birthday boy

happy birthday to my wonderful husband!

a guy who makes my whole life possible

who constantly makes me smile & laugh

who keeps me on my toes

who challenges me

and loves me no matter what!

to a guy who finds the first surprise birthday card i hid for him and opens it,
then finds the 2nd one and opens that too even before it's his birthday... :)

a handsome guy with biceps as big as softballs :}

a guy who hardly ever smiles normal for a picture :]
i love you al!!

photo credit to leah maria photography

shane & jodi's

the weekend before we moved, we were able to spend some time over at shane & jodi's house. shane finally had a weekend off and we love spending time with them. i snapped some pics while jodi and i hung out outside (the boys stayed inside watching tv; boring). it was a beautiful day and we even ate supper outside. big thanks to shane and jodi for having us!

their beautiful front tree.

 budding bushes

 this big guy is finally old enough that when he's curious he sits still for a second (that never happened when he was a puppy). he's so handsome and i love his curly hair.

titan + stick

 someone else (boz) was scared of my big camera so this is the only pic i got of him.

he was cowering his way over to me :) love him!!

that same weekend, sunday night we headed back to shane & jodi's to watch wrestlemania. jodi and i only watched a couple of the matches and i forgot how obnoxious wrestling is :) but thank goodness the last match was the rock vs cena (yum!!) or else i would have been begging al to take me home.

it was a great weekend and we were happy for the early, surprise spring weather!

easter

our tradition for easter has become going to al's aunt wendy's house just outside wausau. my mom and occasionally my brother also come along. i love wendy and keith's, out-of-town farm house. it's old and wonderful and has lots of room. wendy is a fabulous gardener and they have chickens once again.

i've been wanting to hone in my (lack of) photography skills again so i brought my (gina's) camera along. it was a beautiful day even with the chilly wind so it was perfect for taking some photos. my white balance is a bit off and there were some things i didn't see until i got this pics larger on my computer; i'm gonna have to work on that... but here are some of them:

their beautiful, old barn.

 one of the many lovely plants that are around their barn & house

 wood for days :)



the only picture i got of people...

and i didn't notice the huge sun spots on al's head...

but still a good pic of him and his dad

chickens!

and axel, their biggest, wire-ist weiner dog ever :)

love his profile :]

 reflection of a beautiful day

guard dog.

it was a great easter full of family, good food and sunshine.

a big thanks to wendy and keith for hosting!

status quo

it's time for me to realize that i have a new status quo.

as of today at 11 am,

i have both the pleasure and the burden of being a police officer's wife.

i have been told that a blue rose signifies the wife of an officer.

it reminds me of the blue stripe on a black background that signifies on officer's death.

which then reminds me of all of the dangers of al's job

that i have & will worry about for years to come.

on the other hand, i'm so very proud of al and so very proud to be an officer's wife.

i've always had a special place in my heart for police officers

and that has only been amplified by being married to one.

my respect for them is large.

there is a harsh line when it comes to police officers.

their job protects our people but also scares our people.

there is both love and hatred for them.

it's mostly the hatred,

that i have seen and heard first hand,

that scares me the most.

----------------------------------------------------

my other new status quo is where i live.

i now live in 2 different states,

in 2 different cities,

in 2 different houses,

with 2 (well 3) different people.

my main confusion lies in where i call home.

when i say "i'm going home" where does that imply?

where my husband is, is my home.

where i grew up, where my mom is, is my home.

i live part time in both places.

does this mean i will never feel settled?

never feel at home?

in place?

like i fit?

only time will tell

but i brought this on myself.

i knew a move was coming

and i choose to stay in the cities part time

for my softball, for my crossfit, for my work.

i have to find my happy in this.

i will make it work

because i know that i am lucky.

i can see all the great things that i get out of this.

but i miss the cities already.

and i will miss my husband once i go back.

reassessing is always an option.

we are lucky enough to have options.

to play it out as it will

and change things if need be.

so, as a wise woman once told me, "so be it!" :]



things around here

some randoms for you:

i went to a softball buddy's birthday

and i made fruity pebble bars. so yummy! 

 st patricks day came upon us.

the day before, at work, we had green bagels :)

they were REALLY green

from bruegers

 then, on st patty's day i went to beaver days in the little town of willard again with my trina!! it was lots of fun and it was beautiful out. actually, it was hot! 70+ degrees on march 17th? should not happen in minnesota. we dressed our selves up like crazies, drank quite a bit, played on playgrounds, danced the night away and had a blast! as usual.

 with our teacher friends :)

and here's the video trina made of our day light time of beaver days :)

i have a couple of cameos and even got to try my hand at camera woman :]

i love good times and friends that like to dress up crazy as much as i do! 

life :: a move :: al's job

well, there is new news for us oleson's.

although, it's not really new news for us.

here's the storyline:

may 2010: al applies for a cop job in wausau (at the same place where his dad works) and we prepare ourselves for a possible move to wausau as networking and knowing someone is usually the only key to getting a job these days.

may 2010-june-ish 2010: al does the testing and first interview for the wausau job. after which we learn he is #20 on their eligibility list.... for the 2 jobs that are open. ok, we un-prepare ourselves for a job/move to wausau. we put wausau out of our minds and al continues to apply for cop jobs in wisconsin.

--------- jump ahead a ways---------

november 2011: al receives an email from wausau job asking if he is still interested in a job with them. um, what? after a tiny bit of thinking and realizing that it had been almost 2 years that al had been applying for jobs with no results, we decided, yes, we were still interested in the job/move to wausau. we'd be stupid not to take it.

december 2011: a month goes by and we don't hear much from the wausau job. so we sit and we wait (and i stress out about moving to wausau...)

january 2012: we still don't hear much from wausau but get insider info from al's dad that there are 3 + positions open and they are on #19 (al is #20) so we are likely to get a job offer. also, al's dad puts in a good word and al actually knows one of the interviewers thus "he'd have to give the worst possible interview to not get the job offer." we also learn that hr at wausau is short staffed and thus slow. al interviews. we re-prepare ourselves for a move to wausau. meanwhile, al continues to apply for jobs including a chippewa (eau claire area) job which he does the testing and first interview for.

february 2012: al gets a job offer from wausau. it is contingent on him passing physical and psychological testing. he accepts and has to fill out and pass a back ground check. then we wait a while for the remaining testing to be scheduled. al does the next round of testing/interviews for chippewa and they say to expect 6-8 weeks before hearing from them (we know at this point al is in the top 8 for 2 positions for chippewa). 6-8 weeks is a long time, sure would be nice if we could hear from them earlier as we'd rather have chippewa since it's closer to minnesota, my family and our friends.

march 2012: al's testing for wausau is scheduled. he goes to one by himself. then chippewa contacts al (we later learn they knew that wausau offered him the job and so sped up the process for al) and asks to do a background check. we then both go to al's second day of testing in wausau together to look for places to live. later a leiutenant from chippewa stops by our house to explain things to us including their areas & scheduling. the next day (a friday) in the morning, al gets a job offer from chippewa. that same afternoon, wausau calls to give al a start date, and he has to tell them he's going to take the chippewa job instead.

end of march 2012: al has testing for chippewa 2 days. we go together for the second one to find a place to live. we wait and wait for an official start date (which means he for sure has the job). we finally get a start date (first week of april!) and we can get things set in stone.

so, after 5 months of stressing and worrying and wondering what was going to happen for us, we are moving to eau claire. again. :)

now i'm just worrying/stressing about al's new job as a cop, his new schedule (will likely not be nights for the first year!! yay!!), where we're going to live, if we're ever going to see each other, if we'll have enough money to cover all our costs & pay off loans, etc...

one nice thing i learned right in the middle of all that stressing was that my job will allow me to stay on part time until july!!! i asked to go part time when i originally told them we'd be moving but was denied. then, after some further thought and my needing a date for something, i asked again how long they thought they could keep me on to help train the new person and maybe cover for one or two maternity leaves. and they told me i could stay on part time until july! it was such a huge, needed relief! i plan on living up here in the cities monday-wednesdays and down with al the rest of the time so that i can play my softball and do my crossfit still. this schedule obviously will not work forever, but will hopefully work through this year's softball season (until october) and next year we can re-assess.

this is going to be a huge transition for both of us, but i'm confident it will be good! and hopefully will be the large stepping stone we needed to truly start our "adult" life! i'm so proud of al for sticking with his dreams and continuing to go for and apply for jobs even after 2 years of nothing!!

i'm ready for us to be moved (and unpacked). al to have a couple of weeks of work under his belt. us to have our schedule figured out. and me to see how my up-in-the-cities busy schedule is going to go. here's what it's looking like as of now:

sunday: drive up to the cities in the afternoon. play softball at night.

monday: crossfit in the am, work 8-430, softball at night

tuesday: crossfit in the am, work 8-430, softball at night

wednesday: crossfit in the am, work 8-430, softball at night

thursday: crossfit in the am, drive back to ec, volleyball at night.

friday & saturday: hang out with al, relax, sleep :)

it's going to be a crazy ride!

my food story

food.

my want and need.

also, my enemy.

i often say i'm a food-a-holic.

and i worry that it's true.

but when i take a look at where i've been

and how far i've come in regards to my food choices

i'm astounded.

and also shocked and appalled that i didn't make any changes earlier.

case in point:

i used to eat fast food a lot.

as a kid, getting fast food was a "treat" for us.

which made me crave and want it more.

as a teen and once i could drive, my fast food intake increased.

then as a twenty-something, i would go in spurts:

i would go months where i ate it almost daily

then i'd get sick of it, and go months without it.

over and over. and over.

now after changing my eating habits to trying to eat clean,

i haven't eaten fast food (other than their chicken & occasional arby's roast beef)

in years. YEARS!

and i'm ten times happier and my body is too!

and now i shutter as i walk by my pregnant co-worker's cube every morning.

she either eats mcdonalds or a donut for breakfast.

that poor baby, it's going to start off it's life without knowing what real food,

real energy, real feeling good is.

i wish i could tell her/talk to her about it without offending her.

but i'm not good with my words, especially in speech.

i have a finicky stomach.

i come from a long line of finicky stomachs.

i used to get stomach-aches ALL. THE. TIME.

and they were BAD!

almost every time after i ate, i'd have a stomach ache.

ask my husband :) when we first met, we'd have to derail plans

or he'd have to deal with my whining after just about every meal.

i don't know how i put up with it.

well i kinda do: i didn't know any better.

i just thought that was how life was going to be for me and my stomach.

then one day something clicked & i thought "there is no way everyone lives like this. i HAVE to change something."

enter: crossfit, isagenix and paleo/malia.

gina introduced me to isagenix.

it's a cleanse/game way of eating which uses meal replacement shakes and cleanse juice with a focus on not snacking and eating only when you're supposed to eat. it also requires you to drink LOTS of water, exercise and get plenty of sleep. it also requires you to work on yourself and your other life habits by making you choose a good transformation and a bad transformation each game you play. (changing one bad habit and creating one good, new habit). the first time i did isagenix i was hooked! i lost 11 pounds in the 11 day game and felt fantastic! however, i was started to go to crossfit more and i had little to no energy for the workouts. and i would get dizzy doing 1 hour of zumba. i definitely didn't like that feeling. so the next couple of games i played i tried to throw in a couple of extra little meals/snacks and haven't really gotten a handle on the isagenix game since then. this was a year ago.

then, after getting engaged, starting a full time job and finding some crossfit buddies who were as committed to it as i was, i began going to crossfit even more. like 5 times a week. i loved it! but i needed more energy and needed to fuel my body for the intense workouts. and recoveries (being sore for 4 days after a workout while trying to do more workouts just wasn't cutting it). so i kind of gave up on isagenix (i have come back to it since a bit but have more research to do on their new game cards/eating regimines).

so i started looking into heathly and clean eating on the internet and started discussing it with al. he then proceeded to send me (and still does, bless his heart) articles of people's transformations from bodybuilder.com. they were helpful but still didn't make me change. i also started discussing eating and nutrition more with malia, in particular paleo (the caveman diet as it's called and the way a lot of crossfitters eat). i learned a lot and got a lot of great tips and tricks to put into action. but i still didn't feel right.

then malia created a wonderful paleo challenge for our gym. we were to log what we were eating on a blog and she and luke would review it. this was just the jump i needed to really try out paleo. and it worked! well sort of. i felt great and my body felt great except i still didn't have much energy like i had heard that people did while eating paleo. so i read some more on it (and in particular, iceland annie's take on paleo (she's my favorite!)) and she eats paleo-like but with some whole grains/wheat thrown in and it works for her. so i did just that. i started to throw in grains as my carbs (the carb part was what i struggled with with paleo/zone). i began eating a lot like the people in the body builder articles al sent me (huh, guess it all kind of comes down to the same thing; eating clean).

and i feel great! when i eat the right/clean way. :) i have energy. i sleep well. i don't need caffiene to keep me awake. i'm addicted to cold water (a very good thing!). as gross as it is, i poop well. i can see/feel muscles growing in places i hadn't before. i don't have stomach-aches any more and on the off chance i do have one it's no where near as severe as they used to be.

now, i'm no where perfect with my eating habits.

and my body tells that story pretty well.

but my eating habits have changed a lot.

and i feel great!

especially on the inside!

i still emotional eat like it's no body's business.

especially when i'm stressed (which has been the last couple of months for us).

i still have many times that i regret what i ate or how much i ate.

i still can't pass up a treat at work especially when it's free.

i still crave chocolate and sweets from time to time.

i still get a hankerin' for potato chips (really just something crunchy).

i still want fast food every once in a while.

but everytime after i eat those, i feel not as great and i try to take that as a lesson learned.

and, i still drink diet pop. particularily diet coke.

that will be my next feat to re-conquer once life is a little less stressful.

i have developed some good habits too tho:

i love and crave cold water like no other. if i am thirsty and can't have cold water, look out because a panic stricken vanessa is about to go crazy. :)

my body will crave veggies if i don't eat them for a while and i'm ok with that because i LOVE veggies (course, i always have).

i can recognize when my body doesn't feel well and why.

i haven't had a cold or gotten sick (other than allergy stuff) in over a year!

i'm saving money by not eating out as often.

someday soon i hope to have before and after pictures to share here.

but for now, i'm happy with the way i feel

and i know what i need to do to progress further.

i just need to implement those.

but i have the determination and drive to do it so i know i'll get there!