Sweeter One Day at a Time: 2013

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Friday, November 22, 2013

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Hanz couldn't be more excited for his best friend to be home from his visit at the Vet. After moping around the house all day, Hanz would not stop squealing and leaping in circles when Tubbs stumbled through the front door.

Tubbs had a few bumps and lumps removed and quite a bit of hair shaved.

Dogs get drugs too. He is going to be looking like this for a couple of weeks while the skin heals over.

Sorry Tubbs, no fetch for a while.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Happy Birthday Amanda--uppermid 20's

Happy 26th Birthday to AMANDA!

All she wanted was a cake and her awesome husband made sure her birthday wish came true. After class Jarrad came over to our house to bake the cake in secrecy; red velvet with vanilla frosting, YUM. A few hours in the kitchen and a little creativity made for one fancy birthday treat. We joined him for the surprise and deliciousness.

The next night we met Amanda, Jarrad and the members of her cohorts for dinner at The Steam Plant downtown. It was nice to finally put some faces to names and drink from Steam Plant's array of beers, namely the Jalapeño Ale; which although interesting, wasn't as exciting as hoped. Their Clam Chowder and Coal Bunker Cheese Bread, on the other hand, were not easily resisted.

After-dinner mints, tequila shots, same difference. That is my hand there at the bottom, the one holding the glass with two limes. I like lime.

Welcome to your Upper-Mid Twenties Amanda!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

New Name

I know that someone will ask me one day how I went about legally changing my name after my marriage to Mark Fretts. I will want to help them, but unless I write it down I also know that I will not remember. So here is what I did and where I found the information.

1) First, Mark went down to the County Auditor's office to purchase 3 notarized copies of our marriage certificate. I believe we called ahead so they would be ready when we arrived, and they were about $5 per copy. So far each copy that I have sent out has come back, but the extra $10 was worth knowing I wouldn't have to make another trip to the county auditor.

2) I mailed in the following into the local Social Security Office:
-A notarized copy of our marriage certificate
-My passport with my maiden name
-The application that can be found here.
I did not want to make the trip into Spokane just to drop off this application, so I sent it through the mail. It was quite nerve-racking sending my passport through the mail...anyone could steal it! In retrospect the peace of mind knowing that my identity was not lost in the mail would have absolutely been worth the trip.

3) Once the new SSC was in my hands I headed down to the DOL. All I needed was the SSC, a notarized copy of our marriage certificate and $10. I changed my middle name in the process as well, so I had to make sure to point that out. Because of lessons from our wedding photographer I was able to score a 100% improvement on my new driver's license! (chin down, eyes up).

4) Now I could do just about everything else. I brought my marriage certificate, SSC and new and old driver's license to each place I needed to change my name. Some needed it all some, only the license. I stopped at my:
-Credit Union
-Bank
-Car Insurance
-Called my credit card (they just took my word for it)
-Facebook (it was encouraging to have a place I could change my name and see instant results)
-Everytime I saw my maiden name on a piece of mail I called that account and notified them of the change
5) Now time for the Passport
-got 4 copies of a passport photo from Costco for $5
(there are very specific requirements for the photo you use on your passport and it is best to get it taken professionally so you don't go through all of the trouble of editing your own photo only to have your entire application returned)
-filled out the application for a new passport
-stuffed a security envelope with:
*my old passport
*one passport photo
*the application
*a notarized copy of my marriage certificate
*Fees, however, if it is only a name change the fee is $0
-sent the package using a traceable delivery method

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Learning to Row

It is March, which means that the water in the Spokane River is low (6,030 cubic feet per second) and it is cold, water and air temperature. The current conditions made for a perfect opportunity to take out and use all of my personal gear while engaging in my first official rowing lesson from the famous Mark Fretts. It was cold, but my gear kept me warm. The oars were heavy, but once I used my whole body to move them instead of just my shoulders, I was able to row for more than 30 seconds at a time. Our dear friend John Mainio, who is also a superb rafter and fisherman, joined us on the peaceful river and was a great cheerleader. We had a wonderful float with the mallards and mergansers of Spokane.

Breaking out my gear

River Buddies

John Mainio

Amber Munoz

Mark Fretts

Backward Stroke

Unloading the Boat

Deflating the raft for the ride home

I am learning to raft thanks to our trailer
and the beautiful Spokane River!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Danni, Caleb and Skiing!

Just for a weekend I flew down to Tahoe to visit Danni and Caleb. It was a blast! There were a lot of firsts: first time at the slots, first time at Black Jack (FUN--I didn't loose money I just paid for a lot of free drinks), first tastes of Jalapeno cornbread, first time I have ever even seen a human birdcage, first delicious tequila and tonic (I am hooked), and the most exciting...my first SKI LESSON!!! I only came home with a small bruise on my knee and a really sore right hip, being the first time I have ever used that particular hip muscle. Thank you so much for your patience and equipping me for a an awesome day of skiing. I can't wait to ski again...and again, and again!