Day Sixteen

A picture of someone who inspires you. (Other than Sean)

Snoop Dogg.

He parties and is super chill. He does the grass and other stuff, but stays clean and classy; most people cant manage that. I want to be like him, but without the partying because I don't like to party.

Day Fifteen

A picture of something you want to do before you die.

Ride an elephant :)

Day Fourteen

A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

Who else?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. - Bible, Corinthians 13: 4-8

Day Thirteen

A picture of your favorite band or artist.

Tough question, so I have to pick two. Guster and The Weepies.

Shining like a work of art, hanging on a wall of stars, are you what I think you are? You're my satellite. You're riding with me tonight. Passeger side, lighting the sky, always the first star that I find. - Guster, Satellite

Everyday is ice cream and chocolate cake and what you make of it. Let me just say, you get what you take from it, so be amazed and never stop, never stop, never stop. You gotta be brave. - The Weepies, All This Beauty

Day Twelve

A picture of something you love.

Neil Gaiman, author of Neverwhere, American Gods, Stardust, Coraline, The Sandman comics, and much more. He is amazing.

Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull or boring they are on the outside, inside them they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe. - Neil Gaiman

Day Eleven

A picture of something you hate.

On this Valentine's Day, I'm here to remind you that the screwed up, twisted relationship they have in those books and movies is not real love.

Day Ten

A picture of the person you do the craziest things with.

Sean, Chloe, Jamie, Qacei, Anders, Beaver, Patrick, Chelsea, Megan, and Papa.

Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. - Franklin P. Jones

Day Ten of Ten (Final Day)

One thing you want to be different in your life by next year.

I'd like to be more self-reliant. Make my own money, pay for my own expenses, live in my own place. I want to be more responsible for and more in charge of my own life and have the means to do the things I want to do. I want to build my own life and my own world and take charge.

Second star to the right and straight on 'till morning. - Disney's Peter Pan

Day Nine

A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

I haven't known him as long as I've known other people close to me, but he's helped me through so much more than anyone else because he's the first person I've really let help me.

Sometimes when you fall, you fly. - Neil Gaiman

Day Nine of Ten

Two of your most favorite memories.

1. When Sean proposed to me. It was totally perfect.

2. Thanksgiving this year. The whole day was really great. We spent it at grandma and papa's, as is tradition. It was realy snowy, so Sean, Chelsea, Megan, Chloe, Madison, and I went out and had a really fun snowball fight and went sledding (in the plastic kiddie pool). At dinner we always go around the table and everybody says what they're thankful for. We saved papa for last because he usually has a lot to say about what he's thankful for. He didn't disappoint. He talked about how thankful he was for my grandma, for her taking him to and from the doctor and taking care of him as he's been sick. He teared up and told us he probably wouldn't have made it without her and made me, Chelsea, and Megan cry. It was really touching and beautiful and I'll remember it the rest of my life.

Day Eight

A picture that makes you laugh.

Fergus likes to climb people.

"But I don't want to go among mad people," said Alice. "Oh, you can't help that," said the cat. "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the cat, "or you wouldn't have come here." - Lewis Carroll

Day Eight of Ten

Three things you want to do before you die.

1. Road trip! All over the states. Road trippin' with my two favorite allies, fully loaded, we got snacks and supplies. I want to go everywhere and see everything and do amazing, unforgettable things. I want to go to all these incredible national parks and monuments, see all these great things, take pictures of everything, go to shows everywhere, rock climb, go horseback riding, kayak, hike, eat, dance, and explore.

2. Travel all through Europe. There's so much history and culture and language to discover and I really want to go and see it all.

3. Have kids. I seriously love them and I think it would be so amazing to have them and so much fun.

Day Seven of Ten

Four songs that mean a lot to you.

1. Rocky Raccoon, by The Beatles.
My mom used to sing this song (among many others) when she would tuck me into bed every night.

2. Casimir Pulaski Day, by Sufjan Stevens.
This song was playing by chance during a really hard time for me a few of the lyrics were eerily appropriate.

3. Stickshifts and Safetybelts, by Cake.
Sean wrote this song for me.

4. I Hate People, by Jemina Pearl
This was the first song on a CD Sean made for me before we were together and it's totally us.

Day Seven

A picture of your most treasured item.

My engagement ring.

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatiblew ith ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. - Anonymous

Detour

I will eventually get back to the challenges I was doing, but in the meantime here's a recipe I made the other day that kicked so much ass.

White Russian Cupcakes

makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons softened butter
1 large egg and 1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup vodka
1/4 cup Kahlua, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl or stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until combined. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, then add vanilla, vodka, and 1/8 cup Kahlua. Gradually add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, ending with the flour mixture.

Bake 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. While the cupcakes are still warm, brush the tops with the remaining Kahlua. Remove from pan and cool COMPLETELY on a wire rack before frosting.

Kahlua Buttercream

1 stick of softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
3-4 tablespoons Kahlua

Beat butter until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating until combined. Add Kahlua one tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.

( Recipe from Baked Perfection.)