will put a small solar panel to power the heat lamp that will be on inside at night and next winter. 

Pics of the chicks: http://www.idealbite.com/photogallery/photo_category/C10/

I am sure you will be hearing Read the full post... 

If you live in the Southeastern US, you probably know all about kudzu.  It's probably taking over your garden, your yard, your porches and powerpoles.  You probably think it's the worst species of plant on the planet.

But kudzu is lovely in Japan and in other parts of Asia - where it's from.  It grows normally, with little attention, thriving without overtaking, in the climate where it's a native, instead of here in the US, where it should never have been introduced.

Xeriscaping encompases a lot of different elements - you want to plan a garden according to its aspect.  You want to ensure that you have lowered water usage through innovative irrigation methods...

But the best thing you can do is to plant true natives - those plants that WANT to thrive in your local climate.

Here at Ideal Bite, we can tell you a lot of things about how to be more Read the full post... 

I was a vegetarian for six years, and like most former omnivores, I had moments when I felt like breaking my diet. Like all the time.

My biggest temptations were fast food burgers (TV commercials make them out to be way more appealing than they actually are) and exotic foods I just wanted to be able to say I'd tried. You know, to impress future employers, dates, etc.

One day while on vacation in Quebec, I went into a restaurant and in broken French ordered escargot. The restaurant wasn't great and neither were the snails - though I've since had some really great escargot, in Paris - but it made me realize there are certain things I don't have a problem with killing (which was surprising to me, since just a few years before I would've reached for a picket sign if someone so much as complained about having an snails in their garden).

At the same time, I do Read the full post... 

There were many reasons for my move from NYC to San Francisco.  My family is in the West.  Good friends.  A great green scene.  An easier outdoor lifestyle. 

All in all, it was the perfect move in nearly every way.

But while I came here for the proximity to things I love, I think I am staying for the composting.

See, SF has citywide composting - we all get to save all food scraps and give them over in green recycling bins to be composted and used in city gardens and projects.

For whatever reason, this simple fact makes garbage day so much easier...

-Heather... off to compost some celery tops... Read the full post... 

For the past few months, I've been looking to buy a house.  Since I've never owned a home before, I find this whole thing terribly educational.

One of the things I learned is that apparently, here in the US if you CAN pave it in, you do.  Nearly every place I have seen has lovely, small, backyard city yard... paved within an inch of it's sad, little backyard life.

Years ago, I volunteered at Earth Pledge - a nonprofit organization devoted to sustainability in New York City.  One of their main initiatives focuses on green roofs (my personal obsession and the reason I got into sustainability in the first place) - the building of rooftop gardens directly on the rooftops of buildings in the city.  Me?  I loved the idea because greenroofs can lower the overall heat index of a city, reduce the need for air conditioning in the top floors of the buildings that have them, Read the full post...