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               LIVING MY WAY NEWSLETTER April, 2010

Welcome to the April issue of Living My Way - a monthly newsletter
for people at any stage of life that I hope will inspire you to
find the values that are important to you, and then to explore all
the ways you can express your true self in the world.
  
April is a glorious month!  - Mother Nature showers us with colors
and scents and sounds that bring new energy into our lives.  Be
sure to spend some quiet time outdoors soaking it all up.  (Take
your allergy meds if you have to!) 
  
April and May are going to be Teleclass Months and here's what's on
the schedule: 
  (Don't know what a teleclass is?  Go to 
http://www.lifeandworkbydesign.com/teleclassdef.html to learn how
they work
- Do Not Be Afraid!)
   
1.	What's Wrong?  Retirement Should be a Good Thing!    

2.	Clean out that Attic!  (What to do with Grandma's rolling pin) 

3.	There are No Stupid Questions!   (All things Internet)
  
See the Services Page on my website for details and to sign up now.
    http://www.lifeandworkbydesign.com/servces.html
 
Don't miss this opportunity to learn lots of great ideas and get
advice or answers to your questions. 
  
******************** Tending Your Life Garden *******************

I laughed when I saw a Facebook note from Barbara Winter at
Joyfully Jobless that her print newsletter this month is about
tending the garden of your small business.  I had already written
the following article about tending the garden of your life!  
Brilliant minds..... 
   
About 25 years ago, my husband decided to plant a vegetable garden
and proceeded to plow up about ½ acre of ground on our small farm. 
He studied up on organic gardening techniques, visited the local
co-op for seeds and advice and set to work. 

His enthusiasm was abundant as was the crop of beans, corn, peas,
and tomatoes that he kept piling on the kitchen counters for me to
"put up!"  Now I'm a city raised gal, but also a Home Ec major, so
I started learning from scratch how to preserve all this wonderful
fresh food.   We bought a chest freezer and I have to admit that
eating home-grown corn in the middle of the winter is a real treat.
 
Eventually we turned this endeavor into a small business of selling
specialty veggies to local caterers and restaurants.  I added fresh
herbs and fresh cut flowers to our offerings and we put up a 100'
greenhouse to keeps perennials going over the winter and to start
thousands of tiny seedlings in the spring.
  
I truly loved working in the gardens and the greenhouse but when I
looked at the income we derived from hours of toiling I was truly
discouraged.  Like many businesses, there is an optimal size of
production vs. sales that you have to reach and we were not going
to get there with just the two of us working.
   
We finally decided that this was not our heart's calling and we
moved on to more lucrative work in order to support our family
although we did continue to fill that freezer every year.
  
It was an experience I cherish because I learned so much!
 
What it's like to work at a physical, sweaty, dirty job from dawn
to dusk;

The patience of tending tiny little seeds into plants that can
provide food;
 
Accepting the risk that Mother Nature would do it all in with one
storm;

The constant responsibility to weed, water and support the gardens;
 
The joy of picking luscious fresh tomatoes, shucking juicy ears of
corn and tenderly handling fragrant handfuls of herbs;
 
Enjoying wonderful home-grown food year round.
  
As you approach this spring and perhaps plant a small garden or add
some bulbs and flowers to your patio or yard, give some thought to
tending your life as well.
  
What small seeds can you plant by taking a course, reading a book
on a subject that interests you, or traveling to a new place down
the road or across the country? 
 
Who in your life have you neglected? Tend to your relationships -
call your grandmother, write a letter to an old friend, gather a
group of new folks for a potluck meal one evening this month.
 
What desire has become covered over with weeds? Vacationing is the
one most often ignored.  Go ahead and pick a place and, most
importantly, set a date. 
 
What dream can you begin to water and prop up so it can start to
grow?  Whether it is to take piano lessons,  write poetry, buy a
motorcycle or move to France, you have to give it lots of TLC. 
  
Preparing a garden spot requires digging up the soil to loosen it
to let air and nutrients in. 

Re-inspiring your life requires opening up new ground, taking
chances and having faith in your ability to learn and grow.
     
What's going to be new in your garden this year?    
 
  

*********************E-Reader Reviews***************************** 

Instead of a book review this month I want to answer your questions
about the various new ways to read books. If you only read library
books in your favorite chair in the evenings, you can skip this
article. 

  
When my Dad complained that he could no longer read many books due
to small print, I got him the KindleDX that has the widest screen
where he could make the font large enough to read his Wall St.
Journal. He's getting a lot more reading done and
it doesn't tire his eyes.
  
So what's the difference between all these - Kindle, KindleDX,
Nook, IPad?   Here's my opinion.  

The Kindles and Nooks are priced
about the same and work the same way.   There are no monthly fees -
the 3G internet connection only goes to their book store sites and
they make their money by selling the books.

The IPad is a different animal that costs twice as much. It's not
only an e-reader, but a method to surf the web and send email. 
Plus all the famous IPhone Apps are available on it.  The first
version that just came out only works in WiFi Hot Spots. 
 
Kindles and Nooks have the E-Ink screen which means that you can
read out on the porch or even at the beach in the bright sunlight. 
The downside is that they don't have a backlight so you still need
a lamp when reading in bed in the middle of the night. 
 
The IPad screen is like a computer or IPod screen that's virtually
impossible to read outside in bright light.  It does have a
backlight for reading in the dark however. 
  
You can hold any of them upright like a book or sideways for a
wider screen view.  The Kindles offer Text-to-Speech that can read
many of their books aloud to you. 

Books are purchased for around $10 and are stored on your reader
until you decide to delete them.  The Nook allows you to "lend" a
book to someone else for 14 days to read on their Nook, PC or
IPhone.  Both systems let you sample a chapter of a book before you
buy and both will store around 1500 titles. (DX = 3500 titles)
 
Magazine and newspaper subscription prices are the same as the
print versions.
 
The Nook and the IPad have a Touch Screen that is easier for some
to use since they just touch the order icon, for example, instead
of having to toggle the switch on the Kindles.  But if my Dad at 94
can master the Kindle, anyone can! 
  
Why would you buy one of these?  The main advantage is the
portability.  I like to read while I'm eating meals out and toting
a book around and holding it open with one hand is awkward and
makes for lots of spilled soup.  These lie flat on the table.
 
You can also read the same books on your Blackberry, IPhone or IPod
Touch when you're stuck in the Dr. office waiting room, sitting on
the tarmac in a plane or just waiting for a friend to show up. 
There is a new bookmark trick that goes to the last page you read
in each book automatically. 

Another reason - Sandy at The Dreaming Café wrote a good piece this
week about the confidentiality of an e-reader.  You can read a book
on a sensitive topic or maybe a title that you don't want a parent
or spouse or child to see.  Read her post at 
http://thedreamingcafe.com
   
If you travel a lot, it's a must-have.  

I'm going to get one for the fiction and biographies that I enjoy
but
don't want to add to my already overloaded bookshelves saving both
space and money.  The price of it is equal to about 10 books and I
buy way more than that in a year! 

There are comparison charts on both the Barnes and Noble and Amazon
sites.  You can go to a Barnes & Noble to actually play with a
Nook.  The Kindles can only be ordered online so ask a friend to
see theirs.
    
Have more questions about techie things?   Send me an email.    

  

There is a Book tab on my web-site that will take you to my
bookstore on Amazon.com.   My store contains all the books I
recommend making it easy to choose good, useful titles.

You can purchase directly from that page for the same price and
no-shipping policy of the main Amazon site - but I get a small
commission -so you can help me while you help yourself.     I
appreciate the support! 

*******************Inspiration foe Spring ********************
 
  "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice
because thorn bushes have roses."-- Abraham Lincoln

"Friends are flowers in life's garden."

"I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I worked
in the garden." --John Erskine

"You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt."


   My e-mail box is always open if you just need to chat....
               lifeworkdesigner(at)me(dot)com