One Year Ago...

Guys...  

(*cough*and gals*cough* I'm apparently here to comment and fix any errors that M. made. -E.)

(BTW this is completely M's post! Don't tell her I'm here;))

Friends...

GUESS WHAT?! (What? oh hey people! It's L. I snuck into M.'s post:) (Oh hey L.! How's it going? M. doesn't know we're here, right?)  (Hey E. you can join me in sneaking around!  I don't know if she has caught us yet.)

It has been one (uno) (eins) (What??) year since Simplex began. Allow me to share the story with you....

"What should we call it?" E. and I deliberate as we sit in front of my computer. Ideas are tossed out quicker than bad cheese. "We could smush two words together and make a new word. It catches people's attention." (M.'s idea..) We go through a LOT of names... Something about a literary fortress? (M.'s idea..) Nah. We settle on mystery. (Also M.'s idea...) "Of what?"

"This is too complicated..." I say. Complex... hmmm. I thought blogging would be simpler than this!! Simple.. Complex.. "Simplex!" I call out.

"What...??" (I was more like: "whaaaaaaaaaaaa.....???) E. looks at me, confused. I explain. "Simplex is something that is simple and yet at the same time, it's complex. Like rain. Or God's grace." (M. literally thought of this in about 10 seconds!) That's M. for ya!)
"Just put something down!" (We have tried to make a name probably for an hour...) (ha! More like 'two' hours! :D it was roughly 11:00pm by then and we were both exhausted)

Here is a picture for you!

The story above may or may not be exact, (its pretty close;)) but the process for making the pages, first post, and design for Simplex went along those same lines of taking forever to make decisions...(like forever) :D But we made it. On October 12th, a year ago today, our blog went live online. And look where God has brought us today! (I'm still amazed at what He has done, and where He has brought me - all of us - since then;)) (I did not know that story until I read this. What troopers they are!)

We have a new author, L! (she mentioned me :)) We have published 58 posts ranging from random to theological (and just plain weird;) mostly by me:)). We've hit over 2,000 page views!!!! (Can I get a round of applause, people?! woot! woot!) The background has been changed multiple times... (mostly by M. once by me) and God's been glorified through it all. (AMEN!!)
Thanks YOU, readers, for making our last year of blogging a wonderful one! (Yeah thanks guys! Especially the three of you who comment! God loves you all though!)

Catch you later! Stay tuned for more Simplexities here! (Siml..sompx..coxcity...Whaaaaaa.....??? ;)) (What???)

-M. (and L.:)) (Don't forget about me!! Otherwise known as: - MOOO!! - *cough* I mean: - penguins are cool - AAAAHHHH I'm going insane!! -- insert evil witch cackle here -- E.)

THE AFTERMATH:

M: (scrolling)
M: (scrolling)
M: (scrolling)
M: (scrolling)
M: (scrolling)
M: (clicks)
M: (scrolling)
M: (gasps)
M: (viciously scrolling)
M: (screams; faints)
L and E: (high-five)

50 POSTS!!!

50TH POST AUTHOR INTERVIEW-CELEBRATION-COOL-THINGY

(translation: I (M.) couldn't come up with a good title for the 50th post. You'd think we have this down by now, but noooo.....)

ACTION KEY:
(A word in this color means this author is speaking, acting, or being described)

M: purple

L: green

E: blue

M: Simplex is now a real word! I'm pleased to announce that "Simplex" has been officially added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary... Not really! We're not that famous. (and we probably never will be!)

L: BUT WE'RE AWESOME!!!

E: And so is the LEGO Movie!! (Breaks into song and dance) "Everything is awesoooome..... Everything is cool when you're part of a team!!"

M: (stares at E. with slight concern)

L: (begins to laugh hysterically)

M: And so begins our interview... and impending demise.

QUESTION 1: TELL US SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT ONE OF YOUR FELLOW AUTHORS.

E. M enjoys using parentheses in weird and crazy ways... (M ponders the opportunity(but doesn't do anything about it(or does she???)))

L: and E. never gets enough sleep! (E. yawns)

M: and L is secretly a pop star! (L breaks out in loud song)

QUESTION 2: DESCRIBE THE OTHER GIRLS IN ONE WORD.

M: L is pondering and E is Engaging.
E: M is a rainbow and L is twirly!

L: E. is Random and M. is thoughtful.

M: We make a make a good mix!

QUESTION 3: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTERISTIC OF GOD?

L: The fact that He knows us perfectly and still loves us perfectly!

M: The way He has a perfect plan for everything; how His story is woven through all aspects of our lives!

E. HIS SENSE OF HUMOR!!

QUESTION 4: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO POST ON THE BLOG?

M: I like writing about Simplexities or something creative, fun, and engaging.

L: Well, I haven't posted much yet but I enjoy writing stories!

E: I enjoy posting my drawings and funny wallpapers.

M: For example, the picture to the right was drawn by E. during the early stages of the interview, in 5 minutes, on a simple dry-erase board. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is called talent!!

QUESTION 5: WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO?

L: Simon Peter. He messed up pretty bad, but Jesus forgave him and he did some pretty bold stuff for the gospel.

E: Donald Duck. No further questions.

M: Well, most of my friends are taller than me. My neck gets sore sometimes.

QUESTION 6: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BLOG POST UP TILL NOW?

E: Creative Writing Prompt #6 or #15.

L: "A Lot can change in Two Weeks."

M: Creative Writing Prompt #13. (but now, probably this 50th post!!)

(Pause of awkward silence, but only for a moment...)

E: Moo, I'm a cow, and you can't do anything about it!!

M: Wow, ok....

E: MOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

L: I like M.'s responses to E.

M: It's getting late, can you tell?

L: In other words, I love you both.

M: AWWWWW!!

E: .......moo?.......

CAN WE GET TO THE LAST QUESTION BEFORE YOU THREE GO INSANE?

M: Too late! 

E: (rises and begins to walk around the room like a penguin)

M: (sighs dramatically) We are all insane already.

E: Moo.

L: (Laughs at everyone in the most loving way possible)

THE LAST QUESTION: (FOR THIS INTERVIEW, ANYWAYS)

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE, SAGE WORDS, WISE WORDS, HUMOROUS WORDS, WORDS OF QUESTIONABLE INTENT, OR OTHER WORDS YOU WISH TO IMPART TO THE READING AUDIENCE?

L: Jesus loves you!!! M. and E. are awesome! And eat more Pizza.

E: Don't get brain freezes reading the blog. And doughnuts are good.

M: Paperclips. 'Nuff said.

And Now For the News...

Hello Friends! Happy Easter!

What's that? Yes, I understand that I've been gone a while. It wasn't that long, OK? Anyway, it's M. here to bring you the news you need to know! (That's how they say it on TV, right?)

EXCITING NEWS! I have started blogging for another blog! At first, I was not planning to link any of the posts over here, but because I am able to choose a pen name for that blog too, I will post links to those blog posts as I finish them! (Does any of that make sense to you? It's too exhausting to rewrite it...)

MORE EXCITING NEWS! I sewed a dress! It's a really pretty chevron pattern with pink sleeves and collar. It's a bit more "girly" than what I normally wear for sure, but I'm glad that I'm finally done with it. :)

EVEN MORE EXCITING NEWS! (Seriously? How much exciting news can I possibly have???) I have 5 weeks of high school left!! (phew) I finish my classes at the community college in two weeks and I graduate at the end of May. (dances around the room jubilantly) (no, exuberantly) (wait, maybe ecstatically...) (whatever. I'M REALLY HAPPY, OK?) I will also update you on that, spelling out all of the details in detail. (except maybe not the keynote speaker at the ceremony, yes?)

Not so Exciting News!  (Dull News? Disenchanting News? Whatever.) I'm sick. Well, sort of. I lost my voice the other day and won't stop coughing. My voice is back but I haven't been able to sing for almost four days now. (NOOO!!! I must sing!!! The hills are alive with the sooooooound of muuuuuuuuusic!!) (Ahem. That never happened.)

One last thing. I need a pen name for the new blog I'm blogging for. I've thought of the Chronicler or the Faithful. I'd love more ideas! Comment away!

Thanks for reading! -M.

P.S. Some funny pics from Pinterest, just for you!

(I say this often now)

(It just irks me...)

What Did You Say Again??

Hi everyone! M. here with a random, funny, and (well, kind of) simplex story. 

(E., feel free to correct me on any details!)

On Sunday night E. and I were at AWANA (a youth group/bible study) and on the way home, we came across a box in the road. It looked full so I drove around it. A couple hundred feet ahead, a truck with a bunch of similar boxes was slowing down. Someone else in the car suggested that it had fallen out of the truck. 

Somewhat sarcastically, E. replied, "Well, there might have been a little fairy throwing the boxes out!" (something to that measure, but it included a fairy!) My brother asked why a berry would throw boxes out of a car, and I was wondering who on earth owns a ferret and puts it in the back of a truck! We had a good laugh when E. finally explained what she had said.

Later, my brother and I went to E.'s house to watch a movie. (It's called "Now You See Me" and I could talk about it for hours, but don't get me off on a bunny trail!) After the movie, E. and I had both consumed a good amount of sugar (Dr. Pepper for E. and a 1/3 of a box of Nerds candy for me!) and we were both quite hyper.

We were in the kitchen, discussing some assignments for school, when E. mentioned that she was going to have to do "a lot of research" for a project for school. Both my brother and I mistook her again! I thought she said something about "water research" while my brother thought she was talking about the lottery!

Anyway, those two occurrences were a funny highlight of my week, but a few days ago I was thinking about them and suddenly realized, that's how we are with listening to God! We aren't always paying attention and the noise of the world around us can cause us to confuse His words for something else. Sometimes, we just hear what we want to hear! We have to be walking with God all of the time and studying in His Word, or we may get quite confused. I hope that I can always be listening to God's voice and knowing (and obeying!) what he says, even if I can't understand what on earth my friends say!

Talk to you later!
-M.

After All We've Been Through...

Dear Blog,

I'm terribly sorry. You're already up to 13 posts! And over 400 pageviews. I wish it didn't have to end like this. I knew the day was coming, but I didn't think it would come this soon.

Today is that day.

Today, I start school again. (gasp)

I start work again, too. (oh, no!)

I am sorry in advance for the uninvited neglect you are likely to receive the next few months.

All my love,
-M.


Dear Reading Audience,

I'm sure I'll post again soon, I just have to be a little more, shall we say, sensitive to my dear blog's feelings than I used too. I didn't even give it a Christmas wallpaper or any sort of present, and the blog is taking it a little hard. (just don't tell it that I told you that!)

Please excuse any lack of posts and feel free to remind me to clean out the cobwebs every once in a while. I can't speak for dear E. but I have a feeling she will be here more often than me!

Thanks for reading!
-M.