Life's a Little TOO Rosy for Reader

Dear Mik Chiks,

I know someone else asked about rosacea and you said you'd get to it later, but I thought I'd go ahead and write in case you need an introduction question for the post, lol.

I wouldn't normally be much of a make-up girl except on special occasions, but I feel like I can't leave the house without foundation and lipstick due to my blotchy turkey-red face and pale gray lips (not a pretty combination). My family tries to tell me no one really notices, but they do. I know this for a fact because when I don't wear makeup then strangers on the street make random comments like, "Got too much sun, huh?" in the summer and "Oh, you must have been skiing recently? I see you have a wind burn." in the winter.

NOT ABOUT SHAVING!!!!!

Dear Readers—is it really Wednesday?

There is so much left to say about shaving—in particular, the origins thereof—which thanks to Carole's comment on yesterday's blog, we began researching.  We can't say we're happy about it, but we need a break from it, so we're moving on for today with someone else's pet peeve.

Don't be the cause of this sad and often destructive practice...

Dear Masters of CoNUNdrums (aka Mik Chiks),

My CoNUNdrum  seems miniscule on the coNUNdrum scale.   When I shop at our local grocery store or any large discount store, it irritates me to see people leave shopping carts strewn across the parking lot (especially when cart return areas are strategically placed). 

Shaving coNUNdrum: Part Deux

Yikes!

Dear Readers,

Welcome to Part II of the great Shaving coNUNdrum, which like your hair just keeps growing.  "Busy," from yesterday's post, emailed us late last night with the following:

Yes, I am very very blind, and I like to see what I'm doing. And how do you get the hair out of the razor? Maybe I have the wrong kind of razor? If I go that fast I get cuts all over my legs, so I go slowly so it doesn't nick me, especially at the back of my ankles. Maybe I just have super sensitive skin. So, yeah, I have never figured out how to do it in 10 minutes or less.

To which we replied:

What kind of razor are you using?

Hairy Reader Eschews Shaving

Dear Mik Chiks,
I have a slight issue with our culture's expectation of hairless legs. Namely, I just don't make a lot of time in my schedule to take care of such things. I'd rather play Scrabble with my friends online, or clean my kitchen, or do laundry, etc. Even scrubbing the toilet takes all of 3 minutes, as compared to the 20-or-so minutes it takes to shave, or the 2-3 hours it takes me to wax. And it's so pointless, since it inevitably grows back again. How many hours over my lifetime am I wasting in this ridiculous custom? Yes, it does feel nice when they're clean and smooth, and yes, my husband appreciates the effort as well, but for crying out loud, is there an easier way to do this?

Too Busy to Take Care of Self

Dear Busy,
While we understand your frustration, we at Connecting Now have to admit that smooth legs are a societal standard with which we are okay. Call us shallow, but this picture of actress Mo'Nique (whom we absolutely ADORE and hate to say anything bad about) is, perhaps a little grizzly.
<-------- On the other hand, if Mo'Nique can go the way of the hippie or the European, and let nature run rampant on the Red Carpet, then we suppose you can too.  It is a free country.

Merry Christmas!

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, GOODWILL towards men!

The Mik-Chiks--then and now--plus all the extended family--wish you all the joy and love and thanksgiving of this day--regardless of the day Jesus was actually born!  Enjoy time with your families--we'll see you on the other side.

All in Goodwill,
Lisa and Maddie

Jan's Christmas Eve Outfit....

Christmas Eve Greetings!

We hope this finds you all cozy with your families—the stress of the holidays behind you with only the joy and peace before you.

If not, write to us about it.

On to the matter of the evening.  Did the mik-chiks come through for Jan and her midnight mass cocoNUNdrum?  What was this Michigan resident going to wear for the Tampa, FL event?

We chose something simple in a beautiful color that she'd be able to wear all through winter and into the early spring.  The shoes have a low wedge—not too flat, not too high.

With no further ado:  Presenting our Florida Belle...

Connecting Luv: Rachel P.!

The warm and lovely Rachel P.

Good Wednesday, Readers!

It's time for Amy W. and Mark L. to put their heads together for our next Connecting Luv Candidate.

Here's introducing the one and only Rachel P.!

Rachel Phelps is a 23-year-old who lives in Kansas City. She has her Bachelor’s in English Literature and currently works as a clinician for Applied Learning Processes, a private center for dyslexia treatment. She has experience in journalism as a reporter and editor, but her true passion is fiction.  She has been scribbling ever since she can remember and is working toward her dream being a published novelist.

Three things you should know about Rachel—in her own words:

Playing Dress-up!

A Long History of Playing Dress-up:  Flapper Maddie

Dearest Readers!

Today we bring you a Special Edition of Connecting Coco.  We have a most faithful, yet impatient follower who needs help NOW.  Here is her eloquently penned request in the comment section of last Friday's blog (keep in mind that she's from Michigan):

Jan said…

Here's one for you two:
Christmas Eve midnight mass in Tampa, Florida.

Then in yesterday's blog comments, we found:

Jan said…

Christmas Eve is comin' on pretty quickly. I'm just sayin'.

We detected mild panic, so we threw Plan A out.  Plan A wasn't all that solid anyway—not even sure it's articulatable.  Here's Plan B:

Reader Stresses Over Tresses!

Good Morning Readers!

Here's our first letter for Connecting Coco.

 Coco rocks, as do y'all. I have a style coNUNdrum for you that might be a stumper:

What does a woman of a certain age do for a good hairstyle when 1) she's got a 5-head, 2) the LOHL loves long hair, 3) she's really lazy about 'doing' her hair and 4) the hair in question is mildly wavy in the front, wildly curly in the back? You can, um, look at my Facebook pictures for examples of what I'm talking about. I clearly need help.

No prize needed.

Also - rosacea. Talk about how to approach THAT one, if you would. Word on the street is I has it. Surprise to me, but now I'm obsessing over it.

Thanks in advance for your well-considered advice!

Introducing Connecting Coco!

Greetings Readers!

 Connecting Now invites you to take part in another harebrained scheme, which ironically enough includes hair.  (As a side note, we always assumed "harebrained" was "hair-brained," because hair is so close to the head which houses the brain—but no, spell check would say otherwise.)

Drum Roll, Please……..introducing Connecting  Coco, as in Coco Chanel.   We are huge fans of hers.  Not only do we love her philosophy when it comes to style, but she's so dag-gum quotable.   Here's a sample:

Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress.

Penniless Seeks Two Cents.

Dear Mik Chiks,

 I'm stuck between a job and a hard place--namely my mother's iron will.

I have a job I love. I work with children who have learning disabilities like dyslexia and dysgraphia and comprehension struggles. It's one-on-one instruction and gives these kids tools to be independent in learning environments. I am incredibly blessed to have this job. I got it as I was graduating college with a literature degree and had no idea what I wanted to do to make money. I never considered traditional teaching, but this environment has really brought out the teacher in me. I have learned so much and still being trained on aspects of our program - an important element since I am a chronic learner.

Family Dukes it Out Over Dog

Dear Mik Chiks,
Let me start by saying that I am NOT a heartless meanie.  Don't believe me?  Read on and feel the pulse of my fully functioning heart throughout.

With the holidays fast approaching, our smallish extended family is busily planning the Christmas get-togethers at our respective households.  You know the drill.  Christmas Day at home, then on Boxing Day (um, that's the day AFTER Christmas for all those who don't share in this strange and unusual paid holiday), we head down to meet up with my parents, grandparents, my brother and his brood.  That's where the fun begins.

My brother and his girlfriend Sharon live with her teenage son and have part time custody of my bro's 7-year-old twins.  So they're all living snugly together with their cute dog named Abby in a small home about 1.5 hours away.  I mention the cute dog because... well, therein lies the problem.

Connecting Luv: Mark L. and Amy W.'s First Exchange...Awwww.

A mere taste of A. Wiley's Fruit Sticker Collection

Mik Chiks = Green

LaBuff = Black

A.Wiley = Purple

Mark L. = Red

Good Friday Morning Readers! 

Here it is—The LaBuff's Compatibility Questionnaire for A. Wiley and Mark L.  At the end we will ask you to give them a compatibility rating.  Most of you know A. Wiley better than Mark L.  We had some conversation with him that gave us utmost confidence in his character and kindness:  the two cks 

Here we go—be sure to check out their last answers.

 1.  Complete this sentence:   Every time I hear a little bell, I wish that... 

…my dog Rebel was still alive. (We taught him to ring a bell on the door when he needed to go out.)

…it was really a cow-bell keeping rhythm to a go-go beat.

Connecting Luv: A. Wiley Strikes Again

Readers!

You may all remember a certain A. Wiley of our recent contest for Stainless Steel Status. Well, she's back. And this time she's out to win the heart of Mark L. (Watch out Mark, she's a wily one...get it?)

Anyhoo, here's a (not so) brief bio on our lovely lady:

Let’s see, about me. I live in the beautiful rainforest of the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by green trees, rivers, mountains, and not too far from the ocean. I’m twenty-eight and yes, that’s a fairly current picture of me and yes, I know I look very young.

Griselda: It's not about you.

Dear Mik Chiks,

I'm thinking of making a contribution to a charity this year, and notifying some people on my Christmas list that I've done that in lieu of giving gifts. But before I do that, I've got a series of questions.

1. Is that rude?

2. How do people feel about that? Are they generally filled with warm fuzzies, knowing that the world is now a slightly better place?

3. Or are they annoyed, because they'd rather choose their own charities, thank you very much--and hey, that means I didn't get a present!

Connecting Luv: Mark L.

Sherah and Kyle,

Presumably you've been chatting online for a few weeks now, and we at Connecting Luv hope that everything's going swimmingly.  But let's not forget your duties to help a fellow Luv-seeker out!  Mark L is here and he's next on our list, so you'll need to figure out some candidates for him!

Let's learn a little more about the fella.  According to Eva ....

Mark is a young professional (age 27) in Washington, D.C.  He is in his last semester of graduate school at Johns Hopkins University.  

Mark's core values are protestant Christian beliefs; he has a strong musical background that is family wide.  He plays tuba, trombone and is a better-than-average (but not awesome) singer.  Such an avid musician is Mark, that neither time nor place stops him from playing – midnight concert in the local playground’s parking lot anyone? As a would-be jazz musician since age 16, he worked through school with intentions of becoming a professional musician - however after his first economics class this did not happen (love at first experience…).  He attended George Mason University for undergraduate and some graduate coursework; for the past 2.5 years he has been working and completing his Masters degree in applied economics.

Not a Blog Post

Dear Readers,

How I feel tonight!

This is not a blog post.  I couldn't write one today.  A real coNUNdrum for someone who set a schedule and has adhered to it for months.  A person who has trouble adhering to rules in general and self-imposed ones even more—kind of like my friend, Holly. 

So, in true rebel form, I was going to skip one single Friday.  But then I looked to friends to give me license, and one of them named, Mari told me to post a funny picture in lieu of a post—in other words she didn't give me an easy out, an "I quit". 

That's a real friend.

Where NOT to Hide Merchandise

May Kira (the LaBuff's Pooch) only use her folds for good.

Dear Readers,

After writing about the politician's wife who concealed $79, 600 in bribe money in her brassiere (which you can read about HERE), we at Connecting Now never anticipated having to post another conceal-the-goods-on-the-body type of coNUNdrum/Exposé.   

But we were wrong. 

Thanks to Deanna L. for sending us today's news story. It's a rather embarrassing report of two women who allegedly used their adipose tissue, and the folds of their skin (which used to contain adipose tissue), in order to shoplift $2,600 worth of TJ Maxx store merchandise.  I don't want to go into the gruesome details, but an eye witness said she saw one of the women stuff three boots under one breast.  Another report said belly folds and armpits were utilized.  All in all, four pairs of boots, three pairs of jeans, a wallet and gloves were allegedly smothered.