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...)

first day of spring. yeah right.

i really should get out of this sh-lump...

i kinda feel like a big, fat lump.

:)

which is good since i got most of my homework done! hoo-rah! (this only means that i spent most of my day in the library today, but if that means i can leave on thursday... bring on the

pain!) but my roommaties and i are gonna watch across the universe. never seen it before. but i love the soundtrack! so i'm pretty excited.

and... get this: we are going to see a wicked awesome folk opera! tell me that doesn't sound amazing right? we went to see the last poet standing (and i am pretty sure that i am diggin' a sentimental man right now... one that writes me poems and sings to me every night. yes... yet for some reason, i seem to get to the fruit loops. i hope that doesn't say anything about me!) the guy that one wrote the opera. i think i'm in love.

i've always enjoyed poetry, but i never could seem to make mine rhyme! tonight gave me hope.

they don't always need to rhyme! huzzah!

in one of the poems the guy talked about trying to cover all of the stars with his fingers... i love poetry so much. i always wish that i could write like that.

but practice practice practice!

we went and helped out a friend take pictures earlier, because he needed models (i know right?) to take pictures for a class. so we graciously obliged him.

despite the bitter cold, spontaneous snow (did or didn't spring start yesterday???) we got to climb on trains!!!

these pictures definitely make us look more awesome than we are.

good job buddy!

on another note, i got the pictures from the epic bike ride we took on sunday!

be very jealous.

she's my favorite...

i really thought i was gonna fall and die.

hott stuff on wheels!

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

oh spring!

how i've missed you.

noir

happy sunday!

i am being bombarded with the scent of baking bread. and cake.

as if i really need to be tempted any more than i already am? geez... i have such awful

roommates... i so don't mean that!!! (just in case any of my wonderful roommates happen to read this...)

actually that's usually myyyy job!

i have to say, i am getting so excited!

i leave for a semester in jerusalem in a little over a month!

excited???

yes.

scared?

very.

knowing that it is going to be the experience of a lifetime?

heck yes!

sometimes the future can seem so daunting. but i like what alan kay said: "the best way to predict the future is to invent it." so true.

growing up i was scared of everything. don't laugh, but it pretty much lasted until my freshman

and sophomore years of college. [i'm almost a senior now, so you can see how recent this has all transpired!] but i finally decided that it wasn't doing me any good to be afraid of people!

so i decided that it didn't matter what people thought.

yes.

i am the weirdo that will sit by you in class if you are sitting by yourself.

i will make you talk to me.

and i don't care.

will you be my friend please? :)

recent developments:

1- it doesn't happen very often, but i had a break down on thursday.

the cause? too much boy drama in my life. (and not enough "letting go" happening...)

2- i've decided on a major!

the cause? nursing wasn't working out... call it laziness, call it a sign from heaven, but i've decided to stick with my original plan and graduate in exercise physiology. then on to more

school! yippee.....

3- hair experiment this morning failed.

i tried to use a scrunch-spray and let it air-dry... (note to self: do not try this again.)

4- i have the coolest friends and best roommates of all time.

we have wickedly awesome photo shoots. check this out!

have you ever heard of robert doisneau? (i hadn't either...)

one of my friends had to do a photo shoot and imitate some of his style (we took a ton more pictures of everyone else, but what can i say? i'm vain...)

just so you understand this picture a little better...

i am 6 feet tall.

is this boy tall?

just a little bit.

he's 6' 6".

too bad he's younger than me... ;)

we made a friend.

his name is snowflake.

we were trying to come up with poses, and jameson said,

"jess, come sit on my lap... you look like a very classy lady!"

i don't know if that meant picturesque...

or naughty librarian?

this is one of my favorites.

robert doisneau's original is here.

am i really riding a bike in a pencil skirt?

yes. yes i am.

don't worry... i planned for this...

(psssst! i'm wearing spandex underneath!)

i love my crock pot.

actually, correction: i love my roommate's crockpot.

i do actually have my own, thank you, but come on? who really needs two crockpots? (don't get me thinking about that one... it could get ugly...)

i was feelin in the mood for somethin easy and quick...

i'd been wanting to try this for a while, so i actually had hamburger buns on hand.

perfect!

zesty slow cooker chicken barbecue

ingredients:

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

1/2 cup italian salad dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

directions:

place chicken in a slow cooker. in a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce. pour over the chicken.

cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on high or 6 to 8 hours on low.

this was good! (i wanted more... even after i went back for seconds!)

kind ended up being like a chicken sloppy joe... definitely gonna make this again!

i saw this video today.

i think it is really weird, and yet i find it amazing. i think i've watched it 4 times already. i think she's my favorite right now.

Ingrid Michaelson "The Way I Am" (music video) by Ingrid_Michaelson

i hate my phone.

and love it at the same time.

i am sorely tempted to turn it off for a while...

then people would have to talk to me.

interesting notion.

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

i love church!

and sunday afternoon naps...

(it was only an hour but it was diviiiiiiiine!)

i've decided that this next week is gonna be awesome!

i'm just gonna make it that way.