Elisa's Green Scene

With holidays approaching, natural stomach-ache remedies seem timely

From Treehugger.com: Five Natural Fixes for a Stomach-Ache

I think I've probably tried the peppermint or chamomile tea approach before without noticing tremendous results, but the use of cayenne, ginger and fennel is new on me, and may take a leap of faith to try, since I'm no ginger or fennel fan.

[Oh, spoiler alert: Those are the five natural fixes I listed right there. But please do still click through for more detail.]

Have you tried any of these natural remedies for intestinal issues? What works for you?

File this under: I had no idea, did you?

In my travels, often speaking to groups about blogging, I meet lots of fine folks...many of whom start blogs and send me the URLs. Inevitably I learn something new just by scanning the first page of their blog. All these different people. All their different inspirations.

This week was no different. After retuning from a very hectic trip to NYC, someone I met sent me her brand spanking new blog: NY Muse.

After perusing just the first page, I learned something entirely new: The Purpose of a Penny

I love tulips. I love that they're a flower that keeps growing after you cut them and put them in water. But they aren't particularly long-lived; they do start to droop.

Well, according to NY Muse, not if you throw a few pennies in the vase!

45 years old, and I am still learning something new every day!

Extending your car's life

My last few times around the auto-acquiring block I decided to go with a lease, including my Honda Civic Hybrid I drive now, but it's hard to argue with the contention of Mashable blogger Sean Aune that "...it’s very likely that people will be holding on to their cars far longer than they have in the past."

So to help us with that, he publishes this fine list of 18 Tools to Track Car and Fuel Maintenance.

Seriously, I'm glad there are bloggers who exist to dig this stuff up, because I would never be able to find the time for that kind of research, you know?

Looks like seven of them alone are iPhone apps!

There are apps for tracking gas mileage, tracking driven mileage (for tax deduction purposes I assume) tracking maintenance schedules and visits.

It is fairly indicative of my own laissez-faire attitude that I've had this link open in a browser tab for at least a week but haven't visited a single site or downloaded a single app. I'm fascinated by the research and by the concept, but uncompelled by the act of being anal about this particular thing in my life.

Is this because I have a short-timer's, leaser's mentality?

What about you? How long have you had your car, and which of the Mashable recommendations appeal to your anal retentive soul?

Simple green tips from Tea & Cookies

Found this post by Tea, a foodblogger from San Francisco, outlining the simple ways she tries to make her home and her life greener.

I like the post because it's not by a green blogger, so it's by someone who isn't, ostensibly, thinking about this all the time, and because these really are very simple ideas.

I'll confess it also caught my eye because she features the Pyrex bowls with lids picture here, and I registered for and received these same bowls for my wedding, and do indeed find them to be really useful and a pleasure to use. When I wash them I never feel, as I tend to do with more typical plastic Tupperware-style containers, that I haven't really gotten them quite clean enough.

Tea reminds me of something I've been meaning to do that I just need to do: Take my own insulated mug along when I treat myself to a soy latte at Starbucks. I only have about a million of them, since they are a very popular schwag item at conferences and such.

There are some things that Tea mentions that I've got going on: reusable shopping bags, reusable coffee filter and so on.

And one thing that I have trouble imagining myself ever doing: composting. I'm squeamish, I admit it. What about you? Any composters out there? Am I being a whiny baby?

Anyway: Nice, clear, simple tips. For regular people who care abut the environment. And unless I'm mistaken, shouldn't that be everyone?

Green Your [fill in the blank]

Hat tip to ecofabulous for pointing me to a new , faithful green resource, Green Your.

Its goal is to be a guide to greening practically anything in your life. I like that their About page is quite clear and states their business model and standards up front.

The site organization is exceedingly clear: The break things into three categories Facts, Tips and Products.

You can also search by category.

Finally, you can simply fill in the blank of the search box at the top of the page: Green Your __________.

I've been thinking lately about the fact that the S.O. and I never took a honeymoon, and I've been thinking cruise to Alaska.

So I entered Green Your Cruise and got a list of facts, tips and products, including the tips on how to plan an eco-friendly honeymoon.

I envision myself playing with this site for hours.

What did you find?

Ooh, a glossary of modern, green terms

Thanks to designTURF for pointing me to this glossary of green modern terms over at re:modern. This is perfect for understanding what a company's actually telling you about their products.

And it's even better for telling the difference between what they're telling you and what they want you to think they're telling you!

Given how it's so hip to be green now, any little thing that can help me tell what Siel over at BlogHer calls the Green Wheat From the Greenish Chaff is a very good thing.

So if you don't know your pre- from your post-consumer recycled goods, the re:modern list should come in handy. I feel very educated!

Long time no see...how about a lifehack?

Yes, I've been rarely heard from the last couple of weeks. Work is hopping! As you might know, I'm one of the co-founders of BlogHer, and we've got our big annual conference coming up, this year in Chicago, in a few short weeks.

Plus we announced that big activism initiative, BlogHers Act.

Plus we announced that we're going to launch BlogHer in Second Life.

So, I got some shizzle going down. You could not in any way, shape or form, call me "unfulfilled" in my job.

But if you are feeling that way, you might want to check out this list of 37 tips to enjoy work more, from HR Lowdown. The tips are divided into rough categories, Positive Thinking, Health, Focus, and finally, Exploring Other Options.

I personally always advised those unhappy in their work to look around, update their resume, go on an interview or two. Figure out if it's true that you're underpaid, or that your company is the stingiest one around.

What's the worst that can happen? You find a better job? You realize you have it pretty good?

Yeah, that would suck!

So, what keeps you going at work?

Word of the week: Freegan

So I've been hearing the word "freegan" lately without really understanding what it means. As a vegan I felt certain it would be something in which I was interested, after all.

Thanks to a post at HippyShopper I now know more about it.

HippyShopper tells us that the dictionary definition is "a person who consumes food that has been thrown away, especially someone who wants to protect the environment by reducing waste.", which, let's face it, does not sound appetizing at all.

But HippyShopper goes on to explain that there is way, way more to it than that!! First of all, the freegan ethos isn't just about food, but about consumption in general. Freeganism encourages treading lightly by opting out of the world of consumerism most of us are an inherent part of.

A quick look at Freegan.info reveals a lifestyle choice that most of us would not follow, but some of the elements of freeganism are certainly achievable and worthy ways to green your life. Some of the more palatable first freegan steps would include:

- Free Markets – where people bring all manner of items that they might otherwise throw away and give them away to others.

- Freecycle – an internet swapping community where you can exchange, get free items or announce unwanted items for free that others can utilise.

- Guerilla and Community Gardens – “growing community gardens in abandoned lots of land, turning them into food bases that help to renew communities.”

The least palatable:

-Urban Foraging / Dumpster Diving – Recovering useable discarded items from dumpsters whether food or otherwise.

I have known folks, particularly when I lived in NYC, who would troll the sidewalks early on weekend mornings for those pieces of furniture and other paraphernalia being discarded, usually by folks who were moving or taking delivery on new items that weekend. That I could handle.

But dumpster diving for food? Um, no.

Why not just go beg at the backdoor of your favorite restaurant near closing time? I'm totally serious. Wouldn't that be just as freegan but not nearly as disgusting as diving in their dumpster post-closing?

So, 'fess up...do you have any freegan habits you're willing to share?

Timing when you eat and exercise

So, do you? Think about when you eat vs. when you exercise and vice versa, I mean.

As usual the Simplehuman blog points us toward short, but sweet advice form a reputable source, in this case the Mayo Clinic.

One thing I know from personal experience is true? "Skipping meals entirely may cause low blood sugar, which can make you feel weak and lightheaded. "

Yup, happens to me fairly consistently because I am lame; I neglect to eat breakfast until I've already been up for hours. Or alternatively, I eat a little breakfast and then somehow never fit in lunch until I'm desperate to snack on something in the mid-afternoon.

And I certainly do know better.

How about you...what's your worst habit that you know is bad for you...and you do it anyway?

Random post: Elevator Etiquette

Yes, I completely agree: it's a little odd for me to come back from a week of radio silence with a post about elevator etiquette. But a couple of posts caught my eye, and I just had to share.

I've always been somewhat intrigued by elevator etiquette ever since a conversation over a decade ago with a friend of my then-boyfriend. She was studying for her doctorate in some sort of anthropological studies, and she pointed out that humans have a very particular way of relating in elevators that lets us manage the discomfort of such small, tight quarters.

For example: she said that if you really want to freak out an elevator full of people, get on the elevator and stay facing the back, instead of spinning around. This completely goes against the unspoken, but agreed-upon behavior we all engage in.

Via the simplehuman blog I found a pointer to an entire blog about elevator etiquette, called Elevator Rules. Among their "rules" I did indeed find "always stand facing the door."

It's a pretty funny site in general, particularly when snarky people comment, and other people don't grasp the sarcasm and get seriously bent out of shape. But I'm kind of snarky like that, which is why I find it hilarious.