Winding Down 2008, Ramping Up 2009

2008 has been an interesting year for me. My theme for the year was Intentional Harmony and Bountiful Abundance. I would say by the garden harvest, it was certainly bountifully abundant! I must have harvested six bushels of tomatoes, at least. Can you say lots of tomato sauce?

Intentions

For the year, I intended to indulge in hobbies/craft, enjoy my home and garden, move my body, think abundance and plentiful, honor my free time by staying present, acting with intention, and living consciously. For my family, I intended to cherish my parents, be open-hearted with Stephen, and spend time with my husband. For my career I set out to find-create additional sources of income for backup purposes and debt reduction, step into visionary and leading edge thinking, honor myself as a leader, and recognize my accomplishments. I would say I accomplished about 85% of that. Not too bad. I’m still working on being open-hearted with Stephen, and recognizing my accomplishments. I think it would be grand to create an “Accomplishments” page in a planner to make note of pinnacles and milestones throughout the year. If I had done that I could pull up that page and copy it down here.

Relief

In early 2008, I went from a worrying, struggling entrepreneur to being employed at my previous job as of April! I am so thankful to have the income which covers my living expenses on a regular basis. I'm also grateful for the fact that I know this job and am comfortable with the people and the activities. I am grateful that I no longer have to fret and worry over income. That was heavy and wore me down. That kind of stress crosses over into other areas of life, creating more stress and dis-ease. I now recall that I was sick for all of January last year.

The sacrifice of entrepreneurship and financial worries leaves me wanting to be home more and working out of my home office. I did it for eight years and am longing for that again, without the worries of money this time around.

New Horizons

I have been searching for a way to make extra income and do what I love. As a result, I’ve been developing a new business at the latter part of this year, with major launch pads during 2009. I have founded Conscious Living Circle and Green Queen Bee. Actually, Conscious Living Circle is the primary business, while Green Queen Bee is more of a playful alias. The focus is all about going green, organic, sustainable and being conscious of ourselves and how we “walk on this earth.” I’m here to model and help others make adjustments in their lives to live a life that will bring them more health, wealth, and abundance through living green and consciously. While the vision is big, it’s the little things that matter most, like daily practices of being mindful of recycling, turning off lights, using less energy, less resources, living simpler. Also, the practice stems inward as well: ensuring we give importance to the people and activities that mean the most to us, and that we pay attention to our own physical and mental health. Ultimately, it’s about living up to the best that we can be, tapping into all that is available to us, beyond just the daily grindstone of living.

What’s next? I’ll be starting the year by kicking off a very important workshop to set the tone for 2009, and to set intentions for your self, family, career, home, garden, and community. This will be a powerful workshop which will lift your success to the next level and bring a strong sense of balance in your life. I believe 2009 is going to be a big year of change for many on an individual basis and globally. Make sure you ground your intentions and keep your focus on your fortunes of the year to come.

In addition, beginning the first of the year, I’ll be starting a 6 week ezine course on Living a Greener Life. Each week will be a new topic that will move you forward on your path, helping you establish new habits which integrate nicely into your life. If you know of someone that would be interested in this, please forward this message to them so they may sign up. Or, they may simply sign up by emailing Greenbuzz at aweber dot com. Tell them to check their junk mail for a confirmation email so they can start receiving their goods.

See you in the exciting and fruitful new year of 2009!!!

Gratitudes~
Green Queen Bee

A Wonderful Thing

Shouting out to all my "followers" and subscribers a big Thank You and Happy Holidays! I finally put some decorations up and the living room looks beautiful. I skipped the outside lights this year, but saved a few bucks on electric bill. Presents are wrapped and under the tree. Fire in the woodstove. Groceries in the fridge. All is well. I'm looking forward to others opening the presents I picked out this year.

Here's wishing everyone a great holiday time and the best year yet: 2009! I feel big things are going to happen next year for many people on many levels. I'm looking forward to the adventure.

Lisa

Holiday Savings

I've figured out a way to save on electricity during the holidays: don't put up your lights until late! It's nearly Christmas and I just put my tree up yesterday: no outside lights and no decorations yet. I've just been too busy! I haven't made it a high priority. Although, my electric bill should be much lower than in years' past.

I was thinking of other ways to save on energy consumption this holiday season. Here are some ideas I thought of:

1) Get timers for all your holiday lights and set them for half the time you would usually have them lit! Please do not leave your holiday lights on until morning - such a waste!
2) Buy LED Christmas lights to replace strands as you need them. I think it would be just fine NOT to consume more if you don't need them. We just consume way too much in our society. So, unless you have someone who desperately needs lights, or you want to donate your lights to someone in need, please don't buy just for the sake of buying.
3) Burn environmentally friendly candles, but make sure they don't catch anything on fire. Candles make such a nice ambiance in the cold winter.
4) If you have a woodstove, try cooking your slow-cooking recipes on it, rather than using your stove-top.
5) Turn off other lights and appliances so you can counter-balance your holiday lights being on.

If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to write them in to me.

Be open, practice your awareness daily.

Let’s start with the basics. While some of the tips you may already know, there will be new ones to give you pause for thought: a deeper sense of realization. Stay open to the information and really examine how you can best integrate these practices into your life and influence others.

Being Green can mean so many different things for different people, and it can be taken to varying levels. If you’re operating on green principles already, ask yourself to what level have I lived this, and what level can I take it? Can I take it one step further? Be open; practice your awareness daily.

They say it takes 21 days to establish and integrate a new habit into your life. Let’s face it, though, one only keeps the habit for as long as they want to. Sometimes habits drop, and we need to become mindful of them again, reestablishing the 21 day implementation period.

Sign up for the Green Buzz ezine today and participate in the next 6-week program to establish new habits in your life. Together we will establish the foundation of our living green, organic, and sustainable. You will examine how you REALLY choose to live, and take it to the next level

As a result you will:

- Be living more consciously, feeling alive and vibrant.
- Be making a great contribution for the betterment of yourself, others, and the planet.
- Have valuable information to share with others that are like-minded.
- Save money and reduce costs by making economical, eco-friendly choices.
- Have an arsenal of tools and bright ideas for your launch pad toward future green and sustainable living.

First step is to sign up for Green Buzz ezine, confirm delivery in first email (check junk mail just in case), and begin buzzing your way toward conscious living.

Second step, write down everything you’ve accomplished thus far toward a green, organic, and sustainable journey. Then, write down what you’re grateful for. This step is very powerful in itself to create mindset shifts. Write down what you would like to gain over the next six weeks. Finally, send them to the Green Queen Bee to declare your intentions.

Gratitudes~
Lisa

[Green Buzz] Twitter and 6 weeks toward change

This is amazing! I hit over 100 followers today on Twitter. It's been less than a week, and I'm sharing and trading twits with others that enjoy the concept of going green, organic, and sustainable. It's like being surrounded by people that are all on the same wavelength. Very cool!

Also, exciting news. I'm ready for sign-ups for my ezine (see top right hand side of page). I have a six week program I'll be rolling out in my ezines which will help people focus on making new habits in their lives toward more green living. If you're interested in getting all six, be sure to sign up now and you won't miss them.

Gratitudes~
Lisa

gift of free music download

In the summer time, when my pool was set up, and it was very hot out, I was listening to reggae music, relaxing. One of the bands I recently was turned on to is Rootz Underground. Low and behold, I heard they were going to be in concert during July in Santa Cruz - on my son's 18th birthday! I had to take a road trip with my son to see the show. It was a lineup of about 4 or 5 bands, and Rootz Underground stole the show. They kicked ass! They had such high energy, and -- well, I have to admit, the singer is very attractive :)- I digress! Mostly, though, they captured my attention 100% mesmerizing. I was in the groove with them. I love their songs, rhythm, and ENERGY! This band is definitely worth while seeing if you ever have the opportunity. In the meantime, they are offering a FREE download of their entire LIVE album for a limited time. Go get yours here:

http://www.rootzunderground.com/store/shopexd.asp?id=203

GQBEE at it again

Demanding green at local stores and saving big $$$. How? I went to Kelly-Moore to get some samples for exterior paint, but I fretted about buying paint that was bad for the environment. They stopped carrying another brand that was enviro-friendly, saying it didn't sell. Well....did they advertise it well enough? They had it for six months: I never heard they had it. Anyways, I saw a poster about their environmental friendly paints that are mostly for interior. I then noticed e-coat for both interior and exterior. I asked about that. They don't carry it in the store, but can order it for me. GREAT! Order it up. It's recycled paint! Yay for Green Queen Bee.



Here's the best part: it's only $8.95 a gallon! I'm telling all my friends. Here you go: If you're planning on painting, go green, well recycled that is. Or, get the Enviro-friendly version.

All this because I chose to be a little pushy, or buzzy, and demanded green. The more we, as consumers, start asserting ourselves because we believe in it, the more suppliers will respond.

My next maneuver is to find organic chicken food that's not triple the cost. Or, start writing letters to the chicken feed company, demanding they be reasonable in their pricing.