Life Through My Eyes

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." You see that?? ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.  I strongly believe that there is something positive that comes out of every situation.  I mean, really. Stop to think about that for a second. If you asked me about my knee and foot issues right away while they were happening - you probably honestly heard me have a negative tone about it. But now, I am fine with it. Do I wish my body was functioning healthy right now? You bet. But I am also THANKFUL for my injuries, because they have forced me to SLOW DOWN in my life.  I feel like I have been sprinting through life the past few months but going nowhere.  Every situation that happened - I focused on the negative and not the positive. But for the past week or two - I have had the privilege of finding and renewing myself again.  So often in my life I just fly from one thing to the next with m...

The past week has felt like an eternity. For those of you reading this that aren't aware - I had an MRI last week on my knee to see what was going on. It has been exactly one week since my MRI and I got a phone call today. I almost didn't answer it. I honestly think I stared at my phone for the longest time - and answered on the last possible ring. My dr. apologized that it took so long for my results to come in. Apparently the hospital forgot to fax them over or something?? Anyways - you guys know me - I called my Dr every day for the past week and asked if my results were in. Yes...I'm one of "those" patients. This is me!! Just kidding but that is how I feel! Look at his sad face!! The Diagnosis: I will cut to the chase. I have Chondromalacia Patella. Do I know what that is? No idea. So I asked the dr about a million questions while I had her on the phone - and spent the next half hour googling it - searching for the answers that I wanted to see....

Dad, Today is your birthday. But dad's like you deserve to be celebrated more than just one day out of the year!! I want you to know how much you are loved, and how blessed and lucky I am to have you in my life. Since I was a little girl - I looked up to you SO much. I wanted to always be by your side and mimic the things that you did. Mowing the lawn, cutting down trees, digging in the dirt - I loved it all because it meant that I got to spend time with you. (As I grew older you maybe asked me to do these things and I wan't so exited about them anymore....oops! sorry :) ) But spending time with you has always meant so much to me. One of the first things I am thankful for is the way you lead by example You knew that I was always watching and learning from you because I looked up to you - and you were always  a great dad and taught me so many life lessons just by being yourself and always being a wonderful role model. The second thing I am thankful for is your sense of...

Hello everyone and happy Tuesday! This topic is something that has been on my mind for a while now, as well as something I have personally 'struggled' with over the years. Being a personal trainer and fitness instructor - I often have people tell me the things that they want or 'wish' for; "I want to lose 10 pounds" "I wish I weighed what I did in college" "I want smaller legs" "I wish I didn't have a muffin top" "I wish my arms didn't jiggle" "I want to look in the mirror and be happy with what I see" .....well let me tell you something - you are probably NEVER going to achieve ANY of those things if you don't start with absolutely loving the person that you are right now. A lot of us are not happy with our bodies, but our bodies DO NOT define who we are as people. Working out and being healthy are absolutely fantastic, and yes, you will feel better when you achieve your goals, but ...

How many times did I have to write that on a paper today and sign my name?? A LOT. "Amy Erickson, October 2nd, 2014." Today was a long. long. day. If you know me - you'll know that I generally am a positive person. Well, today?? I was anything but positive. I spent most of the night awake from pain in my knee. What happened? No idea. My right knee has been hurting pretty consistently since mid summer. Did I do anything about it? Of course not. So here I am. October 2nd, 2014. I had planned to teach two classes today. Teaching fitness classes are my way of expressing myself and giving a little piece of myself to others. It's also my stress reliever. And it didn't happen. I didn't teach two classes. I didn't even teach one. Instead - I spent my day going from Dr. appointment to xray appointment to MRI appointment. And what did I figure out? Nothing. I am still waiting on results. The xray came back fine. But the dr. suggested that I take 4...