The Hunger Games

This book has recently gotten pretty popular and sounded interesting so I got it for my brother for Christmas. He read it then told me I had to read it so I did. It is a great book that I would highly recomend to anyone who likes adventure books or just wants something different to read. It's the first book in a trilogy and I have yet to read the second and third but I look forward to reading them as soon as I can! Reading more has been one of my goals for this year since I really slacked last year. So far I've read 2 books, including this one and am really close to finishing a third. I've already started a 4th so I'm pretty busy with as far as books go. Can't wait to see how many I read by the end of the year! My goal is 25+. We'll see...and I'll be sure to keep you posted! Better go read some more if I want to finish one of the books I'm reading tonight.

Books read so far this year:
1. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (still finishing this one up)

January Family Outing

Today my family went out for breakfast for our January family outing from our family resolution. It was a really fun time and I think we all enjoyed it. We went to IHOP and we all got pancakes except for Luke who ordered a burger. Overall it was a fun morning (even though we had to wait a while to get our breakfast). I look forward to more events this year with the family and I'll keep you posted on what we are going to do next.

Traffic

Life seems so busy. There is always something going on. There's all these distractions and things that get in the way of our time with God. I consider this the traffic in our lives. Traffic is frusterating, but you know that if you want to get to where you want to go, you usually have to go through some. Traffic is like those bumps in the road that makes us swerve off the path God has put us on. Traffic will always be in the way, we just have to learn to find God even through our distraction and hard time. This is something I'm trying to work on.

Whom shall I fear?

So there is this song I heard at church yesterday called "Whom shall I fear". The lyrics are so powerful.

When all you are
is glorious, oh God
Victorious and strong
Whom shall I fear?
When all you are
is powerful and true
and good in all you do
Whom shall I fear?

You hear my call
you hear me calling

You won't let me fall
when all else is falling

This song reminds me that God is so much bigger than everything going on in my life. And all the big things in my life are so much smaller than Him. And all the small things in my life matter to Him. So I think, wow...God really cares. He has reason for everything. He wants me and has a plan for me. Even if I don't have a boyfriend, if I'm not perfect, if I'm not worth to keep as a friend to some people, it doesn't matter.

God is powerful and true, so whom shall I fear?

FEARLESS

My little brother

This is my brother Luke. He is 11 years old and quickly passing me up! We sometimes fight like any siblings do, but deep down we love each other. I find that now as we are getting older, it's easier to see what we have in common. We read the same books, we play the same games, we share the same parents and house. I'm glad that we have much in common now because sometimes that creates less fights, other times...not so much.

I really love my little brother and I wouldn't change a thing about him. It's exciting to watch the young man he is becoming and I hope that as he grows and gets stronger than me, that he will also stay strong in what he believes in and his faith. I love you Luke! I'm so proud of who you are becoming.

Cinnamon Rolls

Have you gotten hungry yet? Have you baked anything this week? Yes, I'm still baking. I've found that it is a great way to settle hunger. Because I'm dieting for health reasons, I am wanting sweets even more. Since it takes time to bake things, it's helping me with patience AND I get rewarded in the end. Nothing better than that!

The cinnamon rolls have yet to make it to the oven. They have an even longer process than cheesecake! It takes a few hours for the yeast to rise and there are so many steps. I'm making my grandma Judy's recipe for them and her's are the best. I've gotten way too used to the kind in the can and my dad has been begging me to make them so I decided to make them today so we can have them as an unhealthy breakfast tomorrow. I will post some pictures of them later if I get a chance.

Fingers crossed that they will turn out!
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Cinnamon Rolls Part II
Here is the finished product....the last one that hasn't been eaten yet! My family has eaten these up faster than I could count them! Probably going to make them again next time I have a long weekend or a break. Cinnamon rolls are the best!!

Cheesecake

So today I made an American Classic Cheesecake. This is the first cheesecake I have ever made, and it is much easier to make than I thought. I'm very excited to eat this tonight...took a picture as soon as it came out because I know my family is going to eat it as soon as they can. It was a very simple recipe. There are 100s out there, and for all different kinds. I found this one on splenda.com (great site for sugar free recipes). Anyway, I just wanted to share what I made today. I've found that baking is a great way to settle hungar. I'm always so hungry after school and since I'm trying not to snack-I bake. What's coming up next? Who knows. I found a great website for recipes called allrecipes.com. Great if you need the nutrition facts on what your making. Hope this has inspired you to bake a cheesecake. Mmmm it is gonna be good!

Baking

So you may or may not know this....but in case you were wondering, I love to bake. I also love eating sweets...such a good combination right? Today I made mint chocolate chip cookies. They look really good. Won't be able to have them until they come out of the oven though...patience is a weakness of mine. Later this week I'm planning on baking a cheesecake and cinnamon rolls. The recipe for cinnamon rolls I'm going to use is from my grandma Judy who made me a recipe book for Christmas. So it's her recipe and I'm really excited to try it out. I know that my dad loves her cinnomon rolls. Yesterday I baked some truffles and they are so yummy! They were really easy to make and they have a little crunch on the inside because they have rice krispies in them. Here is the recipe....try it out if you're in the baking mood!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

1/2 cup reduced-fat chunky peanut butter
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup crisp rice cereal
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Place peanut butter in small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds. Stir in sugar until smooth. Stir in cereal; mix well.
2. Line large plate with waxed paper. Spray hands with nonstick cooking spray. Shape peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls, pressing firmly. Place balls on prepared plate; freeze 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.
3. Place cocoa in a shallow dish. Roll each truffle in cocoa; return to plate.
4. Place chocolate chips in small resealable food storage bag. Microwave for 10 seconds; knead bag. Repeat until chocolate is melted and smooth.
5. Press melted chocolate into one corner of bag; cut very small hole in corner. Drizzle chocolate over truffles. Let chocolate set before serving. Truffles can be refrigerated in airtight container up to 3 days.

Makes 20 Truffles

Pictures, Photo Editing, and Friends

So today I started to use a photo editor I got for Christmas. Yes, I know it's been almost a month since Christmas but I've been pretty busy. Today was a really fun day though.

This photo editor is called Paint ShopPro Photo x2 and I highly recommend it. For someone who is into photo editing just as much as photography, I've used many different ones. For something that is free I recommend Picnik. If you want better quality I would go with something Photoshop. I got Photoshop elements and it was really cool except I couldn't figure out to work it. How could I get Photoshop quality pictures without being confused with the software? This is the solution. It does all the things Photoshop does, just a little bit easier to understand. This picture is of me and my best friend. I used this editor to fix it up. We had a really great time taking pictures with each other.

I'm so thankful to have her in my life. I'm glad that God has kept us friends this long and we've been through a lot. I know there is more to come but I know if we have each other and God is in control, I'm not going to lose her and she's not losing me. I don't deserve this great of a friend sometimes.

Thank you God.

Trusting in Him.

I've learned in the past 24 hours that God is in control of things, not me. I can't expect everything to go my way, I have to trust in Him. Without Him, I don't think I could handle all that is going on in my life. I don't think I could be where I am. And I don't think I would be going where I'm going. My interests in life have been inspired by Him. I see that everything he's doing is for a reason and it's a part of his plan for my future. I'm looking forward to the challenges he's put in my life and I'm gradually accepting them. So I'm just going to try my best to sit back and enjoy the ride. Don't know what's coming up next, but right now, I'm trusting in Him because that is all I can do.

Ready.Set.Trust.

Family New Years Resolution

Thanks to Kisses and K's Idea, my family has decided to do the same. (:

We pick twelve things to do for the year, one each month as a family. They are things that are different from normal family activities or things we've never done before. But most importantly, each thing is to bring our family together.

This years 12 things:

1. Go out for breakfast together-January 22nd, 2011

2. Go Ice Skating

3. Go to Boise Peak (Indoor rockclimbing)

4. Just Dance Battle

5. Fishing Trip

6. Alpine Village in McCall

7. Bike the Greenbelt

8. Twilight Criterium (a bike race at night)

9. Boise Festival (100s of Air Ballons go up in the sky)

10. Camping locally and in Yellowstone

11. Meridian Speedway

12. Berry Picking

Some things are simple, some things are kind of adventurous, but overall I think it is going to be a fun year and I'm excited to spend more time with my family. Some of the things may change and they aren't in order because we just worked on it tonight.

Thank you Kisses and K's for the idea!

Just Move. Just Dance.

So this game, Just Dance 2, we recently bought for our wii. It is a really fun game to play and I highly recomend it. It's quite a workout. That's what I love about the wii. It really gets the body moving unlike regular video games. I can't sit still so playing a game that you dance is really fun for me. It's fun to watch people, and do it. When we have to stay inside, we often resort to the tv...but with this, we can stay active during the winter, while staying inside. It is perfect!

Anyway, just thought I would tell you about my new favorite toy. More news to come with the new year. Soon.