A little while back, Earth Fare asked if I wanted to give a $50 Earth Fare gift card to one lucky (Green)Grounded reader.  With a landslide of holidays coming, a $50 gift card is exactly the stimulus package we each could use!

A happy Earth Fare gift card, valued at $50, is waiting for your happy, warm wallet.  I would love for each of us (myself included) to receive one, but only one winner for this giveaway.

So how do you win?

1.)  Leave a comment with your favorite tip for living green in a grounded way.  You know… how do you live a little greener without feeling a tremendous pinch?  A tip that perhaps someone else could use as they and their families are heading into this holiday season.

Me?  I started buying hand soap in the refill pouches and bottles instead of always getting the pretty little container to go by the sink.  Now I just refill the cute soap bottle and keep the giant refill stash under the sink.  Less packaging is a great thing, plus it saves me money!

2.)  Want a second way to enter?  Twitter fans have the advantage here.  All you have to do is tweet this (or something similar):

Living greener & tastier is easy with a $50 @EarthFare gift card giveaway via @AshleySue at http://idek.net/eQa!

Then, come back and leave a second comment with your Twitter @ handle.

One comment on being green = one chance.

One comment on being green + one separate comment about your tweet (with @yourname) = two chances.

I cannot wait to hear all the different ways you live greener and more grounded!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

(Contest runs Tuesday, 10th November 2009 at 930 A.M. EST until Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST. Winner will be selected on Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST.  Winner will be contacted via email.  Once winner acknowledges winning and replies with physical address, gift card will be sent via USPS.  Winning comment number will be selected via Random.org.

Also, many of your comments may be held for moderation.  Do not worry, I will daily approve comments, so they will appear within 24 hours, and in the order received.  Thank you for your patience as I fight spammers.)

After a week hiatus, I will have some major major major posts coming about hunting, weddings, BPA, CREE and LED technology jobs, and more!

I do apologize that I took a little break.  Marc and I are engaged.  He proposed while we vacationed at North Carolina’s Outer Banks (Buxton), and all last week was time with our families telling them.

I did squeeze in an amazing press conference with CREE and NC Governor Bev Perdue regarding green technology jobs coming to NC, however, and I can’t wait to share some awesome video with you.

Plus, I have at least one BIG giveaway coming up from Earth Fare… and maybe some from other companies too.

Hugs and sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Steve Wasik, CEO of Swiss-made SIGG water bottles, finally offers his full apology for not disclosing to the public that the resin epoxy liner of their reusable water bottles contains trace levels of BPA in products manufactured before August 2008 ~ an admission that made many of their best and biggest advocates outraged and heartbroken.

Unfortunately, I am still learning to be a green CEO. When I took this position, I naively assumed that “green” meant being a steward of the environment…  However, being a green company also means being held to the highest degree of corporate transparency.

I appreciate Steve Wasik’s apology.  A sincere apology is always better late than never.

Regardless, as a CEO, Wasik has failed.  (more…)

Funny to think that a few years ago, Marc and I regularly gorged ourselves on spray-cheese-in-a-can and prepackaged dinner packs, but the more we learned about how food effects us and our environments, our food philosophy changed dramatically.  Now grocers such as Earth Fare and Whole Foods are in on their own food philosophies.

Marc and I spend seemingly exorbitant amounts of money on our food in comparison to our days eating dry, crumbly, cheap ingredient foods out of boxes, but now we eat not only for today but for a long, healthy life.  I knew with the weight-gaining of the last decade – and by looking at my family – the health problems I have lurking ahead if I do not eat better now.  Further, I really hope to have a child one day.  I have to consider more than what I food habits I want to share with that child, but I also have to consider what I consume today that affects my health and fertility and can affect my (albeit hypothetical) fetus.

I happily began supporting (more…)

Allergies affect me during both Spring and Autumn, so this year, as my sinus headaches began back in February, I knew I had to take action.  After a couple years of hearing about this neti pot fad, I finally met a friend who uses one!

After watching Christina use her neti pot one night, I felt empowered enough to purchase one and give it a whirl myself.  I went to Earth Fare and decided I would only buy one if I could find one that was American made and not plastic, figuring I had given myself an easy out from getting one.  Instead, I found the Baraka brand, made of clay, adorable, lead-free, and made here in the States.

I gave my new neti pot a try and thought I was about to drown myself.  The feeling was very unnatural as I shoved the spout into a nostril and let water gush into my sinus cavity.  I kept with it though.

I could feel a difference within a few days, and within a week of using my new neti pot, I was elated with the lack of headaches, the easy breathing, the sneeze-free days…  Ahhhh….  I was hooked!

So I began using it every day, deciding that the shower was a great location… until it slipped from my hands and shattered.  I stood there, water flowing over me, in shock and unable to move, frowning, for a number of minutes before I realized I had to move on.  I felt devastated.

Like any good junkie, I ran out and got a new one… bought this one in a lovely cream color.  I will use the sweet blue pottery chunks for some sort of art project.

My sinuses and better, my earaches are rare, I can breathe, and I learned not to neti in the shower.  Over the bathroom sink gives far less room for a fall, plus, how environmentally friendly am I to take such a Hollywood shower anyhow, wasting water while clean out my head?

If you are interested in a neti pot, or have allergies, I highly recommend you make the dive.  Neti pots are fantastic.  As I say, “Neti pots:  It’s like a shower, inside your head.”  A few tips:

• When picking a neti pot, like with all purchases, think about what you want for your money.  USA-made was important to me, but the majority I have seen are not made domestically.  I wanted ceramic to avoid purchasing a non-recyclable plastic, but plastic is more durable in case you drop it or if you are traveling.  Plastic also weighs less for travels.  Lastly, you may want one with a handle for easy use.  Mine does not have one, which may be part of why I dropped it.
• Prices range from $10 on sale to $25 at Earth Fare and Whole Foods.  The $10 sale model was the right price point, and ceramic, but far less pretty and not American-made.  I decided to spend $19 for mine since I keep it on my counter (hence wanted something I found happy-looking) and it was made American.  Again, refer to the first bullet:  what do you want for your money.
• You have to add sea salt… I keep mine in a cute little jar by the sink.  Instructions say to use a heaping teaspoon.  Frankly, I realized I use closer to a tablespoon (not at all heaping)…  If you have too little salt, it really stings your sinuses.
• You want the water right at room temperature.  I thought really warm would be nice and dissolve the salt… actually water that warm was very uncomfortable… tepid water is perfect and flows with ease through my sinuses.
• After you use your neti pot, blow your nose really good.  All of the snot is gone, but if you forget to blow your nose to empty any water hiding in your head, the next time you bend over to pick something up, a river will fly right out of one of your nostrils without warning.  Trust me.
• Finally, I challenge you to a One-Week-Daily-Neti-Pot-Challenge!  When you buy one and try it, believe me, you will be annoyed and think “Why on Earth am I trying this?!”.  By day three, you feel like a pro at it though, and you start reaping the benefits of better breathing, clearer eyes, happy skin, and headaches and earaches be gone!

Now get out there and get neti-ing!

Sustainably yours,

Ashley Sue

Quick updates:

At the beginning of next week, I should be posting a contest to win a $50 Earth Fare gift card! Yay! Who doesn’t adore Earth Fare’s delectable, healthy, conscientious grocer selection and body care?! I know I have been thrilled to familiarize myself with Earth Fare! So keep an eye out for that NEXT WEEK!

Until then, for today (Friday, 26 June 2009), you can print out this coupon to visit your local Earth Fare and receive a FREE PRE-MADE DELI SANDWICH! I personally am excited for the coupon, so feel free to bump into me at Earth Fare!

Also, I attended the third annual Mountain Green Conference at Warren Wilson College ~ and I have a true plethora of information to share. From sealing your thermal envelope of your house, reducing air leaks and drafts, greener automechanics, building science, owls, local foods, beekeeping, the groundbreaking historic measures of WWC, NASCAR, and some generally nifty (albeit common sense) knowledge, posts are coming!

Bonus: posts of my Pisgah National Forest retreat will be coming too!

Lastly, HUGELY, I will spend part of this weekend and next week doing a MASSIVE overhaul of this website layout.  I have a lot of issues with the functionality and aesthetics of this theme, so I will be designing a CSS to make it better suited for (g)g and my purposes.  So get excited about that ~ I am!  This is LONG overdue change!

Hoorah!

Cheers to you all ~
See you at Earth Fare today!

Sustainably yours,
Ashley Sue