40 days?

I am a completely lapsed Catholic – I attend mass only on high holidays with my mother if I am home. For some reason though, I feel the urge every Lenten season to figure out something or somethings to try to absolve from. I think I view this as another chance to take on a resolution from the new year, or something to that affect. Anyway I’ve contemplated a few ideas:

Alcohol:  I actually really want to do this, it’s one of my 15 before 2015, but this is not the year. I have a weekend girls trip to Florida – and I already want a drink while I am in the pool. I also have a coworker from another office coming to town and we want to get drinks and catch up. I clearly have my Irish Catholic priorities in place.

Soda: I love me some coke zero at lunch time, and seltzer should pretty much be a food group as far as I am concerned.  So far today, I skipped my lunch time beverage and stuck to water and tea at my desk. This could be reasonable, but then what do I mix the alcohol I am not giving up with? I mean a nice straight up drink is good for one, wine is not a pool drink…  can we make it week day soda?

Shopping: I love to online shop (who doesn’t?). Nothing makes me feel better than a nice new piece of clothing to wear and enjoy. My fear with this one is that it’s going to go from 20 degrees to 80 degrees and I am going to feel like I need something to refresh . However, I do think I could keep myself on track.

Sweets: Chocolate… oh so good, this would actually be a bit of a challenge as I’d include a trail mix that has chocolate chips in it, which is one of my current vices. I also will just crave something sweet and indulge myself. This is definitely a strong contender.

Right now I am thinking of going with the sweets and shopping and holding myself to it. I’d also like to spend the next 40 days cleaning out the clutter around my apartment and start minimizing again. 

(photo via pinterest via someecards)