What I Did for My Lenten Vacation

First of all...happy April Fools Day! That being said....I hate April Fools Day. Any day designed to make people act more stupidly than normal is not really a holiday in my book. I have enough real "surprises" in my life. I am not anxious to add any fake ones. Apparently....no one felt the need to consult me before this day was created....so I just live with the yearly fallout. Staying indoors, locking the doors and speaking to no one helps.

Have I ever mentioned how much I think alarms....SUCK???! They do. Especially on a Monday morning following a three day weekend. I believe my issue with them is that mentally....they are rigid and confining. On days when no alarm is necessary....I am wide awake between 5:30 and 6 a.m. with no problems. However....my alarm plays mind games with me and especially coming off a weekend.....I seem to wake up every hour on the hour anticipating that I have overslept, only to ultimately wake up startled and sleep deprived when the alarm actually does go off. I have to bribe myself out of bed....telling myself that once the kids are dressed, fed and off to school that I can go back to bed if I like. Yeah....I know I am lying to myself as once I am up.....I am up, but the delicious possibility that I "might" go back to bed is enough to get me up and going. The kids are dressed, fed and off to school.....and here I sit.....blogging. What a liar I am!

So Lent is over and I am back on facebook. Yes....I know I have blogged during Lent, but I haven't really done a good life catch up in a long time. Guess today is as good as any. So....in my absence from facebook....the first week was torture. Week two got a little better and by the end of week three.....other than missing my friends, I really didn't miss all the other stuff that went with fb. By week four I was only occasionally checking my fb messages and I was doing more texting and phone talking. By week five I had actually started sending emails again and week six I wrote a letter. First one in more years than I can remember. Not sure if my fb absence stunted or improved my social skills but at the very least it broadened my socializing outlets.

During my time away I also began to do more than just "pin" ideas on Pinterest. I actually read them and implemented them. I made my own laundry soap, organized my entire house and cooked some fabulous meals. I cleaned my house from top to bottom not once....but twice. I had gallbladder surgery (which did not turn out for me to be as easy as I had hoped) and Z and I finished watching the full series of Supernatural on Netflix. It was a busy six weeks.

One new thing that I have begun doing or in my case....trying to do....is scrapbooking. A few years ago....a friend of mine whom I worked with tried to show me a little bit about it. She was/is extremely crafty and she showed me the basics. I did a few things but when left to my own devices I was worthless. Still....the process fascinated me and my interest was further tweaked when I ran into one of David's old PT's at a frame shop and she was having a project she had done glassed in and framed. It was amazing and I wanted to do something like that. I finally got up the nerve to go into the scrapbooking place in the next town over. I needed to go in there anyway about another matter. Once there...I was mesmerized by all the color and fun things. Fun things I had no idea how to use. Luckily....the lady who owned the shop spent time talking to me and telling me about the different things. She also had "how to" packs with complete instructions and most everything you needed to do a page. I figured even I could do that. I am a visual person so if I see it....I can usually do it. It is verbal instructions with no pictures that give me fits. Silly me though....even after purchasing the pack....I was still intimidated. Finally....I mustered my nerve and spent an afternoon putting together my pages. Once done....I was pleased. Granted they are nothing like you see in magazines or online, but they did give me the hang of the whole thing and they gave me ideas for pages of my own. At the very least.....it gives me something to do with the literally thousands of pictures that I sorted through and organized in the last six weeks.

With all the activity....I also made some changes in my house. Things are now organized and much more efficient and I decided I needed to be also. That means more rest. My body survives normally on 4-5 hours of sleep at night and that is simply not enough. Part of the reason for this is because I use tv to go to sleep and if I get involved in a show....I fight sleep until it is over. I decided that the way to fix this.....was to remove the tv from my room. So I did! This is the first time in almost 20 years that I have not had a tv in my bedroom. I really thought I would miss it, but I have not. In fact....I have made a nice little scrapbooking place where my tv once sat and low and behold....I use the recliner in my room to......actually read a book instead of watch tv. I haven't read a book from cover to cover in a long time and since removing my tv....I have read two. I am also going to bed at a decent time and other than Monday's.....I feel much more rested.

I have to say that this year Lent was very good for me. I did a lot of soul searching both physically and spiritually. I made some necessary changes, implemented some new things and reacquainted myself with some old ones. God and I had some lengthy chats over my Sunday blog and the boys and I started doing some more family oriented things. I did a lot to fix any family cracks as time is moving fast and Z will be a senior next year along with David being a full fledged teenager. While I can't make time stand still....I can certainly do my best to make it count.

So there you have it. It was a long six weeks that sped by at the speed of light. It was a period of time that I actually accomplished things and a time when I felt closer to both God and family. I would say this year Lent helped me to make a better Lisaland in all ways. So yeah....this is what I did for my Lenten vacation!