Eating Local on a Small Budget

Can it be done? Man, I hope so.
We live in one of the best farming areas of the country. Our climate can support almost any fruit or vegetable (just not tropical ones, really), and we have a long growing season. Farmer's here sell their produce as well as meats, eggs, dairy, etc. at local stands and farmers markets. I absolutely love going to the farmers market and seeing all the different things farmers bring that they've grown, raised, produced, or baked. Food from the farmers market isn't grown in huge amounts, nor is it produced en masse. Chances are that whatever you end up taking home was carefully picked off a vine or branch, possible washed, cut, cooked, whatever by hand.
Because of the care and attention that goes into the products sold at the farmers market, the food there is obviously more expensive than it is at a grocery store.
Our food budget is fairly small; we're little people and don't eat a ton. But I'd really love to start eating locally and more organic foods. Does anyone have any suggestions for this?
It may prove to be quite a challenge in some respects. Take fruit, for example. Mr. Beardface's favorite fruit is a banana. Bananas fall into the tropical fruit category and therefore are one of a small group of fruits not grown locally. Those we'd have to get at a grocery store. As far as meats go, locally raised organic meat can be more than 3 times the price of grocery store meat. It will be tricky making room for that in our budget.
We'll see how it goes this week. We've got to get cat food, cat litter, AND paper towels. This week is going to be tight with food money, but I'm determined to have healthier food. And I'm pretty sure local food is the way to go.

Financial Woes

This economy stinks let's face it. People are out of work, so very few people are spending money, causing businesses to hurt. Without a cash flow in the economy, this country is looking pretty sad. Americans are having a hard time making ends meet. Who is making out in all of this? The banks. Yup, the businesses crying for bailouts are making money on other people's hardships.
After learning about how banks make money, I am absolutely flabbergasted that they would have the gall to charge overdraft fees to customers. All of the money put into bank accounts is essentially a loan to the bank. They can use your money to invest in things, earn interest, and make a ton of money. Now to add to that income, each time you overdraw your account, they charge you somewhere in between $20 and $35. How much sense does this honestly make?
Clearly those individuals who typically overdraw their accounts do not have the money to be throwing away hundreds of dollars on overdraft fees each month. Yet banks still take that money, further overdrawing accounts. I can't see how they need those funds, nor how they justify charging their customers these fees.
If people realized that they have choices in the matter of banking I don't think they would tolerate how banks treat (rather, mistreat) them. And if people were leaving banks because of this mistreatment, banks wouldn't feel nearly as entitled to charge erroneous fees as they do now.
Choices, people, choices. This is one of the fundamental things that the American culture is founded on. Use it to your advantage in banking.

Making Time

Too often I find myself frazzled, feeling that I have too much to do and not enough time to do it in. I trip over myself to get chores done while spending time with the BabyGirl and still getting to bed at a decent hour. It's almost impossible. What I'm realizing, though, is that some things are a priority. I need to make time for them no matter what.
Christ said "For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:21) Most people take this verse to literally mean treasure, or money, but I can see that Jesus also meant that your time, your heart, your thoughts, your soul are your treasure as well. It seems like today it is difficult for anyone to find the time to do all the things they want to do. Employers ask more time of their employees, homes take time to take care of, and other responsibilities can distract us from what is most important.
I know that my life is in its best balance when I make time for prayer and devotionals. I literally feel lost without it. Even 10-15 minutes a day of reading my Bible helps me to be more secure with myself.
Even if you're not a Christian, Jesus' advice is great. Ask yourself what you care about most. Is it your family? Is it a hobby? Whatever or whomever that may be, Jesus tells us to adjust our time accordingly. If you do care most about your spouse, then spend more of your time with your spouse or doing things for him. Spend your resources (money, time, skills) on what you care about most.
This is a lesson I know I need to take to heart.

Most Wonderful Time

Of the year.
The weather is cooling off, the trees are losing their greenness (is that even a word?). I love fall. Pork chops with apples anyone??

Finally Painted the Bathroom!

When we moved into our house the first thing I wanted to paint was our bathroom. I have no before picture for you because I really didn't care for the color at all. It was sort of a dark stormy blue, and since the bathroom is a bit small, the dark color made the room seem tiny. I had planned to paint it first once we moved in, but the nursery took precedence; we didn't want BabyGirl sleeping in a smelly, fumed-up room. Soon after painting the nursery I grew uncomfortably pregnant. Anyone who's been pregnant knows this tell-tale stage. It's when you can't sit, can't sleep, can't walk. You just don't want to exist. So no painting then.
Finally, after a few months of caring for a newborn, not sleeping, and still hating my bathroom, I found a weekend. One shining, open weekend. Then I got into a car accident. Well, that shattered my hopes and dreams of a lighter colored bathroom. So finally, three weeks after my car accident, Beardface and I spent yesterday turning our bathroom "bamboo". It's a very pale green that, I think, matches our tiles better than the blue did. I'll post a picture of it soon, but for now I'm going to enjoy my bathroom. It's bath time!

Tea and Prayers

Fall is heading here quickly, and the cooler weather does all sorts of things to my psyche. While I love all things fall (the sights, the smells, the tastes) cooler weather and shorter daylight hours tends to put me in a sour mood. I experience what a lot of people have come to call seasonal depression. I wouldn't typically call what I experience "depression" per say, but it definitely is a distinct change in my mood. It hasn't been nearly as bad this year as it has been is years past, and I think a lot of it has to do with my family situation. I'm happily married and have a wonderful daughter; I have a lot to live for and people counting on me.
That being said, I'm sitting in my living room enjoying one of my favorite cool weather treats, a cup of milky tea, praying about a recent development in our household. Currently, I work full-time and Beardface plays Mr. Mom. I pump milk at work for my husband to give the baby during the day while I'm not home, and I love that I'm still able to give her this advantage even though I'm gone most of the day. Logically, though, it would be simpler if I were to stay home with our daughter, and Beardface and I have been praying for this kind of opportunity.
Recently, one has come up. Beardface has applied for a position in his field at a local college, and if he gets this position, he will be making more than enough for me to be able to stay home. We know a few people that work in the particular department that Beardface has applied to, so we think he probably has a good shot. (Most people who get hired at this particular school get hired for who they know as opposed to an outstanding resume. Scary, but so true in some places these days.) BF is highly capable of this job, and it sounds like he'll love it. I, on the other hand, would love to not have to get up before 5am to be at work everyday. I'd rather be playing with my little girl.
So all I'm asking for tonight are some prayers.
Lord, if it's your will, please let my husband get a job that will begin his career. He is incredibly smart and talented, and I can only hope that others see this in him, as well. Lord, I also ask that you give me the opportunity to be the hands-on, full-time mother that I wish I could be.

Keeping It Real

A long, long time ago, before BabyGirl was just a twinkle in her daddy's eye (well, ok, she may have been a twinkle but that twinkle wasn't coming to fruition for a while) Beardface and I talked about not letting anyone else raise our children. Both he and I were raised in homes where, for the most part, at least one parent was home all the time. For his family, this meant his mom didn't work full-time outside of the home for most of his childhood; for my family, it meant my father worked days and my mother worked nights. Somehow, we wanted to keep this tradition alive; we hoped to have one of us home with our children during the day.
This, I've learned is much easier said than done. Currently we have our schedules worked out so that Beardface plays Mr. Mom (Michael Keaton reference!) during the day, then goes to class or work, depending on the day, in the evenings. We have one night to go to our small group meetings together, and then we have the weekends together. Talking about beforehand didn't sound so terrible. I honestly thought we could make this work. What I hadn't realized is that it takes work to make a marriage work, from both parties involved.
This week we've got Beardface's grandparents visiting from Wisconsin, which is a huge blessing. They are a wonderful couple, very easy going, and a wealth of great information. I really love having them stay. Having them here does mean that we are spending a great deal more time with Beardface's parents and other family that is in town. Don't get me wrong, I love them, too, but it's been a few weeks since I've really had Beardface all to myself. And dang it, I'm his wife. Don't I get him all to myself sometimes? Or at least just all to BabyGirl and I?
I'm realizing that during this week if we want to spend time together, we've got to plan it. We have to make sure we're home at a decent time and ask to jump away for a bit. We have to do this, of course, without offending anyone. I don't think that would be a problem, since his family doesn't seem easily offended. But still, the possibility is there, and that makes me nervous.
I know it seems petty, but I don't want to get to a point in our marriage where we don't know each other. I want to keep the closeness we have now.