Monday

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Fill in the Blank Friday

1.  Today for breakfast I ate     a peach. Maybe I will get crazy and follow it up with an orange.

2.  My go to/never fail recipe     my made-up pasta shown HERE .

3.  Something I eat that other people think is weird is       Hmm... I am not sure. My husband thinks it's strange when I eat parmesan on my popcorn or dip fries in my frosty (which I will not be having anytime soon *sigh*) I think both are perfectly normal and delicious  .

4.  My worst cooking disaster ever was     I can't remember a dish in particular but I do recall a few times in our first year of marriage, me making some creation that was in my head and putting it on the table and John and I just sitting there staring at it and both simultaneously getting up and heading to the car to go out to eat without saying a word. The cat didn't even touch it while we were gone .

5.  If I could only eat one flavor of ice cream the rest of my life it would be   Rocky Road. The chocolate and marshmallow combination reminds me of going with my Nana to Zaharakos and getting chocolate-marshmallow Sundays and Green Rivers. 

6.  One food I hate and avoid at all costs is        Baba Ganoush. Which I really don't have to avoid it really. Since we are in the Midwest and everyone here thinks that's the name of a terrorist anyway. I just don't order it when at the restaurant.

7.  What is your favorite meal?  Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?    Well, big family breakfasts are fabulous. I'm thinking Christmas style big. Then lunch out with friends at sweet coffee shops or new places are great too..then dinner out on the town or at home with my love are unbeatable. I like to eat. As long as loved ones are involved, I adore any meal     .

Play along at The Little Things We Do!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I know I've been counting the days down to this blessed weekend!

Enjoy yours!

I love.

BPA 

Artistic.

Sustainable Style.

Simple.

Fabulously named.

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For Woobies:

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD ANGLOMANIA + MINI MELISSA

Melissa Shoes are made from MELFLEX plastic, a patented, hypo-allergenic, recyclable, and extremely flexible PVC. The shoes are totally cruelty free and devoid of animal products. The Brazilian-based company is totally rad in its recycling of 99.9% of factory water and waste, and they also go the distance by recycling overstock styles into next season’s collection. 

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Sweet tooth

I am not a big sugar person. I don't always need dessert. 

I like cake-ish things. Brownies, cupcakes stuff like that. And I like Dagoba's Xocalatl chocolate. OY!

The chiropractor, YES the chiropractor, said I needed to give my liver a rest once again. He put me on a Milk Thistle detox something or other.

I did no sugar for 3 weeks last fall and it was awesome minus the 3 days of withdrawals that were similar to crack withdrawal (I'm feeling dramatic today). After I got over the hump I was good and felt UH-Mazing.

Yep. That good.

Anyway, he reminded me that the only difference between sugar and arsenic is time. Whoa. It just got serious in here.

So the less I put in my body the better off I am in the long run I suppose 

My poison is Coke. I gave up artificial sweeteners so I don't do Diet Dr. Pep anymore. 

This little illustration I found is slightly incorrect because I looked at the Coke at work and it has 39 grams of sugar but check it out anyway:

There are 40.5 grams of sugar in a 12 oz can of Coke.

Forty grams of sugar is the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar.

10 teaspoons of sugar is the equivalent of 20 sugar cubes

• 
  
  
  
  
  HOLY DIABETES!!
  
  
  I would never just sit and eat 20 sugar cubes!! ( I know I said I wouldn't use umbrella/ blanket statements anymore but this calls for an exception)
  I usually only have soda  when I go to the movies or when I am craving sugar.
          

Anyway this is way more doable than my raw food diet. That was so gross. I won't even lie. Here's a little reminder of what it looked like:

I was not meat to eat like a forest herbivore. 

More and Less addendum

In the past around New Years I have always posted a More and Less blog about what I hope to eliminate in my life in the coming year and what I want to replace it with. You can read last years here and this years here.

Lately I have been noticing something that irks me.

Mostly in myself .

 Awesome. 

Self inspection is somewhat annoying to me because   usually  always  this means I have to change. And really, change isn't always an easy process for me so much. But I am going to try my darnedest with this one. And now I have accountability. "Greater is He that is in me than he who is in the world", right?

So here we go.

Today I start with the Less because I want to end on a positive and uplifting note today!

Less 

Sugar

I am off of it for 6 weeks.

See tomorrow's post about that

Less

Umbrella Statements

 I asked God yesterday while changing the laundry what  needed to change in the way I was speaking (right after a momentary tiff with John). I have a  bit of a mouth problem but am at a loss at how to change it.

Well within seconds this is how it went down as I thought about some 

things I've caught myself saying lately...

"I'm always going to do this.."

"My child will never.."

"People who_________ are__________"

"If I ever...."

And this little 10 second convo took place:

Holy Spirit: "Really, Missy?! What if you just happen to be "one of those people" someday.

Do you like the taste of your own words?"

Me: "no, sir, I don't"

Holy Spirit: "Can you always predict what will happen in the future and what if you can't control everything about your situation or what your child tries to do?"

Me: "message received, loud and clear"

Holy Spirit:"Try speaking My words and try resting in my plans.  Follow MY ways. They're  higher. You won't be let down. It takes the pressure off. Let me help. Take it one day at a time and take a chill pill while you're at it"

Now. I'm a planner . Some could call say I am a controler. 

I'm all about knowing what I am about and what I am not about.

And I'm pretty good at expressing my point of view and feelings about things. In a world where everyone either trying to very hard to conform or  working so hard at not conforming that they fall into yet another stereotype, it's hard to find the balance! I don't want to be an extremist! Extreme for Jesus and that's all- I'm going to work on that too...

ANYWAY

Too much expression of Missy's thoughts though, can just be redundant and pointless (maybe like this post??).  And if people are listening to my all-inclusive umbrella statements, it could really project crazy expectations on them. What if they are "those people" some day or have a moment of "those people"-ness? I've already expressed how I feel about it, so maybe it could make them feel pre-judged. That's not at all what I want!

 Always talking about how I feel is dumb. Sometimes you need a sounding board. Sometimes you need to get perspective by sharing thoughts.

Somedays you need a listening ear.

 But always expressing your feelings=not always wise.

Which I've done a lot of.

This brings me to my next point..

Less 

Talk

It would be weird if I just talked a lot about how I don't want to talk as much and express MY views on everything at this point unless it's needed and helpful so... this is me being silent

Oh just kidding.I couldn't be quiet for long .

Here's the more

More

Creative Spontinaety

 I've been working on this one for a couple of years. We don't have kids. We don't have huge payments of any kind. We don't have family by us. We could go and do a lot more. I suppose, in the names of wisdom and frugality, we are trying to limit our spending. However, I need to realize this does not limit my fun.

Neigh, it only increases the need for more creativity [which I love].

So here's to spontaneous trips, baking a cake at 10 PM (without sugar=gross), and trying new things without making huge inclusive statements, eating sugar and talking.  

Sounds really easy.

NOT

But all things are possible in Him.

Here I go..

One cute weekend

I am blessed to have an abundance of friends who have some of the cutest babies I have ever seen.

Here are just a few from my weekend.

What cute little woobies they are!

*Squeal!!*

Gracie and Bonnie play with my cat's toys.They were playing house and using sweet high pitched voices to communicate.

Gracie was fascinated with my cats

She asked, "Why do you have cats!?!? Why are they both black?"

Again, they are watching kitties.

Little Logan. He spent the night at our house and was the easiest child ever.

Rebecca and her Ogden

Really? Can you even stand it?! 

And he gave me a hug yesterday.

I can go for weeks on a baby hug!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...It's fun to dream..

Happy Friday!

I love, love, love today's blanks.
Lauren is always the most creative and inspirational.
Link up and play a long @ The Little Things We Do

1.  The last thing I do before going to sleep is      read.  Right now it's a combination of Andrew Murray's  Waiting on God (self explanatory) and Jillian Michaels'  Master Your Metabolism (it's all about hormones. Mine are out of whack)   .

2.  When I can't sleep I    read some more or try to pray until I finally konk out.

3.  The first thing I do when I wake up is   give my alarm a dirty look, greet my cats and shower .

4.  When I'm tired I   get lethargic and stoic. Neither of these is my natural character so when I start zoning out and staring like a mental patient, I need some Z's. I also get twitchy and shake randomly-also very awkward .

WARNING: Rabbit trail ahead!!  Lauren opened up a giant can of decoratively inspirational worms on this question...

5.  My dream bedroom would be     light and airy probably decorated entirely with Anthropolgie and vintage decor. Accents with light yellow, kelly green, turquoise and some grey in there too.. I've always wanted my bed to be in the middle/center of the room not by a wall.There will be Fresh flowers everywhere. An adjoining bathroom that makes you feel clean just by walking in. A reading corner filled with my favorite pieces of Klimt and Mucha Also,with an acess door to a garden filled with trellises crawling with Roses. It would all be lit entirely by candle light, firelight (from my fireplace,duh) and natural lighting.  Try to melange all of these wonderfulls together:

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Annnnnnnd I'm back..

6.  If I could wake up anywhere tomorrow morning it would be   in one of those bungalows over the ocean like they have in Tahiti. John needs to be beside me, of course. 

7.  The longest sleep I've ever had was   when I returned from Europe. I think I slept for a straight 20 hours. That's nuts. I don't require a lot of sleep usually   .

8.  I sleep on my     stomach/side (the left) one arm extended over the head under the pillow. Every morning I wake up in a different position .

9.  When I sleep, I like to wear     underwear and a tanktop. I've always wanted to wear  fun jammie ensembles but John and I are both furnaces and I'd rather sleep in an unsweaty fashion than look "put-together". I think John is partial to my choice of no jammie ensemble too, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN  .

10.  My bedtime is usually      between 10-12 .

Have a great weekend!