*Planting a garden, Planting a garden*

We just recently moved to get more off "the grid" and we are taking the first, albeit, baby steps towards living our more natural, anti-mainstream life. Even though we practice several non-mainstream {or as we call them here on AMM anti-mainstream} we are always looking to increase what we do and raise our children cleaner. One of these ventures is in our family garden this year. Combined with the produce we produce, the access we have to local grass-fed meats and living right outside an Amish community we will have a plethora of other fruits and veggies to sustain us for the summer/fall months not to mention being able to store for winter.

Our garden plots. Aside from these two SFG boxes we have 4 large drums that we are going to grow crops in.

Our goal is to produce enough to feed us for most of our summer/fall dinners and put away what we can. By doing this we picked the vegetables our kids like the most and what we eat most frequently. Our kids are different than most. Broccoli is actually their favorite! Not that I'm complaining.

Our large bed has a trellis for some of our vine plants.

So what are we growing?

3 Broccoli
20 Green Onion Plants
18 Green Bean Plants
8 Spinach Plants
Mixed Greens (Mescalin Blend)
Black Seed Lettuce
Butter Lettuce
4 Cucumbers
4 Summer (Yellow) Squash
4 Acorn Squash
4 Zucchini
4 Watermelon
4 Cantaloupe
4 Tomato
4 Bell Peppers
Countless Carrots 
Assorted Herbs (Chives, Cilantro, Basil, Rosemary, Parsley, etc.)


We are pretty excited for growing our garden. Even started it before the New Moon so it would grow in favor with the moon cycle. We are very excited and can barely contain our joy to see what lessons growing a garden brings for us. 

And I think our garden was greeted with lots and lots of rain! I'm taking it as a sign of good fortune. 

So what are you growing?


Hugs & Coffee, 
-The Anti-Mainstream Mom
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Word Wars and The Power of Words

It's hard to stop and think that in the age of technology that people consider words to be the sharpest tools to cut another person with. That we have gotten so far from the actual definitions of words that when used correctly they are attacking or demeaning another person or their way of life. 

The evolution of technology and language has been very sneaky. In the ever so amazing way to push us against each other and direct our attention from the real problems of the world we have created "word wars". 

These word wars have perverted the definitions of words and thoughts to the point that when used correctly it makes the other person feel defensive or degraded. At the same time we have taken the literal meaning out of words we have also taken words that are horrible and mean and made them acceptable or common place. 

The problem is how do we get rid of, well, the problem?

There is no simple answer either. If we were to simply start educating others on the true definitions and proper usage of words, we would still be degrading them. And most people wouldn't put it properly either. The would just spam up their Facebook wall timeline with Websters and Dictionary.com links about proper usage of words. (Oh I can see the havoc this would bring with words like faggot and retarded.) Which would then cause more word wars with the other person thinking that you are telling them they are uneducated or lack knowledge.

There is no delicate way to walk this path I fear. Maybe we need to start when our children are younger teaching them the value of words. Or maybe we need to unplug the internet and have our conversations out in the streets, face to face, with people we can touch and feel. Or better yet, maybe we need to link every single word to their definitions on Dictionary.com. Wait, never mind.... that would be the opposite of what I'm trying to do.

The point is, words can hurt when we take them personally. Words can hurt when we assume how another person is using them. Words can hurt when aren't sure of their actual definition. And words hurt most when we are feeling bad about our personal decisions.

The take-away, 
Please, teach your children the value, weight and importance of words. No matter if it's a "swear/curse" word or a simple word like sub-par.



Hugs & Coffee, 
-The Anti-Mainstream Mom


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