Represented here by the Taoist yin-yang symbol, balance is of utmost importance in every aspect of life.

(One of the benefits of owning a company with a website is the privilege to “expound” somewhere on the site. So occasionally, you will find that I have taken the time to balance my need to speak through this venue... Bobbi)

July 2008

It seems like only yesterday that I wrote the paragraph below. And now the 08 GTH conference is history as well! This was the first one I didn't get to attend (family responsibilities come first) and I really felt home-sick! It is such a pleasure to immerse myself in the sustainable building industry and be surrounded by a sea of like-minded people with similar goals. I hope next year I'll be able to make to the Detroit GTH conference!

I had some disappointment in my own goal of sustainable building this past year. Just when we were all set to build the dream home... it all came to naught. But as they say: every cloud has a silver lining. Ours is that the neighbor to the east of our acreage retired and put their acreage and house et al up for sale.  SO, even though its not our dream house, we are moved to the country, have double the land we had previously and have an appended sustainable building goal. After all, taking an existing building and turning it into an energy efficient, sustainable building reduces the strain on and reuses resources already available.

So, visit www.playhavengreen.com to see what the goal WAS and what is NOW.

September 2007

Time flies when you're busy. Since I last wrote, both the 2006 and 2007 Greening the Heartland Conferences have come and gone. The growth of that conference is extremely heartening. And I am proud to be able to say that I've been able to contribute to the success of both of them, in addition to being able to participate. Now, we're working on the the 2008 edition by the St. Louis chapter of the USGBC, and the website will be available sometime in October.

My big news is that my dream of building a green home is finally coming true. I'm putting together a website so that anyone can track the progress of the project and also get information about the various sponsors of the project. There will be a link to the site from this site very soon.

June 2005

Wow, May has come and gone and Summer Solstice is soon upon us.

I had the good fortune to attend the Greening the Heartland Conference in Chicago: June 1-3 (www.greeningtheheartland.com). It is a regional conference from the Unites States Green Building Council (USGBC) that addresses sustainable design in construction. (Ever heard of LEED?) I had a fabulous time! It is so pleasant to be surrounded by like minded (or, at least, open minded) individuals. I continue to learn more and more about what I consider to be the industry that will have the biggest impact on our move away from exploiting this planet.

New to the conference this year was residential construction... both custom and neighborhoods. Imagine suburbs that are net zero energy consumers! Its not only possible, its more cost effective! With net metering in combination with smart design and materials, you can get a credit for reducing your draw of electricity from the grid and if you put electricity back into the grid you make a little money! Of course, its not quite that simple today, but its getting there.

My ultimate goal is the creation of a foundation that makes low or no interest loans and grants to the ordinary home owner so that they can incorporate energy saving design and materials into their construction and remodeling. Soon it won't cost extra to do this, right now you can expect to pay a premium for sustainable practices. Even still, the reduced energy costs pay for themselves in a few years time!

Also while at the conference, I had the opportunity to explain why a Graphic Designer was attending. It was amazing how many people didn't understand the environmental impact their marketing materials have. So, I sowed the seeds of tree-free paper, non-toxic inks and binders, recycling, avoiding chlorine bleached stock, etc.

I had one little mishap. As I arrived in Chicago (during stop & go, rush hour traffic) in the Honda Insight (9 hour drive... one 10-gallon tank of gas... 57 mpg average fuel consumption), a semi rig "bumped" me and damaged my rear bumper. So, there was the exchange of information to do, the police report to make, the insurance company to contact, the car to repair, the rental to get and return, and the massage to ease the tension in my neck and shoulders. Such a pain (pun intended)! Thankfully, everything is sorting itself out now and it shouldn't cost us anything more than inconvenience.

Here's to a safe and happy summer and good growing weather!

April 2005

The topic this month is expectations. I was reminded recently how having unrealistic expectations can be personally frustrating and puts undue stress on myself and those they are placed upon.

In my case (most recently), it revolved around getting our new home built. I had been focusing on the materials, details and design and had not done enough research into the process. So I thought we could get the construction loan in March, hire the workers, build the house and move in by Thanksgiving. You can probably tell that this is all new to me. So when we started having difficulty arranging meetings with the architect, I started to be very frustrated. I wasn't taking into account the time of year, the projects he already had going on, his schedule, etc. So I started badgering him with emails and phone calls... being the "squeaky wheel". Until I did some more research (figuring I would have to do things myself "at this rate"); and discovered how long it usually takes to simply find and hire a general contractor, architect, etc.

I felt stupid. And I started to take my feelings of inadequacy out on myself (and my poor husband). Thankfully, the very next day I got a call from the architect and had the opportunity to apologize for my unrealistic expectations. I also learned that I am not alone and he understood the problem... it seems to be quite common.

So, the question becomes: Is it ok to have expectations at all?

I have to say, yes, it is perfectly acceptable to have expectations. The problem arises when you include a judgment with it. I was judging myself as a really smart person who didn't need to learn anything more. I was judging the architect to be more concerned about his other projects than my project. I was judging myself to always be right. Then, when the truth presented itself, I judged myself the other way...I was stupid...I was always wrong. When, the reality all along is: I'm human and that means I make mistakes and learn from them.

It turns out that we should expect to be in our current home for another year. A friend suggested this reality check: "figure twice the cost and thrice the time." Ah well, at least I can put in my vegetable garden after all.

March 2005

There are many, many, many books, articles and speakers who tell us that in order to have a meaningful life, we need to maintain balance.

Externally, examples of this are not working too much at the expense of your home life... making time for yourself so that you can be of service to others... eating the appropriate foods in the appropriate amounts to maintain health... live financially within your means. No one is perfect. We all have areas that we focus on more than others. We are better at some parts of our lives than others. The beautiful thing is that we don't live in a vacuum. There are other people who come in and out of our lives who can help us and, in return, we can help them.

Another thing that comes to my mind is a reminder (mostly to myself) that not achieving balance in every area of life all at once is not failure. It's ok to set priorities and work on specific areas one at a time.

Most people have a philosophy or religion or belief system that helps them to achieve a spiritual balance. I feel in harmony with the Chinese Philosophy of Taoism. The teachings in the Tao te Ching resonate more for me than any other philosophy or religion. One of the symbols in Taoism is the Bagua. Each of the eight sides/sections represent aspects of ourselves on the microcosm, all the way up to universal truths at the macrocosm. It is a great tool that I use to help prioritize what I am working on at any given time (among other things).

My own spiritual journey is fascinating (to me). It never ceases to amaze me when the next lesson is thrust in front of my face, or the next teacher arrives.

Just recently I finished reading a great book: “A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science” by Michael Schneider. I remember saying to my husband... “I wish this book was available when I was starting math.” This is because it focuses on the numerals 1 through 10 and the associations they have in nature, different cultures, symbolism and science. I think that if I had read this book before taking Algebra - and definitely before Geometry - I would have had more interest in those classes and in mathematics in general. If it were up to me, this would be a required reading in school. Not only does it create an interest in math, it opens the mind to the diversity of the cultures in this world and how they are so much alike in so many ways.