The Sticker

Apples and peanut butter.

Best. Snack. Ever.

I have packed a cut up apple with two scoops of peanut butter in my and my husband's lunch everyday for the last three months (give or take a couple days when we ran out).

But that's not all that's been included with the snack.  More times than not, the little PLU sticker on the apple remains behind.

Usually because I forget to pull it off.

Now, if my husband could have just LET IT GO, picked off the sticker, and thrown it away without mentioning anything, I wouldn't have even thought about that little thing.

But my husband is not that kind of person.  (He still teases me about bringing the wrong movie on our second date.)  He brought it up.  Multiple times.

I had two choices. 

I could get mad that he couldn't simply just pick off the sticker and be thankful that I even packed him a lunch.  But I am not that kind of person...which is the same reason there was a third date ;)

Or I could have a little fun.

I remembered to pull off the sticker from the apple the next day, the day after that, and the day after that.  I just placed it in other more interesting places for him to find.

Which he did.

And then took a picture to show me he found it.

 **Disclaimer** I did not put the sticker on the sandwich...he did that!  

I put it on the bag :)

So when asked how a young married couple with two little girls under the age of 2 keep the "spark" alive...

We play hide-and-go-seek with an apple sticker.

What I am DOING for Lent

This year, I wanted to take a little different, more reflective look at Lent this year.  Rather than just give up the typical chocolate and pop, I want this help me be a better servant to my calling as a wife and mother.

I need to take the opportunity of these 40 days to take the Lenten Penance and turn it into a sustainable habit.  There are so many things I need to work on both in my role as a wife and mom, this can be a large step forward.  Make Lent more meaningful than just sweets.  I decided to make a list...

After writing down all the things I needed to improve on, I was a bit overwhelmed.

And very humbled.

It comes down to two basic categories.

Time Management and Spiritual Growth.

Now...the question was.  What do I do for Lent that can help me with those two things? 

I'll start with time management.   I very easily could have written house work or organization down as the broad category, but those were hard to pinpoint one specific place to be more organized or clean.  I want all of it better...without somehow adding more hours into the day.

Then it hit me.  I don't need to "add time" I need to "USE time."  As in using the time I am given in the day to be the most productive. 

On most nights, the girls are in bed by 8:00.  Katerina is usually just going to bed then, but I am working on starting her a little earlier.  After they both go down, I usually climb into bed, iPad in hand and surf Facebook, looking at the latest gossip.  Browse Pinterest looking at visual reminders of how I'm not organized.  Reading anything that might catch my eye.

Usually it's lights out by 9:30

Hmmm...there's at least an hour I could be more productive in my housework, organization, and spiritual life.  Now, how do accomplish that?

I remove the temptation.

Therefore, this year for Lent I will be putting away the iPad, Facebook, and Pinterest while I am home until 9:00 PM.  I will use that time to accomplish something that would have sat until morning (or never...). 

Laundry, sorting mail, taking out trash, reading scripture, or simply praying.  All better uses of my time, and challenging myself to stay awake and DOING SOMETHING until 9:00 is a true sacrifice, that I will have to make a SERIOUS EFFORT to stick to. 

And hopefully by the end of Lent, created a habit that will only improve my life and the lives of those closest to me.

What are you DOING for Lent this year?