Baby O & his parents (Brad and Chandler)

I won’t wake up at 3am and drive 2 hours to the airport for just anyone. Luckily Brad, Chandler, and Baby Owen are a few I would.

Our last visitors have arrived and we’re thrilled to have them. After grabbing some breakfast we all headed back to the house to be greeted by the girls (who remembered them and gave Owen a few drive by kisses) and then crashed for a few hours.

After waking Jim and I found that Brad and Owen had already walked to the beach and back and had showered a few times already to stay cool. (It is hot as all get out here. I mean, seriously, HOT.) Jim and I headed into town to grab groceries for dinner. We either missed the farmer’s market or it didn’t happen today (as it is Good Friday) but we picked up some goods from the store and the fish guy.

Came back to Chandler and Baby O in the hammock and soon we headed to the beach were Jim surfed while the rest of us (including Sasha and Lita) walked and played in the waves.

After washing up, Baby O went to bed and the rest of us ate Corvina (Sea Bass), Broccoli, and Potatoes followed by some of Jim’s Birthday Passion Fruit Pie with Vegan, Refined Sugar Free Coconut Lime Ice Cream.

Brad joined Owen and after a game of rummikards Jim and Chandler headed to bed. Even though I was exhausted, I stayed up. Why do I do this? I don’t know, but I wanted to catch up on some of my favorite blogs.

I’m thoroughly impressed by how cheerful Baby O is. At 11 months this is not only his first trip to a different country, but his first where we took a plane. We adore him. (His folks are alright too.) It’s awesome to have them here and I’m excited that moving back to Boulder on the 22nd will allow us to have them be more a part of our life again.

Ecological Intelligence

“Ecological intelligence lets us apply what we learn about how human activity impinges on ecosystems so as to do less harm and once again to live sustainably in our niche — these days the entire planet.” – Daniel Goleman

The night we arrived in Nosara back in February we got to attend a free talk at The Yoga House featuring Daniel Goleman (author of the book Emotional Intelligence). He and his wife Tara (author of the book Emotional Alchemy) were in town leading a portion of a week long retreat at Blue Spirit Retreat Center. David Goleman is best known for coining the term “Emotional Intelligence” and bringing our attention to the importance of it. I’ve used much of what he covers in his book not only in my own life but also while working with children when I was teaching at Alaya Preschool. (I think I read it originally while attending Naropa.) The focus of his talk that evening was on his newest book Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything. I’ve got to get my hands on it, as the topic is not only groundbreaking, but also infinitely fascinating and crucial for us today.

Basically we’ve become unskilled. Do you grow all you consume? Do you have your own farm? Do you make your own beauty products from natural ingredients that you buy locally? And the shirt you’re wearing; what is it made of? What kind of dyes were used? What kind of waste was created to make your shirt? Where was your shirt made? Who made it? What is the D.A.L.Y. (disability-adjusted life year) of the people in the area where your shirt was created? How did it get to the store where you bought it? Do you know the effects your purchases have on the earth, your health, and society?

There are companies made up of scientists, mathematicians, and loads of other people who care about these questions and are finding the answers. Some of them are even making it easy for you to access the answers. Here are a few great resources:

• If you haven’t seen the film or read the book The Story of Stuff get on it. Annie Leonard is doing great things and continues to research the story behind other things, including water. Check out The Story of Stuff.
• If you want to find safe, healthy, and green products head over to Good Guide to browse product ratings on what you use on a daily basis. Ask your kids what their favorite things to eat are and look them up!
• Want to know how safe your cosmetics are? Visit Skin Deep.
• If you want to be able to check the effects of what you’re buying easily with an application for your mobile device check out 3rd Whale.

A few other interesting things: BMW in the UK recycles all their parts. Also, Walmart has committed to dropping products that don’t meet a certain requirements (with help from Good Guide) and will list their rating in their stores by the fall of 2014. (This one, I’ll believe it when I see it.)

3 Things We All Can Do

1. Know the impact of what you’re buying.
2. Choose better.
3. Tell all your friends.

Jellies

Last week, while taking my daily walk along the beach, I noticed an abundance of tiny jelly creatures on the shore. As you can see they are mostly clear with bright blue tentacles. They varied in size from about 1/3 of an inch to a full inch. I went back the next day with my camera hoping to capture these strange little guys, but most had been swept back out to sea. The photos show only two of the handful I found. Their shape and color is so intriguing to me. So different than the chubby, round, clear ones we had in Saudi growing up.

Costa Rican Sunsets and Evening Critters

Costa Rican Oil Palm Groves

Did you know that your dish washing soap (like PalmOlive) has palm oil in it?

And that the palm oil originally comes from trees like this?

They collect the “fruit” that grows in between the branches and then take them to be processed.

Doesn’t this “fruit” look strange?

The palm oil is transferred in large oil tanks, which someone from the US (like me) would assume is carrying gasoline, but more times than not it carrying palm oil!

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