If not then what?

I have talked a lot on here how much I love to run. I am not great at it, but I love it. It fits in my life more as therapy than as exercise. It makes me feel accomplished, strong, proud, and it has become one of the main things that makes me feel like...me. A good run, especially a long one, can pull me out of any kind of slump.

The last month I have been fighting some knee pain. I could usually warm up and it would fade, then run through the pain if it returned. I wasn't too worried about it. Then on one longer run a few weeks ago it got really bad. I decided to take a week off. By the end of the week it had filled with fluid and was really stiff. I decided to go to the doctor. Bad news. He told me it was bad. That I shouldn't run anymore. Not my race coming up* not the full marathon in July, and maybe not anymore in general. I won't get into the details, but I was devastated. I cried all the way home.

Then I went to see the specialist the next week. It was the same guy that replaced my ACL when I tore it skiing/playing volleyball in high school. He is really great. He gave me hope...but said I needed to surgery to remove some cartilage and explore further problems. So that is my day tomorrow. I am not at all concerned about the actual procedure. Recovery to normal activities will be quick. But the fact that best case scenario I am running again in 6 months...that terrifies me. I know there are other forms of exercise I will be able to do. But its not running. Like I said, I don't run to exercise. I take fun classes to exercise. I run to stay grounded. I run to be me. I run for self confidence. I run to test myself. I run to push myself.

I know it could be worse. I know it will be ok. But tonight? Tonight I am a scared mess.


*This race was something I was so looking forward to. I was running it with bff Mare. The first one we were going to do together since 2009. I have heard it is a really fun course, and Mare is about one of the only people I enjoy running with. I am glad we got a few training runs in together before I had to call it quits. Still so sad to be missing it this weekend. 

Mare and I after our half in 2009

Miracle!

Don't worry, as I was typing the previous post Ryan found the camera. Guess I jsut had to announce it was lost for it to be found. Kyle had thrown it away. We had taken the trash out. Then we took the garbage to the end of our driveway (way longer distance than you think I promise). Turns out the g-man didn't come get the trash today because of the holiday. SO yesterday's bag was still there. And there was the camera. Memorial Day Miracle folks. Guess this good ol' thing will keep chuggin'. Here are some weekend pics.

Kyle loves G Taylor's flowers. We went to our nephew's baseball game just in time to see him score! I loved the rainy weather driving through the canyon.

 Kyle had a rough night, but loved our big bed. It ended up just him...with Ryan and I on the floor. We didn't mind if it meant we could all sleep. He also loves eating apples adult style...I think its funny. Kyle thinks Ryan is hilarious. Kyle likes to have as many sippy cups at once as possible. Addict.

 We played lots of games. Ate too many treats. And I balanced on a large ball. Woo!

Please note the tiny summer sno, and that Ky is wearing last year's swim gear...it was MASSIVE last year. I think he fills it out nicely now. Also note that super short hair is hard to make attractive/feminine while swimming.

See? Aren't you all so grateful I found my camera so you didn't miss out? Ha. 

Holiday Weekend

We had a great weekend. We did some shopping in Park City, then went to stay with Ryan's family in Heber while visiting his parents on their mission, and then came back home for a day of 7 Peaks, Summer Sno, and home made pizza. This weekend really had it all. I am SO glad it is Summer Sno season again. They even added their "baby" size just in time for Kyle to be old enough to enjoy it. He was a HUGE fan. I was also glad to see how much he still loved 7 Peaks. I can already tell it is going to be a fantastic summer.

Sad news: I currently have a lost camera. Now, if you have ever seen my camera you might consider it a blessing that it has been lost. But it has all our pictures from the weekend on it, and I can't afford to replace it at the moment even though it really has lived its life and deserves to be retired. Cross your fingers I can find it please! Until then, luckily Jeff got some pictures at Dairy Keen. So at least we have something. Kyle loved trying fry sauce for the first time, and looked awesome in his lil' conductor hat. Really though, give that boy soda and a dipping sauce and he is pretty much in heaven.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Hot Dog!

We had a Taylor Family hot dog roast tonight. It was also the "grand opening" of a section of the barn my dad has been working on. It looks so good! It was really fun to be outside and obviously, to have an excuse to eat a hot dog. 

Father of the Bride...

...is my favorite movie. My sister and I laugh until we cry every single time we watch it...which is a lot. When we heard it was coming to Hale Center Theater we knew we had to go. My parents came too. It was hilarious. I loved it. And it made me miss my sister tremendously.

Dress Up

I want new clothes just about every day. Unfortunately the student budget doesn't allow for that (shocker I know)...so lately I have been attempting to change up things I already have, or find cheap ways of making some new stuff. Pinterest is full of amazing ideas, but most of them seem a bit out of reach for me. I have very little skill in the area of clothes sewing...but a few projects of late I actually really liked. I felt like posting it just to show that really, anyone can do it! I followed other people's tutorials of course. Check it out. I make a super great model, yeah? Awkward.

I really love the colored jeans all around these days. They scream WARM WEATHER to me. I found a few cheap pairs I love, but as always, I wanted MORE. I found this tutorial and couldn't resist. I went to DI and found some white pants. They fit up top but flared at the bottom. With some help from my mom we made them skinny, then I just bought RIT dye from Hobby Lobby (with a coupon) and dyed them in the washing machine. Easiest. Thing. Ever. And now I love them. The pictures are bleh but I didn't want to make Ry keep taking more since it was raining.

 Before. This doesn't show the flare though. 

Taduhhhhh (total cost with tax: $5.46)

Next I decided to give this one and this one a try. I made two versions on the shirt (not done yet...and my mom assisted), and the skirt was so simple (with a little help from Erin). My grandma has a zillion old doilies to choose from, and the skirt ended up costing a little over $5. Not too bad. I didn't plan on wearing them together, but it worked well enough for a picture.

Isn't it beautiful outside? Holy smokes. Love me a rainy day. Anyways. I don't claim to be super crafty, or stylish...but I like to have some fun. I needed some help with some things, so luckily I am related to talented women. Sure, I would prefer to just buy what I want...but for now it is sort of fun trying to make something for nothing. If I can do this, anyone can. Give it a try!

Our House

I have never really posted too much about where we live. This is sad because I have put a lot of work into it, but kept wanting to be all the way done before taking pics to document it. Well, I have discovered I might never be all the way done. So I will start to post things a little at a time. I have never once taken pics of any of our apartments, and that makes me sad. And since we have already lived here longer than anywhere else, and plan to stay a while longer, I want to remember our space here. I wish I had before pictures of everything, because in my opinion, it has come a long way. Here are a few of the rooms I have spruced up a bit.

It was hard to really capture the rooms because I have a beyond terrible camera and no photography skills. But I did what I could. Here is the ONE before picture.

Our dresser and matching nightstands were my parents when they got married...they deserved a makeover. After some research I discovered a primer that allowed me to paint these laminate particle board nasties without ANY sanding. Lovely.

I thought I took other befores...but I guess not. Bummer man. 

Dining Room and Entry

•  painted walls aqua (pics arent very true to color)
• Painted flower and striped canvas
• Panted plaques and applied paper
• Bought: rug, fat gives things flavor word art, cactus.
• Free: table and chairs, carpe diem printable, plates on wall

Kyle's Room

His room is sort of in transition from nursery to little man room, but until his new quilt is done, we are sticking with the old colors.

•  Painted gray wall
• Painted shelf black
• Made frames and BOY letters
• Sewed quilt and window banner
• Gifted: Stuffed Owl, carriage cross stitch
• Bought: Bed, curtains, and shoot for the moon picture

Our Bedroom

I have never loved our bedroom. I was going to wait to do anything until we moved and actually bought some furniture, but with the news we were staying I knew it had to be fixed.

•  Refinished dresser and nightstands.
• Painted ceiling aqua
• Painted lamps and made ruffle shades.
• Refinished mirror
• Painted some canvas. 
• Sewed all the pillows, and dresser runner
• Free: I love us printable
• Bought: white blanket, rug, curtains, metal flower wall hanging
• Gift: Flower arrangement, piggy bank(has been in my room since jr. high)

Back Bathroom

• Sewed towel overlays
• Bought: lemons, floral wall hangings

Well that's a start! I will keep posting as I finish things. Even the rooms I posted are always a work in progress, they lack little finishing touches and rooms always seem to evolve as you live in them...which is a good thing. But for now we are loving our little house. It feels more like home than anywhere else we have lived. Home Sweet Home.

Reunion

Last week I got to have a little get together with most of my roommates from my freshman year at BYU. It was SO fun to see them and chat. I loved that year of my life, I think it will forever be a really important one to me. I loved these girls too, and it was so fun to hear about the things we had all done since we were last together...at age 19. We missed Meagan and Liz!

Weekend

We had a great one. It was Jeff's birthday AND Mother's Day, so we had plenty to celebrate. I didn't take too many pics, but here are a few.

What we did?

• Ate at Red Robin because anywhere with all you can eat fries gets an A+ from me...especially sweet potato ones. Yum. It should be noted that Kyle quite enjoyed himself....mostly his Sprite.
• Went mini golfing
• Went to the batting cages (so fun!!!)
• Ate way too many treats (Katie made a to die for oreo cake...holy smokes)
• BBQ times two
• Beautiful flowers were given to me
• The men of the house made Mother's Day fabulous. Delicious crepes for breakfast (go Ry!), perfect chicken for dinner, and hot fudge to end the night right. They also took care of all the cleaning and anything else productive that needed to happen so Katie and I could watch Downton Abbey. All day. Even Kyle put on his I Love Mom shirt (which I did not buy him) and got to work. Thanks guys! I am a lucky girl.
• Went on a long run, and got followed by a dog for most of it. 

I would consider it a successful weekend.

Mother's Day

I will love him forever and always.