THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - October Edition

Wow! They changed the whole note/blog format on Facebook! It’s so fancy now! This is nice.

September had some calm followed by a storm, and now that the storm has begun there is no end in sight.

We took a mini day trip road trip over Labour Day weekend to Vermont. It was fun to head down to the USA since it’s so close. I’d never been to Vermont before and it was really nice.

Tim went to Los Angeles for a work conference. And then I left for London, England! I was in London for five days and I really loved it. It felt like such an easy and comfortable place to visit and getting around was easy as well. I stayed at Carrie’s place, which was awesome, and I visited all of the sights! I also got to meet Carrie’s new British boyfriend, Andy. The biggest highlight for me was getting to see The Phantom of the Opera at the original theatre that it first opened at in 1986. I was so thrilled to be there, 6th row, centre! And of course I was sure to eat as much classic British food as possible. I loved it all.

After that, Carrie and I hopped on a plane and flew down to the Algarve region of Portugal. It reminded me a lot of the European version of Mexico. We went over to a small town called Aljezur, which was the closest town to Tipi Valley Surf & Yoga Eco Retreat, which we were at for five days. The retreat was very much located off of the grid in the middle of a valley, and it was very much like camping, with very little electricity, etc. But more like GLAMping because we slept in real beds and had real (outdoor) toilets and showers. There were 12 of us at the retreat, 10 girls and 2 guys. Everyone was around the same age, and everyone was from Europe (mostly British) except for us two Canadians. Every morning we had a yoga class, then they served us breakfast. Then we would go to the beach and have a surf lesson and surf for the rest of the morning. We would spend the afternoon at the beach, and then go back to our camp for an afternoon yoga class, followed by dinner. I also had a massage and went for a horseback ride. I’ve surfed before in Tofino, but I definitely felt like I made a large amount of progress with my surfing this time. It was really awesome to spend time with a bunch of like-minded people, plus so much great quality time with Carrie. So many laughs and memories! It was so beautiful there. I feel incredibly grateful to have had this experience.

It was sad for it to be over and to leave! We then got on a bus and travelled up to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. We met up with Dustin (who is also travelling around Europe right now) and spent two more days there. Lisbon was really cool, and we visited all of the sights. We also took a day trip over to Sintra, a neighbouring town, and visited all of their magical sights.

I got back home yesterday and already miss being out in the world adventuring! An amazing two weeks away! All of the photos from the whole thing are HERE!

What a great month! Update on what my body is doing... I’ve now gotten two periods all by myself, so I'm relieved to know that my body knows how to function on it’s own. I really wasn't sure if it would know what to do anymore after 17 years on birth control!! So that’s all shaping up well.

So September was busy... But let me tell you about October. I am going to be at home for a total of FIVE days for the whole month of October.

We are leaving tomorrow to drive the 7 hours over to London, Ontario because Tim’s brother Jeff and Mya are getting married on Sunday! Hooray for family wedding! It should be a bunch of fun and we’re staying there for Thanksgiving as well. We’ll be there for five days.

After that we’re off to Seattle and Vancouver for ten days! Tim has to go back to Van for a work trip, so we decided that I would go along with him this time. We’re going down to Seattle first because we were invited to Ben and Christine’s wedding. (Tim went to college with Ben and Christine, worked with Ben at BioWare, and they both lived in Edmonton for a while.) We didn’t think that we’d be able to attend their wedding, but the timing of this Vancouver trip is making it all work out! So that should be awesome, because I’ve never been to Seattle and have always wanted to go. Then I’ll have plenty of quality time to spend in Vancouver! We’ll also be there for Tim’s birthday, so we’re going to have a fancy dinner at Hawksworth Restaurant to celebrate. We’ll be there on election day, and I’m pretty curious to see how that all pans out!! (We’re going to be voting in advance.) I’m super excited to get to see Kristen, Krystie and Erin some more!!!

Once we get home from Vancouver, we’re off to Ottawa for Halloween to attend Enobong and Ian’s Halloween Housewarming party!

So yeah... If you’re wondering if I’ll be around in October, the answer is that I won’t be. Ha ha!

THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:

October 7th is Colen Quinn’s 8th wedding anniversary!

You and Jeff deserve to have the best day ever to celebrate you two! You guys are a true testament of forever love. Your wedding in Toronto still feels like yesterday!

October 13th is Kristen Smith’s 3rd wedding anniversary!

I hope that you guys have some time to celebrate all of you guys’ amazing accomplishments! You and Dallas have had a busy year! I loved your wedding in Kelowna!

October 24th is Rachelle Spence’s 31st birthday!

I love my Rachelle!!! I honestly do not know what I would do without you or without the amazing influence that you have had on my life. We’ve been through so much and have experienced the best things! I am so thankful for it all! You have the most beautiful soul that radiates onto everyone that you come into contact with. I’m so lucky to have you in my life! I miss you way too much and love you even more. I wish we could roll into a big ‘ol pile-on hug and just stay there for six hours until you inevitably need to leave to go use the bathroom. You’re my favourite!!