18 Things to Do Before I'm 18

So I have this list of 18 Things to do before I'm 18. I have had it for about six months now so it is a work in progress. Some of the items are already done, some are being worked on, and some are yet to be done. Here is the list:

1. Read 100 books

2. Learn a song on the piano

3. Paint a picture

4. Release 99 red balloons (This also happens to be my favorite 80's song... so cheesy of me.)

5. Finish my personal progress

6. Enter a photo contest

7. Go laser tagging

8. Take a road trip with my friends

9. Make a "movie"

10. Go camping

11. Go cliff diving

12. Go on a zip line

13. Ditch one whole day of school (Ferris Bueller Style)

14. Shoot a gun

15. Finish my journal (this will be a tough one)

16. Paint my wall

17. Run in a race

18. Go to Disneyland

I have already completed numbers 10, 11, 14, and 16. I still have a long way to go. I think putting this on here will make me feel more motivated to complete it. Some of these have been done before (i.e. Go to Disneyland) but not since I made this list. My goal is to complete all of these within the next seven months. It will be difficult, but it is possible.

11. Go camping: I went camping over the summer at Lake Powell. Just for a night at Girl's Camp. One night is the perfect amount of time for me. I am not a fan of camping. I don't have a picture of me camping so you are just going to have to believe that it happened.

11. Go Cliff diving: So scary! And it wasn't even that high!

14. Shoot a Gun: I guess you could call this a gun...

16. Paint my wall: You can read all about this a couple posts down. I basically just painted a wall in my room red because I really wanted to.

17 Facts

Since I haven't posted in awhile, here's one for you...

17 facts about myself

1. I am obsessed with Peter Pan.

2. I can't decide if Coldplay or The Killers are my favorite band.

3. Every time I wash my hands, I almost always have to wash them twice.

4. My favorite number is 25.

5. I love Mexican food.

6. Love chocolate, hate vanilla.

7. I like antiques... a lot.

8. I have to make sure all my doors are locked at night, otherwise I can't sleep.

9. I am obsessed with my dog.

10. My dream trip is Africa.

11. I like re-arranging my room.

12. I like to bake treats.

13. Music helps me survive.

14. I wish I was good at singing.

15. I am a "homebody."

16. I love photography.

17. I love reading. A lot.

More Fall Baking

The other day I invited one of my best friends over (Shea) to make pumpkin muffins with a surprise center (cream cheese filling). They were quite delicious. You should try them out yourself!

Here's the link: http://annies-eats.com/2010/10/08/pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins/

We ran out of muffin liners...

Room Renovation

I have been wanting to paint my room for a long time, and my mom finally gave in! So I painted one wall in my room red and re-arranged all my furniture this past Saturday. I love it, thanks for helping me out mom!

Before

After

Fall is in the Air.

Fall is finally here! The temperature is finally reasonable, and to top it all off it has been raining! I love it. One of my favorite parts about fall is pumpkins. I went shopping with my mom today and I insisted she buy a pumpkin spice candle, and 12 cans of mashed pumpkin. I love any recipe that has pumpkin in it. I have been collecting as many pumpkin recipes as I can lay my hands on, and I attempted my first one today. I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. Needless to say they were delicious. After a few minor mishaps I finally got them in the oven. Let's just say that I have never really baked with yeast before... I didn't quite know what I was doing. However, by some miracle, it still turned out perfectly. I invited a few of my friends over to sample them with me and they were a big success! I will definitely be making these again.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls fresh out of the oven.

My sweet mother making the cream cheese frosting for me.

The final product.

*Sorry for the blurry images. These pictures were taken on a camera phone.

If you want to try out this recipe for yourself you can find it here: http://recipeanatomy.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls.html

or here: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/10/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls-with-caramel.html

As for the cream cheese frosting: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/index.html

You will not be disappointed. Happy Fall!

And so it Begins...

"Each day we are given 86,400 seconds, make them count." Every single person is given the same amount of time in a day. 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. How that time is spent is what determines the differences among us. You can choose to waste those seconds away, or give everything you have into making them count. I am dedicating this blog to making my seconds count.

I'm not always the most productive person, and I figured it was time for a change. Time is something we can never get back. Once it is gone you will never see it again. Something this precious should be highly valued. I am going to value my time by filling it with things and people I love. I am going to take each day as a new adventure, and enjoy the simple things in life. To quote a movie near and dear to my heart, "I figure life is a gift, and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know which hand you're going to get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you...to make each day count." Yes, I did just quote The Titanic. Yes, I know it's super cheesy of me, but I think Jack Dawson has made a very good point. Life is unpredictable, so don't waste time sitting around, watching time slip away from you. Get out there and experience life, and make your 86,400 seconds count.

"To make it count."