Well, not exactly. We still have over a foot of snow. However, here in O-HI-O it's time to start thinking spring. For me this means garden. Today I checked out the winter farmer's market in Peninsula. I love Peninsula, but I couldn't live there. It's lovely, seems idyllic, but it's too far away from everything else I do. Anyway, there were several farms there offering CSA membership for this coming season. Now, in a perfect world, I'd grow all my own produce. In the real world, I have very little space so it just isn't possible. This year, I'm seriously considering supplementing my usual garden with the CSA.
Why would I do this when it costs more and it's a bit inconvenient. Well, for starters, it supports the local food system of which I'm a big fan. It encourages sustainable farming practices which will save our soil and us!! It encourages me(and my family) to eat veggies that I wouldn't normally consider. Things like kale, mustard greens and chard that we aren't huge fans of, but are very healthy. AND I'm hoping it will allow me to grow enough to store for the winter. I'd like to buy as little out of season produce as possible in the coming year.
I'm also going to work on season extenders this year. Produce like lettuce, kale, cabbages, and sprouts can grow covered well past the frosts here.
I'm working on eating "real" food. Trying to eliminate processed, white and sugars from our diet. I have to be sneaky though otherwise "they" will catch on. I really didn't think I had many fake foods in my pantry, but upon closer inspection discovered cans of frosting(purchased super cheap with coupons), ditto for the cake mixes, pasta sauce, BBQ with HFCS!!just to name a few. I love to bake so eliminating sugar and white flour is going to be H-A-R-D, HARD!!! I'm dreading it. I know that there is a fresh ground whole wheat flour guy at one of the farmers markets, but I'd really love a grain mill!! Not currently in the budget though. Anyway, by the end of the year, I'd love to only have real food basics in the pantry, with the exception of yucky, GMO filled boxed cereal for darling husband, because he won't let it go.
I think I finally found someone I can buy raw milk from though!! This is huge because here in OH, it's illegal to purchase and sell raw milk. The only way to obtain it is through "Herd Sharing". Basically, because you own a "share" of a cow, you can drink the milk if you like. Yeah!! This is also good for cheese making, if I were so inclined, which I'm not...yet.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Broke
I lost my job last month. It wasn't a complete surprise, but I wasn't ready for it either. My "position was eliminated" along with a few others to save the company some money. Good for them, bad for us. So, I've spent today trying to make our budget work without my income. It's not going very well so far.
We have a nice tax return coming, not huge, like some I know, but nice. I've decided to put more away in savings than I usually would and the rest is paying off some credit cards. My Darling's bonus also comes this month and will be handled the same as the return. Normally, Dave Ramsey would recommend that we take the amount we were paying on the paid off credit cards and apply it to the next smallest balance. This is the "snowball" method of paying off debt. We currently have a negative $371/ month balance. Sooooo, I'm applying that money to, maybe eating every day. Once our budget is in the black, we will take Dave's advice. The extra savings that I'm putting aside will be used to help cover the deficit in our monthly budget. There, nuf said.
On to more fun things...PLANNING THE GARDEN!!
The seed catalogs came last month. I poured over each one, reading the descriptions carefully. It's garden porn, really. I made check marks and circles on the items I wanted. I had images in my head of a gorgeous garden, brimming with food all year. Then I remembered that I a. suck at seed starting b. live in Ohio c. lose interest in the garden around July and want it to care for itself. and d. I just lost my job and can't afford to spend a billion dollars on seeds and plants shipped from who knows where. Luckily, before I started crying, I remembered that there is a guy on a road I travel frequently that sells plants every year 4/$1!! Granted, these are not the awesome sounding, heirloom varieties that I circled in my catalog. These are standard Big Boys and Bells. Still, in the current economic condition in which I live, they will provide fresh food for my family and save me a fortune. I will purchase my seeds from Walmart and they will be fine. I will not attempt to start plants myself, because...I suck.
I am determined this year to do a better job of rotating my crops, planting early and planting frequently. In the past, I do not take advantage of "odd" crops that would do well early in the season or late. Mostly, I ignore these veggies because they aren't my first choice in nutrition. This year I'm determined to broaden our veggie eating options. There it's out there, now I have to do it.
On to things I HAVE to do. I must lose weight. Really, I'm getting humongous. I decided this year to lose 2 pounds a month for the next 3 years to reach my goal weight before I turn 40. Sounds easy, 2 pounds. Well, I've gained 2 so far. The complete lack of attention to my eating and lack of self control have led to this heinous number on the scale. In order to prevent Diet meltdown and the binge that follows, I'm trying the "baby step" method. This week I'm going to add a salad to my lunch(or dinner) everyday. I know I should add some exercise, but I'm not ready. The weather here is grey, cold and yucky. It's weather that makes me want to knit, not run.
We have a nice tax return coming, not huge, like some I know, but nice. I've decided to put more away in savings than I usually would and the rest is paying off some credit cards. My Darling's bonus also comes this month and will be handled the same as the return. Normally, Dave Ramsey would recommend that we take the amount we were paying on the paid off credit cards and apply it to the next smallest balance. This is the "snowball" method of paying off debt. We currently have a negative $371/ month balance. Sooooo, I'm applying that money to, maybe eating every day. Once our budget is in the black, we will take Dave's advice. The extra savings that I'm putting aside will be used to help cover the deficit in our monthly budget. There, nuf said.
On to more fun things...PLANNING THE GARDEN!!
The seed catalogs came last month. I poured over each one, reading the descriptions carefully. It's garden porn, really. I made check marks and circles on the items I wanted. I had images in my head of a gorgeous garden, brimming with food all year. Then I remembered that I a. suck at seed starting b. live in Ohio c. lose interest in the garden around July and want it to care for itself. and d. I just lost my job and can't afford to spend a billion dollars on seeds and plants shipped from who knows where. Luckily, before I started crying, I remembered that there is a guy on a road I travel frequently that sells plants every year 4/$1!! Granted, these are not the awesome sounding, heirloom varieties that I circled in my catalog. These are standard Big Boys and Bells. Still, in the current economic condition in which I live, they will provide fresh food for my family and save me a fortune. I will purchase my seeds from Walmart and they will be fine. I will not attempt to start plants myself, because...I suck.
I am determined this year to do a better job of rotating my crops, planting early and planting frequently. In the past, I do not take advantage of "odd" crops that would do well early in the season or late. Mostly, I ignore these veggies because they aren't my first choice in nutrition. This year I'm determined to broaden our veggie eating options. There it's out there, now I have to do it.
On to things I HAVE to do. I must lose weight. Really, I'm getting humongous. I decided this year to lose 2 pounds a month for the next 3 years to reach my goal weight before I turn 40. Sounds easy, 2 pounds. Well, I've gained 2 so far. The complete lack of attention to my eating and lack of self control have led to this heinous number on the scale. In order to prevent Diet meltdown and the binge that follows, I'm trying the "baby step" method. This week I'm going to add a salad to my lunch(or dinner) everyday. I know I should add some exercise, but I'm not ready. The weather here is grey, cold and yucky. It's weather that makes me want to knit, not run.
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