What I Am Giving Up For Lent

As a child I grew up with a Catholic mother and a Southern Baptist father, so I tell people I am religiously confused. Do I drink or not? Do I dance or not? These two religions are about as far apart as the North and South poles. I have found that I tend to like certain things about both religions. There are songs, prayers and rituals that bring comfort to me. Though I am more of a practicing Baptist than Catholic, I give up something for Lent each year.

In years past I have given up mostly food items. One year it was drinking sodas. It was tough the first few days because of the caffeine withdrawals but I made it through. That first sip of a soda after 40 days was heaven. Or at least I thought so at the time. Another year I gave up french fries. That was even more difficult because french fries are the most offered side dish for most meals. Then the next year I got more ambitious. I gave up potatoes all together. Stupid, stupid move. 40 DAYS without potatoes. Do you know how many delicious things are made from POTATOES? French fries, baked potatoes, potato salad, hash browns, potato soup, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes...you get the picture. I thought I would die before Easter came that year. I didn't (amazingly) and I lived to tell the tale.

In other years, I've given up on material things like not buying celebrity gossip magazines or shoes. Needless to say, I try to sacrifice something in my life as a small penance for what Jesus did for saving my life. I read earlier in the year that a family of four saved about $10,000 by doing one thing. This year I decided I too am going to do this one thing.

I'm going to give up impulse buying. For the next 40 days (give or take), I will be resisting the urge to buy unnecessary items. I'm going to try to purchase only edibles and depletables (gasoline for my car or shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper). I will try to use up what I have. Wear it out. Make it do. Or do without. If it's not on the necessary items shopping list, I will have to resist the temptation of buying it. Wish me luck. Are you giving up for Lent? If so, what? I would like to know.

An Offer I Might Not Be Able To Refuse

We all have some distinguishing characteristic, some flaw (in our eyes) that we would like to change. It could be wanting a flatter stomach, bigger cleavage, straighter teeth, a darker tan...you get the picture. For my cousin Elizabeth, it has been her stomach. As an infant she had stomach surgery which left her with a very nasty scar. It made her stomach look like a ill-sewn-together football. She thought it looked like a butt. Elizabeth couldn't wear cute bikinis even though she had a slender, petite figure. She was self conscious of The Scar. Recently, her husband paid for her to go to a plastic surgeon and get the scar removed. It is amazing! Elizabeth now has a stomach that any of us would absolutely die for. She's got a six pack and didn't do a lick of exercise AND she no longer has The Scar. I am in awe of her plastic surgeon.

For me, besides the flatter stomach and the straighter teeth (which I am working on), that one flaw has always been my chin/jawline area. I have a weak chin and even though I am considered skinny by some, it looks like I have a double chin or no chin at all. It bugs me. It REALLY, REALLY bugs me.

I would like to wear my hair in a cute pixie cut or bob like Victoria Beckham, but with my jawline forget it. I only look good in turtlenecks which hide my chinny chin chin. I have toyed with the idea to get my chin "fixed." That is if I won the lottery and had more money than sense. Like that would really happen. Yeah, right. I typically don't believe in plastic surgery. I believe that God made you the way you are and you should work with what you got. However, after seeing Elizabeth's results I will have to say I'm tempted to get plastic surgery.

Then my mother made me an offer I might not be able to refuse. She knows how much I hate my chin so she offered to pay half of the cost to get it fix. Seriously??? What are your thoughts on plastic surgery? Are you for or against? If you could get something fixed, what would it be? What would you do?

Southern Snow Day

It's rare for snow to fall in Middle Georgia. So we were excited to have a few inches of snow blanket our little part of the world. This is actually Asher's second snowfall. It snowed (but didn't stick) when he was about three months old. This time Asher was able to enjoy it. He had so much fun throwing snowballs on the sidewalk and watching them disintegrate. He liked the snow so much that he had a royal tantrum when we came inside. His worst ever!!!

The best part about this snowfall was that it lasted about a day and then melted away like it was a dream. Here's to our winter wonderland that was beautiful and brief. Thank you for visiting.