Joyeux Mardi Gras!

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone!!!

We just got home from our last restaurant meal until after Lent. One of my bridesmaids is home for the week and we were so happy to have our last dinner out until Easter with her. She moved to New Jersey nine years ago, the same month that I moved to France, and since moving back home I miss her very much. She was the very first friend that I made in grade two and we've been friends ever since. Mr. JB loves her too. She's fun to be around AND when I asked her where she wanted to have dinner she chose our favourite hang out!

Today was a fun day at school. I made pancakes for my class and they ate them for their snack at recess this morning. Honestly, they make me feel like a superstar! They wouldn't stop raving about how delicious the pancakes were! One kid even tried to get seconds, but since there was only enough for one pancake each I had to send him back to his desk to have something from his lunchbox.

My staff had a Shrove Tuesday liturgy before we had a pancake luncheon. My old school used to do staff liturgies once a month (I chaired that committee until I left the school) and this was the first staff liturgy in a very long time. It was so nice to worship and then eat lunch together. Not a lot of teachers eat in the staffroom, and if they do it's a very brief stay. Both the principal and the vice principal stayed for the entire lunch.

My class made Mardi Gras masks and we paraded to the main office to show off the masks and to recite a poem. The principal and the secretary were so impressed! I cannot believe how much French they speak and it's only February! I would say that 80% of the time they're speaking to one another in French. How great is that?

As I've mentioned before I think that it is not a coincidence that my surgery is during Holy Week. I have a lot to prepare for the next 40 days. These are the things that I'm giving up:

1) No more wine. Not that I drink very much, but my one glass a night has really taken the edge off when I'm all wound up from school.

2) No more eating take out. We are really lazy come Friday. Mr. JB and I almost always get take out on Friday nights or during the weekend. Not only is it better for us health-wise, it's going to force us to make sure that one of us cooks every night.

3) No more pop. I usually only drink pop a couple of times a week, but I love it. Last Lent I lost 5 pounds not drinking pop.

4) No more impulse shopping. I have LOTS of clothes, LOTS of shoes and LOTS of purses. I do not need any more stuff. Next time I feel like buying something I'm just going to go through my dresser drawers and my walk-in closet. I always forget what I own and that's just inexcusable.

5) No more staying up late on school nights. Really that's self-explanatory.

Also I'm going to attend mass on Friday nights and Stations of the Cross afterwards. I always give things up, but I think that it's important for me to do something as well as part of my Lenten sacrifice. My Friday nights are usually spent sleeping on the living room couch. My soul needs nourishment too. I wish that my school's parish was closer and that I could go to mass before school as well, but it's not possible. Going Fridays (and hopefully I can convince Mr. JB as well) makes me feel happier and going through Jesus' way of the cross reminds me what Lent is all about.

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It's Peak +9 today and my boobs are killing me! I've been wearing a sports bra to bed the past couple of days because they hurt so much. I went for my Peak +7 bloodwork yesterday because the lab was closed by the time we got back to the city on Sunday (we were visiting my in-laws over the weekend). I don't see my doctor until after my surgery in April so I won't know what my levels are until then.

I'm at the halfway point with the antibiotics. I've had no side effects which is so great. I still feel no symptoms, but I'm dutifully taking them. I'm hoping that I don't get a yeast infection, but I'm holding my breath!

I'm off to bed. All the pancake making has made me very tired. I hope that all of you are enjoying stuffing your faces before tomorrow!