Givin' It Up for Lent. Yo.

Its the first official day of Lent and I'm really going all out this year if you didn't already notice. I mean. I'm pretty sure I managed to consume my body weight in sugar yesterday. It's safe to say I fufilled my Fat Tuesday duites with flying colors. Thank you IHOP. And Pillsbury. And whoever makes sprinkles.

I'm trying to get the kids in on the fun too. I tried to explain the whole idea of Ash Wednesday to them, and the results were priceless. They couldn't get past the ash part and to them ash=fire and fire=cool. So in short, Ash Wednesday is their new favorite holiday.

I grew up Catholic and while I don't always agree with some of their practices, I still love all the tradition and history and imagery that is Catholicism. Ah, such warm memories I have of many Ash Wednesdays past. Like sitting in class after mass in grade school trying to figure out whose ash smudge looked like what. Or how about that dreaded feeling of only getting to choose between eating fish or pizza on fridays until Easter? My sisters and I still laugh about writing on a rock in church every. single. year. that we'd try to be a little nicer to each other.

So in honor of my obviously rich and reverent childhood, I'm gonna give it up for Lent this year. I mean, I bringing Lent back. I'm totally gonna go all serious on Lent's you know what. Um.....yeah.

What I'm really trying to say is that I want to make decent effort this year to maybe make a real change. And I'm gonna use this blog to hold me accountable. It's either going to be awesome, amusing, entertaining, and educational, or I'm going to bore the heck out of you for forty days. And forty nights. Depending on when [or if] you regularly read this.

What I'm going to try and give up you ask?

Negativity.

I've got a nasty negative mindset I'd like to shake. I wouldn't say I'm pessimisitic, but I definitely have a bad habit of thinking the worst is going to happen before I buck up and realize the best might actually be what's right around the corner. I'd like for things the be the other way around. I'd like to think that might change my attitude for the better.

The hardest part about actively trying to make a change is taking the time to work on it everyday. Which is why I'm choosing to air it all out here. You know it's going to be fun. Just you wait. You'll laugh when you find out how angry I get when I stub my toe.

So here goes nothing. I even made a sign.



Yeah, I know. It's AWESOME.
[See? More positive already.]