Give It UP!

I remember in the good old days back at my parochial school a paralyzing fear would come over me the week before lent. That’s when it sunk in that fun time was over, it’s time to get serious, I had to figure out what I was giving up for Lent. I had to show that I loved Jesus more than the other kids in my class by giving up something huge! Other kids in my class valiantly gave up big things like watching television, which I could not wrap my little brain around for the life of me. Why did Jesus not want me to watch the Smurfs or He-Man? He’s God, He should know how cool they are and that watching them made me happy which in turn secured happiness for my family. Because when Judy aint happy aint nobody happy! So with television not being an option to give up I went for the default sacrifice and when asked I stated I was giving candy up for Lent.

What happened more than not is that what I gave up changed so frequently that I never really missed any of my candy cause I could not keep my sacrifices straight. I would give up Snickers one week and then change to going cold turkey on skittles; so I ended up eating candy to my hearts content while other boys and girls went around looking all emaciated and sad.

For awhile I thought I was near genius level when I thought of the perfect thing to give up for Lent, VEGTEBELES! But, my mom obviously was trying to keep me from my Lenten journey and would always shoot down that idea.

As I got older I would use Lent as a good excuse for an array of things. “Hey Judy can you take out the trash? Sorry mom, gave it up for Lent.” Or I would make blanket statements like, “This Lent I will not kill any hitchhikers!” Do you see now why my religious teachers all took “early retirements”!

Not to mention the only time you really want a hamburger is during a Friday in Lent. In my more immature years my favorite thing to do was to let my friends order their food first and let them take that first big bite into their hamburger before announcing, “gee it’s Friday, wow, you got a mouthful of damnation in your mouth there, how’s that taste?” But now I am older and more mature, wait no, sorry, I gave up lying for Lent.

This Lent my spiritual director told me he would kill me if I gave up candy for Lent. Lent is not about giving things up and making those around you miserable. It’s about looking at your life and seeing what is keeping you from Jesus. This Lent I am looking at the marvel that is Judy and honestly asking, what in my life is keeping me from getting closer to Jesus.
If you honestly look and see that, ya, maybe eating 90 Hershey bars a day is causing you to go into a sugar coma and sleep for days at a time, which causes you to over sleep and miss mass, which causes you to not be in touch with Jesus by all means give up Candy for Lent!

Peace in the Mid-West

Happy Mardi Gras

One week later and I am 80 pounds lighter, OK, not really but I now need a belt to keep my pants from falling down. Mardi Gras in South Louisiana is a pretty big deal, kind of like Ron Burgundy in San Diego.
I have tales to tell from a trip to the emergency room, getting pinched and a 24 hour Walmart...Can you even stand the excitement?

Cajun Flu

To say that since Tuesday night everything in my body that use to be solid has turned to liquid would be an understatement.

New Orleans, 6 Months After Katrina

Yesterday we drove into New Orleans and first the first time I understood the magnitude of Katrina. The news stories I saw never conveyed how much damage was done. Maybe in my head when I heard New Orleans was gone I thought of a city back home being gone, but this was 1.2 million people displaced.

Here is the movie I made yesterday: NOLA

For the Record

Guns don't kill people, clowns do.

Mr. Ronnie, I Love You

Mr. Ronnie makes hot holes. Ok, really they are donut holes but cool people call them hot holes. I do find it awkward at a party to say, "hey Mary, hand me a hot hole." but believe me it's worth the embarrassment. I believe what makes hot holes better than normal donut holes is the love and care that is put into every hole. They use to say blood, sweat and tears made Mr. Ronnie's hot holes great, but no one wants to think of bodily fluids when eating pastries. So I'll say love makes them better. Love makes lot's of other things better but strangely enough love does not help when listening to an actual Blood, Sweat & Tears album. I choose to say album because no one listens to Blood, Sweat & Tears on an 8 track anymore. That is except Mr. Ronnie, he listens while making his hot holes.

So my final statement is this:
Mr. Ronnie makes his hot holes with love and care while listening to Blood, Sweat & Tears on 8 track.

Don't Get A Bead In The Eye!

Tonight is the Mardi Gras parade here in Houma and let me tell you I am scared. I am afraid of getting hit in the head by a football or beads or a cat. You see these crazy people throw things at the spectators of the parade. Where I come from you just watch the floats go bye and maybe you wave and they wave back. But here in Southern Louisiana they chuck objects at you and people like it. I was told last night to be aware at all times because you never know when something can come flying at your head and before you know it you are blind in one eye because of a wayward bead. Just minding your own business, maybe even whistling and then bam, you need a seeing eye dog cause some Cajun hurled a football at your head and it grazed your cornea. I'm seriously considering wearing a helmet and protective goggles tonight, maybe a snorkel. The snorkel would be purely a fashion accessory.

Back In Houma

Back in Louisiana one day and already somebody said I look like Sandra Bullock! Today I got wheels to drive around and keys for the office and the apartment. Next thing you know I'll be "working" or something...naw.

In one month I will be taking part in an Adventure Race, a what! That's right an adventure race down here in the bayou. It's a run, bike and canoe race that I have been trying to train for and so far I am failing miserably. Granted I have not been training on the ol canoe but I have been running and I'll tell you that after 3 miles of running as of right now I can't run 3 more miles and then bike 10 miles and then canoe another 10 miles.

Better hope prayer can help my training.

Romans 8:28

Another 40 Year Old!

Happy birthday to my newest 40 year old sister, Amy. Not only is she a breast cancer survivor, but she is also married to Paul Simon, raising two toe headed boys and teaches little boogers in Oceanside how to stay physically fit. With such a busy life it amazes me that she finds time to be a pink belt in Karate, look out Chuck. Did you know Amy sleeps with a night light? Not cause Amy is afraid of the dark but because the dark is afraid of Amy.

Surprise, Surprise!

No one ever rings our doorbell, because no one visits us. So tonight when we heard someone coming to the door, the first thing my mom did was run and turned off the lights, cause bad people leave when they see the lights are off. But instead of bad people my sister Amy walked in the door and right behind her my sister Chris and her fiance Craig straight off the boat from Portland! No one had any idea they were coming down except my brother-in-law Don and he never talks, so the secret was safe was him. What a fun night for us here down on the farm.

New Interview on Life Teen!

Home from Houma...For Now

My dogs really liked their Mardi Gras beads and one even tried on a tube top...This was much funnier at 2 in the morning.

mmm, mmm Good

Last night was my first experience of eating 16 pounds of boiled (pronouced Ba-ald) crawfish, shrimp (pronounced SHH-rimff) and crab. It was scary but good. It was a new experience pulling the head off of something before I ate it. I mean other than when I make my own hamburgers.
Any food that makes you burn more calories ripping em open than are actually in the food is always great fun.

Louisiana Boys

These are the dudes I hang out with down here. One's married to Gretchen and the other is married to the Church, I gotta find me some eligible men, hopefully with all their own teeth.