Going Organic

You know you've seen it in the store and wondered why in the world people would spend extra money on milk. Is organic really that much different? I'll tell you, I was skeptical at first. I'm all about saving money where I can--especially on groceries--and organic doesn't really do that for you. But a co-worker of mine started talking about the different chemicals and ingredients in food that is not organic and I started to cringe, so I did my own research.

She was right. It's crazy the way money has driven the food industry to do some crazy things. The amount of hormones added to dairy products and meat is ridiculous. A chicken really should not go from egg to plate in 6 weeks. So that's why we've (maybe I should say I've) made the decision that we are going organic.... as much as possible.

We started out about 8 months ago with organic milk. It's really not that much more expensive considering its shelf life is almost twice as long as hormones. And we've added since then vegetables, pasta, spaghetti sauce, and slowly other things. It's not easy to eat organic around here (and especially now that Kroger is gone :() so I do the best I can. When Harris Teeter had their double coupons I stocked up on stuff! This also means going to Raleigh to grocery shop. Organic meat is near impossible to find at a decent price so we've started getting all natural meat from a local farm and I'm not one to eat a lot of meat but I really do enjoy the stuff they have.

This summer we'll have a garden where I plan to grow TONS of yummy veggies and will hopefully figure out how to freeze them for the winter. And eventually by the time we have kids we'll be almost completely organic. I can really tell a difference in my body when I eat organic foods versus other things and I can only imagine how all those processed foods impact our children's bodies throughout life when that's pretty much all they eat.

Answered Prayers

2011 has started off to be another wonderful year for us. We have really made it a point this year to make sure we spend as much time together as we can -- no interruptions, just the two of us time -- and that has been amazing. We don't have to go to dinner together or watch a movie together. We are happiest simply curled up watching tv or talking. It's pretty amazing.

One of the most amazing things that has happened this year was so incredibly moving for us. You know how you have those prayers that you've prayed for over and over before and after awhile they seem to slip your mind? Well that's how we had been with one thing in particular. On Thursday evening Blake & I prayed just before I went to bed and he went to work. When making a list of things to pray for we decided to include this one on the off chance that maybe we could "remind" God that we felt it was important for us. Well Blake calls me on Friday morning to tell me that when he walked into work the night before he was handed a piece of paper to sign that will allow him to come to first shift. The exact words I replied shouldn't be repeated but I was surprised and amazed at the power of God.

So that's our first answered prayer of the year. It may not seem like a big deal, but believe me.... if you've ever tried to start a marriage on two different schedules.... this is a big deal. And we are excited to soon be on the same schedule for the first time in about two years.