Somehow I Knew It Would Come to This
Guess what I did today? It's something I haven't done voluntarily for nearly seven years. It's something I loathe. It's something I think I can no longer avoid.
It's exercise.
I don't really understand why people list 'exercise' as one of their hobbies. To me, that's like listing your hobbies as 'brushing teeth' and 'tying shoes.' What's so great about it? I don't have anything against exercise per se; I know that it's good for you and everyone is supposed to do it. BUT I DON'T LIKE TO DO IT! As I've tried to lose the weight from my third (ginormous) baby, I've realized that it's not coming off as easily as it did with the other two. I suppose this was to be expected -- though that doesn't make it any easier to take. Anyway, I decided that I'd have to come up with some way to exercise and still supervise all of the children. This is no small task. The only solution I've been able to devise is to push Amanda and Lily in the double stroller while wearing Benson in the baby carrier. So that's what we did today. I think it's possible that I burned as many calories preparing for the walk as I burned on the walk itself. My goal was to raise my heart rate and sustain it for 30 minutes. So that's how long our walk lasted. I don't know if I'm going to see any kind of difference from doing this. If not, I'm going to have to f ind some other motivation for enduring the looks I get when I parade about the neighborhood like the old woman who lived in a shoe. Pretty sure that's going to be tough.
In other news, I have learned that it's difficult to really enjoy General Conference when three kids are vying for your attention. Amanda's attempts were the most direct: "We are NOT watching conference" (turns off TV). Hmmm. Despite my children's apparent desire to thwart my spiritual growth, I did manage to glean a few things. I really appreciated Elder Oaks' talk on testimonies. This is probably horrible and judgmental of me, but every time someone stands up in testimony meeting and says, "I would be ungrateful if I did not stand and publicly thank my Heavenly Father for my blessings," I want to stand up and shout, "No, you really wouldn't be! Tell me something that you KNOW!" Every time someone stands up and says, "I want to tell my wife that I love her," I want to shout, "Then tell her -- not us!" I realize that people are trying to be sincere, and expressing gratitude is a wonderful thing. But it's not gratitude meeting; it's testimony meeting!
Apostles are not like children; you can choose a favorite if you want to, and mine is Elder Holland. Something about the way he presents his messages really resonates with me. I thought his talk on the Book of Mormon and continued revelation was inspired, and I look forward to reading it again.
It's exercise.
I don't really understand why people list 'exercise' as one of their hobbies. To me, that's like listing your hobbies as 'brushing teeth' and 'tying shoes.' What's so great about it? I don't have anything against exercise per se; I know that it's good for you and everyone is supposed to do it. BUT I DON'T LIKE TO DO IT! As I've tried to lose the weight from my third (ginormous) baby, I've realized that it's not coming off as easily as it did with the other two. I suppose this was to be expected -- though that doesn't make it any easier to take. Anyway, I decided that I'd have to come up with some way to exercise and still supervise all of the children. This is no small task. The only solution I've been able to devise is to push Amanda and Lily in the double stroller while wearing Benson in the baby carrier. So that's what we did today. I think it's possible that I burned as many calories preparing for the walk as I burned on the walk itself. My goal was to raise my heart rate and sustain it for 30 minutes. So that's how long our walk lasted. I don't know if I'm going to see any kind of difference from doing this. If not, I'm going to have to f ind some other motivation for enduring the looks I get when I parade about the neighborhood like the old woman who lived in a shoe. Pretty sure that's going to be tough.
In other news, I have learned that it's difficult to really enjoy General Conference when three kids are vying for your attention. Amanda's attempts were the most direct: "We are NOT watching conference" (turns off TV). Hmmm. Despite my children's apparent desire to thwart my spiritual growth, I did manage to glean a few things. I really appreciated Elder Oaks' talk on testimonies. This is probably horrible and judgmental of me, but every time someone stands up in testimony meeting and says, "I would be ungrateful if I did not stand and publicly thank my Heavenly Father for my blessings," I want to stand up and shout, "No, you really wouldn't be! Tell me something that you KNOW!" Every time someone stands up and says, "I want to tell my wife that I love her," I want to shout, "Then tell her -- not us!" I realize that people are trying to be sincere, and expressing gratitude is a wonderful thing. But it's not gratitude meeting; it's testimony meeting!
Apostles are not like children; you can choose a favorite if you want to, and mine is Elder Holland. Something about the way he presents his messages really resonates with me. I thought his talk on the Book of Mormon and continued revelation was inspired, and I look forward to reading it again.
Comments
And by the way- you don't look like you need to lose any weight, you look awesome.
I did the double stroller and baby carrier thing for a few months until Phebe was too big to pack around, then we just gave in and bought our triple wide stroller. I absolutely love it, although I could do without the stares. I go walking with friends in my neighborhood, that way it's more a social experience rather than excercise!
Allie
ps. I love how Amanda turned the tv off on you. Classic.
As They say on the internet, "THIS!" I totally agree--I Hope everyone listened to Oaks' talk. My pet peeve is when people end with "in the name of thy son..." Whose son? He's not my son! You're not praying! You're talking to us!
Great to read about your family--I love reading your blog, your family is hilarious!
Dustin Dibble
I love how often you write about things that bug you. It's like your "List of Things That Must Go" like they do on a morning radio show. Thanks for making us all feel validated by feeling annoyed often too. :)