Hi!
As I've mentioned, I'm not going to provide advice on this blog (other than maybe a recipe or two) because I don't think I'm better qualified at anything (except my job) than anyone else. No financial advice, because I work for a big wire house and our compliance department would just prefer that I didn't since there aren't many laws or guidelines for use of the web for providing direct financial advice. Now that I've given my disclaimer . . .
A brief time line of my life:
Born at the very end of 1983 at a hospital in Texas City, TX to a dental assistant and a chemist.
The chemist, my dad, went back to school to become a dentist. I remember his graduation. When he graduated, the dental assistant, my mom, became a homemaker.
In the most simple terms, my hometown in Friendswood, TX. My parents divorced when I was about 13 and I lived with my mom in North Carolina for three years. I moved back in with my dad and finished my last two years of high school in Friendswood.
My husband and I met at a party my senior year. He had a rental truck because he'd wrecked his car. He got drunk the night we met and ran his rental truck through someone's front yard. He didn't remember that the next day, but he remembered me. It's true romance, I know.
He followed me off to college. I went to Southwest Texas State University. The name changed to Texas State University while I was there. San Marcos is the most amazing place on Earth. I changed my major multiple times, but still graduated in four years with a Bachelor of Public Administration.
At the time of my graduation, Jeremy had joined the Air Force and I was working as an intern with the very official title "Assistant to the City Manager" of Wimberley.
My husband and I married in August of 2006 and moved to Britain in October 2006.
We moved into a terraced Victorian house in a town called Bury St. Edmunds. I started graduate school that fall with University of Oklahoma (no, I do not have an online degree). Finally, in February of 2007 I found a job working with some wonderful people at Newmarket Town Council. It was there that I grew professionally and learned about patience, acceptance, and the little things in life that I should really quit wasting energy on. Shout out to Isabelle, Kay and Linda!
In October 2007, I found out I was pregnant. I nearly had a nervous breakdown for a variety of reasons. The main reason was that there was not a maternal bone in my body. Of course, a few months went by, the hormones kicked in and I was happy about it. Our son, Liam was born in April of 2008 at 32 weeks and 3 days gestation. That was a difficult experience, but you'll learn from the stories on the blog that it wasn't all bad. He's fine now . . . believe me . . . he's fine.
I am pleased to say, that even with a few surprises and set backs, I graduated with a Master of Arts in International Relations from University of Oklahoma in 2009. It took me 2.5 years to get through it.
We returned to the U.S. in 2009. My family's advisor invited me to come work at the same company as him. However, due to a certain acquisition, there was a hiring freeze. So, I took it upon myself to get licensed elsewhere. When I saw that the other firm was very different, and that I really disagreed with the way they did business, I called my family's advisor again and got the hell out. He arranged for me to meet with the manager of the office I work in now.
I did not know that this would be a sales job. It might be the most stressful job in the world. Yes, I'm a very capable wealth manager. No, they do not give you clients. I have had to find my own, just like everyone else. It's also stressful because I manage my clients hard earned money, their entire life savings. That's a lot to carry. But, I'll be the first to say that I'm damn good at what I do. I love my clients, and I'm pretty sure they like me.
We own a house in a beautiful little corner of the world . . . an architecturally interesting neighborhood with custom homes from the 1970s, big trees, and a lot of greenbelt.
Liam goes to school at a nearby Church. He gets into a lot of trouble.
There's plenty to blog about. My time management skills at home are horrible. I'd much rather mow the lawn than clean (enter Jeremy). I try to keep a level head and be reasonable . . . but don't we all.
You may not care at all about anything I have to say, but if this goes to plan there will be a few laughs.
Love always,
Erika
