MoLent

Ash Wednesday...the beginning of Lent.  Or, for me, the beginning of MoLent...Mormon Lent.  I know I'm not Catholic.  And although the Catholics have had some pretty bad ideas in the past like:

Inquisitions

Indulgences

and

Incense (makes for stinky cathedrals)

...I do think they're on to something with the idea of Lent.  

I first learned a little about the Catholic traditions leading up to Easter while serving a mission in 90+% Catholic Argentina.  I didn't pay too much attention to the whole Lent and fasting thing until one evening, about six months into my time in Argentina, when my Uruguayan companion decided she wanted to stop by our local hamburger stand and order a hamburger on our way home that night...a hamburger at 9:30 p.m.?...I won't judge, I won't judge.  

Anyway, she stepped up to the counter and asked for a hamburger.  "A hamburger?," the man at the counter asked back.  "Yes, a hamburger," my companion reiterated.  "Oh, okay," the man said, "let me go see if we have any buns." Upon returning he told her, "we don't have any buns because we weren't planning on serving any hamburgers today, but we can serve your hamburger on bread instead if you'd like."  My companion and I looked at each other with a "what the heck kind of a hamburger stand doesn't have buns because they weren't planning on serving hamburgers?" look on our faces and left the stand after my companion kindly declined the man's hamburger sandwich offer.  

As we walked home we discussed the oddness of the hamburger stand that didn't want to serve hamburgers.  Back at our apartment, while planning for the next day, I noticed on my calendar the words "Good Friday" stamped across the day's date and instantly realized why the man at the hamburger stand was so perplexed that we wanted to order a hamburger from him.  It was Good Friday...and Argentina is Catholic...and Catholics don't eat meat on Good Friday.  Then we got the giggles.  At the thought of two sister missionaries trying to order a hamburger on the biggest anti-meat day of the year.  

Anyway, I quickly learned that I needed to know a little more about Catholicism since it seemed to be synonymous with being Argentine.  And I'm no expert for sure, but my time in Latin America, as well as the explanations of a good Catholic friend I made in SLC, have helped me understand their traditions a little more than I did on that Good Friday long ago.  

As I've learned more about Lent I've decided that it's a really good idea...to give up something that's maybe hard to give up...just for a short time.  This year for the first time, I decided to start a tradition (maybe a tradition, if this year doesn't kill me) of doing MoLent.  Catholic Lent is, I think, 46 days long...the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday because traditionally Sundays were already a day of sacrifice and fasting so they wouldn't count them as part of the 40 days.  But, as a Mormon, I think I'll just stick to the 40 days, like Jesus did.  Besides I'm going on a trip at the beginning of April and don't want to be all MoLenty and boring on the trip, so the 46 days of Catholic Lent just won't work for me this year.    

I decided to start off my MoLent tradition with a bang (hopefully a good bang)...giving up sugar and t.v./movies for 40 days and 40 nights. 

So, wish me luck...or join me if you want.  I'd love to hear what you'd be willing to give up for MoLent...candy, pop, the SNOOZE button, t.v., the Internet, Facebook?...What would you like to see yourself survive without for a time?  You should do it...I dare you...

Year-end Summary 2011

I've been a major blogger slacker lately!  But so have most of you too!  I've missed reading all of your posts.  Also, when I changed to this new blog format I lost all the addresses to the private blogs I was reading.  So, if your blog is private and you miss all the thoughtful comments I used to write on your blog, leave your blog address in a comment por favor and I will once again peruse your blogs.  


It's been a long time (for me anyway) since I last posted.  I haven't even done a 2011 year-end summary yet!  I've done a year-end summary every year since I started blogging in 2007 so I decided that even though it's February that I'd still do it.  So, here you go...

2011...

alcohol units consumed: 0 (excellent)

cigarettes: 0 (v.g.)

pounds lost: 30

pound re-gained: 20

pounds re-lost: 15

countries visited: 3 (not too great)

countries visited for the first time: 2

time spent abroad: 2.5 months (not too shabby)

blog posts: 37 (not bad)

nephews born: 1, and he's adorable

parents returned safely to me: 2 (most excellent)

prison stays: 0 (v.g.)

buckets of cheese puffs received: 2

buckets of cheese puffs gifted: 1

2011 was a decent year as far as years go.  I once again stayed away from alcohol and cigarettes, lost a little weight and re-gained it and re-lost it a time or two...just to keep everyone guessing what I'd look like the next time they saw me and to keep my clothes nice and stretched out.  I visited three countries, two of which were new to me.  So I definitely slowed down from my 2010 wanderings but still got to travel a bit, which is always good.  I got my parents back from their captors in Brazil, and got an adorable new nephew to make our family even bigger and better.  And I learned that if you make fun of something, like polygamist cheese puffs, that you're sure to get some for Christmas!  Anyway, here's a breakdown of the year...


January: I spent the first part of January sick.  I think I'd just gotten too worn down trying to entertain a posse of Brazilians over Christmas and the lack of sleep and stress made me vulnerable to the swine flu or some other horrible disease.  I didn't do anything for about a week or so.  My grandma/roommate was recovering from a surgery she'd had shortly after Christmas.  So the first part of the month I just pretty much hibernated in the basement so I wouldn't get her sick while she was healing from her surgery.  Luckily we both got feeling better in not too long and I was even able to head to Ecuador at the end of the month for a few days of solo traveling on my way to Brazil to visit my parents one last time.  


February: I spent the whole month with my parents in Brazil.  It was great to be able to visit one last time.  I finally convinced my mom to travel out to Jericoacoara with me and we had a wonderful little trip.  


March: My BTF (Best Travel Friend) Kate (sadly now ex-BTF due to her recent marriage) met me in Fortaleza and we spent a couple days with my parents before flying down to Southern Brazil.  We spent time in Paraty, Trinidade, Gramado, and Florianopolis.  It was a great last trip for two spinster friends who have traveled the world together during the past six years.  


April: Back in the USA...can't remember much about this month.  I guess I worked and got ready for my next trip.


May:  Headed off on a month-long adventure to India with my friend Marissa (also recently lost to marriage R.I.P.). It was probably the least planned trip I'd ever been on as we had only two nights' hotel booked for a month-long trip when we arrived in the country.  But, somehow things worked out okay and it turned out to be one of my very favorite trips I've ever been on.  What an adventure!


June:  I returned to America half way through the month and frantically began preparing things for my parents' imminent return.  My parents were safely returned to us at the end of the month.  It was/is so wonderful to have them home.  


July:  Idaho at its best...I love July in Idaho.  The weather is perfect, the 4th of July is fantastic.  I spent the month just hanging out with my family and making up for lost time with my parents.  


August: Birthday month...yuck.  I did take a little trip to Utah to visit friends, celebrate my birthday, and to hike the Y for the first time ever.  So, it wasn't all bad, even though I don't like getting all old and decrepit.  


September: Must have worked a lot because I don't remember much about this month except how amazingly beautiful the weather was...especially for Fall in Idaho.  


October: Same as September...beautiful Fall weather and lots of work.  My mom and I threw a fun (at least in my opinion) Ghouls' Night Out Halloween celebration.  It is so great to have her around again...especially for party planning purposes.  


November:  Was blessed to get nephew #2 born on 11/11/11.  Coolest birthday ever for the coolest/cutest little baby ever.  


December: Lots of work but barely any snow, which I was ecstatic about.  And the holidays...it was so great to all be together again for Christmas.  We had fun even though there wasn't any snow and we all (including our Brazilian house-guest) got sick over Christmas.  I'm blaming norovirus...it was pretty powerful.   


Anyway, 2011 had its ups and downs but overall it was a pretty good year. 


A few weeks ago it snowed just a little (we've had the most amazingly wonderful mild winter which I won't complain about).  While I was driving I passed a little girl playing out in her yard in a dated puffy pink snowsuit.  It had snowed just enough to start to fill in the spaces between the blades of grass but not to come even close to covering the grass.  But the little girl was enthusiastically making, or attempting to make, a snow angel in the pathetic amount of snow there was. And she was happy...really happy.  Even though her snowsuit was a little small for her and definitely out of style.  Even though there wasn't nearly enough snow to play in.  Even though she was all by herself.  And even though she was in a poorer, slightly sketchy neighborhood.  She was happy. Genuinely happy.  

And that's kind of how I've felt lately.  Like that little girl in a poor neighborhood in an dated pink snowsuit making a snow-angel in a quarter inch of snow.  Maybe by the standards of the world she shouldn't have been so pumped about her situation, but she was oblivious to the judgments of the world and had a big smile on her face anyway.  

And so do I.  I may be a 32 year-old tragic spinster, who has lost her six best travel friends to marriage in the past year (R.I.P. spinsters, R.I.P.), who is suffering a major career crisis, and who maybe by the standards of the world shouldn't be happy, but who somehow is anyway.  

So, here's to a fantastic, obliviously happy, 2012!