Remember the Waterpik? Does anyone use those anymore? As a child, I remember giggling when using the device but now I can only cringe at the idea of cold water being pulsed over my sensitive-to-the-cold molars… But forget that, I’m just reminiscing. Waterpik has now come out with a more “for our times” product: the Sinusense, a neti pot like device that fits right in to the 21st century. It won’t be released till July, but I thought I’d give you a head’s up as I’m pretty sure that this will change the standards for all nasal cleansing apparatus.

You may know about the benefits of cleansing the sinus passages: as a daily routine, sinus washing clears the passages of allergens, debris and thus reduces the risk of cold and allergy symptoms. In Ayurveda, nasal cleansing is an essential daily practice along with tongue scraping and eye rinsing.

Of the new SinuSense product line, the Water Pulsator is fancy enough to move me away from my “eco” Neti pot. I like that, because of the pulsating water stream, it can be used from a semi upright position (as opposed to being all twisted over the sink with the usual Neti pot). There is a control for the water flow as well, among other features. The saline packs seem lovely too, with aloe vera extracts and eucalyptus oil.

Here’s the SinuSense website where you can see the other products and sign up for updates on availability.

Quiz: Where can you get Chocolate Cream, Bubble Gum Glitter, Watermelon Hard Candy, Banana Spike Putty and Creamsicle Mist all in one store? Nope, not at the corner sweet shop. Unless they cut hair too.

These flavors – uh, fragrances are only part of the fun offered by the great Glop & Glam Hair Product collections. Just.For.Kids. Yes, this is the first collection of true styling hair products designed specifically for the kiddos.

Indeed, created by professional hair stylist and mom Andrea Ridgell, the Glop and Glam products not only smell delicious, they are, more importantly, safe and organic, free of all the nasty additives like paraben and formaldehyde. The products are formulated to work on young “innocent” hair the help improve manageability, tangles, frizz and pure styling fun.

You can buy them directly on Glop and Glam website (or ask your kids’ salon to start carrying the line).

Get stylin’ baby.

My bike (as in bicycle, sorry) got its spring tune up. The cold weather has eased up. I’m ready to run my local errands and go to my local appointments and rendez-vous by pedaling there. But NOT with an offensive backpack. That’s just not succulent.

Solution: Emily and Maria, native Chicago designers and local bicyclists took it upon themselves to make “active transportation” attractive. So one can move from the bike to the luncheon table while still looking really cute.

Their company is called Po Campo and offers two bike-friendly bag designs, each available in various fabric choices: the Handlebar Bag and the Rack Bag. Both clip safely with stow-away loops, use magnetic closures, fade and water resistant fabrics and have detachable should strap.

They are available online and in local Chicago shops. You can find the list of retailers here. Great gift idea for the lady cyclist that you may know. I’m thinking of my own sister here who cycles through Montreal all summer long.

Not much else one could want out of a bike bag. Thanks ladies.

WE HAVE OUR WINNER! CONGRATULATIONS Jessica!
You have won the Castaway Kit of your choice.

The winner was selected at random using the Random Integer Generator. This giveaway CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED but do subscribe via RSS or email to get updates on new giveaways as they get posted. Thank you all for playing!

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Remember the great Castaway Kits that we featured a few weeks ago? The superb company that makes them, Trash for Teaching, has offered us a giveaway prize to share with our readers. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to mention this great company again and even more thrilled that one of you will have a chance to win this for a lucky child.

All you need to do to enter is to let us know, by posting a comment here below, which of the Castaway Kits you would choose if you were the winner. Visit this page and let us know. This giveaway is open until April 23 @ 11:59am CST. Winner wins one kit of his/her choice, value up to $30. Usual giveaway rules are: One entry per person. The winner will be chosen at random using a random integer generator. Your information is confidential and used for this giveaway only. Multiple entries will be deleted. Valid in US & Canada only.

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor

Why do kids find big cardboard boxes so interesting? I remember loving to play with the large appliance boxes as a child. I made curtains for my cardboard home. These simple toys bring out the best in a child’s imagination.

Thankfully, no kids needs to wait for the refrigerator to break down anymore! CardboarDesign.com has brought box design to a whole new level of cools toys and furniture. They have something for every child’s imagination: from rocket ships to lemonade/advice stands to playhouses.  All are easy to assemble, use no glue or screws, and are sturdy enough for lots of fun play. They also are easy to pack away in a flat storage box when not in use.

For the big kids (and big kids at heart) check out their cardboard furniture line; from table and chairs to shelves and room dividers. Talk about conversation pieces. The furniture is made by using double and triple wall fluted recycled cardboard. This means that the cardboard can withstand immense force (strength, weight and durability).

How much fun would a play room be when you tell your children that they CAN write on the furniture!  Take a marker or a can of paint and have at it! And, how about the artistic teenager who wants to personalize his/her room with custom colored or collaged furniture. And, how easy would it be to pack up their room when they head for college?

Cardboarddesign is a company that is a friend to the earth.  They feel strongly about saving our forests and feel that everyone has the power to do this: every time we purchase something that has been recycled, we are making a difference.  In addition to saving precious raw resources, less goes into landfills.  For every 1 ton of scrap paper we recycle we save 17 trees, 4200 kilowatt hours of electricity, 7000 gallons of water and 3 cubic yards of landfill space. So, when the kids have out grown their “box” or the furniture has no further use, it’s all easily recyclable.  No more ripped, dirty and worn out couches on the side of the road with a “free” sign taped on it.

Check out their complete product lines at cardboardesign.com. At the moment, only a few items are available for sale on their site, so please check back for more product later. Other items, such as the playhouse, teepee and lemonade stand are available on Amazon.

“Warning: The raising of your food may cause the following: Swine flu, Mad Cow Disease, MRSA, Asthma, E-Coli, Pollution, Animal Cruelty…”

At last we are waking up to the facts. We have Fast Food Nation, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Meet Your Meat, Food, Inc., Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution and now Animal Factory among some of the great books, films and series to thank for enlightening us on the true provenance of our food.

The latest book, and the subject of this post, is Animal Factory by David Kirby,  author and investigative reporter. This book is an outstanding, voluminous piece of research into the inhumanity (in every sense of the word) of agribusiness. Its focus is not so much on the aberrant treatment of farm animals as much as a look into the actual cost of CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) on human health, air, water and ground pollution.

Here’s an excerpt of the book that peels the cover on the dirty “little” secret of the huge impact that animal factories and animal waste has on humans, wildlife and communities. Consider this:

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I used to be the girl that would walk out of the house without any makeup and still feel quite pleased with myself. As I age though, there are a few things that need a little extra patching and thus there are now  quite a few products in my vanity that I canNOT live without.

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