It's all done...really it is

Okay, I know I said it was done before but now it really is finished. The couch is down there, although there was some doubt from the delivery guys that it wouldn't fit in the basement. After some scuffs on the wall they got it down there. The TV is mounted on the wall along with the entertainment consol and thanks to Adam's parents and some drill bits we got the surround sound up this weekend as well. One call to our good friend Andy and we even has satelite hooked up down there too. Here is the final photos.

So if you are feeling up to watching a good movie, you know who to call!!

Some news to fill in the gaps

It has been about 11 weeks since I have last written on this blog of mine and what a coincidence but I am 11 1/2 weeks pregnant!! That's right, it happened to me too. I have been trying to convince myself that it is true this whole time since unlike a lot of my family and friends I have had zero morning sickness. That's right, I said zero. Okay, I threw up twice but I only felt sick for a few minutes before and then afterwards I felt great so I don't think that counts as morning sickness. But, I have been exhausted. So that counts for something I guess. But it finally came to fruition for me today when I went and had my physical and Adam and I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was a healthy 164 beats per minute and everything checked out great. The doctor checked everything out and it looks like everything is going great so far. My due date is December 18, exactly 1 week before Christmas. I hope I am not overdue for the holidays for the doctors sake. So, if anyone wants to come and hang with us for Christmas go right ahead because we aren't going anywhere this year. Right now the little baby is the size of a fig, just an 1 1/2 long. It is so crazy to think there is something actually in there. So, Adam and I are soon to begin the grand adventure of parenting. Wish us luck.

It's finished!!

Well, not totally yet. A few outlets need to be switched out, we need furniture and our TV of course but other than that here is the finished product. Isn't it lovely.

Here is the extra bedroom down in the basement. It is really nice. Izzy loves the new carpet. She took a nap on it last night while we were upstairs. It is almost unheard of for her to sleep in a room where we are not hanging out so she must really like it.

Izzy's first swim

Adam and I went to Clarkston for Easter weekend. It was so warm and beautiful there that we took Izzy on a few walks to Swallows Nest Park along the river. We wanted to see what she would do if she jumped in and got wet. Adam threw in a stick to coax her into the water. She wasn't expecting what happened. Take a look...

She then came onto the dock after jumping in the water and was leaning over to take a drink or something when she slipped in head first into a full puppy dive. She was under for a few seconds before she came up, then she swam straight into shore to get out. I missed the fall into the water but I got her swimming. She is a good swimmer.

A Quick Update

A lot has happened since I last wrote on my blog. First of all our best friends moved away and now we feel lost and alone in the world of Spokane. No one else can replace you guys! But since then we have had a ton of time to work on our basement since we haven't had anything else to do. Now here is a before shot in case you have never seen it...

As you can see there is T1-11 siding covering the walls in the basement. Adam and some friends took this wall down and put up sheet rock. We did a smooth wall rather than texture and have painted it red. The ceiling was pop-corn style and we have since scrapped that off and retextured the ceiling to what I like to call Ralph-Style since it is the same technique my Dad used on our home in Clarkston. Here are some pictures of our hard work...

This is after 3 coats of paint...

And this is after 5 coats of paint! That's right I said 5!!!

So that is how our basement is coming along. It isn't done yet though. We have a carpenter coming in to put up our base molding, crown molding and window casings. Here is all the molding we had to paint. We got it done in 3 days.

We also have carpet going in next tuesday. We are almost done. I will post a picture when it is all said and done. Also, while we were working on the basement we did a little work to the upstairs bathroom. A little paint and a new light fixture. Now we just need to get a new mirror and new countertop rolling and it will be done. Here is an after, I never got a good before...

So more news, I was driving home from work one day and I was able to win tickets to see Plain White T's at the ZZU studio downtown with Adam. It was so awesome. I was like 5 feet away from them. I could almost pop their zits. Just kiddin' they didn't have any zits, but we were super close!! Here are some photos...

We also made a big purchase this last week. We bought a new vehicle. We traded in old Dusty and got a 2008 Dodge Nitro R/T. I have to say it is a darn sweet ride and I LOVE IT!!! It has less than 5,000 miles and is in mint condition. The former owners are from Omak and traded her in for a Charger so we got a sweet deal on a barely used Nitro. I have wanted a Nitro since they came out and I am so happy!! It has leather seats, which I thought I would never do since they are always so cold, but I compromised when I heard they were heated. Here she is...

Just a few more things, sorry this post is so long but it has been awhile. Here are some cute photos. My family came up to visit this weekend since Jason came in town to go to a friends wedding so I got some super cute pics of my nieces, Ava and Emma. Emma loved to play with Gordon and Izzy, but Gordon was too scared and Izzy was too playful.

Gordon is just out of reach.

Hanging outside on a nice sunny day!

A few photos of our super cute puppy.

Izzy really wants Gordon to play but he is too lazy.

She got caught licking the water up after I took a shower.

Izzy really likes to eat ice cubes.

Izzy playing hard with all her toys all over the living room.

Izzy's favorite thing to do it go on walks. This is us at Manito park, it was a little rough. I thought she was going to suffocate herself. There are too many people and dogs for her to handle. She just pulls and pulls and pulls.

Ghost Tablets

I don't know if any of you are aware of a phenomenon in the pharmacy world as ghost tablet. I want to let you all know about this so you can avoid such a situation as the one I am going to tell you now.

There is a medication out there called Effexor XR which is a very popular antidepressant. Well, there is a generic equivalent that have come our recently but there is one slight difference between the generic and the brand. The brand Effexor XR is available as a capsule while the new Venlafaxine ER is available as a tablet. It is still a controlled release tablet however, rather than being filled with little time release pellets as the capsule is there is a tiny little pin hole in the tablet that slowly releases the medication leaving a ghost tablet which is eliminted in the...well you know how it works.

This lady we had switched from the capsules to the tablets came up to pick up her medication the other day and wanted to talk to the pharmacist. So, I went over to the counter and I noticed that she had demanded brand capsules rather than the tablets. She wanted to talk to me and let me know that the generic does nto work and that her body does not absorb them correctly. I knew that the tablets are eliminated when you go to the bathroom and that this has made people think that the pills are not working.

So I asked her how she knew that her body wasn't absorbing them. She told me that when she went to the bathroom she saw them in the toilet. I told her that was normal. That the medicine is slowly released from the tablet and then the empty shell is eliminated. She said, "but they are hard!" Okay...I told her it is hard, it is so hard that your body cannot absorb the tablet it is just eliminated as a shell and the medicine is in your body. The next thing she told me was quite disturbing. She said, "Okay, this is going to sound gross, but I went to the bathroom and there was three in the toilet. So I reached in and felt one and it was really hard. I have never had this problem before and I don't think they are getting absorbed." I explained to her again, for the third time, that this is normal. Your body is absorbing the medicine and eliminating the empty shell. I told her the reason why this has never happened before is because there is only a handful of medication that works this way and she has probably never been on them before.

So, for all of you to avoid such a gross situation, NEVER REACH INTO THE TOILET!!! Please ask your pharmacist first. Because they don't want to hear stories about your searching through the toilet for your medication.

Warning to all Oxycontin Thieves!!

I am going to start packing! There are far too many pharmacy robberies here in Spokane of late. And I am getting tired of it. I have to say that Shopko has not been hit yet. So far, only Rite-Aids, Walgreens and Albertsons have been targeted. And all for the coveted Oxycontin pills. These colorful little pills are causing quite the ruckus here in Spokane. One pharmacist was actually tied up at Albertsons and a customer had a knife held to their throat at Walgreens to get a few little pills!!

Now for those of you who are afraid for my life, which I am sure all of you are if you are reading this, don't you worry about me. Most of these pharmacies only have one pharmacist on duty and their pharmacy is right in the front of the store. We always have at least two people working at my store and our pharmacy is way in the back of the store. But not only that, I am going to start packing to work. Just keep a little something under my jacket just in case things go a little too far. I just want everyone to know that I will be okay here in the big city.