Remember the Seven Dwarfs marching and whistling, "Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho--it's home from work we go"? If you cannot relate, let Feng Shui lend a hand to change your tune.

There are several different Feng Shui life areas to examine to empower employment. If you feel abandoned by your muse, look to the Children and Creativity area for inspiration. If a hefty client base is your goal, Helpful People and Travel may need a bit of spiffing up.

The Feng Shui Bagua Relationship life area represents one-on-one relationships. Here we intend and strengthen love and romance. While all me-and-you (not me-and-them) relationships are energized here, we’ll focus on the goose-bumpy, exciting kind. With Valentine’s Day so close we can taste the chocolate and smell the roses, let us draw our attention to amour.

We are in not only in a new year, but also a whole new decade! Did you know that getting more organized is one of the top ten new year’s resolutions made each year. So….just how are your resolutions coming along? Allow me to give you a little nudge toward your hopes and dreams at least in the arena of a more organized life.

As we welcome a new year and decade, we are perfectly positioned for a Feng Shui nudge. This new cycle begins ripe with opportunities for a greater balance of energy in our homes, workspaces, and lives. You will find these suggestions easy to apply and revitalizing.

To begin this auspicious time take an observant walk within your home. Start at the entry and meander down every hallway, into each room, up the stairs, around, and out to the backyard. What do you see? How do you feel? Are there certain areas you love to be in? Make a note of what you love and sprinkle some of that to the rest of the house.

Well, “Ho-ho-ho” is not the only holiday sound we hear at our home. From time to time the heavy sigh of exhaustion, and occasionally a “Grrrrr” of impatience. Sound familiar? Why is that? The answer is right under our little Rudy-red noses, regardless of which Feng Shui life area we are in.

The air was still, and fragrant with the scent of roses basking in the warmth of the late afternoon sunlight. I felt the familiar twinge of expectation for the delights I imagined would soon come, and then… I opened the front door!

Let’s pick up where we left off last month. We juggled a variety of nine different Feng Shui life areas and left all the balls in the air. Where then are these unique energies, the Chi, within our homes and work spaces? That’s what we will chat about now.

The tool used in intuitive Feng Shui to determine where the energy is most powerful for each identifiable life area is an octagonal map called a Bagua (Bah-gwah).

This has happened to you when walking into two different homes: one doesn’t feel comfortable and you cannot wait to leave, while the other has a flow you would like to live in. Both homes gave you the experience of Feng Shui, even if you don’t know a thing about it.

Generally speaking, donning someone else’s old clothes is not an idea supported by Feng Shui. Do we want to wear the energy of another person? How about the energy surrounding an experience while wearing a particular garment? Quite often: No!

Well, wait a minute. Let’s think about this.

Summertime is a wonderful time of the year…Think sandy beaches, seashells, blue skies and palm trees. Sure, we have beaches nearby, but while beautiful, they are cold, windy and overcast. I say bring the tropical life to your home, particularly now when we in California have so much smoke in our skies and environment.

If you are looking for The One, found The One, love The One or are recovering from The One and now want a different One – read on. Let’s ensure your Feng Shui supports relationship.

By age 85, nearly half of us will experience limitations in our mobility and ability to care for ourselves. Universal design enables us to "age in place" and stay in our homes in spite of future physical disabilities we may face.

A home staging service helps sellers make more money!

Yes, that's a bold statement, but true. In fast markets a staged home sells on average in seven days, versus four months, and often for well over the asking price. In our current market, staged homes are still selling faster than those homes not properly prepared for showing.

Because we celebrated Earth Day last week and are enjoying a consciousness-expanding, ever-growing emphasis on Green, this month we’re going to take a look at the Family area of the Feng Shui Bagua (where green is the empowering color). This is where we find the Chi supporting relations of blood and of choice; as part of our household and at the far reaches of the Earth. Home and Family are our base, and springboard to the outside world. This energy also represents foundation and, for this writing, we include our future.

High gas prices and a soft economy may be thwarting your travel plans this summer, but where better to visit than our own beautiful county? And spending more time at home can be wonderfully relaxing if you create beautiful living spaces outdoors. Underutilized square footage decorated beautifully can become a comfortable outdoor living room for summer entertainment and, later, another fabulous asset if you ever decide to sell your property. Think of your yard as an extension of your indoor living spaces—how can you create more room for your family and guests to enjoy?

Weeds and clutter are similar: they take up space, limiting new growth. One removes energy and nutrients from the soil, the other crowds energy and opportunity from our lives. Our work is in discerning what serves us and what does not. While it is necessary to check between plants for weed sprouts, it is somehow less inviting, even daunting, to open stored boxes looking for that which is no longer of value to who we have become.

Springtime. Time to start thinking about your flower beds and curb appeal. If you’re tired of the same old annuals, or too many choices leave you bewildered where to begin, this spring consider thinking outside the planting box. Plant wildflowers. Lots of them.  In a world dominated by red geraniums, pink begonias and yellow marigolds, wildflowers possess a simple grace and elegance that will enhance any garden or landscape.

Follow these tips to make your house feel brand new without spending any money

So you’d like a change of pace, maybe even a brand new house, but the economy is thwarting your plans.  Money’s tight these days and as a result many people are spending more time at home. If you’re getting a little bored with your surroundings, you can create new, positive energy by simply recycling your own home and it’s contents! Waking up tired rooms is easy. Using what you already have not only saves money, but it makes your cherished furnishings seem fresh again.

By following proven principles of outdoor lighting design, homeowners can pursue one of the fastest-growing trends in home decorating, resulting in beautiful neighborhoods and safer, more secure homes.

Knowledgeable homeowners select outdoor lighting systems that use a series of energy-efficient, low-voltage lights strategically placed around a home.

Positioning lights on the ground to shine up onto homes or landscaping is called "uplighting." Lights should be positioned no more than four feet away from the area they are lighting and positioned less than 30 degrees from vertical. This approach provides security because lights are placed in areas where an intruder might hide.

Many gardeners who love their ornamental landscape are not sure if they want to give up space for a vegetable garden that needs to be replanted every year. Fortunately, there are dozens of incredible edibles that add beauty and style to the garden -- and provide a bounty of fruits and herbs.

Monrovia, a leading plant grower, offers these suggestions for easy-to-grow edibles: Fruit trees make a beautiful addition to the garden or in a container on a patio. Citrus, with its glossy green foliage and fantastic fragrance, can provide an abundance of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, lemons and limes.  Nicholas Staddon, new plants director for Monrovia, suggests the Variegated Calamondin Orange, with stunning green and cream-colored foliage.