Promises to Keep: A Week of No Skirts and More

When I say I'm going to do something, I try to stick with it.  This year for Lent I said I was giving up alcohol and chocolate.  (http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-early-lent.html).  So far so good, although I did invoke my "break clause" the first weekend in Lent when my husband I were away.  I'm not sure if I had chocolate as I did have a White Chocolate Mocha Latte that Saturday morning.  In looking at the Starbucks ingredients for that one I don't see chocolate listed, but it could be part of "natural flavoring" I suppose.  I DID indulge that weekend with wine in the evenings and several wonderful Mimosas at our Sunday Brunch.  Our friend, Duncan, made a fantastic bartender, especially considering that he had to travel quite a ways with a cooler of champagne and orange juice.  It was a delight that even Klaus Voorman couldn't turn down (non- Beatles fans should Google that one.).

On the last day of March, I declared a "no skirts" week after seeing how few people in my office building DO wear them.  Every work day last week, I wore slacks instead of a skirt.  While I have more than enough pants to get me through a week, it wasn't as easy as it sounds to NOT wear a skirt. I AM set in my ways and the "rut" of skirt, skirt, pants was harder to break than what you might think.  I had to remind myself NOT to pull out a skirt AND I had to figure out what to wear on top.  (I hang most skirts and tops together which makes it easy to pull out in the evening so I can just go in the morning.)  Maybe I need to organize my closet better so that ALL clothing is put together in a more organized and easy to grab manner.  (Ok, there is really no MAYBE about it.  I DO need to do this.  Since I don't have storage space, my closet is it.  I need to pull warmer weather items out from the far, unreachable sides and put the heavy clothing back there.  I did have an organized closet, but throughout the year it somehow gets disorganized again.  Have no idea how that happens!  Or why my shoes go missing...this is beginning to sound like an opportunity for some overall organization AND a new blog post!)

During the week, I also found myself noticing when someone WAS wearing a skirt.  I didn't see it in my office, but wandering through the building, every time I saw a woman in a skirt, a little alarm went off in my head.  It's those little things you notice when you’re focused or breaking a habit.

I did wear a dress to church yesterday, but went back to slacks today at the office.  I'd thought about keeping up the trend for another week, but (amazingly) it's supposed to get HOT here tomorrow.  Supposedly it's going to be in 80! (So I think it's all right for me to finally take the winter coats to the cleaners.)  Weather like that is cause for celebration for me and calls for a light skirt and top.  (Hey, I've got to celebrate something. It's spring break here and while many friends are away and my son is spending the week with his grandparents, the only "break" I have is not having to rush out of the house to get the kid to school before 7:40 and maybe a little less traffic on the highway.)

Finally, I decided to make one more promise/challenge towards the end of last week.  With just a little over a week to go before the end of Lent, I thought I hadn't challenged myself enough.  Sure, I really wanted wine with pasta and I'm dying to dig into the chocolate Girl Scout cookies that are in my pantry, I felt like I hadn't put enough focus into it.  And honestly, I'd been replacing chocolate with other sweet treats.  Why not take the last week and really focus?  So on Thursday, I decided to forgo all sweet treats/desserts.  I do allow myself coffee with creamer (which could be considered a sweet treat), fruit is always allowed and I would allow myself a small sweet on Palm Sunday.  (It is a day of celebration, even though it leads us into the somber Holy Week.)  

Now this has been a REAL challenge.  I have really had to focus on what NOT to eat and for me this had NOT been easy.  While I did have a "sweet" on Palm Sunday (berries with whipped cream), I did not go overboard.  Now I just have to make it through this week.  And when I say "NO" to myself when those sweets coming calling, I'm going to try and focus on WHY I'm saying no.  Plus I'm sure the sweet will be even sweeter come Easter Sunday.  That is IF this a promise I can keep... (Stay tuned...)