100 ways to uncomplicate it.

hannah posted this today and i loved almost all of them!

have a happy day.

oh, and tomorrow tim and i will have been married for 3 years.

happy anniversary, my love.

let's set some goals.

my goals for the week*

less coffee. these past few weeks it's become a crutch and once again, i'm ready to wake up with some natural energy.

exercise. i am at a place in life where i absolutely cannot keep going without some endorphin action taking place.

read a lot. why not take advantage of all this extra time i've been so depressed about? i am by myself a lot and it's not going to be that way forever. it's time to be content with solitude and not take it for granted. if i don't start filling up the lonely times with activities that are actually edifying, the loneliness will only grow.

i am hoping this week will be a good one. lacey will be heading to chicago on tuesday evening with a few friends and we will spend the following day celebrating her last few weeks as a bachelor-ette. i just might take some pictures!

*it is now monday (i started this little note yesterday) and so far, i have exercised and consumed only a 1/3 caffeinated cup of coffee. i plan to read through my lunch, instead of farting around on the computer like i usually do. here's to goals that will help you out of a slump!

happy easter

‎"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they are like crimson, they shall become like wool."

Isaiah 1:18

and then i read THIS.

don't read this first.

read the post below, then read this....

if the post below was too ridiculous for your time, ignore.

this follow up made me laugh out loud! i love this man!

But now back to the serious issue at hand...my mom's sock. Apparently
you have no end to ridiculing my mom. You want to give my mom socks
with the word 'princess' on them? My mom is a queen, and not just any
queen, she's THE queen. In fact, she'd be the king, if it weren't for
the fact that would be somewhat weird and awkward to call a girl king.
And I suggested the foot bath to her, and she just looked at me and
started crying. Her foot is in so much pain she can no longer lift her
foot high enough to soak it. She's been put in a wheelchair and will
not walk until she has a second sock. The ball's in your court on this
one...

Bloomington. You're coming. If you like Broad Ripple, you will be
blown away by Bloomington. Its so laid back and my kind of place.

Well I'm in out...time to go pretend to work.

in Christ

tim

p.s. On a positive note, my mom does in fact have all 10 toes. And
even better than that, she was never without all 10 toes. The whole
'no toes' thing was merely a ploy by me to get my mom's sock back. I
apologize for the confusion, and will from now on assume that you do
nto realize that I lie more than I tell the truth...

let's go back to the start.

this just might be a new tradition for me!

after a lovely afternoon walk with my little guy, i came home to an empty apartment, as husband is working tonight.

i was a little blah at first because it used to be that saturday was the one night my love and i had together.

but i was also encouraged because i will be visiting him at work later, where i will give myself a few generous hours to just read and sip on some tea.

looking to brighten my afternoon alone, i clicked on the "Tim" folder saved in my email. these emails go all the way back to just before we realized we were supposed to be together.

so back to tradition: i think that every year as we get closer to celebrating the day we started our family, i will allow myself to read through all of our emails... because they crack me up. (and also, some of the romantic things my boyfriend said while we were dating still causes weakness of the knees. :)

thought i'd share a snippet with you. the back story is pretty silly: after tim took me to one of my most favorite movies of all time (Little Miss Sunshine) to brighten my day, the car he'd been driving us around in (his mom's) apparently ate a sock because one came up missing. here is part of one email, followed by my response....

That said, this thing with my mom's sock has gone entirely too far. I
was willing to overlook your sin, as I have done so many times with
you, but no more. Misty, I'm giving you one more chance to give you my
mom's sock back before I am forced to unleash my wrath against you. I
love my mom, and I don't see that changing any time soon. My mom is
walking around with one sock on right now, blisters on the other foot,
praying that God would just provide her another sock. And here you
are, parading the sock around like a trophy to be proud of. And I
guess I should tell you this too. The fact that you offered my mom toe
socks is so offensive, because my mom does not have any toes. Stop
laughing. What would you do without toes? I'll tell you one thing you
wouldn't do...you wouldn't wear socks with toes! I'll be waiting for
the sock...

Well I'm out...

tim

p.s. you need to come to bloomington to hang out sometime. you would
love it...

Now, the sock thing.........I don't even know where to start. I refuse to ask you if you're lying or not because you can't just ask someone in an email if their mom really does not have toes and have the slightest confidence that they will answer you truthfullly. So we'll talk about this later. And I have others, not just toe socks. I have a r eally awesome pink pair that says "Princess" on them. My grandmother puts socks in my stocking at Christmas, I really don't know why. Oh, if your mom has blisters I can recommend a good foot soak. Haha. Wow, you make me laugh.

I don't know how I made it to 4 am yesterday morning. It's 12:30 and I'm falling asleep as we speak. So, I hope things are going well for you in the working world. :)

Misty

ps....I'd love to hang out in Bloomington sometime. If you say it's something I'd love, I'm sure I would.

God is my victory and He is here.

so a few of you know how hard this past week has been on tim and i.

to randomly share,

i want to say thank you for the kind messages and prayers.

amber,

for the trip to crust and gelato through chicago's nasty spring mess. for bringing the beautiful creature called Nora into this world. her smiles and joy always lift my spirits and she's just about the sweetest kid i've ever met.

julie,

for dropping everything and giving me three days to choose from for a visit long overdue... and pretty much asserting that you wouldn't take no for an answer. i really am looking forward to some time together. it's a comfort that friendship still prevails, despite distance and a crazy life.

tiffany,

for the text message i don't know i can ever delete about what your mom was doing in heaven. that brought me the greatest comfort because i love your mom and i know what kind of mom she was while here on this earth. i don't know exactly how that heaven thing works, but i was reminded how much love must be there.

mom & dad,

for spoiling me and leading me through normal life activities this past weekend. for love and support and compassion.

all the women who opened up to me,

for sharing your former struggles and reminding me i can get through and there will be a brighter day.

lacey,

for listening to a crying idiot, fed up with all of the expenses life has been throwing as of late. and for offering to pay yet again for dress alterations. i am blessed by your generosity.

husband,

for going through this with me. it has brought us closer and grown us stronger. we are about to celebrate 3 years and even though you never read this blog (;D) i want you to know i know i could not have chosen a better man to go through this life with.

comfort.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

THE MESSAGE

^1-3 God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.

⁴ Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I'm not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
makes me feel secure.

NLT

¹ The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
² He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
³ He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
⁴ Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.

you are a tourist.

via tiffany

i can't look away:

may 31.

sister in law

alicia is headed back to japan today

please keep her in your prayers

another posting i neglected

was the one about the coolest christmas present ever

chopsticks all the way from japan

(from sister in law, of course)

and little white dachshunds to rest them on

p.s.

how long will it take me to learn how to spell my dog's breed name without having to look it up on wikipedia?! oh well... i don't mind looking at all the little pictures of daCHSHund puppies that the search always pulls up for me :D

once upon a time...

my good friend amber & i had a wonderful day together.

the day was documented by camera

but due to my blog slump

and being forced to blog via laptop

of course, i put it off

after emptying the contents of my memory card,

i remembered this day with a smile

and thought i would pay homage to our fun

:)

that day we did a few fun things

one of them being trying a recipe for Oreo Balls

i would highly recommend them

they were cheap, easy, & delicious

some ingredients & supplies...

yes, i was crushing oreos with my lemon zester

and sneaking bites while amber made a trip to the bathroom...

final product

let's just say our husbands loved them

they were super rich but didn't last very long

if that tells you anything :)

later, we enjoyed a few episodes of one of my favorite shows, Wife Swap

and some Strawberry Paraiso Teavana tea,

which was a sweet gift ordered by mail for me from Amber

it is a fantastic blend that re-steeps well and actually contains popcorn!

see?!

these are my favorite tea mugs from Starbucks!

and last,

our attempt at getting a good picture with Nash

yes, i had some fun with editing... i like changing the color of things

since i have no talent when it comes to the realm of photography

look at nash's little tongue!

doesn't she have the prettiest eyes?!

this lady has meant a lot of me and helped me through one of the hardest seasons of my life (so far... i know i haven't lived and lost much yet at all....) she is a wonderful listener and encourager. she's lifted me up in prayer and been great company in a city where i still don't have a lot of solid friendships. love her! and i've loved looking back on happy days today :)