wishin' i could do this every day...

i've been very selfish. i've been showing you all of the fantastic things that i've been finding online... but i haven't told you anything of what i've actually been up to! (actually... i just haven't had any of the pictures on my computer to upload. but i love you soooo much that i actually braved the darkness underneath my bed to pull out my hard drive. you better believe i did!) 

so two weeks ago, my mom came up to play. 

and did we ever play!

(she also happens to love taking pictures... so what a better combination for us photogenic primadonnas?)

we heard about this hike from a guy at the fair.

talk about totally RANDOM.

i never believed that we would actually find this place.

you head out of rexburg, keep driving (and driving... and driving...) we actually made it all the way out to the highway on red road before we figured out that the "crater butte" we were looking for was back about 3 miles. and then off on some random dirt road.

poor baby car.

i promised him that i would give him a nice washing. (still hasn't happened...)

this was all you could see of the "crater"

you go from seeing tons of nice, sage-brush-y idaho landscape to a full-blown forest in a matter of seconds. 

pretty awesome.

me breaking in my brand-new hiking boots.

:)

boo-ya!

my sister and i ran in the temple-to-temple relay race.

domination!

(this was after i'd finished my 3.4 mile run)

ps - i hadn't run in like... 4 months?

probably not a smart move... but since when is that any fun?

finishing was sure fun though.

we had to pass on one of those slappy-wrist things... i know that they think that is supposed to be more convenient or something like that... but that takes a lot more coordination than i realized.

my heroic picture in front of the idaho falls temple.

funny (or maybe not-so-funny) story: 

the guy that was supposed to run the last leg got lost. so when my sister shows up (having sprinted to the end of her leg) with blue lips... i knew she wasn't going to be able to run the last 2.8 miles to the finish.

i'm standing there.

at the finish line.

i'm the only one in shorts.

with tennis shoes still on (i swear there was a little voice in my head that kept telling me not to change all day... little did i know...)

next thing i know, i've ripped her headphones out of her ears, and i'm jogging towards the corner.

sometimes i'm just too dang nice.

(bah.)

we're the studliest women i know.

the grand finish!

(my team was out looking for the "lost sheep")

and the weekend wasn't even close to being over!

i bet you wanna know where we would find 3 such adorable dresses.

we made them.

you heard me right.

well... mom made them... she just told me where to sew.

don't leave your attitude at home ladies!

cousins.

best friends.

sisters.

the photographer (aka mom)...

told me that this picture made my feet look too big.

but the converse are just so sweeeeet!

they caught me napping.

i like to pretend i'm a cat lying in the sun some days. 

(come on... you do it too... don't lie!)

skill.

or just weird.

i was NOT going to lose that hat.

{which i made by myself!}

best. shoes. ever!

{everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.}

                             steven wright

***

walking takes longer... than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. thus it stretches time and prolongs life. 

life is already too short to waste on speed. 

edward abbey

***

chicken enchilada bake here

(psssst! i'm making this... if you want to come over for dinner...)

well hello sunshine!

i love waking up early and sitting on the couch with my chilly toes stuck under a gigantic mound of blankets, with my computer and a big cup of hot chocolate. 


ooooh yes, i am sooooo ready for fall right now.


i've decided it's been too long since you've gotten any music, and i've been feeling in a somewhat indie mood as of late, so here ya go.

beware. this is what happens when i am allowed to sit and surf the web uninterrupted. 


i listened to her version of elton john's song: your song this morning, and fell in love with ellie goulding's voice. 








i've been doing projects with my mom straight for the past few weeks that i've been home, so i've got major crafts on the brain. this is my next project:

infinity dress and here

and for the piece de resistance - i want to try this!

recipe here

my toes are warm, the hot cocoa is gone, and mom is finally up. time to start the day!

:)

searching ebay for a mary poppins carpet-bag:

i think i like to stress way too much.
but the one thing that i can be grateful to stress for is that it motivates me to get things done. (if i had just barely started packing today, i probably would give up and go sit in the corner and cry.) so, the good thing about starting to stress about packing last week has actually paid off. it doesn't mean that i like it though.
now comes the best part of the packing.
i have to fit everything into 3 bags:
one that i am checking (64" total - under 50 pounds)
one that can fit into the overhead compartment (45" total - under 40 pounds)
and one purse. (of course... the word "purse" is entirely left up to my own interpretation...)
after managing to fit everything into the big suitcase, doing the whole knee-on-the-top maneuver to keep it from exploding and sending clothes and other items flying all over the room, we got the suitcase on to the scale.
it wasn't until today that i realized how truly funny brian regan is.





we tried sitting the suitcase on the scale.
what do you know. it covers up the numbers!
so here i am, holding the massive suitcase... stepping on and off while my mom looks to see how much i weigh with the suitcase. it was way too complicated for how simple something like that should be.
we managed to get it down to 55 pounds.
then i realized that i was able to take a 40 pound carry-on... duh. well i feel sheepish.
unfortunately, i have to leave room for school books that i will be getting at orientation next tuesday. gee i hope they don't give me a lot... because i don't know if it's gonna fit!
i know you are thinking it... just come out and say it already! 
jess is a packrat. jess has problems.
i know. i do.
i need someone to just pack for me, and then i would go and wear whatever they picked out for me. none of this decision-making crap. it just is way too vague for me! 


anywho. i have an obsession with chicken salad.
i could eat it all day, every day. 
feast your eyes. and possibly go and make some for yourself.

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

a shout-out to my bff on her birthday!

carissa larsen - i am so freakin glad you were born!

:D

this girl makes some knock-out bread.

but i am friends with her for more than her bread-maker.

love you riss!