Baltimore Tigers Weekend

I had an awesome weekend.



Kurt and I went to Baltimore with our friends, Ron and Erika (same couple we went to Vegas with back in March 2013).  This trip was short, but filled with lots of fun things.  We flew Delta into Baltimore on Thursday night (late).  Went straight to the hotel as we were tired and passed out.  We stayed at the Homewood Suites (Hilton hotel) and I loved it.  We had a Suite on the 12th Floor.  Side note, the gym at this hotel was incredible.  Prob the nicest gym I have ever worked out at.  The room was HUGE as well and super nice.  I loved everything about this hotel.



Friday night got up and worked out then headed to this area called Fells Point to find a place to eat lunch.  Ended up at this place called Riptide by the Bay.  Lunch was super good and we wandered around for a while after lunch in the Fells Point area.  Went back to the hotel, and Erika and I headed out to do some boutique clothing shopping.  I bought Kurt some shoes and myself a bathing suit cover up at this kewl little store called South Moon Under.  also bought a tank top at White House Black Market.  Erika bought a cute dress and two tank tops.  Headed back to the room, and we walked to the Tigers game at Camden yards.  had awesome seats, and met up with my friends Charlene and Carl.  Tigs lost, and we headed to dinner in a little area called Canton and ate at this place called Claddagh's Pub.  Dinner was good here as well.  got harassed a little because of our Tigers shirts, LOL, and headed back to the hotel for the night.



Day two, Saturday, got up and worked out then headed to lunch in Mexican Town at a place called Cinco de Mayo.  It was yummy, but reallllllllly slow service.  Headed to the game after that and this game was much better.  Tigs won, homeruns all over the place, and we headed to dinner after that at Rusty Scupper on the water.  This was one of the best dinners out of my life.  Loved it.  Service was perfect, food was phenomenal, view was beautiful, and we drank a LOT of champagne.  Had an absolute blast.  Back to the hotel after this.



Sunday, we got up and headed to a couple sports bars to eat and watch the game.  We ate at a place called Shuckers, and then ended up at a place called The Greene Turtle.  I also wandered around some stores a bit but did not purchase anything.  I love all the little boutique stores in huge cities.  It makes it depressing that Detroit has literally NOTHING compared to other major cities around the country.

 Headed to the airport after that and back home.  2 hour delay on our flight, and I was back to work this morning.  had a busy day and helped my friend Dayna get sworn into the bar, which was fun.



Hope everyone else had an awesome weekend.

July Trip

Super psyched!  I finally booked our July trip, and we are going to Spain!  We are spending 3 nights in Barcelona, 4 in Ibiza and 3 in Madrid!  I can't freaking wait!

May continued.........

Kurt and I went to two more games in May.  Both of them, the Tigers lost and we are beginning to think we are cursed.  LOL.  Both were fun days w/gorgeous weather though, and we had a really nice time regardless of the losses.  Both times we had great seats.  During the first game against Houston, we were in Row 2, and I got some amazing shots of the players.  Today we were in row 26 and behind the net, so I did not even try to attempt pics.



We had an adorable visitor to our home.  A mama raccoon chose my chimney to have babies in, and the other day, one of the babies fell into the bottom part of the chimney and Kurt had to rescue it and take it outside so it's mama could come retrieve it.  SO CUTE.  I told Kurt to CLOSE the fireplace, but of course he did not listen and a few days later, we had 4 babies in our fireplace.  He saved them all and finally closed the fireplace.  I think he was getting tired of being the hero rescuer.



On May 4, I ran in my first 5K of the year.  This one was put on by my friend, Mel, who is raising money to do mission work in Romania with her church.  It was a lot of fun, two other friends of Mel's were running as well, so we all kinda ran together.  I ran really well considering I have not run a race in quite some time.  it was a beautiful course, along Lake Erie and in the Park.



That night, we went to a going away party for my former stepbrother, larry, who joined the Marines and is leaving soon for basic training.  it was a fun night seeing family and friends.  We had dinner before the party with our friends, Cliff and Lisa, at a really interesting place called Gastronomy in Southfield.  I loved how the place had a separate vegetarian menu.

Other that that, been pretty busy at work.  Will try to write more when I have time!  :)

May 2013

Almost the end of May and I have not posted once!  Whoops!

May has been pretty busy, but good.



I turned 36, which was kinda odd for me.  I think 36 sounds so much more close to 40 than 35 did!  But, I am OK with it, it is just kinda odd.  I think I will simply stick with 25.  I got carded in Canada at the casino (you only have to be 19), so I am going to go with I am not looking even close to my actual age.  Thanks Mom and dad for fabulous genetics!



My bday weekend we traveled to St Pete Beach, FL, for my friend Katie's wedding.  It was at the Postcard Inn right on the beach, so we decided to stay there and avoid driving after the wedding.  Flew into Tampa that Friday night and got our rental car through Thrifty.  Using our GPS, drove straight to the hotel, checked in, went to 7-11 for some supplies (i.e. diet pop, juice, cereal, yogurt) and stayed in for the night as we were both kinda tired.  Got up the next day and worked out, then headed to Madeira Beach to have lunch at a place I found on Yelp called Waltz's.  It was right on the water and one of those places that are my fav that have the menu on a chalkboard because it changes daily.  I had conch chowder and cajun crawfish patties.  both awesome.  Headed into downtown St Petersburg after that to walk around and explore.  We saw where the Rays play driving in, and walked on the boardwalk and through their little downtown.  Very nice area.  Headed back to the hotel and changed into swimsuits to lie out by the pool until we had to get ready for the wedding.  I went in the pool a few times to cool off as it was pretty warm in the sun.  Really relaxing though...........Got ready for the wedding and headed there.  I took a ton of pics, and katie looked absolutely perfect.  Everyone in the wedding did, really.  The wedding was small and intimate and so "Katie and Thom".  Everything was retro 1950s and so fun.  The food at the wedding was awesome, and the band was great as well.  We were seated at a table with a bunch of katie's friends from Toronto, so that was fun as well!  :).  That night, I got horribly sick though.  I think I got food poisoning, and I spent part of the night throwing up, UGH.



Got up in the morning, still feeling kinda out of it, and headed to Winter Park, FL, to visit kurt's brother. Slept the entire way there, then went to his brother's fav place to eat, a sports bar called Friendly Confines.  After that, we headed to visit Caylee Anthony's memorial and house, which was interesting.  Hung out at Scott's for a while then headed back to St Pete Beach for the night.



Next day, we kinda lounged around the room, then packed up and headed into Tampa for lunch at Miguel's Mexican Restaurant before we headed to the airport for our flight.

More later, just wanted to get this posted!  :).

Two Weeks Update

I really have issues getting on here to update!



**Angie and I, in dressing rooms at the Loft, we both took in clothing, and both ended up trying on the same dress at the same time, not knowing the other one even had the dress in their room.  Hilarious.  We both bought it, by the way.

Anyway, last weekend, Angie and I headed to Niagara Falls, Canada, for a girls weekend.  We met three of my friends there, one from Philly (kelli), one from Buffalo (Charlene) and one from London, Ontario (Lisa).  we stayed at the Sheraton Four Points for free with Starwoods Points I had.  So, free hotel!  Whoot!  Angie and left the office early afternoon on Friday and made awesome time to Niagara.  We were the first to arrive and decided to work out while waiting for everyone to get there.  The gym at the hotel was not huge, but sufficient for us with cardio equipment and free weights.  Worked out, then showered, and everyone started to arrive.  It was cold out, so we decided to stay at the hotel for dinner and ate at Eastside Mario's.  Dinner was yummy, and we all hung out in one of the rooms and drank champagne Lisa brought the rest of the night, and stayed up late talking.



**Girls workout session.  Super fun, wish I had them to work out with all the time.

Day two, we decided to head to New York for some outlet shopping.  Buffalo has an awesome outlet mall.  We had a great time there.  I got some dresses at The Loft and a pair of shoes at the Coach outlet.  We then had dinner at Boston pizza, and headed to Margaritaville to hang the rest of the night, watching bad (and good) karaoke, and drinking.  Did some interesting shots.  Angie bought shoes at midnight on the way back to the hotel, LOL.



Day three, had breakfast and then came back to the States.  Awesome girls weekend, but too short!



**In the Tigers store, playing with the monkeys.  Ha.

Thursday, our office and our friend Ron's office bought a Suite for the Tigers game.  It was awesome.  The game was during the day so we all met there at game time.  Kory brought his girlfriend, and my Dad came as well.  We were thrilled to be in a Suite since it rained on and off during the game.  Tigers lost, but we all had an awesome time.



This past Friday night, we celebrated our friend Ron's bday by having dinner at Ignite at MGM Casino in Detroit.  The place was really kewl and the food was awesome.  I really liked it.  They are mainly a sushi restaurant and they have all these fire features everywhere.  I highly recommend it if you like sushi.

**This dress cost me $8.  Yes, I am super proud of that.

Went to my friend Kelly's baby shower was on Saturday, and Angie and I met up to go to that.  The shower was at a church and really nice.  The cupcakes were super cute, and Kelly got a ton of gifts from her registry!  Can't wait to meet her baby boy, Nolan, in June (or sooner).  Congrats Kelly and Jason!

**Angie, Kel and I at Kel's shower in Trenton.  Super fun shower.

Updates

I am so behind on posting....Boo.

I will try and recall recent life events.

Mom's Easter Late Bday Weekend in Grand Rapids

First, weekend with my Mom.  Over Easter weekend, we met in Grand Rapids, MI, to have a late bday celebration.  I wanted to take my Mom someplace really awesome for her 60th bday, like the Florida Keys or the Virgin Islands (she does not have a passport).  She chose Grand Rapids.  LOL.  Cheaper, yet not as exciting.  But, we had a blast.  I booked us a room using her military discount (thanks Ronnie for being a veteran) at the Holiday Inn in downtown GR.  I got there around 1100 AM that Friday and she got there about a half hour later.  I had already had a weird experience, I was walking to my car to get my stuff after checking in and totally fell, tripping over nothing, and landed hard on the cement.  I was OK afterwards.  A lady from an inside office ran outside to see if I was OK because I fell that hard.  I felt like a total moron.  

After she got there, we decided to head out to lunch and to the mall for some shopping.  We went to lunch at On the Border near the mall, then went shopping, which was super fun.  Came back to the hotel for a bit, then headed to dinner at Charley's Crab House in downtown GR.  Dinner was great, and we then relaxed in the room for the remainder of the night.  

Found out while shopping that I like maxi dresses, so I may need to get some for Costa Rica.  I did not think I liked long dresses on me, but they are cute and perfect for the beach weather.  I already bought two of them online since returning, on clearance at Gap and Piperlime.

Saturday, we got up and headed to the spa for our morning of massages and pedicures at Design One.  Services were awesome, and it was my Mom's first pedi ever.  She loved it!  :).  Headed to another mall after that and had big pretzels for lunch.  Mom finally found a dress and shoes for my cousin's wedding at Younkers.  She also bought me two really awesome straw beach hats for Costa Rica for my bday.  Back to the room after shopping, and got ready for dinner at The Melting Pot.  Had a fun time there.

***Pic of the dress my Mom found while shopping.  She had already lost the cute wedges she found.  Due to a foot injury, she cannot wear heels for very long.  They were super cute though!  :).

Sunday, we had breakfast, then I headed home.  Had dinner for Easter at my Aunt's house, we ordered in from Max and Erma's and played Uno, which was fun.

House Closing and Injuries, Dinner with Friends

The following weekend, we had dinner out with friends on Friday night, at Crave in Dearborn.  Super fun night, stopped at the Post after dinner and watched part of the Michigan game with everyone.  

Last Tuesday, we closed on our house in Costa Rica!!!!  We are super psyched about that and cannot wait to move there someday.  Don't know for sure, but as soon as possible would be nice. :).  For now, it's nice to know I have a place to go once we do move.  I have to say a closing in a foreign country was easier than in the States, and I was expected it to be harder, with loopholes to jump through.  None of that.  Maybe having an attorney there made things easier, but it was so simple.  Glad it was, as it would have been hard to deal with drama from overseas.  The house is amazing and just what I wanted.  It is about 2200 square feet (significantly smaller than my house now, which is great as I am sick of taking care of the house we have), has an awesome pool, and 1.25 acres of wildlife.  The bathrooms are insanely nice, and it is one story, which I wanted as well.  We need to do some minor upgrades, but nothing at all to move in, just to make it Kurt and Lori accessible (meaning Kurt wants to build on a gym and wall in the garage, as well as put up some coverage at the pool to protect us from the sun while out there).

***Front side view of my new house and pool.  I cannot wait to put a hammock out there.  And some lounge chairs.  We are also going to build a thatched roof thing to sit under.

The SAME day as the closing, Kurt called me while on my way to court to tell me he fell in the garage and could not stand up or even sit up for that matter.  For weeks prior, he had been complaining of back pain, and I guess something happened going down the garage steps and he just fell over.  He said he was going to lie there for a moment and see if he felt better.  So, he did.  No improvement.  He called me and said he was calling 911.  I sent Kory down there to stay with him until I could get out of court.  I asked to be called first in the courtroom so I get to the hospital and they graciously helped me out, thank God.  Then left for the hospital so Kory could get back to work.  Kurt was sleeping in a hospital bed in the ER, they had given him pain patches, steroid shots and pain meds.  He was in a lot of pain still.  They ended up forcing him to lie on his side (after doing xrays and finding nothing) and doing some manipulations to his back.  Something "popped" and he started to feel like maybe he could move around some.  After a little bit, he sat up, then stood up, then wanted to leave.  They gave him some scripts and sent him on his way.  Thankful nothing major was wrong.  They diagnosed it as some kind of low joint was out of place in his back.  They had a medical term, but I am sucky with those.  He is still sore, but made it back to the gym with me today which I was happy about.  I hate going alone, it is much more fun with him!  :).

Family Wedding Weekend



**cousins, spouses, and grandparents.

This past weekend, my cousin, Tim, got married to his fiancee, Melissa.  They got marred at the Pi Banquet Hall in Southfield, MI, on Saturday.  Pretty much my entire family was there, which was awesome.  I know that made my grampa happy.  He is so proud of everyone in the family and loves seeing us all together.  The wedding was awesome, and the reception even more fun.  I had a great time getting to spend time with my nephew, Nick, who was on the dance floor before dancing even started.  

***Maga feeding Bumpa anniversary cake.  I love this.

The next day, we had a little get together to celebrate my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary.  That was a lot of fun as well, and of course, Grampa wanted more pics taken, LOL.  I took some too........It was nice to see everyone again, and it's inspiring to be around a 65 year marriage.  I can only hope mine lasts that long.  It is incredible.

*** The bride and I, at the reception.

Random

Weather is finally starting to feel like Spring here.  Two weekends ago, it broke 50 (my rule for running outside) and I ran 5 miles at the park.  I loved being outside, seeing the wildlife coming back, and seeing all the families out celebrating good MI weather.  The park is beautiful in the Spring.  Of course, got cold again after that until today.  Today was gorgeous, so of course I had to work late.  LOL.  My allergies (onset by age) are acting up, so I know it's Spring.  My throat is kinda scratchy and I am just kinda tired.  Started taking Claritin yesterday to try and calm it down and am taking my vitamins without fail each night.  As well as some Airborne just in case.

**one of my fav pics of the night, Bumpa and I.

Lauren, our associate attorney, is trying out for Big Brother tomorrow.  That should be interesting to hear about.  She also recently got a puppy and for about two weeks, she was bringing him to work with her.  it was nice to have a baby around the office for a while.  Gretel came in one day to meet the puppy.  Finn was very happy to meet Gretel, but I think finn had too much energy for Gretel, she bored of him quickly.  She wanted nothing to do with him after a few minutes of him hounding her.

**Gretel and Finn.  I think at this point Gretel was doing the aggressive I am the boss bark and Finn was a little leery, which was cracking us all up.

Anyway, I should sign off after this HUGE update.  Hope everyone is doing well.

Alone

So, Kurt had to take a business trip to Tampa/Orlando this weekend.  He left Thursday after morning court and will be back shortly.  He had to drive (long story).  So, I am anxiously waiting for him to get home.  It's kinda pathetic how at a loss I am without him here for one short weekend.  But, I guess it's good I still like him this much after 16 plus years!  :).

I had a pretty chill weekend.  I stayed home for most of it, and relaxed.  I worked part of the day on Saturday (it was my and Kurt's Saturday to work, so he got out of that, bastard!), and today, I went over to Jessica's house to deliver a present I had bought for baby Ava.  I got to meet her doggie, Duke, and he is such a little lover.

Got a lot of laundry done and all the unpacking, putting away done from the Vegas trip, did dishes, took garbage out, picked up a lot of stuff around the house.  Glad to have all that done.

So, some pics from shopping in Vegas!  I got three pairs of awesome shoes at the Tory Burch outlet for summer.  And am bummed I now have to wait to wear them!  Also, I got a super cute sun dress at the Gap, that has green heart polka dots.  I saw the shirt below at Zara and could not pass it up.  Got two t-shirts on clearance there too, but did not take pics.  I wonder if I start wearing summer clothes if it will warm up here?  No?  Ugh.

After last summer filled with campaigning, I want to start running 5Ks again this summer.  I was going to do one today, but it was way too cold to venture out.  I am looking at races the first week of April.  There is one in Detroit on Belle Isle raising $$ for colon cancer research, so I might do that one if it warms up by then.  Next weekend, I am going to Grand Rapids with my Mom for a girls' weekend and I can't wait!  We are going to a spa one morning for massages and pedis, shopping, and having dinner out at Charley's Crab and The Melting Pot.

As I took a break in post, kurt got home, so I am going to sign off so we can go take the rental car back!  More later!  :)

Viva Las Vegas!

So, I had a blast in Vegas.  It was a much needed relaxing getaway.  We went with our friends, Ron and Erika.



We left on Friday morning via direct flight through Delta.  Flight left on time and we arrived in Vegas on time.  Got luggage right away, and headed to the hotel, Monte Carlo.  We tried to check in, but our rooms were not ready yet, so we all headed to lunch at Serendipity 3.  I had been craving a crab Caesar salad from there since Thanksgiving.  Ate there then headed back to the hotel.  Our room was ready, but Erika and Ron's was not yet.  So, we all headed to our room, and Erika and I changed into bathing suits to head to the pool and take a nap while Kurt and Ron played some craps.  We stayed there a few hours, having a drink and napping.  Perfect lazy afternoon.  Went back to the room after that and showered, then found Kurt and Ron. playing craps.  Got ready and then decided to head to dinner at another great place, McCormack & Schmidt's.  Stopped and got some champagne after that and headed back to the room for the night.

Day two, Saturday, got up and used the hotel gym.  After that, headed with Kurt out to explore and then had lunch at Margaritaville.  Headed to The D hotel after that to buy tickets to a show that night and ended up playing some blackjack at Four Queens and poker at Golden Nugget.  Had dinner at Landry's, then headed back to The D to see Raack and Roll, which was super amusing.  Back to the room for the night.

Day three, Sunday.  Got up and worked out, then headed to my fav outlet mall while Erika hung at the pool and Kurt and Ron gambled downtown.  Ended up with some amazing purchases from the Tory Burch outlet and used a coupon for some awesome savings at the Gap outlet.  After that, Ron and Kurt picked me up and we went and picked up Erika for lunch at Diablo's in Monte Carlo.  Fun place.  That night, we had dinner at Sushi Robu in Caesar's, then headed to Pure, a nightclub there.  Did not really like the atmosphere there, so we headed back to Monte Carlo to hang at a lounge there called Ignite.  Had an absolute blast there, closing the place down.  Back to the room for the night.

Day 4, Monday.  Got up and worked out without Kurt, as someone was still drunk when he woke up, LOL.  And hungover.  After that, met Erika and Ron in Caesar's and had lunch at La Salsa.  I went after that to Fashion Square Mall, where I got some replacement foundation at the Chanel counter at Nordstrom's and some t-shirts at Zara.  Also got a quick pedi at this place in the middle of the mall called LAKA Manicure Express.  Got an amazing mod purple color.  Kurt picked me up after that and we chilled, then headed to dinner at Bubba Gump's.  Awesome food.  Next, Zarkana at Aria.  Show is a Cirque show and was amazing talent.  We were harassed quite a bit by the performers before the show.  One of them stole my purse and I had to chase them to get it back and another one made Kurt stand up and stole his seat next to me, LOL. It was a lot of fun.  Back to room for the night.

Day 5 was our travel day home.  I woke up and worked out, then packed everything up to leave.  BOO.  The weather was beyond amazing while we were there.  Perfect sundress and flip flop weather.  And, I came back to 28 degrees.  Ugh.