Every Day Can be Earth Day!

Creative DIY Tips for Earth Day Every Day April 2012 With the discernment and panache of the art curator she once was, Billee Sharp has assembled an inspiring and instructive guide to living the handmade life by consuming less and creating more. In Lemons and Lavender, this unconventional and endlessly practical disciple of Stewart Brand and Rachel Carson applies inimitable moxie and refreshing new ideas to familiar DIY territory.  You can see Billee demonstrate her innovative techniques in Northern California in the coming weeks: Thursday, May 3 at 5:00 p.m PERCH, 654 Chenery Street, San Francisco Saturday, May 5 at 3:00 p.m. UNDER ONE ROOF, 518A Castro Street, San Francisco Tuesday, May 8 at 11:00 a.m. TOWNE CENTER BOOKS, 555 Main Street, Pleasanton Thursday, May 17 at 7:00 p.m., CAPITOLA BOOK CAFE, 1475 41st Avenue, Capitola Tuesday, June 12 at 7:00 p.m., BOOKS, INC., 1760 Fourth Street, Berkeley If you're not in California, you can hear Billee share her innovative wisdom and creative, ecological tips on the radio and podcasts: Wednesday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m. PT, on "The Raw Feed" Saturday, May 12 at 5:30 a.m. PT, on "The Home Tool Box" on WELW Radio in Cleveland Click the links above after the interviews run and you'll be able to listen any old time.  "This book is really about reframing the way you think about what is considered 'quality' in life…I have decided to take one suggestion a month and fully implement it to see how much money I can save."—Cake Mom More · Buy Lemons and Lavender  The Eco Guide to Better Homekeeping by Billee Sharp Hundreds of Ideas for Healthy, Happy and Fabulously Frugal Homekeeping Bursting with ways to downshift, simplify, preserve resources, and honor the planet, Lemons and Lavender will give you tools to reclaim a purer, tastier, healthier and less expensive way of life. Sharp shares her radical common sense and revolutionary "freeconomics" approach to budgeting in this step-by-step guide to the good life. Dip in anywhere and learn:     • Garden-to-table recipes for every meal     • Eco-deco ideas for furnishing your home     • Recipes for nontoxic cleaners, house paint and more     • How to start a seed sharing garden with your neighbors     • Easy-to-make gift ideas with handcrafted gift wrap     • To grow your own cup of delicious herbal tea

The Power of Nice:

No One Shares Joy Like This Guy! March 2012 San Francisco is lucky enough to have its own resident Jollytologist. In fact, as far as we at Viva Editions know, Allen Klein is the only Jollytologist in the world. In San Francisco this weekend, you can see Allen spread joy on Sunday, April 1 at 10:30 a.m. the Unity Spiritual Center, 2690 Ocean Avenue. Even if you're not in SF, the Jollytologist is now sharing his positivity in a regular column for Examiner.com. You can share Allen's favorite things about the city that's been his home for many years in this delightful article from The San Francisco Examiner called "Live Laughs, Cheap Wraps and a Major Spiritual High." Enjoy Allen Klein's jolly genius in these books: Change Your Life! A Little Book of Big Ideas by Allen Klein Master of the right quote at the right moment, Allen Klein has gathered here his favorite, most inspiring words of wisdom. Change Your Life! presents moving and meaningful sayings from sages all around the world that will rouse you to live life to its fullest potential. Organized into chapters that take you through all stages of life, these words will help you feel good about yourself. However you choose to use these uplifting and inspiring quotes, they will change your life if you take them to heart. May the words in this book be the prescription you have been looking for to revise your life. More · Buy Inspiration for a Lifetime Words of Wisdom, Delight, and Possibility by Allen Klein Allen Klein always presents the right words at the right time—even if he borrows them from a vast range of luminaries, spanning Oscar Wilde to Dolly Parton, George Bernard Shaw to Jerry Seinfeld, and Edith Wharton to Oprah Winfrey. Inspiration for a Lifetime is a little book brimming with wise words and affirmative sayings that touch our hearts, make us laugh, and alleviate our stress. These quips, quotes and "power thoughts" will inspire you to realize life's full potential. Instead of sweating the small stuff, you'll be lifted up and spurred on to tackle life with renewed aplomb. More · Buy The Art of Living Joyfully How to be Happier Every Day of the Year by Allen Klein Allen Klein believes strongly in the way words can influence how we feel mentally, physically, and spiritually. In The Art of Living Joyfully, being published in October, Jollytologist Klein presents a compendium of advice and plain old common sense comprising a guide to good cheer. Divided thematically, covering such topics as friendship, laughter, beauty, nature, faith and many more, this is a book to cherish for oneself and to give as a heartfelt gift. More · Buy Coming in October We're thrilled to have a new compendium of delight coming from Allen next fall. As the inimitable SARK writes in her introduction to the book, "I highly recommend you read this book and embrace its wise, and sometimes witty, words. They will feed your soul, lift your spirits, and help you live a fuller, richer, and more joy-filled life." Click the Buy button to pre-order a copy from Amazon.

Juggling it all and staying centered. Here's how:

Forget about balance, find a way to center yourself Stop trying for balance. Life is more like a teeter-totter moving up and down rather than sitting placidly suspended in the middle. But, no matter your circumstance, no matter how intense life feels, you can center yourself and move through the challenge with grace and calm. Four ways to get centered: 1. Root yourself physically. Stand tall, align your feet with your shoulders and stand strong. As you do this, take a deep breath and imagine your energy emitting a beam of light into the core of the earth. This light empowers you, keeps you rooted in your space so that negative forces cannot bowl you over. Changing our physiology is one way to change our mood and by visualizing yourself aligned with the power of the Universe, you will literally feel more grounded. 2. Connect with nature. When we remind ourselves that we are a part of the natural environment, it’s easier to put things in perspective and center ourselves in our reality rather than the drama surrounding our lives. Go outside, and give attention to a tree in the yard, or the bee on the flower petal. Notice that nature, is perfect, in all of its complexity and know that you are a part of that perfection too. There is nothing to be fixed; it is all perfect as is. Even the trouble spots hold meaning. 3. Work from the heart. Get quiet. Take a deep breath and imagine everything emanating from the heart. In reality, most everything does, but we often lead with our heads rather than the pulsing source of energy in our chest. When you’re feeling out of whack, slow down and imagine filtering everything through your heart center. Do only the things that make it beat fast and strong in a rhythmic cadence. Eliminate all else. A sure way to find your center is to remember where it is and work from there. 4. Change the story. It’s easy to become disconnected and stressed when we focus on the difficulties in life. So, stop doing that. It’s so not helpful and most of the time, it isn’t even accurate. Often we create a story around our circumstance, embellishing the truth, projecting into the future, playing the “what if” game of life — you know the one where we start thinking “what if, the electricity goes out and I lose all the data on my computer and can’t turn in the report and the boss sends me to an outpost in Siberia, where my husband can’t cable so he divorces me…” Embellishing the truth with usually implausible scenarios only contributes to our stress and stifles the productivity and creativity we need to deal with the duties at hand. You don’t have to create any story at all. Instead, take a clear-eyed look at the reality, without judgment or opinion. See the facts and consolidate it to a single sentence, then work with that. Take the drama out of your story and you diminish the drama in your life. Then you are grounded in the truth. When you are centered within you are strong and clear despite the external factors that come into play. This is a power position and one that allows you to remain calm and find peace despite the craziness of everyday life. And, if you’re interested in living your best life: Sign up now! For this e-class to help you discover your passion and purpose. Pick how much you want to pay, start whenever your ready, study when it’s convenient — can’t get any easier.