THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - April Edition
Updated: Jun 18, 2021
March was actually a pretty quiet month for the most part. It picked up toward the end but there were several uneventful weeks and weekends, which was actually pretty nice.
The weather has been very beautiful (a true spring) and we mostly did stuff like this...
Lots of seaside fun as per usual! Enjoying our Vancouver life to the fullest!
As you know, I went to my first casting audition. (It’s great being able to write status updates that only you guys can see! It lets me share interesting things right away instead of holding it all back until blog time!) I did not get the part (no surprise there!!) but it was great to learn what an audition is all about. I will be a lot more confident and prepared in the future. The entire thing took a total of 5 minutes, so it’s such an easy thing for me to just pop in and do whenever.
In case you missed it... On March 20th...
IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!
I'm an AUNT (again)!
I have a NIECE!
My fourth niece or nephew!
Her name is Evelyn Rose van Riesen and she was born at 8:09am!
Baby and Emily are doing great and I can’t wait to meet our newest family member in July!
Then I went back to Edmonton, this time all by myself.
We had one more Hedley concert to attend, which was weird and sad. We didn’t originally have tickets to the meet & greet but I messaged Tom (the bass player) and he put us on the list. (I’ve always had a pretty good rapport with Tom.) It was strange to see them again after all of the shit that had gone down. The four of us told them that the only reason why we met and became best friends was because of them. I hugged Jacob and asked him to please come back and he promised that he would. It was nice to have the opportunity to say these things to them.
The concert was both happy and sad. We cried a lot. They promised over and over that they would be back, which was nice to hear. (This was the second last show of the tour, leading into their “indefinite” hiatus.) Jake gave us a shoutout from the stage (video on Instagram). It was all a really nice ode to what these past 14 years have been.
After the concert we met up with Tom (the bass player) and Jay (the drummer) at a bar. This turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened. We ended up having a REAL conversation with Tom for at least half an hour. This very well may have been the realest talk that I have ever had with any of them in 14 years. He was very open and honest about everything. We talked about the allegations and about everything that has been happening. He said that being dropped by their management was the only thing that really blindsided them. Otherwise, he seemed very optimistic. We felt so much better about everything after speaking with him! It was as if a weight had been lifted. He gave each of us a big hug and told us that he loved us. It was exactly what we needed after these past terrible weeks.
The rest of my time in Edmonton was filled with great hangs with my bests. No other way that I would rather spend my time!
But also this...
This tattoo is very special and means so, so much. It commemorates our 11 years of inseparable friendship in the most perfect way. We had started talking about getting some sort of “Core Four” tattoo a while ago, but we weren’t sure of how to do it. Then we started talking about how we wanted to incorporate some sort of Hedley imagery, without making it an overt Hedley tattoo. Again, we weren’t sure of how to do that.
Then the idea suddenly made sense.
We asked Jacob to write the tattoo for us at the meet & greet. He loved the idea and loved the fact that he was the catalyst of our friendship. Regardless of anything that he may or may not have done, it has NOTHING to do with our experience. Our positive and remarkable experience and friendship is an entirely separate thing. This tattoo celebrates our friendship, our gratitude toward the way that we met, and our life-changing experiences over these past 14 years in the most amazing way.
After returning back home we had one day before my brother arrived in Vancouver! He had never really been to Vancouver before and had only driven through once. So we spent a bunch of days showing him all of the best things that VanCity has to offer. (Most of which involved lots and lots of eating.) I think that he really liked it. He might even consider moving here. If he actually did move here I think that my parents would move here as well. So that could potentially be pretty exciting!
My brother’s visit also kicks off a long lineup of many, many visitors coming to see us this spring! It’s very exciting. It’s like a parade of awesome friends visiting one after the other for weeks on end. We can’t wait. Our guest room is warmed up and waiting for you all to show up!
I have been greatly enjoying all of the beautiful sakura these past few weeks! It’s like living in a Japanese dreamland paradise!
My period decided to turn itself back on, which was good. But now it’s several days late which caused me to worry that I had accidentally gotten pregnant. (‘Cause that’s what happens when you have sex during your fertility window without using any protection, duh.) But I took a pregnancy test and it came back negative. (Thank goodness!!) So I’m assuming that my body is just all rusty at menstruating and that everything is all over the place.
Life with Archie:
He’s great! I feel like he gets smarter every day. He understands things so well and understands what we say to him. He loves copying what we do and is figuring out how to use a spoon/fork. He’s still not walking but I catch him standing on his own once in a while now. He went through a bit of a growth spurt and gained a bunch of weight. AND he is now fully weaned!!! I AM SO HAPPY!!! I have reclaimed my body!!! While I was away in Edmonton, Tim was giving him bottles of cow’s milk the entire time and he was happily enjoying them. So when I returned, we figured that it was unnecessary for me to continue nursing him. He seems to be totally fine with it! I was always pretty indifferent about breastfeeding. I wanted to be able to do it for at least a year and so that’s what I did. The beginning of breastfeeding was AWFUL. The rest was fine and some moments were nice, but overall, I never really got all that attached to it or enjoyed it very much. I’m a lot happier being finished! (Except that now I need to get totally remeasured for my bra size, because my breasts are not the same size as before. I think they’re smaller.)
It is glorious springtime April now!
Easter weekend has been really nice.
This coming weekend Rachelle is here for a business trip but will also be spending some hangs with me, of course.
Then the following week Sarah is here for a business trip but is spending a bunch of extra time with me AND Nadine (and Destiny) are also going to be coming for part of this time! I have so many things to show them!
Then the following week Anita (Tim’s friend) is here for a business trip but will also be spending some time with us.
And that’s our month of April.
FRIENDS!!! :D
THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:
April 2nd is Jaelyn Leonard’s 36th birthday!
I hope that the whole fam spoiled you a bunch and that you were able to feel truly special! You’re a beautiful soul and you do so much for everyone in your life. Take a moment to relax and to celebrate YOU! Love you!
April 7th is Melanie Watson’s 37th birthday!
This is such an exciting year for you!!! This is your birthday as someone’s fiancée! Your last unmarried birthday! I am clearly super excited about this and cannot wait to celebrate with you in October. Love you and can’t wait to see you!
April 10th is Amy Bull’s 33rd birthday!
(Excellent photo taken by your son.) I love that I have gotten to see you so much recently and am so glad that there is even more to come!! You are such an important person in my life and I am just so beyond grateful for everything that you are. You make me a better person and I love you so much. I hope that you get to have a really special birthday! (And I hope that it involves several beers!)
April 18th is Colen Quinn’s 36th birthday!
As always, siamese brain children for life. I miss you way too much and am counting down the days until I’ll see you! (Which is thankfully not too far away!) My life would be nothing without you. You’re my OG crew. I know that you will pop a bottle for your birthday, which is all that I need to know. LOVE YOU!!!
April 18th is Nadine Ottenbreit’s 36th birthday!
Our friendship has grown in such an incredible way and I could not be more grateful for that. You have taught me so much over our years as friends and I have always held you so close to my heart. And this year I get to spend some of your birthday WITH YOU!!! Love you tons and can’t wait to see you super soon!!
April 18th is Lacey Suttie’s 38th birthday!
If this is the last time that I saw you (it is) then it has been way too long. Thank goodness that we have not one but TWO hangouts planned in the near future! You inspire me so much every day and I strive to be more like you all the time. I know that you will do your birthday up right! I have so much love for you!
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