What is it about making New Year's resolutions? We decide to exercise more, eat better and weed the garden more often--knowing full well that these decisions will come and go like the weather.

So why do so many New Year's resolutions fizzle? Experts say change is possible, but to succeed, our desire for change must come from within, not from peer pressure. I'm sharing four simple steps to help you make--and keep--your New Year's resolutions. Even better, I've come up with a short list of 12 little resolutions that are not only do-able, they're lovely...   more »

Seattle's Pike Place Market is an open-air, farmers market buzzing with activity. You can find Alaska salmon and dried flowers; T-shirts and olive oil. Vendors do whatever it takes to get your attention. It worked for me. I spotted a sign that read, "Brussels Sprouts: Little Green Balls of Death."

I decided to ask the guy standing behind the vegetable display. Mike Osborn's his name...

"So Mike, what's with the sign next to your Brussels sprouts?"   more »

In January, a tattered paperback fell off the shelf in Powell’s bookstore. Since then, I’ve inhaled a genre of books with a zeal I can’t explain. Thus, while researching my presentation, Creative Value-Added Marketing for the Tilth Producers of Washington conference my heart kept saying, "Tell the truth."

What’s this? In my workshops I always encourage the audience to be caring and "mindful of each step," as Bob Griffiths puts it. But this was different. My heart was telling me I could no longer pass off what I was learning, as messages meant only for me.

On one hand, Gandhi, Dr. Wayne Dyer and others* were whispering, "Don't hold back, Marion." Yet their wisdom flies in the face of what we accept as moral business practices; tactics that cause dividedness, not unity; doubt, not fear; anger, not love. And we wonder why we still go to war.   more »

Every week in Kodiak, Alaska, a small group of dedicated people stand in a clump of birch trees near the post office. Rain or shine, they clutch handmade signs. Drivers acknowledge them with a thumbs up, a honk or cold silence…   more »

After 20 years of cheerleading and pleading with plants to grow in my tiny Kodiak Island plots of compost, seaweed and volcanic ash, I've come to accept that my garden is more than soil that yields food and beauty. It is my teacher, and its lessons universal. I've learned patience while waiting three weeks for carrot seeds to germinate, and the value of "slow gardening" by picking lettuce leaves unhurriedly so as not to harm innocent bystanders. As Ecknath Easwaran reminds us in his book, "Love Never Faileth," "Hurry makes for tension, insecurity, inefficiency, and superficial living."

But on that morning, my lesson was as subtle as a drop of water, yet as large as the ocean...   more »

The numbers are amazing...

According to Discovery Health's calculator, between today (August 23, 2006) and my birth date, my heart has beat 1,911,301,056 times. That's assuming that in a typical minute one's heart beats about 72 times. You can do the math to figure out when I was born, but I'll save you the trouble: March 4, 1956, (or as I like to tell the person behind the counter selling me wine: 3-4-56. Cool, eh?)

The number jives with what the sages of India have maintained for centuries: There is a fixed number of times the heart is meant to beat each year. The number is something like 40 million. While you can argue about the precise number (by all means, use the calculator), I think you'll agree that the heart, like any sturdy pump, has a limited working lifespan. So, what's the point?   more »

The use of toilet paper dates back to sixth century China, though in most parts of the world, paper was a rare commodity until the 17th or 18th centuries. Before this, people used a variety of devices for the purpose. In ancient Rome, public toilets were equipped with a sponge on a stick, which sat in a bucket of brine...

SPECIAL NOTE: You can listen to the 2-minute audio-article by subscribing to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or just  download/listen here to the mp3. Or, you can just keep on reading...   more »

My husband and I subscribe to Netflix for most of our movie-watching. (However, the luxury of sitting down to a movie comes to a grinding halt when our dinner cruise season starts in late spring.) Perhaps the afternoon was particularly dreary, but I let it get me down. This called for a radical, conscious effort. So I went online and ordered four upbeat flicks. Here's our list:
PSST! I feature all sorts of tips like this on my friendly, monthly newsletter, the UpBeet Gardener. To read the current issue (always posted online), click here.

Are you jazzed when you get a bouquet of flowers only to feel a little sad as they fade? While you can't bring cut flowers back to life, you can prolong their freshness...

This year, the average consumer will spend about $100 on Valentine’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation. Topping chocolate, more cut flowers are sold for Valentine’s Day than any other holiday.

Okay, let’s say you receive a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Now what? We all know those blossoms will eventually shrivel. So let’s try to s-l-o-w the clock down by learning how to keep flowers looking their best.

[PSST! You can listen to this article, which is only 2 minutes long, by subscribing to my podcast feed (so you can open the attachment below) or simply listen to the mp3 file now by clicking here]

Otherwise, keep reading...   more »

Would you like a little more cash in your pocket? Of course. But first, you might have to clean up the dog poop...

In the current see-saw real estate market, selling your house can be stressful. One way to reduce the stress and increase the odds of a sale is to make sure the landscape is in tip-top condition. Nice thought, but what if you're trying to sell your house during the middle of winter? These chilly months create unique challenges for yard presentation.

"You can transform a barren winter landscape into a lasting first impression," says Home and Garden Television’s master gardener Paul James. "You can punch things up a bit and enhance the appeal of your property. As a matter of fact, much of what you can do won't take more than a weekend and won't cost you a dime.   more »