All posts tagged Jennifer Hunt

Farmer’s Market FAQ with Nature Hills Farm

May 7, 2013 by   Jennifer Hunt

Image by Nature Hills Farm

By Jennifer Hunt, Contributing Writer

Have you ever wondered why a farmer’s market is important? The produce is delicious, but is there any real value other than the novelty of enjoying a Saturday morning at a vegetable stand? Heather Carter, farmer extraordinaire, answers a few questions about the value of a farmer’s market, one way to support your local farmer’s market, and what to expect if you’ve never been to one.

Meet The Farmer

Images by Nature Hills Farm

Heather Carter owns Nature Hills Farm. She participates weekly at the year-round farmer’s market in Cedar City, UT where she sells raw milk, cheese from the raw milk, pork, chicken and duck eggs, grass-fed beef, jams, jellies, artisan breads, vanilla extract, fruit, and vegetables. Her children also make and sell lotion and soap.

In addition to the farmer’s market, Heather also runs a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) where she sells a weekly vegetable basket and holds community cheese-making classes.

Heather has a master’s degree in Education, but switched to full-time farming 5 years ago and loves the career change as well as the extra time with her four children.

Farmer’s Market FAQ

What is the purpose of a farmer’s market?

Heather: The purpose of a farmer’s market is for farmers to have a place to get together and to sell their products, whether it is a produce—something they’ve grown on the farm—or whether it is fruit they’ve grown in their orchards, or a value-added product they have made from the products on their farm.

It’s a way for the farmers to have an outlet to sell these products directly to the consumer versus going to a store and trying to sell it and then being a third-party.

Why do consumers like the farmer’s market?

Heather: I think that they like to meet the farmer and meet the person that has grown or prepared their food. People have really become aware of their food and what is in their food and they want to have a little more control over what they’re purchasing and what they are consuming. The best way to do that is to go directly to the farm.

When people come to the farmer’s market, they are able to actually get produce that hasn’t been traveling. It was picked the day before and it’s very fresh and very good produce. I’ve seen that as one of the biggest draws for people at the farmer’s market.

What value does the farmer’s market provide to the community as a whole, whether large or small?

Heather: When we have a farmer’s market, we’re encouraging other people and other farmers to grow and bring their produce and to sell it. It’s always better to support the local community and to keep that money in your community when you buy locally, but it’s also helping to expand the amount of food that we are growing in our community in case we ever needed to feed our community only on our produce that is here from farmers.

What is one way for someone to support the farmer’s market?

Heather: If someone comes to the market before they go to the grocery store and buys everything on their list that they can at the market, and then go to the other grocery store, that will help farmer’s markets continue to grow.

Every farmer’s market is different. If someone has never been to one, what can they expect?

Heather: You are going to see a lot of different produce. You’re going to see some cheeses, jams, meats, and a lot of artisan and homemade foods. You might see live music. Some places even allow crafts. You will see a variety of products that are produced at home or on the farm.

Anything else you would like to add?

Heather: I think that eating locally is good for the consumer, it’s good for the body, it’s great to eat seasonally, and it’s good for the farmer and the community.

When we’re buying local and eating local, we know that money’s going back into the community and we’re getting great produce in return.

A great big THANK YOU to Heather Carter of Nature Hills Farm for explaining the farmer’s market and its value for the community.

What is the farmer’s market like in your community? What advice would you give to a new farmer’s market attendee?

 

Like what you've read? Subscribe so you never miss a post! You can also follow us on Facebook or Pinterest. Thanks for reading!

Tagged categories: Blog

Comments: 1 | Post a Comment

DIY Children’s Abacus

April 9, 2013 by   Jennifer Hunt

My son loves to count, but he occasionally forgets a number, so we made an abacus to help him practice.

This abacus is solely for counting. It isn’t one of the fancy abacuses that turn two-year-olds into mathematicians. I don’t even know how to use one of those, which is why I need a calculator.

We use this counting abacus by sliding beads from left to right, one at a time. Each bead equals one number. There are ten beads on each strand, so my son counts to ten.

There are also ten strands, so sometimes he counts to 100 and sometimes he counts to 10 (ten times).

Make Your Own Children’s Abacus

This project was easy-peasy. It took me about three hours, but that is because I had so many helping hands on the project. I was also on vacation so I only had access to kitchen shears, which I do not recommend.

Materials

  • Cardboard
  • Yarn
  • Beads
  • Scissors
  • Ruler
  • Pen or pencil
  • Tape (optional)

Directions

1. Measure out and cut 10 notches on each side of the cardboard. I didn’t have a ruler, so I made a mark on a business card.

2. Insert yarn into one of the notches. Thread beads.

3. Insert yarn into other notch, make sure it is taut, and tie the back. Use tape to secure if desired. Trim the excess yarn. Repeat for all ten strings.

4. Enjoy counting to 10 or to 100.

Extension Activities

Sorting. My children enjoyed sorting the beads into muffin tins.

Lacing. Allow your children to lace the beads themselves. These two activities are the primary reason the abacus took 3 hours to make. The Littles were having fun playing with the materials and then making their on abacus with a little help from Mommy.

Traveling. A surprisingly fantastic travel toy for both the airplane and the car.


Do your children use an abacus? What other ways could you use a counting abacus?

Like what you've read? Subscribe so you never miss a post! You can also follow us on Facebook or Pinterest. Thanks for reading!

Tagged categories: Blog

Comments: 0 | Post a Comment

3 Tips to Spend Less Time on Email

March 12, 2013 by   Jennifer Hunt

The picture above is my email inbox. I’m pretty proud of it. Nothing in the folders needs to be addressed and there’s not a single message in my inbox.

This has not always been the case. My email inbox used to suffer from several ailments:

  • 1,000+ unarchived/unfiled emails
  • “Marked as Unread” emails so I would get to them later
  • Emails I didn’t know what to do with
  • Junk email I never looked at, but received frequently
  • Emails full of tasks I didn’t want to do

For the longest time, my email box was unruly. It was like having stacks and stacks of paper on my desk with no intention of ever moving them.

Even though I checked my account 15 times per day, I seemed to spend all of my time rereading, organizing, or making to-do lists. I didn’t realize there was a better way until I saw my husband’s work email. It said: Inbox (0).

I was flabbergasted. You mean mere mortals could achieve an empty inbox? Sign me up.

Through a series of trial and error, here are my top 3 email tips for the beginner. These may not get your inbox to empty on day one, but they will have you spending a lot less time doing irrelevant tasks.

Tips for Cutting Down Time Spent on Email

Unsubscribe

Your auto insurance company, supplement company where you buy probiotics, the costume store you bought rubber nunchuks from one year, bloggers you don’t actually read–all of these people remind you that you could be doing more business with them.

But you don’t have time to read (or even delete) emails from people/organizations that aren’t enriching your life.

At the bottom of each email is a lovely little button that says “Unsubscribe” or “Manage preferences.” Don’t be shy. This is your golden ticket to cutting out email you don’t have time to read. My first mass email slashing showed me that I wasn’t receiving nearly as many important emails each day as I once believed. Which brings me to my next point.

Check your Email Two Times per Day (or Less)

With fewer important emails, you don’t need to check as frequently. Tim Ferriss recommends checking at noon and at 4 pm. That way you get all of the morning emails completed in one fell swoop and you still have time to address any after-lunch emails before the close of the day.

As a stay-at-home mom, those hours don’t work for me (naps and dinner). The actual time you check isn’t as important as how often. Less is more. The only caveat is that you ensure there is enough time to work on anything in your inbox. My personal inbox needs less than 30 minutes, particularly if I follow the next step.

Abide by the 2-Minute Rule

Start at the top of your inbox and work down. If it takes 2 minutes or less, do it now. If you don’t, you will spend that two minutes re-reading the email and taking care of it later. Why spend twice as much time on a task you didn’t want to do in the first place?

BONUS TIP: Disable email notifications on your phone. When you receive an email on your phone, do you respond immediately? If you do, do you love to be interrupted just to answer your email? Chances are, you don’t respond immediately because you are in the middle of something. When you read it before you can work on it, you think about it in the back of your mind until it is finished instead of just finding it when you check later. It’s a big waste of mental space and energy, causing you to be less present in the task at hand.

As mentioned before, these three tips won’t solve every email challenge, but they will get you started on the path to an empty inbox.

What tips do you have for spending less time managing your email account?

Like what you've read? Subscribe so you never miss a post! You can also follow us on Facebook or Pinterest. Thanks for reading!

Tagged categories: Blog

Comments: 2 | Post a Comment

Handmade Conversation Heart Valentines

February 9, 2013 by   Jennifer Hunt

As Real Food folks with food allergies, we don’t do much in the candy department for Valentine’s Day. But there is too much nostalgia with the conversation hearts for me to pass them up each year.

Instead of boxes of candy hearts, we will be handing out handmade Valentines that also fit into our homeschooling curriculum.

Materials

  • Paint
  • Marker
  • Paper
  • Paintbrush
  • Scissors

Instructions
1. Paint one hand.

2. Lay it flat on the paper at a slight angle.

3. Repeat with the other hand, angling to the other side to form a heart shape. Allow the heart to dry.

4. When dry, have an adult dot letters with your favorite conversation heart sayings: Be Mine, I Love You, etc.

5. Trace the letters (to develop writing skills).

6. Cut out the shape of the heart and mail to Grandma, who will simply swoon over her baby’s handprints and new handwriting skills.

Are you making your own valentines this year? How are you incorporating Valentine’s Day into your homeschool curriculum?

Like what you've read? Subscribe so you never miss a post! You can also follow us on Facebook or Pinterest. Thanks for reading!

Tagged categories: Blog

Comments: 0 | Post a Comment

Help For Mothers: Overcoming Feelings of Worthlessness

January 23, 2013 by   Jennifer Hunt

Daily Tip: If something isn’t working, ask yourself why?  Figuring out the reason it doesn’t work will give you a better sense of where to go next.

By Jennifer Hunt, Contributing Writer

I didn’t have a strong maternal influence during my formative years. My mother couldn’t be as present as she would have preferred; she worked the graveyard shift and suffered from debilitating health problems.

Because of these circumstances, I didn’t learn much by way of traditional mothering. I didn’t cook anything from scratch until well after I was married. I never deep cleaned a thing. I never learned to play with younger children. My friend taught me how to put on makeup the week before my wedding. I couldn’t even put my hair in a straight ponytail.

As I raise my own children, there is often an overwhelming feeling of incompetence. In difficult moments, I don’t have an answer to “What would my Mom do?” Instead, the dark part inside of me whispers untruths like:

  • You don’t have a clue what you’re doing. You’re so far behind.
  • You’re doing it wrong. You’ll  never be a good mother.
  • Your kids don’t stand a chance against the others who have competent mothers.

I usually don’t believe these insinuations. They are irrational and the work of the devil. But…sometimes I do believe them.

Just Ten Minutes

Once these thoughts take root, it is hard to combat them, especially when my daughter is slapping me in the face screaming, “No bath! I no like bath!”

In these moments, I think to myself: Just ten minutes. Hold off from self-loathing for just ten minutes.

Or five. Or one. Whatever I need to postpone the feelings of worthlessness rising into my throat and begging to be released.

When the ten minutes are over, I start again.

In the morning, instead of falling apart when my children don’t want to take their medicine: Just until they drink their meds. Believe I am a good mother until they drink their meds. Then I can reassess.

During cranky time (4:00): Just until I’m done making dinner. I can believe I’m a good mother until I’m done making dinner.

At bedtime: I can be a good mother until they fall asleep. That is all that is required.

Sometimes I don’t make it. But many times I do.

This doesn’t always work, but it helps me keep perspective during my worst moments. Taking a deep breath and postponing the dreadful confirmation that I am indeed a bad mother helps me see that I’m not actually a bad mother.

Being a good mother doesn’t hinge on whether or not my children take their medicine. When I am rational, I know this. I even scoff at measuring my ability by some finite, inconsequential-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things measure.

When i start to succumb to the dark feelings, that’s when I need baby steps. Simply holding out a few more minutes before belittling myself gives me the strength to hold out a few more minutes…and a few more…and a few more until the desire to judge my mothering abilities on a single (challenging) incident passes.

I’d like to think after 4 1/2 years, I’m getting better at this Mom thing. I don’t know if I am, but I’m judging myself less harshly and enjoying the moments ten minutes at a time.

What are some ways you combat feelings of worthlessness as a mother?

Like what you've read? Subscribe so you never miss a post! You can also follow us on Facebook or Pinterest. Thanks for reading!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Tagged categories: Blog

Comments: 6 | Post a Comment
123
 

Switch to our mobile site