My new obsession: Farmer's Markets

I know, I know...many of you are like...Farmer's Markets...seriously?  Don't you have cooler things to be obsessed with?

For whatever reason in years past, Farmer's Market's were very intimidating to me. I didn't know what to expect, so in usual Amber fashion, that means anxiety and usually decision to not go.  Well, I decided to start small by checking out a farm stand and then I graduated to the Farmer's markets this June as they opened.  Starting small on the journey to do new things...

And now I'm in love.  I love the wonderfully fresh produce.  I've been eating more veggies than ever - even some I had thought I started to dislike in recent years.  I'm saving money, getting to talk to farmers.  I bring Gianna so she sees it and experiences it.

For any of my local followers...(do I even have any?), a great resource:
http://www.nectfarmersmarket.org/

Some of my favorites I've gotten this year:

Wayne's Organic Garden - (Ironically right down the road, but only available via CSA or the farmer's market)
- Organic Rainbow Swiss Chard - Best I've ever had!
- Organic Cucumbers
- Organic peppers
- Organic squash

Betsy's Stand (another local farm stand you can go to to buy stuff)
- Broccoli - BEST I'VE EVER HAD - I actually went and asked for more...but alas, the damn hot weather killed it all...and now I'm craving it yet again.
- They also sell beef, but I have yet to try it.

I continue to go to the farm stand I originated - Campbell's Farm Stand
I get my beef there - ground beef.  Locally raised, free range, hormone free - wonderfully delicious and priced very well.
Got asparagus there and I now have a new fondness for asparagus.
Bacon - oh, wonderful bacon that doesn't contain all the other garbage.  So tasty!

I've been amazed at how wonderful this food all tastes and I'm loving my weekly trips to supplement what I'm growing in my garden  It's also wonderful to get out of the house, out in nature and talk to the farmers.  I'm spending my money locally.  So many positives.  I'm really starting to love getting out in my community and doing more locally.

So I encourage you to check out a local farmer's market...don't be intimidated like I was...the trip is TOTALLY worth it.

~a

PS - and you find some of the best cookies there - G and I get an oatmeal raisin cookie each week.. :)

Operation De-clutter has begun

So as I mentioned in my last post, I want to start my own Happiness Project...still working on the real details of that, but if you want more info, check out Gretchen Rubin's book "The Happiness Project".

One of the items she mentions early on in the book (In an effort to get more energy) is to declutter.  This really resonated with me.  I have all these places in the house - you know the ones - where you tuck the junk or you open a drawer or door and can't find what you want quickly.  Yeah, those places.

Probably because I'm anal retentive, those places stress me out.  But so does having "stuff" all over the place - especially with a toddler around.  So I'm on a mission to declutter.  I did some work yesterday and it already feels AMAZING.

Here's what I'm talking about when I say declutter:
1) Our kitchen table and island are like holding vaults for all the "stuff" that comes in our house.  I HATE that.  I want the table nice and clean and the island clear for doing other things.  So I want to find other, more organized ways to put the stuff that ends up on the table and island.  Operation declutter step 1 - get a coat hook thingy, hang it up right inside the door.  guess what...no more coats, dog leashes, or bags on the chairs.  Yay.  They are easier to get to, out of G's reach (momentarily of course), and so much more organized.  I got my chairs back! 

I'm also planning to get a simply desk/table to put between my bathroom and pantry doors where all the paper stuff (mail, invoices, receipts, etc) ends up before it makes it way to the office/recycling bin/garbage for storage.  In my eco-friendly manner, I'm hoping to find this at a local consignment shop.  I've seen nice new ones at Target, but I'm betting I can get the same style, probably better quality, for much cheaper.  That's my next goal...just need to get to the store I'm thinking of...Maybe next weekend..(ha ha).  I drive past it each day on my way to and from work...just never have time to stop.

2) My closet - So I had all these clothes and things laying around my closest that  let's face it - I'll never wear or use.  For some reason, I felt the need to hold onto them in the event I *might* wear it or use it some day.  I've gotten over that.  So I cleaned off my hangers - anything that didn't fit or that I never wear went into the donation pile.  A bunch of shoes I bought that I ultimately found uncomfortable or that are now out of style...donation pile.  Maternity clothes - in the bin to go back to my sister in law or to have on hold for the future if we decide to have another...whichever comes first.  Either way, they are now in a bin, nice and organized.  I threw away a bunch of empty shoe boxes and cluttery stuff in there.  It looks pretty nice now I gotta say.

3) Kitchen - Yesterday as I was cleaning in prep for the in-laws to come over today, I realized...my baby isn't a baby anymore.  So I bagged up the bottles and peripheries.  Upstairs they went into my closet since there's so much extra room up there.  They'll either be used when we have another or donated once we make a decision.  I also decided to declutter the counters from her stuff by making room in the cupboards for her plates, dishes, bowls, etc.  Feels great.  For my next (upcoming) idea, which requires Joe's help, I'm planning to put up some hooks to hang these awesome coffee cups he got for us and to put some hooks in the cabinets to organize the pans better.

I still have a lot more projects to go - but it's definitely a lot of progress and it feels good.  There's the hallway closet, junk drawers (oh yeah, we have 2 or 3 of them now), and office that I know of.  I also want to go through the garage again too.  This time the plan is really cleanse ourselves of stuff.  We have some things we keep holding onto...no need.  Let's trash it or find new homes for it.  Then we can fill that space up with stuff we'll use...in an organized manner of course.

So I'm off...to declutter some more before G wakes up from her nap...so I probably have a half hour..tops.  Maybe I'll just enjoy my coffee instead. :)

~A

It's all about me me me me me...

So one thing I've always struggled with, but even more so recently it doing things for "me".  For whatever reason, I always feel like I have to *earn* doing something for myself and even then if I deserve it in my mind, I still rarely do it because it might inconvenience someone else around me or cost money or something...there's always an excuse in there.  I just feel selfish thinking of doing something for myself.

Apparently I'm not alone.  I attended a speech recently by Ali Domar and she talked a lot about this.  At some point, most girls lose the ability to do things for themselves without feeling guilty/selfish - usually somewhere in their teenage years.  It's a social influence thing that seems to be passed down subconsciously to us.  Wonderful huh?  She had a great challenge though during the seminar for women: Each day, wake up and think of something YOU want to do for YOURSELF - something for ME.  And do it.

Seems simple right?  ha ha.  On paper.  I thought that was such a profound thought and yet to this date I think I haven't done it.  There's either no time or those guilty emotions come up to the service again.  Mostly for me, G doesn't sleep, so when I wake up, my last thought is about what I want to do and more something along the lines of.."Are you kidding me...I only slept X hours...ugh."

So I thought to myself recently, maybe doing something daily is too challenging of a goal for me.  Kind of like those people who set New Year's Resolutions and then never fulfill them because they aren't actionable or are too much effort.  So my thinking is, maybe I'll start by trying to come up with a list of things I want to do for me and then target doing one a month.  Seems crazy to think about doing something for myself once a month, but it's a huge improvement over what I have in the past.

So without further ado....My list of ME things:
- Get a hair cut and highlight
- Get a new, full wardrobe (which means shopping time)
- Get some new, eco-friendly (of course) make up
- Get a pedicure
- Finish reading "The Happiness Project"
- Start running on a consistent basis again
- Start scheduling one night or part of a weekend day for Amber time while Joe watches G
- Clean/organize my house the way I want to
- Look into becoming a Dove Chocolatier or another side thing to earn a little extra cash and get me out of the house
- Write more
- Go out with my girls on a recurring, consistent basis
- Start doing meal plans so I don't stress about what to make

Wow, I feel like that list is kind of lame...I know there are a TON more items, but right now, I just can't think.  I guess this is a good start though..gives me some things to think about.

Hopefully for those of you who read this (I don't think I have many followers...but it would be awesome if I had more...), I challenge you to make your own "Me" list and work on it too.  What can it hurt right?

Until next time,
~A

I'm back...

Sorry, I yet again took a break from writing on my blog.  Things got a little busy and crazy here in the Grasso homestead and in order to have even a minuscule amount of time to relax each time, I had to sacrifice the blogging.

But *I think* things are starting to settle down again...so hopefully I'm back.

In this crazy, hectic, busy time, I haven't been idly sitting by.  As a matter of fact, I've been busy thinking about a lot of stuff that will be awesome to talk about: Couponing, Happiness Projects, "Me" time, more Greening...just to name a few.  So those should be the topics of the next couple of blogs for me.

I hope you can forgive me for my hiatus. :)

Thanks,
~A