Adios March

Okay yes I do realize that Technically this is April and I am a few days late In posting this so please except my deepest apologies *gives sad look*


Little sibling "hey Janelle want to go build a snow man?"

Me "sure"

10 minuets later....

looks down at frozen hands "WHY"

Desided to build my own bed frame. THANK YOU PINTEREST;)

Also coffee dates w friends that you haven't seen in MONTHS (because were basically both world travelers )are awesome XD

On of my favorite shows returned this month 😊 like all the feels✌🏻

I got to hold my newest baby cousin one day after she was born!!!!! Also cutest babe EVER XD

Went to Panera Bread and ordered three drinks for myself. WHY DO THEY HAVE SUCH GOOOD DRINKS?!?!?!? 

I need to stop buying more books..... said no one EVER

Books I read 

Life of Pi  By Yann Martel 

Fiction

This book never let me down, I was never bored and I never felt the author cheated or left loose ends. The language was simple and lyrical but full of symbolism and symmetry. I loved the main character's honesty and optimism and his simple will to survive. Above all I loved the choice of an alternate ending, neither story is a perfect fit leaving the reader the choice to make up their own mind. I laughed, I cried and I'm recommending it to everyone I know.

______________________

The Blue Castle by L.M.Montgumery 

Fiction

I have found very few perfect books in my life, but this is one of them. "The Blue Castle" is not only L.M. Montgomery's best novel, it may be one of the most charming books ever written by anyone. As a long-time fan of the "Anne of Green Gables" series, I am always eager to read anything by Montgomery, but this one far exceeded my expectations. Never have I read anything like this sweet fairy tale of a novel. Valancy Stirling is an "old maid" who lives with an extremely oppressive mother, as part of a very prim-and-proper family. She's never done anything special or worthwhile, and she feels as though her spirit is stifled. So when she receives a letter from her doctor informing her that she has a fatal disease and will only live another year, she decides to throw caution to the winds and do what SHE wants to do for the first time in her life. She leaves her family, deciding to move in with Abel Gay --- not for his sake, but for the sake of Cecilia Gay, who is dying. As if that wasn't bad enough, in the process, she gets to know the notorious Barney Snaith, and she falls in love with him. When Cissy Gay dies, Valancy proposes marriage to this supposed criminal, and is denounced and shunned by her appalled family. The story of Valancy's marriage is calm and sweet, full of the nicest kind of romance. Hopeless romantics everywhere will adore this novel. It's clean, it's charming, and it has such a perfect brew of comedy and drama. This delightful tale made me laugh and cry numerous times. It's so brilliantly told, and so sweet in its romantic content. It's a story that immediately captured my heart and has since become a part of my soul. If you love classic romance, this is one you will enjoy. I rate this right up there with such brilliant works as "Pride and Prejudice."

______________________

Jane of Lantern Hill By L.M.Montgumery

Fiction

For me, this book represents more of an emotion than it does a plot. (Of course, this is based on my personal feelings and how touched I was in reading it. This is also not to say that there is no arcing plot -- as can happen say, particularly in Victorian literature -- but not so in this case.) Regardless, this book will forever represent JOY and PLEASURE and GLITTERY HAPPINESS

Jane and her mother live in a gloomy old mansion, where their lives are ruled by her ovebearing grandmother. For most of her life Jane has believed that her father is dead. Then, one dull April morning, a letter comes. Not only is her father alive and well, but he wants Jane to spend the summer with him on Prince Edward Island.

For a blissful summer she lives at her father's cottage on Lantern Hill, making friends, having adventures and discovering that life can be wonderful after all. And she dares to dream that there could be such a house where she, Mother and Father could live together without Grandmother's disapproval - a house that could be called home.

__________________________________

Leotas Garden by Francine Rivers 

Christian/ Fiction 

I haven't read a story this compelling in years. The young granddaughter that hasn't seen much of her aging grandmother due to an unfortunate communication problem, finds the joy and love she has missed from her own mother. Add some interesting friends and other family members, Leota (the grandmother) soon has more company than she bargained for; and is thoroughly enjoying herself, much to her mother's disdain! Annie hangs in there with Leota, defying her mother's "orders" and finds her own balance with God in her life. I read this book in two evenings. Very hard to put it down

I didn’t get as much reading done this month as I would have liked but the books that I did read were quite exceptional :) 



Thoughts

So March has been quite the month. I spent the first 8 days in Central America with my fam.. which was awesome!! We wlent snorkeling in the Caribbean & got to see some pretty fabulous hot springs. It was legit the BEST!!!

 Annddd then we came home to cold.....

haha yeah but now it April so we should (hopefully) be getting some warmer weather. Honestly can not wait to get out in my garden again *looks dreamily into the distance* anyways yeah so my March has been slightly crazy.. I’m graduating in June!! YESSSSS No more math.. L

Spent the weekend down in PA w some cousins :) we laughed & went to coffee shops & explored book stores.

Went camping ⛺️ my cousins phone fell in the water. Sleped in a hammock  with my other cousin and yes it was VERY uncomfortable... BUT we had a fantastic time together 😀😀 It was great & a perfect way to wrap up the month of March.

                                              

                                              

                               

WHAT FUN ADVENTURES  DID YOU HAVE THIS MONTH + LIKE WHO ELSE IS READY FOR SPRING. RANDOM THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU. FAV BOOK YOU READ THIS MONTH   



Happy Easter ❤️ 

Beauty in the ORDINARY

Sometimes I find myself becoming discontent with the monotonous day to day life.
I want ADVENTURE.
I want to go places.
Drop everything and spend a weekend with friend faraway.

I go on Instagram and social media & see people who are traveling the world and going on amazing adventures and have this extravagant life style that are so different from my day-to-day life and I start to feel like like I'm living a boring, ordinary life .
I've been so blessed by being able to go on some pretty cool adventure of my own this year. But that's not my normal life style. Like legit my life can be so Monotonous at times. But even  Amidst our everyday, busy, and sometimes messy lives there is so much of Gods  beauty in the Ordinary.

Today (Wednesday) I woke up,  read my bible, took a shower & got ready for the day. Made coffee and then Spent the morning catching up on school  and writing an English essay. Ate lunch & did wash. Ran my brother out to work. Cleaned up my room. Helped my mom with some household work then, went to my cleaning job. Came back home & ate supper. Did a few random things, read couple chapters of a book and went to bed.

Such a  normal day with nothing crazy happening. Everything went  completely 100% right.

But when I woke up. God  gave me another day.

& how many days do I let go by without  thanking Him for all that He has given me? 

I have Hot water 

All the coffee I want 

I have some pretty amazing subjects & teachers. Plus actually  being able to finish school unlike so many kids in the world. 

I get to spend my days with my Family.

Thanking God for Amazon prime for ordering books. 

I stepped outside for a moment at my cleaning job and saw such a beautiful sunset.

//////////////

If you choose to look for the

 good you'll  be surprised

 by how many little blessings

 there are in the Ordinary. 

Life is what you make it. and i want to make my life beautiful. It doesn't away have to be filled up with grand adventures or spectacular moments. as L.M.M. would say the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple pleasures.

So even though there are days that I wish exciting things could be happening I will chose to enjoy EVERY little and seemingly  insignificant moment that God gives me. 

WHAT ARE SOME SMALL JOYS THAT YOU ARE THANKFUL FOR TODAY + FAVORITE QUOTE/ BIBLE VERSE ABOUT HAPPINESS 

What Janelle is up to

 I thought that perhaps you might like a look into what my current existence is like uat this particular  moment.
So here is a quick update into what's keeping me occupied these days.

• SCHOOL. SRLY I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO RN. BUT YAY  ITS MY LAST YEAR. + RANDOM FACT. THIS GIRL IS HOMESCHOOLED AND QUITE PROUD OF IT.

• I HAVE BEEN READING BOOKS LIKE CRAZY THIS LAST MONTH!! SO MANY GOOD BOOKS + SLEEPLESS NIGHTS = ME TRYING TO FUNCTION ON COFFEE & 5 HOURS OF SLEEP.

• TRYING  FINISH  WRITING A SHORT STORY FOR THE BLOG. BUT YOU KNOW ME EVER THE PROCRASTINATOR  IS HAVING A HARD TIME COMPLETING IT.

• HAD LOTS AND LOTS OF RANDOM MOMENTS WITH SOME OF MY COUSINS. MOSTLY BECAUSE I'M LEGIT THE DEFINITION  OF  RANDOM.

• IT SNOWED.. AGAIN. FOR TWO DAYS STRATE. *WIPES AWAY TEARS* I REALLY WOULD LIKE SPRING TO COME. BUT WHEN YOU LIVE IN UPSTATE NEW  YORK AND ITS STILL MARCH, WERE PROBABLY IN FOR ANOTHER MONTH OF SNOWY DAYS. 

• STILL DREAMING ABOUT  THE HOT SPRINGS THAT WE WENT TO IN CENTRAL AMERICA. SRLY IT WAS THE MOST RELAXING/BEAUTFUL PLACE I'VE EVER  BEEN  TOO.

• LOTS AND LOTS OF COFFEE DRINKING.  + TRYING TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE  LATTES. AKA GOING ON  YOUTUBE AND WATCHING VIDEOS 

• DYING TO WATCH THE NEXT EPPISODE OF WHEN CALLS THE HEART BECAUSE.... OKAY FINE I WONT SPOIL IT  FOR THOSE WHO AREN'T UP TO DATE. BUT LET ME JUST SAY THIS . ITS. GOING. TO. BE. THE . BEST . EPPISODE. EVER. (now aren't you just a bit curious about it) *inserts evil laughter* 

• SO I COMPLETELY REARRANGED MY CLOSET THE OTHER DAY. 

• BROKE MY NEW I PHONE AND HAVE TO GO REPLACE IT  TODAY. NOT COOL. 

               (Why is this so funny)

• BROUGHT BACK 60 POUNDS OF  COFFEE FROM CENTRAL AMERICA. BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE BEST COFFEE EVER.

• BEEN TRYING TO GET UP EARLIER  IN THE  MORNING 

• LISTENING TO A LOT OF FOR KING AND  COUNTRY + SWITCHFOOT. 

• MY DIFFUSER  BROKE SO NOW I HAVE TO BUY A NEW ONE. 

• TRYING TO PLAN FOR MY NEXT ADVENTURES.  ANYONE WANT TO GO TO PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND WITH ME????? ALSO IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE I CAN FIND $ 10,000 THAT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED. THANKS.

• READING THROUGH  THE BOOK OF ISAIAH THIS MONTH.  WOW. SO MUCH GOOD STUFF. 

• WATCHED CRIMINAL MINDS WITH MY COUSINS & WAS LEGIT SCARED OUT OF MY MIND . 

• SO MUCH LAUGHTER WITH THE BESTIE. EVEN IF SHE HAPPENS TO LIVE THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY. THANK GOD FOR MESSENGER.

• LEGIT HAVE A HUGE STACK OF BOOKS THAT ARE WAITING TO BE READ.

• Set up my first the checking account & now feel like a regular grownup ;) 

So now it's your turn. I want to hear about YOU.
What random things have you been up to? Are you excited for warmer weather ??? Are binge watching any shows rn. Do you have any trips planned for this year??

              (The bros & I )

   
                       (best food EVER)

              (The normal view rn)

what verse(s) bring you hope? is it rainy or snowy or foggy or icy or warm or cold by you rn??

Happiest times are spent with a book in hand

What if.

• What if we lived every day as if it were our last.
• What if instead of wasting time on social media we went out and started talking to people & taking interest in their lives.
• What if instead  of worrying about  what others think of us , we turn our eyes and focus on God and, ask him to direct our lives. 
• what if we stopped hating one another over stupid things and, instead throw caution & hurt to the wind and, begin asking God to give us L O V E. 
• What if we recognized each and every moment for what it is. a treasure. 
• What if we began to look at ourselves & others the way God does. With love and compassion.  

we could go on with What Ifs for a long time. but i think the most important question is this.

WHAT IF you could not only say all the things I've mentioned above but, do them as well.

w h a t   t h e n ?

 You see, in order for there to be a change in society we need to be willing to change ourselves. And thats hard.
It's so easy to see other people's faults and problems and, turn a blind eye on our own.
But here's the thing I want to start LIVING the way God wants us to.
 Start acting the way He expects us to. And begine loving How He loves. 

Because when its all said and done, the only way anything can change for us is to BE THE CHANGE. 

So I'm going to stop thinking about myself and start noticing the ones who really matter. 

people

I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS SUBJECT + A PERSONAL STORY ON HOW YOU HAVE MAYBE  STRUGGLED  WITH  SOME OF THE THINGS I JUST MENTIONED. 

Happiest times are spent with a book in hand.

Why L.M.Montgumery is my favorite author

I remember as a child of probably  8 or 9 my mom had the entire set of the Anne of Green Gables series in her room, and sometimes I would go in their and try & read them.  I could read the description perfectly but when it came to the actual book I couldn't get past the old English..... Untill one day I opened up the first page and found to my delight that the words were readable to me. (I don't remember exactly how of I was but I'm guessing 12??)

That's when I fell in love with L.M.Montgomery.  for real.

I'm not sure why I always tried to read Anne of Green Gables when I was young. Other than the first book they didn't shout children's books, they're more for teens. I was always. And I mean ALWAYS on the hunt for good books as a kid, I binge read the Mandie Mysteries by Lois Gladys Leppord, the Sisters in Time series, The Boxcar children collection, and so many more but somehow I always came back to L.M.Montgomery.
The way she captured your attention.
The friendships of kindred spirits.
The beautiful love between Anne & Gilbert (although they did have a rather rough start)
The simplicity of a time gone by.

I adore Francine Rivers. I am captivated by C.S.Lewis. I have ALL of Lynn Austins books. But I Love Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Throughout my teen age years I found myself identifying more and more with the red headed orphan. The struggles she and her characters went through were so real that I couldn't help but become more attached to them.
I cried when Walter died. Laughed at the mischievous Davy. Wished there could be a real live Miss Lavender. Read with amazement at the antics of the four Meredith children. Not to mention Mary Vance, Miss Cornelia, Phillipa Gordon who vows she will never marry a poor or ugly man, Susan Baker, old captain Jim and, so many more characters just waiting to make your acquaintance.
L.M.M writes about L I F E.
The trials. The pain. The laughter. The joy. The small things.  That's what makes them such timeless treasures.

                                                             (Best seen EVER)
Her books.

I suppose I could take the obvious route.  Anne of Green Gables was her first novel, and the one I name when people look blank after I say L. M. Montgomery is my favorite author.  It’s a good place to start reading if you’re not familiar with her books.  Anne is a red-headed orphan who is adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert by mistake–their friend was supposed to bring them a boy from the orphanage, who could help Matthew on the farm.  The story follows how Anne found her place in Green Gables.  Anne is precocious, whimsical, imaginative, deeply in love with nature, and, though always well-meaning, apt to get into scrapes.  Once she dyes her hair green–another time she breaks her leg after walking on a roof on a dare.  Anne is a wonderful character and her adventures are funny and endearing. As are the next 7 books in the series. I should know since I've read them so many times my books look like they've been through a War.... 

That’s a good place to begin.  But I don’t want to stop there.  Because there’s also Emily, a dreamy writer, and Pat, who fiercely loves her home, and Valancy, who only starts to live her life when she thinks she’s dying.  And beautiful, tragic Kilmeny; Marigold with her imaginary and magical friend; capable and confident Jane.

Her books are also filled with nature.  Like Anne, Montgomery had a passionate love for the beauties of nature.  Pine trees, flowers, a range of hills against the sunset–from her journal you learn first-hand how deeply these affected her, and that carries into her books.  I once read a book that combined quotes from Montgomery about nature, with pictures that were meant to correspond.  I was amazed to find that none of the pictures were as beautiful as what she was describing.  She felt beauty so intensely–she was able to see it and then convey it in words, where someone else wouldn’t have seen the same thing at all.  A picture may be worth a thousand words, but not when the words were written by L. M. Montgomery.  She has a very unique writing style, which I obviously love–it may not appeal to everyone though, which is why I sometimes recommend starting with her short stories to see if it’s a style that works for you.  The Road to Yesterday or Chronicles of Avonlea are good collections.

Don’t get the impression, though, that her books are long treatises on nature.  The beautiful surroundings are the backdrop to human adventures.  They’re funny, exciting, romantic, sometimes tragic.  She had a gift for drawing out the emotions in events small and large–from the pettiness of carping relatives to the deep betrayal of a disloyal suitor to the fun of a picnic in the woods to the humor of an awkward dinner party.

There are some books I feel I’d love to live inside, and L. M. Montgomery’s certainly sit high on the list.  Her life was not always happy, and the sunny world of her writing was sometimes an escape.  Fortunately, she’s made that world available to the rest of us too.

FAVORITE QUOTES

 "Dear old world" she murmured,  You are very lovely and, I am very glad to be alive in you. -Anne

 "Kindred spirits are not so scares as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world. - Anne 

"Everything we had was small, except for our love and happiness. -Emily of New Moon

 "I believe that the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another  softly like pearls off of a string. L.M.Montgomery

 Book list

Personal favorites will be marked with a ✴️
 Also I linked each book title to the website where you can buy it. Just click on the title :)

• Anne of Green Gables.                                    •Along the Shore
• Anne of Avonlea.                                        • Chronicles of Avonlea
• Anne of the Island   ✴️                                 • Further Chronicles of Avonlea
• Anne of Windy Poplars                                   • After Many Days - Tales of time passed
• Anne's House of Dreams                                     • The story Girl✴️
• Anne of Ingleside                                        • The Golden Road✴️
•   Rainbow Valley✴️                                             (companion to the Story Girl)
• Rilla of Ingleside  ✴️ .                                  • The Road to Yesterday✴️
• The Blue Castle                                              •Kilmeny of the Orchard
• Emily of New Moon✴️.                                       •Across the Miles
• Emily Climbs                                                  • Christmas with Anne ✴️
• Emily's Quest✴️ .                                           • At the Alter
• Jane of Lantern Hill                                        
• Pat of Silver Bush                                           
• Mistress Pat                                               
• Magic for Marigold                                      
• A Tangled Web                                             
• Among the Shadows                                 
• Akin to Anne                                                 
• The Doctors Sweetheart, and other stories .                          
• Against the Odds                                   

There are quite a few personal nonfiction and poetry books by L.M.M 

You can purchase them along with the one's I have listed above at Thriftbooks.com

Has this post convinced you that L.M.Montgomery is an Awesome writer!! I sure hope so :D because you'll never find any books quite like them.

  HAVE YOU EVER READ ANY BOOKS BY L.M.M?? IF SO DID YOU LIKE THEM?  + WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK SHE WROTE??? +WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR

Happiest times are spent with a book in hand

What should I Blog about next???

Okay So I know I said *gulp* that I would try and once a month do a book  post about an Author\Era in time, BUT obviously I have not been as consistent with that as I would have liked. (In other words like never) *shakes head in disappointment*

So in light of this fact I thought I would ask you, my faithful readers what You would like to see more of. 
When I first started this blog my idea was to make it mostly about my obsession with books, haha .......but I feel like recently I've kind of drifted away from that.
Soooooo what I would like to do is throw out some options of possible future posts. 
Simply leave a comment on which one you would like to see more of. :D


 1.More posts about my slightly crazy  life.
Previous post on this matter Me  January wrap up thing
2. More posts about collections of books from different time periods\ genra 
Christmas Books  Vocal War books 
3. More posts about Authors & the books they wrote.
Let's talk Authors
4. More Random thought about life & our faithful God 
Last Minute Camping trip 
5. All of the above 


WHAT DO YOU WANT TO READ MORE OF??? PUT YOUR ANSWERS IN THE COMMENT BELLOW⬇️ ALSO KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR A POST ABOUT MY FAVORITE AUTHOR

Happiest times are spent with a book in hand