THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - June Edition
Updated: Jun 18, 2021
Where do I even begin with the state of affairs that has been my life recently?? Things really took a sharp and negative turn for a while there!! This entry is late because I’ve been such a mess that I can hardly even look at a computer screen. Plus I’ve had guests visiting which isn’t really conducive to taking a few hours away to blog.
BUT I’m alive and I’m not letting my recent misfortunes put a damper on my life. The show must go on! My problems can go ahead and wrap themselves up because I’ve got no time for them and I’m carrying on with or without them. I simply refuse to allow myself to spiral out of control and to waste time wallowing in self-pity.
But back to the beginning of May...
Amy was in town for a business trip at the beginning of the month from Edmonton so we had awesome hangs!
Friend hangs in general have been really nice lately! I love spending time with you all, always. ♥
Then we were off on our five-day spring getaway to Sunny Shores, Washington, USA! It was about a 2.5 hour drive away, just north of Seattle. The entire thing was organized by our friend Joy, so we basically just had to show up. There were 7 adults (4 of which were ex co-workers of Tim’s from BioWare in Edmonton) and 4 kids. We all rented a beautiful seaside cottage which was huge. It was literally right on the sea and so secluded that we barely saw any other humans while we were there. We did, however, see whales swimming by our place all the time! Magical!
We had plenty of fun by the sea!
We also all visited a kangaroo farm one day, which was filled with a whole bunch of different animals. The kids loved it!
We celebrated Mother’s Day while there, which was a pretty wonderful place to be. (Mimosas were had, of course!)
The entire thing was a great and relaxing time. Plus we hit up a bunch of USA grocery stores, which is basically my favourite!
Last month I mentioned that I had been hard at work on something that I was planning to launch very soon. By now you know that I was referring to my food blog, which finally exists at long last!!! This has been a goal and a dream of mine for many, many years. I hope that you’ve had a chance to check it out, and of course I will gladly accept any and all feedback!! The main focus of the blog will be to review restaurants in Vancouver, just the same as the restaurant reviews that I have been writing for years. (Except now I won’t be posting them to Facebook anymore.) However, the part of the website that has become an unexpected source of pride for me is the Worldwide Faves section. Finally, one place where I can organize everything that I know!!! I have lived in too many cities to let this information go to waste! I can’t tell you how often (weekly) I get messages from people asking me for restaurant recommendations for cities all across Canada (and beyond). Now I have a place for that. It’s all there. This whole endeavour really fills me with such a sense of accomplishment.
I have also created an Instagram account to compliment the blog, which I quickly realized is a must-do. They really do go hand-in-hand.
Blog: erikaeatseverything.com ~ Instagram: @erika.eats.everything
Subscribe to my blog! Follow me on Instagram! Hype me up if you’re so inclined!
I appreciate all of your support so much. ♥
Aaaaaaand then the shit hit the fan. First I woke up with a kidney stone (terrible!) and then a few days later I woke up with vertigo (even more terrible!). And then of course the icing on the terrible cake was us getting into a serious car accident. I have never been to a hospital so often. :(
On the plus side, we were found completely not at fault for the accident and we were given $20,500 for our written-off car, which seems pretty good. On top of this, they also paid to completely replace Archie’s car seat (which we upgraded to a $500 toddler seat), so that was a purchase that we would’ve had to make anyway and now we got it for free. And on top of THIS, we are still going to be awarded a claim settlement for our “pain and suffering.” All of the doctors that I have seen have said that the accident probably made my vertigo worse, so this is something that I will get extra money for.
Right now the vertigo is manageable. It has gotten much better and is no longer debilitating. I think it’s a combination of the condition improving on its own and also that I have adapted to having it. I still can’t drive a car but at least I can walk around and function fairly normally. I haven’t been able to go to my regular yoga classes. I am continuing to see specialists about it. All of the doctors have concluded that “some people just get it,” and unfortunately I was one of those people. I would love for it to go away and never return.
In the midst of all of this, Rachelle came to visit again from Red Deer!
Thank goodness for her, because in the early days of her visit I was a total mess. I could barely function and she helped us so much, especially with Archie!!
And then Carrie arrived from Sydney, Australia!! On her return home to Canada, she decided to spend a week and a half in Vancouver and it has been very helpful to have her here as well!
We have managed to have some fun, despite the challenging circumstances. I have appreciated both of their assistance in my time of need so very much. ♥
So now I’m mainly just focusing on getting my life back on track. I hope that the vertigo clears up as soon as possible. It seems to be the type of thing that simply needs to run its course.
Life with Archie:
Poor Archie has been such a little champ through all of this!! His well-being was our #1 priority after the accident, of course, and thankfully he seems to be in the best shape out of all of us!
He now has ten teeth with two more on the way, so all of the new teeth have been a bit difficult on him.
He’s so smart and learns new things so quickly and understands so much. I’m always amazed at how easily he picks up new things. Even though he doesn’t know many words (he says “mama,” “dada” and “bubble”) he has gotten so good at communicating in other ways.
Being sick has made me miss him!! But things are slowly returning more and more to normal.
Rachelle has now left but Carrie is still here in Vancouver.
Next week I have a ticket to the Stars concert (possibly with a meet & greet) and I seriously hope that I’m up for that!!
Father’s Day is later in the month and I’m sure that we’ll try to do something cute for that.
At the end of the month we are off on our roadtrip to Jasper!! It’s going to be our five year wedding anniversary so we wanted to go back to where it all happened. I can’t wait! It has been so long! The drive is about 8 hours long but we’re stopping for the night on the way there in Clearwater, which is about halfway. Then we’re spending two nights in Jasper at Pine Bungalows - the same place that we all stayed at for our wedding! Then we’re driving down to Canmore to spend one night there at Lacey’s house! Then we’re driving home, but again stopping for the night in Mara, which is about halfway. I’m so super excited for Rocky Mountain times once again!!
THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:
June 14th is Amy Bull’s 10th wedding anniversary!
How have you and Ray been married FOR A DECADE??? HOW?!? This day feels like a long time ago and also not long ago at all. I really hope that you guys get to do something extra special to celebrate!
June 20th is Laura Young’s 3rd wedding anniversary!
Wishing you and Matt a wonderful day! Get rid of the kids and do something special!
June 24th is Sarah Turnbull’s 36th birthday!
I am so glad that I have gotten to spend some wonderful quality time with you recently. You never cease to amaze me and I am always in your corner. I love the way that we’re always on the same page and seem to share a deeper understanding between us. It’s the sort of thing that only develops over the amount of years that we have shared and the growing that we have done together. I love that I can look at my blue star and know that you’re always with me. I hope that Shane totally spoils you on your day!!!
June 30th is my 5th wedding anniversary!
Last year I said “mark my words, we will be celebrating our 5th anniversary next year right where it all happened - in Jasper!!” and it’s TRUE! I could not be happier about being married to the man that I chose. Especially in difficult times (such as recently) I am always blown away by the way that Tim does everything possible to support his family. I could not imagine a life without him and I would never want to. ♥
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