I am personally not a mother, however as I look around from the outside in as my friends and family all start having babies there seems to be a LOT of self doubt. I don't envy your job, I don't care how you slice it, stay at home, or working mom - its one of the most challenging and from what I hear fulfilling experiences one can ever experience. Diane Lauer is a Wellness Expert out the States, she wrote an article that got my attention about "How to Shop for Groceries when you hate it and Cooking for those that don't have time or hate it" It's a wonderful read. I highly recommend you check it out as well as her website www.simpleabundantwellness.com So I thought I would do a quick interview with Diane about some of her tips (as a mother and a Wellness Coach) for creating a healthier household and feeling GREAT about it. This is a short video, so it won't take much time but it's got some pretty awesome stuff in it!

P.s after you listen see below because I had an AWESOME conversation with her after and some stuff she said just made me love her EVEN more, and I know you will too! 

Some additional tidbits from Diane Lauer
Diane suggests (also in the audio) going grocery shopping without your children, her kids don't watch much television but they tend to get drawn in by the targeted advertising in the stores, and she finds it less stressful to shop without them. Plus there is a little bit of "ignorance is bliss" what they don't know won't hurt them (in this case they don't know about all the sweet treats or the latest toys etc).

Diane has some really great suggestions for treating your kids as individuals, understanding their bio-individuality (a really great word!)It speaks to understanding that our bodies terrain is not going to be the same from one person to the next. Diane uses the Ayurvedic principles to better understand each child's body and what their needs are.


Diane talked to me a little bit about how she manages to keep her own confidence and self worth up while parenting in a world where there is so much choice and so many options its so easy to doubt. I asked her this because I see it all around, while our mothers did what their mothers did and nobody really questioned anything, now there is more research, more technology to share what people in various parts of the world are doing and its hard not to doubt whether what we're choosing is the best for us or the children. Diane is very honest with her children expressing what she needs, explaining she isn't perfect and accepting herself for that but also getting acceptance from her children. She isn't always going to give them what they ask, and they know that, she has created an understanding. Diane is not afraid to take the kids to the farm - which sometimes is not their idea of a "great afternoon" but she says they always leave happy, and in the end what they are craving is connection and that's what they get from being together as a family at the farm. Maybe they didn't go to the arcade (do they still have arcades? hahah I think Im dating myself), but they secretly ended up having a great time. And I would bet quite a bit that in several years from now, the times they will treasure will be the times they spent with their siblings at the farm, playing in the dirt! (That is something I can say from experience).

Diane was diagnosed with Crohns disease at age 14, and attempted to heal herself for 20 years through western medicine modalities. All the while she says she wanted to get off the meds and to get back to "living her life". In 2010 she had 3 kids and was very ill, she decided to do some things differently and become accountable (I really love that word heheh). She has since been able to heal herself through many other modalities and she can share them with you via a very individual phone coaching session, she does offer things from her clinic as well, but if you're not in the area a phone conversation might be best. I asked if she does group coaching sessions, but in general because she does things so specifically for you (back to the bio-individuality again) she is best able to serve through one on one coaching.

I hope you enjoyed the audio and could take some tips and tricks from it.

Remember to Love love and to love your food :D
Melissa

Speech for March Against Monsanto
Hello, my name is Melissa I’m also The Farmer’s Daughter – make that The ORGANIC farmer’s daughter. 
I wanna tell you a little story – once upon a time it was safe to eat the food in the grocery store! (ok maybe its not really a story). I say that because I know we are all here today working towards a world we want to live in and feel GOOD about living in.
I want to see a world that how decisions are made regarding OUR food be BACK in the power of those who are EATING the food. 

I can not take credit for this, a friend of mine runs a website that is based out of the states (so some of it is a little irrelevant for the Canadian folks). I thought this article was quite nicely written and succinct. If you want to see the whole article make sure to visit Eat Local Grown

8) No More Canned Tomatoes - The acidity leaches the BPA from the lining of the can, so much so that it suppresses sperm count, and destroys reproductive eggs.

7) No More Corn Fed Beef - Corn fed beef (which is most beef at any food outlet) is lower in essential nutrients, the animals are not as healthy resulting in reduced health for you. A recent comprehensive study conducted by the USDA

Well folks, as we grow more and more aware of health I can honestly say that I get about 2 emails per week looking for grass fed butter, with the growth of the paleo movement and sites such as the Civilized Caveman and Marks Daily Apple, Cave Girl Eats, Against All Grain and of course the soaring success of the Dr. Joseph Mercola site. On top of that The Weston A Price chapters and philosophy is gaining momentum, its no WONDER this wonderful healthy food is in greater and greater demand.

But WHERE does one find GRASS FED butter in Canada? Well friends I'm sorry to inform you, you CAN'T. (I would love to be wrong on this BTW, so if you know of anyone that is, please let me know I'll send an enormous amount of business their way). Well that's not totally true, you CAN find Grass Fed butter from places like Raw Milk Cow Shares and private membership situations like that, so if you are comfortable with raw milk and understand its benefits and are ok with the risks I highly recommend you support the small farmers that are doing this, one of those farmers talks openly about his struggle with the legal aspects of it here. 

So WHY can't you find publicly available Grass Fed Butter (even Milk for that matter). Ensuring its Organic would be a whole other story.

Quite simply (and maybe a little bit cynically put), you can't find it because feeding cows on grass doesn't produce volume, it produces VALUE, but not volume.

In Canada we have a supply managed dairy industry, which as explained in previous posts is good for farmers that are apart of it. It also inhibits new entrants due to the 25,000 per cow upfront cost (that doesn't include buying the cow or the land or the equipment). This ensures that there are enough dairy farmers to feed demand but not too many to water down the price. In theory its good. However this supply managed system inherently values volume, you don't get paid on the amount of micro nutrients in your milk or the fat soluble vitamin counts, you get paid on litres and gallons. So like any other business farmers are looking at ways to maximize their investment to capitalize. If they can take 2 cows and create the same amount of milk as 3... and save the cost of buying that extra cow, feeding that extra cow, now all of a sudden the return on investment goes way up.

The way farmers do this is by feeding high energy feed such as fermented corn silage to their cows as well as genetically selecting for maximum milk production. We know corn in an animals diet mitigates any of the "grass fed" health benefits, and that a cow needs to be on purely grass for the best results. I do know that even pure grass fed farmers find it difficult to keep healthy weight on cows in our treacherous winters (I will say that the "grass fed" approach comes mostly from warmer climates with longer growing seasons, so we have to consider our own "terrior" when thinking about these things). So farmers in winter who are grass fed will likely feed some small grains to the cows (small grains are a different ball game all together than corn- that's for a different post). This is because they are being milked twice a day and keep producing milk, on only hay the cow will lose weight due to the amount of energy she is exerting.

So long story short due to the fact that all publicly available milk must be pasteurized and therefore within the Milk Marketing Board and the DFO's (Dairy Farmer's of Ontario) system, the farmers simply couldn't make money feeding only grass to their cows, the production goes way down and they wouldn't be able to feed their family and pay the bank.

Here is an image of an award winning dairy cow for her production, if you aren't instantly reminded of the image that I've posted right next to it... well I don't know what to say, but its the first thing that popped into my head.

I'm not sure what the woman on the left did to get her veiny muscular physique. But I'm sure that the woman on the left was produced from year and years of genetic selection, well I have seen how genetic selection plays out in various animals. In my chicken flock it is just simply sad to see that because of genetic selection for big meat birds their "chicken-ness" has totally left them, they NEED to be vaccinated according to the hatchery because they don't have the immune systems to handle it without. So taking this into consideration I have to be wary of cows that are so genetically selected for production, as they stop looking like cows and start to look like franken-cows... which excuse me for thinking, but that HAS to have some effect on their biological make up and subsequently their milk, but I'm JUST a Farmer's Daughter, who am I to say that.

So there you have it, a little on the lack of Grass Fed Butter in Canada. Even diary operations that are ORGANICALLY certified are also within the supply management system and are paid on production. They must feed organic corn however and also have their cows out on pasture for a specified number of hours per day, they are STILL not purely grass fed. You can find grass fed butter in the States though from Kerry Gold and even here they say that they can not import their products to Canada at this time (after they list a whole bunch of places you can find it... weird).

The best way to find Organic grass fed butter in Canada... own a cow.

Happy cow hunting
The Organic Farmer's Daughter

This is a pretty hot topic with a lot of network marketing companies promoting their lean shakes and flavoured protein products, whether it be vegetable, soy or whey.

I am working on a page called "Ask the Farmer's Daughter". Here you'll be able to ask me any questions you want about well, anything you want. I'll tell you right now I don't know how to grow Thyme or Money on trees... yet! (haha see what I did there).

Anyways I thought I would take a question from one of my best customers as I know its a popular question.

What do you think about Protein Powders (she mentioned a company but we'll keep that anonymous), I've heard from my alternative health care practitioner that they are good so I've just been going along with it, but recently Ive been following someone on twitter who investigates products and she says there are additives and its not really good for you?

so here is my very not a professional health practitioner, just a farm girl who used to play varsity sports and heavily use protein powder response:

1) I encourage you to form your own opinion for whats right for you, you will find as many practitioners as there are, there are that many different opinions on this subject and they will all have very fancy scientific evidence to prove it (I've always wanted to get them in one room and have them square off.. wouldn't that be interesting)

2) I had to ask myself the question how does whey protein turn into powder, I know from growing up on the farm and milking my one lovely cow, and making cheese from that milk that whey is VERY much a liquid, I even contemplated drying it in my dehydrator once (which I don't recommend trying at home). I know that these places have very fancy high tech equipment to take a liquid and make it a solid, but I just have to wonder whether that process somehow changes the integrity of the protein, whether it was organic, free range, grass fed whey or organic soya, or other vegetable proteins.

3) I can see a little bit more logically soya or vegetable - you'd just grind up the rice and peas right? Why then don't we just eat rice and peas. My understanding is it is a concentrated protein in a small amount, which sounds good, but does our body really need that isolated macronutrient or should that macronutrient exist in a form and quantity recognizable by the body, you know with all that extra stuff like vitamins and nutrients and fibre?

4) I don't know how places can produce that MUCH protein powder, on such a massive scale. I guess I'm jaded but I just don't see many things that are in the long term good that are produced on such a large scale.

5) we know that protein digested creates an acidic ash in the body, and if we are aiming for balanced PH for optimal health, why would we overload our body with concentrated amounts of something that creates acidity?

That being said I know I lived off them in university, they definitely are tempting on a busy schedule and wanting to get all your nutrients in all within budget.

I am not totally against taking supplements, I do think that we pay more for our food to get it from good sources so we can get most of our nutrients from our food - we don't expect grocery store food to cut it anymore, but is protein shakes and supplements the answer? I realize life happens and sometimes our bodies get out of balance, mine does all the time. But Ive decided for ME it doesn't work to be packing down the protein as a way of life.

What are your thoughts? are you a protein powder lover or hater or even undecided?
Leave a comment below - I think its important to hear other peoples experiences to be able to form our own opinions.

Cheers
Melissa
The Farmer's Daughter

Last week I published an article on what your buying when your buying organic and why its important to do so. Due to the fact that there is very little scrutiny for false claims on local "Organic" food.

Today I will share with you a little bit of the reasons why we do not certify our eggs of our meat chickens. Now as you will see this can get a little tricky because we get into "who's telling the truth, and who isn't". Well my friends, I hate to sound like a broken record, but that is the primary reason you need to shake hands with your farmer and really get to know their code of ethics. Or as I say do the "kitchen cupboard or bathroom medicine cabinet test" that will give you a pretty good indication of where they are at when it comes to taking care of their own health and what they do with their health they are likely doing with their animals health.

Why don't we certify our chickens? Well due to some lovely laws put in place for supply management (and price stability for farmers who pay quota), small farms are only permitted to grow 300 meat birds per year.  The lowest entry point to grow within a supply managed system, (or to grow more than 300) is about 90,000 birds per year. Quota is measured in "units" and is 74.00/unit (1 unit = 13kg). So as you can see the numbers can get pretty high really quick.

Given we are permitted to raise only 300 birds per year, we would have to pay extra for the certification, we'd have to pay extra for processing at a facility that is inspected and certified for that purpose. We already feed them organic feed, we already do not give them any hormones in their feed, we mix our own feed, and we request that our broilers be not vaccinated (which you can only do if they are not the white rocks, the certain breed of bird that is known for its rapid weight gain - as they apparently cant survive without vaccination, and they are not permitted to sell them without vaccination - according to hatchery).  So we go with heritage breed birds. If we were to certify our birds organic we would be making even less than we are now on them. We don't feed corn, and we give them organic minerals and supplements. I am sure not to sell them as "Organically certified" birds, but they sure are raised on a certified Organic farm. We do sell Eggs into retail environments, but it is usually accompanied with a whole story about how they are raised and while its not the best, we hope that conscientious shoppers take the time to read how we raise our egg layers). Due to the watering down of the term by people who are using natural and organic and local interchangeably, we have opted not to certify them. However that requires that you and I need to have a conversation about whats important to you and how I raise the birds, to see if there is a match. I am careful not to sell the birds into an environment such as a retail environment that would make that conversation not possible because I wouldn't want to lose that connection to the consumer as I want to have them rest assured that we are doing everything we can to provide a healthy bird (above and beyond organic requirements - eg/ Vaccination is allowed in organic, we do not vaccinate). When you DO find organic chicken in the store, you can rest assured it was raised in a long barn, it was supposed to have access to outside, but I know of many circumstances where they do not. Often times even when they do have access to outside the birds have been so genetically selected for production their "chicken-ness" is gone, they don't bother walking around even when given the chance to. So I have to wonder if these "Organically Certified" large scale productions are really what the idea was behind organic labeling in the first place. On top of that if its relatively simple to get certified organic chicken, you have to wonder then what these naturally raised operations are doing, if its obviously less than the certification standard.

So there you have it, we aren't allowed to produce the quantity that would make our overhead costs worth it,(but on a responsible scale that would still allow us to produce a quality product) and so we opt not to certify, which may make us less credible at a farmers market, but in the long run its just not worth it. So is your farmer not certifying because his profit margins are so small or is he or she not certifying because the paperwork is too much, what is the reason? Are you ok with naturally raised, given there are so many varying degrees of natural?

Articles outlining the issues
Ag Annex
Local Food Plus

So here is the thing, Organic is becoming less and less trusted (from feedback from my customers). We have been Certified Organic since 1987 (let me tell you there weren't many of us back then). I'll start by outlining the basic concept of a CERTIFIED organic label and what its basic function was and still is. The image to the right has been causing confusion in the consumer world. Each grocery store, each farmer, each wholesaler, and any seller of food will have a different set of standards that they determine is natural - some places you can actually look into what they mean, such as some grocery chains, or the free from program at sobeys, but many often do not have their standards so widely available.

Certified Organic means that a 3rd party comes to inspect your farm every year, to ensure that what you say your doing is in deed what you are actually doing. Every step of the way along the chain of custody also needs to be inspected. Places such as egg grading stations, butchers, abattoirs, packaging facilities, cleaning facilities all need to be inspected to ensure that there are no banned substances used (such as specific harmful cleaners or packages). The concept of a CERTIFIED organic product is that you can trace it back to the very farm, the very date it was born or grown, and processed so that there is accountability. Each farmer must submit any complaints that they have received with certification, we must also maintain testing samples of our soil, our water, and track all sales. What you are buying when you buy certified organic is accountability and integrity.

Ok so now why is this label being undermined? Well for many years there has been no enforcing the labeling or false labeling claims. So CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) got involved to enforce it - this is a good thing. However in actual fact what is happening is that the only things being verified for certification numbers are those products that cross any provincial or federal borders. So now we have a conundrum, we want to buy local food, but anything that is produced in Ontario, processed in Ontario, and then sold in Ontario is not subject to the same scrutiny as those things that cross borders. Essentially you can get "Organic" food everywhere and people can call it that without any consequence if its all kept within the province. What that means is that people are experiencing farms (lets refer to them as pseudo Organic for conversation purposes) that are sub par, and food that is produced in whatever way that farmer sees fit, not verified by a third party and certainly not traceable. So if you are an Organic consumer then make sure that what your buying is CERTIFIED Organic, you can get the certification number and you will be able to find them online depending on the certifying body
Pro-Cert
Eco-Cert
Those are 2 of the main certifying bodies in Ontario. Here is a list of all of the certifying bodies in Ontario from OMAFRA Website (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture)

Here is a TEST - check out the image below, and before you read on, think about why you might or might not purchase something with this label.

So what did you come up with? Would you purchase it? or would you think twice?

1) this is enticing because if you are aware of how pervasive GMO's are you'd want to ensure things like corn, cotton, canola and Wheat are organic if nothing else.
2) however this gives zero indication of whether the claim for organic is verified, ESPECIALLY if it has not left the province anyone can produce fun little labels like this.
3) This means the whole product is not organic - that the wheat might be, which is great, but that also means that the package can not be labelled as organic, so if only parts of the product are organic is not required to be processed in an organic facility, so no certifying body will put their stamp of approval on something that is only partially organic. A company may provide the certification number for their organic wheat, but often it is from various sources, so the only way to truly know is if it is stamped ORGANIC by a 3rd party body, but of course the whole product must be organic then, not just parts of it.

CONFUSING right?

Well this is where I give you my pitch for getting to know your farmers, eating simply and building those crucial relationships, because if your farmer is eating organic and treating himself and his or her health by the means of which he professes he does his crops and animals, then that to me is almost a greater seal of approval. I'm not saying CERTIFIED organic is the only way to go, I'm saying that in the absence of a relationship and perhaps a knowledge of farming, certified organic is your best bet and an accountable one with integrity. Come check out -Vibrant Farms  Certified organic since 1987

In Response to Lorne Hepworth’s article in Farmer’s Forum – GM opposition ignores benefits, relies on old scare tactics
The newspaper does a pretty good job of getting both sides of the GMO story, however this article in particular really boiled my blood. This section as indicated from the editor is for "highly researched fact based information". Well you'll see here that its pretty much just mud slinging and zero facts.

Lorne Hepworth wrote an article in the opinion section of the Farmers Forum.  I’d like to take a few moments to completely discredit his attempt at discrediting anyone who opposes GM crops.

He states “strong and science based regulatory systems ensure that such innovations are safe for human health and the environment”

This is clearly not true because we have GM crops and we ALSO have scientists speaking out about the harmful effects of such crops, we also have evidence of them being put under extreme gag orders, only to be able to speak after 10 years (which now may be too late).  It is clear in science that the foods that these crops produce are significantly lower in nutritional content, that it is when it is combined with gut bacteria and gut environments that it then becomes harmful.  Reference Genetic Roulette. Pg 120 “Genetic engineering ignores and disrupts complex relationships in the DNA” Robert Mann Biochemist University of Auckland, NZ

He states “Tangible benefits to consumers by way of lower food costs”.

Given that we already have determined that there is significantly less nutrients in the plant that is a GM variety, and that the consumer will now have to purchase MORE of a product to receive the SAME amount of nutrients. Yes it will fill you up, and it will also create less micro-nutrients in ones food, therefore leading to illness when our bodies don’t get the building blocks to life they start to break down. This is especially problematic for those having to pay for healthcare in the states. Your healthcare bill will sky rocket because your food is cheaper.  This relates to the glyphosate that is in the round up used to keep weeds down on GM crop varieties. The glyphosate works such that it reduces nutrient uptake for up to 30 years from the soil (what has been studied so far).  Reference Dr. Huber “Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease”. This also relates to a comment Mr. Hepworth makes later in his article that by not having to plow we’ll keep soil nutrients. He states “these genetically enhanced crops can also reduce or eliminate the need for farmers to plow the land to control weeds, which significantly enriches soil and reduces erosion. “ Well Mr. Hepworth it is proven that this lovely glyphosate is making for super weeds, weeds developing faster than they can create new technologies. Nature is a wonderful thing isn't it!

 
He states “…Canadian farmers continue to choose to plant GM crops because of the benefits they see in terms of improved yields and quality and environmental sustainability”

I would caution him to so easily throw around the word sustainable. As mentioned before if the process of growing these crops reduces the ability for any plant to uptake nutrients from the soil, first it is definitely NOT environmentally sustainable, secondly it is TRUE that farmers must buy seeds every year and are not permitted to save the seeds, and must pay a patent fee of 15 dollars per acre in many cases,  this is also not in the category of what makes practices environmentally sustainable. What is also true according to Dr. Huber in his book (mentioned above) is that those so called high yields are not entirely true, sure they maybe one year, but what about next year when there are no nutrients left, and what about the year after that when now the seeds cost a lot more (as we’ve seen with GM crops the introductory rates are so low its hard to beat, but they get increased and then you pay licensing and patent fees of 15.00 per acre) add in the fact that you’re now going to be adding in minerals and soil nutrients so that the plant will grow, plus the chemicals and weed control. At this point the profit margins are completely destroyed and a farmer no longer is able to grow crops in his soil and must pay an arm and a leg for the seed and the rights to grow it if he wants to.  Explain to me what about that is sustainable?

He states:  “protests that took place across the country recently were orchestrated by special interest groups more interested in getting attention to support their fundraising efforts than in addressing any real health concerns”


This may be reference to one organization perhaps, however the ones that I attended had ZERO interest in raising money, no hat was passed around, no requests made. However EVEN if there were fundraising efforts put forth, it is somewhat hypocritical to state that they are in it for the money, given that Mr. Hepworth’s position is in a company that supports manufacturers of such biotechnologies, however that one doesn't hold much water because I guess I farm organically so support organic agriculture, not really the same thing, but lets just say it is....It is also somewhat hypocritical given that the industry itself is based entirely on profit, proven only by the patents that are now being put on nature, and the requirement of farmers to pay fees per acre for the technology.  If groups were to raise money it would only be in effort to continue doing unbiased research and to continue to educate, should we all not be permitted to raise money? Making a largely incorrect assumption suggesting that these groups were only trying to push their fundraising initiatives is possibly the most hypocritical statement in the article.

It’s summer time again and there never seems to be enough time to get to all those things you’ve always wanted to do. How can we have the BEST summer imaginable and do it on a budget? Well let’s first see what elements make up the best summer.

 

Elements of Your Best Summer

It is often said that possessions won’t bring you happiness, while we all know that’s true its still the experience of those possessions that bring us the greatest joy. It is not the boat itself that brings you joy and pleasure, it’s the major wipe outs on the water tube or the first time your son or daughter makes it up out of the water on their own on water skis. Its not the cottage itself (and all the bugs and cleaning that it makes for) that makes you smile uncontrollably, it’s the space it provides that gathers all the people you love the most in a space outside of your every day, the oasis it creates that you crave. The camaraderie and the memories that will last for years to come of uncle bob getting whacked on the head by little johnnies marshmallow on fire.

If we are truly honest with ourselves it’s the moments we crave, the playfulness, the spontaneity, the sense of adventure or contentedness that makes us well up with gratitude and after the summer is all over a sense of pleasure and fondness as we look back.

So how do we create that feeling and do it on a budget? This type of thing is fun for me; it’s always a challenge to see how I can create the most fun on the least budget! (If you play it like a game, you’ll have fun even just trying to do it).  Growing up on the farm, and having no TV I’m very familiar with generating my own fun, I was taught to appreciate the simple things and to laugh and play at whatever I am doing. Here are my top 5 Tips for creating an epic summer you’ll never forget and look back on fondly as the summer that rocked!

 

Tip Number 5: Make your own sunscreen!

This will be cheaper, and healthier for you. There are plenty of chemicals in your sunscreen and while we want to lather up, think about all those chemicals being on your skin (the biggest organ in your body). You can find plenty of recipes online. Your kids will thank you and you can brag to your friends about having oodles of it on hand, and how you made it yourself, inevitably earning serious respect from your friends on the beach.

Tip number 4: Buy bulk meat

You’ll be the hostess with the most-ess.  Bulk meat is it cheaper per pound if you get it direct from a farmer, and you’ll always have it on hand. You get access to cost averaging and you can buy your steaks for the same price as your ground beef! So if there is a spontaneous barbeque being discussed over twitter or your husband wants to have the boys over, or your kids all of a sudden want to have the entire kindergarten class over you’ll be super prepared. You’ll also be feeding them super healthy food too- bonus!  This will also create for reduced stress when you want to go away for camping or cottaging, you’ll have the best part covered – your grass fed, farmer direct organic meat!

Tip number 3: Fun in the Simple Things

Get your creative brain working, make up an adventure, half of the fun is simply creating it – get dreaming!!! I was up on a weekend away and I found myself on a fishing boat with a native fisherman and learning about the fishing lifestyle and casting REAL nets, I then found myself venturing over to take a look at an old tug boat that could be restored, even if you don’t have the money, create projects half of the fun is just in the dreaming! Geo-Caching is a brilliant way to get your mind into adventure mode. Talk to people you wouldn’t normally talk to, ask them about their lives, be curious, remember when you were 6 the adventure that existed around every corner? It’s easy to get wrapped up in the mortgage payments and a schedule can get filled up really quickly with weddings and kids adventures. Take some time to set aside for just doing nothing, or doing things that present themselves, follow your nose and take a page out of the Jim Carrey movie “Yes Man”.

 

Tip number 2: Make your own wine!

This can be great for all the long weekends, its better for you and you can give it as hostess gifts when you’re invited to cottages or weekend places. Its pennies compared to buying all that wine in the store, this may also give you an excuse to lounge by a fire pit you never use or take a little picnic basket to a favourite remote escape with a special someone.  You wont have to feel guilty after a weekend of guests at the cottage and entertaining them when it costs you 3 dollars per bottle!

You can also pick your own flavours, and the experience of learning about wine is fun too! You’ll be your family’s own wine connoisseur

Tip Number 1:  Put a hold on that gym membership!

Gasp! I know, even if you don’t use the gym, just having the membership gives you a sense of safety, you always know you could go if you really needed to. Well I’m going to proudly pronounce that gyms are for the winter, people. Exercise opportunities are endless during the summer. Join a pick up ultimate Frisbee team, try a new sport, look for adult recreational opportunities- or better yet, CREATE them! I’m sure you all have kids in soccer or T-ball, and everyone brings a lawn chair and sits. I say you either better bring that wine you made, or get other moms to do some small exercises with you. Jump on your trampoline or swim in your swimming pool, play beach volleyball… GET out and GET active! It also makes you new friends, asking passers by to join into a game of catch or pick up flag football in the park will open up your circle of friends, you never know who you could run into. Not to mention it’s the rush you get from exercise and meeting new people all in one- bonus!