Lent is Coming

Ok, it’s not just coming…. It’s practically started. 

So, I am a firm believer in the season of Lent being a very private time.  I don’t think people should really talk about what they are “doing” for Lent, or what they are giving up, or what sacrifices they are making… I mostly think it should be a private, internal thing.  This year I’ve done a lot of thinking about different ways to better myself/sacrifice during the season of Lent, and I’ve had kind of a difficult time of it this year.  All the typical things—especially dietary sacrifices—seem to give me some kind of hidden benefit… like I’m just doing it because it’s lent, but I know I should be doing it all the time.  This is especially true this year as I’m pretty unhappy with my weight gain so far in this pregnancy and I know I need to better my diet in a lot of ways.  So dietary sacrifices are out.  Then there’s the other obvious—the internet.  Except I’m pretty out of practice on the internet in the first place, so that seems just like something typical to do, which wouldn’t really be THAT much of a sacrifice, though it would be a little bit hard.  And giving up coffee is simply not an option.  And if I gave up something like tea, I’d just drink more coffee.  Lame.

So I finally came up with an idea, but then it led to another dilemma.  The dilemma is whether I would advertise what I’m doing—as I said, something I’m very much against—but the thing is, if I didn’t tell, I’m afraid it wouldn’t work at all.  So I’m going to tell what I’m going to do for Lent, right now.  And I have looked at it from many angles and I know that there is one way of looking at it that would give me long-term benefit, but I hope that you all believe that I don’t expect that from it, and that I think the good outweighs the bad when it comes to advertising this idea.

So what I’m DOING is re-starting my Etsy store and keeping it going.  (This is NOT something I am eager to do, as I’ve said in a previous post or two.)  But, the catch is—and this is the reason I feel like I need to tell that I’m doing it—is that any money I make during the Lenten season will all be given to Matrix Lifeline.  After going over and over it in my mind, I realized that if I just did it without saying anything on here or anywhere else, I would make no sales and would know I had no hope of making sales, and then I would not keep up with it and then the whole thing would just be worthless.  But if I spread the word without expectation, maybe I could do a little good in the world!  Let me be clear: I don’t expect ANY of my readers to feel obligated to buy anything from my etsy shop.  Please, please, please, PLEEEAAASEE don’t think this is in any way meant to pressure anyone to do that.  But maybe if people are aware that money spent at my shop is going to a specific good cause, even if they didn’t buy anything, they might have the opportunity to tell someone else about it.  Or something.

I hope this makes sense and doesn’t sound selfish.

So, the shop with be stocked with stuff that has never sold at the craft fairs, along with some new stuff that is  fitting for Easter baskets, like these knitted kitties.  And possibly a few baby hats and baby legwarmers and other small things.  Basically whatever I feel like making that can be made and put up for sale within these six weeks. I’ll start stocking it up tomorrow and am determined to keep it up.  And if I make a sale or two—yay!  And if I don’t, then at least I won’t feel like it’s because I didn’t advertise and feel like if I’d said something I would’ve sold something.

So, I’ll still be on this blog throughout Lent.  (Not that I’m really on it all that much.)  And all other parts of my Lenten life will remain secret.  J

In other news, for Valentine’s Day Martin gave me our traditional Valentine’s Day gift—the most recent cupcake decorating book by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson!  It’s more than cupcakes and it has some seriously cute stuff in it.  And since Valentine’s Day is conveniently near Greta’s birthday, that is always the first thing I have to plan for!  In this book there are gnome cupcakes with little gumdrop mushroom decorations and green coconut grass.  The cupcakes, while freaking adorable, look a little involved (and expensive when you break it down) so Anja had the idea to make a cake decorated with the gumdrop mushrooms.  Brilliant!  So I believe Greta’s birthday cake will be a carrot cake with green coconut grass and gumdrop toadstools and gnomie and fairy decorations.

And while we were talking about gnomes and birthdays, Anja ran and got her book of Gnomes that Ooma gave her for Christmas this year, which she LOVES.  It is such a fabulous book!  Our whole family has really been enjoying it.

So a happy Fat Tuesday to all my readers.  If you’re signing off of the internets for the season… see you at Easter!