ice

Entertaining in hot weather can sometimes be tricky. Case in point: you're serving a punch or pitcher drink like sangria and it will be sitting outside for a couple of hours. How do you keep it cold without diluting the drink?

If you use regular ice cubes, the beverage will definitely be watered down. That's why it's important to take the time to make special ice cubes! Instead of filling ice cube trays with water, fill with one (or more) of the ingredients that are in your libation.

Fruit juice, fresh-squeezed citrus juice, fruit purees, soda, and sparkling juices all work wonderfully. For a pretty flair, add a slice of fruit, berries, or an herb sprig or leaf to each ice cube. When the cubes melt, the berries or lemon slices or herb sprigs will float in the punch. Have you ever made special ice cubes?

If you happen to be house-ridden by a blizzard this Winter, you'll probably pounce at the first chance you get to drive into town. While you may have rock salt at the ready, you should pause before scattering those granules: rock salt can actually be quite harmful to the environment. Excess salt can make the soil more acidic, disrupting the growth of your plants. Traditional rock salt is Sodium Chloride (NaCl), which contains cyanide and chloride that can endanger your water supply. Plus, rock salt residue coats the soil, preventing plants from absorbing nutrients and water.

Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives to rock salt that will help keep your shoes and your car's wheels from slipping and sliding all over the place.

• This one may seem like a big, fat "duh," but shovel! Shovel as soon as possible during a snow storm, and if it's a long-lasting storm, brave the weather and shovel while it snows. This will give the snow less time to set, and you'll have it out of the way before it melts and freezes, becoming ice!
• If you suspect the ice and snow will melt soon anyways, you can improve your traction and make your sidewalks and driveways less slippery by sprinkling them with sand, gravel, or birdseed. It won't melt the ice, but it'll prevent you from falling, and it'll keep the birds happy!

Continue reading for four more eco-friendly deicing tips!

After talking to other exercise fanatics, I have found that many of us keep our mobile phones with us during workouts. Why wouldn't you if your iPhone doubles as an iPod and has all those great fitness apps on it. And let's face it, a phone is great if something unexpected arises, as in "Honey. I just got a flat tire and learned that my spare tube is punctured too. Can you come pick me up?" In case of something more dire, emergency responders are trained to check people's phones for helpful contacts and they look under ICE, in case of emergency. Take precaution and program your phone with an ICE contact, or really cover your bases and put in two. I also wear my Road ID when out on the trail or biking far from home.

Have a great exercise safety tip? Share it in the comments below, cause we all should be playing it safe — literally.

I love the look of a newly rearranged room, but I hate the dents left behind in the carpeting from the previous configuration. The smashed down bits of carpet can take a few days (even weeks) to return to the original state, so luckily I've got a handy tip for making carpets and rugs stand up straight again. Simply take an ice cube or two, place them on the spot that needs a little help, and let it melt. As the ice melts, the water soaks into the piles and springs life back into them — they'll be standing back up in no time. I recently moved a table about two inches and was left with a few hideous dents (see above). To see what the eyesore looked like after treating it with a piece of ice and a few hours, just read more

The next time you need a bottle of bubbly to be cold quickly do what I do: add salt and water to the ice bucket. Simply layer ice with a couple tablespoons of salt and pour in water. The wine will chill in about 15 minutes — more rapidly than it would in the freezer. The addition of water creates a more chilly surface area and the salt speeds the drop in the water's temperature. The result? One cold bottle of wine. Have you ever chilled wine this way?

Source: Flickr User dionhinchcliffe

If you've ever suffered from pain in your arches, here's a little treat for your feet. It's simple to do, but feels so good, and is sure to bring some relief whether you're in high heels all day or just went on a long run.

Just fill a reusable water bottle halfway with ice cubes. Then fill the bottle with cold water. Place the bottle on a towel to collect condensation, and place the arch of your bare foot on the middle of the bottle. Rock your foot forward and back, rolling the bottle underneath. Apply as much pressure as you want, and continue this for a few minutes.

Another way to ease achy arches is to stretch your feet and calves every day, especially after a run. I like to do toe breaker and the wall calf stretch.

Before a party or a big feast like Thanksgiving, there are a couple of minor — yet impactful — things I always make sure to do. One is to empty the dishwasher; another is to refill my ice trays completely with fresh water. There's nothing more annoying than reaching for ice to go with water, punch, or cocktails, only to find that there's one cube left.

Add a note to your Thanksgiving planner: The morning of the big dinner, fill your trays with distilled water, which will prevent ice from appearing cloudy in the center. When guests arrive, you'll be able to serve them drinks with a just-made batch of ice. What little tasks help you stay on top of all the Thanksgiving mania?

When I pulled out the ice tray to make a whiskey lemonade over the weekend, I couldn't help but notice that the ice had a cloudy white spot in the middle of it. This prompted me to ask: why is it that some ice I buy at the store is crystal-clear, but the frozen cubes at home in my freezer appear murky and white in the center?

Ice cubes develop cloudiness when water is frozen quickly. As ice begins developing on the surface of water, certain gases can no longer remain dissolved and begin to surface as microscopic bubbles. An already-developed outer layer of ice traps all the bubbles inside the frozen cube. Another reason for the white color may be traces of calcium carbonate or impurities, which are small and flaky in appearance but are completely harmless.

Ice makers are able to achieve a clear, see-through effect by distilling water, then freezing it in stages, and by using a mechanism that allows bubbles to be washed away as ice cubes develop.

Got a burning question? Contact us.