An Update in Pictures

It has been a crazy summer.. and that has turned into a crazy fall. Soooo, for your viewing pleasure, here's a picture-heavy visual update of our lives!  :)

In the beginning of July we went to Laramie Jubilee Days with Colin and Kassidy...

Then we went down to Denver and hit up another Rockies game with them.

Later in July we went to Cheyenne Frontier Days and the Brad Paisley concert. So good and so much fun! And this year we got to be in seats instead of standing the whole time! :)

The next weekend came Bear Lake and it was a great day with the Ericksons!

The weekend after Bear Lake we went back to Star Valley again. This time for Zane's high school reunion- his class decided to get together after just 5 years, so we went! And Kassidy was in charge of it all, so I pitched in with decorating and setting up.. but mostly just by doing the cupcakes :)

Next up, my parents came out for a 10-day visit in August! It was wonderful having them here and we had a great time together. They also gave Zane an early birthday present of laser-etched Wyoming golf clubs. Talk about a happy boy ;)

The week after they left it was time for another Erickson reunion! We had been working on getting our camper ready all summer (well, off and on...) so there's just a few pics of that too... The walls were originally gross,gray, fake wood panels, there was also a hinged bunk that had been water damaged, and the ceiling as well. SO, we removed the bunk (Zane's sawing away at it below), replaced the ceiling, then painted everything with white Kilz primer...

 Then we replaced the floors...

 And added final touches- the Pokes rug and the cushions that Wendy made for us. I also replaced the curtains, but ya can't see them in the pictures.. 

At the Labor Day Reunion we went for a ride on the Polaris Ranger with some of the kids... They absolutely love it!

And the family has what in my opinion is an AWFUL "game" they play a tradition called "Snatch Pretty" that they do with the kids in the family every 4 or 5 years. Why not every year? Well because one year isn't enough time for the kids to forget! You see, they have two practice rounds where the kids gather around a pile of saw dust that has a bunch of prizes mixed into it.. and a big box over the top. So on the count of 3, the adult takes the box off the top and the kids snatch at as many prizes as they can. Then they have to put them back until round 3.. when they're told they can keep all the prizes they grab... But on the third time, this is the result instead....

The prizes were replaced with fresh cow manure (the kids of course are blissfully unaware of this switch) and they dive right in as soon as the box is lifted...

(Note the variety of facial expressions...)

And just to make sure it's clear that Amy is laughing while poor little Kado is in tears... ;)

Zane says our kids will participate in this "lovely" tradition. I'm thinking that we'll just mysteriously disappear when the time comes...

After we got back to Laramie, it was time for football!

At the first game, Senator Barasso was at the College Republicans' tent and Zane was super excited to meet him!

And last, but not least, Zane turned 24 this week! Although he had work and school, it was still a pretty good day- that ended with Grasshopper pie! 

Can I blow off some steam?

Ok, so I realize that it has been a few weeks.. ok, maybe more like a month and half? But that's beside the point. I'll get some pics and stories up soon. Promise. However, right now, I just need to blow off some steam...

So first off, let me just say that I've hit a wall. I've hit that wall where I don't see how I'm ever going to get past it. That wall that somehow laughs at you and mocks you because you can't (or at least think you can't) get past it. Yup, that's where I'm at.

I've slowly but surely been losing weight and getting healthier over the past several months. After gaining 20 lbs since getting married (which when I think about it, really makes me sick inside...) I am well aware that I need to lose some weight. So where did that 20 lbs come from? Cause it's not like I really started eating crap all the time. It was a combo of birth control, anxiety, depression, frustration, lonliness, and thinking I needed to eat the same portion sizes as my wonderful husband... So after we had been married for about a year and a half, I finally tried putting forth more effort to make a change. And so far, I'm down about 13 lbs. Which isn't a ton (especially considering how many months it has taken me), but oh well. I'm just glad I haven't gained that weight (in addition to the 20)  instead of losing it. So now back to that wall I've hit. It's an emotional, mental, and physical wall. I don't really feel like I have the desire or will power to keep going, even though it's just 7 more lbs to be back at what I was when we got married. My brain keeps battleing back and forth telling me that "No, you can't do it. You're never going to reach your goals" while at the same time saying "Keep going, you CAN do it!"  Usually it's the negative voice that wins out. And physically, I can't get down past a certain weight. I thought I had finally broken past it a couple of weeks ago, but nope. That was a fluke. Cause I've been right at the same spot ever since. I've been trying to count calories and exercise. But let's be honest, I haven't been doing great at it. And THAT'S the biggest wall I've hit. The lack of motivation to keep doing it.

SO... in addition to all that.. it's not that I just want to get back down to what I was as a single gal, but I want to blow past it! From where I'm sitting now, I'm talking about another 25-30 lbs. And that it truly why I'm so frustrated. Because I can't just accept myself as I am now or as I was when I got married. Becuase I feel like unless I continue to drop off the pounds and inches, I'm not good enough. And THAT ticks me off. Because I should feel good enough, but I don't. And most of that is because I'm definitely guilty of comparing myself to others- whether it be celebrities, girls I see at church, people I don't know, or even Cinderella (yes, I do think that Disney gives little girls a false sense of what beauty is).. I'm all around guilty of comparing. Which I KNOW is a no-no. Because everyone has different challenges, genes, habits.. it's completely unfair to look at someone and instantly assume that they're better off than I am, simply because they're skinnier. But alas, it is probably one of my greatest challenges.

My second-greatest challenge? My love affair with food. I love food. I love watching Food Network, I love to shop for food, to prepare, cook, and then plate the food to look pretty. All-in-all, I'm pretty positive I'm a food addict. Yep, that's me. I'm a food addict. When I'm stressed, I try to find my solace in the kitchen. When Zane is gone and I feel lonely, food is my friend. When I'm depressed, you better believe that rather than go for the tub of ice cream, I want a big ol' fat, steaming hot baked potato with a dumptruck-sized load of sharp cheddar cheese melting over the sides and sour cream on top. And at that point, I'm pretty sure the ice cream would have been the healthier option....

So- are y'all sick of listening to my ranting and raving yet? It's ok if you are, I'm almost done ;) My last frustration is that I have a hard time finding an exercise routine that I like and will stick to. The gym is too expensive, and the weather in Wyoming is so variable, that I just get frustrated and give up. Not to mention that I usually feel like working out around 8 or 9a.m. and that's when I'm stuck at work. So with that said, let me make it clear that I'm not looking for any kind of "Aw, Marie- you don't need to lose weight! You look good!" kind of comments. Cause I'm not. I just really, really needed to get my thoughts down on paper.. So there ya have it. What I am asking for however, is any advice on how to get past, around, over, or through the wall I've hit. Seriously, does anyone have some TNT that I can use to just blast through it? That would be great ;)

Counting our accidents... Uh, I mean...blessings

Some of you might know, but most of you probably don't, that in the past month Zane and I have had some near death experiences little accidents.

I was first to get injured- it happened while we were down in Utah for Caleb's wedding. The morning of the wedding, I was about to walk downstairs to leave and the heel of my stiletto snagged on the carpet just right and sent me falling head first down the flight of stairs. (Please note, in over 14 years of wearing high heels, I've never  fallen before...) Anyways, I hit my head pretty hard against the wall and felt something in my neck kind of snap. I landed on my left side and had carpet burn on the tops ot my feet/ankles. Zane was already at the front door, but he came rushing back when he heard me simultaneously hit the floor and wall. Because I thought I had heard something in my neck snap, I was scared to move, but I immediately asked Zane for a blessing. He gave me one, then helped me slowly sit up and make sure I wasn't seriously injured. I was able to move my head and neck without any problem. I didn't hit my face, so no bruises or gashes... We were supposed to be at the temple in 20 minutes, so I wiped off the mascara running down my face (obviously, this little ordeal opened the flood gates and brought on some tears) and I changed into flat shoes. At the time, I knew I'd be hurting, but we needed to get to the temple...

On the way there, I texted my boss to see what she recommend I do (One of the benefits of working in a clinic...) She said to watch out for signs of concussion, but if I didn't have any, then to just take pain killers for the headache. So far, so good- there weren't any signs of concussion.

Well, my head was throbbing and my knees and ankles were carpet burned, but we got to the temple in time for the wedding. I was really grateful we did! Although I couldn't really concentrate too well on what the sealer was saying.. oh well. Not to mention I couldn't really carry on a conversation with anyone the rest of the day.. Basically, I was pretty slow. Literally- in walking, thinking, and speaking. Not cool and certainly not my normal.

Anyways, that night, there was a definite bruise on my left foot/ankle, as well as my left hip and I somehow managed to bruise my right knee too. My head was still hurting and my entire body was aching from falling, and to be honest, I was a little bit nervous about going to sleep- WHAT IF I DIDN'T WAKE UP THE NEXT DAY?!?!?! Good news- I did. :)

SO, other than having a couple minor scars on my ankles from the carpet burn, and the fact that my left ankle is still a little bruised and tender, I'm doing great.. and pretty much back to 100% just in time for Zane to get hurt....

YESTERDAY. Right now, Zane is working two jobs- he's still driving bus for the school district (until this Friday!) and between shifts there, he's working for the city of Laramie Streets Department. Lately, they've been working on sealing cracks in the road with tar, painting lines/curbs, and laying new asphalt on sections of road (side note: Zane got to drive the steam roller last week!) Anyways, yesterday morning around 11am, they were finishing up with crack sealing a section of road. Zane was working on getting some of the equipment taken care of on the back of the truck. The driver thought he was already done and started to pull away- which caused a bunch of 400 degree black and sticky tar to spill out on Zane's left forearm. On top of that, the cottonwood trees are blowing fuzzies in the air constantly, so one of his coworkers joked that now Zane knows how it feels to be tarred and feathered. Haha, funny! Definitely NOT cool dude.

So from my understanding, Zane tried to get as much of the tar off as possible, to clean the wound, then wrapped it up and went back to work. No biggie. WAIT, no biggie?!? I'd say 400 degree tar burning off skin on my arm is a big deal. ANYWAYS...we got home around the same time for lunch, so I took him up to the Urgent Care where his boss told him to go. The nurse took off the bandage he had on his arm and it was evident that a couple layers of skin had also come off with the tar. After getting a tetanus shot and getting the wound thouroughly cleaned up, they dressed it and wrapped it back up. We got a cream from the pharmacy that he has to put on the wound twice a day for a week, with new dressing each time. He joked last night that the "worse" part about the whole thing is that now he's going to have a funny tan on his arm.. oh goodness.

SOO.. our many blessings- I honestly believe in the power of the priesthood and in priesthood blessings, and I think it's because of the blessing Zane gave me that I ended up not being more seriously hurt. (He's also grateful that I'm more leery of wearing high heels now, haha). But seriously, I'm especially thankful I wasn't badly hurt since I don't have insurance right now and didn't have to go to the ER or an urgent care in Utah.  I also believe in the power of prayer and I always pray for Zane's safety while he's at work. Although he got burned on his forearm, we're thankful it wasn't his entire arm, face, or body. He might have a scar for a while, but it won't be anything seriously disfiguring or dibilitating, and so we're also grateful it wasn't any worse for him. The Lord sure does look out for us, and has recently reminded us of that- and that we need to remember that and count our blessings more often.

UPDATE:
So I wrote the initial blog before my lunch hour today. I got home and Zane was nursing another wound! Poor boy! He had been trying to scrape the tar off the bottom of his work boots with a screwdriver. And it slipped and went into his hand. I just don't know what I'm going to do with him ;) But now I just really hope we're done getting hurt for a while...

Our 2nd Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband! I am so grateful to be married to my best friend and am blessed beyond measure to have him in my life.

So since our anniversary was today (Sunday) we decided we would celebrate yesterday by going down to Denver with Kassidy and Colin for a Rockies game.
It was fun a blast!

At about the top of the 8th Inning, it started to rain.. so they covered up the field and paused the game. Then it started to hail...

Then it finally let up- and more than half the people had left! So when the game resumed at 10:20, we were able to sit in the lower bowl, rather than up high...

AND!... Kassidy was able to catch 2 balls that were tossed up to us from the bull pin- one Rockies ball (which she let us have) and one Atlanta Braves ball- good catches Kas! And thanks for the ball :) 

Olivia's Baby Shower

Tonight we had a baby shower for a friend of mine, Olivia Hathaway. She's due in July and having a little girl and we're very excited for her! We had baby-sized burgers, mini mac n cheese, little veggie cups, tiny cookies and cupcakes. During the shower, we also made binky clips and headbands, rather than play typical baby shower games...  Zane, Kassidy, and Colin also all get a big thank you for helping me get everything ready- especially since I didn't get off work till an hour before the shower started!

We made the buns and Zane grilled up the burgers.

These were about the size of a quarter- so cute and so tiny!

Thanks for coming ladies!

A few of the crafts we all made.

Can't wait to meet your sweet baby girl, Liv! Congrats to you and Evan! :)