Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Has your day been full of looooove? Mine has, but we'll get to the details of it in another post. Right now, I want to tell you my goals for this Lenten season. That way, you can help keep me accountable. If I remember correctly, last year was the first time since, oh I dunno - high school? - that I didn't give up anything for Lent. I was newly pregnant and figured I was already giving up enough. :) But this year I'm back at it and it may be my hardest year yet. Here goes nothin'.

Give Up:

For the next 40+ days, while driving, the only thing I can do on my phone is talk on it. That means no checking emails, no reading twitter, no scrolling through instagram. There is nothing on any social media that is as important as the precious cargo I usually have in the car with me, so it's high time I put the phone down. I don't think it would be possible for me to cut out the phone all together, which is why I'm still allowing phone calls. And I plan on doing that on speaker phone (or hands-free if I can find my earbuds) as much as possible.

Add:

I will floss my teeth every day. There, I admit it. I'm not a regular flosser. But that all changes now! I'm actually due for a checkup at the dentist's office, but I keep putting off making my appointment because of this very goal. Maybe if I get a couple weeks of flossing under my belt first I can trick the dentist and his assistants into thinking I've been doing it all along. Ha.
Similar to the goal above, I will also wear my retainer every night. My parents spent way too much money giving me straight teeth, and I'm slacking on my end of the deal. I've noticed them shifting out of place for a while now so squeezing the ol' retainer back on them is going to be painful. I dread it, but hopefully I'll get back in the habit of wearing them regularly.
I will exercise 3 times a week. Now, don't go thinking this means I'm going to a gym. Oh, heck no. I'm not ready for that yet. Doc has given me a short little routine to do to work on getting my legs and belly back to their pre-baby days. We're talking ten minutes or less, y'all. But it's more than nothing!

I know, I know. Nothing says "I love Jesus" more than jello legs, bloody gums, and sore teeth. What can I say, I'm a dedicated Christian. (I hope you pick up the sarcasm in that.) I could sit here and type that I'm going to do a daily devotional or spend 10 minutes a day in prayer or something like that but in my sleep-deprived state of late, I know I'd snooze right through that. So I'm keeping it real and tackling these 4 things. I also have a very loose goal to try to blog at least twice a week (I still can't seem to find time for this!).

Oh. There is one other thing. Doc and I will be headed out on a mini vacation to celebrate my birthday in just a few weeks and um...yea. All goals are probably going to be off for that. Let's face it, no one wants to stand in a hotel bathroom scrubbing their retainer or do any workouts when there's a beach to lay on, right? So I guess my goals are really for the 40+ days of Lent minus the 5 days we're on vacation.

Do you give up or take on anything for Lent? Tell me how you're preparing for Easter.

Sigh...I'm off to floss.