Lent

For some, it's all about New Year's resolutions. For Simone, it's about Lent.

While most would be hard-pressed to describe Simone as even remotely religious, she does observe one very special tradition: giving up something for Lent.

For forty days and forty nights, Simone has, in the past given up chocolate, candies, sugar, sweets, ice cream, cookies... Hmmm... there does seem to be a trend here...

On other years, Simone has made a conscious effort to speak politely (no swear words), has practised the art of complimenting by uttering a compliment to everyone she met and has maintained her patience while working on homework with her children.

This year, she has decided to tackle a much bigger fish: the internet. While Simone will upkeep her blog and emails, she will not surf, use facebook or any other site for forty days. Why? Because, simply put, she spends far too much time on pursuits not related to the many wonderful people in her life. And they deserve her undivided attention and love as much as the virtual world, do they not?