Insomnia, You are a cruel mistress...

If you are the type to read titles/subject lines/the fine print on contracts, you may have gathered that I can't sleep. Not only can I not sleep, I am gripped with that insane, eyes-wide open horror of insomnia. I took a little nap today in which I felt that I didn't sleep at all, but ninety minutes passed so finally I gave up and went downstairs (the fact that Scout was napping on top of me most of the time and finally collapsed his legs underneath him and put his neck across mine to say, in no uncertain terms, "I'd like to merge my soul with yours... please..." may have contributed to my lack of sleep) where upon I called a friend who said, "Oh, you will never be able to sleep tonight now." Jinxed? Freudian? Anyway, it's three a.m. and I've:

#1. Eaten an obscene amount of cheese & crackers and Greek yogurt

#2. Watched three (3) episodes of "White Collar" and then saved them on the TiVo for the husband

#3. Followed Jeremy Davidson's (the actor not the footballer) career online and even watched a short independent film he starred in

#4. Had horrendous heartburn

#5. Culled all of the blogs I've missed for the past two weeks and sent the "best of" to my best friend who, even on Pacific time, is already asleep (P.S. You're welcome...)

#6. Saved the life of a (bridge &) tunnel spider who was streaking across my living room at the witching hour

#7. Woken up the spaniels (and vizsla) no less than ten times... without guilt, because they ruined my nap

#8. Ate four dark-chocolate organic peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's that I've been hoarding for my husband when he gets home

#9. Calculated how much wallpaper it will take to paper my closet, with the options of all paper, paper and paint, my own tears because I haven't slept in so long, etc.

#10. Prayed, begged, and cajoled for sleep. Twice. Then I read the first two parts of Gulliver's Travels.

I am about to try once more, but let me tell you... I feel about as happy as Atticus in the picture that opened this post. It's hard out here for a finch... Hasta la vista...

A "Whole" new magazine...

I may have a new favorite magazine! Whole Living, a Martha Stewart publication (I have always secretly, or not so secretly, loved Martha...) may be my new mecca!

Apparently Body+Soul magazine changed to Whole Living in June 2010 but the former publication has been in print since 1974. I think I picked up a copy of Body+Soul on a plane trip once or twice but was never convinced that its content was anything more than fluff until I saw its rebirth as Whole Living... and now I have a subscription! I just received September's issue today so I thought I would share a little about the last issue before I dive into a new one...

After perusing the Whole Living website, I found their ten tenets of Whole Living and you can see why I like the magazine's content (at least the content that adheres to these tenets!)

Ten Tenets of Whole Living

1. Happiness is a choice. Make that choice today and every day.
2. Good health isn't a gift; it's a habit you cultivate.
3. A healthy, fit body is not enough--true fitness engages the spirit.
4. Think more about what you should eat than what you shouldn't.
5. Laugh at yourself. You're funny.
6. Nurture your spirit. It's your source of strength.
7. Stay connected to the natural world. It will feed your soul.
8. Believe in yourself. Your intuition is rarely wrong.
9. It's never too late to take the first step toward your aspirations.
10. What you pay attention to will thrive.

Here's a quick rundown of what I loved and disliked from the August 2010 issue of Whole Living:

LOVED: Cute little blurbs on low-VOC paint, gardening, healthy snack foods, etc.; barefoot running; article on cutting out sugar (though, the author eats packets of raw sugar... that's a little more excessive than most); blueberry recipes; summer canning article; healthy sustainable eating tips and recipes (even if some of the tips were a little obvious...)

NOT SO MUCH: Ads (not more than usual in a women's magazine, but still... ads...); first person editorials posing as articles (not terrible, but not amazing...); working out outdoors article (it was just your average Cosmo workout article... we know how to work out triceps on a bench/chair/couch/curb now... thanks... they look awesome...); several articles/blurbs on lack of self-esteem (maybe we could focus on self-actualization instead of hating ourselves? Or skip it all together?); a financial horoscope (Ugh...) and again... ADS! For things that have nothing to do with health or whole living! Annoying...

Overall, 3 stars out of 5 thus far... I will post an update after I read September's issue. Happy Reading!