I don't define my spiritual path with a lot of labels.  I find most labels too restrictive and none fit overly well.  There is one term that I think fits pretty well though, and that's Nature Based or Earth Based.  That means a lot to me.  I not only want to learn a lot about nature, but I also want to learn how to live in harmony with nature.   Part of that means protecting nature and our natural resources.

Recently our budget has been extremely tight, so I'm trying to find ways to whittle away some of our expenses.  I've also been rethinking my approach to HOW I do a lot of things.  Let's be honest, we're a nation of consumers, and most of us don't want to have to make everything for ourselves.  Especially if there's a pretty cheep way to buy what we need and not have to put forth the extra effort.  I have been resisting making some things for myself for far too long, and I'm finding that I'm losing part of who I am along the way.  So this isn't just an effort to be more budget conscious or to be more eco-friendly.  It's also part of me reminding myself of the strong independent person that I know is still alive somewhere inside of me.

Some of the new things I am doing are, making my own cleaning products, making my own air fresheners or spritzers, and really working on my families health.  I've also done some research into natural building and earthen homes.  Because of our budget concerns, I'm being forced to take some things slowly.  Let's face it, even if I'm making things myself, I have to buy the parts (or ingredients) to make what ever it is I am doing at the time (at least for now).  I intend to eventually start growing a small garden, and if I can't get my soil whipped into shape where we live, I will find a way to cost effectively build a greenhouse and start growing some food that way.  I might have to do things slowly, but I'm NOT stopping just because of the inconvenience of having to watch our budget.  Besides, it's probably best to take things on a little at a time since I'm pregnant and I need to make sure I'm not OVER doing things.  I still have a 2 year old to keep up with after all, along with keeping our house under some sort of control.

As a long term goal, my husband and I want to make our family more financially independent while living far more harmoniously with nature than we can manage in our little subdivision.  We'll buy some property and build our home (hopefully using some of the natural building techniques I've been researching) and plant a garden that can supply most of our families needs.  This also means, I've got a LOT more learning to do.  It's sad to say, I grew up in a family of farmers, and I didn't learn ANYTHING about growing my own food.  Since the climate here in Southeastern Texas is very different from the climate of Southwestern Michigan anyway, I'd probably still have a lot to learn... I'm looking forward to the challenges though.

I'm just getting started on turing things around and it's pretty wonderful to me that my husband is so supportive of the things I'm wanting to do and the direction I want our family to move in.   I'm also going to be either starting a new blog all together to share my new adventure on, or I'll be revamping this one to incorporate my new interests and share what I've learned.  It's exciting to be making some progress.  I can't wait to see where it leads.