miscellany monday

Jumping on the bandwagon and linking up with Carissa for my first-time ever!

{catch up}
Between going home for Easter and our anniversary trip, I'm still in catch-up mode. Thank goodness I'm home again this week and not traveling for work. Still haven't uploaded any trip pictures yet. Hold yer horsies people- hopefully soon.


{easter}

The extended family dressed up in various spring hues and paraded off to church and a big lunch afterwards. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any snapshots of us in all of our pastel glory. Speaking of Easter pictures, I love Easter for many reasons (celebration of the Resurrection at the top of the list of course), but I've also decided that not far down that list is my love for the virtual explosion of cute photos of children. Yesterday, and in the days leading up to Easter, my Newsfeed (Facebook lingo for anyone still living in the Stone Age) seemed to vomit up another 100 adorable baby pictures every time I checked it. And I. Love. It. Like can't get enough of it. Easter egg hunts, Easter Bunny visits, smocked outfits, dyed eggs, Easter basket treats, babies with bunnies- it's ALL precious! Anyway, before I sound any more like a child stalker creep, I digress.

We had a wonderful Easter weekend chock full of family, friends, food and fun. Even just a two hour drive away, we don't get "home" nearly as much as we used to, so we always really enjoy going to visit. As you know, Easter also brings the end of Lenten sacrifice. Woohoo! Let me just be real- I kinda cheated on the no fried food thing a little. Okay, a lot. But I'm still going strong on my bible study. It's an 11 week program, so I've still got a ways to go. However, I did NOT cheat on my beauty product committment. I can't tell you how many times I picked up some lip gloss or nail polish or eye shadow in Target, walked around with it in the buggy for a while, and ultimately put it back. I did not even allow myself a trip to Ulta or Sephora. The temptation would have been too much. So now that I'm officially allowed- I'm practically chomping at the bit to purchase some new summery nail polish. Anyone have some color suggestions since I've been living in a cosmetic drought lately??

These are some pretties I've swooned over on Pinterest.

{organizing}
Despite getting home pretty late Sunday afternoon, I squeezed in a few little chores. Going back to the above Easter topic, I'll admit that I'm an old-fashioned Southern lady who still follows the ancient "no white before Easter" rule of thumb. So yesterday, I moved lots of winter clothes upstairs and brought down all of my summer whites. Something about pulling out those crisp, white summer pants, skirts and shorts always makes me happy.


Mr. M kept busy by finally putting together a new outdoor table and chairs. They have been sitting in our garage for a while now, and he couldn't take it any longer. The set-up was easy-peasy, and now we have a few more places to sit out back.

{birthday}



We all know I'm not the most prompt blogger, and while this is a day late- I still wanted to wish one of my best friends Candace a very Happy Birthday! I don't think she will mind my tardiness since it's a common known fact that she celebrates the entire month, rather than just one day! I hated not to be with her on her actual birthday, but Mr. M and I are looking forward to celebrating with her later. We love you Can!

sacrifice and commitment

As I'm sure you all are well aware, today marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Although Lent is most commonly observed by Catholics, it is nonetheless a great way for any Christian to try to make a sacrifice or pledge to prepare for the Easter miracle. The idea is to give up something or make a concerted effort to accomplish something that is hard for you. And hopefully, whatever you do (or don't do) will teach you something.

The first thing I'm giving up this year is fried food. I considered giving up fast food all together, as I have done before, but that's just not realistic for me. Quite frankly, my work travel, more often than not, takes me to small towns where I literally have no meal options other than fast food (aside from starving of course). Because French fries are my go-to comfort food when I've had a long day, this will definitely be a sacrifice for me. And hopefully, this sacrifice will help me make healthier food choices when on the road for work and discover new ways to unwind and destress.

Secondly, I have decided to give up wasteful spending on unnecessary beauty products. This is my weakness, and when I looked back through a few months of spending, I was amazed at how much money I throw away on beauty items. I think very little about grabbing a $4 tube of lip gloss or throwing a $7 bottle of nail polish into my shopping cart. But when you do this EVERY time you set foot in Target or Ulta or Walmart or CVS or where-ever, it starts to add up. My bathroom is overflowing with eyeshadows and nail polishes and hair products that I've only used once. Of course, I do have some go-to products that I use daily (or almost every day):

Baby Lips- my faves are Quench and Peach Kiss

Moroccan Oil - perfect for taming frizzy hair

Salon Grafix Dry Shampoo

Ahava daily facial moisturizer

My favorite daily lotion. Non-greasy and great scent!

But starting today- no more throwing money away on unnecessary products for my hair, face, skin, nails, etc. I have more than enough make-up, nail polish, hair products, and lotion to get me through Lent without having to purchase anything. The only exception to the rule will be if I run out of foundation. I've worn Bare Minerals for several years now and this is the one product where I never step outside of the box.




Hopefully, in a small way, this sacrifice will help remove my focus from some of the material things in life that we are all distracted by.



Finally, I am also making a pledge to complete a bible study. I just purchased this study by Beth Moore. Has anyone done it before? I've read great things and am so excited!



I also plan to accompany the study with a daily devotional from here:




I'm not Catholic, but my hope is that the combination of these sacrifices and this commitment during the Lenten season will serve as an opportunity for me to come closer to God.

Do any of you have plans to give up something for Lent?