I think I subscribed to Ranger Rick before National Geographic, but I loved both as a kid (still do.) Also, I have fond memories of the National Geographic nature specials on television--one of the few shows my parents would regularly allow us to watch. (At the neighbors since we didn't own a TV for years.) Here is a quick coupon to pass along: Get a FREE March of the Penguins DVD with any purchase at National Geographic Store! Valid through 11/30/08.

What kind of magazines do you remember from your childhood?

Found a blog called "Stuff I Do Not Hate" that opines on green household/family/kid stuff, which is the sort of site I like (...and honestly, want to become!)

Every morning I ask my two-year-old, "Did you have good sleeps?"  And now that she is learning to talk, sometimes she beats me to it and says, "Good sleeps!" before I can ask her.

Here are three key things that we have noticed make a difference in her sleeping:

1. activity during the day -- On days where she has been active, especially outdoors, she goes to sleep faster.  It makes sense that if you are tired you will sleep well.
2. sunshine -- There are two factors here:  The first is psychological (which is not to say unreal) in that our bodies seem to appreciate a contrast between day and night (rather than blending them together indistinguishably.)  The second factor is that sunlight on our skin releases melatonin into the bloodstream.  Melatonin is a natural relaxation and sleep agent.
3. a dark bedroom -- This one correlates with the sunshine as a psychological contrast.  But also, studies have shown that any light during the night can interrupt our sleep patterns, putting us into "awake mode" before it is time.  Since we installed better curtains and shades in our daughter's room, she has been sleeping better.

These tips and more from the Baby Sleep Solution program.

This afternoon we were out in the back yard because my daughter wanted to see the evening star. As we were looking up, my wife looked down at her garden. It has been dormant for a few months since we've been so busy with the new baby. But some of the chard is growing back on its own! This is a very rich "lasagna garden" which is a new fun technique that works well in a small city backyard like ours.

Here is a good source of some how to organic gardening guides from ClickBank.

I might join her in more gardening if my hands weren't so sensitive from the eczema.  But I'm making good progress in a program to heal them.  Click on one (or both) of these links to find out more about healing eczema and beating eczema. (They are both good, but each has a different emphasis. I am actually combining advice from both.)

Tech P.S. I finally got the Logitech Harmony remote software working on my Mac, and programmed in several devices, including my air-conditioner!

Nice day... I woke up about 5:55 when it was still dark. Part of me was tempted to sleep in, but Arun Deva's routine suggests waking before 6:00 AM. Claire was up a few minutes later anyway. I fiddled around uploading defs to my Logitech Harmony universal remote, then we are heading out to brunch at The Coffee Table in Silverlake, then the Farmers Market.

Notes along the journey to wellness and sustainability.  Those big words contain a lofty yet paradoxical goal: to simply thrive. (see also [about])

The ground has been fertile for years.  The seed was planted a few weeks ago.  Then the sun shown down.  Now a seedling starts to poke out and peek into a new world.

One of my goals is to provide [at least] one link per post.  Today's is greenoptions.com where the discussion is about printing emails or not.