a late lent

well guys, ive done it.

and let me just say for the record that it hasnt been that bad.  but then again im only one and a half days into it.  ask me again in two weeks.

let me explain:  i grew up in the episcopal church, where we actively observed the lenten period from ash wednesday to Easter.  

"Lent, in some Christian denominations, is the forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter.^[1] The forty days represent the timeJesus spent in the desert, where according to the Bible he endured temptation by Satan.^[2] Different churches calculate the forty days differently.

The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial—for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ." - Wikipedia

it is a period during which i would give up such things as cereal (now THAT was a doosey), french fries, soft drinks (which honestly was a cop-out, bc i never drank many of those) and picking at my cuticles (bad habit that ran wild in my teenage days).  i would make the sacrifice and then rejoice on Easter when i could once again revisit these habits.  it was always interesting, though, bc once lent was over, and once cereal and french fries were 'legal,' i wouldn't care about them as much anymore.  now, given, over time those loves would resurface and i would once again be craving cereal at least two times a day, but the lenten season would work to teach me sacrifice and would always make something bigger and better out of the 'void' the sacrifice left.  

like i started getting fruit if i went to a fast food restaurant (if i even went...let me tell you now it is much easier to sacrifice the french fries if you just stay clear of the fast food joint to begin with...) or i get creative with my breakfast and probably gave my body some different, much needed vitamins and minerals i hadn't been getting from my rather LARGE bowl of cheerios mixed with lucky charms and a few quaker oat squares on top.

im hoping this year will do the same.  

on wednesday, i told stephen i was giving up fast food.  sounds like a good sacrifice, right?  i used to not really be a fast-foodie, but after pregnancy and post pregnancy cravings of chick-fil-a, that noon oclock run to the drive through (if i was out running errands) has become something i just LOVE.  so, in the lenten spirit, it has been nixed.

but it just didnt feel right.  i told a good friend that when i was thinking about sacrifice, the word BLOG just kept popping up over my left shoulder.  whispered in my ear.  of course the immediate response was "ARE YOU FREAKIN' CRAZY."  seriously.  40 days? giving up blogs??  um, now THAT is a sacrifice im not willing to make.

or at least that is what i kept telling myself every time the thought popped in my head. 

i think my family would have a conniption.  i already get battered at home when i go slack on my bennett posts.  so, i decided, for the sake of others of course, that i would not give up blogging.  

but as i was brushing my teeth friday night, i just decided something needed to be done.  isnt that the WHOLE POINT of lent??  i announced my plan to stephen. i was going to give up reading other people's blogs.  it must be done.  this is my sacrifice. 

he didnt exactly give me the wow response i was after.  in true guy fashion he said "ok" and continued brushing his teeth.  no really stephen, do you know how BIG this is??  then he threw his hands up in the air and said "YAY.  good job.  WOW."  and i said "thats better." and we went to bed.

so, i am three days late on this one, but until easter day, no blogging for me.  this blog will still be updated, but google reader will be visited no more. 

and in true lenten fashion, a large "ALLELUIA" will be shouted from the rooftops on Easter morn, when it will probably take me seven full days of sheer and utter NONproductivity to read all the blog updates i missed out on.  my plan (and i am sure praying HIS plan) is that something good and super productive will come from this new found time i have.  lets hope.

so please friends and family, if someone chooses to make a big announcement on their blog, please let me know by email or phone call.  

bc i most definitely will not be reading it myself.  

{oh goodness what AM i getting myself into?!?!}

{seriously, i think i may have accidentally taken a crazy pill...}

{and of course i am NOT looking for anyone to be all "wow good job blah blah blah."  take all this over-reaction and silliness as just my way of psyching myself up about this.  it has seriously gotten THAT out of hand.  first baby blogs, then all those strength-found-in-times-of-grief blogs, and now interiors/design/craft/cooking blogs.  obsession i tell you.  it is officially an obsession that MUST be addressed}

{so this is me addressing it...}

{ok}

{enough of this...}

and more of this: a couple pictures of bennett to satisfy my family's cravings.

bennett talking on the phone

bennett eating.  

{he ate CARROTS yesterday! for the first time in three weeks.  BIG deal}

more pictures to come, soon i hope.  my camera had a near-death experience on friday and is pretty shook up about the whole thing.  we now have no lens (except for the manual focus one, which can be a pain). 

but this is a story for another day...