The Tiny Home Phenomenon

It seem like there is a new phenomenon where everyone wants to live in a tiny home. I actually live in a smaller home with my husband and our 3 kids. Our home is all of 1000 square feet but it feels so much smaller because we have so much stuff. I have been watching tiny house hunters on HGTV and am getting more and more inspired to get rid of stuff and live a more minimalist lifestyle. I initially started this blog when I was about 35 and was starting to re-evaluate my life and the way I live it. When I started this blog, I was hoping to get rid of the reliance on big box stores, material goods, and more things like that. I was hoping to spend time upcycling things from thrift stores and the like. Unfortunately, I have not really followed through with my goals. I have made small changes that sometimes feel like 1 step forward and 2 or more steps back. This is a huge journey for me. I am trying to figure out why this is so difficult for me. I am not blaming the way I grew up, but I think that since I had limited ability to get the things I wanted and we were always on a strict budget, I tend to want to over spend. Its not an excuse, but it is something to think about when I try to figure out why I seem to have an obsession with things and why I can't seem to get rid of stuff. My goal is to slowly get rid of extra stuff and to move toward a more minimalist lifestyle. I want to teach my children how to live a minimalist lifestyle, but at the same time, not feel deprived. I think it is going to be important to explain how stuff isn't what is important in life yet still allow them to have things that are important to them and have the things that they enjoy. I want to live a lifestyle that allows us to enjoy our life, not owe other people money and actually have a savings. I want to stop spending money out to eat. I have a hard time with this because I really love eating out. I want my kitchen to work for us. I want to enjoy cooking and spending time together in the kitchen like I grew up. That means, I need to clean off my kitchen table and find a place for what's on there and if there is not a place, it needs to go. I want my kitchen to look clean, open, and be functional. Another are I need to deal with is my craft supply area. I love crafts and crafts supplies and crafts books. I also have a little obsession with buying things that I don't need. I really need to go through my stuff and get rid of some things that I don't need any more. I need to focus my crafts and not just do everything and anything. While I want a larger home, more like a farmhouse, I still want to live a minimalist lifestyle. I want my children to grow up with things they need and want, but not everything they want. I want them to understand they don't need multiple build a bears and other toys like they already have. I don't see us moving to a larger farmhouse anytime soon, and I actually like my house and the land that it site on. I want and need to make the most of what we have and really enjoy my little suburban homestead. I will keep moving towards a natural life and look forward to sharing my journey. Amy

Fermentation Update

A while ago, I posted about fermented foods and my attempt at making my own. I tried making my own wild fermented our dough starter and did well. Unfortunately, I didn't do well at feeding it and it went bad. I did end up growing my own kombucha SCOBY. I wasn't sure it was going to work since I had read that companies had started making kombucha so that it wouldn't form a new Scooby. Well, I was worried for nothing. From everything I read in forums, it was mostly because it was winter and we keep a cold house. It's now summer and I have a thriving SCOBY, that probably grew too long in the tea, but it looks so pretty. I think the kombucha is probably too vinegary for my taste. I have heard that plants really like it so I plan to water my plants with the vinegary kombucha. I already have another gallon jar started. My brother in law told my husband that he read that coconut water kefir is really good for kids on the spectrum. I actually have some water kefir grains coming in the mail from Maryland that are supposedly really strong and healthy grains. I can't wait to get them and start drinking water kefir again. I am hoping that between water kefir and kombucha I can kick my diet soda habit. Hopefully once I get my water kefir grains and I get them multiplying, I can start trying to add them to coconut water and see if I can get coconut water kefir. I did read that you may be able to actually use coconut water for Kombucha and I have an extra SCOBY that I am going to try. I just have to read up more on how to do it. From the little that I have researched, for a short time you can "brew" kombucha in liquid other than tea, but then you need to use to tea to feed it what it needs to grow and thrive. I will be trying the coconut water kombucha soon so watch for my updates. Recently, I got an email or saw a Facebook post from Nourished Kitchen about "how to make a ginger bug for homemade sodas" at http://nourishedkitchen.com. Like I was saying, I am hoping to some day soon, kick my diet soda habit. I was watching Dr. Oz today and my fire for this goal was re-ignited. I can't wait to try to make a ginger bug so that I can have healthy sodas along with my kombucha and my water kefir. There is just something so satisfying about fizzy soda, but the sugar, the artificial sweeteners, and all the additives make it so bad for you. I'm hoping, I can get my fizzy soda like taste and get some health benefits from the fermented part of these drinks. Some store bought cabernet grape kombucha in a champagne glass My new batch of Rooibos tea with my lovely SCOBY in it started today Happy fermenting. Maybe I'll even try my sour dough starter again! Amy

Dreams, Passions, Styles

This title seems a little all over the place, but I am hopeful, it is really what this post is all about. I have been trying to figure out my dreams, my passions and my style. What I have realized over the last couple of weeks, probably more like months, is that I love the whole rustic, farm style look. That being said, it goes along with my hope that I can actually live a more suburban homesteading lifestyle. I really want to get back to upcycling, minimalistic living, living and eating healthy and naturally, and basically just living a holistic lifestyle that will keep my body, mind, and soul healthy and happy. We finally got the garden in place. I think we may still have some things to plant, but we have the bones of the garden in place. We have beans that are growing from seed along with peas, cucumbers, luff plants, kale, Swiss chard, spinach, and collards. We have a lot of tomato plants that we grew from see, but we hav4 that we bough from the local nursery that have a better start than the ones that we grew from seed. We have pepper plants that we also started from seeds as well as some ghost peppers that we just bought. Ghost peppers are really hot and we are using them as an animal deterrent (hopefully). We forgot to add eggplant seeds to our order, so we had to get all our eggplant plants from our local nursery. I also have some purple potato plants growing. The other thing I did this year was to add potted herb plants. I am hoping that when the cold weather comes, I can bring these pots in the house and we can have potted plants all year long.

I am hoping that I can really take my idea of suburban homesteading to heart and really utilize my garden and do some canning and some freezing so that we can enjoy home grown food through the winter. I am hoping that we can get better with planning and growing our garden on time. I love the idea of growing our own plants from seeds. My problem is that I am not a good planner or organizer. I love being organized and feel so much calmer when I am, but unfortunately it is not a skill that comes easily for me, which is one reason why I sometimes think I have some issues with ADHD. I have almost completely decided that I love the whole rustic farmhouse idea of life and style, which actually goes along with my desire to be a homesteader. I would love to own a farm with a few animals, but that is not going to happen anytime soon. I would love to try to decorate my home in that farmhouse rustic style, and maybe even add that into my career choice. I would love to have a creative shop that utilizes my love for the rustic farmhouse style. We've been watching Fixer Upper on HGTV and I am so inspired by what Joanna Gaines does. In love her style and her farm and shop. I will be looking at her blog for ideas and inspiration! Being a homesteader also makes me think of eating healthy and home cooked meals. Yesterday, as we do every Saturday, we spent the day at our town's farmers market. I tried mujadara from the Lebanese vendor, and it was so delicious. Today, we spent time going to Todd Farm, a local antique/flea market and Tendercrop farm which was just down the road from Todd Farm. At Tendercrop farm, we bought some grass fed local steaks and ground beef. The meat was absolutely delicious. I was also inspired to attempt to make my version of mujadara. It was great to eat great tasting home cooked food that was inspired by our farmer's market. I am trying to remember how nice it is to eat home cooked meals when I am uninspired, and I need to spend some time looking for inspiration so that we eat at home more often instead of mating someone else to cook for me. I am hoping that, one day, my design loves, my idea of being a homesteader, and my other passions with become part of my professional career. I do like being a social worker, but I really want to do something more fun and creative and less medical or regulated! Happy dreaming, Amy

Handmade and Natural Health

As I've written often, I continue to seek out my true way in life. I continue to want to focus on living a handmade and natural life, but it has not been easy. I continue to love being creative, sewing and other fiber arts as well as paper crafts and photography. I continue to want to learn about herbs, aromatherapy, and natural remedies. I want to have a life that is more natural and healthy. My lifestyle, currently, is no where near where I want to be. I have a crazy amount of stuff that I really need to get rid of or find a place for. I'm thinking that my lack of organization is big part of why I am not living the life I want. I am hoping to get more organized then attempt to get more focused on my goals in life. That being said, I am going to work on getting more organized. I am going to get back to basics (as I have often said) and start working on living life the way I want to. I am going to get my garden going. I am going to work on having a suburban homestead, where I can hopefully start living off my land within my means. I don't and won't have animals anytime soon, but I have a nice large garden and want to make sure I use it appropriately. I have plenty of crafts supplies to be able to continue being creative. One thing I have forgotten about for a long time, is my love of natural health and remedies. I really want to learn about herbs and essential oils. I want to grow my own herbal medicine garden. I want a herbal garden to be a huge part of my suburban homestead. I want to have a real suburban homestead. I want to eat healthy, natural foods. I want to be creative and sew and knit, and crochet. I need to take some time away from the web, from Facebook, and unplug. Life is too short to be addicted to technology and TV. Summer is here and I want and need to spend good quality outside fun with my family and continue to do even when the weather gets cold. I will continue to blog about my experience in suburban homesteading and what I learn while doing so. I am hopeful that I can get back to following my beliefs and my passions as I live my life. I am hoping that some day, I'll find my way and figure out how to be happy living my life. I have so much happiness already, I just need to make sure that I am following my passions and dreams while being with and loving my family and loving life. Love, Amy

Homesteading

I live in town just north of Boston Massachusetts. It's not a rural community and it's not a city either. My goal this year is to learn about and start homesteading. I keep trying to figure out what direction to take this blog and my life. I initially started this blog after going to farmers markets almost 6 years ago. I had already been interested in natural health, so this blog was really just an extension of what I had already been interested in. I am looking to live a more handmade and natural life, but yet I don't want to beat myself up when I can't or when in the moment, I don't want to. My ultimate goal is to learn how to use my garden to my advantage and learn how to save, store, and can veggies from my garden, so that I can enjoy my efforts into the winter. It will take some time, but I will research and learn how best to use my garden after the summer has passed. I want to get a blueberry and a raspberry bush that can be grown in containers. My thought with this is, I don't have to find the right place to plant them and we can enjoy them all summer. When the cold weather comes, you are supposed to be able to move them to a sheltered place and they will last through the winter. My kids love berries and it would be awesome to have them just pick them off the bush when ever they wanted them. I also need to get a strawberry plant because we are a house that loves strawberries. Again, I want to make and can my own jellies and jams. I would love to get a chicken or two and have my own eggs. I think my husband thinks I'm a nut with wanting chickens, but how nice would it be to go to your back yard and get eggs when you need them? I think it would be awesome! I just don't feel like I know enough yet, but I want to learn! On to researching all sorts of things, canning, storing food, chickens, homesteading and many others! Amy

Fermentation

I've been drinking KeVita for the last few days and am loving it. What I'm not loving is the $3.50 a bottle. Kevita is a probiotic drink that is helping to keep me away from soda. I'm not positive, but I believe it is basically water kefir, which I have brewed at home in the past. I stupidly let it lapse and let my water kefir grains die. Today, I drank kombucha, which is fermented tea. You brew it by using a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) also called a kombucha mother. You can buy a "mother" or you can try to grow one yourself (I have in the past grown my own SCOBY but I recently read that you can't grow a SCOBY on your own any more). I figured, It's $3.50 to try it again. If it works great, if not, little lost. Tonight I started the process. I brewed a cup of green tea and added 2 tablespoons of sugar. Once it got to room temperature, I added a bottle of store bought kombucha and added it to the tea. I read that if there is what looks like a "mother" floating in the store bought kombucha, then there is a better chance of growing your own. I was hoping to find a picture of my home grown SCOBY, but I can't put my finger on it now. I'm hopeful that it will grow again. My next thing is to buy some more water kefir grains and start some water kefir again. I am looking forward to that. I also want to buy the book wild fermentation. I have made my own sour dough starter in the past and want to start again. I'm looking forward to creating my own foods and can't wait to get my plants started and my garden growing! Here's to goof healthy food and a healthy lifestyle! Amy

Here's a couple of pictures from my garden last year!

Just A Quick Post

Today was day 5 of my 21 day sugar detox. Things have bee going ok except that today was my oldest's 7th birthday. I ate potatoes, BBQ sauce, a roll, and cake. After my bagel Friday, I should really start day 1 tomorrow. One thing I am learning is not to feel guilty because of these set backs. Life happens, and I wasn't going to not have cake with my child. What changed though, was that I had 1 roll,1/2 the potatoes, 2 ribs, and a small piece of cake, as well as a 6oz sirloin and Caesar salad. Previously, I would have had more like 4 rolls and a huge piece of cake, I would also have had loaded fries vs loaded mashed potato. Not a huge difference in the potato choices, but at least it was only 1/2 of it. This needs to be a lifestyle change for me. I need to be healthy. Tomorrow, we are having salmon. I'm not a huge fish fan, but I'm trying to be better at eating heartily fish. I just need to keep moving forward with my journey to be healthier. Another piece to this journey is making sure that I am eating mindfully. I want to make sure that what I put in my mouth is really what I want. I want to stop mindless eating. Overall, I want to look at food as fuel for my body, as a way to keep me running for many, many years! Here's to living a healthy, happy, and long life. Amy

Sugar Detox

So, here it is, day 4 of my 21 day sugar detox and I have had some huge ups and some huge downs. Day 1 was easy and I thought, I can do this no problem. Well, then came day 2, and that did not go as well. I was angry, and had a headache as well as no patience. All I wanted was some starchy carbs and sugar. I persisted and didn't give in. I did try to make some approved biscuits, and yes it did help but they were not really what I wanted. Day 3 came and went but I did give in and I had a bagel and a Hershey kiss. Not happy that I gave in, but I did get right back on track and ate what I was supposed to for the rest of the day. On to today, day 4, and I've done really well. I've lost a little weight, probably 3-4 pounds since I first started and maybe 10 pounds from my highest weight. I still need to lose a good amount of weight, but I want to do it the right way and maintain what I lose. I want to continue to make lifestyle changes and not just changes to lose weight. Another positive to this diet change and maybe even weight loss is my nightly breathing. My husband has mentioned, especially when I was pregnant, that my snoring was awful and I would have issues with sleep apnea. Now I am overweight but not crazy overweight. I think it's more the foods I'm eating or should I saw not eating that is making the difference. He said that things have been much better. I am heading out tonight to buy a bought from deliciously organic. I think I am going to plan on staying mostly grain-free. I have heard from a lot of people that being grain free is very beneficial. I am seeing a lot of benefits, just in the last few days, which makes me want to continue. I also want to live a healthy lifestyle with clean eating, less processed foods, and local foods (preferably from my backyard). I still want to include creativity in my life, including crafts, gardening, as well as cooking. I'll be trying out a new recipe for bread with coconut flour as well as almond flour. Trying new recipes is always fun and creative. Like I said in my last post, with spring coming, I want to clean out stuff and get more organized. I am hoping that this diet change is going to help with my energy and clear headedness, which will help me with getting organized. I am hopeful, that with an organized life, I will have more time to be creative and also add some exercise into my life. Wish me luck on continuing my new way of life! Amy Sprouts and microgreens Latest mandala Curry turkey meatballs from paleomg.com

Figuring Out Who I Am

This winter has been a weird one. It started out pretty mild, the February hit and it has almost been the slowest winter. Though it has been cold and snowy, this is the first winter that I have not hated. Believe me, I am ready for spring, but I am dealing with the winter much better this year. I even, at times, wish we could move to Maine instead of thinking about moving South. With Spring on it's way, and the rebirth of life and energy, with longer days, and increased warmth to the days, I am taking this time to do some soul searching and taking some time to figure out who I am and what I need. I am looking at spring as a time for me to make changes in my life and as a time for me to reduce the clutter in my life and start fresh, or rebirth myself into the person I want to be. How do I plan on doing this? First, I am starting a 21 day sugar cleanse tomorrow. Second, I will be going through my belongings and looking to see what I can reduce, either by donating or by trashing/recycling. Third, I will be spending time getting organized so that my life is not the caps that I have been living (no ones fault but my own). Fourth, I will be increasing (ok actually doing) exercise. Finally, though this process, I am hoping to become more aware of me and who I am and what I want out of my life. I love my life! I love being married and having kids. I don't like what I look like or the amount of time I spend on the computer. I don't like how lazy I have become. I don't like how crappy I eat sometimes. I don't like how cluttered my life has become or how disorganized I am. These are the changes I want to make. I want to look in the mirror and be happy with who I am. I know that if I'm healthy and I get moving, I'll be happy with me. I will start moving and feeling better and stronger. I will spend less time on the computer and Facebook and more time with my family and actually be creative. I will get rid of clutter and get myself organized. With doing the sugar detox, I am hoping that my head will clear. I am hoping that I will be able to follow through with things and do what I need to do. I will be sharing my 21 day detox here, the good, the bad , and the ugly. I will share the foods I eat and how I feel while decoding. I'm not going to give up my coffee, but I am going to limit it and try to decrease the amount of cream in my coffee. I think eating clean, eating less sugar, and eating less foods that turn to sugar is going to me, my body, and my spirit loads of good! Amy

Thoughts

For the last few weeks, even months, I keep thinking about food, diet, nutrition as well as creativity, gardening, and other alternative/complementary health practices. With regards to my diet and my philosophy regarding diets, I think the biggest thing that I want to follow is clean eating. I plan to work at following the Palo diet, but I really want to eat clean. I am not against eating beans and grains, and even some dairy. I am also not against eating junk food once in a while. What I am against is beating myself up and judging myself when I don't follow my beliefs to the exact letter of the law. I am involved in a Facebook group about eating real food, and recently, there was a post about moderation and how moderation is not something that they would even think of. They were talking about how there is no such thing as eating healthy most of the time, but eating junk in moderation. Well, for me, that is not even something I could or would ever consider except for a short time. I would consider being extremely serious and focused if I were to do an elimination diet, or maybe a detox diet. With regards to my diet, I would be in a horrible position if I were to never eat anything bad for me. I think, at least for me, if I never had anything "bad" for me I would end up binge eating junk instead of allowing myself to eat a small amount and enjoy it, but then get back to eating healthy. I think, especially as women, we tend to beat ourselves up and have all sorts of negatives voices in our heads when we think we have done something wrong. I think its time to stop beating ourselves up when we "stray" and start enjoying life. It's important to be healthy and eat good nutrition foods, but it's also important to be good to yourself and enjoy life. Eating healthy and eating a good diet is important, but so is keeping your mind and spirit healthy too. I certainly need to focus more on keeping my mind and spirit healthy as well as my body. More recently, I have been looking and thinking, and talking about my diet, but I've kind of forgotten about my other passions. With the crazy winter we've had, I've somewhat forgotten about how I love to be in the dirt in my garden. I can't wait to get out there and get growing again. That will certainly help with my eating as well saw my budget. I also haven't been sewing or crafting or drawing like I want to. I also want to start meditating or even doing yoga as well as exercising with cardio and strength training. I am going to continue to work on my diet and continue to try to eat healthy. I am going to start making time to be creative. I need to make a point to be active and exercise. I also want to make a point to get outside and enjoy being outside and not stuck in the house. I know that I will make small changes and probably need to take one step forward and sometimes take 2 back, but I will continue to move forward without beating myself up. I chose to make this for dinner tonight. It was curry turkey meatballs from paleomg.com. It was so good and really easy.

My last creative project

These are my goals and my plans! Amy

My Journey

Now that I have decided on a path that I want to take my career, I figure I should start my own journey towards health and document it. Not that I haven't attempted this journey before and I even tried to document a whole new blog towards my health journey, but I think I am an a better place to move forward on this new health path that I have chosen and document it here and as well as document my creative attempts. Since this blog is meant to be about the balance of living a handmade and natural life, it is the perfect place to document both. This journey is going to be at least two fold. It will consist of me journey toward bettering my own health as well as my learning how to help others on their journey. I'm sure that my experience will help me understand what others may go through when they make the journey toward better health. I know that I am going to face issues with food addiction, stress, frustration, trying to get my family to eat healthier, and I'm sure others that I'm not even aware of right now. My journey is going to be eating a clean diet. I am not going too count calorie, points, fat grams, etc. I am going to eat fresh, home cooked, non processed meals and snacks. I am going to increase my daily movement. I am going to decrease and maybe even eliminate gluten, dairy, and sugar. I need to eliminate soda and artificial sweeteners and increase my water consumption. I am not prepared to share my starting weight, but suffice it to say, I need to lose about 20-30 pounds before I am happy with my weight. I am going to try not to focus too much on my actual weight, but it is a way to measure my progress. I'd like to be able to come to terms with the fact that I am almost 42 and will never be 120 pounds like I was when I was 20. I don't even want to be that skinny. I want to be comfortable in my own skin. I want to look at myself and see a healthy strong woman. I am going to start being more adventurous with my cooking ands creating my own recipes. This weekend, I make a mix of asparagus, spinach, peppers, and garlic cooked in butter and coconut oil with a touch of lemon juice added at the end. It was really good different than the basic greens and olive oil and garlic that I usually make, but not too crazy. I am really looking forward to this journey. I can't wait to be able to feel healthier and stronger. I hope that sharing this journey helps others to start on their own journey towards health and wellness. With this focus on food and exercise, I will not be forgetting the creative piece of my life. I want to make sure that I follow all my dreams and passions, both personally and professionally. Welcome to my journey! Amy

Diets, Nutrition, and Gardeing

For a while now, I have been thinking and rethinking my passions, thinking about this blog and why I started it. I honestly am passionate about living a handmade and natural life, but also a balanced life. If I remember correctly, I started this blog about 5 1/2 years ago when the kids were just babies and we started going to farmer's markets with them. I thought back then, at probably 36 years old, that I was going through a midlife crisis. I think I have slowly been going through one, because now at almost 42, I am still questioning my life and what I want out of it, and how to go about getting it. I know I do want to change the focus of my social work career. I would love to do something with food and food related issues. I, almost constantly think about food, diet, and nutrition and how it relates in my life as well as others lives. I think about what is the best diet to follow for me and my family. As much as I hate to admit it, I sometimes even think about what fad diet, low calorie diet I can eat to just lose weight. I then come back and remind myself, I don't need a crazy fad diet, I need a lifestyle change. With that thought that I need a lifestyle change, I think more about what type of foods I should be eating and how best to afford those foods. When I think about how best to afford them and how best to be able to prepare them, I think about how difficult it must be for some people to be able to afford to actually purchase healthy foods as well as have the time to prepare them. I am lucky enough that I have the time to plan, buy, and cook healthy foods. I also have the money to buy decent quality food, but I wish I could afford to buy better quality foods. I also have space and time to have an actual backyard garden. When I think about what type of lifestyle diet change, I have thought about becoming vegan, going completely gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, eating a Palo diet, eating a clean food diet, and I'm sure there are many other diets that I have looked at. As I think about it, I think the best think to do is to eat a clean diet. I am almost sure that the lifestyle diet I plan to follow for myself is to eat clean. I don't think that meat is evil, but I do think that there is easily too much meat in most people's every day diet. I don't think that legumes are evil like some proponents of the Palo diet promote. I do think that gluten, some dairy and most sugar are not a good thing for most people. I think that t eh best thing people can do it to eat the least processed natural foods that one can find. One of the best things I have heard, is to eat foods that your grandparents would know or eat only foods that you are able to pronounce. I want to continue to work on making my garden the best it can be. I want to be able to walk out into my back yard and pick my produce. I would love to be able to walk into my backyard and get eggs from my own backyard chickens. I want to be able to have my children pick berries from pants in our backyard instead of having to but berries packed in plastic bins from the grocery store. I want to be able to go to my herb garden and flavor my food. I want to go to my flower garden and pick flowers for my house. I want to eat foods that are not processed at all prior to me cooking them. My ultimate goal is to eat mostly green veggies, limit my intake of starchy carbs, get rid of gluten, eat good healthy dairy, limit my meat intake so that I can afford to by good quality grass fed meat. I think that legumes are a good thing for our bodies, at least for me. I want to also look at eating foods in it's natural state, meaning eating some raw foods, but I don't think that a raw diet is the only way to eat, but it is important to have raw foods in our diet. I want to learn about the different types of diets out there so that I can make good choices, so that maybe I can educate others on how to be healthy. As I have thought about this, I have also thought about how to reach people who have limited access to good healthy food. I have thought about people who have limited access to education about healthy foods. I have thought how people don't have the time or the knowledge how to create tasty healthy food. I want to reach these people, especially kids and help them with how to do this. To do this, I need to make changes in my own life. I need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. I want to find a way to use my social work degree to reach these people. I want to try to make change. I want to work directly 1:1 with people, but I also want to make more systemic changes. I don't know that I can do this on my own, but I know I can do it with support from other like minded people. I want to work with other like minded people, but I'm not sure where to turn. My first goal is to start eating clean foods 99% of the time. I don't want to be a crazy obsessive person who can't allow myself or my family a treat once in a while. I want to start my garden, even though it is still winter here in MA and we still have feet of snow in our yards. I am going to start plants in my basement under grow lights. I am not going to buy breads and sugars because my family and I can't seem to stop eating it when it's around. I am going to buy the healthy foods and start looking at things in a more positive light, not in a way that is negative or punitive. I am going to look at the different foods I can have and how I can really make them enjoyable. I need to take time and really enjoy my food, not just stuff food down my throat to take care of the hunger in my stomach. I am going to learn to listen to my body and eat what it truly needs, not the junk that I think it is telling me it needs. Today was a good start, but a not so good middle, and an ok ending. I have a green smoothie for breakfast, but then went to a family party and ate junk. I never sat down with a plate of food and took time to enjoy what I was eating. I stood up and picked at different foods the whole time I was there. I then went home and didn't give in to the crappy cravings that I was having. I didn't continue to eating junk and crap and say I'll start tomorrow, which never come. I am restarting my healthy eating now, not tomorrow, not Monday after the weekend is over. Happy eating and living the handmade and natural life, Amy Fratto, LICSW

Happy New Year!!!

Good-bye 2014, and welcome 2015! Thankfully, unlike some of my friends, 2014 wasn't a bad year. My big accomplishment was testing and passing my LICSW test. This was a huge accomplishment and one of my major goals that I had set for myself. Another thing that I started was the 100 mandala challenge. I am loving creating these different mandalas. I finally learned what the zentangle method is. Since starting this blog more than 5 years ago, I have been trying to live a healthier, more natural, handmade life. I have had some ups and downs while I've been working on that. As much as I hate to admit it, there have been more downs than ups, but that is going to change this year. With the start of 2015, I am planning on putting forward my intentions for the new year and beyond. I am not going to make resolutions. I think using the word intention sets you in a better frame of mind and is a more positive way to embrace change. Within the 100 mandala challenge, I am also choosing a word of the year. I am hoping that my word/s of the year will help me with my intentions. Without further ado, here are my intentions for 2015: 1.) My word/s of the year are balance and passion: I intend to figure out my passions and how to follow them both personally and professionally. I think I know what they are and I will write more further down, I also want to have balance in my life, again, both personally and professionally. 2.) I intend to continue to create mandalas and go beyond 100. Creating these mandalas is my form of meditation. Along with creating my own mandalas, I want to learn more about the practice of mandalas. 3.) I have decided to join a 100 days of real food challenge. I intend to get rid of the processed foods that I still have in my life. One of the goals that I had when I started this blog was to eat healthier and more natural foods. I have had some great moments and some really not great moments. I intend to learn more about how foods affect out mind/body/spirit as well as taste good and also how our food and how its gown/raised affects our environment. I want to see if there is a way to use food in my professional career as a social worker. 4.) I intend to treat my body the way it deserves to be treated. I intend to start looking at my body as a whole and look at it from the mind/body/spirit connection. 5.) I intend to make being creative a priority. One of my friends started a Facebook group called "make art everyday" and asked me to join in it. I intend to make time every day to be creative and make something handmade. My intentions for 2015 follow along with my intentions of this blog. I am hoping that I 2015 will be the year that I start making changes and start following through with what I see as my life goals and dreams. I plan to share what I learn about food, mandalas, creativity and the mind/body/spirit connection, and my journey through this year. Amy

Clean Eating

I have been wanting to change my diet for some time now. Recently, on Facebook, one of my friends (http://collagediva.typepad.com) mentioned how she went cold turkey and started. She dealt with the headaches and the detox symptoms, and she has done it. She said she feels great. I want to follow in her footsteps, but I am not going to go cold turkey. Yesterday, my first day back from vacation, I stopped at the grocery store on my way to work instead of stopping at dunkin donuts or my local muffin store. I ended up getting salad, yogurt, trail mix and things like that to take to work so that I didn't eat junk. I passed up candy and ordering out, which was a pretty big step for me. I did however go home and order take out. I had 2 good meals and 1 so not good meal. This morning, to help clear out my fridge, I made some bread with some dough that I had leftover. Again not the best, but the best part about eating it was that it didn't give me that same feeling that I usually have when I eat bread, you know, that feeling like I can't stop at just one piece and I have to eat the whole loaf. Was it good? Yes, but was is fantastically good? No. Again, I just got home from vacation and I need to go shopping. My husband has a broken foot, so I feel bad leaving him longer than my work day with the kids and I just get lazy once they go to bed. My lunch today should be interesting. I have a couple of carrot sticks, celery sticks and broccoli. Tonight will be chicken and greens and potatoes from the garden. I need to look into what I can eat on a clean diet. I want to ultimate3ly give up sugar, gluten, dairy, and caffeine. That means no more morning caffeinated coffee, no more bread, no more of many of the things I love. I am hoping that by giving up all these foods, I am going to gain some much more as is my family. If anyone has some resources to pass on, I would love you to share. I have some of my own from the past that I will share as I go along on this journey. This is definitely going to be a journey with small steps taken and I'm sure a few set backs. I know that I am of the mind set now that I want to do this, I just need to make the change and I know I will feel better. I'm hoping that I can learn enough over time to start using food and creativity in my professional career to deal with mood issues. I am hoping to do some research into how food, creativity, gardening, etch can play a role in our mood and behavior. I know that there are people out there that have done the research, and I need to read up on the research and learn more! Hope you all can join me on my journey to living a more balanced natural and creative life! Amy

Now What!

I did it! I passed! I am now a LICSW, a licensed independent clinical social worker. I have now completed so many goals and dreams in life.  I am married to a great man, have 3 great children, a masters degree now with my LICSW (which I have wanted ever since I was in undergrad social work school), a house, a career, and so much more. It is now time to work on new goals, new dreams, new passions.

What are my passions, dreams, and goals? Where do I go from here?  I actually do like being a social worker, and maybe it's just me being overly optimistic, but I think there are so many avenues that I can go down with my social work degree and now my LICSW, I just need to figure out what!

Sometimes, I think I want to do something with health and wellness.  I'm thinking something on the idea of how food affects you: body, mind, and spirit. I would love to do something with growing food, choosing foods, cooking foods, and how it all impacts so many parts of ours lives.

I want to talk about exercise and food choices and how that can affect how we act, how we think, how we feel. I want to talk about how growing our own food is healthy not only to eat, but just being out in nature and being part of our own destiny when it comes to food choices. Destiny is not a great word, but it somewhat conveys what I want to. There is something about being outside and "playing" in dirt, taking something from seed or a small plant and being able to nourish ourselves. That being said, I need to take my own advice and make better choices.

Another thing that is a passion, is creativity and how being creative can impact us; mind. body, and spirit.  I love the idea of old fashioned hand crafts, and doing these "crafts" by hand, the way they did before there were machines.  Not that there is anything wrong with using a sewing machine, a table saw, a slow cooker for soap, but there is something satisfying about creating something that doesn't need anything special for equipment.

I love creating! I love being able to take some material and something for warmth, and create a quilt. I love, for example, that a quilt, that can start out as old clothes, old bed sheets, or very expensive material can then become something new and something comforting, something nourishing for the giver and the receiver. I love that , what basically starts out as a piece of string, can become a sweater, an afghan, a hat, something to keep you warm and comfortable, and by extension (hopefully) feeling safe.

I love being able to provide for myself and my family with out always relying on stores to provide all our food and all our clothing and bedding.  There is nothing wrong with buying things at the store, I do so more often than I would like, but it is nice to know that I can grow my own food (at least some of it) and create clothing or items to keep us warm.

I think it is a lost art, one that is hopefully returning, to know how to do simple cooking, sewing, and other fix it type things.  I have the conversation with my husband (more than he would like I'm sure) that Home Ec and Shop are two classes that should be back in the curriculum.  I think everyone should now how to do simple sewing, hemming or sewing a button on.  I think everyone should have a basic comfort level in the kitchen. I think it is important to know how to use tools.

I just heard about makerspaces and the maker movement, and am going to do more research about it. I'm hoping my next post can be more about that.  I'm thinking that maybe an area that I can get into and maybe use my social work degree and experience.  I would love to see a makerspace in Wakefield. Maybe that can be my new goal.

Amy Fratto, MSW, LICSW (I love seeing my name like this!)

My Life

This is the start of a crazy week. My twins have their annual physical tomorrow, then the next day my oldest has an appointment with his autism doctor, and then I take my LICSW test on Wednesday.  Along with this I have to work at three different nursing homes this week.  As usual, I am continuing to try to figure out life.  I keep trying to living the handmade and natural life that I want to live, but for some reason, it always seems so illusive.

I just read a blog post about " Our Year Without Groceries"  and I am re-inspired to continue with this dreams and desire to live a handmade and natural life.  As always, there is a balance, but I haven't quite found the balance I want or need.  I'm not sure that I could go a year without going to a grocery store, but I would love to try it.  I need to figure out how, just north of Boston, I can afford to eat local. I have a garden, and we should be set for tomatoes and kale, but I'm not sure what else.  Farmers markets here seem to be more of the "in thing" instead of a way of life.  I love going to our local farmers market, but, unfortunately it is really an expensive way to buy food.  I would love to support my local farmers, but I need to figure out how to keep it within my budget.

Along with the food issue, I need to work on the clothing issue.  I just read a story to my children about being green.  One way I want to live a greener life, other than with eating less processed foods, is to reuse clothing.  I have been really lucky with hand me downs for my kids, but I haven't been as lucky or as good with thrift stores and hand me downs for me.  I want and need to stop buying and adding to the excessive amounts of "stuff"

Once I pass my LICSW test Wednesday, I am hoping to do more than just nursing home social work.  I am hoping to do social work with my love of handmade and natural living. I would love to work with people to teach them how to live this way, But I need to learn how to live this way too.  I will keep trying and learning and failing and getting back up and trying again.

This blog is my dream and my ultimate goal and I will continue to work at living the life I desire.  I may not always live it and I may fall really hard, but I will continue to get back up and try again.  I hope that at some point, I will be able to share this with others!

Amy

Making Changes

I'm trying to maintain the reasons behind why I started this blog. The last few years haven't been easy nor have I been following through with my beliefs on food, eating, and creating.  I am the heaviest I have even been and for some reason, I can't seem to change my bad habits, or stop eating my trigger foods.  I was talking to a friend who lost some weight and she is doing a pretty strict weight loss program.  I can't remember exactly why she is doing, but what I do remember is that the foods she  not allowed seem to be my trigger foods. I joined in a 21 days of clean eating group on a blog written by a friend over at "Journey Toward Simplicity".  I haven't been all that great doing the complete clean eating, but it has made me think about what I am doing. 

I need to start eating clean more often. My goal with this blog was exactly that.  I wanted to start making my own food, eating out less,  and eating healthy foods that are actually found in nature. My problem is, I start off doing well, but never seem to last more than a very short time. I need to really pay attention to what my body is saying and give it what it needs, not what I think it is craving.  I'm sure my body is never really craving a hot fudge sundae from my local ice cream store (though I don't think its bad once in a while). I'm sure its craving a certain nutrient or a certain emotion, but not that food that I know is not healthy.

Our garden is planted and is finally starting to look good.  We've had some bizarre weather here in MA.  Winter seemed to go on forever, and even now, the weather is cooler than I think it usually is. I am not complaining.  I am actually loving the high 70's low 80's with cool nights. I am not a gardener, so I have no idea how or if the weather is affecting  my garden.  My Red Russian Kale is coming along well and I should be able to harvest soon, and I'm looking forward to it!

I also need to get back to being creative more often, but also actually finishing a project.  I can' keep starting a project and not finishing them. I need to start following my idea of upcycling and not always buying new.  I need to start remembering what I want out of my creative life and follow through. 

 I know that these changes aren't going to happen overnight, but I just need to keep pushing forward and remember to not beat myself up when I don't follow through.  I need to just get back up, brush myself off and start again!

Amy

P.S. My LICSW test is in 2 weeks.  I need to continue studying and I need to and ill pass this exam! I am hoping that will open up more avenues for me.  I can't wait to take the test and see the words "you passed".  Wish me luck and keep me in your thought and prayers!

Life

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.  I am hoping that I can test for my LICSW sooner than later.  That would mean that I would have so many more options with in my career as a social worker.  I am trying to stay positive about remaining a nursing home social worker, at least part time, so that I can make money and then maybe do something with my love over creating and natural foods part time.

I have figured out that I do like to being a social worker, but I want to pursue a career in fiber arts and maybe even nutrition.  I know that I need to get some more education for both of these to be a career.  My 3 kids will all be in school all day in the fall, and since my husband is a teacher, I hopefully will be able to go back to work during the day starting in July.

I am hoping that when I go back to work during the day I'll have more time to work on things that are hobbies now and then maybe they will be more than hobbies.  I need to have a focus, and I need to get some more education on how to use my hobbies in a professional way, especially within my social work career.

I do know that I need to be better at following through with things in my personal life.  I  have been better at eating more naturally and less processed, but I really need to do more.  Today is the last day of winter, not that it means much in New England, but I am hoping that warmer weather is on its way with the Springtime.  I am hoping that with the warmer weather and starting our garden, I will be able to keep eating more naturally and be even less processed!

Welcome Spring!

Crocus from my garden!

Well, Hello There!

Well, Hello!

It's been a while.  I've been at the computer a lot lately, but not on my own blog, just every other blog out there, or so it seems.  I have written multiple drafts of different posts, but never seem to be able to finish them.  I'm hoping to get a new laptop or tablet or combo so that I can spend time doing different research and maybe even post a little more often.  I have started so many blogs, but I think that this one is one that I can maintain and keep going, all while combining the different aspects of my life.

I've gone a little off track with both this blog and my life.  I started writing this blog, trying to be more health conscious and living locally and naturally.  I seem to have gone away from this belief and started to eat more processed foods vs natural foods, buying things at large box style store vs local stores or even better making my own, and spending more time in front of the computer or the TV vs spending time creating or reading.

Today, I started making my own farmer's cheese and some sour dough bread.  I also started infusing some vodka (marshmallow and cranberry not that it's a healthy food).  I plan to try to make some homemade caramels too, again not a healthy food but better than processed store bought.  I will be making some yogurt over night too.  I've been growing my own sprouts lately and have tried to grow micro greens.  I just need to start the micro greens again.  My goal is to continue to make my own meals instead of eating out.  That way, I know what we are eating and we are saving money.

I want to start making my own clothes or at least up-cycling thrift store finds or hand me downs.  I Find myself sewing a lot more than doing other types of crafts.  I like being creative in general, but I really love sewing!  I really love quilting!

I hope to start posting more often.  Hopefully, my posts will consist of foods that I make and why and how I made them.  I hope to post more about the homemade things I make, bath and body items, household cleaning items.  I also hope to post more about the handcrafted things I make and how I make them.

This is a blog about balance, so it will also have some posts on how to not go crazy trying to live a natural and handmade life.  My house is definitely not a house that is free from plastic toys and they probably have too many toys.  The kids probably watch too much TV, but we are working on that (for me too).   Here, in New England, it's been a snowy and cold winter.  I am looking forward to spring and doing more outside things as a family.  I am hoping to get out to western MA to see some parts of my own state that I haven't ever really experienced.

I'm looking forward to being back on here and sharing how I have "the balance of living a handmade and natural life" with 3 small kids, a husband, a dog, and working part time.  Hopefully this will help me keep on track!

Amy

Creativity and Careers and Life

In my last post, I wrote how I was going to move out of my comfort zone, by joining a local artist group.  Well, I joined, but I haven't sent any pictures of things that I have worked on.  I still haven't allowed myself to call myself and artist.  I am still having a hard time thinking of myself as an artist versus a hand crafter.  While I consider hand-crafter's in general to be artists, I haven't thought of myself in that manner.

I started a new blog, http://reids-design-corner.blogspot.com, to document more of my creation as an "artist".  I am still trying to figure out my artistic point of view.  On one level, I just plain and simple, love to create.  On the other hand, I want to take my creating to a more significant level than just hobby.  I would love to find a way to make money doing something creative.

I have thought about going back to school for art therapy, but then I'm not sure that I really want to do therapy and art in the same job, maybe.  More recently, I have thought about going back to school and starting  whole new career.  I am thinking about getting a degree in fibers and textiles.  I could still be a social worker, but I could maybe teach or do something else in the fiber and textile field.  I live so close to the mill town and a quilt museum, that I could maybe do something there.

Life is still up in the air regarding careers, but I am trying to make a point of being creative.  unfortunately, I am so exhausted, that I don't always get to it.  One of these days, I am hoping to teach a class at a local craft studio.  I think once i got over my anxiety, I would love it.  I just need to get over my anxiety of failure.

Amy