Random Readings

• The Facebook Fast – Rock star blogger and author, Anne Jackson, gives up social media for Lent and explains that she believes online communication offers connection, but not community.
• Blood:Water Mission – Drink only water for 40 days (between March 1 and April 9) to help provide clean water for people in Africa. I’m doing it – will you?
• Her story, His words – I’ve only recently discovered Angie’s blog, Bring the Rain. If you haven’t met her yet, you can read her story here. This post brought me to tears as I consider the blessings God has given her and the work He’s doing through her – and how it’s all being made possible with Christian publishing.
• Renewing the View of You – Is it possible to leave the rubric of perfection behind for a day? This Gifted for Leadership article addresses the way we women are constantly judging and comparing ourselves. Here’s a snippet:
  

  “I know that comparison is a black hole of inadequacy, that there is not a more
  beautiful identity than fearfully and wonderfully made, that being bought at a
  price is the greatest expression of worth the world has ever known. . . And yet
  it never ceases to amaze me how we—smart, capable women—screw this up.”

• Top Websites to Visit When You’re Laid Off – Thanks to Worthington Wire for this relevant find. (And if you haven’t checked out that site, you should!!
• Why Facebook is for Old Fogies - Thanks to Heather for this one!

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Rockin' and Praisin' with Praise Baby

When my daughter was a newborn, my mom gave me several classical music CDs.

But we didn’t need them. No, we were all set – with Chicago’s Greatest Hits and a Chris Tomlin/Matt Redman mix tape. (Okay, technically it was a mix CD, but that doesn’t really have the same ring to it.)

See, I’d read in one of the many parenting books that graced my nightstand during those early months that babies need loud sounds in order to be soothed. In essence, my baby needed to rock out.

So Chicago it was. And…I have to admit…Air Supply. Don’t laugh! They rock…softly….

To read more, please see my post at Praise Baby.

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?

Carnival Week 2009

Photo by scilit

In honor of next week being Carnival Week, I'm going to participate in a blog carnival every day. Wanna join me?

• Monday: Not Me Monday at My Charming Kids
• Tuesday: Positive Post Tuesday at Brody Harper
• Wednesday: Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family (formerly at Rocks in My Dryer)
• Thursday: Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries
• Friday: Flashback Friday at My Tiny Kingdom or Friday Funnies at The Run-a-Muck (I haven't decided yet!)

All right - who's in? Anyone? Anyone? (Buehler?)

Oh yes, they call him the streak. (Don’t look, Ethel!)

Lisa lived down the hall from me in my freshman dorm. Since I didn’t get along with my roommate at first, I was a bit desperate eager to make other friends. Lisa and her roommate quickly became the girls I hung out with.

We shared many special moments together, watching the guys across the hall play video games, sharing slightly dirty jokes and quizzes we’d received via the Electronic Mail (It was quite the newfangled technology back then!), and watching less-than-uplifting movies late into the night.

Later there would be laughter and tears, dances and parties, dreams and hopes, weddings and funerals – but let’s be honest. Those first few weeks were all about shallow, silly, just-got-away-from-our-parents fun.

Lisa and I weren’t super close, but we were part of a close group. And aside from a few disagreements (I’m sorry, but nobody should be allowed to listen to Insane Clown Posse at full volume. Nobody.), we got along well. So when it came time to choose roommates for our sophomore year, it made sense that she and I would room together, sharing a bathroom with two of our other girlfriends.

As you probably know, living together is different than being friends with someone. You’ve got the sleeping arrangements (you want to go to bed how early?), the study habits (you want to study how often?), and the dating protocols (you want me to make myself scarce because why?). You get to know a person, and notice things you might not have noticed before.

Like this:

“Ummmm, Mary, when did you dye your hair?”
“Huh, what?”
“Your hair! You’ve got a blonde streak! Has that always been there?”
“Oh yeah, that. Yup, since the day I was born. You hadn’t noticed?”

It’s true. I have a blonde streak in my otherwise plain brown hair. I have a lot of hair, so sometimes – apparently my entire freshman year – the streak gets buried. It’s a birthmark, a sign that God was feeling a little creative that day. My mom has one and, strangely enough, so does my dad’s mom. So pretty much I was doomed destined to have one.

And Lisa had never noticed it.

It’s not her fault, and I’m not saying she didn’t pay attention. Lots of people realize after knowing me (and, you’d assume, seeing the back of my head) for a while that I’ve got a funny stripe of blonde.

Some would say this explains some of my more bizarre behavior. I don’t know about that. But it does make me unique.

What makes you unique? And does your unique quality always show? Or does it take a while for people to notice? And how much do you love Ray Stevens?

Do you think elephants use mnemonic devices?

Something that amazes me is how we forget so much of our lives. Think about everything you learned in school. I bet it didn’t take you long, did it? Because, really, how much of that stuff do we really remember? (I’m looking at you, trigonometry!)

I’ve noticed that the few specific things I do remember learning almost always have some sort of trick to them, a mnemonic device, if you will. And, actually, even if you won’t.

Here are a few that I thought of off the top of my head. (I also found a bunch of examples, for those of you with plenty of time to waste today.)

• The names of the planets using this phrase: "My very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas.” (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto) This was back in the day when Pluto was still a planet, of course.
• The colors of the rainbow using the name Roy G. Biv. (Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet)
• The Great Lakes using the acronym HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior)
• The classification system from biology class (I don’t know the technical terms. Maybe Smitty could help us?) using this phrase: “King Philip Came Over From Geneva, Switzerland.” (Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)

What memory tricks do you remember using in school? Do you use any memory tricks now?