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.

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...

a (jess) by any other name

[20]

it would smell as sweet right?

i've have my fair share of nicknames growing up... 

(most of which were given to me by my dad. wassup with that?)

chief.

toad.

i actually think my dad was referring to this kind of toad...

but we'll pretend that he meant the cute one...

(this nickname was later changed to big toad as more chillins came along)

(here you have little toads 1, 2, 3, and 4)

ellis.

da beast.

jessie.

jess.

sharkgirl. (i'm taking applications for lavaboy... my future comrade/partner-in-mischief. *wink wink*)

9.

not the movie.
(i've never actually seen it... i just heard it wasn't worth it.)


my best friend.
this is a toughie... i don't think of myself as having one "best friend". (unless you count my sister, because she just automatically gets first dibs on the position.)
so you get to meet all of my besties. 

i've kind of given up on just posting pictures that i look good in...

there are really too few, and you wouldn't see any pictures!

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

i was only supposed to post one picture... but i just got so caught up in remembering all of the fantastic times that we've had together.

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

this girl will capture the world.

{day 5}


this just fits today

project me. day 1.

i'm jumping on the "30-day" bandwagon of blogging.
mostly because it sounds fun. but i need an outlet (other than pinterest) and i think that these are going to be fairly entertaining because i can barely keep my eyes open while i'm typing. this could be fun. you might want to grab on to something... because this could be a bit bumpy!

{day 1}

1. i like to dress like a nerd.
2. i know how to do a little bit of a lot of different things. (can i call this one a gift and a curse??? because i know how to do a lot, but i never really acheive mastery of any particular skill... real world = terrifying for this reason.)
3. i graduate with a bachelors in exercise science in april 2011. do i know what i am going to do with this when i do? nope.
4. i name my cars. my "baby beast" doesn't like the cold weather. he is excited to be graduating in april too. 
5. i love shopping at d.i., thrift stores, yard sales... and the word "free" in anything just makes me have heart palpitations.
6. i don't think of the kitchen as another room in the house. "the kitchen" is another name for jessica's laboratory. (you should imagine that said like "dexter's labor-atory"... it sounds cooler that way.) most definitely my favorite room in the entire house. it even beats my bed. 
7. i love mustard.
8. and mustard yellow.
9. i am a list maker to the ^nth power. 
10. i am lds, the oldest child of 5, an idaho gal, and sports fanatic. i find great job in random things. my life is nothin' too extraordinary, except that -
i think that my life is spectacular. 
why?


well that's the question isn't it?
why don't you hang out a while and see?


cheers!

[this seems to describe my life fairly well as of late. hopefully i will be able to calm down here in a few days and get to take a little break. and figure out the rest of my life. oof. is is just me, or does that seem a little daunting?]

brick walls

well. it has been one hay of a crazy week!
6 tests this week? seriously? my teachers really are trying to kill me.
i have so many muscles floating around in my brain right now, i can't even do anything without thinking about that muscle... it's origin and insertion... other movements it performs... nerve innervation... thanks again teacher. 
it almost makes me want to go back to high school. 
i said almost. 


you know those days (or weeks, or months... or states of mind) when even things that you used to enjoy become drudgery and just another thing that you have to check off your "to-do" list? i felt like i was getting that way over the last few weeks. and i didn't like it. not at all. (i mean, i was taking choir as a fun class... not another class to cause me stress!) 
this last week has been one of a fair amount of self-discovery. 
with registration coming up, i have had to decide if i am going to graduate in just one semester, or if i am going to wait and finish up some prereq classes for when i start applying to grad schools next summer. (eeeeeeeeeeek!) 
part of me wants to curl up in a really tiny ball under my covers and never come out. but the other part knows better than to give up. the other part (which for whatever reason doesn't like to speak up as often as it should) never gives up. and it always gives it 100%. it doesn't sit around complaining about how hard it's life is. sure, we all have problems. 
{deal with it.}

now if this doesn't make your day, i don't know what will.

grilled cheese croutons

when i was younger, i remember thinking that we lived in crouton.

why, you ask?

i remember specifically asking my mom what the name of the city that we lived in was called... looking back, she was probably a little distracted, but at the time, as a 4-year-old, the entire world lived only to serve me. hence my mom's response of "crouton" might have been in reference to something other than my inquiry. i can't really be sure about that. but it's a hunch. (not much has changed since then... hehe.)

tonight we made such a nommy dinner!

nom nom nom...

gimme a few seconds, i gotta swallow. 

so grandpa gives us 3 pumpkins and I have no idea how many buttercup squash. and we have to use them all before they start to go bad.. ugh. good thing we loooooove squash! 

this is pretty much the recipe that we used. 

looks pretty tasty too!

i wish mine looked that good...

(here is a variation that uses cous cous instead of rice... it is also a little sweeter than the one that we ate for dinner tonight.) 

happy cooking!
peace out!
  :) 

it's crunchtime!

i am beginning to feel the pressure now...

not that it is anything really new.

i thrive under pressure, remember?

so i realized that i started to do this like a week ago, and never finished it.

so here ya go.

(i was practicin' my abc's for ya.)

A. age: 21! and yes, i am super excited that my driver's license now is horizontal not vertical! (talk about a rite of passage... my life changed when i walked out of the DMV.)

B. bed size: twin. and too short. i don't like it when my toes hang over the edge...

C. chore you hate: emptying the garbage.

D. dogs: big. or not at all. i can't stand little rat-dogs.

E. essential start to your day: a shower. and sunshine.

F. favorite color: yellow. and then blue.

G. gold or silver: silver... but some golds actually are growing on me lately.

H. height: 5' 11 1/2" (i should just say 6' huh?)

I. instruments you play: piano, guitar, and ukulele (but i suck at all 3)

J. job title: 'sales rep' (actually i tell people that they should buy my fat pants...)

K. kids: someday. definitely. now? no.

L. live: rexburg, idaho. will i stay here forever? definitely not.

nampa, idaho. when i'm not at school.

in a week and a half? JERUSALEM!!! yes, it does count.

M. mom’s name: susan. she also goes by wonderwoman when she is not playing chauffeur, cook, cheerleader, photographer, maid, and mom to us kids. (she's basically my hero)

N. nicknames: jess, jessie, (here's where it gets fun) toad, chief, the beast, "the girl with the gorgeous hair"... yes, that is how i am known at the plasma center...

O. overnight hospital stays: only when they aren't mine. but i can wander the halls and buy juicyfruit from a vending machine at two in the a.m.

P. pet peeve: flaky people. (not referring to dandruff... but that is gross too)

Q. quote from a movie/show: i go up to paris, bam bam bam bam... i'm back before weeks end, we spend the treasure. how is this a bad plan??? 

(from my favorite movie of all time - the count of monte cristo)

R. righty or lefty: i think that signing my name with my left hand is awesome... only because it looks like a kindergartener did it.

S. siblings: 4 of my best friends in the whole world.

T. time you wake up: always late. after i've turned off the 3 alarms that i was positive i wouldn't sleep through.

U. underwear: wouldn't you like to know?

V. vegetables you dislike: love them. but i am not inclined to try brussel sprouts. and swiss chard? ewwww. never ever ever again!

W. what makes you run late: sleep. getting distracted. trying to finish "just one more thing..." blogging? nevvvvvver. ;)

X. x-rays you’ve had: teeth, my feet (i had inflamed growth plates as a young'n)

Y. yummy food you make: must i choose??? but i hear my carmel corn brings all the boys a runnin'...

Z. zoo animal favorite: elephants. i bought a necklace with them on it today.

i've been feeling in a very music-y mood as of late.

and for good, happy, uplifting, music.

not the usual crap they play on the radio.

it gets boring reallllly fast.

but i had this one stuck in my head all day.

new life motto?

i think so.

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

in preparation for my trip, we've been trying to "fix" all of my clothes, 

so that they will be somewhat cute, while still modest...

i'm so glad my mom is amazing.

and knows how to sew...

we had pants to fix, shirts to fit, buttons to sew... 

it kept us busy pretty much all night long!

but they will be worth it!