Of Props and Proms...

Maddie--Homeschoolers have "Banquets"

Good Evening, Readers!

Tonight we bring you our coNUNdrum.  Mari sent us a picture of a fabulous life-size Prom Prop, which we'd REALLY like to use.  Unfortunately we have no Prom-related Problems.

So we're reaching out to you.  Did you have a bad Prom Experience?  Or NO Prom Experience?   

We have the Hindsight necessary to tell you what you SHOULD have done—regardless of the number of decades that have passed and what your mother said at the time.

Maybe your son/daughter is having a problem in the present?  Maybe you're part of the Prom Committee or the Dreaded After-Prom Committee and are questioning the value of a chocolate fountain—okay, that's not realistic.  Hmmm.  

We're Prepared to Write Your Mother!

It's Wednesday.

Woo-Hoo.

We need something to celebrate around here!

That's why we've selected Diane Loew's 101 Ways to Celebrate the Ordinary for our Mother's Day Giveaway.  A little about this gem:

This book will open your eyes to the oft-overlooked Ordinary all around you!   Diane Reed Loew lives on a dairy farm with her Farmer of 39 years, her four Sons, three daughters-in-law, seven wigglies, and all her BEBs (Brown Eyed Bossies). Her special spot in the world has given her the ability to see, appreciate and Celebrate the Ordinary. After reading this book you will probably have a new-found wonder about life and an increased attitude of gratefulness.

Out of Order Chik Pics!

Maddie brings joy to Canada, eh?

Help Singer Make Impression

Hello Readers!

 We hope that you all had lovely weekends and that you're starting this week with songs in your hearts. Partially because nothing makes us happier than a jolly readership, but also because we need your musical input for today's coNUNdrum.

We are sure you all remember our dear friend Lauren, the amazing waitress/aspiring singer from Cincinnati, and today she has written us for advice. With no further ado, here's Lauren:

Hello there!!!
Since I met you guys a few weeks ago, I have entered a Karaoke contest where I could win $500!!!

A New Day Dawns

Sunrise over Sea of Galilee

Good Sunday Morning, Readers!

He is risen!

The Groom (Jesus) now prepares a place for His bride (the church), which sounds extremely strange until you understand the depth and way of His love.  

And we find it incredibly cool how God foretells His "marriage" plan to His Beloved in the Old Testament:

And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD." Hosea 2:19-20

Good Friday Thoughts...

Good Friday, Readers.

We've had heavy hearts reading about the pain of infidelity in some of our lives.  It seems appropriate on this day to remember Christ's fidelity and love for us—the wayward people we are.

Love isn't pain-free—that's the example we've been given.  Why do we hope/expect it will be for us?

1 Corinthians 13—the Love Chapter are the go-to words on the subject.  Today we reflect on them in terms of our covenantal relationships—our relationship with Christ, and our relationships with our spouses.

Husband Has Affair With Facebook Friend

 

Good Morning, Readers,

Today we are reminded of how easily a relationship can fall apart.  We're all about connectedness here, but sometimes the ease with which social media allows it, can have devastating consequences.  Twenty years ago if you were feeling restless in your marriage, it took bolder moves to connect with someone else than it does today.   

Now it's an "innocent" click away.

Hello MikChiks,

I'll answer your question regarding Not-Hopeless from yesterday's blog privately, but you can discuss my situation openly. My husband won't see your posts, but he will see mine.

Interactions With the Opposite Sex--What's Appropriate?

Not appropriate if he's attached...

Dear Mik Chiks,
I have a conundrum that has plagued me for life. I don't know how to be friends with boys. I grew up with two sisters, only had one boy cousin, and even our pets were girls. Hence, I didn't ever learn the knack of hanging out with guys without it feeling weird. It's not that I'm attracted to these guys or that I don't genuinely like talking to them or hanging out with them. But it always feels awkward. Even now, over a decade into having step-brothers and brothers-in-law, I still don't know how to hang out around guys. And I feel like they get some kind of vibe from me that says "weirdo alert".

Calling All Honorary MikChiks!

Good Morning, Readers!

 You may notice that we are undergoing some Exciting Spring Sprucing thanks to Mari (who, by the way, has started a sideline of helping people realize their bloggy dreams.  Let her know if she can help you design a blog that embodies your personality—or the personality you've always wished you  had.)  But never fear—no one's gettin high falutin around here.  We can't even spell, falutin, and frankly don't have the time to look it up.

On another topic, this past weekend we were able to go out and play with one of our favorite Peeps—Holly.  Our first stop was to the place Americans can't get enough of:  WAL-MART.   Criticism aside, while we were waiting for our turn at Jason Wright's book signing of The Cross Gardener (another shameless plug), we spotted a Spring Chick Photo-Op in the Photo Department. 

Resistance was NOT an option! 

Should Stacey Post her Status?

Good Friday Morning!!!

First off, we'd like to announce the winner of The Cross Gardener by Jason Wright!
It's Mari!
*Please pause for internal fanfare on Mari's behalf before continuing on.*
Hope you enjoy your new read, lady!  Love ya!  And here's the link for anyone who would like to purchase a copy of this uplifting book--not meant to be theological, only one creative idea--on what happens when we die:  THE LINK 


And now for today's coNUNdrum:

Peeps on the Metro.  You can't deny the cuteness.

Dear MikChiks, oh wise bestowers of such sage advice,

I need your help thinking through this challenge that was thrown down on Facebook tonight:

Dying Embers-Dead Self-Esteem

Hello Readers!

This past weekend, we at Connecting Now stumbled around the great state of Ohio, joined by one of our bestest friends in the world, Shaunbay who served as our documentarian. While there, we found ourselves in a bit of a coNUNdrum, so we thought we'd share the episode with you all today. Hopefully, some of you will have feedback on how you may have handled the situation better so we'll know for next time--because it's quite possible there will be a next time.

Our story begins late Friday night, on the outskirts of Cincinnati. We were hungry. Real hungry. But we also wanted to eat some native cuisine. Ya know. Sample the local fare. Cause we're snooty like that. So after battling with the GPS for about twenty minutes (*aside* Shaunbay introduced us to GPS this weekend, and boy did it throw us for a loop. Seriously. We drove in a lot of loops.)

If Fishes Were Wishes and Ponies Were Cheap

Good Monday, Readers!

We'd like to start out this week with a word from April Alumna!

"As promised, here's my Alumni weekend photo. Since I didn't have a lot of extra money to spend, I wore my black dress and accessorized it with: 1) new sweater, on sale at Dillards; 2) new faux diamond heart brooch, on sale at J. C. Penney; 3) one cute redheaded boy. Thanks again for your help!"

You're welcome, April! And may we say that both you and your redheaded accessory look smashing!

Now moving on to our coNUNdrum of the day. Readers may recall last week's blog where we mentioned Regina, the girl who wanted a horse, couldn't get one, so she decided to teach her cow to jump hurdles. We further mentioned that Regina's fatal flaw was to forget that when you want a fish, you need to start by asking for a pony. To which our dear, dear friend Diana responded:

"My question is... why would you ask for a pony, when what you really want is a fish? 

We happen to know that Diana is the mother of boys, and we find it alarming that she does not know about the Fish/Pony Theory. Her kids have probably been playing her for years now, so we are taking some time today to address this issue. Sorry boys, the jig is up!

Up-diddly-date!

Greetings!

It's been a fast week here at Connecting Now, and we're happy to have a little update concerning our friend Rachel.

We wish all of our readers a weekend as cute and ridiculous as this photo:


We'll be back on Monday, at which point we'll answer a question that was left for us on our previous blog's comments section. It's a big deal.

And with no further ado, here's Rachel.


Love, love, love,
Maddie and Lisa

Jumping Around Day

Oh, Happy Wednesday!

Maddie here.  Lisa's "guest posting" elsewhere—just can't keep her in one spot for very long.  But we came across a news item, we didn't want you to miss:  German Girl Jumps Cow

It seems Regina Mayer, a 15 year-old from southern Germany, wanted (really really badly) to get a horse to ride and jump.  But alas, it didn't happen—her parents said Nein, in a most emphatic and German way.  So she turned to a cow named "Luna" to solve her coNUNdrum.   

How off-beat is that?

We had to ask ourselves:  if Regina had written to us for advice when she couldn't get her horse, what would we have answered?   We might have mentioned that her original approach was flawed, that everyone knows if you want a fish, you start by asking for a pony.  We might have told her to work up a viable and intelligent plan to present to her parents.  We're not exactly sure how we would have answered that coNUNdrum on that particular spot on the time/space continuum, but we wonder if the answer would have been that brilliant.

A Non-Beanie Baby Sleeping Bag Giveaway!

Special Tuesday Greetings!

Sometimes a book touches you just right—like it was written with a message specifically for you.  Today we bring you such a book—The Cross Gardener, by New York Times bestselling author, Jason Wright. 

Maybe it's because I (Lisa) loved my father-in-law like the father I didn't have.  Maybe it's because some of those closest to me have died alone.  Or perhaps it's because the writing was beautiful and thoughtful.  

It's most likely a combination. 

Gone Fishing...

Good Sunny Morning Readers!

She's taken her sweet time, but Spring is finally popping in today!  Cheers!  Bravo!

Who cares if it's only for eight hours?  (Apparently she's booked in other places.) Today we feast!  Yes, our section of the Shenandoah Valley will bask in the warmth of eighty degree temps on this Fourth Day of April in the 2011th Year of Our Lord.  Tomorrow...well let's not think about tomorrow—it includes math—subtraction to be specific—the subtraction of thirty degrees to be even more specific. 

But today it's going to be a regular sauna!

And today we follow a tradition that was set into motion many warm suns ago.  Every "first" day of spring--REAL spring, we play hookie—it doesn't matter one iota what day it is or what work there is.  (It's a good thing we're not brain surgeons with that attitude.)

And Hallelujah Hookie Day is here!

The fish are jumping and the cotton is high.

So we're prone to exaggeration. 

Regardless.

We hope it's warm in your neck of the woods—and if not your necks, then in your hearts.

Giddily Out,

Maddie and Lisa

P.S.  Playing hookie on the First Real Day of Spring and Spring Break are two completely different holidays and should not be confused with one another.

Burdened Left Holding the Bag

Dear MikChiks,

Many moons ago a friend and I decided to help a single mom out of a deep dark hole—we paid for her lawyer's fees so she could get her daughter back from her evil mother-in-law. Happily, she almost has full custody back, but unhappily, we are still paying off the bills. We have $12,000 on our card; our friend has donated about $15,000 from her company, and carries a balance of about $25,000 on her card.

The young mom is now a full-time student with no job, so she can't pay anything.  Her living costs are supported by a local organization, and her lawyer is finishing up the final details by treating YG's case as her yearly pro bono case.

My church is very kindly paying our monthly charge of $250 for a year, but this does not take care of the long-term debt. What I would like the MikChiks and their readers to offer are splendiferous fund-raising suggestions. I'm not talking about a few hundred dollars here, obviously, so I need grand-scale plans.

Burdened