THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - August Edition
This blog entry has A LOT of ground to cover!!!
I'm very sorry if this blog breaks your phone and/or computer.
It's gonna be picture-heavy and it's gonna be NEWS-heavy!
First I need to backtrack a bit, back to the wedding since I now have all of the professional photography. You've probably seen it all by now, but if not...
Here are all of the photo albums that there are to see!:
Our Wedding Weekend - Pictures from my camera from the weekend in Jasper.
The Making of Our Wedding - All of the behind-the-scenes stuff that was going on to make the wedding happen.
At our wedding reception we also showed some videos on the screens about our lives. You can see those here!: Erika's Life, Tim's Life and Our Life Together.
And now just a bit of a re-cap of some of my favourite shots from the most magical day of my life...
Last but not least, this photo, which I love SO MUCH:
This photo is of all of you. Well, 15 of you. I could never thank you all enough for being there, or describe what it meant to have you there by my side. You've all helped to create who I am, and having you all together, from all the different parts and places of my life was so incredible. It didn't matter if you were from Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta or BC - you were there when I needed you the most. I love you all with every part of my heart. We are forever friends.
Alright! We can now put the wedding to rest!
Onto the honeymoon! Again, I have put up all of the photo albums from our vacation, so those will tell the best version of the story.
We got home from Jasper and then left on our honeymoon the very next day. First we flew to LA and then onward to French Polynesia. Our first island that we stayed on was Moorea for three nights. It had a gorgeous beach and was an excellent kick-off to our trip!
After that, our next island was Bora Bora for four nights, which was our favourite island overall. It was such a paradise there! Everything that you have heard about this place is true. I could have stayed forever.
Our last island, and our second favourite, was Taha'a for four nights. We were on a private island and it was super secluded.
We then flew back to LA, and since we were there anyway, we decided to spend a day and a night there. We had such a fun LA day in our convertible!
The whole honeymoon was a dream come true. It was everything that I could have possibly wanted it to be. We relaxed, we had adventure, and most of all, we were all alone together and in love and married. It was so amazing to leave all of the wedding stresses behind and to just celebrate being together. It was also just incredible to be away for so LONG. It was starting to feel like I didn't remember what it was like to have a job! (We were away for a total of 20 days.) It was all amazing.
Tim also made this really great video of Our Honeymoon.
After returning home it was really nice (and strange) to get back into a normal routine again. It was amazing to no longer have to work on a wedding! We had kinda forgotten that there was still an entire rest of the summer ahead of us.
I got myself a new identity...
2013 weddings!...
We went to see the Body World's exhibit...
I went to Taste of Edmonton FOUR times (it's one of my faves)...
We called our new club "Team Wives" to order...
We went to a music festival called Interstellar Rodeo twice to see Alabama Shakes and M. Ward..
We even went to K-Days, which I don't even love that much (it was mostly to eat deep fried foods)...
And THAT was July!!!
For August we have a few plans on the go. We've decided that for Heritage Day long weekend (this weekend) we are going to go to Drumheller, Alberta. Neither Tim or I have ever been, and we've both always wanted to go. It's famous for dinosaurs and hoodoos there. So we found a cute B&B to stay at and we're gonna check it out!
We have Nick and Lindsey's wedding in Edmonton. Nick is Tim's old roommate, who he was living with when we first met. (This is the reason why we won't be at Wes and Tara's wedding in Regina - both weddings are happening on the same day. I HATE to miss a wedding.) :(
Then it's the Fringe Festival, another of my very favourite festivals that happens in the summer.
Lastly, at the end of the month over Labour Day long weekend, we are off to London, Ontario for Angela and Greg's wedding! Angela is my sister-in-law, which means that I'll be getting another new brother-in-law! They literally got engaged ONE WEEK after we did.
Alright, phew!
So there's one other major thing. Some of you have caught wind of something going on with me, and some of you have already heard the news:
TIM AND I ARE MOVING TO MONTREAL, QUEBEC.
These plans have been in the works since about May, but I definitely was not able to think about any of it until after the wedding was over.
This past Friday Tim came home with a bottle of Dom Pérignon (two bottles in one month?!) and let me know that he had signed all of the contracts and that everything was official.
So THAT'S hugely life-changing.
Where to begin in explaining...
BioWare has an office in Montreal. They were looking for a Lead Animator to lead the next iteration of Mass Effect, which is going to be made at the Montreal studio. As soon as Tim mentioned interest in the position they basically took down the job posting immediately.
This is a big promotion and a big raise for Tim, and therefore really important towards our future. He starts the job on January 13th, so we will be moving after Christmas. (Which is a huge relief to me, because that would have been a giant thing to have to deal with all of a sudden.)
This isn't a secret, but it CAN'T go on Facebook until after I've told my work about it. I don't plan on telling them until around October. So because of this, most people just won't hear about it until way later.
BioWare is going to be flying Tim and I out there in October/November (and putting us in a hotel) to look for a place to live. We intend to buy a house right off the bat. (Buying our first house!!)
Then in January BioWare will also be paying for EVERYTHING to move us there. Movers will be coming to pack all of our things, move them, and unpack them. They're shipping both of our cars. They're paying for any hotels/meals that we may need. They're paying for all of our flights AND our pets' flights. Literally everything. We don't have to do anything. If our house isn't ready in time (for whatever reason) they'll be putting us up in a corporate apartment until we can move in.
Because he’s staying with the company, Tim gets to keep his sabbatical, which was another really important thing to us. (After 7 years with the company, which will be in 2015, he gets 7 paid weeks off in a row. So we’re planning a giant 7-week/7-country vacation.)
As for me, I am quite upset about leaving my job. I am very aware that there is nowhere else like it, even at other radio stations. My job has afforded us a lot of the lifestyle that we enjoy very much. But it's a loss that I'm willing to take for the sake of our future. All in all, I would have quit my job once we started having children anyway, so inevitably, it would have happened eventually anyway. (Even though THAT part of the plan is still roughly two years away. After the sabbatical.)
The last thing that I want to do in Montreal is take some crappy job just for the sake of having work, and Tim has been very forthcoming with the fact that I won't have to hurry into finding a job. Only if it's something that I actually want to do.
I may look into radio. I may look into wedding planning (although right now that thought makes me shudder). But ideally I would like to take some time to focus on the things that are important to me... Such as getting involved with their wildlife rehabilitation there, getting more involved in my yoga practice, attending more circus school (there's LOTS of that out there), and most of all, getting way more into food writing. I want to start my own food blog and really focus on making it into something. Montreal may very well be the greatest food city in Canada, so I can't think of a better place to do it in. The nice thing is that we won't be bound by my vacation days anymore (which are way fewer than Tim's) and we'll be able to take more/longer trips throughout the year including plenty of visits to everyone! And ALL OF YOU are more than welcome to visit any time!!!
Montreal has such amazing culture, they have mountains (even closer) for snowboarding, and I do speak French already. My parents are both from Montreal, so I've already spent a lot of time there while growing up. Tim is really looking forward to being closer to his family in Ontario. There are a lot of amazing things to look forward to!
But I also have VERY mixed emotions about the whole thing. I love Edmonton dearly and I love our life and lifestyle here. And I love my job and I LOVE my friends. It hurts my heart so much to think of leaving the things that I love so incredibly much.
I do love new adventures and life changes though, and I am no stranger to big moves. And I will be SO much closer to my Toronto friends once again!
So that's my news!!!!! I hope that I'm not forgetting any parts of it. Obviously I will continue to keep you all updated as things progress. But again, please don't post about it on Facebook (publicly).
THIS MONTH'S SHOUT OUTS!:
August 3rd is Zena Domanski's 62nd birthday!
We may have driven each other crazy over my wedding, but I certainly could not have done it without you by my side. You're the most incredible mother that I could possibly have, and you've taught me everything that I need to know. I would be nowhere without you. I love you so much!
August 5th is Krystie Coutu's 1st wedding anniversary!
One year in the bag already and you're expecting the next little Coutu! It was the most beautiful wedding day in Abbotsford (and HOT too!) and I loved being there so much. It was quite honestly the FUNNEST wedding ever! August 8th is Lacey Suttie's 4th wedding anniversary!
Time has flown! You guys actually got married on the hottest day ever in Calgary! Ha ha! It was SUCH a beautiful wedding that I loved being a part of! I admire so much about you and want to be the exact kind of wife that you are!
August 9th is Robin Sanders' 6th wedding anniversary!
SIX years already!! I'm so happy for you guys and the wonderful life and family that you have built!
August 11th is Crystal Maffenbeier's 6th wedding anniversary!
Also SIX years!! I remember your wedding day so clearly in Kenosee and it was such a beautiful outdoor ceremony. You also have the most beautiful family and I'm so happy for everything that you guys have in your lives!
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