This isn’t your normal I hate Monday rant. This is the I love Monday’s rant. Today was an almost perfect day. If Shane was here right now on the couch, it would have been a perfect day. Without him being here I still rank it a 95% absolutely perfect day.
Here’s how it breaks down:
+5 on the perfect day points—I got to Sleep in! Very important if you want your perfect day to go off without a hitch.
+ 15 I got training at 24 hour fitness. I did so many push ups I lost count. and I was uber sweaty and stinky and it felt great. (working out is +10 points, and since I also get to hang out with Andrew for an hour thats another +5 points.)
+5 points for Cameron working on his motorcycle in the driveway in the sun, and actually putting it all together and making it work! hooray! Now at least he’s got one working vehicle. And awesome for me getting to help his weld the wires together. its fun to watch metal melt. 
-5 points for the horrible traffic in the I-5 today, which prevented me once again from getting my camera at Interax In Down town SD. Tomorrow?
+50 points for the awesome horsee ride today. It was so nice out! The horses were great, the sky was totally clear, and mike and I had a great time. +30 points for doing my favorite activity, +15 points for Mikes first time ever on a horse, and he did awesome, and had tons of fun. +5 for the weather, for Elfin Forest, and for the Beauty of Nature. +for my horse and his Zebra boots and pink toes ( bell boots), and pink nose (sunburn)
+15 points for going Surfing with Cameron and Mike, and actually paddling all the way out! +5 for me paddling, +5 for cam pushing my board, and +5 for riding a wave all the way in!! Awesome!!
+5 for relaxing now at home, having finished up some work for the company, feeling great about the company and about life.
+5 for Words with Friends with my husband. Like i said before, if he was here, it would have been 100% perfect day. But ill take a 95% perfect day anytime!
“Thank you very much dear Lord the the amazing day that I had. I am so thankful for the blessings I have received, please help me to have many more wonderful days in your glorious creation. Please help Shane to have a good day as well, and to come home safely. Thank you Lord, Amen.”
I have been so dang busy I have not had a chance to sit down and type for a week! I really want to get back on track with my pic of the day, and bloging/ journaling every day.
Here’s what you missed in the life of Erika:
shanes 30th bday- we had a great day with massages, opening presents, and olive garden
Vegas- Shane, Nels, Mike and I went to Vegas for Shanes Bday/Nels’ Bday/ SWS is awesome party. We had fun, played games, went to Ron white’s show, and met up with Andrew for a bit. We had a Sweet Suite at trump tower overlooking the entire strip, and it was pretty awesome. I go spoiled with a massage, facial, and pedi at the world famous trump Spa. So wonderful! while I was getting [ampered and relaxing the boys were celebrating Nels’ bday, and they sort of lost him on the bus from Fremont. (Luckily we found him in the room a few hours later).
After the long drive home we settled into work mode.
Work- I am learning about Tax deductions, and other sweet laws and loopholes that us normal people dont usually here about. It is really crazy how many types and kinds of write offs there are. Never just hand over your hard earned money! Do some research, it will save you a fortune!
Surfing- Shane and Cameron finally got to take their new custom boards out on the water. I took Cameron’s Predator board out, along with my new wetsuit. It was warm, the waves were big, and the riptide was strong. I cant actually claim legit surfing, but I did have fun, and my board did catch some waves with me hanging on for dear life to try to stand up. I do want to get out there again, and practice paddleing out. i just dont have the upper arms yet.
Working out- Shane and I both were disappointed in ourselves because we took two weeks off from working out, and really overdid it on pizza, drinks, pastas, and you know, all the yummy food that adds fat. So we have trained with Andrew every day the past 4 days, and today we were going to go as well, but both of us are just so physically sore from the major butt kicking that we needed a day to recover!
Andrew- so our poor little “Puffin” has been sleeping on our loveseat the past few days, (Mike has the couch) because of relationship issues. I dont know her at all, but Andrew is a very nice guy, and my personal opinion (which I already told you Puffin!) is that is pretty messed up that she is Ok with you sleeping on someones couch. I just hope everything works out for the best for our friend! No matter what happens, break ups are never easy, and I wish him the best.
Fun- with me and 5 boys in the house, you have to get creative on how to keep everyone happy and entertained, so we have had quite a bit of fun. we saw the midnight show of Xmen last night, we said Hi to billy at the Bees and had drinks. We starting “planking” everything in sight, and have tons of photos to show! shane bought the Xbox kinect, and hopefully we can play that tonight. every night someone cooks up a huge meal, and we all eat family style cross legged on our living room floor. MMMmmmM Spagetti and fried rice and turkey meatballs! we need tacos next!
Future- Shanes gone next week, so I will spend alot of time at the barn with Nate. Probably alot of time at the gym as well. we are now booked to go to Orlando the 14th of june for our M5 (how to make 5 million in 5 years) and I am really excited, this isnt a get rich quick thing, its kinds of like a very specific college class that you learn a whole years worth of material in 5 days. will we retain it all, no, but we already have relationships with the Smith family who is hosting it, and they are so happy to help in any way possible.
after the M5 we are headed to Chelsea’s grad in airdrie! It will be fun to see Canada in the summer! and i cant wait to spend more time with the Hunter side of the family, and hang out with Chelsea!
Right Now- I am waiting for UPS to deliver nates new Zebra Print SMB boots, his pink bell boots, blue checkered Fly sheet, and blue fly leg wraps. then I can go up and ride.
I will post a pic of nate as a Zebra later
and ill make more time to keep up the Pic of the day!
♥ erika
Welcome to Paradise Mikey!!
I am so excited to introduce the newest member of the System Wide Solutions Team, Mike Voiles! I am so happy that Mike took a chance and moved down here from cold, gross Washington, to work for US! Wow! I cant even believe it!
Just 6 months ago I was freaking out and wondering if SWS could even support Shane and I, and now we are supporting 4 people easily, and planning on growing even more in the future!
Talk about awesome blessing being bestowed upon us!
really, truly, the force behind us is the one and only GOD. We did exactly what he said, and gave away all our fears and pains and pressures of daily life, started giving back, (as much as we can) to whomever needed our help. Once we did that, the checks started rolling in, and we had even more to give back.
if all you think about it how bad/crappy/miserable your life is, and how you have no money, you will have a crappy miserable life with no money.
Shane and I changed our mindset to say we are going to have LOTS of money, so we can help out LOTS of people who need help. and in the last month, we have donated over $5000. and we seriously dont need, or care or need that money, we just wanted to help someone in need out, and we had the ability to do so.
It is an amazing feeling when you can treat your friends to a kind gift, or buy birthday presents for your spouse, or go on a last minute adventure, and really not even care what the cost is.
I will NEVER forget where I came from, and I will never forget the importance of the impact a single dollar can make in someones day.
and I will Never forget to get on my knees and thank God for the blessings in my life.
Seriously. you want your life to change? Make a change. give back.
Be thankful and humble.
Today I am thankful for:
Mike making it safely down here
Freds in old town
the Sunshine coming thru the window
Cameron far taking care of the dogs, (And being an AWESOME friend)
the Xtrerra, for still being a great car
nate, for being the greatest horse on planet earth
Nels, for moving here and being the first employee to be harassed by shane 
Shane, for being my everything, and loving me so dearly, and giving me more than I could have ever dreamed
Jesus, for giving up your life for me, and for loving me no matter what, and giving us the opportunity to help others in need.
shane, I love you so much!!
I hope you had a wonderful Birthday! Thank you friends for coming out and having a wonderful dinner with us!
I feel Blessed to have so many great friends on our life, and thank you for making Shanes day so special!
Billy got him the crown…
and shane, this is for you! I can never say how much I love you, but I always think of the line in this song that says, “how do I love you, Ill count the ways, there aint a number high enough to end this phrase…” THATS how much I love you! Happy Birthday!
Garth Brooks, “wrapped up in you”
How do I love you?
Well let me see
I love you like a lyric loves a melody
Baby, completely
Wrapped up in you
How do I need you
Well can’t you tell
I need you like a penny
Needs a wishing well
Baby, completely
Wrapped up in you
Every now and then
When the world
That were living in is crazy
You gladly hold me and carry me through
No one in the world’s ever done
What you did for me
And I’d be sad and lonely
If there were no you
How do I love you
Well count the ways
There ain’t no number high enough
To end this phrase
Baby, completely
Wrapped up in you
(Bye, rhythmically singing to the beat of the music)
Every now and then
When the world
That were living in is crazy
You gladly hold me and carry me through
No one in the world has ever done
What you did for me
And I’d be sad and lonely
If there were no you
How do I love you
Well don’t you know
I love you bout as deep
As any love can grow
Baby, completely
Wrapped up in you
Baby, completely
Wrapped up in you
Shane surprised me before he came home from illinois with tickets to the PBR in Pala! I have been to a couple Rodeos in my day, and even one or two Professional Bull Riding competitions before, but this one was awesome!
I LOVED being able to sit in outdoor bleachers and cheer on the cowboys!
this picture is just awesome! I cant take credit for it, Shane is the one who snapped it with his Iphone. But it shows just how dang high those bulls jump in the air, and how far those cowboys fly! this guys feet are easily 6ft off the ground! and his torso is above the buckin shoots!
Only a few cowboys managed to hang on until the final round, and no one got hurt. For a bull riding event it was kind of mellow. But I had a great time in the sunshine with my Sunshine! What a fun surprise!
and any excuse to wear cowboy boots, and my belt buckle, and my hat is a great day for me! I love to let the inner hick out every now and again. =) and where else can you scream “YEEE HAWW” as loud as you want and no one looks at you funny?
i had a great time. thanks Shaney for the fun day!!
(well, i never did figure out how to put the dang video up here, but it is on my facebook page, so you can all enjoy it when you are done reading this … I got kind behind on uploading my Pic of the Days so here are a few today….
May 21,11….
last night (Fri the 20th), Nels, Cam, Shane and I all had great time laughing and playing the Wii Mario Bros. i think we all did horrible at actually accomplishing anything at mario, but still we had fun.
And we wanted a repeat. We’ll start with that =
=========
today,
Shane, Cam and I spent the whole day gutting out and cleaning the entire house, we took out all the furniture and put it in the driveway, Cameron shampoo’d the carpets, Shane deep cleaned/ organized and gave away hundreds of books, and I emptied the bathroom cabinets, hall closets and kitchen of all the clutter and nastiness that had accumulated there over the past year. It really took all day to scrub, organized, clean and haul stuff outside, we got rid of so much junk, we decided to have a garage sale in the morning. the house does feel much better having been gutted and cleaned.
The pic is of Maybe and Monroe “helping us” declutter by destroying a pink bear Shane found in our room. I think he won it for me at a fair or something. it was quite entertaining to watch them “get it!” Monroe especially love to shred stuffed animals. He is kinda the creepy one who will rip their eyes out, and pull all the stuffing ‘guts’ out. Maybe loves stuffed animals too, and she always steals Dublins toys, but she carries them around for weeks. she doesnt usually destroy.
==========
When the house was a bit cleaner, the carpets were damp and musty but cleaner, the entire contents of the living room was sitting outside, and we were ready to be done cleaning, We invited Nels and Andrew over to play guitar hero/rock band with us.
And around 9:30 we got the band together and started having fun!
even though we had no furniture in the house, we still had fun, it was kinda awesome only having couch cushions on the floor, it made out tiny living room seem bigger.
after 2 hours of amazing music making, the neighbor next door started yelling at us to be quite. (insert eye roll). ok,ok, it was getting kinda late, but they had had a HUGE party with a live band all night. Just because their party was done, we had to be quiet as a mouse? anyway, I put on my “starbucks” voice and told her how sorry I was, and asked “was there a particular time she thought would be appropriate for us to turn off the game?” she said midnight. that is totally fair. I have no problem with that at all. I told her we would switch to a quieter game at midnight.
the song in the video is our epic finale… Eye of the Tiger. Featuring Andrew on vocals, Nels White on Bass, Cameron on Guitar, and Erika Hunter on drums, with cameraman Shane hunter providing excellent footage.
I hope you enjoy!
I know that a night with friends is what I enjoy the most!
My cute little house is really turning into a beach house, and I freakin love it!!
we now have 4 surfboards, 3 of which reside in the living room!
and there is usually a wetsuit hanging in the bathtub,
and the amount of sand in the carpet is downright nasty.
Here we are. 5 months ago I was at a very unhealthy weight, and state of living. I hardly had any energy, and I would come home exhausted, drained emotionally and physically.
When December 2010 rolled around, I knew it was time for a change.
And I have to say the past 5 months have been the best months of my life.
in May 2010…
We move to Cali! as shane, cameron and I sit and eat pizza in camping chairs in out half-painted living room, we each state a goal for the next year. mine is to be able to do 1 push up.
in December 2010..
Shane quits the Bees, signs our first big client, I quit Starbucks.
We get to spend Christmas with out families, and I really notice how bad I am looking, (around the middle) and how tired I always am. I also realize I eat no veggies at all.
in January 2011…
I sign up for the gym. I talk to a trainer about my goals. I realize I still cant even do 1 push up. I get the biggest @$$ kicking of my life. Start eating healthier, and working out daily.
in March 2011…
I highly enjoy getting my @$$ kicking by Andrew twice a week. I have lost 10 pounds, can do 3 sets of 10 pushups. I have run 2 miles in under 20 minutes. I have bench pressed the bar. I am feeling good.
in May 2011…
I have lost 20 pounds total. I am feeling stronger and leaner everyday. None of my jeans stay up without a belt. I am wearing the belt I got from Autumn in 11th grade (it hasn’t fit for years! todays its on the 2nd hole!) and I feel really good.I am actually sad when I dont go to the gym.
………….my new goals are, do 20 push ups, do 10 pull ups, and flatten my abs by july. I want to feel great about myself on my 27th bday, and look great in a bikini! ……………………..
I did it. it took a lot of hard work. if you want to get healthy you can. Dont make excuses. I did that for a long time.
Im not making excuses anymore. look at what 5 months of eating healthy, and SIMPLE exercise did.
I cant wait to see what 5 more months will do. I guarantee you will be seeing a whole new girl next Christmas.
(this was meant to be yesterdays post)
I really really really really really miss my husband. He is the world to me, and nothing is as good when he is not here. the sky isnt as blue, the flowers arnt as pretty, the waves arnt as majestic, and I just walk around with something missing. a piece of me is gone when he is not here.
the only real escape I feel is when I see this big long face peek around the corner.
Nate doesnt care what is going on in my life, but he knows when I am sad, and he lets me stand there and hug him as tight as I can squeeze. Then he gives me a big head butt to tell me to cowgirl up, and follows me around because he knows I will be sad as soon as I drive away.
i love you Shane! I cant wait to hug you again.
We always joke about Cameron getting wiped out in another motorcycle accident or car accident and just walking away. I mean seriously how many people do you know that have been ran over by an F250 and walk away with just a broken coller bone ?
So when Cameron called today and said he was in a wreck, it didn’t really process it. I mean it has only been one month and 2 weeks since he was stopped at a red light, and some sucker in a truck slammed on the gas and rear ended him, totaling “Tessie.”
(Not only that, but the driver didn’t have insurance, so Cameron has been trying to collect some form of compensation, but it looks as though he’ll have to go to small claims court about it. )
So when I get this call, it doesn’t really seem like a big deal, until he asks me if I can bring some gauze and hydrogen peroxide when I come pick him up. Now my brain starts processing, Wait what? I have to go get him, so that means its bad enough he can’ t ride the bike home. he needs medical supplies, so he’s hurt in some way. and he’s on the freeway, so it had to be at top speed. Now im kinda freakin.
I gather stuff around the house as quick as I can, thinking of my awesome stockpile of first aid stuff up at the barn, miles away. I manage to find a few essentials.
I usually dont freak out until I process things. and I was totally calm until I heard on the radio traffic report that said to avoid the 15 north of Poway rd because a motorcycle is down, and it looks serious, the announcer said. I will admit I got pretty emotional right then. good thing I was all by myself. I was just thinking, we hear things like that on the radio everyday, car accidents, motorcycle crashes, and fatalities, and we feel inconvenienced that traffic is backed up.
I was just so thankful that I knew Cameron was Ok, and that I could be there to help out a friend.
when I finally got to the right freeway, I knew I was close because traffic was a nightmare, and there were black plastic and metal parts strewn all over the lane. Again I was overwhelmed with emotion at the fact that this could have been much much worse, but it wasn’t. Thank You God! I cruised the Xtrerra down the shoulder driving over many other broken mutated bike parts, and past the left mirror to the bike, and see the crinkled blue wreck standing up on the shoulder. And I see Rays truck just ahead.
I park on the side of the freeway, hit the flashers, and run up to the off side of Rays truck, Cameron gets out, and I had to give him a big hug. Seriously. I am so happy he is ok.
He says im getting blood all over you.
I dont care. ive been at the barn all day. still wearing my boots. I could care less about a little blood.
Ray waits for the toe truck, and I take Cameron back to his work to clean up. The ironic thing he is that they got off work early today, and yet he’s back, and Rays on his way.
When Cam starts cleaning the wounds, I get the honor of helping peel and cut the shredded skin off his hands. I admit I love blood and broken bones. it fascinates me.
*saline, hydrogen peroxide, neosporin, non- stick gauze, and tape, my Mom would be so proud.
And he’s all fixed up.
Thank God!
i didnt say I was great at taking pictures. I do have to say I am better at taping a hand up then I am at taking the picture of the taped up hand!
