it's not neglect i assure you...

i have been incredibly busy this week.

no lie.

i have wanted to write! but there was always something a little more pressing on my schedule... but to make up for it i have an fantastic little playlist of goodness!

to recap the week:

i went home last weekend! (yet another reason i didn't post... i was way too busy having fun with my brothers and sisters at home!) we kidnapped our cousin and brought her home

with us... we really wanted to surprise our parents... but it just so happened that one of the guys we were bringing home with us has a very grateful mother.

i love grateful people. don't get me wrong... but not when they ruin my surprise! (she came up to my mom to thank her for her daughters bringing her son home this weekend... blast!)

so i get a text from my dad. "should we leave the front door open for you guys?" to which i played dumb and pretended not to know what he was talking about... the only thing he said back to me was, "just don't wake me up." thanks dad. love you too.

we had a basketball overload - my sister's team got 5th in state! granted, they are a 1A school,

but that's still good for us! our school got sports my sophomore year in high school, so it's still a new program... we get closer every year though!

finally i got to see one of my best friends from high school...

love this girl!

she's got a sweet little girl with one more on the way - it's incredible how fast time flies! (and here i am... still single and as clueless about life as ever!!!)

so you all know about my obsession with d.i.

i bought some ramekins there last semester, and never got to use any, so carissa and i decided that we were going to be really courageous and make something really great! we narrowed the selection down to 2 things. either souffles or miniature pies. since i had apples that were going bad earlier in the semester, i had cut them up and put them in the freezer. perfect! mini apple pies. bam. done.

i was trying to hide the fact that i parted my hair down the middle.

not my look.

and carissa pretending to have helped make them...

just kidding! love you rissa... i know you were there for moral support the whoooooole time!

...and it was gooooooooooooooood.

we did a little variation on grandma opal's apple pie (an allrecipe recipe that we made for thanksgiving this year... it has a very yummy carmel inside...)

while i was making the carmel, i got a little too much help from a guy in my ward. yes. i know how to make carmel. you have obviously not had my carmel corn before. yeah, that's right... just step away from the saucepan and you won't get hurt... so the carmel didn't get as done as it needed to. nevertheless it was still a success!

i wish i had a recipe for this one... but we basically just threw some of my frozen apples, 1/3 cup of sugar, cinnamon (i think i was aiming for like a tablespoon... but it kinda spurted out... so i'm not quite sure on that one) and a little nutmeg.

i did actually find a recipe for the crust, since i didn't want to be left with tons of crust...

we mixed 1 cup of white all-purpose flour with 6 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of col

d water. i don't know about you, but it was pretty intense in the kitchen when trying to figure that one out... ;) we used the extra crust and cut out little strips to make the cutsie lattice-look on the top.

to put it all together:

i used a bowl to cut out a circle (which still ended up being too big... i just squashed it around when i put it in the ramekin.) and then filled the crust with the apple mix. i rolled out the

leftover pie crust and cut it into little strips and laid them on top of the apples to make the lattice, and then poured the carmel over the top of the pie and threw it into the oven! voila! we threw it in the oven on 375 for about 20 minutes.

pros: you eat your pie. you don't keep going back for more slices because everyone just gets one. (i like this plan...)

cons: it runs out. no more pie. this is when you give a puppy dog look to the person sitting next to you and hope that they are merciful and give you a bite.

yada yada yada... the week continues.

not much else happened... except... drumroll please!!!

i cut my hair!

i used to have bangs.

a very low point in my existence.

picture this: (and maybe you can relate...)

young girl

shy

mayyyyyybe a little on the "fluffy" side...

didn't have a whole lot of confidence

and hated her curly hair

she had bangs...

that probably should have belonged back in the 80s.

she had them for several years. (think 3rd through 8th grade.)

and she would go through what she likes to refer to as "hair dispensations"

a year of braids.

a year of "some up/some down" (whatever that half-ponytail is called...)

and several years of ponytails.

finally, she decided that she had pretty hair (and - get this - she liked her curl! hallelujah!)

so she grew the bangs out and vowed that she would never ever ever ever have them again.

she was true to her word... until yesterday.

what do you think?

good choice?

she thinks so.

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so grateful for aubree.

the amazing hair stylist that didn't mess up my hair.

(nice to know that i am so optimistic, huh?!)

you take my breath away... literally.

dear mr. cold.

i hate you.

despite the fact that you are a major inconvenience on my life normally, i would

really appreciate being able to get back to hanging out with my family. since this is the first weekend i have been home this semester. instead i am sitting on the couch coughing and feeling like a lame fool

because i can't do anything. please go and bug somebody else.

jess

in my best attempt to pretend that i am a healthy individual, i went for a run this morning. oh my heavens the weather here is amazing! going from crazy rexburg, idaho weather

to boise is

like walking into a sauna. (not really) but gone is the snow, the wind, the ice, the boots, the jackets, and the thermal socks. i almost felt like i should be wearing shorts!

oh i can't wait for this summer!

but for now, i must make do with the methods to entertainment i have been given...

i think snow sculptures sound like a fantastic idea right now. :)

do you collect anything?

i collect lots of things.

which are... mostly things.

i have always wanted to find something that i really like. that i want to have a lot of. (and not have it look like a bunch of crap that is taking up space...)

my sister collects perfume bottles.

my other sister collects salt and pepper shakers.

i collect... stuff.

but not anymore! i have discovered something that i love.

and i love it sooooo much! (no these aren't mine, but i wish they were!)

aren't they cute?!

i have a couple of suitcases that i bought... not even realizing that i would start a collection, just knowing that i thought they were awesome!!!

i don't have a ton, because i get overzealous really easily, and i don't want to buy some just because i am "collecting" them. i just have to keep reminding myself - "take it easy jess..." (said with a nacho libre accent in honor of our party on wednesday) this means that i have an obsession with the D.I... (this is where i usually assuage my addiction)

i love old luggage with personality and cute little cups. none of the cups in my cupboards match... my roommates might get annoyed that they don't stack, but for now they have the decency not to tell me and undermine my joy. i love them so much!

one of these days you might get to meet them all!

ah! i almost forgot about today's music!

i shan't forget that!

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i am so grateful for home!

... and for my mommy that watches out for me!

(and helps me feel better when i'm sick!)

and for angry birds.

horribly.

addictive.

stupid.

awesome.

ridiculous game.

a lot of randomness for your wednesday

i know what it's like.

i've seen it played out a few zillion times.

you're waiting for that magical day when someone makes the connection and recognizes who you really are.

maybe they'll first catch the sparkle in your eye.

or perhaps they'll marvel at your insights and the depth of your spirit.

someone who will help you connect the dots, believe in yourself, and make sense of it all.

someone who will understand you, approve of you, and unhesitatingly give you a leg up so that life can pluck your ready, ripened self from the branch of magnificence.

well, I'm here to tell you, your wait is over.

that someone, is you.

~Mike Dooley

isn't it true though?

i was reading through one of my journals, and i found that quote.

oh how i love quotes!

i always seem to find ones that speak right to my very core. that make me want to be a better

person, and that give me the boost that i need to...

i'm pretty sure that this is my favorite saying of late.

with all the stress of an upcoming study abroad (even though i am extremely excited! ...it is still nerve-racking and i just love to worry about stuff anyways), applying for nursing schools, dating, not dating, making friends, going to class, homework, and trying to stay sane by

cooking... i just have to remember to keep movin' on!

we had an experiment tonight... we started out with a potato soup, and just kept adding stuff from the fridge that needed to be eaten. so we ended up with a very interesting (but very yummy!) soup. and we decided we needed bread to go with it, so we hopped in the car and drove down the street to maverik to get a $1 loaf of french bread.

keep calm and carry on!

i've decided that life is ok, and stressing about stuff will only waste energy.

energy that i need! (to have awesome nacho-libre themed parties like tonight!!!)

we even made a paper-mache luchador-mask pinata!

it took serious skill.

(yes, i am the idiot that painted it... don't laugh)

oh, and i did mention we dyed our hair?

here is a picture.

of the blue.

i had to make sure to hide the hair when i went to the testing center today. they don't look too kindly on those of us who express their individuality through our choice of hair color. it does not look as good as my roommates - she is super blonde so it turned bright blue. mine looks kinda green.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

i am thankful for sleep

and airbourne

and for the hours that i did not spend worrying about parties,

because hanging out with friends is always a success!

love music for a love-ly day!

happy valentine's day!

to all you lovers out there...

where did the day go?

but i have to say, today has been fairly eventful.

i actually got up at 5:30!

(if you know me at all... you know that i love my sleep)

so that, in and of itself, is a miracle.

i got to the plasma center at 7, got out by 8,

went to class at 9...

and at 11:30...

and at 12:45...

and finally got home at 3.

i got some homework done, but one of my block classes (it only lasts for 6 weeks) ends this week, so i have a ton of stuff that is due for it this week. eight things are due this week from that class, in addition to the reading for child development, two tests for understanding dna, two projects for dna (luckily i've already taken so much biology that dna is second nature to me) and a test for mission prep. not my busiest week ever, but i am have to be done by thursday this week (because brooke and i are going on an adventure this weekend and i have to be done early!)

so what do you do as a singleton on valentine's day?

i really don't know.

i just go on living life the way i do every other day of the year...

if you have any suggestions, i am more than willing to listen!

but i don't believe in bemoaning the fact that i am single on valentine's day. i figure that i only have so many valentines days that i am going to be single (assuming that one day i will be married...) so why not be happy?

;)

i saw this article today

and it made the jane-austenite in me very happy.

i think that being old fashioned is very fashionable sometimes.

i wish that we courted more

and wooed more.

and wrote love letters

(a love-text??? seriously? talk about super lame!)

it just doesn't have the same impact.

fine, i'm cheesy, but i do not lie.

i want a love letter.

[i'm getting down off my soap-box now]

here's the letter.

enjoy!

:)

15 dating terms we want to bring back

Back before booty calls, sexting and e-mail break-ups, there were many sweet and silly dating descriptions that may be ready for a reboot. Here are 15 such terms that one Glamour relationships blogger would like to see make a comeback.

By Erin Meanley

Long before we were sexting and sexiling and friending and becoming Facebook official, we were "seeing someone special" and "rendezvousing." Call us old-fashioned, but once upon a time, there were some pretty sweet dating terms that, if genuinely brought back, could really change the game. Here are 15 vintage dating terms that need to make a comeback:

1. Woo, court. These are verbs. They imply effort on the man's part (You never hear about a woman courting a man). Also: wouldn't you rather be courted than chased? "Chased" sounds like we have to run for our lives or play a strategic spy game. But if a man is going to court us, it sounds like we can get comfortable.

2. Dance card. Men had to plan ahead and compete just to reserve one waltz or jitterbug with you. Take a number, boys!

3. Necking. Great word meaning "making out passionately." But also kind of weird.

4. Parking. I've always wanted to drive to Inspiration Point and park with a fella.

5. Going steady. This used to mean "dating exclusively," but it's such an accurate description of the pseudo-quasi-relationship nonsense that goes on today. Literally, you're going along, seeing each other steadily, as far as you know, until he stops texting. The term would be so useful in modern times; if someone asks, "Are you two 'boyfriend-girlfriend,'" you could answer, "Well, we had a great momentum that first week, and so far, anyway, we're going steady."

6. First base, second base. This little system is much better and far more accurate than the catch-all term "hooking up," which is too vague and general, and therefore inadequate.

7. "When can I see you?" and "Can I call you?" Remember when guys respectfully asked permission to make contact with you, and they made reference to actually picking up the receiver on the telephone and speaking into it?

8. Beau, paramour, suitor, lover. Some women still use these romantic-sounding terms. I don't use them enough, Darling.

9. Dear John letter. Back in the day, it was totally legit to break up with someone through the post. So why do we feel bad about emailing or texting someone a rejection?

10. Dalliance. A classier synonym for "fling." A fling sounds like an accident, or something hasty or messy. A dalliance sounds like something you enjoyed while summering in Capri.

11. Dreamboat. Because "hottie" just doesn't do George Clooney justice. And we're not ready to bring back "hunk."

12. Getting pinned, wearing his ring. Granted, I attended a few pinning ceremonies in my sorority in the late 1990s, but I mean, they just didn't hold the same suspense, magic, or gravity of, say, when Danny gave Sandy his ring in Grease.

13. Shotgun wedding. Don't you sometimes half wish your dad had a firearm and could just make things happen?

14. "I'll pencil you in" (woman speaking). It's so non-committal. I miss the pencil. And I miss my datebook.

15. Little black book. Because no one ever wrote, "Redhead From Club Electra – Do Not Pick Up" as the name of a contact in an address book.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/article.aspx?cp-documentid=27594087&gt1=32092

what do you think?

any of these good? worthless? priceless pearls of wisdom that should be heeded no matter the cost???

oh what a beautiful day!

today started out early.

at 6:30 my alarm went off...

yes, i know that it is a saturday, but i forgot to turn it off

and i couldn't go back to sleep.

so i chilled in the living room and wrote in my journal for about an hour before i started getting stuff ready for a big breakfast that my roommates and i had this morning with a bunch of our friends.

don't you just love a little "me" time?

one of the friends invited us to go shooting with him this afternoon

[he's our go-to shooting buddy... which is way fun - since i didn't shoot a gun until this last summer! we have a ton of fun going shooting with him]

i know i've mentioned how cold it is up here in rexburg, but you don't quite get the impact of just how white

it is.

i had to wear sunglasses it was so bright.

exhibit a.

sagebrush and snow.

(there might be a few bunnies hidden in there somewhere... but i couldn't hit them if i tried, so i don't even bother looking.)

exhibit b.

the snowshoes! :)

we got these babies for christmas... and talk about FAIL... this is the first time we've actually gotten to use them!

notice the lightweight jacket i'm wearing???

it was a beautiful day today! (i pretty much wrote that in a sing-song voice in my head. you should read it that way. it makes it so much better.)

exhibit c.

me.

in my bright green (and most favorite-est jacket in the whole wide world...

pssst! wanna know a secret?

it's my favorite because it has finger holes!!!)

you really can't get a jacket better than that.

oh yeah, and those are my new snowpants too.

they have these sweet little zipper-vents that you can open so that your legs don't get too hot!

i wanna meet the guy that invented that.

i was playing with them and unzipped them (and then forgot that i had) and was wondering why my knees were feeling a draft...

exhibit d.

the partner in crime.

the other half.

the brunette one (for the time being anyway).

the one that steals my clothes (the jacket is mine).

my best friend.

and now my new snowshoe buddy!

meet the younger sis: Brooke

this picture pretty much sums her up.

exhibit e.

more snow.

kinda pretty in a monochromatic way.

i love my face in this one.

we were just so excited to get showshoeing!

i don't actually think i got to shoot a gun today... we wandered around the area for probably an hour before we realized that we had left my roommate with a bunch of strangers. oops.

sorry carissa!

i'll make it up to you i promise!

(as long as it's food i think i can make somethin' happen)

you don't see this...

but this is me off-balance and on my way to making good friends with the snow

yeah brooke, good idea, let's lift our legs up in the air while we are standing in snow... i don't think that it cares whether we have snowshoes on or not. when you hit the snow after falling, it's kinda hard to get back up.

probably not listening to her posing suggestions in the future.

love the gum.

i think this one is my fav.

remember, this is not mid-summer.

we are like 4 feet deep in snow here and we're running around in t-shirts.

today was heavenly!

the craziest thing about rexburg?

you think that 40 degrees is warm

that 50 degrees is balmy

that 60 degrees is a sauna

at 70 degrees you are sweating like nobody's business

and anything above 80 feels like you have relocated to the surface of the sun

i wonder how jerusalem is going to feel this summer...

this could be interesting!

saturdays should not be wasted.

every whim should be obeyed, no matter how weird or strange.

even when that means dying your hair blue.

(i can actually do my hair... but we had to bleach the hair before we dyed it and i had to keep the piece separate from the rest of them.

actually, if you really wanna know, i am starting a new style, and you have to leave out a random piece of hair and you just use a clip to pin the rest to the top of your head.

i think it's gonna catch on reeeeeeeeal well.)

oh and don't judge me.

i decided that makeup wasn't worth it today.

cara and lauren gettin' super excited for our amazing hair adventure!

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today i am thankful for heat.

for the stuff that comes from the heater

from the sun

from cuddling

and the warm fuzzy feeling i get inside when i think about special people

(nah, nobody like that yet...)

just cool people like the one that puts up with all my antics and bad moods and still loves me anyway. because honestly she has no other choice.

listen to my february fantasies

fridays definitely need to have a soundtrack

like this one!

to celebrate the weekend!

since it is so awesome and amazing that it is finally here!!!

currently sitting in my kitchen, waiting for ciabatta to rise...

i never realized how time consuming this recipe would be.

i kind of thought i could leave the house today

you know, it being friday and all...

nope.

gotta watch the dough.

[the only thing i can say is that this better be some pretty

freakin fantastic bread!]

more details to come.

ahhhhhhhhh....

i love my yoga.

after doing absolutely NOTHING all week long, it decided that enough was enough and i had to get out of the house.

you ever have those days?

i just go crazy

and run two miles.

[don't laugh... i'm a work in progress]

and then go lift weights

and then come home and do some yoga.

and although my back is gonna be sore tomorrow -

it feels so good!

don't you love it?

the rest of the day was fairly chill...

waitin for the bread,

went and (attempted is the key word here) to play basketball.

i say attempted because playing with guys basically means you don't get the ball. like ever.

it's kinda irritating.

yes, it makes me want to pull out my suffragette flag and wave it all over the place.

or maybe start singing"anything you can do i can do better!"

gotta love annie oakley.

i think she was my favorite person growing up.

[her, and davy crockett... that says something about me, huh?]

oh yeah.

and i dominated at pool.

and the literal translation for "dominated" here means that the guys i played with were laughing at the way i held the stick.

or cue.

or whatever the darn thing is called.

[but]

i did get a few ooh's and ahh's

despite the funky way i held it

take that mr. macho man!

i actually still have no idea what i did wrong.

but i hit the ball! so it doesn't even matter to me.

and update on the bread.

oh. my. goodness.

wow.

yum???

i am a lazy cook.

and to spend that much time on anything kills me a little inside.

but it was definitely definitely worth it!

crispy on the outside, light and airy on the inside.......

i think i'm going to dream about lovely dancing ciabattas tonight.

and i'm going to eat them for lunch tomorrow.

i just have to decide on the perfect thing to go in the middle.

can't waste a good ciabatta on an unworthy sandwich now...

this weekend is gonna rock!

and not because of v-day

or s.a.d.

[for you married/engaged/ball-and-chain people this is code for single awareness day]

we're having brunch tomorrow. :)

oh how i love breakfast!

especially on the weekends,

when you can plan all sorts of good yummy sumptuous-ness...

oh goody!

i need to get to bed so that i can get up early and decide what i am going to make...

i think that either coffee cake or apple muffins (round II) might do the trick!

have i told you about my amazing apple muffins yet?

i will check on that...

if i haven't, i will definitely clue you in on this deliciousness.

if i already have, you must try them!

i'm not kidding, they might just change your life.

sweet dreams!

[dream of many wonderful foods!!!]

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loving the pain that i know i'm gonna feel tomorrow...

but remembering that it is good for me!!!

(mr. yoga-man on my video kept sayin...

"this is so healthy...")

and in my mind i'm screaming... "but it hurts!!!"

hopefully i'll do a little better tomorrow. ;)

i need some funny today

today has been one of those long days.

i got sent all over campus, had to wait to talk to counselors (and i think that the rest of campus suddenly decided to have a crisis too and all got in line in front of me. poo.) got that done. came home and decided to veg for a while. that is... until i had to brave the sub-zero weather conditions to go and beg for my dinner. (it wasn't exactly begging... but we still had to leave the apartment to go and get it... this is when i really wish that i could justify myself paying for delivery. but i was raised too frugally to even think about something like that!) i remember thinking that my aunt and uncle were so cool... cuz they bought pizza and actually had it delivered right to the door! crazy stuff huh?

do you remember when got milk went berzerk and had a bunch of really awesome commercials?

i do.

i'm pretty sure that most of these were the highlight of my childhood.

(i didn't know who aaron burr or alexander hamilton was, but imagine my surprise in 10th grade history class when my teacher pulls out this commercial!)

i will never ever ever forget either of them now.

who knows when you will get a random call asking you who killed alexander hamilton???

that one always made me laugh. and this one... never quite made sense to me, but i laugh at it to this day... because sometimes i really want to know if this would actually be possible. although disturbing to witness.

did you watch the superbowl? my favorite commercial from the whole thing. right here.

imagine sitting on the couch, and you intermittently here random giggling start, which then sends you both back into a fit of giggles again.

or randomly saying, "grandpa?" and both of you start laughing hysterically all over again.

good times.

we do this to many things (of which include emperor's new groove, galaxy quest, any jane austen movie, and various other media forms... lately it has been the 60's references made in tron...)

you're really throwin off my zen thing man!

talking about zen... i need more of it in my life.

i think i shall go meditate.

right after i throw this yummy looking goodness together. (actually i have to throw the soaker together... the yummy goodness will have to wait til tomorrow. blast.)

rustic italian ciabatta

1 1/2 cups cool water (12 ounces)

3 1/2 cups King Arthur European-Style Artisan Bread Flour (14 3/4 ounces)

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

stir the water, 2 cups of the flour, and 1 teaspoon of the yeast together, cover and let rest at room temperature for several hours, or overnight.

add the remaining flour, yeast, and salt, mixing vigorously until the dough begins to hold together. this is a very sticky dough; add more flour only if it's "soupy."

place the dough in a lightly floured bowl. let it rise for 1 hour, then gently deflate it.

let it rise another hour, then turn it out onto a liberally floured work surface or silicone rolling mat, and sprinkle lots of flour on top.

flatten the dough to an 8" x 10" rectangle, about 3/4" thick, and cut it into two pieces, each about 4" x 10" inches.

transfer the loaves onto a piece of parchment, leaving about 6" between them.

cover with a proof cover or heavily oiled plastic wrap, and let rise till they're very puffy, about 2 hours.

while the dough is rising, place a baking stone in the oven and set the temperature to 500°F. allow the oven to heat for 30 minutes. spritz the dough with water, then transfer the bread to the stone, parchment and all, and lower the oven temperature to 425°F.

bake the ciabatta until it's golden brown, approximately 22 to 25 minutes. turn the oven off, place ciabatta on the oven's middle rack, crack the door open about 2", and allow ciabatta to cool completely in the turned-off oven.

yield: 2 ciabatta.

note: if you don't have a baking stone, transfer parchment and ciabatta to a cookie sheet, and bake on the middle rack of your oven.

this is one thing i plan on using my ciabatta for.

yummmmmmmm.

it makes me hungry just looking at it. and i don't even know what's on it! (just a random picture of a yummy looking ciabatta...)

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i am thankful for my sister

and my new journal! (even though i haven't had time to write in it yet...

i am looking forward to many great times!)

free dinner (3 cheers for fhe brothers!)

and fridays with only one class!!!