Me: 18 degrees Him: 65 degrees

Today it's snowing so much I decided not to get out of bed. I'm dressed and working but with snow like this it's just better to be under a quilt.

It has never actually snowed twice in one year since we have lived in Tennessee but here it is folks. Twice in one year and this time it may be over 6 inches (i'll let you know how it really turns out).

The saddest part of the snow is that Joshua isn't here to see it. He drove straight through yesterday and is back in Texas working to get rid of that last philly (female baby horse for you non ranchers) and getting the house on the market. Plus, Monday is pay day at the restaurant so he'll have checks to sign as well.

Since we just got back from Colorado I don't think he's totally torn up about missing the snow but I would enjoy it more if he was here. We could walk to the agriculture center down the street and sled with the kids. Plus we could make a true human size snowman. Maybe I'll do that anyway.

I promise pictures tomorrow if the snow lives up to expectations.

Why Not Take A Vacation?

Joshua and I just returned from visiting friends in Colorado.

Yes, we still own a restaurant in Texas.
Yes, we still have one philly that is all alone trying not to be eaten by coyotes.
Yes, we still have 2 mortgages.
Yes we haven't seen our Nashville clients in 2 months.

You don't think that sounds like the perfect time for a vacation?

This trip was planned months before our life exploded and we were left picking shrapnel from our shins so we had no choice but to lose the money or head to the mountains. Honestly, when you think about it "running for the hills" seems like a very practical response to the level of stress we've been dealing with so we just dwelt on that clique and took our already packed Texas bags to Colorado. Luckily our friends lent us a coat when we arrived.

Quick Side Note: When I arrived at the airport I realized I had been to Denver for work before. How ridiculous is it that when planning this trip I never though "oh I've been to Denver" but the second I stepped foot in the airport I knew I had been here before? Ahhh, I miss all the traveling I got to do with my production work.

It was impossible to fully leave the mess behind and enjoy ourselves but we did our best. Denver is beautiful. The lack of humidity makes the cold bearable and it is so sunny it's hard not to be happy.

We had just the right amount of working, hanging with friends, sitting and although our skiing got cut short I don't know if I could have taken another day of walking around in those boots. Hope you all had a great week too.

What is Happening to Us?

Yes that's a bandana.
Yes those are boots.

Yes that's exactly how I found him when I walked in the kitchen

Keeping the Gas Companies in Business

Yesterday we were in the car driving for approximately 7 hours. If we were in Tennessee that could mean we were 3 states away. But no, this is Texas and so we didn't even get to Mexico.

Yes, it was a little more than normal but seems like if we aren't in the car for at least 3 hour we aren't really getting anything accomplished down here. Just to get you a little oriented this was our route.

"F" is the ranch. Pretty right?

We flew into San Antonio, had a quick meeting in Austin and then headed back to the Mathis house. A few hours later we had to go into the restaurant for a staff meeting and then dinner at my sister's house.

Hand Offs

We had to schedule a quick trip back to Nashville for a closing this weekend. Turns out people LOVE to buy houses around Christmas. I sold 3 houses and a condo since December 20th. And so if someone wants to pay cash for my listing I will definetly fly myself back to TN to make that happen.

Also turns out that winter is starting 2010 with quite a bang. It has not stopped snowing since we've gotten home to Tennessee two days ago and it won't get above 20 the whole time we are here. All the schools flipped out and were cancelled but Joshua and I had a full slate of meetings and darn if we were going to let a little snow stop us. More than anything we want to curl up on our couch with a fire but instead we are doing the One Car Tango.

Never heard of it?

It's a very practiced dance we've been perfecting the last few months. The key is in the scheduling of meetings but the actual steps go like this. I stay home and prepare for my meeting while Joshua is away at his meeting. Then I get everything together and put on my coat as he is pulling up and he jumps out gives me a quick kiss and I slide into the drivers side while he goes inside to type the proposal from the meeting he just had.

So far we've landed 2 new projects for Joshua and I'm working on 3 new listings all while looking at this every time we leave our driveway.

Really though the best part is while we're here it's freezing in Texas too. Although there's no icy roads we'd be feeding horses in 20 degree weather and so we missed 3 days of THAT misery fun.

Charles "Chuck" Fykes 1953-2009

So my dad died. It's funny how many ways we have to say those simple words. You hear a lot of them in a very short period of time when someone close to you dies. "Your Loss" "Lost" "deceased" "passed away". In case you're wondering, that's my dad seated on the horse, and my grandfather is the guy with the pipe hanging out of his mouth.

I can't even begin to really put into words all the emotions and thoughts I've had over the past month since I got that phone call. It feels like an eternity since that day, and yet I've re-played the call so many times. I keep thinking it will turn out differently, perhaps maybe the next time I run through it in my mind the state trooper will say something different, like: "we have an outstanding ticket from 12 years ago and we have a warrant out for your arrest" (a thought I actually had racing through my mind as I returned the message left at our office)

I talked with a friend tonight and he asked "how's everything going?" My reply was " To be honest, I don't really know. I've never inherited someone's life before." And I think that's a good way to sum up the weight I feel. It's weight of having to absorb someone else's life that was ongoing and ended abruptly. The weight of having no preparation.

I wasn't prepared.

I'd give anything to have just one more day with him. I'm reading a book called "One More Day". Suggested reading by Tiff's mom, Pam. I'm not quite through, but it fits well with thoughts already present. If I could have one more day.......What would I want to say? What would we do? Such heavy questions. Spending the better part of the past month living in his shoes has been hard. and good. Living in his house. Cooking in his kitchen. Sleeping in his bed. I miss him in the mornings, when I get up before sunrise to feed the horses. I keep expecting him to walk in the house.

I miss him.

Three generations of Fykes: Charles Edwin / James Gilbert / Joshua Taylor

Officially an Only Child

Yesterday Joshua was deemed by Live Oak County to be the sole heir of his father. We got our letter of administration and now we are hitting the ground running.

What does that mean?

We can get car titles, we can finally get into bank accounts to see what is going on and who we owe what to and we can start selling stuff to pay our vet bills. Most importantly it means Discovercard can stop calling us 3 times a day because we're gonna shut that card down.

Hope you all had a great weekend and that the New Year has started well for you.

January 1 - Thanksgiving Day

In leau of the traditional New Year's Resolutions the Fykes do a list of thankfulness for the last year. Last year was a crazy year in a more traditional sense so here is what we have:

2009

• Joshua's dad came to visit us in Nashville for the first time since we moved here
• We get to set our own work hours so while we don't have kids we can sleep until 8am every day
• Even when the numbers didn't add up, we still ended up with all the bills paid
• Some people are extremely generous when tipping pizza drivers
• We came out of our season of questioning and debating, consensus: Nashville feels like home
• We have some really awesome neighbors who will take care of our house and mail (sometimes without us even asking)
• We love to learn
• FYK Architecture expanded to FYK Group and now instead of producing videos Tiffany is pretty much rocking the real estate world
• One Word - Sukkah
• In a season of sadness we were not alone - friends drove for hours, family came and worked tirelessly and meals were brought - all of that lightened the load we are now carrying
• Joshua knows SOMETHING about horses