My Report on Giving Up Everything for Lent

Easter was the previous Sunday and the 6 weeks prior to that...was Lent. I always give up things for Lent and this year was no different. Here is the lovely run down on the million and a half things that Shelley gave up for Lent. Be warned...it's a long entry. Of course...no one is requiring you to read it. *winks*

Pizza: This is always the staple thing I give up for Lent. Pizza is my nemesis...with it's warm, cheesy goodness. I swear, I could eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day and never get sick of it. I kid you not. I used to always give up pizza for Lent as some kind of kick start to whatever diet I was working on at the time. For decades, I don't think I ever went close to 40 days without eating a slice or many slices of pizzas. Nowadays, it's less about that and more just about tradition. Of course, all the pizza places are having these $10 pizza specials...just to taunt. However, I am happy to report I was not even tempted to eat some pizza. Lent came and went..and I am still quite pizza free. I am sure I'll eat pizza again...but have no intense craving desire to do so.

Candy: This one...let's be honest...is all about the Cadbury Mini Eggs. Lent is the 6 weeks prior to Easter. This is also the same exact time that all the stores have their shelves stocked FULL of Easter candy. The day after Valentine's Day...the shelves are suddenly full of Peeps and jelly beans and yes..the Cadbury Mini Eggs. I love those suckers. I have not found a candy to date that can challenge the mini eggs on their smooth, chocolately goodness. They are THE AWESOME. So, if I don't give up candy for Lent...I'll spend a lot of time and calories from Feb 15th until whenever Easter happens to fall eating those mini eggs. I do buy a bag of them prior to Easter...hide them...and then proceed to enjoy them at my leisure sometime after Easter. One bag...doesn't break the calorie bank....many many bags..yeah, when that happens I suddenly no longer can fit into my pants. Just sayin... And I am happy to report that I didn't have a lick of candy this Lent. I did buy a bunch of discounted Easter candy on the Monday afterwards...but, I haven't eaten it yet. It's just sitting there...LOOKING AT ME.

That is usually it for me and Lent. However, this year I went a little Lent crazy. So...as time went on, I kept adding to the list of things I was giving up for Lent. Here is the rest.

Soda: I only drink diet soda. However, it's still not healthy. I find that if I am drinking soda...I drink less water. I used to drink one can a day...with dinner. I noticed, I was drinking more than that. I was having one with my lunch, one with dinner and often one after dinner. Crisis? No, but I didn't like it. Plus, soda is flippin expensive...and water...is free. So, for Lent...no soda...nada. The only beverage I was drinking was water. I had one day that was dragging tired and would have liked to have a soda, but all in all...very easy. I still think I am going to continue only having a soda on a rare occasion...like one a week, if that.

Fast Food: I rarely eat fast food anyways. I think it's been years since I have been in a McDonald's or a Taco Bell. I do though...eat at places like Subway. It's healthy, but it's still expensive fast food. I wanted the food I ate to be food I made at home. So, no fast food for me.

Bread and Bread-like Substances: This one was new for me. This one stemmed off my kind of cheats off the pizza give up in previous years. If I was giving up pizza...I would just replace it with something else. I would have breadsticks. Umm, that's just deconstructed pizza. However, my mind could justify...it's not pizza. I also...I was trying to kick a few pounds to the curb before Opening Day...so, I was going more low carb. Easy way to do that...no bread like things. No cookies, no bread, no tortillas, no chips, etc. You get the point. When Girl Scout cookies showed up on the scene....yeah, I was cursing this one, but within a few days...I was thankful for it. It's much easier to say no to the cookie pushers (at work mainly) when you can say you gave it up for Lent. Pulling the God card gets their food pushing tendencies to back off pretty quickly. The hardest was the night I went out to dinner at a Mexican food restaurant with two friends. Try getting a meal at an authentic Mexican restaurant...being a vegetarian and not eat tortillas or corn chips, etc. I did it though. I had a nice salad with salsa on top. So, go me!

Resentments: This one. My pastor has always said that Lent should not be about helping your diet...or getting you to lose some weight. She has said that all these things people give up for Lent is really using God. Let's be real...she's right. My example above just proves that. She has talked for the past few years about how Lent is about looking at yourself and your relationship with God. I agree with her. So, I do admit that I use God for dieting and health purposes...no doubt, but I also like to have something that fulfills the meaning of Lent. So, I gave up holding resentments. They aren't healthy and they aren't good for me. If I feel hurt by someone or feel they wronged me...being resentful about it, just continues to hurt me. If I can just let it go and move on, I am much more at peace a human being. It doesn't mean that I can't have emotions about things...it just means I deal with them and let them go. I can still choose to not have someone and their destructive behavior in my life, but if I hold onto resentments...then aren't I in essence keeping that person in my life? This ne...has PAID dividends for me. I'm a happier, more at peace person. I am also better at seeing the good in people...not judging people...forgiving people...and being the best version of Shelley I can be. If I hold onto resentments...no matter how big or small, I become a bitter, vengeful mean person. That is not who I am. I can remember years ago...having a falling out with a friend and I held anger and resentment for years. Being able to let it go...was the healthiest thing I ever did. I was able to grow and realize how beautiful that friendship was...even if it was strained at the time. That...is who I want Shelley to be.

So...there is my Lent report. I am always grateful I participate in Lent. I learn things about myself...and I also cement some really nice habits. And, thanks to my pastor...it's not just about diet and health.

Happy Easter and Happy Opening Day!!

Hello world...well, isn't there a lot to celebrate today. It's Easter...and it's the first game of the 2010 Baseball Season...Red Sox...verses....Yankees.

Easter, ahh...I hate to break it to you, but well...I am pretty sure I am more excited about Opening Day or rather Opening Night this year. No offense Jesus, but well...there is Fenway Park, there is a mound, Joshie Beckett is on it. I can't contain my excitement...as I sit here in my Beckett Sox t-shirt.

All kidding aside...church was really cool this morning. Of course, church on Easter always is full of tons of people that never come to church any other time. They make their two visits a year...Easter and Christmas. For years, I never went on Easter...I got all wrapped up in the hypocrisy of it all. But, a couple of years ago...I went and realized I was missing out on a really beautiful service. Plus, I adoringly LOVE my church community...so spending the morning with them was really nice. It felt right and peaceful. Our pastor did a great activity during her sermon. In the community where my church is...there have been 4 deaths of teenagers in the past year. It's just been heartbreaking and devastating. So, she created an allegory that shared the sacrifice of Jesus, but instead putting it in a high school classroom. She had the teacher hand out donuts to each student...but before they could have the donut, a designated "troubled" student had to do 10 pushups. The student did the pushups whether or not the person accepted the donut....that gift was there for the taking at any time. I thought it was such a beautiful image of the unconditional love of Jesus.

And here is my Easter Basket of candy...I probably will not eat. And of course, it is slightly Sox related, as is most everything in my life.



And that brings us to BASEBALL. I cannot express how excited I am for Opening Day...and against the Yankees no less. I wish I could be there in person, but watching it on TV will have to do. Someday I'll make it to the park for Opening Day, but I can't really complain since I will at the park on Tuesday for Game 2.

OPENING DAY. Josh Beckett vs. CC Sabathia. It's gonna be LEGEN....wait for it...DARY! The game starts at 8:05pm...and the minutes are just inching along. Me want baseball. Me want it NOW.



And God...I know I might have said I am prioritizing Josh Beckett over your one and only son...the Jesus, but umm...if you don't mind, I would greatly appreciate the weather report to continue to say NO RAIN in Boston on Tuesday. Thanks in advance.

Does everyone hate bra shopping as much as I do?

This week...I went shopping for new bras. Anytime this gets mentioned around anyone who is male...they always ooh and ahh like it is the sexiest thing ever. Let me tell you, it's not. AT ALL. It's one of my least favorite things to go. I hate every single second of it. Ugh. If I could pay someone else to do it for me, I would...but myself and my breasts kind of have to be there in order to get it done.

First, I don't like shopping in general. I am a cheap cheap bastard and I don't like parting with my money. Plus, the idea of looking through things and trying clothes on, etc...drive me batty. When I do go shopping, it's such a chore. I have a list...a plan...I go and GET IT DONE.

Bra shopping. The worst. But it had to be done. My current bras were just not cutting it. They were beat up and ragged. So, I headed up to the local outlets...and gave it a shot. I hoped they wouldn't be too badly priced and I could get a couple of new ones.

I was lucky...and found one that fit perfectly...and that never happens for me. So, instead of annoying myself trying on other bras, I was a smart cookie and just bought one in white, beige and black. There. Done. Easy. They weren't too badly priced...you know...for the over priced bras. They were originally like $45 a piece (you flippin' kidding me?), but since it was an outlet...they were marked $22. And..if you bought 3 of them...you got $15 off...so the bra was $17 a piece. Not too shabby.

And here is the thing that happens every single time I buy bras. I always wait to buy a new one until the old ones are in bad bad shape. I try on the new ones...all set to go. And then you have to put on your old bra to go home....and then it happens. Wearing a new, nice, actually fits bra...and then putting on my old, ratty, beat up bra...just reminds me of how badly I have needed them. The bra I was wearing seemed old, but perfectly fine earlier in the afternoon...and now that I've been in a new one that fits...my old bra is completely unacceptable. I always chuckle about it...and then remember that this happens every single time.

But seriously. Hate bra shopping. And trust me...it's SO NOT SEXY. Glad I got it out of the way...and knowing me, I won't do it again until these bras are literally falling apart.