the magic formula for happiness.

do you ever feel like me, and you finally get sick of all the worry and stress... and you just sit down and decide, not to give up, but to just enjoy life for a second?

there are far too many reasons not to love life.

today i decided that biochemistry was far too stressful, and that i needed to sit still and just STOP WORRYING for one afternoon. while surfing netflix, i found the "happy" movie.

what makes you happy? 

when it comes down to it, a lot of things make me happy.

(i'm quite easy to entertain, actually...)

1. cuddling on the couch makes me happy. 

2. a hot cup of tea with a good book.

3. buying something random. especially from the dollar store.

4. fuzzy things.

5. feeling healthy.

6. learning stuff.

7. getting tips at work.

8. having someone remember your name.

9. inventing something for dinner that actually turns out. 

10. compliments. especially from strangers.

11. starting something new. a cause.

12. fruit.

13. having a clean room. (is it just me, or does having your room organized just make it feel like the rest of your life will just fall into place?)

14. finishing something.

15. sunsets.

16. holidays.

17. pinterest. and even better than pinterest: having someone ask you if you found something cute on pinterest, and saying "heck no! this was 100% jess!!!

18. having my toes painted and

19. having time to wake up in the morning and feeling drop-dead gorgeous when i walk out the door.

20. spending time with my family.

what did i learn from the happy movie?

life changes so quickly. unless we are truly happy and content with the person we are right now, we will be chasing an idea for the rest of our lives. 

we can choose to be happy.

accepting yourself completely comes as a part of the healing process.

there is no such thing as pleasure without pain.

"what do you want in life? to be successful, to be happy, and to live a long, healthy life."

what is it to be successful? and at what cost?

there is a lot of talk about a "toxic lifestyle" - the way that we live, trying to be more successful, and earn more money, and be more... just more.

i think it's time that we slowed things down.

take some time to sit down and read a book without feeling like you are wasting time.

i don't like to get too deep on my innermost thoughts here... but i had a thought the other day. i had basically failed a biochemistry test, and was thinking that my life was pretty much over because i need that class to get into grad school. 

so i called my mom. (aren't they just great? especially when the world seems like it is coming to an end.)

and after i told her how my life was ending, and feeling dejected, inadequate, and completely stupid, she just said, "it's gonna be ok."

is it bizarre that my whole day changed after that little comment? 

so grad school might have to wait a little while, but does that really mean my life is over???

no.

so when you are feeling like the world is ending, just think to yourself: it is going to be ok.

until there is an alien invasion, or an asteroid hurtling directly towards earth, i think that i'm going to keep moving on, keep moving forward, and just be happy.

even then, who knows?

:)

***

on a different note, this is my newest obsession/phase.

for the next 30 days, i doing the whole30 challenge!

find out more here.

can life get any better than this?

i am so excited for fall.

for sweaters.

for hot chocolate.

anatomy of a cup of perfect hot chocolate:

1. precise cocoa-to-milkiness ratio

2. just enough marshmellow to give you a little white mustache when you take a small sip

3. the cup keeps your fingers warm

4. it warms you all the way down to your toes

5. the most versatile of comfort foods. (you can drink it with someone, or it can be company itself when you just want to sit and ponder the deep mysteries of the universe...)

for leaves.

this is one of those pictures.

from the "dark ages".

(my hair would not cooperate with me)

bike rides.

and picnics.

can life really get any better?

today, i submit that it cannot.

friedrich nietzsche

(and my new favorite toy here)

a science that kills

you know those days when you just can't stuff any more information into your brain?

today is one of those days. 

exhibit A: 

jess's brain.

exhibit B:

this is what i do when i can't take any more school.

i fantasize about the day that i won't have to go to the plasma center... or class...

exhibit C:

you can literally only take so much of michaelis-menten, lineweaver-burk, Km, enzymes, kinetics... before you go like THIS.

you get what i'm sayin?

on a more positive note:

i start my new job on friday!

better say goodbye to free time, skinny jeans, and friends.

(but who really needs them anyway?)

;) 

adventures in powerwashing.

awkward moments in powerwashing:

• trying to figure out the mechanics of the brand-new powerwasher while sitting on my front porch... with an audience of retired neighbors, bikers, and pet-walkers all in attendance to watch me humiliate myself.
• forgetting my shoes inside.
• having to reach the spicket by traversing 5 feet of ornamental rock (barefoot) because i'm too stupid to go and get shoes on.
• the dance i do when i get the powerwasher hooked up. finally.
• getting honked at by an old guy driving by.
• hitting my big toe with a stream of water forceful enough to take off skin. don't ask how i know that.
• slinking inside to hide my shame after walking back over the stupid ornamental pokey-as-heck-rock to turn the faucet off in order to nurse my poor toe. 
• forgetting my shoes. again.
• trying to drag the powerwasher over to my car. figuring out that the cord doesn't quite reach... but continuing to try and aim the stream of water just right. then giving up, stomping back over to the plug and back into the garage, getting the cord stuck under the tire. tugging. wiggling. pullllling the stupid cord that refuses to budge. finally giving up and walking over to the tire. moving the cord an inch to the left. replugging. back out to the driveway. pulling the powerwasher over to the car. hose isn't long enough now. kink. undo the kink. back to powerwashing. random runner asks if i will wash his car next. big toe still throbbing. it'll snow in july in boise before i ever touch this thing again. 
• undoing the hose from the back of the powerwasher. apparently turning off the water does not mean there is no more pressure. walk back inside looking like i've had an accident. 
• finding out i only have 20 minutes before i meet with my new boss. (which went well. i get to do my favorite thing in the whole wide world and deal with baked goods all. day. long. best job ever? i think so.)

hoarder... i prefer the term "diligent steward".

One of my friends needed to use my computer last night... I thought, no problem! So I handed him the computer and continued on my merry way cleaning the room. The next thing I heard was "woahhhh" - followed by, "how many tabs can you have open at the same time?" Yes. I know. But I couldn't help it that I didn't want to shut this one, and this one, and this one. I was still doing research! I hadn't decided which ones I was going to try yet! Some people just don't understand... (and if I get out of the tab, I know that I'll never find it again...)

So I've decided I want to be a famous blogger. Is this ever going to happen? Probably not. I actually compiled a list of things that needed to happen before I could have 10,000 followers:
1. I need to blog consistently.
2. Nobody wants to read about the blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah my life. (See what I mean?)
3. In order for people to read your blog, you have to say something important. I just repost pictures, show recipes I would someday like to try... not exactly a recipe for internet renown.
4. I need more friends. Or random people that like to follow people online. Like me. I'm the creeper that never posts anything but has read every single post. Ever. I could tell you their life story, what they ate for dinner last night, how married life is treating them... and probably more information than would ever be necessary to know. Could I tell you what I ate for dinner last night? Nope. But it wasn't prepared by a master chef and then photographed to make it look like it should be on the cover of a "Better Homes and Gardens" magazine.
5. In the words on Akmun Ra off of Battle of the Smithsonian: "You must THimplify."
6. I actually need to have a sense of style. Maybe I should just start taking pictures of my sister and then passing them off for myself... now that girl knows how to dress! (Definitely more than my typical t-shirt and jeans regimen.)
7. Definitely must become more tech-savvy. Those cool gizmos and gadgets help make you look awesome. I look like I am a high school student that made a website for a class.
8. It's hard to concentrate and type while getting a back rub.
9. I need to go to cooking school. Or take a cooking class. Just so you all know, I am planning on taking a cooking class when I graduate. They just don't have any culinary classes at BSU. At least there weren't any open when I was trying to fill my Tuesday/Thursday schedule. (I was determined NOT to take any classes on any other day of the week. It worked perfectly! ...until I realized that Tuesdays and Thursdays are a very looooooong day...)
10. And just to get an even 10: I need to get a good camera. So I can take all these magazine-cover-worthy photos. "Hey mom. I love you. Would you please buy me $1000 camera? I promised I will only take it hiking and camping and everywhere possible so that I can take fantastic pictures of how awesome my life is. Thanks."

I think that just about sums it up!
I just need a magic book that shows me how to "be the best blogger in the world". And always be funny, witty, and always know what to say... errr... type. No problem! I've got this in the bag.
Maybe...

one less thing on my bucket list.

a few random thoughts... followed by an actual update on my life!

i'm not a huge fan of makeup... but i'm not a snob when it comes to brilliant words of wisdom. no matter where they come from. ;)

this was on my bucket list until a few days ago...

and i got to see it all first-hand.

the sunrise made this so much better!

can you guess who that is?

and of course... i can't forget about my new school!

ta-da!

now i just have to RIDE in one.