Madeleine's Musings: November 2012

Well, I hope you liked my last post and it's length, because I have another long post coming soon...not today, though. When I have time to finish writing it. Until then, I will add a few more happy thoughts at random just because:)

Happy Thought #34- Cathedrals *chills*...they are so big and beautiful and I have this stereotype in my head that is very gray and foggy and mysterious and cold and thrilling and scary...I have never been to a cathedral,of course, but that is what I think cathedrals should be when it is dark and empty...I am the type to scare the wits out of myself, anyway...so. I am not Catholic, obviously, but I still love the thought of cathedrals. There are other things attached to my cathedral thought, but it would be really hard to explain..it has to do with books and big iron gates and adventure.

Happy thought #35- Different smells. They remind me of different things, some of which I can't even grasp onto but I know it's there. Like the blue original chap stick. Then there are other things like perfume(I love perfume...) and cologne(love cologne too) and candles and the Lloyd's little spiral cloth trivet thing on their microwave and the soup at that Thai restaurant in Monterrey...I just like things that smell good, I suppose. I'm the one inBath and body works smelling ever single thing they have there...that's me. There are a million more, but those are the smellable things that come to mind at the moment:)

P. S-This picture is new because of our NEW camera!! Now maybe we will learn to take GOOD pictures:) More later.

Ok, well that is it for now. -Madeleine

So! My friend Tia and I have been planning on doing a “Happy Thoughts” post for a while…and today is our day! Check her blog out to read about her happy thoughtsJ. She has a great blog. So real, humorous, honest, fun and God-honoring. Here is the link: http://tiallarising.wordpress.com/ (ok, so I don't think I know how to do links,hopefully it shows up)

Ok, so I have many happy thoughts, but to tell you the truth, today I am not in that mode of writing, so this might be a little wobbly. (ok this was all written a while ago now…today is Saturday the 24^th. I have been soooo busy and haven’t been able to finish this post...I’m sorry!)

Happy thought #1- Thanksgiving. Really I think about thanksgiving not only when the time for it to come draws near…(we are big holiday people and look forward to all thanksgiving and Christmas all year round).Many things are entailed in that one thought…it is more of a feeling that I thought, I suppose. Reminders of God’s abundant blessing, family, food, warmth, socks, fall décor, etc. Lovely…I just adore thanksgiving.

Happy thought #2- Thunderstorms…wonderful thought…soaking hair, barefoot, ear to ear smile, dancing, running, fog, trees, singing, not caring whether or not your neighbors are watching you, black clouds, being alone, thrilling thunder, purple, black, gray, adventures in the misty mountains, books, shivering...it’s perfect.

Happy thought #3- Bright red lipsticks…don’t ask me why. It just makes me smile. ..It reminds me of the 40’s and 50’s, instagram pictures, willow trees, my grandma, and a few other things…I don’t wear lipstick, but it is a happy thought, for sure.

Happy thought #4- 70’s and 80’s music. ..Mostly 70’s. So corny, so catchy, so weird. I don’t know why, but I love it.

Happy thought #5-(on the lipstick note), Burt’s bees pomegranate chap sick…it is my go-to.

Happy thought #6- Finger style guitar…it is just so calming and beautiful and articulate…I could listen to my talented dad play all day…He is teaching me!!!

Happy thought #7- Griffin’s October. (I have mentioned this before)…so lovely…so apple pie, rainy, candle, Fernando Ortega, barefoot, Saturday soccer game, hot giant soft pretzels, Oahurst’s Gift works shop, Downhere’s Wide Eyed and Mystified album, fireplace, fellowship, peace, Sara Grove’s Add to the Beauty album, canopy of colorful trees type of feeling…memories, memories.

Happy thought #8- Past orchestra performances I have been to. ..oh my goodness…I am so drawn to it…seriously I look pathetic I am sure. I am on the edge of my seat tightly gripping the arm rests, powerful, eyes wide, heart pounding, just. Full…surrounded…the big high ceiling and shadows cast. It is just so magical. Classical music had to have been God-inspired. I get to go TONIGHT!! (thrillllllllled!!!!!!!!)

Happy thought #9- Musicals…heeeheeee!!!!! I love them! Fiddler on the Roof, Music Man, Hello Dolly (even though Dolly is so obnoxious and you feel like slapping her. Cornelius and Barnaby are awesome), Sound of Music, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, etc…all of them really…

***(Ok interrupting myself…I am not sure that all of these really count as “thoughts”…but to me…if I think about any of these/thinking of doing any of these things I do smile. They make me happy…anyway, this is my post, and I make the rules.)*** continue on, self!

Fine,

Happy thought #10- Christmas…oh yes…Christmas. I (my entire family, actually, especially my dad) love Christmas…the whole month of December is Christmas…we decorate the whole house and eat and sing and dance and fill the atmosphere with holiday cheer…we LOVE Christmas…who wouldn’t love celebrating Jesus’ birthday????????? I will write more on that closer to the actual Christmas day, thoughJ , seeing as it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet.

Happy thought #11- Cooking…yes, I think about cooking and all the things I want to try and all the meals I want to cook for my husband someday and I will have learned a lot by then so he will have delicious meals provided for him and he will hug me and tell me that that was the best thing he ever ate(that's not why I cook in particular, but I still like to think of it)…yeah…I love cooking a lot. My parents, especially my dad, are wonderful cooks and I learn a lot from them about technical terms and tricks. I am a relatively good cook, I must say;) I can’t do math, chemistry, run 5 miles, hang my clothes up (seemingly),snowboard, read music, play any song without messing up, but I can cook! Haha…I’m not perfect at it, but it is something I especially enjoy, so I work hard at it...there, I am done bragging…boy that sounded conceited. Sorry, it is my one skill!

Happy thought #12- singing. I love to sing…my whole family loves to sing. We are really weird, actually (no...Really??(Sarcasm)). We leave all our windows open at home and frequently burst into song complete with 4 part harmony everyday…scary for neighbors Yes. Fun? Oh, yes. My sisters and I sing in a choir here in Calzonia…we sometimes sing with the orchestra as well for the holiday concert with Master Chorale…it is tiring, but very rewarding. I spend my days at home singing and dancing in all different styles…I am dubbed “the strange lady” by my sisters. I don’t care, what fu is walking around normally, pray tell?

Happy thought #13- My Nana. She is in heaven as of October 7^th of last year. She was the best sort of person that has ever lived. She was spunky, sooo loving, she loved to read (sometimes staying up till the wee hours of the morning doing so) and sing (without her our family would not be so prone to random singing in parts). She cooked odd and adventurous food that was sometimes a success and sometimes not. She loved to shop in thrift stores. She believed in making the most of everything. She was quirky…like really quirky. For one of my birthdays she gave me these odd little lemon shaped soaps, underwear, five dollars, and hippie daisy earrings. Very eclectic…haha! Once there was a boy at the airport whose pants were almost at his knees. So naturally she went and pulled them up (she was never shy for a moment of her life), truly believing she was only being a help to this poor unaware young man. She lived on a dairy farm with 100 cows when she was little, until her dad died when she was 10. She was a nurse. She died gracefully. If I ever die, I know exactly what to do now. I could write a whole post on that…A book, rather. I have a ton of stuff to say about her, but I can talk about it later in another post.

Happy thought #14- It’s a Wonderful Life…the movie. Perfect. Any Christmas movie, actually…like Elf and A Christmas Carol(with Kelsey Grammar)…

Happy thought #15- food. Chinese, Thai, Indian, good Italian(I have to define it because it is stereotyped as spaghetti), chocolate, black licorice, coffee, ice cream, dates(the dried kind), fruit in general, brussel sprouts(don’t you be grimacing at the computer screen! When you cut them in halves and quarters and toss them in olive oil and season them with salt and pepper…then roast them in an oven at 400 degrees until they are all crispy and perfect, that is the way to have them! Not those nasty boiled ones, bleh!), stews and soups, reallllly good bread, etc…(I have a bazillion favorite foods)

Happy thought #16- Going to see plays/acting in them...or acting in general. Yeah, yeah…I know..I hate being in front of a huge crowd, however, if I don’t know a majority of the crowd, I’m ok. Plus I am not doing anything planned by myself, it’s a scripted part. Confessions, I know.

Happy thought #17- A clean room with a lit candle, music, solitude, and a book.

Happy thought #18- BOOKS. Need I say more?

Happy thought#19- Writing, I think about writing, yes…well I think about the things that I am going to write…but I don’t think I will share those. Some of you know, and some of you…just let it remain a mysterious thing. I assume everyone likes to write…dumbest thing ever…I totally do, though! I just talk about it with people like it’s just part of everything…I need to stop doing that, for sure. Just know that writing is my most favorite hobby.

Happy though #20- Camping…I love smelling like smoke and eating junk, ok? Then at church camp, I get to do that with a bunch of friends…what could be better? Fellowship, singing, Bible reading, card playing, etc…it’s all great.

Happy thought #21- Friends…my friends make me incredibly happy. They cheer me up; give smiles, advice, honesty, correction, encouragement, and prayers freely. God has blessed me.

Happy thought #22-warm puppies…

Happy thought# 23- Cows…totally cows. I love jersey cows. Their eyes just MELT you…don’t laugh, you people… ;) This leads me to me next happy thought:

Happy thought #24- My dream. My dream is to live on a piece of land without neighbors to hear you blasting “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” in your loudest opera voice. Land with my husband and four kids, a jersey cow for milking, apple trees, willow trees, maple trees for color(just a ton of trees in general), a garden, and a place that isn’t too hot. I will homeschool my kids and we will go on long walks in the rain to clear our minds and dance. None of us will know how to dance properly, but will dance anyway. We will all sing hymns daily and talk to God out loud as if He were right next to us.

Happy thought #25- Talking to older women at church and elsewhere. They have so much advice and wisdom that I hope to gain in order to become a godly wife, wise and resourceful homemaker, and a good mother someday…for now, I pray and train for this.

Happy thought #26- perfect hair. I don’t have perfect hair. It is blond, super straight, and doesn’t do anything I want it to you…petty thought, I know…I like to think about hair that is perfect, though. Lame.

Happy thought #27- Night time. In the summer, every night I would go sit on my porch and watch the stars…everyone else was asleep, but I was determined NOT to miss the beauty that night holds.

Happy thought #28- (ok so now it is Monday)..Monday isn’t a happy thought but THE NEW COX BABY IS!!!!!!!!! IT’S A GIRL and….I am freaking out. They have 2 oldest girls and then 5 boys after them…soooo…..a girl wasn’t expected. Praised the Lord, though!! It is such exciting news. No name yet…maybe this baby could be named “coma,coma,coma”….ok never mind, inside joke. Her name is Elianna Faith and I am thankful that she and Mrs. Cox are safe.

Happy thought #29- My Grandparents…always make me happy. They love God, each other and their family so much. I have and continue to learn so much from them…I hope I have the faith and trust in God like they do someday. They both are hard workers and my grandpa is one of the best men I know. My grandma is everything I want to be. She is so respectful and submissive. She is extremely good humored, devoted, and beautiful. I could talk about her for a long time…she and grandpa are some of the best people to grace this earth, in my opinion. They are so wise and are willing to share some of that wisdom with a needy soul. J

Happy thought #30- My cousins…I have some amazing cousins. Really, I do. Some of them are my best friends ever. It’s like sibling but minus daily disagreements…I can tell my cousins everything and we pray for each other all the time and I know that that is exactly what Nana wanted. I’m sure Papa and Helen want it too.

Happy thought #31- My siblings- Yes, they are a happy thought. Underneath all the arguing that comes along with having 6 people in such close proximity 24/7, when it comes down to it, we are truly best friends. They mostly put up with my weirdness and days when I feel like biting their heads off. Like for example, I was having a really hard day and the kitchen was a wreck…and it was my dish day. So Tommy and Ian helped me clean it and offered to take over the entire thing so I could go sleep…even though I had been snappy and bossy all day and a terrible example. I was humbled and ashamed and touched that they still loved me and cared to help me bear a burden after all that.

Happy thought #32- My parents. They are the best people I know. My Mum is funny and is so good natured. She is an excellent manager of the home and she loves dad and her family more than herself. She sacrifices everything. She doesn’t force me to be the best and the prettiest and the most athletic, graceful, and successful. She wants me to love God and my family and work my hardest to honor God in my every endeavor and seek what He has planned for my life. My dad is incredible. He never ceases to amaze me. His zeal for God and his family is so astounding. He is so wise and is able to help us out of any “complicated” little problem in life you may have. I don’t know how he knows as much as he knows. Humans use a supposed 2% of their brain capacity, but I think dad uses far more than that. Smartest person ever and a great pastor... also he is very funny.

Happy though #33- God. God is the ultimate happy thought. He is the REASON anyone is able to have happy thoughts. He gives them to us because He loves His children. Anything I enjoy in life is only because of God’s love. If He didn’t love me, life would be miserable. When I am mad, sad, confused, overwhelmed, etc…I think on Him and how He will work everything out for my good and His honor. I owe my whole being and life to Him. I am thankful that He chose me when I hated Him and made my great sin known to me so that I was able to repent and seek Him.

I have decided to make a “happy thoughts 2” post someday because this is very long already. Thanks for reading! What are your happy thoughts? I love long commentsJ

-Madeleine

P.S- Iknow this is totally after the fact. It is the 27th, but this post doesn't have a picture and y'all know how that irks me! Ok hold on. Here:

Not the best ever picture, but Mum wanted to try her new camera out, so... :) If any of you know me, you will know I was far from thrilled to have my picture being taken. Oh well, Mum was happy so that is what counted.:) This was the day before Thanksgiving at Buffalo Park(where I run most days).