jogging partner

This summer Ella has become my running partner. She's usually in her pajamas, but yesterday when I finally took pictures we went out an hour or so after waking up in hopes that it would be warmer. I'm not really a runner. I just want to be healthy so each week we run about 18 miles. Yes, that is what I run in a WEEK, not on Saturdays for my long run like the rest of you!
My sweet friend and co-worker let me use her old jogging stroller at the end of last year when I was sharing my workout dilemma with her. I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to exercise each day with Ella and didn't want to invest in a stroller without knowing she would enjoy it (in case you don't know yet, she is a pretty picky girl.) After I told Kathy how much Ella enjoyed it, she gave it to me. Kathy's baby is in fourth grade so she hasn't needed it for awhile. We are so grateful for it. It is perfect because we will be able to use it for a long time since it is a double stroller.
I'm bummed that the winter is coming so soon and that we won't be able to run outside much longer. I am trying to get geared up to run at the rec center track a few days a week and to do exercise DVDs some evenings. Have you tried the Jillian Michaels workouts? Oh my goodness, they are tough! My friend let me borrow three of her DVDs and they are definitely the hardest workout I've ever done at home (okay, probably the hardest workout I've ever done period.) You should try them!

I had to include this picture because I feel like these days Ella is always pulling funny faces.

ksl finds

I am definitely in project mode. I needed to find a chair for the new desk so I searched thrift stores, yard sales, and consignment shops on Saturday and didn't find anything I loved so I looked on KSL. I found a few things I liked (one that I loved, but it was already sold) and decided to get this chair. I put a quick coat of paint on it to brighten it and then my sister Emily helped me make this chair cover with some fabric I had from a previous project that I never got around to. All together the chair and pad were $23.
While searching for the desk chair I found these bar stools that I love. I got both of them for only $25. It was perfect because my brother-in-law, Shevin, works right by the warehouse these stools were at in Salt Lake so he picked them up for me on his lunch break. I sold the 3 bar stools we used in our old house for $20 so I feel like I only spent $28 for the new bar stools and the desk chair!

FHE

Tonight for family home evening we talked about the temple. I told Ella that because Gustavo and I were married in the temple our family can be together forever. I said, "Don't you want to be together forever?" and she quickly replied, "Yep." After the lesson we were singing I Love to See the Temple and Ella started singing with us (no words of course, just "aahh".) It was so funny I couldn't help, but laugh. I believe we sang the song at least 4 times because we couldn't believe how cute she sounded (and because she kept saying "again.")

5 dollar project

I want an entry table (among a million other things). My little sister, Eleanor, and I have looked online at blogs many times for design ideas. She knew about my plan for the entry and gave me a call one Saturday morning saying that she was at a garage sale and found a table she thought I could make work. She wasn't promising anything, but she said she liked it. When I heard it was only $5 I told her to go ahead and get it without knowing much about it. When she brought it to my house I was a little surprised. First of all it was 6 feet long and couldn't even fit in my entry way. Second, it looked like this:

Gustavo looked at me and said, "You just threw away 5 dollars."

His negative attitude made me determined to prove him wrong. There was no way I could make it work in our entry, but I decided to turn it into a desk while he was off in Las Vegas for work. I sanded, scraped, and sawed the table to make it fit an area in our great room.

I had plenty of sandpaper, primer, and white paint to I didn't have to spend anymore money and now it looks like this:

I think I proved him wrong.

shoes

Ella insisted on changing her shoes all day yesterday. She rotated through these four pairs.

She is such a girl!

or...

maybe she's just like her dad

Family Pictures

Our friend and old neighbor took these pictures for us and we couldn't be happier. She also took the ones on the post below. I uploaded the edited pictures so you should peek at them again too. THANKS ANNETTE!

stay at home mom

Today one of the women I used to teach with called and asked if I can watch her little boy tomorrow. During the conversation she asked if I like how things are going this year, referring to staying home and no longer teaching. It has made me think about how much I love being home with Ella.
I do not miss feeling rushed in the mornings. I do not miss worrying about Ella. I used to worry I might miss something (like her first laugh or her first steps- oh wait, I did). Fortunately once I went part time I didn't feel much guilt. Even though staying home isn't always easy, I don't regret it. I never wish I could drop her off and go to work. I feel really fortunate that I get to be home with her. I had unrealistic ideas about being home. I thought I would have a lot more time to work on projects, but that isn't true. I'm busy taking care of Ella. Some days it is hard to just get a shower and dinner made. I do enjoy the flexibility of my new schedule though. I love that I can choose to just stay home and spend every minute with Ella, or that I can go have lunch or visit with friends and neighbors. I love that I have the time to focus on what matters most- my family. Ella is only 19 months old and it is already hard to remember when she was a little baby. It goes so fast, as cliche as it is to say, it is so true. I'm so glad I get to be with her. She means the world to me.