Congratulations Eric!

Today was one of my proudest moments as Eric's wife. I've seen him through almost his whole university adventure (aside from the first year). I've spent many late nights and date nights and boring nights and fun nights in the halls and classrooms of that school. It's tough to have a husband who's a student some times. I'm grateful that we've always been blessed financially, and so that hasn't been the main challenge, but it can be hard to watch him have a hard time. School can try your patience, and sometime it was hard for Eric to feel like he could balance time between it and me and our home. That is definitely a struggle for most all students I think.
Well today we said goodbye to a good portion of that struggle. Eric graduated from Mount Royal University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. He has worked so hard and done so well. Since his second year he has been every semester on the honor role, and finished up with a GPA he was proud of.
It was so much fun to sit in the stands with his mom and dad and watch him walk across that stage, accept his certificate and move the tassel on his hat from one side to the other. He has a lot of friends he graduated with as well, so sharing it with all them and their wives (or significant lady friends) was fun.
I love my husband and how hard he works for himself, for me and for our future family. He is a great provider.

 Today is one of those especially proud wife moments for me. Eric won an accounting competition at school. He's been in a few of these over the last couple years: they're basically case study competitions done in pairs for cash prizes. Him and his partner won today, and he brought home a cheque for $1,000. We have plenty of things this cheque could go to right now, but he has some things he needs and wants to do with it. He also promised to buy me new boots, and take me on a date. I love this man, he works so hard for us and he is so smart!
I got that date tonight. We found a new ice cream place (new to us) and it was delicious. I got a salted caramel ice cream that was very enjoyable, and Eric got the maple pecan. He is starting to get sick though, and said he couldn't really taste and enjoy it as well as he wanted to. Too bad :(

 

 Update: I got those boots he promised! It took a lot of pairs tried on and some major decision making, but I love them! And he loves them too, which is important. 

 

I Have a Goal: Assignment 3

My goal: to do my assignments before Sunday or Monday. Every Monday night I get an assignment to work on what we learned in class, and to pass in at the beginning of next week's class.
Well this week's assignment was on shutter speed, and as far as I could remember they were all night assignments. I kept forgetting and putting it off, and finally I got to it Sunday night. Well, they weren't all night assignments. Most were day assignments and I had to photograph movement. Monday turned into a crazy day, filled with all kinds of other stuff to deal with. So my pictures in the day were taken at about 6:30pm outside the school. Three people from my class passed me and said "Photography homework?". "Yes, a little bit" I said shamefully. Anyway, so I missed one part of the assignment, because I just didn't find a situation in time to try it out. I missed the technique of panning, but I am actually going to give it a try sometime, because it makes for some really cool pictures. Here's what I did get {and still managed to put them on my computer, then on to a memory stick, then make it to class to be last in line to hand them in before they were counted late}.

Eric the Great

Today I just wanted to say a few words about my wonderful husband.
As some of you may know, he is working so very hard right now in his last year of his undergraduate degree. He is studying accounting, and at the end of a bachelor of business administration in accounting, comes big decision time. There are certain designations {or specialties} you can study for, or there are endless other options that branch out from there.
To become an accountant, you have to do a two or three year working position, along side a school program. Eric has deiced to become what they call a CA, chartered accountant. So right now he is working hard and fast to complete all his applications for a combination of work and school {kind of like an apprenticeship for accountants} that he'll need to start next fall.
Can you believe that? They're already doing the recruiting, the interviewing, and the hiring for jobs that start in September 2013. It's so intense.
Anyway, after coming home from Halifax, unfortunately we were a little behind on this process. But since we found out all the dates, Eric has been so diligently working to catch up his resume and cover letter and every other small detail that is needed for these applications, and today is the last full day to do them. I've been around to help in anyway I can, but for the most part, this is his baby.
I've always admired how hard Eric works. When I met him he was selling alarm systems, one of the hardest and most draining jobs ever I think. He was always positive, when I got to see him, and I know he worked hard, because he was successful. Since he turned 16 he's always held good jobs that have demanded much of his time and energy and has always been very wise and intelligent with his money and his resources. He has always been good at talking to people and expressing himself, and is never too intimidated by people of authority. He's always gotten jobs he wanted, because people like him and know how willing he is to work hard for them. He wants this, a lot. I know he's capable of getting it, and doing it well. It will be an adventure for him, and for us. There are several ups and downs to come in these next couple months, and then a roller coaster of surprises and demands when he starts with one of these positions, but I am so excited that Eric values challenge and commits himself to working hard. It has made him wonderful, taught me a lot, and will continue to be a great benefit to us and our future family.
Thank you Eric for being so strong, so brave, so charming, so intelligent, so determined, and so good looking! I love you lots.

snapped a quick picture of him before he went off to school, for one of his online profiles. 

Assignment #1

Last night I had my photography class, and getting there was just about the biggest disaster ever. Eric was done class at 5 and he is going through a lot right now to get recruited for an accounting position. I decided to go over at 5 to meet him, bring him food, and do what I could to help him. I left on time, and then stopped at Goodwill to check on something I saw there last week.

I found it, and it was on sale! So I bought it and promised 

Eric I'll stay away from thrift stores for a while

Everything went down hill from there. I realised I was out of gas and got lost finding a station, then a woman yelled at me for being on my phone, then I got stuck in traffic, then I had to parallel park {I tried three times and couldn't get it so I had to park really far away and walk with all my heavy stuff in the heat}. Then I finally got to Eric hugged him and kissed him and felt a bit better. 

Then my memory stick broke and my computer wouldn't connect to the internet so I couldn't get my pictures off my computer for my assignment. Then I realised I forgot to do half my assignment. {I was supposed to be there for Eric, and it's now like an hour before my class and I'm totally lost.} I quickly snapped a few pictures of my lovely husband for my assignment, and went looking for a memory stick to put them on. Then as I'm packing up to go looking for one, my bag literally just falls apart. The strap broke on what side, and I still can't see what happened to the zipper or fund the pull. We went to the library, which usually has spares but the guy couldn't find them, so he suggested the bookstore. I really didn't want to spend $20 on a stick just because it says Mount Royal on it, but that didn't matter since the store closed 10 minutes before I got there. 

Anyway, I was stressed, and I think I stressed Eric out, and we were just having a moment. Then I decided just to go to class and ask someone. I found a girl names Katharine, and she was more than willing. I didn't even get halfway through saying "my memory stick died like an hour ago", and she was handing hers over to me. I just love people you meet like that, who are so kind, and just sweep away the stress. As Eric tried to tell me, everything worked out just fine. In fact, my teacher used my last minute picture as a class example and said it was well done. Boy oh boy though, it was a rough night. I'm just glad it did turn out okay because it was one of those traumas that could have just dragged on for two or three days. 

These are the pictures for my assignment. Thank you Eric for being a professional model, and working so well for me.

 The class also got more interesting this week. After going through some examples of the assignments he explained and recapped from last week's class and so I caught some good stuff I missed last week. I think the class is going to be a good one, and I hope that means good things for the whole program I want to start next semester.

Photography 101

Okay, well that's not actually what it's called, but I started a photography class this weekend. It was Intro to Digital SLR Cameras, at Mount Royal University. It was a lot of fun actually. It was on Saturday and Sunday morning.
Friday night, I was a mess of nerves and anxiety. I honestly felt like I was 5, the day before I started Kindergarten. Eric just kept telling me that everything was going to be fine, and guess what, it was. Sometimes I like it when he's right and I'm wrong. I was scared I'd go in there and be so clueless, but it was perfect. I wasn't at the top of my class, as far as prior knowledge, but I wasn't at the bottom either. I learned the perfect amount of information from that class. It started exactly at my level, and planted in my mind a few concepts I've been shaky on with my online reading.
These are some of the random pictures I took in class to test the functions he was talking about. Don't worry, I will get better than this.

I start another one tonight, and I met a woman this weekend who will be in this one with me too. I'm feeling really good about this whole adventure. It will be the perfect thing for me to do, I think. I can't wait to jump in and get started.

The Camera

As some may know, I am taking a photography class in September and am very into taking pictures. I am very excited about all of it coming up so soon, but have been so nervous about making the decisions.
Canon vs. Nikon. Lenses. Software. Classes. Oh man, it's tough.
I've been doing lots of reading and research for a long time and had pretty much decided on the Canon 60D. Then one day last week I went out to all the stores and talked to lots of people to try to make decisions. They confirmed my thoughts, and I decided on the Canon 60D, but couldn't buy it before talking to Eric. Then he came home and we talked lots and I decided I needed to go back out and decide some lenses because I needed to know if I wanted the kit lens or not. So we did that again, and I came home not even certain (again) if I wanted Canon or Nikon. I was so confused!
So Saturday afternoon we went to The Camera Store downtown, figuring they would have more models I could play with and touch to see what would be best. I played with a Nikon D7000 and the Canon 7D. I considered long and hard switching to Nikon, because the guy was so helpful. He told me that Nikon has crisper colours and sharper images, and Canon takes better wildlife and action shots. That made me think twice about Nikon because that's what I want to do most. But the Nikon still didn't feel as nice in my hands.
Eric and I got out of the store and took a walk to talk things over out loud. We made pros and cons lists and they were still about even, except for the crisper colours on a Nikon. But that difference was so slight that I still felt a little stuck. I still felt very drawn to Canon, and my gut was saying Canon. Then Eric brought up an excellent point. He said "what are you going to use the camera for the most?". I said, portraits. He said "for now, but I mean later and forever". I said "pictures of our kids and families. Soccer games and playgrounds and stuff". So that wasn't the deciding factor, but it made me feel good about the decision that I'd already made I think: Canon. So I decided on the Canon 60D, in a little furniture store on 11th Ave downtown. So I did a little research about the lens that came with it at The Camera Store, because it was a different one than the other stores included. It turned out to be a great lens that I wanted, and you know what? The whole kit, with the better lens, was cheaper than any other store I'd been to, and the guy was more helpful.
So Eric said, why not now? I freaked out a little and then said, "I don't know". And so I came home that day with a new camera! I've taken it out of the box, and Eric and I have each had turns to play with it, but I haven't got a memory card for it, so 4 days later, I still haven't taken an actual picture with it. I think I'm nervous. I really don't have a reason to be, but I still am. I am nervous-excited about this purchase!

Prom 2012

This year my sister is graduating high school. Tonight is her prom. She looks beautiful, doesn't she?

By the way, she's the one in the yellow dress with the purple jacket, not the one in the purple dress that I zoomed in on and creeped a picture of. That was just my favourite dress I saw this year. I love love it. I wish i wore something like that to prom.

Luke's "Graduation"

June is such a happy month with so much excitement and achievement. 

This is my goofball brother, who I love, graduating from grade 6 and the DARE program. He seriously does not stand still long enough for a good picture. This is what I got instead.

 

 Then we went to DQ for the customary celebration ice cream. Thank you Luke for advancing a grade and saying no to drugs and alcohol in grade 6. I got ice cream out of it!