Me: “YES! I’d love to do a guest post for you while you’re away. Any subject in particular or do I have free reign?”

Michele: “Free reign.”

SA-WEEET!  I couldn’t wait to get started!

But then, you know what happened? My mind went blank. What the HECK was I going to write about?   You guys have grown to expect Michele’s concise writing style, her meticulous grammar and her sarcastic humor.  No pressure. (gulp) I felt a little bit like I was back in my Catholic school days with Sr. Phyllis. She’d stand over me tapping her ruler on my desk as I practiced my cursive writing.  One wrong loop or connection of letters and Id get a WHACK right on the knuckles.  That was when it came to me.

This week coming up is going to be a busy. Today I have to buy Mags new tap shoes (she is growing like a weed) and vote for Michele, Tuesday is Fat Tuesday and I need to vote for Michele, Wednesday is the start of Lent and, of course, keep on voting for Michele until 4:00pm PST. Wait. Why is everyone staring at me with those ‘deer in the headlights’ looks? Oh, right! I know, the time zones always get me, too. Let me give you a quick explanation. That  means  you keep voting for Michele until 6:00pm NOLA time and if you’re further to the right on the map, 7:00pm EST.

Speaking of voting, I need some help. Seeing that the start of Lent is Wednesday, I’m supposed to give up something for 40 days. To me, Lent is the like the speed dating of New Year’s resolutions. People say “It’s only 40 days.” but so is the Circle of Moms voting window (well, almost). Turns out 40 days takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R! Nevertheless, this stumps me every year. I really do try give up something, but I end up over thinking it. Then, by the time I come up with the perfect thing, it’s usually already 20 days into Lent. Way to go, Mel!

So, since I’m with a fairly new crowd…I know, I know, lots of you follow me too…but I’m speaking to the guy in the back rockin’ the Barry Manilow t-shirt. I’ve never seen him before.  Anyway, while I’m here, I thought you guys could help me. What could Mel give up for Lent?

I should probably tell you a few things that I really enjoy to put on the “GIVE IT UP” discussion table.

1. Cadbury Mini Eggs. For those of you who don’t know me well, I’ll break this one down for you. Mel is to Cadbury Mini Eggs as Michele is to cheese platters. Think about it. Would you want to be around a cheese-less Michele? WELL, WOULD YOU?!?  For crying out loud, think of  the children!

2.  Coffee. This would be cruel of you to choose, but it’s only 40 days. I’ll be back to guest post again and find the people who voted for this one.

3. Procrastinating. Eh. Let’s get back to this one in a minute.

4. Beer.  I really look forward to all the new seasonal brews that come out. So, I’d whine about this one throughout the 40 days, but it would be doable. UNLIKE THE MINI EGGS.

5. Voting on Circle of Moms. Technically this ends at 7PM for me  (see above time zone explanation) on Wednesday, but it’s still DURING Lent. This one, I like.

You can just leave which one of these choices you think I should give up in the comments. Choose wisely.

After that, please take five seconds (literally) and hop on over to Circle of Moms and…you guessed it…VOTE.

I’ll even put an adorable picture in the post for ya. Awwww!

On a sidenote, yesterday, we got to meet up with my girl, Michele, and her boy (the most polite 13-year-old I’ve ever met) in Washington DC. ODNT and Mags finally met (although we REALLY missed ODNT Jr.)  and it was love at first sight. I’m pretty sure they schemed through the entire lunch. Michele introduced my children to Tic Tacs…I know, I know…what kind of mother am I? And at the end of the visit, Mags tried to climb into Michele’s bottomless purse. I would have, too. She kept pulling candy canes and little mints out of it.

Thanks Michele and Dean for meeting up with us.

It was the highlight of our weekend!

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