Changes

How things can change in the blink of an eye... It's simply amazing. I truly believe that God can never give you more than you can handle. If he did, I know for a fact that I would be broken after the way 2011 started. We've been through so much as a family that I know over time we can only grow and become stronger. After the tragic loss of a family member, I also happened to lose my job due to an acquisition. Luckily, in the down economy, I managed to get two job offers. One was really not the type of place I envisioned myself and the other I really didn't know if I would like it, but I took the leap. So far, it seems as if it's a place that I can grow and learn. And for the first time in two years, it's not a small company. I got out of working for big brother initially because I didn't like the idea of being just a number. What I didn't realize is that all place are not like that. You can be a large organization and still have a family feel. Where I am now, you get to meet with lots of people throughout the organization as a get to know you process. It's to get to know you on a more personal level. However, the one question that pains me that keeps coming up over and over again is do you have any kids? Before I was married, I never truly realized how strong of a question this could be. I always feel the urge to follow it up with the information that we've only been married 1.5 years. I'm sure kids are in the future in some fashion...sometimes I just feel that information is personal, and I know they don't mean to offend. But I just wish they would stop asking. Does having a ring on your finger automatically mean that you have kids? Unfortunately, what many don't realize is kids are something that magically manifest once married. There is a lot of factors that play in to that. And like I said, some day there will be kids. Right now, however, I'm trying to get our life back to normal. Everything crumbled for a while and now the dust is settling. We took a little trip and got out of town for a few days. It was nice to just escape, even if the hubs did check his work email the whole time. I guess that's something I will never get used to. I just assume that vacation is a time where you should disconnect from work and forget about the stress and life you left behind in wherever you're from. Maybe it's just me. My philosophy...work to live, not live to work. Maybe I just don't do something that's my passion, but many people don't. Well we have a busy year ahead of us. Hopefully our house will sell in the near future and we can move on. Our new house will be finished in a few months and it will be nice to have more room. Then in June we head to Jamaica...Wohoo!! Never been so I'm sure we will have a great time. I turned my passport in at the end of March so hopefully it will come in the mail sometime soon. It sucked because I've only had it 1.5 years, but somehow I forgot to realize that I changed my last name, so hence the new passport. Another $110 down the drain! Just goes to prove the list to change the name is never ending! :) Hopefully this is the last item.

Loss

The last two and half weeks in our house have been some of the longest I have ever experienced. If time could stand still, I would imagine it did. I've felt it. Couple this with a complete loss of sleep and cranky family members and you have yourself a recipe for disaster.

It began with a trip to the ER. Our family member couldn't breathe and was admitted to the hospital. What started out as a simple diagnosis became more a more complex. He was then moved to ICU with the hope of getting out soon. Almost three weeks to the day he went in, we will say good bye to our friend, father, grandfather, husband, and mentor. For my husband this comes as a huge loss because he was several things to him. It's taken an extreme toll on our family as we never expected this to happen. My MIL has been here twice. The first time she went home because nothing was happening. The second time she came back to horrible results.

Several nights were spent with family members visiting in the hospital, while I waited in the ICU waiting room. I didn't want to see him in that state. I want to cherish what memories we have not have them destroyed by what became of him. I've done that once before. It's horrible. There is no other way to describe it. But I remained hopeful. I stayed hopeful through all the talks and people not wanting to believe. I was going to believe for everyone. But alas, as much as you hope and pray for something, sometimes the answer is simply no.

Many nights my husband and I would toss and turn fearing the phone would ring. After two arduous weeks, the phone call came March 5 at 3:30 am. He had left us. No more silly stories about why firetrucks are red. No more golf buddy for my husband. No more crazy arguments to be had. It's all gone. We fought for him and he put up a good fight, but in the end sometimes you just aren't strong enough.

Now we learn to carry on. To find the strength to fill the hole. But in the darkness is always a light. And we will find it again.

But to our beloved family member, you were loved and you will be sorely missed. May you be at peace.

The definition of a Southern Winter

January-March are some of the most unpredictable months I've ever experienced in Arkansas. First of all it started out looking like this....

Then we had such beautiful weather (75 degrees in February) that the hubs and I went to the race track. In the picture below I had on a short sleeve dress and *almost* wore flip flops. Oh I long for those days again...
Just to prove that it was so nice out, I have a sampling of the race track. The weather might have been fantastic, but our betting strategy was not. And the casino there is a rip off. I've won more money in Vegas than I have in Hot Springs, Arkansas. *Sigh* I guess not everyone is cut out for the cruel world of horse racing gambling.
Then the weather reverted back to the top picture. Expect this time it dumped about 6" on us. I can't even remember the last time that happened. I think I have baby pictures somewhere to prove it happened but that's about it. I do however remember being trapped inside when we had the worst ice storm in history back in 2000. This is how ill-equipped Arkansas is to handle something like this. We had a state of emergency, most places had no power, we had no sand/salt trucks, and we had to ask our neighboring states for help. I think we were rendered helpless for about a week. For Snowmaggedon '11 we had few sand/salt trucks but most of the time I see them plowing, the plow is up. Hey buddy, it's gotta be down to work! We're definitely not pro's at this by any means. Welcome to winter in the South!So what all of this means to me is A) crappy weater. B) No one, and I mean NO ONE, is coming to look at our house. C) this is good because we have no foundation on the new house. D) I got so bored I made brownies from scratch! SCRATCH! I didn't even know I knew how to do something like that. Most everything I make is out of a box or frozen. I was pretty proud of myself when they came out tasting like food...any yummy food on top of that. I also swear that I might of gained 5 pounds by eating everything in my home while I was trapped there for two days.

In my time on snow house arrest I made the following observations about our living style.

• We're very cold natured people. We have some of the biggest blankets ever
• We keep only junk food in the house (bad idea)
• Laundry always needs to be done
• Dark hardwood, cat, winter weather DO NOT mix
• the dishwasher is always full

And all of this mess is created with just the two of us, plus a cat. I can't imagine what would happen if we added to our family....

But alas I am free!!! Snow, snow go away. Save your accumulations for the North! And Mother Nature, I live in the South for a reason....let's get it together!

Side note: two more weeks until warm weather and the beach! Wohoo!

Happy 2011!!

Happy New Year a couple of weeks late! New year, new home in the works! Wohoo! Over Christmas and New Years we finally listed our house and all we need now is a buyer. Anyone in the market for a slightly used house? :) Things in our neighborhood generally sell well so I'm not too worried about it but it would be nice to have it finished and focus on our new house. A week or so before Christmas we met with our build

er to go over which trees we might be able to keep. We back up to a greenbelt which is awesome so we'll always have some greenery around us. Once all of that was decided they cleared the lot and then end result was this:

Not much to look at now, but in 6 months our beautiful new house will sit on that lot. This week we met with our builder again to go over some design items on the inside. At the end of this meeting, he informed us we really needed to pick a brick! Apparently our house will be framed in about 4 weeks. Crazy! So this weekend the hubs and I are scrambling over to Acme to find the perfect brick for our house. Only one problem....we have no clue what we want. Well I have some ideas but the hubs doesn't necessarily agree with my choices. I'm sure we'll come to a happy medium though. So, what's the rush on brick if he doesn't need it for another 4 weeks? Well, here's the kicker. They don't just have tons and tons of bricks on hand...you would think otherwise if you drove to the back of the building. Apparently, they have to be shipped in. Depending on the brick we choose, it will either take 2 weeks to come in or can take up to a month. I guess better early than late.

As for Christmas and New Years, everything went splendidly...minus the whole bugs in the tree situation. Apparently, we picked the one tree on the lot that was infested with tiny bugs. This led to them dying and falling on to the tree skirt and presents. The tree was also extremely sappy and dripped on the skirt and presents. Next year, new skirt? Yes please! I have a few I would like but they come from Pottery Barn and are around $100. I think I'll stick with Garden Ridge. New Years was awesome! The older and wiser we get, the more we realize we really don't want to be out with a bunch of drunks. So we had a "party" at our house. I use the term loosely since it was 2 other couples and us. But hey, we had a good time and even made it to midnight. This is a BFD in our household since most of the time we're zonked out by 930!

Now is just a waiting game. Waiting to see if our house sells, waiting to see where we'll move if it does, and waiting for the house to be finished. Realistically, it can be finished in about 3 months. Are we ready for that? Not too sure. But I know I'm definitly looking forward in 2011! It's going to be a great year!

Christmas 2010

For Goodness Sake Christmas Card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

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.