We Did It!!!

Here we are immediately after finishing our Thanksgiving Day triathlon.

My brothers Eric (left) and Porter did awesome. It was so much fun training for this with them.

Exciting news for me is that I finished 2nd out of 31 in my age group! That made me super happy. And I was in the top 20 overall...there were over 200 women.

I had the fastest swim, I just need to shave a little time off my run and a lot of time off my bike.

I am officially addicted.

What I'm Grateful For....

These ones.



This one.

Him.

2nd Chances.

.......This time I got it right. :)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hurt my knee during my run yesterday.

It hurts to walk. It sorta burns when I'm just sitting here.

What the?

I was so proud of myself for not having any injuries or sickness during this training session.

But then, yesterday, when I should be tappering, I decided to SPRINT HARD the last part of my run because I was feeling so great and because I'm an idiot. I felt a little twinge, but nothing big.

As the day went on it hurt more and more and more.

This morning I wanted to cry.

Shane assured me it's a strain and that everyone knows that strains get better in 2 days.

Please oh please oh please oh please...I hope he is right.

Please.

Potty Training Pig Pen

The only time you get to stand on the table in our house is when you put your underpants on like this...and you have a bum this cute. Good job Morgan! Keep up the good work. :)

Just Think About It...

Are you a woman?

Do you live in Arizona?

Do you want to feel awesome?

Then click here.

This is an all women's triathlon. It is a sprint tri, so the distances aren't too long, and perfect for anyone wanting to "see if you can do it".

I love this picture because it shows that really there are all different fitness levels participating. There are always beginners to advanced at every race. It's awesome.

I am toying with the idea of starting a triathlon training group for this. We would start in January and train until the day of the race.

The race is on Saturday, May 9th, which happens to be my birthday, which is also the day before Mother's Day. You'll be a real hot mama!

If you are interested, think you might be interested, know someone who might be interested, or have questions then you can email me at: dixiesdixon@gmail.com

If you have ever wanted to do something like this NOW is the time (unless you are pregnant, going to be pregnant or will just have had a baby--yeah, I know that's most everyone).

I don't want the group to be very big, maybe 5 or 6 people. I can help you with every aspect of the race.

You'll feel like superwoman on Mother's Day.

Just do it.

Innocent? No. Punky? YES!

Now Owen tends to take decieving pictures. See here how he looks sort of vulnerable, maybe even slightly nervous. He's not that way at all. Well, maybe when an albino crocodile is at his back, but that's it.

Today, as happens every day, he hit/kicked/teased/whatevered Morgan. She wailed and I ran after Owen. Really, daily. Today, however, my strong "OWEN!" warnings were not enough to get him to stop and I had to chase him down. He ran outside and around my grandpa's car (who lives in the unit in front of us) and then stopped to look at me.

He laughed and said, "ha ha".

Blood starting to boil.

For some reason I had a jar of yeast in my hand because I was getting ready to make rolls and I forgot to set it down before this fun little adventure began. That's lucky for him.

I tried to carefully plan out my next move. As I edged around the back end of the car he went towards the front. My grandpa has a ramp in front of his door for wheelchair access. Somehow Owen forgot to calculate this into his getaway and he tripped. I seized my opportunity and snagged him by the back of the shirt.

MAJOR time out. I know scary huh? Time out.

But what do I do? Nothing makes this kid nervous...except an albino crocodile at his back.

Anyone know where I can pick one up?

You Have to Admit...It's Sort of Impressive

This past Saturday was Livy's Fall Festival for her school. It's sort of a mini-carnival fund raiser. We got the kids all ready and Morgan was looking cuter than ever. But we all know that Pig Pen lives inside of her, just waiting to come out.

Here she is looking adoreable. (and clean)
Full length shot to attest to her cleanliness. Brand new overalls.

Shane bought Orange Powerade and Morgan drank almost the entire bottle. She's showing me her orange mouth.

Here she is moments before we left. A mere 2 hours after the first picture was taken. Orange stained face, dissheveled hair, stained and wet overalls because she fell into the "duck pond". She's saying "CHEESE" as loud as she can.

Somehow our other participants were able to make it through relatively unscathed. (although Livy did spill a little Powerade on herself). This is Livy, Maya (Eric & Jody's girl) and Owen.

Now there is proof positive that I DO get Morgan ready. So if you ever run across us when she is in her Pig Pen state, just know that 30 minutes earlier she was clean as a whistle!

Good Times

Kate, Tiffany, Me in my dad's truck. :)

I always forget just exactly how much fun it is to hang out with these girls. Tons 'o fun.

Before I left for the night Shane was sweetly jealous telling me I looked "too hot" for a girls night. He's cute.

However, when we got to Nello's (which is sort of like a pizzeria/sports bar), after we had been seated in our booth a waiter from another table came over and told us a gentleman from his table would like to buy us drinks.

Ummm, really awkward. Obviously this "gentleman" had no idea that collectively we have 9 children. Anyway, I immediately turn into a total retard in such situations. I think my face turned 3 shades of purple and I couldn't look at the waiter anymore. Really, I handle myself like a 7th grader at a school dance.

Tiffany smiled at him and said, "Oh, thanks, but we don't drink." Thank heavens for her saying that. Anything to get the waiter to go away. Then I felt really uncomfortable that someone was looking at us. Tiffany and Kate had their backs facing that way, but I was in full view of whoever it was...we never quite figured it out.

Oh well. Aside from that majorly awkward event (to which Shane told me "SEE!!"), we had a lovely time. Talking, eating, shopping and talking some more.

Every woman needs a girls night now and then...just to remember you are still a "girl".

I'm Having One of These Tonight

Girls' night out
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A girls' night out is a gender-exclusive activity where adult women—rather than underage girls—meet to engage in social activities, usually after a workday. Typical activities may include dinner and a movie or meeting for drinks or at a night club; more often than not these activities are out of home, but may also include a book club or watching TV or a video together.

I love that wikipedia has a definition for this to clarify that it is "adult women--rather than underage girls" meeting together. We still like to call ourselves "girls". It makes us feel younger and cuter.

Tonight I am going out with two of my good friends from high school: Kate (Montague) Arnett and Tiffany (Hobbs) Arnett. Yes, they both married an Arnett...it's so Mesa.

I love these girls.

When we were in high school I used to drive a little red truck. All three of us would drive around in it and when I would drop Kate off Tiffany would stay sitting right next to me. I would always look awkwardly at her and say, "Ummm, can you scoot over?" She claims since she only lived down the street it wasn't worth the effort to scoot over. I don't buy it.

Tonight we will be borrowing my dad's little truck for old times sake. We're going to Nello's to eat(a place we liked to go in high school) and then out shopping. I can't wait.

Maybe this time Tiffany will scoot. :)

Fitness Tip #3-- Slow Down

When it comes to resistance training I have one major pet peeve when watching other people work out in the gym: lack of control. This happens when you lift weight that is too heavy for you and as a result your lift too fast and with really bad form.

Let's take the bicep curl for example's sake.

When you are lifting dumbbells or a barbell, your upper body should remain COMPLETELY still. When you have weight that is too heavy for you you will rock your body forward and then back to try to get the weight up. This decreases the effectiveness of the exercise probably 85%-90% because now your back, your stomach and your shoulders are doing all the work--and hey, isn't this a BICEP curl? You'll also end up trying to do it as fast as possible just to be done. Not good.

Select a weight that you can control on the way up and on the way down for at least 10 reps. It should be heavy enough that you feel the burn in your muscle, but not too heavy that you lose your form just trying to complete it. Really think about the bicep muscle as you lift and make sure it's the one doing the work.

It doesn't matter if it is less weight than you thought you could lift, you will see more results lifting with a lower weight the correct way than lifting with a heavier weight the wrong way.

Use counts to slow down your lifts and play around with them. You can use 4 counts to get up, hold for 2 counts at the top and take 4 counts on the way back down. You can do 2 counts up, 2 counts down. You can do 3 counts up, hold 1 count at the top and 2 counts down. You get the idea. Decide your counts before your set and do a whole set with those counts. Very slow and CONTROLLED. You control the weight, the weight doesn't control you. Switch your counts up ever couple weeks to change the way your muscle is being stimulated.

Remember, it's not about how much weight you can lift, it's about getting results. If you want an exercise to be effective then you have to allow whatever muscle is being exercised to do all the lifting without help from the rest of your body.

Just a quick form lesson for the bicep curl. As I stated above, your upper body should remain completely still. Feet shoulder width apart. Your arms from your shoulder to elbow stay parallel with your body throughout the lift. Pretend there is a pin through your elbow and it's just rotating on that. Your arms should never "swing" during this exercise. Maintain this form and stay in control of the lift.

I Hate the Dentist

Mother Nature, or maybe it was just my mother, dealt me a rotten set of teeth.

I think by age 7 half of my mouth was already silver (and it hurt to put tin foil on my teeth when I wanted to pretend I had braces).

When I was in high school I went to a dentist appointment only to find out I had 5 cavaties. I was devasted. I drove straight to Dariy Queen where my friend Tiffany Hobbs was working, told her the awful situation while trying to hold back tears. She knew just what to do: she made me an Oreo Blizzard. (I have no idea why I had so many cavaties). :)

Then, after Livy was born I went to the dentist for the 1st time in a LONG time. I had told my new dentist about my awful "5 cavity experience" from back in high school, so he looked at me sympathetically when he told me I had 12 cavaties this time. 12!!! It took everything I had to act like a grown up and not fall on the ground screaming "WHY?!" Since I would be bringing him so much business he threw in some free teeth whitening stuff.

6 months later I went back...5 more cavaties! What? How is that even possible? This time he gave me a battery powered Dora toothbrush to make me feel better. (it made me feel a little better).

It was at that time that I became devoted to flossing. I always brushed like crazy, but apparently I needed to take it to another level...the flossing level. Proud to say, no cavaties since. I still don't like the dentist.

Luckily, it appears that my kids do not have my teeth. Livy had her first dentist appointment yesterday and Owen and Morgan have theirs next week. It was a lovely experience and Livy thinks the dentist is something to look forward to, not dread. I hope it stays that way.

X-rays.
I love her expression here...she's not quite sure how to feel about that machine.

She was a pro.

Getting her cleaning. She got to hold the suction, which made her feel pretty cool.

Showing Owen and I her super clean teeth.

Getting the seal of approval from the Dentist.

Teeth. What a pain.

Did Somebody Say "Competition"?

As it turns out, I was born into a highly competitive family.

Today my brother Porter was over. He sat down and we were all chatting for a bit and somehow the conversation turned to getting new shoes when we were growing up.

As a kid Porter's MO was to pick shoes according to the "traction" pattern on the bottom of the shoe. Then when we would get home he would say,

"The traction on my shoes is awesome! I'll be so fast in these shoes. I can totally beat you in a race."

So as soon as we would get home we would put on our new shoes and race...back and forth and back and forth on my parents front lawn. I didn't care that he was a boy, bigger and older than me. I was certain I could beat him.

We were laughing about this and then I said, "As I recall you usually won, but I think I beat you a few times."

I might as well have kicked Porter in the face. In his mind there was absolutely no way I have ever beaten him and in fact, he could still beat me.

"Really? You think you could still beat me?"

"Yes." he said confidently. "In a sprint. At least 50 yards...probably even 100 yards."

"You think you could beat me the length of a football field?"

"Absolutely." he says.

"It's on...let's go right now."

So we gathered up all the kids (my 3 and his 2) and threw them in the car. Unfortunately Morgan was like this....
But it was time for her to wake up anyway. (well, at least really close).

So over to the Powell Jr. High football field we went. Neither one of us was properly attired for such an event...but why would that stop us? We were both wearing flip-flops so we knew it had to be a barefoot race.

He stretched.

I stretched.

Porter even called my dad to let him know and my dad wasn't about to miss it. He was our official judge. He said, "I don't know who to put my money on." Shane was our photographer.

Here we are at the starting line. If you look closely you can see us mentally gearing up here.

Here we are at 50 yards...the race was half over. Can you tell who is ahead?

Unfortunately Shane missed the picture of us at the finish line because we were moving like lightning. He happened to snap a hideously close-up picture of my face which will not be posted here. (have you ever seen your face while running hard and laughing at the same time...not a good look for me).

...The results? I'm sad to say that Porter actually did beat me by a couple feet. It was a very close race. So I insisted on a rematch--50 yards. I won that one, but only because Porter was near death from our first race.

I find joy in knowing that even though I lost our first race (just barely, did I mention that?) I was ship-shape about 1 minute after the race. Porter, on the other hand, sent me this text about 45 minutes after the race:

Nearly vomited on drive home. Once home, nearly vomited more than the first close call. Promtly had the runs upon entering home. Still fighting urge to spew. Will never eat small dish of ice cream and vanilla oreos prior to any race ever again.

All things considered, I think I proved my point. :)


P.S. My running shoes have really great traction. I'm sure if I'd been wearing them I TOTALLY would have won.

Fitness Tip #2--Have a Specific Goal

This is nothing new. You have all heard this before, but for some reason it's hard to completely understand what "specific" means here. I have dealt with clients over and over that can't get "specific" with their goals. I think part of it is a fear of failure. But the funny thing is when you get specific you are much less likely to fail.

Here are some examples of non-specific goals that will do you no good:

• Get in shape


• Lose weight


• Tone up


• Get rid of "this" (insert whatever body part you are pointing at)

Goals like these provide no motivation.

Here are some examples of specific goals that will help and provide motivation:

• Participate in a ______________ (1/2 marathon, marathon, triathlon, 5k, duathlon, etc) on this date______________. (then pick a specific date).


• Fit into my size ___ pants by this date ________________.


• Lose ______ pounds per week & ______ pounds by this date _________.

They are specific and therefore you know that each workout matters because time is ticking away toward that specific date.

I would say the most effective of these goals for me has been to do triathlon's. Tell people you are doing it. Register for it. Suddenly it is very real and you know you'd better get on it. Then you aren't thinking so much about "getting in shape" or "losing weight" you are looking past that...but those things come anyway.

If you are pregnant, pick an event 6 months after your baby is born to participate in. Total motivation to lose your baby fat.

If you are not pregnant, find something to register for within the next 4-6 months...even if it's just a 5k. Then work every day to make sure you can complete your goal.

You do not have to be an athlete to participate in events like this. I know my friend Cherry did a 1/2 marathon not too long ago and she said she has never been athletic. But she set a goal and she acheived it. And I know it felt so good. (good job Cherry).

So set your SPECIFIC goal. Write it down. Put it on your mirror and look at it every day. If it's an event, register for it so you don't try to back out. You can do whatever you put your mind to.

I promise.

1 Year Ago Today....

One year ago today I met this 33 year old guy living in Provo. His name was Shane Dixon.

We had met on LDS Planet a few days earlier as a fluke since my profile was listed in Mesa, AZ and his was listed in Provo, UT. We exchanged a few emails, Instant Messanged each other once and talked on the phone once. I had turned him down several times previously to meet, but after IM'ing him I had a strong urge to meet him. I couldn't believe that I actually wanted to meet him. I was sworn off men for life. I didn't need them. I didn't want them. I was better off on my own...I was sure of it. Besides that, I had plans...big plans and none of them involved men. But I couldn't shake it. I had to meet him.

I figured out a way to meet him for one hour @ 4pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2007. I think I was near hyperventalation all day. He texted me "T-7 hours" at 9am. Butterflies danced in my stomach. It was exciting, it was fun, but most of all it was TERRIFYING!!! Not because I thought he was going to "chop me up into a million little pieces" as my brother-in-law Jere expressed was his concern moments before I met Shane, but mostly because I hadn't been on a date in over 7 years. And I didn't want to like him. In fact, my main reason in meeting him was so that I could rule him out. Poor Shane...he had to put up with a lot from me in the beginning (and even still) but he was a trooper about it.

When I pulled up to his school to meet him he was out front talking to some lady. As I walked up to him he gave me an awkward hug...awkward because I don't do that. I'm not really a first-time-meeting-you-hugger. He picked up on it right away.

We drove to Kneader's to eat. He chowed. I couldn't even think of eating. I can't recall the last time I was so nervous. I just sat there and smiled. He asked how I was able to get away for an hour. I told him I was ditching my counseling appointment. Nice Dixie. You're a crazy lady that can't do anything but smile. After about 30 minutes I think I relaxed a tiny bit and started talking a little more.

The crappy thing was, I liked him. I liked the way he talked. I liked the things he had to say. I liked the way he looked. I liked the way he listened. I liked the vibe I got from him. I liked all the things I could see that he didn't need to tell me--he had a glow. I knew he was good. I just knew it. And I was surprised that I knew it.

I had told him that we could move forward with our planned date for friday if this meeting went well. As he dropped me off at my car I said, "So, friday..."

"What do you think?" he asked...in a super cute and vulnerable way.

I told him, "You passed...just barely." Man I was a punk. But according to his mother, that's why he liked me.

It was a great day. I still didn't know that I had found my best friend.

I didn't know that until Friday.

Picture Tag--I'm It!

This is the 2nd time (that I know of) that I've been tagged for something. Totally flaked on the first one (sorry Kelly, I kept forgetting), but this one seemed easy enough.

Go to your 3rd picture folder and click on the 3rd picture in it.

This is the picture I found.

It's a picture of Morgan's 1st birthday cake--Hello Kitty. August 25, 2007.

To be honest, when I look at this cake I'm amazed. Not because it is such a perfect replica of Hello Kitty, but because looking at this cake and the little party that surrounded it, you would have no idea that just 23 days earlier I had found out my husband was having an affair, and just 2 days before the party he had moved out. But life goes on. Birthday parties are celebrated and Hello Kitty cakes are made.

There was so much going on at that time. Sometimes I felt like I had been spinning in circles for hours and just trying to think straight required me to strain every muscle in my brain. I know the only way I made it through that time was many, many prayers from family and friends, love, support, service and my Heavenly Father who carried me through it all.

Hmmm, who knew a Hello Kitty cake picture could conjure up so many memories.

Okay, I tag Lana, Allyson, Cherry and Melanie. (If you don't play tag, no prob. I will only be highly offended for a week.)

I Wouldn't Be a True Mommy Blog If I Didn't Post This....

Okay, so I know in "blogger world" Halloween already happened like a year ago and this post is super late, but here it is anyway. We had a very fun Halloween. (Just look at Owen to decipher exactly how much fun).


Shane said he thinks this should be the album cover for some band.
Morgan got LOADS of candy because she would just keep standing there, so the people would keep loading her up. She wasn't scared of anything. My fearless one.

Owen, the super happy cowboy with depleated horse.

Livy, the cheerleader. When I put the makeup on her and she saw how grown up she looked she said, while looking in the mirror, "Mom, I'm freaking myself out."

I happened to go to Fry's on Halloween afternoon and all their balloon's were on sale for $1. I couldn't pass that up since my kids love balloons so much. As it turned out, it was a really smart thing because I tied them to their buckets and I could locate them all night...at the ward carnival and trick-or-treating. I think I will do that every year. I love it when I'm incidentally smart!

We borrowed my brother's neighborhood for trick-or-treating since our "neighborhood" consists of a concrete company, a golf company, an auto body shop and various other lovely businesses. Here are the kids just before we headed out to get candy. Tatum is 2 months younger than Livy and Dane is 2 months older than Morgan. Owen is a lone wolf in the cousin department.

After trick-or-treating we had Halloween cupcakes and made carmel apples AND ate the candy they got trick-or-treating. I think my kids are still getting all the sugar out of their systems. YIKES!

Did I Eat Paint Chips When I Was a Kid?

People, I am a reasonably intelligent person. I graduated high school with a 3.9 GPA. I had an academic scholarship at Ricks College and an academic scholarship at BYU. So when I tell you this story, please try not to think of me as the dumbest person you know.

The other day, as I was trying to become the world's best canning specialist, I was going over some information packets and I said to Shane, "Why are we supposed to store so much wheat? All I ever hear is 'Make sure you have wheat'. What do you do with it?"

At this point Shane looked at me, shock and awe consumed his face..."You're kidding, right?"

"No I'm not kidding. Are we supposed to just eat plain wheat?"

"Dixie," he started in slowly, "Wheat is used to make flour."

Oh my gosh. How did I miss that? I'm well aware that every package of flour I have ever bought has a picture of wheat on the front of it. I watched my mom grind wheat when I was a kid. How in the heck did I not know wheat was used to make flour? I'm not sure. I don't recall eating paint chips as a kid.

Good job Dad (Bishop Shumway). I think my calling was definitely inspired.

p.s. 2 years ago I just learned that England is an island. I really am smart, I swear!