Market Day - August 29th

From the market - 2 dozen pastured eggs, 1 pastured whole chicken, bottle of local honey, green bell peppers, Asian long beans, 1lb grass-fed ground beef and okra.

I've had making bone broth using the bones and parts of the last pastured chicken I bought from the farmer's market on my to-do list for a couple of weeks now. But our weekends usually don't lend themselves to babysitting a stockpot all day. So, I'm excited to try this recipe from Organic & Thrifty for making stock using a crockpot. I'd like to have the freezer filled with nourishing bone broth in preparation for the upcoming flu season.

All In A Morning's Work

6:30 am - Wake Up

Shower, hair, make-up (just mascara), contemplate today's outfit in front of the closet, get dressed

7:00 am - Downstairs to make breakfast (scrambled pastured eggs, sprouted whole wheat toast with butter and sliced watermelon & cantaloupe)

7:15 am - Get a sleepy little girl out of bed and walk her to the bathroom to get ready for school

Back downstairs to get toast out of the toaster oven, finish packing my daughter's lunch & snack for school and pack my breakfast and lunch for work

7:25 am - Back upstairs to do my little girl's hair (ponytail today with white bow). My husband and boys are now starting to stir. Quickly do my own hair (ponytail today) and retrieve my high heels from under the bed.

7:30 am - Put out clothes for the boys and give my husband a kiss and last minute reminders for the day - trash out today, breakfast is in the kitchen and don't forget early dismissal time for school. Check with my Mom to see if she has any mail she needs put in the box, kiss the kids and pet the cats.

7:35 am - Out the door

7:50 am - Stop by Harris Teeter for first day of Super Double coupon event. Pick up the following:

4 Whisker Lickins cat treats $1 ea - 1/2Q = FREE!
1 Dawn Handsaver dish detergent $1.99 - 1/1Q = FREE!
1 Dawn Direct Foam detergent $1.99 - 1.50/1Q = FREE!
3 Friskie's Indoor cat treats $1.50 ea - 1/1Q = FREE!
1 St. Joseph's aspirin 81 mg (for my Mom) $2.59 - 1/1Q = .59
1 Huggies Pull-Ups Jumbo pack $9.99 - 2/1Q = 7.99

Total oop: $9.87
Total sales & coupon savings: $23.65

Got a coupon back for a FREE Stoneyfield organic yogurt cup (great starter for crockpot yogurt)

8:35 am - Arrive at the office for the next part of my morning - round 2!

Market Day - August 22nd

Small market trip this weekend - 2 dozen eggs, 1lb pastured pork sausage, 1lb grass-fed beef, butter beans & potatoes

The All You Grocery Challenge is now over and the ten finalists have been named (don't get too excited - I wasn't one of them!) My food philosophy doesn't exactly fit with the sponsors of the challenge, so I'm glad the honors went to those that would be truly blessed by them. Now it's time for me to get to the business of planning not only our meals but also back to school lunches and snacks!

All Hands On Deck

When it comes to cleaning, I normally attempt to be Superwoman and tackle an enormous amount of tasks all by myself. After all, my own mother managed to work, care for my father as his health declined and keep house without help from anyone. Since the current state of the house had me feeling more than overwhelmed, my husband declared yesterday a joint cleaning day. I worked upstairs in the master bath and bedroom, while he worked downstairs in the kitchen. He cleared and cleaned counters, emptied and organized the pantry and matched all the Tupperware bowls with their respective lids! He even got the kids busy straightening their rooms and cleaning the glass dining room table. The house is back in order and now I can focus on getting myself organized for the start of the school year.

Our Destination

From the Market - August 8th

From Saturday's trip to the farmer's market - 1 whole, free-range chicken, 1lb grass-feed beef, 1lb pastured pork sausage, 2 dozen pastured eggs, 1 bunch Asian long beans, butterpeas, garlic, onions, potatoes, green bell peppers, arugula, and swiss chard.

My husband likes to visit one of the ethnic markets across town. Since the produce there is conventionally grown, he only buys items that are lower on the extended Dirty Dozen list - watermelon, cantaloupe and avocados (not pictured).

EWG - Shopper's Guide to Pesticides: Dirty Dozen & Clean 15

Sunday Reading

Many times, what is wrong with the job is not the job or corporation, but our attitude about it. Do we have realistic expectations about our job? Perhaps you can find more meaning in your job if you work to find better balance outside of work.

- Janet Luhrs

The Simple Living Guide

Back to School (and back to the beach!)

Getting ready for 1st grade!

We took advantage of the tax-free holiday this weekend to pick up some back to school items. Since I shopped last year's clearance sales, we only needed a few supplies for the coming year.

After back to school shopping, I headed over to Old Navy and found this cute one-piece halter bathing suit. The clearance tag said $8.99 (originally $29.50). At the register - $4.49 and tax free!

From the Market

From the market: 2 dozen free-range eggs, 1lb pastured pork sausage, a bottle of local honey, eggplants, okra, green beans, potatoes, 6 ears of corn & 2 bars of hand-made soap.

Find out what's in season at your markets

Sunday Reading

"I am a working woman with a secret life: I keep house. An off-and-on lawyer and professor in public, in private I launder and clean, cook from the hip, and devote serious time and energy to a domestic routine not so different from the one that defined my grandmothers as "housewives". When I want a good read, I reach for my collection of old housekeeping manuals. The part of me that enjoys housekeeping and the comforts it provides is central to my character."

~ Cheryl Mendelson

Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House