Saturday, April 30, 2011

Fitness Fest = Fun! (and the Hot Chair) - edited version! :)

The last 2 days I have been attending the Fitness Fest Conference in Scottsdale.  I do it every 2 years to keep up my aerobics teaching certification, and to see/hear/try the latest and greatest in fitness.  It is soooooo fun.


Friday morning I dragged myself out of bed to teach my 5:45 am class ( I was tired as Addi had come into our room 3 times in the night - ugh!!!!).  I taught my step class til 6:30, then picked up my friend and we were off for our full day of working out.


They have 5 or 6 classes that last 1 1/2 hours, with 15 minute breaks in between.  At each time block, you can choose from a variety of classes to take.  It really is fun!  Yesterday I enjoyed learning lots of work and drills you can do with partners, took a kickboxing class, went to an abs on the ball class, ate lunch at Chipotle with friends :), and went back to do the most boring lecture/class on cycling, and finished it off with a cardio ball class.  Can I just say I was wiped out?  Lots of good ideas to take back to my classes though.


Today we started at 7 again, and I was able to learn about and use the Bender ball - lots of great core and stabilization work, then go take a 1 1/2 hour step class that was super fun,  then the fun really began.


The last 1 1/2 hours before lunch there really wasn't a class I was wanting to take, but my friend Beth wanted to do a class called the Hot Chair.  I wondered what in the heck that was?  Here was the brochure description.

The Hot Chair! 
Building confidence and self esteem through movement!  
with 
Demetreous Hill 
Nurture, cherish and release your spirit! Enjoy the Art of Chair Dancing. DEMETREOUS leads 
you through: Relaxing, body awareness exercises using movement, touch and visualization. 
Discover five simple moves that allow you to be electric! 


I knew I was in trouble when they sent an e-mail saying you can bring a pair of heels and a scarf to dance with.


Trying to be a good sport, I nervously entered the classroom full of a bunch of ladies over 50, and maybe 5 or 6 of us under.  Hmmmm...  Demetrious is there walking around talking to people, and then announces he wants all of us to tell him our dancer name.  We are taking on a character, and need a name - and it has to be good.  Holy cow!!  What the heck?  


Seriously feeling very out of place.


Next, we have to decide what VIP is sitting in our chair.  Yup, we get to picture that person there, and we are dancing for them.  People were choosing their favorite celebrity.   Sure, I had my "client" chosen in my head, but I think he would probably run out of the chair laughing! :)  Demetrious said he had Keanu Reeves in his chair, so we couldn't have him.  Funny.


Now the music comes on and we have to strut and slink and pose  and make eye contact, and all that stuff that I always do - ha!  I seriously wanted to die.  I looked at Beth and said there is no way I can do this!  I was dying.  But, Beth is loving it, so I decide to be a good sport and continue on.  Besides, I can't have all these old ladies show me up!  Beth informs me that maybe once I turn 40 all my inhibitions will melt away and I can sexy dance all day long! ha!


Finally we actually do a dance routine of some sort.  I feel a little more comfortable doing that, with the dancer side of me coming out.  Then he makes us all come to the front of the room and sexy dance in a group for the camera that I suddenly now wonder where that will turn up.  As we each walk back to our chair, Demetrious grabs my arm and says, "You are so sexy!"  Yeah, try to build up the worst ones.  (Maybe I could get a second job at night though? ha!)


Then, he tells us all to grab our chairs, and let's go.  He is pushing everyone out the door to the stage in the expo hall where we are going to perform our dance for everyone!  What???  This is where we draw the line.  The people go out, we kinda hide in the room, and sneak out the door and turn down the hall the other way and run for our lives!  Beth was laughing saying it isn't easy to sneak out with the one person in the room who stands out so bad!  He is going to wonder where that 6 ft. girl is!  Oh well, we got out of there without having to perform our dance, and had some yummy Cheesecake Factory for lunch! (Seriously how do you pass up any of those chocolate cheesecakes?  I just can't do it)





















Are you lucky enough?

When you've been gone all day long for 2 days straight, and left the husband in charge of the house and 4 kids, do you come home and find your house looking like this?



I did.

I really don't deserve him.  I hope he doesn't figure that out! :)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter Collage



Easter egg hunts, candy everywhere, chocolate everywhere.


Posted by Picasa

Happy Keester!

You've all seen the cute billboard or card that has the little babies lined up with their bare bums in a row painted like Easter eggs?  So dang cute.







We had our own version of Happy Keester in the car on the way to church.




Hope your Easter was great!!!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Gene Autrey Heat wins 5.0 Play Tennis league!

The team, with our "mascot" Mona.  She is Traci's mom, and never, ever misses a match.  If my daughter played like Traci, I wouldn't miss a match either!  (I'm the tall one in the middle ;) )


Today our team played against a team from Desert Ridge (north Phoenix) for the coveted blinged out champion visor.  And guess what?  We won!  


Can I just say I love, love, love tennis and my team.  We all get along so good and have so much fun together.  Everyone needs a tennis team like mine!  Great women who do great things in their lives, yet always make time to play great tennis! :)

Course this means tennis is over until the end of September. :(  Now we just do drop in tennis at the tennis center.  Still fun, but super hot and yucky all summer long.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Tales of a Terrific Tuesday

A day almost made in heaven.

Got up at 6:30 (that's sleeping in for me! :) Got the kids off to school.  Cleaned the house up so the cleaning ladies could clean the house.  Get wretched 3 year old off to pre-school :) :) :) and go teach my classes at the gym. :) :) :) :)

I know some people think I'm crazy that I teach 3 classes in a row, but if you had a countertop that looked like this, you would too!


I've got a container of my super yummy sugar cookies that I made for my friend yesterday, then a plate of what's left of these sinfully moist coconut cupcakes, and a plate of peanut butter, caramel, pretzel M&M brownies that my sis-in-law brought over last night just for the heck of it.  Probably because she knows I'll eat them!  Then there's still a few of the cookie bars I made for Sunday night dessert.

I tell you, with all my chocolate addictions, and now all this, I am in real trouble!  HELP!!!!

Thank heaven I have the triathlon to train for!

Anyway, I came home after getting Addi from pre-school and found my house spotless and clean (so worth the $$$) and Addi got invited to a friends' house, so I dropped her there and found myself with almost 2 whole hours all to myself!  Oh what to do, what to do?

I cleaned the pool, then layed out by the pool and read the newspaper and did the crossword puzzle, without a single interruption.  Can I tell you how happy that made me?  I did try to call a couple friends to come over and play, but they were all working. :(

Know what else makes me happy?  The kitchen and bathroom remodels are complete!  I was so sick and tired of workers in my house all day, layers of dust everywhere, and not having a place to shower until night when the workers were out of the bathroom!

So, mom (and anyone else who cares) here are the pictures for you!

Master bath with marble countertops.  I chose the sinks - Lane did the rest. 

Newly stained kitchen cabinets and handles that I don't like, but oh well :)

Kitchen cabinets and new microwave and stove - gotta have Stainless to match the handles, right?


Powder bath - just got a new sink and floor.


Now, lest you all think my life is just chocolate and roses, I assure you, reality came back.  Addi came home, the other kids came home, piano students who haven't practiced showed up for lessons, neighbors with loud voices came to play, and the normal chaos of our house returned.  Tennis lessons, dinner, and book club (yea!) will finish the night.

However, just for a little bit today, I was in heaven! :)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Our guest from the past - part 2.

I didn't get to tell our best "Wade" story, so here goes.

We moved to Mexico City where Lane was going to be running a company called DSL.  Troy was running the office at the time, and Wade was doing an internship.  They lived in a little apartment like 3 blocks from the office.  They found us one for rent in the same building, just down a floor.  So all the guys worked together and we played together.  (Though they weren't married, so they really played!  We were boring married people. :)

Anyway, Troy and Wade were my only friends and English speakers around at the time. 

Well, I had started having nausea issues, and smells were really bothering me.  Like Lane and Wade would come home and make lunch, and eat a bunch of Hot Tamales candy, and I couldn't stand the smell of them!  I seriously wanted to puke smelling it, which was weird because I love Hot Tamales!  After a few weeks of feeling weird, I started to wonder if somehow, someway I was pregnant.  (For reasons I will spare you all, this would be somewhat of a miracle.)  Finally, one day I couldn't take it any more - I had to know.

We had lived there 3 weeks and my Spanish consisted of maybe 10 or 20 words, and wrong verb conjugations.  Lane was on a trip that day and wasn't getting home until around 10 that night.  I walked over to the pharmacy, and asked for a pregnancy test.  (I had looked up in the dictionary how to say it).  I got home and of course did what you need to do (pee on the stick).  Here's where the problem arose.  The instructions were all in Spanish, and I obviously didn't know what they were saying.  Does 1 line mean pregnant?  Or is it 2?   Not knowing what the result was, I did what any responsible 23 year old in a foreign country did.  I went upstairs and asked my two bachelor neighbors to please read the test and tell me which one means what!  They read the instructions to me, and sure enough I was pregnant!  

So, I guess the funny thing (to us) is that Wade goes down in history as the first person to know I was pregnant! :)  I'm sure he will never forget that.  Ha! 

Since it has been so long since we saw Wade, we had to take some pictures.  (Too bad I had already run my 6 miles this morning and was getting ready for tennis - so please forgive the scary look for me! :)



Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Stepping back in time

Lane took a bunch of our old family videos to a transfer place, and they put all our old tapes into a drive that we can just plug into our computer and watch whenever we want.

Needless to say, the kids have been watching these like crazy!!! We have now seen Kayla, Savannah and Conner's birth.  Wow - seeing me puffy, pregnant, or immediately post-birth is NOT pretty!  Addi is dying to see herself get born, but we haven't transferred those DVDs to the drive yet.  She keeps saying she was still in heaven because we didn't need her yet.  How cute is that?  I'm sure an older sister explained that to her.

So, here are some observations we have heard while watching the movies:

"Mom!  you look exactly the same!!"

"Look!  I'm so cute!"

"Mom - what are you wearing?"

"Did (insert name here)  really look like that?"

"Dad!  You look exactly the same!"

"Mom you look like a baby! (That of course was said while watching our wedding video - which would be 100% true because I WAS a baby!)

"Dad you are so skinny!"

Oh to freeze time . . .

Speaking of freezing time,  our good friend Wade is in town staying with us tonight.  He was Lane's intern while we lived in Mexico City in 1994-95.  We then got together with him and other friends for Thanksgiving in 2000 in Puerto Vallarta.  Haven't seen him since.

This afternoon, the doorbell rang, and I ran to open the door, and there stood Wade - looking exactly the same as ever!  It has been 16 years since we met, and almost 11 years since I last saw him!  It was like time has never passed.  He says Lane and I look exactly the same.  We say he looks exactly the same.   Funny thing is, I'm sure we don't, but is it our eyes that play tricks on us?  Do we just remember people how they looked and they seem the same?  I don't know!

We went to dinner to our favorite restaurant - Red, White and Brew.  Then,  the boys went off to the D-backs game (refer to losing husband in previous post) and I came home to take care of the kids, put them to bed, and go for a 6 mile run.  (I figure if I put this on here, I'll have to go do it!  I'm tired, but really need to run.  Good training, good therapy.  On second thought, I think I'll get up early and run.  My bed is calling me!)

Which leads me to the "Yup, I am crazy and signed up for another triathlon" part of this post.  I have to finish the Olympic length without a flat tire!  So, May 7 is the day.  Me and Lisa have paid, so there is no backing out now!  I have to swim 1 mile in the Tempe Town Lake, then bike 25 miles, and run 6.2 miles.  This time, there will be no "cheating".  I will finish the race - probably not super fast as I am deciding to do it a little late, but I needed something to train for!  Trying not to let all that chocolate catch up with me! :)

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Hello boys of summer - goodbye my husband.

The Diamondbacks opener was last night.  Lane has been so excited. We get season tix every year, but thankfully share them with 2 other families, because that means we only get to go to like 30 games instead of 90.

That means I will not be seeing Lane for a while.  So, we went to opening night, where the D-backs whipped the Reds, we froze because it was actually cold here, and I got my mandatory Coldstone! :)


Enjoy those seats on the 3rd row honey, and I'll see you in October?

The Barry Bonds Berry

Albertsons had berries on sale for $.99 per box.  We are out of freezer jam so I bought a ton and brought them home to use my incredible domestic goddess skills and make more freezer jam.

I finally pulled the strawberries out on Thursday night, and here is one that I found.



Holy Cow!!!

Looks like Lane and Barry Bonds aren't the only ones who've been taking steroids! ha!  
Or, maybe this berry came from Japan?  Somewhere near the nuclear meltdown?  

Whatever it is, we now have a ton of yummy strawberry jam, and I'm baking some yummy homemade bread to go with it even as I type!   You add that to taking Addi to the zoo with her pre-school class this week and flying kites with the kids (and all neighborhood kids as well) outside in the wind yesterday - this mother of the year thing is almost in the bag! ha! :)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

A moment of peace, and a piece of chocolate!

Today I read that my friend was thrilled to have blue skies and a polished floor.
I am thrilled for other reasons.
Today, after taking Addi to the zoo with her pre-school class and my friend and her kids, I allowed myself a little of my favorite chocolate, and then Lane surprised me by taking all 4 kids to Costco with him (What possessed him to do that I will NEVER know!) so I had 1 whole hour all by myself in the house!

What did I do?  Watched a little TV, and played the piano.

Wow!  That's a good day!
 :)

(Now I guess I should get to the dishes in the kitchen that I've been ignoring all day, and then make the strawberry freezer jam I've been meaning to make since Monday!  Could be a long night, and I have an early morning tomorrow.)

Monday, April 4, 2011

A father/son conversation

Five minutes ago I was sitting at the computer getting caught up from the day. (Translate - reading everyone's FB posts).

Conner is in my room next door talking to Lane who is sprawled on the bed doing the crossword puzzle.  The conversation is priceless and must be written down, so I am doing it now to not forget.

Conner: Dad, is the baddest cuss word the H word?
Lane:  Mmm, no.
C:  Then is it the S word?
L: No
C:  What about the D word?
L: No
C: Well then what is it?

( I am now dying trying so hard to not laugh, and waiting to see what Lane is going to say to this one.)

L:  Um, (long pause)  it's the F word.
C: Oh really.  I think it should be the D word cause that's the worst.
(I'm 99.9% sure he doesn't know what the F word is - sweet innocent boy :)

C: Dad, one day I heard a boy use the D word, and he wasn't using it to describe a dam or anything like that.  He was just saying it like a word - d-a-m.  It's like he was just bursting and the cuss word just had to come out or something.

Seriously love that boy.  Well, actually, both of them! :)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Stealing from my friend




My friend has an 18 month old, I used to have 4 of them (all at different times, thank heaven!) She is in this stage right now and put this on her blog. I loved it and had to steal.


10 ways that having a toddler is just like having a frat party:


10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub.

9. There’s always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.

8. It’s best not to assume that the person closest to you has any control over their digestive function.

7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down, someone’s going to start banging on the door.

6. Probably 80% of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.

5. You’ve got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink.

4. There’s definitely going to be a fight.

3. You’re not sure whether anything you’re doing is right, you just hope it won’t get you arrested.

2. There are crumpled-up underpants everywhere.

1. You wake up wondering exactly how and when the person in bed with you got there.

I loved this!! Funny thing is - I went to BYU, I never went to a frat party, and honestly can't even remotely relate to any of the above list in a frat party setting, but boy can I relate in the toddler setting!


Thanks Kristin! That was funny!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Things that make you go, "Hmmmm..."

This morning I checked Addi in to the kid's club at the gym.  She loves to go to the kids club at the gym almost as much as I love going to the gym!  Win - win!

Anyway, there were 2 little kids in there playing.  A girl who looked about 4, and a boy about 2.  I saw the names on the list at the sign in.  I signed Addi in after a child whose name was . . . Indiana Jones.
Really???

I asked the girl working there, "Is that poor little boy really named Indiana Jones????"  No! she says - the little girl is!!!

People, am I way off base, or does that just seem really mean to do to your kid?