I've been looking over my food budget and J & I spend a ton of money on food every month - basically it rounds out to $600 a month for 2 people on all organic/grass fed meat/ raw milk - food. Some of this is due to easy convenience foods for J as his job is very physically demanding and he has certain things he has to "have" like red bull (which is bloody expensive for sugar and caffeine) ,which, yes, is not organic and I wish he wouldn't drink it, but he has to have ... Read Full Story

Everywhere you turn you keep hearing how food prices are going up. Milk is up, rice is up, corn is up. I recently read this story discussing how this is affecting many families and it made me pause and look at how our food economy is tied together with the price of fuel, the governments subsiding of crops and how stepping away from our food process had made us more vulnerable.When was the last time you bought something from the store and could tell where it was made. Sure it's says ... Read Full Story

J has gone and broke our dang piggy bank.Both J and I are very adverse to doctors and dentists. Call us lazy, call us chickens but that last thing either of us want to do is have someone else poking around in our business. So a month ago J says "my teeth are bugging me" and I talk to a couple of coworkers and find a dentist that they recommend who lives near us and J goes in to get checked out.Now mind you, this is the Monday after the tax stimulus hit our bank account and we boug... Read Full Story

I found this funny video on you tube and I just had to share Read Full Story

In February we made the plunge and purchased our first three hens. I found a farmer in Mollala and bought three buff orpingtons - Rosemary, Sage and Thyme. Cost for chicks - $10. A week previous to that I had purchased the items to make up their brooder (large clear plastic bin, heat light, feeder, waterer and pine) - $30. I made the mistake of buying some of these items at pet food stores where the cost is marked up a lot - if you decide to go this route go to your local feed store. ... Read Full Story

I was tagged by Tracy at My Money Story . Here's my six word memoir:Silly coconut girl laughs, loves family.I'm going to tag:Cedar Chest of DreamsJust Simply Jennifer The Domestic DeficitHere are the rules:1. Write your own six word memoir2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post4. Tag at least 3 more blogs (I cut the number down not everyone likes to "play")5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs w... Read Full Story

Since J started working we've been going whole hog and spending like crazy. I'm trying to start reigning in and begin the task of paying of the big debts so the transition into a one income family isn't such a shocker. What I really need to do is get a part time job but I am absolutely fighting myself on this. I need to figure something out by the summer and will let you know what I decide. One of the easier ways to save money is to cut back on expenses. Food is the major expe... Read Full Story

My clock has been going off lately( J's too) and we're both counting down until we can finally start our family. I've been thinking hard about having a home birth and I found a documentary called "The Business of Being Born" produced by Rikki Lake and it was such a beautiful movie that for once, showed birth as a rite of passage for women versus a SCARY sterile procedure. I recommend anyone planning on having children watch it. Read Full Story

I was searching online trying to find blogs about sustainable living and stumbled across a freegan blog. If you don't know what a freegan is they are people who "who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources." I had no idea how much food was being thrown away by grocery stores that was still very edible. I found a post where a gal had gone dumpster diving and ended up with enough fo... Read Full Story

My first brush with yoga was with some Power Yoga Videos I purchased, wow, 8 years ago. I loved the combination of stretch and strength. The videos were only 20 minutes long so when I signed up for my first yoga class at the local community center I had no idea how much better a longer hour long class would be. I haven't been able to keep taking the class as my budget is somewhat pinched (although $60 for 36 classes is a great price) and it doesn't always fit in my schedule.I de... Read Full Story