Christmas 2010

For Goodness Sake Christmas Card

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New car and pending vacation

Well today I say goodbye to my Pontiac G6. It's a little bittersweet. It's been a great car for 3.5 years but sadly they no longer make the Pontiac and my car is out of warranty. Recently something went wrong with it and luckily it was covered under the Powertrain warranty. But this got me and the hubs thinking...maybe we should just trade it in and get a lease vehicle. I pretty much drove everything European under the sun. The Infinity was high on the list, but the hubs didn't like that it was rear wheel drive. Cross it off. Next was the Volkswagen CC. It was an awesome car but the lease rate wasn't right. Hold off for negotiations. Next was Mercedes. The C300 was so common looking. Hyundai actually makes a car now that looks just like it for a lot less than $500 a month. And this car had nothing in it. Big fat X! Finally with a little convincing we went back American. I stopped in to see my good family friend and car salesman at Everrett GMC and he and the hubs convinced me to drive the 2011 Buick Regal. Just to be clear, I used to have one of these. It's what I traded in 3.5 years ago for the Pontiac. But boy have things changed in 11 years! Lol! This one looks more like a BMW 5 series than the granny car I had to drive after wrecking a new car when I was 16. It has heated seats, leather, XM, a moonroof, all the gadgets a girl could want, minus Nav, but I never go anywhere so who needs it! So my car payment will be about $2 less than what we're paying now and everything is covered under warranty for 4 years. But the good news, in 39 months it goes back to the dealer so I don't have to worry about it. I feel like it's a good financial move for us. You don't want the unexpected to happen with a car and be out of pocket hundreds to thousands of dollars. Especially while building a new house...which we signed our real estate contract this weekend and will be meeting with the builder to get a final rendering!!! I'm so stoked! I really can't wait to move, which once again will be bittersweet, but I will have a backyard and more closet space and room for furbabies and other babies! I'm just really excited for the next step in our life together.

As for vacation, 5 days of work left! Which reminds me....I must make a packing list, pronto! I crazy like that, but I can't forget anything. I'm super excited to go to DC because I've never truly been. On a college trip in HS we went to Georgetown and got to roam around there for a bit. And it was amazing. I loved everything about that town. So I'm excited to get to go into the heart of DC and see Lincoln and the Washington Memorial, and the Vietnam Wall and all the good stuff that goes along with it. But I'm also excited to go shopping!! I might have a slight shopping problem, but nothing premium stores can't cure! So on Sunday I will be leaving on a jet plane for our nation's capitol and helping to pull us out of this recession! I do what I can. :) Then the week after we get back I get to go get my Christmas tree! Oh my where has the year gone!

1 Year!

The hubs and I made it to our one year anniversary! Not that there was ever a doubt that we would. Now I don't have another theme anniversary to prepare for until our 5 year. The 1 year was the paper/clock anniversary. I had a really cute idea until the hubs spoiled it. It initially started out that I would get him stationary as his paper gift and then when he thought that's all he got, I would surprise him with this particular brand of pen he likes. It's ridiculous for a pen if you ask me but to each their own. Instead, he did get the pen since he figured out he was getting one and I made him a "today is" calendar with each day having a reason on why I love him. Needless to say he loved both gifts.

Now on to me!! He went with the clock approach. I got a new watch that I love and a new giant clock. My old one from Target broke somehow (it won't keep time) so he replaced it with a big one from Pottery Barn. I absolutely love it!!

We pretty much took it easy all weekend even though I did go out and test drive new cars. Mine has been having some issues lately so we're weighing our options. Do we wait for it to go kaput or do we trade it in and lease something else. So far I'm like the the VW CC but the lease pricing isn't quiet where we want it. Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens on that front. But for now, my car is out of the shop and running like new! (knock on wood)

Lastly, last night we went to dinner at Arthur's, which I highly recommend. Great ambiance, great service, and just a great celebration place all around. When I ordered dessert they wrote "Happy 1 year anniversary to the Verbos'" in chocolate. It was pretty cool! Then on home to eat one year old cake...this was the part I was least looking forward to. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. The wedding cake retained most of it's flavor. However, the grooms cake was pretty rough after a year. We took a bite of each and promptly threw them out!

All in all, it was a great weekend and it's been a great 1 year anniversary. I'm looking forward to many more to come, but the 1st will always be the biggest and best milestone.