ugh.

sometimes i hate when people repin my pins. actually, i hate it all the time.

photo love

the perks of having a photography friend (and being in photography):
being employed for the use of shoots
&
ending up with good pictures for you.
these are from my lovely jenna. she's so good isn't she?

(i'm reading mockingjay. aren't you glad mom?)

(fashion catalog anyone? i'm thinking urban.)

christmas song of the day: its beginning to look a lot like christmas-michael buble. 

joyeux noel

you know how everyone has their "thing"? whatever it may be, its something that no one else quite understands but you. no one really knows that feeling you have and the love for it.  no matter how hard they might try, it can never be understood, but its ok that way. 

the great thing about christmas is almost everyone feels that christmas is "their thing". everyone feels that nobody else understands christmas like you do. so i guess in a way, everyone understands how you feel about christmas. ironic, isn't it? (also, i'm completely aware that maybe you don't understand a word i'm saying. its ok, i understand my brain is a bit jumbled).

so, as christmas lovers,

a list has been written

to be completed

before the break. 

day 1 of christmas celebration:

christmas tree decorating, light adorning of the room, cookie dough eating, and partaking of beautiful christmas tunes. 

fabulous way to start the season that we all understand like nobody else does. the three of us understand it the same way. 

christmas song of the day: rockin' around the christmas tree-she&him

lets catch up, shall we?

the musings and profound thoughts of a college girl while she was on her thanksgiving break:

-when little kids draw, it always considered art and they don't even try. its always cute. its always hung up on the wall. when i draw, its considered mediocre. ehhhh seems about right.

-when i shop in a nike store, i feel like i'm a different person. i walk with better posture, a quicker pace, and an air of elite exercise air as i arrogantly glance at articles of clothing as if i am going to buy them. and then, somehow, i do feel like buying them and i do feel like being one of those elite exercisers all because of the feel of the nike store. i wish it wouldn't wear off once i set foot outside the store.

-so sometimes the muppet movie is a lot better than you thought it would be and you laugh your head off watching it. especially when you realize one of your 7 year old brothers is animal.

-when you give mom a christmas tree to set up, she'll probably want to get more lights to put on it. and when she goes to search for those lights, she'll find your mini christmas tree instead and pull it out. and then, as she returns with the lights, she'll say she needs a chair to stand on. so when she goes to get the chair, she'll notice the thanksgiving decorations on the table and think that she should probably take them down. as she passes the sink, she'll see the dirty dishes and decide that she can't possibly let them sit there any longer. and who can stand in front of the sink without the kitchen rug that is drying outside? so she'll bring it in and put it in its place. But by going outside to get the rug, she'll realize that there are pumpkins sitting on the front porch and a thanksgiving wreath hanging up by the door, and soon enough her feet are leading her there to take them down. and because it is now blank, she's probably going to want to fill the space with a christmas decoration. which will bring her to the kitchen to get the wreath. and then, she'll see the 'mess' there and start cleaning. and because she's in the kitchen, she'll remember that i need a crockpot to take to school. and somehow, by some estranged thought process, mom just might remember that she started by putting up the christmas tree and left her daughter there to do it by herself. so she'll bring herself to help finish. but before going to bed, she can't resist vacuuming the mess.

simple.

today was thanksgiving. as most of you know. i ate a lot. but you probably did too.

i should blabber on and on about all of the wonderful things i am grateful for, but i'm not. i hope you don't think i am a scrooge of thanksgiving, but i am not a large fan of big long posts about all the things i am grateful for, including socks and toothbrushes. i feel that sometimes the thankfulness that is expressed can become a bit cliched and grandiose, instead of sincere and simple. and while we are supposed to express our gratitude, it becomes a loud act for the public, instead of a private sentiment. so simply put, here are the few things i am grateful for today and things i am grateful for always.

i am grateful for my family and my four goober brothers.

i am grateful for my education and my school and the experiences i gain while i am there.

i am grateful for friends,

old 

growing

and new. 

and i am most grateful for my religion and my testimony. it brings me all of these other wonderful things and enriches them to their greatest enjoyment.

she shops better than you

i bet your mom can't shop like mine can. but really.

does your mom weave through two different malls, search two grocery stores, navigate through the mayhem of costco AND sams club, and get her car lubed all in nine hours?

is she personally greeted (by name) with a hug from patty, the store manager of american eagle, and brought into a friend-like chat about the pair of boots she bought from them last week?

would your mom buy jeans at H&M for your little brother, then run to GAP, see the jeans are cheaper and better, buy those, and then run back and return the jeans to H&M all in the span of 15 minutes before the mall closes?

does she also purchase almost EVERY item on sale, with a coupon, or for a deal? 

i guess you could say she's a pro. i learn from the best. 

goober

i could do this for hours. his little laugh kills me.

ps-that last clip was for you jacie!

packing....packing?...packing!!

normally i hate packing. even if i'm going somewhere i like. but starting today, i'm going to start LOVING packing. because it means i'm going somewhere. and that is what i love to do most. as my dear friend in london said to me, 'you are filled with wanderlust and you have a gypsy heart.'

i've never been told i have a gypsy heart before. i think i kinda like it though, it makes me feel like janis joplin. i mean amelia earhart.

[ley-zee]

-taking a test on landslides and floods

-doing my laundry

-arguing pointless topics over email for a group project (whyyyyyy must this school force us to work with others??)

-read about polar ice cap melting

things i did feel like doing:

-eating popcorn, peanut m&ms, and coke while

-watching x-men first class

-crafting for the room

-listening to my current favorite songs

alas, i did all of the above. oh saturday.

.

amen.

snow globe

snow, you are my friend. i like to watch you decorate the earth while i get ready. i like to walk with you to class. and i love when its late at night and everything is silent and calm and somehow you make everything feel like its magic. i like that you are excited for christmas like me. i like that you make hot chocolate taste so much better.

and i like that my friends like you too. please keep returning snow. stay for a while. we like you here in small college town.

ps. i was called elise again today. go figure.

mmmmmm

i'm going to marry this man. this beautiful british man named roo panes. he will sing me lullabies and i will call him roo bear. not to mention, he will look great next to me, i mean our styles will coordinate perfectly. and one day, we will have little daughters that will have cute british accents and they'll say cute things like 'if you wanted to sleepover, that'd be alright. we can push our beds together'. 

smushed like a grape

wondering what rock i've been hiding under? its that large crushing and ominous rock that is my current college life.  and while i could go on and on about how much more busy i am than you (i try not to turn into the thing i hate the most), i'll just say that rash turned into a full fledged breakout and the normally entrancing allure of the hunger games trailer and guilty pleasure tv lost all appeal. though the hunger games trailer probably did win most of the time.

the list of crazy, sometimes good, and laughable moments of my since crushed under a rock existence:

1. Who's ready for drawing 101 next semester?? online?? ok..i guess if its required i'll take it. other classes for the semester? success.

2. the whole class and my teacher loved my photo project? AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

3. totally disappointing and possibly illegal viewing of like crazy. so sad.

4. where have you been fancy shoes?

5. hilarity in silence and courage the cowardly lions.

in short, its almost thursday. and its getting closer to the day when i get to go home to this.

only the greatest

so maybe i screamed at the top of my lungs and jumped up and down like a child. maybe i thought about crying when katniss volunteers. maybe i can't stop shaking. 

thats all. 

a bit of hockney

what have i been doing all weekend? remember the photo project i have to do? yep. all weekend long. remember that grand idea i had? this was it!

was turned into....

(you really should look at it as big as you can-its better that way)

it was a long process. long. and i did not know what i was doing at first, so it resulted in 148 pictures printed out at walmart and a rash on the insides of my elbow. yes, i am that nerd child that breaks out in a rash when i'm stressed. apparently i enjoy inflicting a bit of pain on myself though, because after i finally finished, jenna and i jumped right in to making another one.

yep. still have 87 pictures left over.

on another note, the weekend was grand. i am elsa and i enjoy sending off 11/11 wishes into the sky on balloons, waking up the to the beautiful snow, and wing-manning it. and teaching granny laughlin how to drive in the snow.

i have the cutest roommate

she lets me take pictures of her

make your own creative title [here]

today was not a creative day.  and while i had no problem sleeping in very late and being lazy all morning (all 3 classes cancelled-yes it was heaven), my creativity was seriously lacking. my hair was soggy and limp pasta, my face was a dry and flakey mess.  i couldn't even put an outfit together. so because of this lag in my creative brain (or complete loss of it), what do you get today? thats right. another list. aren't we all just so excited??

1. potato and corn chowder soup. easiest thing ever to make and probably the most delicious thing too.

2.lightsaber battles over the kitchen counter and into the living room, ending with being dismembered and left to die. thanks for that jace.

3. speechless and obsessed. thats all i have to say about that.

4. eye contact. look down. smile. 

5. mustaches mustaches mustaches. jace has rubbed off on me. can you find all the mustaches that currently adorn our room?

(can you find this one??)

my life as a uniquely named

my name is not a common one. take me to frankfurt and i might just blend in with all the other girls, but here in small college town and the US in general, i stick out like a sore thumb.

"ummm...elise?"
"what was your name again?"
"did you say it was alice?"

yes. alice. who knows how you got alice out of elsa. i can remember your name is eric, even though you spell it wrong (...aaric? really?).

don't take personal offense at my diatribe towards oddly spelled or different names. its not meant to sound that way at all. obviously, because my name is ELSA, and personally, i love my name.  And while i do like that not once in my entire schooling have i ever had another Elsa in my class, it has perpetuated a slew of sound-alikes that can now, only be laughed at.

like today, in science. my poor bumbling teacher is just too smart to have to worry about things like pretty girl names.

professor: "is alyssa jensen here to give the prayer?"
me: look around for someone to answer, thinking 'alyssa jensen. i must be next on the list if she's not here'.
professor: "no? alright. how about emily johnson?"

oh wait. i forgot. my name is alyssa. not elsa.
and sometimes my name is elise. or alice. or alta. once it was edna. and for a while it was ursula (bless the poor old lady's heart).

so call me what you want, because everyone else sure does. but i prefer

bubby

Seventeen years ago, on this day, I lost my spoiled and loved life as an only child.  I was about 3 years old. And I believe I wanted to name him Snow White and put him in dresses.  And while he is much taller and stronger than me, that still hasn't changed.  It's my little brother's birthday!! 

*Forewarning-I am about to take just a small trip down memory lane.*

Our sibling-ship involving our most favorite and opposite thing: music. 

Because of his great love for Barney, I have been sissy and he has been bubby from very early on. 

Lion King also caused great amount of fun and commotion in the house for the both of us.  Mom would pop in the soundtrack and we would dance and reenact the movie.  I do believe the crowd favorite was Be Prepared by Scar and the Hyenas. 

A sudden love for Godzilla on his part and Barbies on mine started to lead to a bit of separation, but the upcoming of the Tarzan soundtrack reignited the musical obsession with renditions of N'Sync's Doo Bad Shi Doo (see bubby-you ARE a lover of musical theater, whether you think so or not!)

And while today I prefer music that he laughs at and he prefers music that may make my ears want to bleed, I just ignore it. 

typical.

my brother is funny. he makes me laugh all the time and we have lots of fun together. we are good friends and i miss my bubby noey! happy birthday ya old fart!

photo

i have a big project due for my photography class due next week. its a photo montage. and it has to be something like this

(by David Hockney) 

David Hockney created all sorts of art by taking lots of individual pictures of one scene at different times and days and in different lighting and things like that and made one big picture. and i have to come up with something like THAT?? i've been spending so long trying to figure out what to do...its been killing me. what creative idea do i use? and then, it came to me. and i am so jazzed about it. so jazzed, that i have not told anyone for fear of having the idea stolen. i'll post the final when i'm done. but for now, lets just say that i'm so excited about this project. 

mouse.

if you give elsa a snowfall, she's probably going to want to get hot chocolate. and if she's going to want hot chocolate, she's going to want the good kind from starbucks.  and if you give her hot chocolate from starbucks, it will probably be inside of a wonderful

which means, she's probably going to want to read a book. and if you let her read those books, she's probably going to want to write in her journal because of all those wonderful things she's been thinking about. and if you let elsa stay in barnes and noble for that long, she's probably going to get hungry. and she's probably going to want cafe rio because you're in the only town that has it for the next 4 hours. so you should probably make sure she gets some. and when she's done eating her cafe rio, she'll probably going to be full and want to get home. and by the time she gets home, it will probably start snowing again because its small college town. and she probably, most likely, want another cup of hot chocolate.

snowy fiction

two things about today.

one: sammy's. it hosts the greatest concerts ever. tighty willis. moth and the flame. ending with a glorious fictionist performance.

fact: it was probably one of the funnest nights here in rexburg. 

fiction: the attractive singer with great glasses (though not in the picture) and clark gable hair (gasp-i fell in love) was not married. 

fact: we sat in the very very front. right next to robbie. 

fiction: i reached out and touched awesome robbie's great hair (...i truly did want to).

fact: jace talked to the cute tambourine/saxophone player from tighty willis with the eagle socks and i may just owe her $5 for it.

fiction: i most definitely dared her to do it. 

two: i want to write this out, but lorelai says it so much better than i ever could.

yes it snowed. and it was so pretty. i loved it so. 

kiddos

i love little college town. truly i do. but there are a few things that i am not quite so fond of. no cafe rio...no mall....8 minute drive from one end of town to the other. but most of all, i hate the lack of children. its not that theres not kids here, they just must all be hiding somewhere. 

i miss being with little kids all the time. i love little kids so much. sometimes i prefer being with kids than people my own age. maybe its because i'm such a goof and a bit awkward with people my own age and kids just really don't care who i am. these are some of my favorite kids. 

i miss them all so sooooo much. what is it about little kids that makes me miss them more than people? i don't know. but i do miss them. and because i don't have them here with me, i am grateful for them.

snail mail

what do i love so much? letters. i love getting letters and packages so incredibly much. everyday i check our little mailbox, hoping i will get a letter.  and the days that i do, it is a great day. two days in row=gold. yesterday jace and i got a letter stuffed full with six different pictures drawn from one of my little brothers, and all of hoops and yoyo, i might add.

today, was a most glorious mail day. a london letter day. my dear friend is studying abroad in london as we speak and she sent me a most wonderful letter with pieces of london.  its almost like it smelled like london.

i am grateful for mail.

ps-we saw this guy live tonight and he is fabulous! look him up. levi weaver.

novembre

november is good. november is kind. november is important. its going to be a good month. did you know i'm going on a junk food fast for november? 

yep. first time in my life i have EVER done something like this. i'm actually kind of excited. 

did you also know that i'm going to go to the gym? and did you also know that i'm going to make friends? well. i'm not going to the gym to make friends, but you know what i mean. its going to be a good month. i'm going to accomplish all of this while studying harder than i ever have. and i am so excited for this challenge. cause i know i can do it. 

topic change.  i've been working on something i saw on pinterest a while ago-365 things i am grateful for.  so everyday i write down one thing i am grateful for and at the end of the year i'll make a scrapbook of it. i decided, since it being november and all, that this month i'll join the bandwagon and write down something i'm grateful for each day.

today its my school.  have i ever told you exactly how much i love my school? in case i haven't, here it is now-i love my school so much and in so many ways.  it is the best school for me. and i know that its the best school for other people too.  i love that is not just based on academia, but on creating great leaders and disciples. i could not be more happy here. 

big men and birds

i don't know what it is, but by the time it gets to halloween each year, i'm just to lazy to do anything crazy. this year i blame it on trashy dance parties with trashy girls (come on guys, do we really go to the same school??), too much helium, and not enough funds to attend a 6 course harry potter party-i know, its so sad.

the funniest parts of young frankenstein was all i really needed. including this specific one.

ohhh the laughs. but now it is november and it is a big month. big things will happen in november. i can feel it.

on another note, guess who spent the night with us!

kevinnnn!! he is so fun.