Getting a Little More "Do-It-Yourself"

Since I've been able to focus just on family life and not worry about work, I have committed to doing better about cooking meals every night.

In addition to wanting to save money, and no longer having much of excuse since I'm home much of the day now, there is a real satisfaction that comes about from preparing a meal from start to finish, and serving it up, nice and fresh.

Especially with Michael taking more predictable naps, me being done with my first trimester slump, and Michael entertaining himself walking around the furniture, I am starting to get better at actually getting the meal shopped-for, pre-planned, and done at a reasonable hour so dinner is ready not too long after Michael is in bed, or sometimes, if Michael Sr is able to get home a little early, have a meal with all of us together.

It is very satisfying.

This is starting to lead to a bit of a shift in my thinking over all. For instance, I bought a potted basil plant at Trader Joe's for $2.99. It was a huge, fresh-looking, leafy basil plant for less money than a small bunch of basil that I could purchase at the store. I don't use basil that often, but when I do, I spend a good bit of money for a bunch, use a few leaves, and then the rest of the bunch doesn't last very long before wilty and becoming unusable. So, a fresh basil plant seems to be the perfect solution.

And the miracle is that I have had this plant for several weeks and haven't killed it yet! I've used it intermittently several times, and have really enjoyed going out to my porch, pinching a few leaves, and leaving the rest on the plant, nice and fresh for whenever I need them again. It's awesome!

This has led to a greater appreciation of my tomato plant, which, prior to this point, I have kept alive (barely) on my porch, but only water it when it is on the brink of death. I rarely give it a chance to develop much fruit. But since I have been busy watering my basil, I water my tomatoes too, and since then have gotten a ton of very tasty little tomatoes. These are so much better than the ones I get at the store! They are so full of flavor...I almost like my tomato plant now!

This, then, has led to a great admiration for people who grow their own fruit and vegetables in gardens. I really understand now why this is so satisfying, and I'm really starting to see why people get motivated to put in the labor required to grow their own gardens, or even raise their own animals for eggs, or cheese, or milk, or whatever.

I remember growing up we had fruit trees, and on the side of the house had mint leaves and also some berries. It was so fun picking them ripe fruit, washing them off with the hose and eating them right in the yard. And they were tasty!!

This, then, has led to a greater desire to support people who do this in the local area. Which has led me to visit the Farmer's Market down the street every Tuesday.

I stopped by last week with just a little bit of cash (I only brought a few dollars, to limit spending) and I was SO impressed by the low prices of the fruits and vegetables available. I bought some homemade pumpkin bread, and some plums and apricots. The fruit I bought was SO good, so flavorful and so much less expensive than at the store. And an added bonus is supporting the local farmers who are growing these themselves and selling them at really good prices. I admire those people who are doing it themselves, and that's how they make their living, or maybe even it is just a hobby to make money on the side. Whatever it is, I think it's really neat.

Anyways, tomorrow is Tuesday, and you better believe I'll be going back. I've actually held off buying more fruit at the grocery store so I can just stock up tomorrow. Maybe someday when we have a house, I'll get a garden started and be my own little Farmer's Market to feed Michael all the blackberries he can stomach!