Fitness Tip #1

People ask me all the time what they can do to lose weight and get in shape. The truth is there is a lot you can do. I think because there is a lot to do, and you get so much information on the subject, you don't know where to start. It feels overwhelming and so a lot of people just say "forget it!"

In my opinion, the key to changing your fitness level and lifestyle is mastering one principle and then moving on to something else. Don't try to do it all or to remember it all.

I've decided to throw up fitness advice here and there on my blog to help any of you working on your fitness level. So here is my fitness tip for the day:

Increase INTENSITY first and then TIME.

For example, if you are running on a treadmill at 6.0 mph for 20 minutes and you aren't seeing a lot of results, bump up your speed to 6.3 or 6.5 rather than your time. After you are running comfortably at the new speed, then you can increase your time.

You will see more results increasing the intensity of your workout rather than the time. I promise. You should feel every workout if you're expecting to see results from it. So put down that book you're reading on the teadmill and make your exercise time count--push yourself. :)

You Know What I Love?

1. Getting up at 5:15 am M-F for early morning workouts. I get to exercise, shower, get ready and eat breakfast before most suckers are even out of bed. Love that feeling! (of course by noon I am exhausted and need a nap and then the world passes me by--oh well).



2. Morgan walking around saying, "Robot, Robot" in a suprisingly good robot voice accompanied by robot arm motions.

3. Owen staring off into space (this happens often). Today when I asked him what he was thinking about it turned out to be a Popeye cartoon where termites eat Popeye's wooden house and then he builds a metal house instead. For some reason this fascinates Owen.

4. The fact that Shane STILL (we are well over 6 months married here people) rubs my back for a little bit every night, even though he is ridiculously tired.

5. This picture that Livy drew of me as an alien-cat with one eye yesterday. (also drawn: Livy as a cheerleader and Owen "just as an alien".)

6. Living in Arizona. It's the best. If you live in another state I'm sad for you.

New Life Never Gets Old

This is Max. My sister Allyson just had him a week ago.
Everyone, even little kids know there is something special about a new life. How do they know this? (This is Max being held by my sister Jenny and being adored by his cousins).

Livy goes to check on Max every day when she gets home from school.

Even Owen's extra gentle side comes out when he's around Max.

Morgan is working on being soft and loves to pet his head.

I remember when my kids were tiny babies like this. I didn't think they would ever be naughty or that they could ever make me angry. I couldn't even imagine it. I have a better imagination now. :) But sometimes when they are being really sassy or frustrating I try to remember them like this--tiny, innocent and completely dependent on me. And I realize no matter how frustrating they get, my heart will never stop loving them. Never.

The Birthday Boy

Owen turned 4 this past Saturday. In my family growing up we only got a big birthday party every 4 years (4, 8, 12 & 16). Sometimes I hated it, but it did make the years I got my big party WAY more exciting and really helped me to appreciate it. Now, as a mom I am realizing my mom probably did it that way because it is so much work--it was just a bonus that we learned a lesson on appreciation and delayed gratification (which, btw, I am really into). Anyway, without further ado, here he is.....

THE BIRTHDAY BOY (see, you can already tell he's more excited than most 4 year olds that get a party every year). :)


Since Owen doesn't have a lot of friends just yet I got to invite MY friends' little boys. That was fun. We made cars out of cardboard boxes and plastic colored plates and then we let the boys paint them too. I think they had fun. (left to right: Westin (my cousin Ben's son), Gunner (Julie Eagar Spahr's son), Griffin & Brian (my cousin Wendy's sons), Cooper (Nicolle Magnanti Webber's son)..Owen (mine).

Here's the back view.

Here's me with my handsome little boy.

It was a fun party.

Highlight of the party was when we were playing "park, park, drive" (our version of duck, duck, goose since it was cars & trucks party) and a little white airplane pulling a banner behind it flew right over our head. I think it was endorsing some Halloween store, but I said, "Look everyone, there's the plane that says 'Happy Birthday Owen!'" They all thought it was pretty cool except my cousins little boy Brian who was skeptical. He kept asking me, "Really? Does it really say that?" I just tried to avoid the question and smile....because hey, Free Plane!

Metamorphosis of a 2 Year Old

Here is a picture representation of Morgan coming to the realization that she is indeed 2. So cute and sweet here and then....


BAM! She turns into a completely irrational human being. There is no reasoning with her. There is no compromising. It's just a lot of fits and crying and frustration (I'm talking about Morgan right now).

However, she still has some of her cutest moments at this stage. I'm certain Heavenly Father knew he'd better make 'em pretty cute during this time...you know, so they can make it to 3.

I'm kinda bugged...

You want to know why? My kids haven't said or done anything "blog-worthy" for the past several days. All they have done is look cute at times, fight with each other at other times and cry at other times. BORING! Don't they know I had them so they could be good blog material? Say something clever or funny? Do something crazy that I can take a picture of? Nada. They are totally not holding up their end of the bargain.

Here are some highlights of my un-blogworthy life:

Yesterday Morgan insisted on wearing underpants because her cousin Brooklyn does. After about an hour of underwear success Brooklyn yelled, "Morgan pooped!" And sure enough, I rounded the corner to find Morgan standing with her poop-riden (diarrhea) unders at her knees. Fun. I suppose I could have taken a picture for everyone to enjoy. Oh well, next time.

At dinner last night I made a really yummy meal, IMO. Livy told me it was really good and that as long as she has water to wash it down it won't make her throw up.

Owen has just been a punk. But he did take this picture of Morgan and I. Impressive.

P.S. I had to look up how to spell "diarrhea". It's a hard word.

My Brothers

See these two big, strong, handsome guys? They are my brothers. That's Eric on the left and Porter on the right. I talked them into doing the triathlon with me.

I love these guys.

I'm gonna kick their trash.

:)

F -- AT

So yesterday Olivia is telling me about someone she saw that is "Fat". I told her not to use that word, that it makes people feel bad.

"Why?" she wanted to know.

So I launched into an explanation of how it's harder for some people to stay thin and not all people like to exercise and it doesn't matter if we are big or small, it's what's inside that counts...yada yada yada.

So then she says, "Well, my teacher at school, he's...."

"A big guy?" I offered.

"Well, I don't really want to say 'cause he'll feel bad, but it starts with an F and ends with an AT."

How could I reprimand the girl for that?

That is a clever 5 year old my friends.

MTV Cribs--Ghetto Edition

I thought I'd give you all a tour of where I live and tell you how I can go from living in a beautiful 5 bedroom house in the best neighborhood ever to living in a 2 bedroom apartment in ghetto-ville and be more happy than ever.

Here is where I used to live. I really loved that house.


Here is where I live now. Shane and I just painted for rent...it used to be blue. HUGE improvement. Biggest bonus about living here, literally 5 steps from the front door to my car. Bringing in groceries is a breeze!

Here is my front room that you walk right into...same decore as my house just a smaller space.

Walk through the front room right into the kitchen. No dishwasher folks. We hand wash here. Can you even believe it? It's actually not bad.

Out the back door in the kitchen takes you to our sweet backyard. A strip of dead grass and some concrete so we can put our.....(scroll down)

Washer and Dryer out here! Perhaps the most lovely feature of living here is the outside laundry. It's a good day if you don't let any clean laundry hit the ground. It's hard to do. Think about it the next time your laundry hits your carpet or tile!

Back inside. Looking down the hallway towards the bedrooms. Kitchen on my right, Living Room on my left. Livy has made the hallway an art gallery as well.

As you walk down the long hallway on your right is the bathroom. There's a sliding door to close the shower/toilet room for some privacy, although it doesn't quite close all the way or lock. So if you ever come to visit, you might want to "go" before you get here. :)

The kids room. We tried to make it a good boy/girl mix. Morgan was taking a nap for this pic. Under Owen's bed has a matress that we pull out at night for Morgan to sleep on. It works.

And of course the reason living here is great...this guy. I told my friend the other day I would rather be happy in a 2 bedroom apartment than miserable in a 5 bedroom house.

Of course, I wouldn't mind being happy in a 5 bedroom house...but for now, this is perfect!

Editors Note: It has been brought to my attention that I have failed to give credit where credit is due. Please forgive me and let me do so now. Had I moved into this apartment in its original condition I would probably be crying right now, but my sister Allyson and my sister-in-law Lana and several other family and friends worked their buns off to get this place painted and remodeled so it wouldn't be quite so depressing. They redid the shower tile, countertops in the bathroom and kitchen, painted the cupboards and every room. And my brother-in-law Troy installed my floor. Thank you my awesome peeps. Love you!

P.S. My room was covered in laundry, so it was not pictured here. Sorry.

Flossing-- A Poll of Your Teeth

The other night Shane and I were flossing our teeth together (so cute huh--ya, it was attractive), and Shane says to me,

"You are so weird. You are the only person I know that flosses AFTER you brush."

To which I responded, "Really? How many people are you intimately familiar with their flossing habits."

"Good point." He said.

And so now, I turn to you.

I floss after I brush. Shane flosses before he brushes. Who's the weird one? Shane or me?

What do you do? (after, right?)

Trying to Tri

I've done it once before and I'm gonna do it again. TRIATHLON TIME!!!

I'm so excited. I decided this week that I'm doing the Thanksgiving Day Triathlon in Goodyear, AZ. Another sprint tri with a pool swim (someday I will do an open water swim).

I'm extra excited because I actually bought my own bike this time (pictured above). Just a cheap, used bike, but it's perfect for me and my skill level. Plus, this bike and I knew eachother in the pre-existence. I knew it was for me as soon as I saw it.

If you have access to a calendar you may well realize I haven't left myself much time to train, but that's how I like to roll. Just decide and go for it.

Fellow UT triathletes I miss you.

Anyone in AZ wanna go? (besides Eric who had better register today!)

Ego Boost

Want to feel awesome? Spend an hour in a kindergarten classroom.

I volunteered to help in Livy's class this morning and I'm pretty sure I acheived some sort of celebrity status. (at least I felt like it).

I started by helping with "groups", helping the kids work on a worksheet. During this time one boy asked me, "Who are you? Kiley's older sister?" Yes, that's right, I have a 5 year old little sister. I like that kid.

Also during this time I worked with a boy named Rocellus (cute little black kid...actually, biggest kid in the class). Sometimes there are people that you just like automatically and you don't know why. That's how it was for me with Rocellus. He was all energy, very funny as well as smart. I told him I had a little boy that he reminded me of who was also very smart and full of energy. He asked his name, we talked a bit, and bam--we were friends.

Livy kept glancing back when her group was at other stations. She didn't like me fraternizing with the enemies...and in this case anyone else that had my attention was an enemy. I'm HER mom afterall.

When groups were over it was time for recess. Most moms leave at this time but I had told Livy I would go out for a bit. So true to my word, out we went.

Before we could even get to the playground I was swarmed by about 20 kids who wanted to play with me. We quickly decided on London Bridges and started to play but then we got busted by the recess monitor who said that game was off limits. So we started up a rousing game of duck, duck, goose with about 35 kids in the circle. Every minute or so other kids would come over and ask if they could join in. Jealous 4th graders looked on from their playground, wishing they could get in on the action. Let's face it, we were the party.

I got to start and I chose Rocellus as the goose. Then he chose me. Then I chose Livy and it was 20 other kids after that. There were constantly about 12 faces with worried eyes and down turned mouths looking at me and telling me they hadn't gotten picked. It was sad and I could remember being that age and wanting so badly to be "picked". I was special, right? I know that's how they all felt.

I wanted to tell them all, "Yes, you are special." And I really felt that for them all.

I have to admit, it was truly fun to play duck, duck, goose with all those kids.

As we were getting back in line several kids (girls and boys) came up and hugged me, one wanted to hold my hand on the way back to the classroom (Livy was kind enough to share) and just before we started to walk back Rocellus came up to me and said,

"You know what I think, I think you're someone that's important to me."

You know what Rocellus, I feel the same way.

P.S. Fellow Bloggers, now I understand why you take a camera everywhere and take picutres of everything. I understand this post would be much more effective if I had a picture of Rocellus and Livy's classmates. Lesson learned, I will try harder next time.

The Same Amount of Hot

My brother-in-law Brandon once said that he and his wife were a good match because they are the “same amount of lazy.” I have always thought that was so funny. Of course the way most people auto-judge couples is if they are the same amount good-looking. (Come on, you know you do it. “Wow she’s really cute, wonder why she’s with him?” or vice-versa. Even if you don't say it you think it.) Anyway, my friend Summer posted on her blog some pictures from http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ . They were hilarious so I thought I’d wast ½ a day giving it a try myself and see how Shane and I matched up as a couple through out the years. Here is what I came up with:

1978

I know what you're all thinking...Man, she can really pull off the afro. Thanks. :)

Shane is so hot here. And apparently has a little bit of jungle fever. As a couple I'm not so sure about this year of 1978.

1996

This is the year I actually graduated. I think Shanda McClaws' hair looked a lot like this.

This was indeed hot boy hair of my era. :) I think we would have worked as a couple here.

1990

Unfortunately I knew some hair like this even into 1995. I've never been a "big hair" kind of girl.

Oh dear, Shane I'm afraid this in NOT the look for you. I suppose we could have worked as a couple, but just barely.

1960

Apparently if you put cat-eye glasses on me and do my hair in this manner I age 20 years immediately. Who could have EVER thought this was a good look. Scary.

I fear that the look for men here was equally as bad. We would have made a perfectly unattractive couple.

1980

You would think that 20 years would improve in fashion, but I fear not. The crazy thing with this picture is I have seen it before on my sister Dana. Really, its uncanny how much I look like her high school pictures here.

EW. I love you Shane, not a good look though. Where's your Trans Am?

1966

I think I graduated 30 years late. I think 1966 is my best look. Mushroom head and all.

We seem so "Leave it to Beaver".

Okay, GO yearbookyourself now! It's pretty fun.

You're kidding, right?!

So the ward that I'm in now, my dad is the bishop. The moment (literally) we moved into the ward Shane was called as the Ward Clerk. Time continued to pass and still, no calling for me. In fact my sister (who is also in the ward--I know, we all need to cut the cord) said to me the other day, "You still don't have a calling? This is starting to get awkward."

So yesterday I get the call.

"Sister Dixon, the bishop would like to meet with you and your husband tonight."

"Me AND my husband. Okay." Hmmm, must be something big if he wants us both there, I thought.

That night, after a 30 minute wait we finally get in the door and sit across from my dad...er Bishop Shumway. He begins to tell me how every auxillary had asked for me when they heard I was moving into the ward and he kept telling them all "No, you can't have her." Apparently nothing felt right.

Wow...the build up was intense. What calling could he have possibly saved for me? He continued on, "But, this, this calling finally feels right...for you, for the ward, for everyone."

Dramatic pause.

"We'd like to call you to be the ward canning specialist."

Pause. Awkward silence. Really I was waiting for him to smile and tell me he was kidding. Didn't happen--he was quite serious.

"Okay." I said, very awkwardly. I honestly didn't know how to respond.

Then he started in with all sorts of euphemisms about how the best calling in the church is the one you have and yada yada yada.

I nodded numbly and told him that I couldn't say I was excited but that I would do it.

Really? Ward canning specialist?

But to be quite honest, I know it's for me. Every time I hear the words "food storage" or "canning" I cringe and hope that it will all just go away. So far it hasn't, so I suppose now is the time for me to actually learn about it and do it.

Watch out, world's best ward canning specialist is about to be unleashed. :)