Let Them Scratch a Giant Tiger

Have a few couch tigers of your own?

Now they can scratch in style at the same time with this Imperial Cat Giant Tiger Scratch and Shape.

It’s certainly big and wild enough to entertain a couple of felines! Even if you only have one kitty, this giant tiger scratcher may be an object of love.

Made from 100 percent post consumer recycled material, Imperial Cat’s new tiger Scratch ‘n Shapes comes with a bag of certified organic catnip.

Does your cat like large, furniture-like cardboard scratchers?

Review: Burt’s Bees Aloe and Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer

Raise your sanitized hand if you can’t stand Purell. Ugh, the scent of it is enough to make this lady with hypochondriacal tendencies take her chances with germs when no water is available. Yeah, I’m talking about myself here.

For several years now I’ve been using CleanWell hand sanitizer. It became a bit more difficult to buy after Target stopped carrying it. I can still order it online though. I have no problems with CleanWell, but my husband complains rather theatrically about the scent, particularly if I spray it in the car. I should insert here that my husband is a super smeller. Well, not technically, but he might as well be.

So, I was up for trying a new natural hand sanitizer, and I received a bottle of Burt’s Bees Aloe and Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer as a gift.

Good stuff:

• The smell is mild and pleasant.
• Doesn’t sting the skin.
• Claims to be 100 percent natural.
• Claims to kill 99.99 percent of germs. (What’s that tricky 0.1 no sanitizer can kill?)

Things to Consider:

• The active ingredient is 62% ethyl alcohol. I suppose the witch hazel also helps with the product’s germ killing abilities, plus the aloe is nice, but I miss the more potent botanical blend that is CleanWell.

• No refills. The spray bottle works fine, but you have to buy another one when it’s empty. Burt’s Bees doesn’t offer larger bottles for refills. However, this is still more eco-friendly than buying wipes.

• No flip top. It’s rather difficult to keep up with the top of the sprayer. I know that sounds lazy, but just think about it: 300 sprays equals 300 chances to lose the top and have a really sanitized purse. CleanWell wins here for having a flip top.

• And there’s the whole thing about Clorox owning Burt’s Bees. What? You thought the bee man still owned it?

I don’t hate Burt’s Bees Aloe and Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer, but I’m not madly in love with it either. I haven’t seen it around much in stores, which means it would be another hand sanitizer I’d have to order online.

As for my husband, he’s yet to complain about the scent. I’m not sure whether he’s trying to be pleasant, or if it does smell better to him than CleanWell. I’m sure the answer will be revealed in due time.

Have you tried Burt’s Bees Aloe and Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer?

Proof Trees May Love You

When a tree falls and you’re not around to hear it, you may still feel it!

Researchers with the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station have found an association between tree health and human health.

Specifically, they found that in areas where more trees have died due to insect infestation, there were more deaths from cardiovascular disease and lower respiratory disease.

(image via flickr jojo-bean)

The researchers say there’s some mysterious thing at work here.

The additional deaths in the more treeless areas can’t be explained away by demographics. It’s something that affects the rich and poor alike. All races. All income levels.

Learn more about this research by reading the U.S. Forest Service press release: Tree and human health may be linked. Just so you know, the research is published in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Change “Our Plastics Nightmare”

This infographic is courtesy of Education Database Online, a website devoted to helping people the best online schools for their needs. Embed the plastics infographic on your own site to help others gain a fresh perspective on recycling for the new year.

Have a Very Cherry New Year

Please don’t scream at your screen (or me) for making you hungry, but I had to share an image of  my cheesecake with homemade cherry topping!

I’ve made a bunch of cheesecakes from scratch, but this year I decided to try a new recipe, and a new topping! I’ve never made a cherry topping before, but I’m amazed at how easy it was. I hated the idea of using canned cherries. Who thinks that tastes good?

I found a recipe for cherry cheesecake topping using fresh cherries at Smitten Kitchen. It was so easy, but I do have to warn you to be careful when taking the pits out of the cherries. I stained my counters with cherry juice. (Any ideas on how to remove this?)

So, if you’re out to make this topping, plan on about 7 minutes to wash, de-stem and de-pit your cherries, then about 5 fives to make the sauce on the stove. After that, you need only let it cool down before serving on top of your divine cheesecake.

I haven’t tried Smitten Kitchen’s cheesecake recipe. I had already baked my cheesecake using the Joy of Baking New York Style Cheesecake recipe. It was so creamy and wonderful!

Ok, now that I’ve got you hungry with all these photos and links, remember to have a wonderful New Year. And if you set goals for yourself (such as making a cherry topping!), remember to be kind to yourself. PsychCentral has some tips on Setting Nourishing New Year’s Resolutions!

A special thanks to my husband for taking the photo for me, though he’s “not really into cherry toppings.”

Give Litter this Christmas

World’s Best Cat Litter will donate one pound of cat litter for each vote you cast at the Give Litter page.

Start your free litter giving now by clicking the badge below!

You can vote each day.

Just chose which shelter you’d like to receive the litter.

If enough votes are counted, both shelters (SPCA of Wake County in North Carolina and Greater Birmingham Humane Society in Alabama) will receive 15,000 pounds of free cat litter!

In case you don’t know, my two cats, Oscar and Choco, both enjoy using World’s Best Cat Litter. They’ve been scratching around in it for years now.

Merry voting.

Full disclaimer: World’s Best Cat Litter is conducting a blogging contest. The blogger who draws the most traffic to the Give Litter page will receive six coupons for free litter.

Happy Autumn Feasting

Despite the wintry Christmas decor everywhere, it is still fall, after all. We kind of rush away autumn, don’t we? (Pumpkins still sit on my doorstep.)

Whether it feels like fall or winter to you, here’s hoping you have a lovely Thanksgiving feast, be if made of tofu or turkey!

Be Thankful. Be Happy. And if you shop, be careful!

And please don’t forget to make room on your Christmas list to give to your local food bank.

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year?

Perfect Trees for Small Spaces

If you live in an apartment or other smaller space, but still want your place to be festive, no worries.

There are plenty of merry options for Christmas trees for small spaces!

Storage.com published my post called Five Christmas Trees for Smaller Spaces.

In the post, I reveal the wonders of paper trees on walls, real Charlie Brown trees, wall trees made of eye candy, and more.

Please do check it out.

And please have a fun time decorating!

How do you decorate your space for the holidays?

Give a Plush that Helps

If your little ones (or perpetual little ones) want a stuffed animal under the Christmas tree this year, then you have some good choices.

CharlieDog & Friends have some very adorable stuffed dogs based on actual rescue dogs! Five bucks from each purchase goes to the specified local rescue group or shelter.

Take a look at Charlie, the mutt that inspired CharlieDog & Friends. He’s pictured with Clyde, the kitty!

Both of these plush animals are based on real pets that were lucky enough to be rescued.

If you give a plush toy from CharlieDog & Friends, you’ll help even more animals! There are several more dogs (but just the one cat) to choose from, so go shopping for the animal lovers on your list.

Are you too old for stuffed dogs? Then buy yourself a collar bracelet instead, and $3 will go to rescue groups.

Who Else is Sick of (or getting sick from) Caramel Color?

My husband likes to drink soda when he has a sore throat. He claims the carbonation helps. I say hot tea is the way to go, but we agree to disagree.

Anyhow, he’s on a Coke Zero kick, which wouldn’t bother me except for its nasty ingredient: caramel color. (Well, it also bothers me that it comes in plastic bottles. And has some hard to pronounce ingredients that can’t be natural.)

Soft drink companies have found ways to make products with zero calories that supposedly taste as good as the other stuff, but why are they still using caramel color? Furthermore, why did anyone start using caramel color in the first place?

If you’re like me, you’re tired of reading “caramel color” on the packages of so many foods that fill the aisles at grocery stores. (If you’re not reading ingredient lists, start now.)

I’m not against caramel color just because it’s artificial. I’m against it because it’s a likely culprit in up to 15,000 cancer cases in the U.S. each year. And carmel color is made by treating sugar with ammonia, a habit that produces 4-methylimidazole or 4-MI, which has been shown to cause cancer in lab animals. (Read more at Eight Ingredients You Never Want to See on Nutrition Labels at msnbc and Cancer in Colas’ Caramel Coloring? at WebMD.)

If you could do without all that caramel color in soft drinks, ice cream and many, many other products, speak out to the companies that use it.

Earlier this year, Coke decided to switch to a less evil form of caramel color to avoid having to include a cancer warning label on their products. (Read more at Coca-Cola Modifies Caramel Color To Avoid Cancer Warning Label at NPR.) Obviously, Coke is concerned about caramel color, so let them know you want an alternative, or hey, clear Coke!

Does the use of caramel color in food and drinks bother you?