• 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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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.

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

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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