I've walked these streets in a carnival of sights to see

Photo by adscrubb

Well, we all survived Carnival Week. (At least I think we did. You're still here, right? Hello?)

While I was at it, I found a TON of different carnivals that happen every single week. And since I wasn't able to do them all (I believe that would have put me over the edge, to be honest!), I thought I'd give you a list here. Enjoy!

Monday
Mouthwatering Monday – Southern Fairytale
Not Me Monday – My Charming Kids
Menu Plan Monday – I’m an Organizing Junkie

Tuesday
Positive Post Tuesday – Brody Harper
What I Learned This Week – Musings of a Housewife
Top 10 Tuesday – Oh Amanda
Tasty Tuesday – Forever Wherever

Wednesday
Works for Me Wednesday – We are THAT Family
You Capture (photography) – I Should Be Folding Laundry
Wordless Wednesday – Wordless Wednesday

Thursday
Things I Love Thursday – The Diaper Diaries
‘Fro Me to You – The Glamorous Life

Friday
Flashback Friday – My Tiny Kingdom
Frugal Friday – Biblical Womanhood
Finding Freedom Friday (money) – Getting Freedom
Fat Burnin’ Friday – Mommy Snacks
Say it Forward – 5 Minutes for Mom

Sunday
Weekly Winners (photography) – Sarcastic Mom

So, have you found anything new online this last week? Learned about a new site, or participated in something cool? Let us know! And oh yeah - props to anyone who caught the Natalie Merchant reference in the title.


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Carnival Week: Flashback Friday

Can I be honest with you all? I think I can. So I'm going to tell you - I didn't feel like blogging today. I'm in the midst of making some big changes around here, plus discovering all sorts of bloggy and Twitter goodness (thanks to Blissdom) - and I just don't know if I can bring the funny today. So, please, people, just bear with me as I regale you with a tale from the past for Flashback Friday.

Thirteen years ago, I dragged Smitty to prom. To be more specific, Mark and I dragged her and her date, along with a few other couples, to prom. She will probably say that it was not fun. But based on the 2 1/2 pictures I was able to find last night, I can tell you one thing: that girl looked beautiful.

And that's the same as fun, right?

Well, maybe not, but I can't say I looked quite as hot. Actually, my hair looked quite ridiculous. It involved a banana clip, and that's all I'm saying about that.

Coerced or not, I do believe Smitty had a good time, despite what she'll tell you today. And you wanna know why? Because of my sweet dance moves.

That's right, friends. I busted a move that Saturday night.

I'd like to think it was similar to Baby's final performance with Johnny. Or something equally dramatic and impressive.

More likely, it was like watching Ben Stiller try to salsa with Jennifer Aniston. (Is there anything funnier than Ben Stiller's bad dancing? Oh, I'm sure, but it's cracking me up this morning!)

Here's an infamous exchange from that night:

Smitty: Um, hey, where'd you learn to dance like that?
Mary: What? That? It's nothing.
Smitty: I've just never seen you dance like that.
Mary: Yeah, I've been practicing. In the mirror.

Insert hysterical, though supportive and loving, laughter here. What are friends for if they can't mock you mercilessly?

Not to worry. I showed HER just three years later. When I busted a move again, this time thanks to a last-minute dance lesson.

At my wedding reception, my quiet, laidback dad and I did the rumba to Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole singing, "Unforgettable." The normal rumba, people, not the sexy kind you see on Dancing with the Stars!

We're not from that kind of small town.

Anyway. Here are a couple pictures from that dance. To say that we surprised a few people would be an understatement. I'm pretty sure the whole place was shocked to see Shy Tom and Uptight Mary twirling around the floor.

It was good stuff.




Care to share your favorite dancing memory with us? Go on...we won't laugh too hard! For more Flashback Friday, visit My Tiny Kingdom.


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Carnival Week: Things I Love Thursday

I love my VCR. Well, to be accurate, I love Mark's VCR. He saved up his allowance money long, long ago and bought this dinosaur.

Wait, how long ago? His allowance?

Yep, he bought this back in 1989. Or so he says. I guess he'd know. After all, it was a newfangled piece of technology and cost about a trillion dollars. That sort of thing tends to stick in a young boy's memory.

Even when he becomes a not-so-young boy.

So, this was before DVR? Before iPods? Before *gasp!* the Internet?

Yes, ma'am, this VCR became a member of our family before Mark and I even met. Before our daughter was even a twinkle in --

Well, you get the picture. The thing is old.

But you know what? The thing still works, bless her heart. We don't have DVR, and this little machine has kept up with my many TV obsessions quite well.

Lately, we've given her a break, watching most of our non-live shows online. But as of last week, I was still taping a few hours of TV each week.

She's been faithful, this VCR. And I love her.

To see more things that are loved, head over to The Diaper Diaries.

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Carnival Week: Works For Me Wednesday

In my ideal world, I practice Once a Month Cooking. Every four weeks or so, I buy groceries in bulk according to a full month’s menu and spend a day chopping, stirring, seasoning, simmering and otherwise cooking – filling up my freezer and providing my family with healthy, tasty meals.

In my real world, though, I’m doing good to throw together a couple meals a week and consider it a victory if I only visit the store once every several days.

Despite my hopes and wishes, I’ve had to come to grips with the fact that I am probably never going to be that kind of person.

So I compromise. I do what I can. When I make baked pasta, I double the recipe and freeze one pan. Same thing for mini meatloafs and cheesy potatoes.

But what makes the most difference in my daily struggle to put decent food on our table is browning several pounds of hamburger at once. I may not be able to commit an entire day to once a month cooking, but I can spare a couple hours to brown some beef and put it in the freezer. Because we get beef from my cattle farmer father-in-law, we eat a lot of meals made with hamburger. So this little trick makes that easier. Spaghetti, pizza, sloppy joes, tacos – all made in minutes, thanks to pre-cooked beef.

Once a month cooking may not work for me, but occasional bulk browning does work for me. For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit the carnival’s new home at We Are THAT Family.

And for those of you who are more together, more organized or just more interested in cooking for several hours on end, check out Once a Month Mom and Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.


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Carnival Week: Positive Post Tuesday

From what I can tell, Brody Harper started Positive Post Tuesday as a way to get people to encourage others. You know, to use the power of the blog for good and not evil.

Or something like that.

So today I want to tell you about someone I met at Blissdom. As I was waiting in the lobby for a cab to take me to meet Tam (yes, the meetup that did not happen, wahhh!), I found myself unintentionally eavesdropping on a couple other Blissdom attendees. One of them was Melanie Nelson, and when I finally and awkwardly introduced myself, she was completely sweet.

From my eavesdropping, I could tell she was a real tech guru. As a matter of fact, she's the brains behind Blogging Basics 101, a very helpful site for beginning bloggers.

My introduction to her was second only to meeting Shannon in awkwardness. (Remember that one? The time I rushed the stage like a rabid fan and then cried all over her about 10 seconds after saying, "Nice to meet you"? Remember? Yeah.)

And yet...when I e-mailed Melanie after getting home and realizing that buying my own domain was a little trickier than I thought (and/or that I was a little dumber about tech stuff than I thought - take your pick), she was so extremely nice and helpful and sweet.

She fixed my blog. Just like that. She doesn't really know me, but she helped me. And for that, I thank her. She is totally positive in my book!

Who's helped you out recently?

Carnival Week: Not Me Monday

My Charming Kids says, “Let's take our not-so-proud moments and spin them around in a delightful therapy session, shall we? This kind of therapy is free, funny, and oh so refreshing. Being brutally honest, and living to tell about it.”

So here goes…here’s my Not Me Monday:

• I did not laugh so hard that I cried telling Smitty about my Blissdom debut.
• I did not roll my eyes at the fourteenth co-worker who wanted to either commiserate about still being sick or chastise me for coming to work with my lingering cough.
• I did not eat half a pan of brownies in two days. (What? Lent starts this week, and I’m giving up chocolate!)
• I did not eat a very expensive steak dinner on our date night and then tell Mark that I think I like going to (the much cheaper) Lonestar Steakhouse better.
• I did not take advantage of my daughter spending the night at her uncle’s house by sleeping in so late we missed church.
• And I did not let Mark think the going away party for my manager at Archiver’s was at the store, when it was actually at our favorite restaurant.

Un-huh. Not me!

What about you? Anything you’d like to NOT confess to?