The Final Countdown

Do do doo dooo
do do doot doot dooo
Do do doo doo dooo
It's the Final Countdown

That's right, folks - just a little over a week until I take my licensure exam, which means that once again, I have no life, which means I didn't do anything last weekend and I don't have anything fun planned for this weekend, which means I don't have much to write about. So in this edition of the Nathan and Corri Story:

- Joke of the day
- What I've been doing since my last posting (besides study)
- The obligatory housing update

So I think this joke is pretty funny. You may not think so, but we'll see.

A bear walked into a bar in Billings and ordered a beer from the bartender.The bartender said, “Sorry, we don’t sell beer to bears in Billings.”The bear said, “You see that women at the end of the bar? If you don’t sell me a beer, I’ll go down there and eat her all up!”The bartender said, “Sorry, we don’t sell beer to belligerent bears in Billings.”The bear arose from the barstool, walked down to where the woman sat and devoured her. He then returned to his barstool and told the bartender to give him a beer.The bartender said, “Sorry, we don’t sell beer to bad, belligerent bears in Billings and in particular those that are on drugs!!”“Drugs?, said the bear, “I’m not on drugsThe bartender replied, “You are now. That was a barbiturate!”

So last weekend Saturday was pretty lame, obviously, not much to talk about, although I did go to Sports Authority and buy a set of discs for disc golf. I haven't got to use them, yet, but at least I'm official. I also saw a pool table that I want to get, but I'm still in the process of convincing the wife that our house needs a pool table and that it's worth designating an entire room to.
I actually got to go to the driving range last week (real golf, not disc golf, although you're not supposed to call it real golf around disc golfers because they get mad, so it's actually called ball golf). Anyway, it's been quite a while since I've been golfing so it felt good to get out there on the driving range.
On Sunday we went to our new, future ward. A guy I graduated with was in that ward, and that was his last Sunday there, so now everyone will think of me as his replacement, I guess.
Last week we had a doctor's appointment, which went pretty well. They didn't do anything too exciting at this one. We heard the heart beat again and saw a quick ultra sound (just to take a couple measurements) and that was it. Next time will be the 3-D ultrasound, though, so that will be fun.
As far this weekend goes, yesterday we went out to eat at Chili's. On the way home we stopped at Fry's Marketplace to see if they had any furniture we would want (today is double discount day for me). We found some stuff we liked but realized we didn't have a way to get it home or really a home to put it in for that matter, so I guess we'll be waiting for the next discount day. I did spend quite a bit of time in the toy department, though, and found a couple of really cool Nerf dart guns that I might get. It's always good to have those things around.
Last night we finally watched Be Kind Rewind, a movie that I have been wanting to see for a long time. It actually wasn't terribly great, but it was funny enough. I mostly just wanted to see it because it has Jack Black, pretty much my favorite actor.

Not much to update on the house, except for the fact that we found out that our A/C unit is underpowered for our house (the previous owners added a 350 sq. ft. room to the house but kept the same 3 ton unit). So, we either need to upgrade to a 4 ton unit or cool that one room separately. We're not sure what we're going to do yet. The existing unit is about 12 years old, so we may just replace it.

Well, if you would like to buy me a new A/C unit, go ahead and e-mail me (or leave a comment). I'll let you know where you can send the check. You're reading the Nathan and Corri Story. If you thought this posting was lame, well, that's your fault for actually reading the whole thing.

Just a quickie...

I don't have time to actually blog right now (our computer's in storage and we have been using the library computer) but I just wanted to add a quick picture of Nathan's graduation. And besides, he typed a pretty good update last week. I still don't think it has fully hit me that he is done...with school....FOREVER!!! Anyway, here's the pic.

Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily

Hello America,

In this posting of The Nathan and Corri Story:

- Updated info on our house
- Life after graduation
- Weekends (2 since my last post)

So, it looks like everything is falling into place on the house, which is good. We finally got all the documents and stuff that we needed, which was more of a hassle than you may realize considering the fact that all our stuff is in storage right now (including the filing cabinet, which is near the back of the 10 x 20 storage locker). Not to mention that Corri lost her drivers licence at the airport recently. Our lender needed a copy of her licence, but she couldn't get a licence because she didn't have an address (we moved out of our campus apartment and into an extended stay hotel). I do have a PO Box, but we couldn't put her name on it because she didn't have a drivers licence (and she couldn't get a licence because she didn't have an address). I guess there's some truth to the Alice Cooper song "Lost in America." For those of you who are not familiar with the song, it goes like this:
I can't get a girlcuz I ain't got a car
I can't get a carcuz I ain't got a job
I can't get a jobcuz I ain't got a car
So I'm looking for a girl with a job and a car
Don't you know where you are
Anyway, our lender said the only thing holding us up now is a paystub from me, which I will get tomorrow. That will also be exciting because last week was the first week in years in which I actually worked 40 hours in a single week, as opposed to the 8 hrs/week that I worked during school. It was a good feeling actually, also kind of weird to think that this is it. I've never had a permanent full time job before. Every full time job I've ever had has been just for a summer. So this is the dawn of my career, well pretty much. I'm actually not licensed yet, which means I can't yet work without another pharmacist present. I'm taking the licensure exam on July 8 and the Arizona law exam on July 11. Assuming everything goes as planned, I will then be official.
The other weird thing about having graduated is that I have actually been able to enjoy weekends (a luxury which I have long since forgotten about). Sure I still have to spend time studying for the big exams coming up, but I haven't had to actually be anywhere. So of course, where do I go when I don't need to be anywhere? The golf course. Except the last two times have been unique. The weekend before last I wanted to both golf and spend time with my wife, so I did both. We went goofy golfing at Castles and Coasters. Of course I won, even though I had to take a 12 at the 11th hole because I could not get the ball in the hole. The next few holes after that were rough for me as well, but I soon regained my composure and went on to win the tournament.
Last weekend I made the discovery that there are actually disc golf courses in the Phoenix area, a game I have not seen since my mission (one of my areas had a disc golf course that we would go play at on P-days). I have wanted to play again for a long time, but I didn't realize that they had that game here as well (you see, I served my mission in a place far, far, away). So yeah, I'll definately be playing a lot more of that. Plus it's a lot less expensive than golf because most courses are free, except for the one in Scottsdale that charges $1.
Well, if you would like to play disc golf or any other type of golf with me this weekend, go ahead and e-mail me (or leave a comment). Except for the card game called golf. I don't even know how to play that. You're reading the Nathan and Corri Story. I'll be back right after this birdie of a break.

It's a Beautiful Life

Do you ever just sit and think about how blessed you are? I don't often enough, but today I am. I know it sounds so cliche but I really do have the best husband and the best life. Yesterday was my birthday and all day long I was kinda bored and just thinking how birthdays get lamer as you get older. Then Nathan got off work and made my whole day better. I know he thinks that my birthday was "lame" because those were his exact words but it really wasn't once he got home. He bought me some beautiful flowers, a new CD by one of my favorite artists, a cheesecake (because it's my favorite) and a pedicure. But the best part was the card he gave me and the words he wrote inside. I know that is such a girl thing to say the card is the best part but it just made me feel very appreciated and loved. It's nice to feel that way. To quote part of a song from the CD he got me, "I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend".

Nathan wrote most of our latest news in the previous post. He graduated with his Doctor of Pharmacy degree last Friday and I couldn't be prouder of him. As he said, we had a fun party afterward with some family and friends to celebrate his achievement. It was good to see some friends that we hadn't seen in a while as well as spend some time with both our parents. Things are moving along with the house. We had our inspection and most everything was fine...there were a few things that we have to take care of before we can move in but nothing to keep us from wanting the house still. Now we are just working on getting all of our documents together to close and then the fun begins...purchasing blinds, window treatments, painting, decorating, etc. Basically spending lots of money. :D

On another note, we had some pictures taken recently that I wanted to post. This was a friend of a friend type situation where the photographer wanted to quit the photography company he had been working for. He took our pictures and gave us the entire CD for only $50! I thought it was too good a deal to pass up. So here are some of the results. Let me know what you think.

School's Out For Summer. School's Out Forever!

Well folks, this is it - the first blog entry in the life of Nathan Coons. It's one of those things I've kind of wanted to do for a long time. The idea of being able to write random crap for anyone or no one at all to read is somewhat intriguing, I just haven't been able to take that step into actually doing it. It's kind of like when I finally got a cell phone. Practically everyone in the world had had a cell phone for years before I got my one. The only reason I got one was because Corri got a new one so I took her old one. It's now about 4 years old and quite old fashion, but it's been a good phone and I don't see any need to replace it.
Just so you know, my wife doesn't know that I am now a blogger. So if you never hear from me again, it's because she changed the password on me (this one was easy to figure out. Even most of you could hack it.)
So, this has been an exciting week for me. Of course, the most exciting thing this week was the release of Weezer's 6th album, aka The Red Album. I have to admit it's not my favorite, but like so many other albums, it has already grown on me quite a bit. I have realized that it's less of a rock album and more of a work of art. Individual pieces don't seem like much, but when you listen to the whole thing and see how they come together to form a much bigger picture, it is rather good.
Another exciting (and suprising) event was the fact that James Badger got married. I went to his reception on Friday and met up with most of the old gang. It was good to see everyone.
And, as you already know, I finally graduated yesterday. As was expected, the graduation itself was long and boring, although it was actually better than I expected in that they really didn't have any speeches. The aftermath was much more fun. My parents, Janae, Corri's parents, and Rich were there for the graduation. Afterward, all of us, along with more family and friends met up for a BBQ and party. It turned out to be a really good party and I'm glad everyone could come.
Well, if you're reading this right now because you're bored at a graduation, go ahead and e-mail me or leave a comment. You're reading the Nathan and Corri Story. I'll be back right after this short little, graduated break.

Whatdoyathink???

Ok, so things didn't work out with the other houses like we had hoped. Turns out the market is starting to pick up a little bit, at least in our area. That means that all the houses we are looking at already have offers on them most of the time. So we have been house shopping a total of 4 times now (that doesn't sound like a lot but we spend almost an entire day every time we go) and on Monday we found a different house that we like even better than the others. So I thought I would post some more pictures to see what you all think. Keep in mind that we will definitely be repainting...especially the hideously bright, need your sunglasses to look at, canary yellow kitchen cabinets. Sheesh, what were these people thinking?!?! We'll also eventually re-tile, but it can wait for now. Feel free to give me your opinions!

House Front

Canary Yellow Kitchen

Family Room

Pool

CHANGE IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE FUTURE INVADES OUR LIVES

Honestly, just about everything in my life is changing. It's wonderful and stressful all at the same time. First of all, Nathan and I are expecting our first child in September of this year. Take a look at the sonogram below and see if there is any doubt that we're having a little boy. (Sheesh, I had never seen such an OBVIOUS sonogram in my life!) We are so excited to welcome this little guy into our lives. Nate will be such an awesome father and it helps that he is a big kid, himself.

The next big change is that Nathan is going to be graduating from pharmacy school in June! WOO HOO!!! It went by so fast. He spent many late nights at the library and many busy days in class. I am so proud of him and all of his hard work over the last several years.

Shortly after he graduates we will be purchasing our first home! We are super excited about this change, as we've spent the last several years crammed into a tiny apartment in student housing. We got to go house shopping last weekend and there were two in particular that interested us. Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think!