Day Eight: Create a bucket list, whether or not your aspirations or rational.

Listening to The Frames, in the Mac lab at the library at school! Wow. What a week and half it's been! Definitely a roller coaster ride. All blessings. Some in disguise, but definitely blessings anywhich. I'm truely happy to be here! It's pushing me and challenging me in ways that sometimes make me uncomfortable, but ways that I know will profit me ultimately. I'm trying to embrace all of my changes, making friends, embracing God's wisdom. I feel like I'be been here for a month, not a week and a half, but I know time will fly right past me from here on out. God is so good. All the time. He is all knowing and all fulfilling, and that has never been made clearer to me than since I've been here.

This bucket list will sooooo be a work in progress, but what the hey. Let's do it.

Completely Unofficial Bucket List:
1. Go to Europe, the UK, Bali, and Africa.
2. Make a pair of underwear. And want to wear them.
3. Graduate from college.
4. Pet a deer. (this is a Judson specific goal)
5. Get a tattoo.
6. Live in an apartment.
7. Live in a major city.
8. Go on a spontaneous road trip.
9. Learn conversational hebrew.
10. Keep an open mind.
11. Learn to play piano.
12. Take up some sort of sport.
13. Eat goat meat.
14. Jam with some one & learn to make jam.
15. Fall in love.
16. Befriend a homeless person.
17. Have a garden.
18. Learn to quiet my mind.
19. Lead a small group.
20. Own a pet.

Whoaaaaa that was cathartic. Look for more to come!
Here's to keeping off the freshman 15!
I really need to buy some jeans.

Grow up or throw up.

This is the theme of my life right now I feel like. haha. I start COLLEGE tomorrow. Well... technically I start college on Tuesday, but I move in tomorrow. Today will forever be termed "the day before my life changed for ever." Seriously. I'm going to call it that. Anyways. As of tomorrow where I eat, sleep, shower, socialize, learn, cry, laugh, trip, etc. will be different and, for the most part, new. Am I excited? Yes. Am I equal parts terrified? Yes. I am not a character who necessarily meshes well with change, so this whole idea scares the pants right off me, but I do love an adventure. And I gilmore girls taught me that eventually it is important to separate from your mother. haha. I have grown and gotten so much stronger throughout this process of applying, phone calling, emailing, scheduling, and finance organizing. It's really strange to think about where I was in my maturity this time last year, versus where I am right now, and where I will be 5 years from now. Granted. I still don't think I am mature enough for half of what I've needed to do for college so far... But it's in the principle I guess. So my next post will mos likely be made from the comfort of my top bunk. I never thought this day would come! haha. I always thought I would feel so grown up and ready! (which I don't fyi) But you know, as miley cyrus so famously sings, it's the climb! Sing it girl. haha :) I am so blessed by this whole experience. Now that all of the getting ready and organizing is over with, I can finally sit back and appreciate the process and how much it's meant to me. As stressful as some of it was. More than anything (I know I've said this before) growing up has taught me how to appreciate having fun. How to balance my priorities. & how growing up isn't all that bad, it's just different. I'm incredibly thankful for how much I've learned this year, this summer, and even this month. The Lord has been doing a number on my heart as I've been preparing for this new journey, and I can't wait to see what opportunites, lessons, and friendships I'm blessed with through out this year.

Tomorrow begins new experiences. New friends. New responsibilities. New battles. & New faith. I can't wait to write more about it :)
Yeah God!

Day Seven: Provide pictures of 5 celebrity crushes

Haha. So this one is funny to me/reveals a lot about my character. I've never really been much of a "celebrity crush" kind of girl. I've never really even been much of a "crush" kind of girl! haha. Meet Robert, Jack, Robert, & Zach. I know it says 5... but even 4 is a stretch for me. haha. This is 100% legit.

Day Six: Time to face morph: Pick one of the categories.

Oh my lanta. THAT is alarming. haha. I suppose instead of 30 day challenge this has become a "whenever I have time to do it" challenge. ahhhh well. can't win'em all. That's what I always say. Footloose is over now, & summer is drawing to a close. The ending of the show was so bittersweet. I can't believe that so many people are going to college and starting on new adventures, myself included. I don't know when I hit the point where friends of mine started dating for marraige and having children, but I did. I've certainly learned from it though. Number one lesson: Growing up means learning to enjoy life amidst responsibilities, not using stressing over them. God provides & works all things together for the good of those who love him, and that has yet to be proven to me more than it has been this year. I movie in at Judson by the grace of God in 10 short days and my time until then will be spent saying goodbye to those leaving and praying for the future of all of us. With some dorm shopping, job hunting, and text book ordering. College gives me sticker shock. Satan has really been attacking my heart lately while the Lord has been trying to change it. It's been exhausting to try and maintain my joy while being so down, but I have been trying! We are weak but he is strong. We talked yesterday at bible study (we were reading ephesians 5) about realtionships and activities that fill you up, and that is SO on my heart right now. Starting school I really need to surround myself with people who fill me up, and pay attention to those who don't. Just a thought!

Day Five: Share your favorite recipe.

I love to eat, and I actually think I'm getting to an age where I should start journaling my favorite recipes for when I move out/get married. So I'm going to do my 3 favorites :) Lasagne, Blueberry Cake, & Cheese sauce.

Let's start with the easiest!
My grandma's cheese sauce!(not to be confused with my grandpaws cheese sauce, that stuff is nasty.):
Ingredients:
Milk
Velveeta
Sharp cheddar cheese
Flour (to ratio of milk. approx 1/8 cup flour to 2 cups milk.)
Mustard powder

Combine milk in a saucepan with flour and just a pinch of mustard powder on high heat. Stir until the mixture starts to rise, turn off burner and let the mixture sit to thicken. Next add equal parts of the cheeses heat to mix and stir constantly so that it doesn't burn.
This sauce it good over chips, noodles, baked potatoes. anything really. Yummm. Thank you grandma!

Grandma's lasagne!:
3 1/2 c. canned tomatoes 8 oz pkg. mozzarella cheese
8 oz can tomato sauce 1 c. cream-style cottage cheese
1 envelope spaghetti sauce mix 1/2 c. greated parmesean cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
1 box lasagne noodles 1 can black olives, sliced
Cook noodles, strain, rinse w/ cold water, and set aside. Combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce mix, and garlic in a pan. Cover and let simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Salt to taste. place HALF (usually 4) of the noodles in a baking dish, cover with a third of the sauce, half the mozzarella, black olives, and half the cottage cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce. Top with parmesean cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes.

Mrs. Schauer's Blueberry Cake:
Mix together 1 c. butter
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
pinch of salt
add 2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
little water
grease and flour baking pan. Top with 2-3 pts. blueberries & bake.



This made me ridiculously hungry. I'm going to do it more often :) I'm typing this all from my brand new laptop by the way. What a huge blessing!