Just a few short things of varying degrees of unimportance.

Yesterday the temperature hit an unbelievable 70( for Mid-Mo in February.  Threw open the windows, sent the kids out to play and BBQ’d for dinner.  I had NEVER BBQ’d before.  There has always been a guy around to start the fire and watch the coals and make sure it’s hot enough. Last night, it was all me.  And the steaks and dogs I cooked turned out great!  The steaks were cooked through, and unbelievably tender.  Boo was duly impressed, and even more so when I told him it was the first time I had ever BBQ’d on my own.  (Look what I can do now!)

Monday afternoon, when the girls got home from school and spending the weekend with their dad, I showed them the treasures I had found at the clearance sale this weekend. Going through all the clothes, I came across the Tommy Jeans denim jacket.  There is just a tiny bar of red and white (The Tommy logo) above the left breast pocket. I made it a point to not mention the name brand, but Tate caught it.  She was quick to pipe up “Oh how cute! And Look!  It’s a Tommy Jacket!”  I’ve never been more proud of her.  Labels have always been important to me.  Call is shallow, but they’re important.  It stems back to my 7th grade year in school, when we moved from a tiny farm community of Jonesburg, to the suburb of St. Louis, Kirkwood.  Everyone in my class was obsessed with labels, and fashion trends, and since we were less affluent than they were, I didn’t have any of the ‘right’ clothes and was picked on constantly.  I knew mom and dad couldn’t afford to buy me the ‘right’ clothes, so I had to baby-sit and earn money to buy my clothes.  Since then, labels have been important to me.  I am, in turn, raising my girls to be label conscious too.  I am sure this is going to bite me in the butt later when I have to continue to provide them with the wardrobe they want to become accustom to. But, it’s my own doing.  Either way, I was proud of Tate that day; she recognizes the labels and knows….

Today is Ash Wednesday for those of you who are religious.  I am not catholic, but I will observe Lent anyway.  Not for the reason it was meant, but for my own personal reasons.  I mentioned my quest to ‘clean up my act’ and find the Lady within, so I am using Lent as a jumping off point.  This year I am giving up soda, chocolate, and cussing.  Everyone around me is giving up something, I will too, I will use this as motivation to make the changes I so desperately need and want to make.  This way, I’m more apt to stick with it, and after 6 weeks it should be a lifestyle change.  We’ll see.