Committed to Not Drink Diet Coke

On this first day of Lent
I solemnly do swear
to commit
to quit
the absurdity
the shit

of drinking
diet soda
chugging acid
down my gut

another deadly habit
I've attached to
pick-up lines--
school, not bars
dear loves;
what would
my husband think?

Yes, in the carpool
line I enjoy
my Diet Coke,
but not the next
six weeks--
I'll commit
to just...
Starbuck's coffee,
yeah, that's it!
No more poison
down my throat.

*

Prompt inspiration: Poets United Verse First~ Committed- I am giving up diet drinks, but the Starbucks part was my muse's silly idea. It's mostly water and milk for me (except my morning java start me up) for Lent.

A Heavenly Surprise

Yesterday it rained chocolate from heaven. An angel showered me with sweet blessings. I can say that because I believe special friends like Linda, the one who sent the treats, are earthly angels; and where the chocolate came from, Germany, seems almost like heaven to me (at least it's far enough away).

It's funny because Linda had just asked me that morning if I had gotten any surprises lately, because she had the inside scoop of something good that was going to happen to me. Of course, my writing mind jumped to publication, and then even higher to honors. Did I finally break a deal? Had I won the Pulitzer Prize? I soon came off my purple cloud and realized this wasn't a dream. But what could it be?

I had no idea I would find out a few hours later. I came home from running errands and this box was on my front porch. Had I looked closely on the outside of the box, I would have seen "chocolates" written on the bottom; but instead I rushed inside and cut it open with my green scissors. Not only did Linda send several different kinds of rich, flavorful German chocolate, but she also included three Easter eggs for the kids.  Inside the hollow milk-chocolate egg, which was lined in white chocolate, there was a surprise- a plastic Easter egg with a toy inside. Pictured below is what the kids found.

We had so much fun experimenting with the different flavors and sinfully splurging the night away. Since we can't read German, we had no idea what we were biting into, but each piece of chocolate was (and still is) out of this world... heavenly. I can't wait to see what the next bite brings. Wait a minute, I'll try a taste for you. Here's the little chocolate bar:

...excuse me while I take a bite (I love how it comes in little squares)...

 
...yum! It's solid chocolate (thank goodness it didn't have caramel in the middle because on an impulsive whim I gave it up for Lent).
 
Thank you dear Linda for your friendship, support, humor, and love. Thanks, too, for the heavenly delight... you are an angel! And the surprise is better than anything I might have conjured up in my head; nothing tops a gift from the heart.