TI-TI'S BUCKET LIST:1- Go skydiving at least once.
2- Bungee jump from a bridge.
3- Visit Ireland or Scotland with a "model" and my camera.
4- Visit Australia for the accent.
5- Go inside Big Ben.
6- Get something(s) from Tiffany and Co.
7- Eat a pastry at a small outdoor cafe in France while wearing a french scarf and boots.
8- Fly (or co-pilot) a plane.
9- Ride in a private jet with the ginormous seats.
10- Drive a Z3 or Z4.
11- Drive over 100 mph for more than 5 minutes.
12- Learn to ski.
13- Learn a "Jane-Austinish" dance.
14- Stay in an English cottage for a week.
15- Go to a concert (such as a Buble', Groban, Steven Sharp Nelson, etc.)
16- A secret one. (Hey- everybody has to have at least 3 secret bucket list items that they don't share with everyone.)
17- Have my own photography business. (like with an actual studio and building)
18- Learn the cello.
19- Drive/ride on a fire truck.
20- Ride an elephant.
21- Go hand gliding.
22- Visit an orphanage in Africa.
23- Climb to the top of the fire ladder.
24- Learn sign language.
25- Film a (mock) music video in a field of wild flowers.
26- Another secret one.
27- Jump on a moving train.
28- Go on a cruise.
29- Name a star after me.
30- Do a newborn photography shoot.
31- Be in the delivery room when my future niece or nephew is being born.
32- Go on a missionary trip out of the United States.
33- Teach a photography class.
34- Spend the day with a trained chimpanzee as my companion.35- Win a photography contest.
36- Go to a Beth Moore Seminar.
37- Go to a Broadway show.
38- Have a photo shoot with an old row boat. (rather Anne of Green Gable-ish)
39- Another one of those secret ones. (like I said- 3 or so per bucket list)
40- Adopt from another country.
41- Ring the bells in an old church.
42- Develop film in a dark room.
43- Go to the moon (or outer space- far enough to see the earth and then turn off the gravity thing and float ;)).
44- Highlight my hair with an outrageous color.
45- Have a plaque put on the pole I knocked down.
46- Meet someone famous. (like my cello hero- Steven Sharp Nelson)
47- Buy a house.
48- Have a closet just for shoes.
49- Write a complete novel or devotional.
50- Listen to Chuck Swindoll preach in person.
51- Have a song dedicated to me.
52- Learn to drive stick.
53- Shoot a gun.
54- Meet Nick Vujicic. (If you haven't heard of him- you should look him up.)
55- Ride on the back of a motorcycle.
56- Visit an island with a private beach just for me.
57- Get in a cab and yell "follow that car!"
58- Ride in a hot air balloon
59- Be in a flash mob.
60- Have these words written on my headstone: "Beloved daughter, compassionate sister, adoring aunt, and devoted friend. Who loved her God first with all her heart, lived her life with the excitement of a puppy, and saw the world through a camera lens."
TI-TI'S COMPLETED BUCKET LIST ITEMS:61- GET A PUPPY- yeah, the one with the goofy grin. No, the other goofy grin. (who is currently alternating between trying to help me type things out and licking my face-probably because I just had a candy cane- and snoring and twitching in her sleep)
62- Try "exotic" food such as calamari or sushi.
63-Read through the Bible in a year.
64- Go to Disney Land and World.
65- Have a nickname.
66- Dance in the rain/splash through puddles. (this one's been done a ton.)
67- Ride a horse.
68- Wear super tall/very barbie-ish shoes.
69- Start a traffic jam by looking and pointing at nothing on the side of the road going up into the mountains.
70- Go to Washington, D.C.
71- Be in a play, bigger than a little skit.
72- Learn an instrument other than the piano.
73- Put my feet in the Atlantic and Pacific.
74- Plead guilty in court. (I just had to add that one.)
75- Have my own office/largish cubical.
76- Put someone in my trunk and drive away.
77- Sing in Handel's Messiah.
78- Get Italian shoes.
79- Start a fire.
80- Be snowed in significantly.
81- Be in a silent movie.
82- Ice skate outdoors.
83- Stay in a beach house.
84- Go trick-or-treating.
85- Have an article of clothing from another country. (Irish scarf)
86- Stay up all night.
87- Do an engagement shoot.
88- Become an aunt.
89- Be a maid of honor at least once.
90- Fly by myself. (you know- not pilot, but ride. Hey- this is a big thing, people.)
91- Start a blog.
92- Learn CPR. (But I was like 10 so I probably need a refresher course.)
93- Prank call someone and have them believe me for a good long while.
94- Go to camp at least once.
95- Release a bunch of balloons into the air.
96- Get on the President's list in college.
97- Ride in a convertible.
98- Get paid for my photography.
99- Direct a play.
100- Get my own car.
101- Have texting like a normal person.
102- Wear a hoop skirt.
103- Read a book a week for a year.
104- Hehe- a secret one. ;)
105- Become a one-time-volunteer sidewalk performer in Disney World.
106- Ride in an old car.
107- Sing a song in a different language.
108- Have a photo shoot in a coffee shop.
109- Dance at a wedding.
110- Ride in the back of a police car.
So there you have it. My list of things-to-do-before-I-kick-the-bucket and my completed list. It took me 2 weeks to complete this blog because I kept thinking of things to put in. Like I said- it will most likely change in the very near future. I way too adventurous and ADD to have this stay the same. But all that being said- I'm kinda weird, ey?
So there's something that I randomly did in the month of October (very randomly) and have decided to do every day in the month of November. In a happy notebook (covered with snoopy, a rainbow, and a flower with the words "dream big" on it), I've started recording what I like to call "Smiles from God."
10-22-11~ Dollar found next to my lost phone at the park. [no, not my dollar. That'll teach me to complain about loosing my phone again.] 
10-28-11 ~ That awesome moment with a friend when you shout the same thing with the same tone and then burst out laughing and realize how neat it is that you both geek out about the same things. [like finding a store in a big city after looking for it in the wrong spot for 15 minutes and then deciding to move on to the next store only to find the one you were looking for is right next door.]
10-27-11~ Finally bringing my car into the shop for an oil change -nervous about the cost- and with coupons and bringing my own oil- end up paying only $9.00. [less than half of what I thought it would cost]
Thursday-
Friday-
Then it's off to change for the rehearsal. The bride is looking less stressed now. A few bridesmaids decided to bring their shoes to practice with......... we all decided that we will throw our shoes at the preacher if he goes over 10 minutes. And now we head off the the rehearsal dinner, hoping not to get lost in the dark. And then home to bed.....
I attempt to get ready while also playing photographer for Steph. We all head to the church to finish getting ready while I again try to combine curling my hair with photography...... (does it smell like burnt hair in here to you??) And then I take pictures of Steph getting in her dress with her mom and sisters. How many Aardsma's does it take to put on a wedding dress? Then we send the bride off for a first look. Now I can concentrate on getting ready......(this church is sadly lacking in plug ins). And then we head off to join the couple in a park for pictures. Just a hint for you all: don't try to rock climb with 5 inch heels. Doesn't work so hot... neither does walking in mud. But I'm a Colorado girl who normally rock climbs barefoot anywho. Then it's back to the church to wait...... and then the dreadful, awful, terrible, horrible moment comes. We must all put our shoes back on and walk down an aisle and stand for 45 minutes. Oh, and it's time for the wedding. After a few tears from the bridesmaids (from the shoes, of course), Stephanie is now a married woman. Then some more pictures with family and the reception. But the day isn't over yet. After we send the couple off (with Mr. A hiding in the back seat....lol) we all head to meet the couple at the clubhouse. And more pictures of family, then good food and another goodbye to the couple. This one's for real. Some of us head back to the church to get some things that were left there. We of course had forgotten the church key and so we stalked around banging on windows and doors, shivering in thin dresses. What about clean up? you ask. This was the most awesome wedding I've been too. Stephanie had a couple families in the church volunteer clean up for us. It was amazing. And then it's home to change into sweats and then to the video store to drown our sorrows in an action/adventure movie, in which we all promptly fall asleep.
And that's my trip. Now you get more pictures....
Stephanie getting into her wedding dress..... You know, standing on chairs and crouching on the ground is my kind of thing. ;)
awww....
The loverly couple...
The most beautiful Aardsma girls- except now they are the Lavertu, Senn, and Aardsma girls...
Hmmmmm.....Guess I'm gonna have to go with number #1. Drats.
-There's a guy behind me chatting up a storm with a fellow traveler. I'm trying to hear what it's all about, but I think he's on to me. Every time I lean, he gets quieter.
-Apparently I'm not used to big airports either. As we're taxying (is that a word? If not, I claim it and every time someone uses it I think I should get a nickel... hey, I gotta make money somehow) to the runway, we turn a corner and it looks like ducks in a row. There has to be at least 7 planes in front of us. Wowsiers- this could take a while.
And so- I sign off. My cold is catching up with me....
Older apples work great for this. One-they are easier to cut, two-they take less to cook, and three-'cause my momma told me so.
Sprinkle this with 1/4 cup of water.
Dust this with cinnamon.
And a bit of salt. Both of these have a specific measurement but I just do it to what looks right.
In a separate bowl combine 3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
and 1/3 cup soft butter.
Mix this together- I mainly used a fork for this one- not my hands. This is a finer mix than the struesel.
Spread evenly over apples.
Add left over struesel from previous recipe. (
Bake in a 350* oven for 40 minutes or until golden. The leftover struesel was a bit dark to start with so it kinda was always golden. We kinda just judged it ourselves.
(don't judge...but these are from marthastewart.com)
and flour
salt
and cinnamon
First dice up the butter into cubes
Then add it to your brown sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon mix 
I found it easier to get the texture I wanted if I mix this up with my hands..... They're clean... well, now they're not.... 
Put this in the fridge until read to use.
Add yet more butter. I really tried to wipe out our supply of stick butter with doubling this recipe. Unfortunately, I failed and I had to make an Apple Crisp, too. (food blog coming soon) And even that didn't work.
Add sugar.... 
Stir these together on medium speed. While it's mixing add vanilla 
and eggs (man, I wish I could crack an egg with one hand- sure would come in handy with taking pics while I cook. I tried to do it for this and ended up fishing out a few egg shells.... no worries, I got them all....)
Then mix together the dry ingredients for the cake.
baking powder
Slowly combine dry mixture with wet ingredients while on medium speed
Drop by spoonful into muffin pan, using only half of the batter. Fill about 1/3 or so full.
Sprinkle half of struesel over the top.
Put last of cake mix over the streusel.
Use the rest of the streusel over the top.
Bake in a 350* oven for about 25 minutes. This depends on what kind of pan you use. As you can see I used a jumbo, regular and a mini pan. Each one was slightly different times. The mini used about 20 minutes and the regular was about 28 to 30 minutes. The jumbo pan took quite a while. Somewhere around 40 minutes I think. Test them by inserting a toothpick. If it's done, it will come out clean. I forgot about this method and took them out because they looked done and about 5 minutes latter remembered to test them and found them not done so I stuck them back in and back in and back in. (I'm a bit impatient) Don't be like me- it works better. (And yes, I have messy pans when I make muffins. Then you get to lick your fingers off when you clean it.)
