Lent

As some of you know, today is the first day of Lent. I didn't make it to Mass this morning - it's at 8:15 and that was just far too early for me to consider starting my day. There is always the evening Mass later. For those unfamiliar, Lent is a 40 day period - from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

A few years ago, I decided to give up bread for Lent. I love bread, rolls, cakes, etc. So, it was tough, but I did it. I have decided to give up bread again this year. Giving up bread makes Fridays even more interesting for me.

Catholics don't eat meat on Fridays. We can have seafood (and frankly, I think fish and stuff is technically "meat", but whatev.). But, this means I can't even eat a grilled cheese sandwich or tuna salad sandwich on Fridays. I foresee a lot of salads and baked potatoes in my future.

The Evil Twin and I discussed what constitutes a bread product last time I did this. We felt like anything baked in an oven qualified, but things such as taco shells or tortillas did not because taco shells are a corn mixture that is fried and tortillas are cooked in a pan. Also, to my knowledge, neither of those things contain yeast, so I can eat Mexican food - only no meat on Fridays. That's okay, because I was a vegetarian for nine years and can happily eat vegetarian items.

(So, what is "out" for me? Bread, rolls, cakes, pastries, pizza... I'll have to be much more creative in seeking my carbs! LOL).

At my parish, the Knights of Columbus host fish fries on Friday evenings. These are always fun and tasty.

As is customary, the Fifth grade class "works" the fish fry. Basically, they fetch drinks for people, put trays away, etc. in order to receive tips. This tip money goes toward their end of the year field trips prior to "graduation". This is the last year of elementary school for them, so it's a really big deal (to them).

This Friday will mark the 1st fish fry of the Lenten season. Buddy's teacher wants all of the kids (all 15 of them) to work this first time. Then, she will set some sort of schedule for the remaining Fridays.

If they work the fish fry, they get to eat for free. Yay! Saves us a little money. We typically end up there every Friday anyway, so they'll get plenty of money in return from us - for the food and in the form of tips. The Knights are generally fairly generous with their portions, so we all get plenty of food.

And - totally off the topic, but I wanted to update - Sissy decided after last Thursday that she preferred diapers. This mindset continued through the weekend and onto Monday. Then, she decided she wanted to wear a pair of her new (she picked 'em) My Little Pony panties on Tuesday AM... no accidents. Same thing today, but I've noticed that she waits until after her morning "constitutional" to ask for the panties. We've decided to keep her in diapers/pullups at night for a while. She IS getting a big girl bed tomorrow. We bought a full size mattress and box springs last weekend and it will be delivered tomorrow. I already have all her big girl bedding washed and ready! (and no, I don't go for that cheapy themed bedding, like Princesses or whatever. The thread count on those things suck and no one likes to sleep on tatter balls after 2 washes!).