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I am a gluten-free, gun-toting wife! :P
I love you, Daddy...2/24/1953 to 2/13/2011
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Lent?
I've never given anything up (or adding anything) for lent (we didn't technically practice any religion growing up), but I'm interesting if you ladies are doing anything?
I kind of like the idea of adding something good in, but I see it more like new years resolutions where people do it. I don't need to add something good becaues of a holiday/religious reason. I'll do it any time of the year i see fit 
House Renovations
Married Bio
I am a gluten-free, gun-toting wife! :P
I love you, Daddy...2/24/1953 to 2/13/2011
Re: Lent?
I was actually just coming here to post the same thing! I'm curious to see what others might be giving up. This will be my first year participating in Lent. I liked the suggestion that my RCIA teacher gave. She said that instead of just giving up something, let it make you give in return. For example, if you are giving up chocolate, still buy the chocolate that you would typically buy and donate it to a food bank.
As for what I am giving up, I still don't know for certain! I thought about giving up chocolate but it's not like I eat it everyday. It's one of those things that I'll eat when it is available to me. I am considering just giving up all sweets entirely but I have no idea how well I will be able stick to that! Though, I guess it wouldn't be much of a sacrifice if I thought it would be easy.
my read shelf:
Books read in 2011: 32 of 75
Looks like we're all thinking the same thing - I was also going to post about Lent!
I'm having a hard time thinking of something to give up. I don't really have too many vices...like I don't drink soda every day or something like that. This will be my first year participating as a Catholic - last year I gave up soda and sweets, so did DH. We also followed the abstinence rule on Fridays (no meat on Fridays), which we will also do this year.
I also like the idea of adding something rather than giving up something, since I'm kinda at a loss as to what to give up that will truly be a sacrifice. I don't know what it would be though.
So, ya, I'm open to suggestions!
I do not follow any religous practice.
However, I have given up animal products. I started slowly decreasing animal products in my diet a month ago, and fully jumped on the vegan bandwagon a week ago, and have not eaten anything with animal products (meat/milk/cheese/dairy/eggs) at all.
In April I will be running my first 1/2 marathon and have been reading and researching different healthy lifestyles. I read a book about "food For Life' which basically says we (western culture) eat too much animal protein/fat which makes us sluggish and unhealthy, along with causing cancer, strokes, heart attacks, high cholestral and so on. So I decided to give it a try and see what happens.
After a week, I feel great. I have not been bloated, too full, or constipated. I do not retain water. I haven't heartburn/gall stone attacks, which I was geting almost daily.
On the con side, I can't just go into my fridge and eat something, I have to preprepare the food (beans/lentils) and so on prior to cooking with them.
Just make sure you're still getting all your protein, calcium, vitamins, etc. that you would normally get from these products!!
Great job - I could never give up cheese!
Ooo! I just had an idea!
I think this year for lent, I'll be adding something. I've been saying that I want to be better about sending cards and keeping in touch with friends. So, I think what I'll do is each week of Lent I'll send a note/card to one of my friends - just as a way to say Hi. Plus, everyone loves getting stuff in the mail that isn't a bill!
ETA: I guess my biggest thing I could give up is my morning coffee. Eek! Getting up at 4:50 every morning and not having coffee might be scary! I'll have to think about that one
I am giving up potato chips. Well, pretty much any chips. Tortilla chips, cheese curls, kettle chips...all of them. I come home from school each day and sit in front of the TV for at least an hour and veg with junk food. I'd like to re-claim both the time and the calories, and devote it to something better!
DH and I also do the no meat thing, although I feel like it's almost not too much of a sacrifice sometimes because I get to try all sorts of yummy new food, not to mention veggie burritos at Chipotle. :-)
my read shelf:
I am giving up chocolate( or making my best attempt to) which means no candy bars, no ice cream, no cookies.
This is partially because I have been eating better, less, and doing P90X religiously for four weeks and I have not seen a weight change.. So if I give up chocolate (which has to be in all the things listed above for myself to eat them) I am going to test to see if I drop the weight. I seriously have chocolate everyday- sometimes 3x's a day with the small dove dark chocolate things (So it is going to be difficult to do this)
I totally agree. DH and I go pretty much every Sunday morning and when we don't, our week just seems off. I feel like it's just a great way to get the week started off on the right foot. I hope you're able to go every week!
We always had to do something extra. Like instead of just giving up chocolate, use the money you would have spent on chocolate and give to a charity. Or if you gave up TV, use that time to volunteer somewhere. This year... I feel behind! I barely do anything besides study for work and work on the house. DH and I need to talk about this one before we go to bed
And I agree about the mass every week... although I am usually the one who would much rather sleep in. I was a sponsor for RCIA last year, and so I did all sorts of extra stuff that I normally haven't done as an adult- and I think I will make sure we do all of those this year (like stations of the cross, etc). B/c I went to a Newman center last year, they had all sorts of easy volunteer programs. My favorite being baking for one of the homeless meals. You just picked up a plastic container or two at church, and were asked to bring it back the following week or sometime during the week filled with cookies to serve at a meal!