SUPER-FAT TUESDAY...

and surviving the freeze!

What a day Tuesday was. What a day indeed.

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday - the translation of the French words Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday is the day Christians, who will be observing Lent over the next several weeks, partake of random silliness, indulging and the final hurrah-ing before today. Today being Ash Wednesday.

Here in Arizona though, yesterday was also our primary election day. So everyone was calling the day "Super-Fat Tuesday". I laughed every time I heard it.

So you can guess what I did yesterday...


I voted.

Which, in and of itself, was quite a production.

My polling place is a mormon church. Was it a coincidence that almost every Suburban in the parking lot when I arrived was displaying a "Romney 2008" bumper sticker? I think not! And I am pretty sure that everyone in that church's congregation was required to show up to vote - because they were all there with me.

So when the two ladies behind me (who were older than me and talking about how this was their first time ever voting in an election) discussed all of the attributes of their candidate, I gritted my teeth. When they broke into the "politics and religion should really go hand-in-hand" routine I couldn't take it. I turned around, smiled sweetly and reminded them that discussions such as the one they were having are not allowed inside the polling place.

Then I crossed myself and turned back around. I might have added an eye-roll in there somewhere as well. It was priceless.

So while I was tempted to walk into the polling booth and simply write in lime green Sharpie "anyone but Mitt"...I didn't. Because no one would have seen it. It would have been wasted effort. And a wasted vote. But it was fun to think about it - and fun to text my husband and tell him that's what I was going to do!

I voted, and I got the heck out of Dodge.

Onto shopping and dinner plans. I've narrowed down what I am giving up for Lent. The list is short, but it's admirable. One of the items on the list is shopping. So I had to get it out of my system (plus, I needed a few things for CHA next week). We also had dinner plans with a bunch of friends - 2nd Annual Fat Tuesday Fest - which was going to indulge me in another item on my list. Whew - all-in-all this could be a rough 40 days.

Which is kindof the idea...but my goals are lofty, to say the least!

Today is Birthday Eve. The last day I'll spend as a forty-year old. The boy marked the occasion by marking up dear husband's car.


It sat outside last night and was covered in frost this morning. We're still in Arizona...right?

For Birthday Eve - I have a day planned with Amy. A little scrapbooky fun, some lunch plans and some scheming for our time together next week in Orange County, CA. Should be big fun!

Pour yourself another cup of coffee - read the election results from yesterday (Mitt did NOT win Arizona!) - and have a wonderful Wednesday.

(oh - my mom and dad asked that I turn the music player off of AUTO START...so I did. See - almost forty one and still listening to my parents! Good Susan!)

until then - - -