Thursday, February 25, 2010

Lent

It is Lent season again. A season known to most by giving something up. The history behind it is something that I didn't know. I just knew that I was giving something up every year.
This year I gave up soda and alcohol. I have given up chocolate before, I have given up soda before and I have also given up sex. However I have never given up sex and alcohol at the same time. I am beginning to wonder if that is such a great idea?
As long as I don't give up alcohol, sex and chocolate it should be an ok time.

According to Wikipedia, "Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, Hebrew: התענית‎), in the Western Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. The traditional 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.
Conventionally, it is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently. The forty days represent the time that, according to the Bible, Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.[1]
This practice was virtually universal in Christendom until the Protestant Reformation.[2] Some Protestant churches do not observe Lent, but many, such as Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, and Episcopalians, do."

I did not make it all the way through Lent with my restrictions. At some point in my life I know I will, just not this year.

Oh well. Better luck next time.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

So my mom and I have made some changes at our house. One change is my mother is no longer married to my stepfather. It was a huge drama that had been coming for 2-3 years and I really do not want to get into it. However it is for the better.

The second change I am really excited about. My mother is a democrat, as am I most of the time, and we have decided to live cleaner, greener and more respectful of the earth. Our front yard is already like this as we have a collection of cactus, probably to the point of freakish but it saves on our water bill. However now we have decided to live even more greener. We more than ever separate our trash, we are starting to use biodegradable cleaning products-including laundry detergent, and we are even putting our vegetable ends into the green waste. We figured we could do a compost site for the vegetables or put it all into the green waste trashcan. The green waste trashcan really is a lot easier plus we then do not have to worry about any of our 3 dogs getting into the compost site.

The third change has been our utilities. We were having such a horrible time with Verizon Fios and Dish Network, that we finally switched. Let me tell you, in the less than week that we have had Time Warner, we have been so much happier. I can actually get Wireless on all parts of my property now, just like I pay for. What a concept!!!! I mean never before have I been able to sit in my living room and blog without being attached to a wall. Its so nice.

Another thing is being more involved with church. It sounds small but it can help it big ways. My church is small but the love of the people overflows the building. There are so many wonderful and inviting people at this church. The only downside is there are no men or women my age that attend. It is a little hard, I have always felt like an outsider at church, no matter where I go. But this time I feel the love everyone has for each other to compensate. People are really cool here.

I think that those are the major things that have been happening. I must go and start cleaning the house and getting ready for the day now!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

6 Weeks In

Here it is 6 weeks into the new year and I have followed half of my resolutions. They are in the back of my mind at all times but I haven't followed all of them.

1. No dating. This also means no sex. This one I have been having no trouble with whatsoever. I am loving this one!

2. I am not in better shape. In fact I have gained a lot of weight recently. This would probably be due to some events that went on at home. However that is another blog post. I am exercising consistently but not eating right. Here is my reality check, I am going to have a lot of health problems, like I already do, if I do not do something about my weight. This is why, even though I dont want to, I am walking the dog for a long walk after this blog post.

3. Finish my education. I kind of have skipped over this one. Again its always in the back of my mind....

4. Becoming financially free. I am working on it! I am trying to not live paycheck to paycheck and learning a better budget. Slowly but surely wins the race!