Happy Saturday

I'm in the middle of my "day off", and it feels pretty great. I adore my family, really I do, but I also adore days like these, when my fabulous mother in law takes the kids, and I get a day to do whatever. Very unfortunately, hubby man has to work. I'd rather hang out with him, but I do love to have these alone days. I woke up thinking I might go for a hike with my sweet pup, Tess, but that bed, and the silent house was just too yummy to get up early. So, I got up at the crack of nine, opened up the curtains to a sight not often seen on a northwest morning...a gorgeous blue sky! It was kind of a magical moment as I made myself breakfast, in the totally quiet house, and went outside to eat and read a magazine on the patio. The birds were singing, my chickens crowing about their impending daily labor pains, and of course, there was Tess, and the incessant dropping of the tennis ball at my feet. Ahhhh...it was total bliss. Then I packed myself off to the plant nursery, and went a little wild....




All the above went into my gardens today. *sigh* It was heavenly.




I love Gerber Daisies. Now I have some of my very own.

Some of you who have known me for a long time, might be a bit surprised by my self-titled "Crunchiness" that is creeping into my life. I mean, I don't look so much like the "crunchy" type, though the more I live in the Northwest, the more it starts to creep into my style, if you can call my 30-something mom, still trying to be somewhat hip, but not really style a style. Still, no sandals and socks, or shorts when its 50 degrees for me. Although I did just have to buy my very first pair of reading glasses. Of course, I had to buy the crunchy-chic kind.



I feel so hip when I wear them. And a little old.


Any-hoo, Its been a journey to my discovery of these newly found passions. I think it first started to dawn on me when I first became a mom, almost 9 years ago. I realized as I went grocery shopping week after week, and cooked at least 3 times a day, everyday, that I am the only person in my family making the choices about what the people I love the most are going to eat. Thankfully, they're not picky, and will pretty much eat whatever I put in front of them. So, I let this sink in. Then I realized that my choices literally have the chance to make or break their health. Lengthen or shorten their lives, maybe. Whoa. I figured I oughta start paying attention to what is going into their mouths, so I started poking around online, learning more and more about whole foods cooking, and basic nutrition. I started out with the Sue Gregg Cookbooks, which are fabulous, easy to use, family friendly recipes, kid and Dad approved, and it made the transition to whole foods pretty easy. A whole lotta moms out there were talking a lot about the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and the Weston A Price Foundation. I learned all kinds of things that some of which I have put into practice, some things are still on my "to do" list. So, cooking was my first step into the whole, healthy lifestyle thing. Then, upon realizing how important my food choices were, I also realized I can do a lot more for their health by learning a bit about how to take care of them at home, mainly by learning how to boost their immune systems to avoid getting sick in the first place, and also how to take care of them when they do get sick, without carting them off to the Dr. for every sniffle. Of all 4 kids, I think only 2 of them have ever been on antibiotics, once each. WellTellMe is a great forum for all things related to natural health and nutrition. In the course of browsing that site, I ran across someone mentioning MaryJanesFarm I went over to that website, and was instantly transfixed. Here was someone doing everything I wanted to do, and so much more, and doing it with such grace, beauty and style I didn't know what hit me. MaryJane Butters is truly my hero. You've got to get her book MaryJanes Ideabook . It has so many ideas, patterns, recipes, gorgeous photography, and thoughtful writing that it will make you want to give the book a hug, or put it under your pillow at night or something along those lines. I've been to her farm twice now, and am honored and amazed to be able to say that I know her, and can almost call her my friend. But, I'll stick with hero for now. You must find out why, and go to her website, read her books, and subscribe to her amazing magazine. Seeing the things she's done in her life totally inspired me to just get out there and DO it. Start the Farmgirls chapter. Go to the city council about starting a community garden...which led to the whole task force on sustainability, which is going to lead to many amazing things in my community.

Would I really have chickens in my backyard if I had never heard of MaryJane Butters? Maybe. But, I know I'm more crunchy because of her. And I'm glad.