#104. Get My Driver’s License

I have never felt like more of a teenager than I do today, as I have been granted the ultimate rite of passage for my age group: licensure. This list item has been in the making for quite some time… sixteen years, ten months, and eight days to be exact. It is safe to say that I have withheld a love-hate (but mostly hate) relationship with my driving career. Of the past three states in which I’ve been eligible to drive, each one’s rules have been slightly altered, unfortunately never in my favor. Nevertheless, I am mobile at last. My first solo excursion? Publix, to pick up a pack of Diet Vanilla Coke for my mom… with a subsequent side-trip to McDonald’s for a frozen strawberry lemonade, in typical summer fashion. Most great writers will tout the end of an era… well this is the beginning of one. This is the beginning of something glorious… this means freedom. Buckle up.

Love & Summer,

Sarah

#1. Create a Summer Playlist

I have always considered music to be highly personal. No matter how we’re feeling, whether it be upbeat or upset, infatuated or indignant, merry or melancholy, we always turn to music to reflect those feelings. Ultimately, there will always be those songs that transport us to another time and place, bringing back memories and floods of emotion. For example, whenever I hear the song “T.G.I.F.” by Katy Perry, I immediately think of last summer when Maggi and I were driving home from the midnight premiere of Harry Potter. We were both sleep deprived and jittery from the Frappuccinos we had shared in preparation to stay awake for the 20 minute drive home. To avoid dozing off, we cranked the windows down and the radio up as soon as we hit those country roads. We belted the lyrics describing a night of “maxed out credit cards” and “skinny dipping in the dark” like the crazed teenagers we were as the wind tangled our hair… and to this day, it’s one of my favorite memories of last summer.

All in all, the aim of this list item is to help make memories. I will be adding to it throughout the summer, but I figured this would be a good place to start. As you can see, I’m a fan of the new releases from Neon Trees and Fun. Yes, I also included a little One Direction… don’t judge. All these years of disdain towards Backstreet Boys, N*sync, and New Kids on the Block meant that I was bound by the rules of girldom to like at least one boy band. The rest of the playlist is a hodgepodge of upbeat singles, from the reggae style of “Nice and Slow” to the vintage sounding “Home” to the literally vintage “You Make My Dreams,” which, along with “Sweet Disposition,” was inspired by (500) Days of Summer (I cannot wait to cross off #81). One of my favorites is “Sunburnt Love,” due to the summer vibe that it absolutely radiates. I will also point out that 1/3 of the list has the word “young” in the title, which believe it or not, was not intentional. I think the universe is trying to tell me something… and I like it.

Love & Summer,

Sarah

P.S. I’ve created a playlist on my YouTube channel just for your listening pleasure. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8C693AA7FDA80A1E&feature=view_all

#105. Cook a Healthy Meal for My Family +Thank You!

This list item means a lot to me because it centers around two principal aspects of my life: my family and my nutrition. Let me begin by elaborating on the latter.

In my last post, I alluded to my “new way of life” that spawned from a New Year’s Resolution to lose a few pounds (what a cliche). Not only did I miss my cheerleading body, but I realized how unhealthy my lifestyle really was… eating an entire frozen pizza while watching two hours of Friends every day wouldn’t exactly put me on the cover of Fitness magazine. After hours upon hours of research, I came to the conclusion that I needed to completely rethink my eating and exercise habits. I would like to make it clear that I did not attempt to adopt some miracle diet, I simply changed my preexisting diet. This meant cutting out red meat (beef and pork), switching to whole wheat grains (bread, pasta, rice, etc.), using fat-free dairy or soy products, replacing butter, margarine, and canola/vegetable oil with olive oil (or a similar substitute) , and incorporating more fruits and vegetables into every meal. Plus, I began running on the treadmill 2-4 times per week at varied intervals. It wasn’t easy at first; the one thing the internet can’t teach you is will power. Nevertheless, each week it became easier and easier to find self-motivation as I began to not only see, but feel the results. Although my exercise regimen has been on the back burner for the past couple of months, I have continued to eat as healthy as possible, and this is something that I wanted to share with my family.

Therefore, I prepared a full menu for them tonight. To start off with, they were presented with hummus on whole wheat crackers along with a salad drizzled in fat-free Italian dressing. For the main course, I served whole wheat spaghetti with vegetarian meatballs in a classic tomato sauce, and multi-grain garlic toast and skim milk on the side. In conclusion, they were given two choices for dessert: a mocha vegan cupcake or sugar-free ice cream. Overall, it was quite a success! The general consensus sounded like although it was different from the usual, it was nonetheless edible… taking into account that my family still considers fast food to be  a part of the food pyramid, I believe that is quite an accomplishment.

Now this is the mushy part. My family has always been there for me. Throughout all of the moves from state to state, city to city, they were the only constant the remained at the end of the day. Throughout my lifestyle change to become healthier, they were the ones that put up with my quirky “health food” and weekly runs. Throughout all of the little things, from soccer games to cheerleading competitions and theatre productions to student government elections, they were always my biggest fans. Throughout all of the big things, from trips across the country to making the President’s List at school, they were able to make me feel as proud of myself as they were of me. Throughout all of the craziness that comes with my bucket listing and blogging, they’ve been supportive in whatever ways they can. This is my way of saying thank you, and I can only hope that I can be there for all of them the same way that they have been there for me, no matter what gets thrown our way. Always.

Now, dear reader, this is the part where I thank you. In the past week or so, GWTS has hit SO many highs! Most notably, yesterday we were able to hit 1,000 views in a day, breaking the previous record of 970 (set last June), and today we are prepared to clear 1,500! Plus, we’ve made to to over 225 total followers, 100 likes on Facebook, and 100 followers on Tumblr and Twitter. These numbers are absolutely incredible! I cannot say thank you enough, whether you’ve been following along since last summer or you’re just stopping by for the first time. It makes me ecstatic to see where things are headed for the rest of the season! Thanks again!

Love & Summer,

Sarah

#93. Make Vegan Cupcakes

In order to recover from my brush with a diabetic coma yesterday, I resolved to spend today eating vegetables, and a lot of them. Yet somehow, the tiny voice inside my head telling me to make cupcakes at 9 o’clock was not suppressed. I believe that is also the condescending voice that asked why a 16-year old girl is sitting around at home on a Friday night, but that’s beside the point. Now the million dollar question: Why vegan? Back in January, I made a New Year’s resolution to start eating healthier. What began as a simple goal to lose 5 lbs. has turned into a new way of life for me (more on that later). Although I am not a vegan, nor a vegetarian for that matter, I love trying recipes that have been modified to accommodate a healthier lifestyle. I have quickly learned, however, that there is no healthy way to make cupcakes, no matter how many animal products are included in them. The recipe I used speaks for itself:

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Source: http://chefchloe.com/sweets/fluffy-coconut-cupcakes.html (Note: The above recipe has been modified from the original.)

The cupcakes themselves turned out great. The consistency, which almost parallels that of banana bread, is super moist and dense. They would have gone great with my mocha frosting… that is, if my frosting hadn’t become icing. Being that I lack the culinary innovation necessary to manipulate recipes to my every whim, I settled with dunking the tops in the mocha soup and doodling on them with glitter. Close enough.

Overall, this was a great list item that I plan on incorporating into my regular baking circuit. Plus, it was nice to prove to my family that vegan food can be tasty too. If you’re anything like them, don’t knock it until you try it… you will be pleasantly surprised!

Love & Summer,

Sarah

Why My Stomach Hates Me

Right now is one of those “What was I thinking?” moments. Let me give you a preview: I cannot distinguish whether the noises coming from my stomach are those of hunger or satiation. An immense sugar rush is coursing through my feverish veins to the point of blurring my vision ever so slightly. Plus, the back of my throat is smothered by a glob of  seemingly immovable matter, almost as if I had been snacking on cotton balls. Right now, I’m a wreck, all in the name of the bucket list.

#97. Eat nothing but cold cereal for a day.

This list item started out as one of those completely random, nonsensical ways to accomplish absolutely nothing, just for the sake of being ridiculous. Although I enjoy it on occasion, I don’t even like cereal that much. What seemed like a good idea has turned out to be anything but that. I have discovered that cereal is not at all filling, despite the insane amounts of sugar. No matter how much cereal I consume, I’m left craving more (it’s a conspiracy, I tell you). Over the course of today, I have eaten 1 bowl of Cookie Crisp, 2 bowls of Lucky Charms, and 2 1/2 bowls of Fruit Loops. The only thing stopping me from moving on to Shredded Mini Wheats, Rice Krispies, and Pops was the unfortunate shortage of milk. That’s right, I ate so much cereal that I put my family into the dairy poorhouse. Perhaps even more of a travesty is the fact that I’m left feeling like a kid after he left the candy store. I’m not exaggerating when I say that my fingers are trembling from the rush of sugar my body is experiencing at this very moment. Now all that’s left to do is countdown for the crash. As if that wasn’t enough, I combined this trial with…

#45. Attempt the Cinnamon Challenge and post it on YouTube.

Anybody who knows me has probably heard me say the phrase, “Is that a challenge?” or subsequently, “Challenge accepted.”  I wasn’t about to sit on the sidelines for this one. Take a look:

Two hours later, I can still feel a tiny, sinister clump of cinnamon clogging my esophagus. Nonetheless, it was worth it. Not only was my appetite finally suppressed (somewhat), but I can officially declare that I have experienced what approximately 2/3 of the self-respected vlogging community has gone through… and now I’m just going to jump off a cliff with the rest of my friends.

Love & Summer

Sarah

#87. Watch “The Bucket List”

For those of you who have been following since the previous year, you will recall this list item from last summer. For those of you who are new to the journey, you can read all about my first experience with the film here. The reason I resolved to watch “The Bucket List” (starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) again is because of the impact it had on me the first time around. It is safe to say that today, I needed that reminder.

As my followers on Twitter may have noticed, today I woke up with a case of the Monday morning blues… let’s just say I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. I needed an escape as well as a reality check, so I resorted to one of the few movies I own that has that capability. “The Bucket List” was once again able to make me reconsider my motives, not only with my bucket list, but with my life. It forced me to realize that my troubles pale in comparison to those of others. It reminds me of the saying, “If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.”

However, the one thing that struck me in particular this time around was the theme of joy. This subject is addressed in the scene in which the two main characters are sitting, gazing out at the Great Pyramids of Giza. Freeman’s character describes the Egyptian’s “beautiful belief about death,” in which the deceased are asked two questions that will determine their admittance into the afterlife: “Have you found joy in your life?” and “Has your life brought joy to others?” I found these to be quite simple questions with answers of monumental weight and infinite interpretation. Joy cannot be defined, so is the question as subjective as the answer itself? Is joy something one finds, or is it something one creates? How can one know their own impact upon others, particularly in terms of joy? Joy… what does it really, truly mean to you?Although I’m left with more questions than answers, I certainly feel that I have been enlightened.

“Find the joy in your life.” Challenge accepted.

Love & Summer

Sarah

#76. Get a Tan Tattoo

It goes without saying that I don’t want to miss out on any of the rites of passage that come along with being a teenager. One such luxury we are afforded is the ability to put the cliche ”young and dumb” to the test, whatever the means. I would argue that sun tanning qualifies as one of the dumb things young people do, and it is a pastime of which I am indeed guilty. After all, it isn’t easy being pasty. With my cell phone, sunglasses, and snapback in hand, I was able to take a trip to the mecca of golden-brown perfection: the beach. Being that this list item has been around since last year, it was afforded a high-priority status on my list of “beachy” things to do (why, according to my spell check, “beachy” is not a word I just invented a word). After three attempts, I was finally able to doodle a decent-looking sun onto my torso in the hopes that after I had laid out, the design would be left behind – in other words, a tan tattoo. However, my strife for perfection backfired slightly. Because the failed attempts were wiped off, they left behind subtle patches of a lighter tone, giving my skin that lovely vitiligo radiance. The actual tattoo itself only barely turned out; I couldn’t even get it to show up in a picture. Would I consider this a failed attempt? Absolutely not. I’ve learned that I’ll need to be a little more diligent next time to make it look rockin’. Those little lessons we learn? Yeah, that’s another awesome part of being a teenager. Now it’s time to break out the aloe vera.

Love & Summer,

Sarah

P.S. Consider #21. to be 1/3 completed (:

#16. Buy a Snapback

Over the past nine months that I’ve lived in Florida, one of the many things I have come to appreciate is the unexpected; the best moments in life truly are the unpredictable. Today served as a prime example of one of those moments that I absolutely live for.

One of my best friends, Cole, was driving through our school’s parking lot yesterday afternoon, simply trying to get home after a long day of summer classes. As he was following another car, something suddenly flew out of the driver’s window. Curious, he stopped his own car and picked up the shunned object, only to find that it was a brand new NHL Pittsburgh Penguins snapback. He tried to stop the car ahead of him to return the hat, but the owner clearly did not want it back. Henceforth, being the amazing friend that he is, Cole has generously donated it to the bucket list cause.

I absolutely love it, and cannot thank him enough. They say that life works in mysterious ways… let’s just say that I am in love with mystery. Official summer fashion statement? Check.

Love & Summer,

Sarah

#68. Eat a Snowcone

Ladies and gentlemen, right now you’re looking at a summer staple. Snow cones are the ultimate way to cool down, sugar up, and give your tongue the pleasure of being a color other than pink for once. This list item was made possible thanks to my little brother, who generously allowed me to use the snow cone maker he received for his birthday as a gift… from me. Okay, so I had ulterior motives. In my defense, he was ecstatic nonetheless. Now that I’ve compromised my gift-giving integrity… on to the next.

Love & Summer,

Sarah

#79. Buy a Supply of Lip Smackers

My personal bucket list journey has come to center around one quintessential theme: youth. This is a universal motif that everyone can relate to. All while attempting to preserve what we can of our fleeting youth, we pursue those feelings we felt in a simpler day-and-age. This is precisely why I decided to condense this monumental fact of life into… lip gloss. Growing up, I can remember carrying a tube of Lip Smackers around in my pocket everywhere I went. My room was littered with nearly every flavor imaginable, each assigned to a different colored holographic decal. Smelling that unmistakably processed, fruity essence always brings me back to the days of truly being a kid… back when girls obsessed over Lisa Frank, watched Lizzie McGuire, and used Easy Bake Ovens, not their “drama,” Jersey Shore, and cell phones. (Note: I could go on and on for hours about how awesome the 90′s were.) The point is, my mind equates the sensory experience of applying Lip Smackers to that of being young, which is why I knew it just had to be put on the list. I wasn’t quite sure how many would constitute a “supply,” so I picked up an 8-pack. Given that they don’t melt in the heat or become subjected to a trip through the washing machine, I should have enough to last for the next four months. Four months of strawberry smiles, kiwi kisses, cotton candy conversations, watermelon whistles, and any other combinations of tropical punch, mango, wild raspberry, and vanilla. Oh, sweet summertime… I can taste it already… pun definitely intended.

Love & Summer,

Sarah