Let the sunshine in, ladies!

 The sweetest little lady, Alicia from The Finding Years nominated me for an award! What?! Little ole me?! (I know, I was shocked too! with gladness!) Because of her, you will all now be graced with a whole lot of "Madeline talking only about herself" but I mean... that probably happens more often than not, I suppose. It's the blogging way, right?

//1. What inspired you to start blogging? All I remember was that it was the middle of a Logan winter, 2010, and I was bored out of my mind. Some other people around me had started blogs, so I thought I would too! My first post was about the O.C. So... you can tell I didn't take it super seriously. (but then again, do I take it seriously now??)

//2. What is your idea of a perfect day? A perfect day for me would be by the ocean, with my family. Preferably Cannon Beach, Oregon, or Huntington Beach, because I'm cliche that way and I love Ruby's Diner on the pier.

//3. If you could interview any person in the world who would it be and what would be your first question? I would interview Taylor Swift. And I would ask her, "do you think maybe you're the problem?" (I don't hate Taylor Swift, I'm just saying...)

//4. What is the first thing you would do with a huge lottery win? I would pay for the rest of my husband's school, set up a huge savings account, donate some to charity, and then I'd go shopping at Anthropologie because... duh.

//5. What is the best advice you've received lately? I've mentioned before that my school is doing the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People using The Leader in Me program. One of the Habits is "Seek first to understand, then to be understood". As a highly practical person who, when faced with other people's drama, has a tendency to want to say, "get over it" (Ha! I know, I'm horrible.) this hit me really hard. I have learned so much about TRULY listening to people, and making them feel heard.

//6. What is the best advice you've offered someone lately? Trust yourself! I cannot emphasize that enough. Most of us have ridiculous natural first instincts. You may think that you don't, but that's because you've been fighting with yourself. If you feel like something is wrong, don't try to justify it, you are right. If you feel like something is right, don't argue with it, you are right. Trust yourself!

//7. What did you want to be when you grew up? I started out wanting to be a doctor, then a singer/songwriter, then an actress, then an Interior Designer, but in the background of all those dreams, I wanted to be a teacher. They just didn't make enough money... so I guess you could say I put aside my naturally shallow ways and followed my heart!

//8. What TV or movie character do you most relate to? I would have to say Kathleen Kelly from You've Got Mail, or Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. I'm a goody-goody who wants to stand up for herself, but doesn't always have the right words at the time!

//9. Name one of your guilty pleasures. Watching The Bachelor/Bachelorette. I hate it... but I love it.

//10. If you wrote a memoir, what would you title it? This is hard because I'm only 23... how about, p.s. her name was Madeline. Ha! or It's Madeline: Yes, Named After The Little French Girl.

I nominate:
Jenna from Unencumbered Words
Laura from Sincerely, Laura
Elisabeth from Imma Walking Fashion Crime
Sue from Chevron and Lace
Kelsey from A Little Bird Told Me

Your questions are:
Why did you start blogging?
What's the weirdest thing you have ever done?
Favorite memory from childhood?
Most embarrassing moment?
What food are you craving RIGHT NOW?
Tell me in 140 characters or less how you feel about your life.
What is your favorite book genre?
What do you remember about 4th grade?
What is your favorite thing to wear?
If you had a bunch of frequent flier miles, where would you go?

Good luck, ladies, and spread the sunshine! And if I didn't nominate you specifically, whatever! You're still nominated. Go ahead and fill it out. And then leave a link in a comment so I can check it out! Thanks for reading!