At Last--My Trip Report

Our trip. In 10 words or less. Ha. That is ummm, not possible.

So, here goes.

Click here to see all pics.

First of all, I want to say that I bought this book previous to the trip, called Costa Rica 2007, made by Fodor’s. This book was awesome. Everywhere it told us to go in the book was incredible and I would not have seen as many obscure places without it. Thumbs up to this book.

Day One
This day pretty much consisted of travel. We flew out of Detroit at 6:05 a.m. and into Houston and had a flight that left 39 minutes later for San Jose. So, once we landed in Houston, we pretty much had to run the airport to get to our next flight. Out of breath, got there and boarded the flight just in time.

On a side note, I must say that I adored Continental Airlines. They had vegetarian meals, free headphones, free food and drinks, luggage available immediately upon landing……..Flights were turbulence free and fast, AND on one of them they showed The Devil Wears Prada, which I had not seen yet, and loved. We had 4 flights on this trip and they all went well, so another thumbs up to this airlines.

Once we landed in San Jose, we got our luggage and headed to the Payless counter. We also exchanged half our money for Colons, the official money of Costa Rica. Once we did all the paperwork for our rental SUV, we were taken via shuttle to the vehicle. Picked that up, and we were off!!!! I quickly peeled off my sweatshirt to wear my black tank which was underneath. It was about 80 degrees when we got there, I would guess. We would soon find out that the road system in this country is horrible. There are literally almost NO signs on the road, or at least, they are very limited. We drove to San Ramon, where we needed to make a turn *someplace* to the road heading to our hotel. Umm, no signs and no idea. We drove around, asking for help several times, and finally figured it out. We were about ready to give up and stay in San Ramon it was so frustrating.

Drove up the mountain to our hotel, called Lands in Love. Wow. Another revelation. The roads are SOOO curvy. We literally did not drive in a straight line for more than a half block the entire way to our hotel, which was about 30 miles away, at least. Finally got there, and drove about a mile down a horrible dirt road to our hotel. Got to the front reception and exhausted, got out of the car It was about dusk by this time, and I was ready to relax. The hotel itself was gorgeous. The place is run by a group of younger people from Israel, so they speak English, Spanish and Hebrew. There is also a pet hotel there, and they only serve vegetarian food in their gourmet restaurant. We unpacked, then took a quick nap and headed to the restaurant and eat. After that, headed straight to bed to pass out and plan our next day.

Day Two
We got up early and began the drive to Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge. The drive there was pretty long, and there was a really long dirt, pot filled road to get to the park itself. At the start, we stopped at a little stand on the road to buy fresh fruit and pops. Total bill? $1.75. This was for two pops, and fresh fruit. Things were for sure cheaper in the country.

Once we got to the entrance of the park, we realized that the only real way to see it was by boat. Kurt has not been in a boat since the day I met him. He hates water and boats, umm, no. To my HUGE surprise, he says, “let’s go!” I about died. The guy had life jackets, so Kurt wore one, which is good since he can’t swim. The boat was small, a rowboat like thing with two seats and a motor. We had a guide, who took us on a three hour tour of the river. It was awesome. We saw a ton of animals that day, including many, many birds, a 2-toed sloth (which is the most rare version of the sloth), crocodiles, howler monkeys (one of the 4 kinds of monkeys in Costa Rica), iguanas, lizards, and more. After the ride, we stopped and had lunch outside the resort at a nice place overlooking the river. Had Costa Rican food, mine was shrimp with rice. Yum. Oh, another kewl thing? Their Coke is in GLASS bottles! I love Coke in glass bottles. So classic. Once we got back to the resort, we went hiking on one of their trails, which was really nice. Very shady. The hike back to our room was all uphill though, and we were really tired by the time we got back after a long day. We had dinner again at the resort.

Day Three
This day, we went on one of my favorite hikes of the trip at the La Selva Biological Station. We got there and were the only two for the afternoon hike, so again, like yesterday, lots of one on one interaction with the guide. We saw a ton of wildlife on this hike as well, such as peccaries, agouti, toads, the red poison dart frog, toucans, woodpecker, iguana, snakes, and many other birds. Before this hike, we stopped at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens near the Poas Volcano. While there, we saw many frogs, tons of hummingbirds, butterflies galore, and 5 gorgeous, huge waterfalls. While on the way back from La Paz, we saw a group of coatis playing on the side of the road. So freaking cute. Ate lunch in La Tigra that night, and had more shrimp and rice, and a yummy banana dessert was split for dessert.

Day Four
This day we drove to Manuel Antonio National Park. On the way there, we stopped in Quepos for lunch and walked the downtown area. So cute. Had black bean nachos which were some of the best I have ever had. Another gorgeous hike. This park was right on the ocean, and the highlight of this walk were the capuchin monkeys. There were about 6 of them, jumping from tree to tree and playing, right next to the water. I loved them. We also saw lizards, a lizard that walked on water, three toed sloth, a boa snake, crabs, and many birds. After this hike, we stopped in Jaco and walked the downtown there. While there, I went in my first Costa Rican grocery store and furniture store. We had dinner at a place at the foot of the mountain on the way back to our resort.

Day Five
Today we went to the Arenal Volcano area. Our first stop was the Tabacon Hot Springs, which we had a couples massage. It was outside, which was pretty kewl. The spa was one of the nicest I have been in. Next, we headed to the volcano to a hike towards the base. Beautiful hike. It went through rain forest and then to an area that was all dried lava. We got really close to the volcano, which was kewl in comparison to Hawaii, where they don’t let you get close at all. The Costa Ricans apparently do not value human safety as much as the US, but that’s fine with me. Let me hike at my own risk, thank you very much. We had lunch that day at a cute café in downtown La Fortuna, and went on a hike that night in a rainforest with a guide. The hike could have been better. We were with a group of people from Israel who would NOT SHUT UP. Why go on a night hike that requires silence to see things if you are going to talk loudly? Kurt about wanted to shoot them. We did see some kewl things though like two rare frogs, sloths, bats, a bullfrog, a huge snail, and various birds. Had dinner at our hotel that night.

Day Six
This day, we decided to check out of our hotel and drive to the other side of the country. So, we drove to Tamarindo. On the way there, Kurt was pulled over around Nicoya for speeding. He was going about 26 over. The ticket? Only $10! I would not believe it. In the US, that is essentially reckless driving. I guess that’s why ticket prices are higher in the US, because Kurt just continued to speed, LOL. When we got to the little beach town (which is known to locals as “Tamagringo” because of the amount of Americans who are moving to the area), we ate lunch at a little place that had an amazing view of the ocean. Lunch was yummy, and then we picked a hotel to stay at downtown called Hotel Zullymar, which we had for two nights. This day was really relaxing. After getting a room, we took a walk through the stores of the downtown, then stopped at a local bar for some drinks. We had two drinks each and were SO DRUNK. This place made the strongest drinks that did not taste like it I have ever had. Yum. After watching local potheads dance to Spanish techno music, we headed to a spa in Tamarindo for one of the best massages I have ever had in my life. And the cheapest! After that, we went to dinner at a very good sushi place off the main strip and had great miso soup and various sushi rolls we split between the two of us. Stopped in a casino downtown, which had all of one blackjack table and a few other tables, maybe 10 slot machines. Played a few hands and left.

Day Seven
Got up this morning, put on beachwear and headed to the beach for a really long walk. We walked the Tamarindo Beach, then took a small boat to the Playa Grande beach, which was peaceful and almost deserted. We saw an eel in the water there, and many little hermit crabs and water snakes. It was really hot, so we went back to the hotel and changed and headed toward another awesome hike at the Nosara Biological Reserve. This drive was the worst of the trip. About 10 miles of pure dirt road hell. Once we got there though, we had an awesome time. The hike was one of the scariest hikes of my life. Every step you took was another 10 snake holes. And this time, I am NOT exaggerating. We scared ourselves a lot during this walk. We saw a howler monkey near the start of the hike, as well as snakes, huge spiders, a monkey skull, crabs everywhere, and birds. Had dinner that night at a yummy place where I had tuna wasabi that was caught that day in the ocean. Then, we went on a turtle tour. We had to be there at 1130 p.m. at the national park. This was the kewlest experience ever. The national park this was at only allows 15 people on the protected beach at once, and only 30 per night, so this really was a once in a lifetime kinda thing. The leatherback turtles, which was endangered, come to shore once every 4 years or so, to dig holes and pay 60-100 eggs, cover them with dirt, and leave. The turtle was huge, at least 4-5 feet long…..We got to see almost this whole experience. When we were there the hole was about done, and the turtle started laying eggs. We saw all of this by the light of a special flashlight used that does not bother the turtle. The turtle laid 63 eggs and covered it’s hole. It was incredible. Only bummer was we could not take pics. Got back to our hotel at 2:00 a.m.

Day 8
This day we drove back across to another part of the country, and got a room in Jaco. We liked the town the first time we drove through. Stopped at this Burger King on the side of the road to eat because it intrigued us. It was basically a semi truck turned into a Burger King. Very strange. Kurt trying to order my special order in Spanish was even more funny. We went on a Crocodile tour that day which was really fun. We saw a ton of birds, prob the most of the trip. Also iguanas, lizards and of course, crocodiles galore. The waters were infested, with about 25 crocs per square meter. The guides named some of the crocs in the river. When they saw “Osama” swimming, they pulled up to shore and one guide got out of the boat! He grabbed some fish from a bucket and Osama came out of the water. He carefully fed the croc. It was freaky. Kurt got to reach over the side of the boat and touch the croc. It was beyond kewl. Had dinner that night at an awesome place called The Fish Taco Bar. Had tuna tacos. They were heavenly. Walked the downtown and then it started to rain. It was pretty late at this point, so we headed to our room to crash and watch TV before bed.

Day 9
Stopped at the Carana Biological Reserve in Tarcoles. It was a really nice hike, but we did not see too much wildlife. We did see a really kewl black and green spotted poisonous frog, a green macaw and got really close to a coati who basically walked out of the woods right next to us and was not scared at all. It was cute. Saw lots of pretty butterflies too. Then, we drove to San Jose for our last Costa Rican night. The downtown there is INSANE. It may have been busier than usual because it was Xmas eve, but wow. Narrow streets and SOO many people. We could barely drive, or walk once we were walking. Checked into the Aurola Holiday Inn downtown and then shopped. It was crazy. Had churros from a street vendor. They are too die for. Then had dinner at an Italian place in downtown San Jose. After that, went to this casino that is notoriously known for its prostitutes hanging around. Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica. How odd. Anyway, played blackjack for a few hours and watched the scenery. I think I was literally the only female in the entire casino. No kidding. Except for the excessive amount of prostitutes walking around the men leering over them. What a hilarious experience. I have never witnessed anything like it. Oh, we got massages before dinner that night at a local salon too.

Day 10
Turned in our car, and went to the airport. Flew home, arriving home around midnight. :(.

Overall, this trip was the best I have ever been on. Besides the fact that the weather was awesome (between 70-90 every day, no matter where one was, it was filled with wildlife and nature, and the views while driving were incredible. We can't wait to go back.

Just One

One vacation + no computer obviously equals my lack of interest in the computer......

Since I have been back, I have been a blogging slacker. This must stop. I have several other friends who have started blogs since I have been gone, and I must not let others outblog me! Ha.

Anyway, been soo tired since we returned. The time difference was only an hour, so I am unsure of what my problem is, but I am tired. I think it's just because I packed SOO much into one trip this time around. Speaking of which, yes, I am working on my photos and trip report. I downloaded my photos and have been slowly weeding through them, deleting excessive shots, manipulating others......

Yesterday after work, I headed to Best Buy to take my laptop in, which is not working. I then went to the mall to buy calendars. You may not know this, but in Lori's Church of Shopping, one must NEVER pay full price for calendars. I always go as soon after Xmas as I can and purchase the three I always purchase for the office....one wall calendar with pugs, one daily one of pugs and one other daily one that I change each year. This year I wanted Persian kittens, but could not find one so I settled for kittens. Stopped into VS, but the lines were so long, there was not a deal worth waiting for. Also sauntered through Macy's, but nothing really caught my eye. Stopped in BN to look at Spanish books/software and a girl was there looking at LSAT books, so of course, I had to interrupt her shopping to talk to her about the test and law school....:). I normally don't talk to random people in public, but there is an unwritten rule that lawyers must help law students beginning the process. Ok, maybe it's *my* unwritten rule, but still. I have many of those.....

Came home and we all (me, Kurt, his brother Scott and Kory) went to dinner at Red Lobster. Red Lobster is not quite the same without Rebecca. The perverted jokes just seem to flow better while she is there....

Back in the USA

So, I am back! In the USA! Most would be glad about this, but I am not.....I loved Costa Rica. Everything about it, for the most part. The weather was great, everything we did was incredible.........Cannot even put my love for this vacation into words.

I think I am too tired to totally write about my adventure in a post tonight, and in fact, I may need to post each day in separate posts, but I will try. I also need to post pictures, but am too tired to download those as well.

We got home last night at midnight, and stayed up a little while opening mail, picking up the house, paying attention to the pugs and Bugsy. Then, we let the pugs sleep with us and since they had been sleeping all day waiting for us, they basically kept us up all night, but we felt too guilty to make them sleep alone after we left them for so long.....

Worked today and mistakenly thought we would be dead....Ummm, no. I guess Christmas causes more divorce and bankruptcy than I realized.

So, I am glad to be home, yet sad to have left at the same time. Welcome me back! :).

Update

OK, everyone......

Our computers are not working here. Thus, I have not been able to post (obviously). We stopped in an Internet cafe today so I could check my email and check on things at the house, etc.....

Anyway, we decided to pick up and drive to the other side of the country for the rest of the trip. First half of trip, mountains....second half, beach. Anyway, we are now staying in Tamarindo, which is a beach town on the Western Coast and really nice.....We may stay the last day of the trip in San Jose, but have not decided yet....

I have been practicing Spanish and I think my New Years Resolution is going to be to learn Spanish. I don't make resolutions, but hell, I will do it for this! :). I am either going to buy tapes or take a class....

Anyway, I promise a really long post with LOTS of pictures when I return......

They Understand Us...

Just had one of the best dinners. The entire menu at this place is vegetarian. Kurt had lasagna and I had a pasta meal with tomatoes and soy......Also salad with their homemade dressing. Everything was awesome.

We have started seeing kewl animals. We saw this huge butterfly after dinner. We were looking through some brochures, and *thought* this creature was a paper weight. Two seconds later, the butterfly started flying towards us! Huge. I think the wingspan was about 12 inches. Wow. Then, we saw some geckos playing on the wall outside our room. They were really cute. I love those.

It is so quiet here, and dark. They have no lighting going from the rooms to the lobby, so it's so peaceful and you can hear all the nightlife as you walk. The US would never allow this because of lawsuits and the like (not lighting pathways), but I loved it.

Anyway, off to bed. Will write more tomorrow night....

Hungry

Kurt is sleeping and I am starving! Waiting for him to wake up so we can eat, am just relaxing in our room.

Getting here was quite an adventure. The flights actually went quite well. I am really impressed with Continental. All flights were on time, they gave us vegetarian food on the flights, food was free, and the beverage service was there all the time. Free headphones too. I hate how other airlines are charging for everything now. You pay enough to fly, in my opinion. Anyway, the time consuming part of the trip started when we landed. We were both already tired from getting up at 307 a.m. to get to the airport and were really looking forward to our room and bed.

First, the line for customs. It was not too bad, but prob took about 20 minutes to get through. After that, our luggage was easy and already waiting for us. Next, the car. We had to go to this desk, and the person was not there. Waited 15 minutes for him to return. Once he returned, it took about 15 minutes to get the shuttle and about 10 more minutes to get to the car (at least). Finally got the car, and started on our "journey" to the hotel. Kurt is the master of directions and speaks relatively good Spanish, so this should have been easy. Umm, yea. IF THE STREETS HAD FREAKING SIGNS. Umm, like no streets have signs. We knew which "street" we needed to be on, but could not find it. We drove around forever and asked for directions like three times. FINALLY, we were on the right path, and only had 22 miles to go. Yea.......22 miles on a road that pretty much is a upward winding one land road with cars going both ways. That took forever. Found the resort and had to drive down this dirt 4-wheel like street to get to the reservation desk......

But....the hotel is so kewl. Our room is nice (there are only 33 rooms here). The people are really nice, and the porch of our hotel has this amazing view which I would love to photograph, but need some light to do so. As soon as I have that tomorrow, I will try and post some pics.

So far, everything we have seen here in beautiful...breathtaking. In one spot on the drive to our hotel, we literally saw, at the same time, FIVE WATERFALLS. It was so amazing. I heart waterfalls and nature in general............

Write more later.....Maybe after my dinner! :).

Happy 3rd Birthday Vito Corleone!

This week has been insane. Seriously. Work was crazy busy and on top of that, we were trying to get things done before vacay tomorrow.

Through all of it, we actually got out of the office at a decent hour. It felt strange packing, because we could actually do it at a leisurely pace.....This is not normal. Before vacay, we are usually running around like mad, packing at the last second, and running out the door after 4 hours of sleep. Still may not get much sleep, but the packing went much better. I even made dinner, did a load of dishes AND a load of laundry through all of it. Woo me. Now am relaxing and will head to bed soon.

Can't wait to get on our flight in the morning. We are flying Continental, which I have never flown before. Guess we will know after the 4 flights of this trip if we like them or not. I *think* I have packed everything. Almost every trip, I forget one small, minor thing. Last trip it was eye makeup remover. Which was actually OK, because it forced a trip to Sephora. Don't think there are any Sephoras in San Jose though.....hehe.

I am so psyched to use my camera. It has been really sad this winter, the lack of sunlight to take pics in.....the average temp in Costa Rica is 76 to 80 degrees every day, every month. I heart nice weather. Especially in December....

Today is Vito C's 3rd birthday. We took him to Burger King, which is pug birthday tradition. Bought him his fav, a kids' cheeseburger. He loved it and was so excited to get to go on a car ride all by himself with Mom and Dad. The guy at the window liked him too, gave him a chicken nugget. When we got home, he was so overcome with excitement, he fell asleep on the couch.

We are taking the laptops on vacay, so email me if you want! I will try and post as well, if I have the energy at night after wandering the jungle, beach and volcanos all day!

Treadmills OK Go

I have no idea why, but I loved this! Thanks for sending, Kelly. :).

Spam

So, my life has been crazy busy. We are trying to hard to get like everything caught up at the office, but every time I get close, we have more people hire us. Well, I guess I should not complain about it....

Last night was fun. My Aunt and I went to dinner and the theatre. Dinner was at Cuisine, this place I love. I tried something new, called skatefish. Loved it, and highly recommend. Then we saw "Spamalot" at the Fisher. I really liked it, it was funny. I recommend it if it's in your area, especially if you love comedy and theatre. The variety in the show was incredible and the singing was awesome.

Got my Secret Santa gift in the mail today! One of my online message boards does an exchange, and I got my gift! I hate not being able to open it until Friday. Blah. It's sitting on the counter begging to be opened.

I am started to get excited about my trip. I called my cell phone company today to ask about the cost to call home and it's like $1.99 a minute. Don't think so. I will prob be getting a calling card or something while I am there. Or just contacting people by internet. Kurt and I are both taking our computers for night and when we are in our room, which will be rare, I am sure.........I can then work on pictures I took during the day and stuff too. Hooray!

Monday was a fun day for me. I argued my first contested Motion in court. It was on a custody case. Basically, long story shot, the Mom and Dad, for the first two years of the child's life, shared custody on a 50/50 basis. The Mom started to get some kind of aid from the state, and because she did, the state went after the father for repayment. The Mom had lied to the state and said the child lived with her fulltime. So, he hired us to take care of it and get everything in writing with the courts re their agreement. Well, the Mom showed up and did not want that. Anyway, I won. The Dad now has half custody of the child, until the court's can look into the situation and make a final decision. So, I started off on the right foot with my contested motion stuff. Yay.

Quick Post

Take my Quiz, if you have not already....Kurt claims nobody will beat him, prove him wrong! ;).

Click here to join in the fun.

"I Put the R in Rad"

So, the rest of the weekend was fun after the "hunter idiots" fiasco....

Rebecca came over and we ran out to Target and to a couple stores in the mall. I bought Gretel a new little outfit...I can't resist. Now that I know she likes clothes, she has to have more than one outfit....I don't want her doggie friends to make fun of her when she goes out.....haha. The little outfit says "rockstar" on it, and it is so appropriate for her personality.....After Target, we headed to Old Navy and I bought a totally "Lori" shirt, that says "I Put the R in Rad." Which, like, I totally do. Right? LOL. I also got a couple t-shirts for our trip on clearance, and a Black fleece because I liked it! And it was on sale.

While at the mall, Kurt called us to see if we wanted to see Borat. He has been wanting to, and Rebecca has not been wanting to, but she decided she was game...so we picked up Kurt and headed back to the theatre.....I am SO GLAD Kurt talked us into it because I have not laughed that hard in ages. I was laughing so hard in parts, I had tears streaming down my face. The movie was very nonpolitically correct, but I loved it anyway. It was so stupid, so stupid, it was funny. After that, we met Kory up at Pete's Garage after he got out of work. After dinner, we came home and watched a Dave Chapelle video Rebecca brought over, then I was off to bed. It was a tiring day dealing with the stress of those hunters being in our yard....

Today, we got up and went to the office until about 730 p.m. Ugh. At least I got a lot of paperwork done. And have been home the rest of the night. I love being home. Threw some laundry in, got some more Xmas cards done, and wrestled with the doggies. Currently, Oscar is lying by me snoring really loudly, it's hilarious.

Tales of Uneducated Americans

So freaking annoyed. And that's putting it lightly......

Today, Kurt and Kory went to Southgate to pick up the rest of our new gym equipment. When they got home, they parked on the side of the house. While parking, they saw two men in orange with rifles and dogs ON OUR PROPERTY. Now, we hadd suspicion a few weeks back that someone was hunting or shooting guns on our propery, because Kurt found a gun shell while walking the dogs. Kurt and Kory walked back to the hunters and the following is what really annoyed me about the entire situation. **The following is what was told to me by Kurt and Kory after said event, as I did not know what was going on because I was in the house cleaning and did not notice the police cars and such until later.**

Kurt: "What the eff are you doing on my property?"

Idiots: "We shot a bird and were getting it."

Kurt: "You are not allowed on my property, get off now, and don't ever come back."

Idiots: "We can do whatever we want and hunt anywhere we want. It's our constitutional right. We are not leaving"

**(I am actually quite shocked that Kurt was not more assertive here. Animals being killed is very, very traumatic to both of us, and I think the only thing that stopped him was those two rifles and big dogs the hunters had with them)**

Kurt: "It is illegal under any circumstances to come on my property without my permission. Get off of it NOW."

Idiots: (this is funny)..."What, you think you know all laws?"

Kurt: "Yes, I am an attorney."

Idiots: --Silence--(guess they could not argue that one)

Kurt: "Get off my property"

**This went on for ten minutes, and idiot hunters would not leave. Seriously, how stupid are people? If I was trespassing, and someone approached me, I would say I was sorry and leave! What is there to argue about? They were basically your typical manly men, wanting to assert their manliness and refuse to budge.

Next, Kory called 9-1-1 since they would not leave and the police showed up.

The rest of the story really is unbelieveable, yet completely typical at the same time. The police took their report and the idiots will be turned into the prosecutor for trespassing. But, on the other hand, the police basically sided with the hunters. Thought Kurt was overreacting. Tried to say Kurt should let them enter the property and kill things on our property. Umm, no. I can't even really go into more detail because I am so mad. We are the victims here, and the police treat us like loonies because we don't want others on our land and want to protect the animals that live on our property. Whatever. They did tell them to leave and not come back. Residential area!! Why would anyone in their right mind hunt in a residential area? How about there are little kids at almost every house? Can you imagine the uproar if they shot a little kid? The cops are such freaking morons sometimes. You really should have to have more of a legal education to be a cop. The cops did not even know the laws.

Oh, and when the guys left, they said to Kurt under their breath, "Glad we know where you live now, buddy." So, now I am terrified to take walks in my yard or let the pugs out. They trespass, they do illegal things, and then they are mad at us? I don't get it, seriously. Just because I own a lot of property does not give YOU the right to enter it. Those same guys would be throwing a fit if I was on their property, I guarantee it.

So, we have a police report number. We will be calling to get the police report and then pursuing this to the fullest. I am going to have Kurt obtain PPOs against both these individuals and ask that they not be allowed to carry firearms as part of the PPO restrictions. We are also going to file a civil lawsuit against them both for the harming of an animal on MY property. I work so hard to get animals to live on my property, and the idiots kill them. Nice. I don't care if the lawsuit goes anyplace, I just want to drive the people nuts and make them sorry for EVER acting the way they did. I want them to learn to respect other people's property and animals. Further, I am going to report them to the MI DNR and any other agency that will take my complaint. My goal is that these guys both lose their hunting licenses. It's bad enough that people in this country are allowed to kill things for fun. I can put that out of my mind, somewhat. But in my own backyard? NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ANYMORE. We went and bought no trespassing signs as well with clauses about trespassers being prosecuted. It's sad I have to put these signs up, but if it keeps them out, fine.

Lesson from this for all hunters out there? Don't screw with lawyers. I will make your life a living hell, especially if you are harming living creatures.

***If you are a hunter or pro killing animals for sport, please don't comment here with some monologue about the right to bear arms or hunt or whatever. These people were trespassing, which is illegal in Michigan, and nothing you can say to me will make me think it's OK to break the law in that manner. And nothing you say will make me think it's a "sport" or "humane" to find animals and shoot them with your gun. That is not skill, it's murder. End of vent.**

Celebrate.....

Leaving work earlier than 9:30 p.m.! Yay. We left the office at 5:15 p.m. today. Miraculous!

After we left the office, Kurt mentioned buying exercise equipment for the gym, so I suggested heading to Dunham's. Kory and I a while back went there and looked at stuff to purchase, but never did so. So, we headed to Dunham's in Southgate. Umm, that store really needs some more employees. It's a weekend, before Xmas. Huge store. Only, I am now kidding, 4 employees in the store. One manager and 3 employees. Kurt and I picked out everything we wanted. The next obstacle was getting help. Normally, we never would have waited like we did there, but they had some great deals.....When we finally got help, it was fine.

We ended up buying a ton of stuff, but have to make several trips to get it all. We bought the machine I have pictured here. We also bought another machine which is kinda like a home gym. Then bought one dumbbell set with stand that goes from 10-50 pounds, and also bought dumbbells from 55-70 pounds. Bought an inexpensive weight bench that adjusts up and down to go with the other one we already have that is nonadjustable. Then, we bought the flooring for the gym. I could not find the exact picture of the stuff, but it's similar to the link, just thicker. The only problem was, we needed like 10 packs of the stuff, and the store only had two. So, the manager called like all the other stores in the area and found 8 more, which we are picking up on Sunday.

Yay. Can't wait. Then I just need to hang my vintage posters, and everything will be done. I am going to call re getting satellite extended into the basement tomorrow.......Also would like to take my stereo down there. We never use it in the kitchen where I currently have it.

I just watched the most stressful show ever....It was called "I Shouldn't be Alive" and was totally insane. Loved it. I highly recommend. Based on true stories, but reenactments.

End of the Storm

So, the rest of the day I calmed down a little bit, LOL. They figured out the situation at our home and now we have heat. For good. So, I came home to a nice toasty house. We worked late though, again, ugh. Did not get home until around 745 p.m., but have been chilling since. Started working on my Xmas cards, but only wrote out 16, so I have a really, really long way to go. I sent out like 125+ every year. I love Xmas cards. It's the one part of Xmas that I really enjoy.

So, we are getting somewhat caught up at the office which is SOOO nice. I can't wait to be totally caught up. But who is kidding? We are never really caught up, there is always something to do.....

So, I am getting really excited about my trip! My camera is really excited too, and is sitting in the kitchen, looking at me, because of my lack of use of the baby since winter has started. The weather here is so horrible in winter, it really surbs my photorgraphy adventures. I think Rebecca and I need to head to the conservatory soon on Belle Isle....Rebecca?

Or Maybe Not

Worked an extremely long, tiring day yesterday. We were here from 9:15 a.m. until about 9:30 p.m. Ugh. At least we got a lot of stuff done. After a certain time at night, the phone barely rings, so I can actually draft things and not get interrupted every two seconds. But, also once a certain amount of time has been worked, I start getting exhausted. I think my breaking point was about 8:30 a.m.

I got so annoyed at this guy at work yesterday. I had already had a long day, and he stopped it here chewing me out for NO REASON WHATSOEVER. He basically was stressed because he had court yesterday (which went fine). The trustee asked for some additional information (which is normal and means nothing), so he had brought it into me to fax over. When he was here, he was all concerned about having to provide additional information. I told him it was no big deal, this happens all the time (the request of more info). I told him if they wanted anything else I would let him know. This is when he had a breakdown and started yelling at me because Kurt was not at his hearing and we had another attorney cover them. Umm, yea. We do that. We pay another attorney to appear at some hearings for us so we have time to be in the office. Bankruptcy hearings for Chapter 7 cases are not difficult. Paul actually does more of the hearings than we do now, because we have him cover almost all of ours. So, he is completely competent. Anyway, I was pissed the guy was throwing a fit over it. He somehow thought the trustee would not have asked for more info if Kurt was there instead. Umm, no, this trustee asks for extra info in almost ALL our cases. But, this guy was not having any of that. He was convinced Paul covering the hearing was his freaking downfall. AARGH. He left. I called Kurt to bitch and he came back and actually said he was sorry for taking his stress out on me. Well, thanks for getting me all worked up for nothing buddy, on a day that I have to work over 12 hours. People drive me nutty sometimes. It's one thing if you have a reason to complain, but when you don't, just think before you say things. Ok, done venting.

Then, got home and of course, had no heat. It was supposed to be working and was not again. I have a new furance. It should work, don't you think? I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be warm again. It has been an average of 65 degrees in our house for like a week now. I called this morning and they are going over there again, but I am questioning if heat will ever be restored. Thank God I have not paid these people yet, because I know it would be a hassle to get them back over there if I had.

Anyway, I should not post in the morning when I have had to get up early, because I realize I am complaining way too much, LOL. Today should be a better day. Misty is in today, so I don't have to answer the phone as much, and I can get a bunch of paperwork done. Yay.

Let There Be Heat and Progress

We got a text from Kory at 4:03 stating "there's heat!" So, our house finally has a running furnace again! Yay.

Work was such a pain today. We had Gretel there again. She is so nervous being someplace other than home, that she insists on sitting on someone's lap, on in the alternative, walking around and whining. When, Kurt left for work today, she freaking out for about an hour. Argh. We took her to the groomer for about an hour for a bath and nail clipping. She smells so pretty now, like perfume. What a girl.

Started working on my Xmas cards tonight. Finally. I bought picture ones, so I opened them all and put in the pictures tonight. I still need to address them all and sign them, etc. But, one third of the work is done anyway. I only have until December 15 to get them out, so I need to get moving.

Two More Down

I did two hearings today! One in family court, one in federal court. Nothing was complex, but I was excited to get in there and do more, as it is making me more confident with it all.

New furnace is still not on. They came today and did half the work and supposedly, the rest will be done tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I can't take much more of the house and these temperatures. It is only like 60 degrees in the living room and that's with the fireplace on and two space heaters. Gretel came into the office today with us because she keeps shivering because of the cold and Kurt felt guilty. She was so cute being the office dog in her little sweater. :). She insisted on sitting on our laps at all time, which makes working a little bit more difficult, LOL.

Ordered my new contacts today. They gave me some new ones to try at my last appointment, but I did not think after a couple days of wear they were any better than my old ones, so I am sticking with the old ones. Really hope they come in the mail before we leave on vacay! :). Oh, the new ones they had me try are Acuvue Oasys. The old ones are Acuvue Advance.

Challenge Being Over

Gosh. Now that the posting every day challenge thing is over, I certainly am slacking! Ha. I made it though. I posted every day for the month of November. I am not even trying for the month of December as Decembers are crazy and I don't want that kind of pressure.....

So, updates. Let's start with Friday. Friday work was craziness. I spent all morning preparing documents for a trial we have on Monday. Got that done just in time to leave for court. Was in court from 2 p.m. until almost 4:00 p.m. Came back to the office to appointments and finally got to eat Subway at 4:30 p.m. I was famished. Worked until 6 p.m. when Hollie and Jim came to pick me up for the concert--Aerosmith with opening act, Hinder. The concert was awesome. They performed my fav song, Love in an Elevator......We had amazing seats in the 8th row next to the stage and there were points when Steven Tyler was literally 8 feet away from me. Awesome show.

Saturday, I had to do a conference call in the morning on a case, what a fabulous way to wake up. Or not. After that, had to work part of the day, and then we had the Xmas dinner for the school board. It was at the Toledo Raceway Park. It was SO MUCH FUN. Dinner was salad, shrimp and chocolate mousse. We got to watch the horse races and eat dinner. It was a great Xmas party. During one of the races, the board got to go down on the field and get our picture taken with the winning horse. That was pretty kewl.

Today was kinda a lazy day. I slept in, then watched the Lions game. I was cheering for them to lose, as I want them to get a high draft pick since their season has been shot for some time. After that, I went to Target and Kroger's and have been doing nothing the rest of the night. I really need to do laundry, Xmas cards, etc., but I don't feel like it, so I am not. I bought Gretel an adorable sweater at Target today.....She is ALWAYS cold, and I thought it might help. She seems to love it and seems more warm. I am not a dressing your animals up kinda person, but she looks super cute and seems happier.

Oh, I almost forgot! I booked our trip today! Finally. We kept goiing back and forth between different places, and finally settled on Costa Rica. We will be going there the 16th and coming back on Xmas. I can't freaking wait. The hotel we are staying at is so *us*, it is run by 26 people who are vegetarian animal lovers. I think it was made for us, really. Rented us an SUV and can't wait to leave. I can't even describe how much I need a vacation.

Strawberry Champagne is Better

**Pic above and below is of my stepbrother R.J.'s dog, Maggie. She is a beagle and so super cute......I got to play with her the entire time I was at my Mom's for Thanksgiving.

So, Kory bought some $3 strawberry champagne on his way home from Pete's Garage and drinking 99 cent margaritas with Rebecca......Anyway, SO MUCH better than regular champagne! and only $3! What a freaking bargain! LOL. I had a sip. Yum.

We are now all watching Revenge of the Nerds. One of the best movies of all time. Don't argue with me. I state the truth. And I heart Lamar.

Once a Year or So....

**My kitten is strange and loves water....

I hate the rule that to order new contact lenses, one must have an eye exam once per year. I swear, it's a conspirary by the optical industry to make money on me. Anyway, tonight after work, I had an appointment to have an exam. They gave me a newer contact to try for a week, so if I like it, I will order them.

We got to sleep in today, which was soooo nice. I actually felt rested for once. Work was crazy busy (I am beginning to sound like a broken record), but productive at the same time.

I am having major issues deciding where to go on vacation this December. It has gone from Costa Rica to Belize and back again several times. Right now, I am thinking it will be Costa Rica, but who knows. It's not booked, so nothing is set yet.

Need to change my laundry over, more later......

I Cook--Kinda

**pic of my meal above.

So tonight, I tried this receipe I found on a box and it was SOOO yummy. I manipulated it some to make it vegetarian, it is called Nacho Bake...............Click here to see it. I used boca instead of meat, and excluded the salsa. Easy to make and super good.

Right now, am watching The 40-Year Old Virgin. It was freaking hilarious. My Mom said she hated it. Of course, I loved it then. It was just so stupid it was funny.

Bugsy got into the basement and would not come up. He apparently loves boxes and was running around like a kid in a candy store.....

Work was insanely busy today, we did not get out of there until about 7:00 p.m. Ugh. Really tired, so this entry is going to be short.....

Sighing Kinda Day.

Mondays. Sigh.

Mondays after holiday weekend when you close your office the Friday after Thanksgiving. Double Sigh.

Mondays after holiday weekend when you close your office the Friday after Thanksgiving when your husband is barely in the office because he has court and a meeting out of the office? Triple sigh.

If you have not figured it out yet, my day was crazy busy! The phone rang off the hook. When I finally got to check the messages from the weekend at 1:00 p.m., I had 27. And this was not including all the calls I had already answered that day. Aargh. Also met with three people in the office, and had a ton of people walk in. I was so glad to leave the office at 6:00 p.m.

Came home and got to watch one of the best Wife Swap's EVER. It was freaking hilarious. Watched the final episode of The Bachelor too, and was thrilled that he chose Jen. Thank God. I could not stand Sadie. So, so fake. I should have bet Rebecca because she thought he would pick Sadie.

Wanna bet now Rebecca? ;).

Rebecca Rubbed my Hyoid

Hehe. Rebecca came over tonight, and we went to dinner at Red Lobster. I had my norm, lobster rolls with clam chowder. After that, watched Desperate Housewives, and then Rebecca tested a new massage technique on me called anterior cervical massage.....Anyway, really liked it as my neck is always bothering me.....Thanks Rebecca! ;).

Kurt and i had a pretty productive Sunday, for us. Usually Sundays are spent on our couch, watching football, relaxing.....Since the tire died on the Saturn today, we took it in to be replaced and got the oil changed on the car as well. While we were waiting on that car, we took the Jeep in for an oil change (which was 3000 miles past due). Also, tonight, we put the hard top on the Jeep for the winter. I changed a ton of light bulbs in the house. Including 7 in my bathroom. I could barely see in my bathroom since I was down to one lightbulb. Everything is so high in our house though, you need ladders to change the lightbulbs and it's a total pain. We also cleaned out the Jeep and Saturn. Yay. Today was supposedly one of the last warm days of the year and we wanted to get that done. Kurt also cleaned out some of the garage with odds and ends that needed to be put away....Oh, also went grocery shopping. So, things are slightly caught up at the house.....

Feels Like Sunday

These holiday weekends totally mess with me. All day long, it has felt like Sunday. I am so psyched to have another weekend day tomorrow!

Anyhow. Slept in this morning, or tried to. We let Oscar sleep with us last night, and Vito was up early crying because he wanted in our room. Bastard. Finally, we got up because Vito needed us so badly. But, I did get to sleep in until about 11 a.m. Yay.

After that, took a shower and headed to the store to buy my Aunt some flowers or a plant as a Thanksgiving gift, since she was making dinner. I ended up getting her this really kewl plant. Also stopped in and got my eyebrows waxed at Nautica, i was so glad that they could fit me in.

Came home and we tried to head to Canton. At about the half way point, I got a flat tire. Kurt changed it, but did not want to drive on it, so we drove home and got the Jeep and ended up being an hour late. Oh well, better late than never, right? My Aunt's meal was awesome. She made the customary turkey, but also made meatless meatballs since Kurt and I don't eat turkey. SO SO GOOD. She gave me the leftovers. I cant wait to eat them tomorrow. She had awesome appetizers too. And for dessert, one of my favs, banana creme pie.

Now I am home for the night and lazy. Watching the USC game, but don't really know why since they are KILLING Notre Dame.

Domesticate Me

Thanks to Rebecca, I am now obsessed with a website. Anyone who knows me, knows, I DO NOT LIKE TO COOK. My husband has not cooked a meal in over 10 years, because his solution to cooking is eating out and I can't stand doing that all the time. So, I cook. Do I cook anything complex? For the most part, no. He could care less what I cook for him, he is just happy to eat something that resembles a meal, because if he had to do it himself, he would live in snacks and fast food, and at least with my meals, he is getting the 4 food groups. Kinda.

Anyway, Rebecca introduced me to an awesome website tonight. Click here to see it. Basically, it's recipes for those challenged in the kitchen--easy recipes. I shall start using this site, and have started saving recipes on the site already for my future use. I will print them off and save once i have used them once and like them.

Here are links to what I shall try first:

Appetizer (which I will most likely eat as a meal, yum): Baked Crab Rangoon.

Meal: Tuna Cakes.

I have not even LOOKED at the desserts yet, but I freaking love this site.

For those cooking buffs who read my site, any sites you recommend for me? And don't go getting all gourmet on me either, because I am so not there yet. Ha.

Rest of the Holiday

So, after I cooled off, the rest of the night was fine. My sister and fam left shortly after that, as she had to get up early for work. After she left, we all watched Grey's Anatomy and Survivor, then the movie Mission Impossible 3. I thought I would hate it, I, in fact, loved it. I don't normally like "action" type movies, and I detest Tom Cruise in real life, but for whatever reason, I like his movies. Passed out after that, I was so tired. It was so much fun to watch Grey's with my Mom--we talk about it every week after watching on the phone, but in person was better......

Today, we got up and went to K-Mart and Fashion Bug. My Mom wanted some boots at Kmart that were marked down until 11 a.m., and we both had $10 gift cards to use at Fashion Bug. I ended up getting a new black wool coat at K-Mart which my Mom bought me on Xmas. It was marked down half off, so it was a really good deal and really cute. I was shocked, because I normally don't like clothing there. At Fashion Bug, I got a cute tank to wear under my suits, and some new earrings. We picked up Ronnie, R.J., and Liz after that and went downtown. Went to Glik's (clothing store), where I bought Kurt some new jeans and myself a cute black dress shirt, both 50% off. Went to Outpost after that and got a really cute winter hat by North Face. Marla will be proud, that's one of her fav brands. I got $20 off the hat with a coupon my Mom had. I heart coupons and deals. Had lunch afterwards at a local place--we ordered pizza, one thin crust, one deep dish. Yummy. After that, went back to the house and watched a couple episodes on DVD of Gilmore Girls and then I became my long journey home. Made record time. Have been on the couch since, chilling out. Am really tired and looking forward to getting a good night's sleep before dinner tomorrow at my Aunt's.

OH!!!! I almost forgot. My new iron I bought on eBay came in the mail. It looks so kewl and I can't wait to try it out! But, I need to buy a new ironing board cover. Ours died......

Up North

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I can now disclose my location to the world.....I am in Manistee, MI, at my Mom's house. I decided to drive up here Wednesday night and surprise her by being here for Thanksgiving. I am staying until tomorrow night, when I will drive home for Thanksgiving with the other side of my family on Saturday afternoon.

Driving here after working late was exhausting, but I made really good time and there was luckily, no traffic. Yay. I thought there would be a ton of holiday traffic. Got here, and we are watched the end of a movie, Double Jeopardy, which was GREAT. Loved it. Then fell asleep. Got up this morning and helped my Mom make dinner........My sister is here right now with her fiance and his son, Jimmy, and my stepbrother, R.J. and his girlfriend, Liz, are here. Dinner was awesome, and we are going to watch Survivor and Grey's Anatomy later when they come on. Kurt and Kory were at the Lions game today, watching them lose.....Ugh. And of course, Joey Harrington got MVP.

I had to get away from it all for a moment. My sister says really stupid things sometimes, and is one of those people who is alwatys right. She made a comment to me along the lines that "when you have kids someday, you will understand." Besides the fact that I hate being talked to in a condescending way, it was a retarded statement. She was basically being a total bitch to her soon to be stepson, and he did not even do anything wrong. When I said something, she got all huffy and defensive. Whatever. I just walked away because I can't deal with irrational people.

Anyway, back to the festivities. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Undefined Location

So, need to post really quickly because I don't know if I will be online again for the rest of the day/night.....After work, I am leaving and driving to a location I am not revealing at the moment....as I am surprising someone and showing up for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, that person does not read this and figure out what I am doing. :). I am all packed and will be back online full-time on Friday night. If I can get online, I will blog tomorrow, if not, I will just post my blog for tomorrow on Friday night. I promise to take pics on my journey and update my Flickr account once I return.

In the spirit of the holidays, here are some things I am really thankful for this year.

1. My Family and Friends, including my awesome pets.
2. My health and the health of those in my life being well.
3. Finishing my education, passing the bar, starting my 'real' career.
4. Getting involved in my community (the board appointment).
5. The Democrats taking over the House and Senate. (ha).
6. My business doing well.

That's it for now, because I am slammed at work! What are you all thankful for?

Just wanted to wish everyone a great Thanksgiving holiday before I left. Hugs!

The Feds

Got sworn into Federal Court today! Yay! Now I can appear at our bankruptcy hearings AND family law stuff. The Judge was so super nice too....one we did not know, but he took me into chambers and swore me in there. It was really fast, and now I am set.

The office was crazy busy today. I am so tired right now from multi-tasking. I can only take so much multi-tasking in one day and today was pretty much doing so ALL DAY LONG. Argh. When we want to go to lunch, we literally have to run to the car to avoid the phone ringing or someone stopping in. It's exasperating. Then, I come back from lunch to 10 messages. Sigh. At least I have a long weekend......with no work.

Came home and did some laundry and a quick run to the grocery store. Bugsy, my spoiled, spoiled kitten, was out of the specific canned food he likes and dry food. So, I had to pick it up for him.

Found out today that our downstairs furnace is officially dead. We need a new one. Just love the cost of that. Yuck. We are getting a second estimate in the morning, and will go with whomever is more cheap.

Need to get back to my errands.

Surprises and Court

I have a surprise for my Mom, and I would post it on here, but she reads this blog sometimes.....so, can't write about it just yet, but can't wait until she finds out! hehe. So, Mom, if you are trying to find the surprise out here, good try! But, you are just going to have to wait. ;). I think this kind of beehavior by me is why I am the "second favorite daughter".

So, this morning was my first court appearance. I ended a 23 year marriage for one of our clients.......I was not nervous at all, and then when I went up there, I suddenly was terrified! LOL. I did fine, ended the divorce. I hate how I can't control my feelings though. I tell myself I am not nervous, am convinced I am, and then suddenly, the adrenaline hits me and I am crazy nervous. Oh welll. I need to get in there and have more appearances, so I can stop the nervousness. The more I do this, the easier it will get. Me and my fear of public speaking....

Went back to the office after that and worked until 730 p.m. I am glad for the short work week, but the longer days to make up for it are not fun. I did get a lot done today, which is amazing since the phone rings off the hook on Mondays. I feel like I am clearing off a lot of paperwork from my desk.

Now am home for the night, watching TV and chilling. I have some pics to download and some laundry to do....I will post pics if I have a chance later....I took some great ones of Bugsy playing with water. I have the strangest cat. He loves faucets and water. No idea why. Toby, our cat who passed away, would not go anywhere NEAR a faucet.

Sundays Suck.

Ok, not really. But, after getting to sleep in today--*bliss*--I took a shower, and headed to the office for 4 hours. Blah. Kurt was not feeling well, so I had to go in myself. I worked on a bunch of bankruptcies. They are really hard to draft during the week when I keep getting interrupted by phone calls and people stopping in, as I really need to concentrate on them and compute figures, etc. Decided to close stop a little after 5 because I saw it was snowing outside and I did not want to drive home on bad roads.

Got home and did some stuff around the house. Did two loads of laundry and a load of dishes as well, then made dinner for everyone.

So, I kinda posted about this before, but for sure my first court appearance is in the morning! I am ending a divorce for someone. It will be easy, but great to get started doing that. Kurt will love getting a break from being down there all the time.

I love how I can harass Kory about guns. Ever since he started working at Cabela's, he has become obsessed. We were watching a show about crime, and there was some thing about England, and Kurt said "Aren't guns illegal there?" And I said "That could be why there is less crime there..." And Kory chimed in with some pro-gun comment...haha. I agree with him, it's a Constitutional right, yada yada, but it does not mean I have to "like" that right. Kory wants to get his concealed weapons permit, which I love to harass him about too, because we live in freaking NEWPORT. Ummm, rural area, no danger whatsoever....I think it's cute that he tries to justify his want of this concealed weapon thing, when there is no basis for it at all except that he wants to be able to say he has it. Ha. He about had a heart attack the other day when he heard Jennifer Granholm wants to take the concealed weapon right away.

So, off to bed....need to switch over the laundry and get some sleep, early morning tomorrow.

My Favorite

I had a great day. Except for the brief stint at the office this morning. We planned on working this morning, so Kurt scheduled an appointment for someone to finish up their probate paperwork. I was so not in the mood to be business-like this morning. But, we finished it and another case at the office can be closed, so that is good.

After that, headed to Ferndale to get my "hair did" at Sinbad's with Marnie. Got a couple inches cut off, and new wonderful highlights. I love the way Marnie does them. I can go over three months between highlights, and they still don't really need to be done at that time. She does colors pretty close to my natural color, and mixes in a lot of my own color, so it always looks great. Yay for Marnie. Afterwards, I went to Rebecca's so she could try a new massage technique on me involved hot stones.....ummmm, loved it. I heart Rebecca, her massages keep me sane. We went to "lupper" (a combo of lunch and dinner) after that at Monterrey. I had spicy shrimp fajitas that were awesome. We stopped at Astoria after that and picked up some desserts. I bought Kurt some chocolate mousse, Kory an oreo cheesecake and myself tiramisu. Triple yum.

Been home the rest of the night, chilling on the couch. Sad that Michigan lost the big game, it was soooo close.

Finally Fixed

So, earlier this year, the mirror on my passenger side somehow fell off and was hanging there. How this happened, I have no idea. Anyway, we had to get it fixed, and get a part ordered, and with the way our schedules are, you know how that goes. Finally, finally, we took it in to a place in Newport and it is now fixed. Yay! Next, we need to get new tires on the Jeep for winter, but I am just happy getting one thing done on my to do list.

Came home after work and took a nap until Rebecca came over. Made dinner for us, my fav, angel hair pasta with marinara and garlic bread. Yummy. and I have leftovers. I heart leftovers.

I wore my pretty new shoes today and they are SOOO comfy. Highly recommend them and the brand of shoe. I know with having to dress up every day, I really need to find lines of shoes that are comfy because I will be walking a lot at the courts and to and from my car....so Aerosoles? Yay. Need to find some other brands too though. Really need to get to an outlet mall.

Finally found my graduation pictures today. I had them at the office, and Kurt put them away, then did not remember where he put them away at. My Mom keeps asking about them. Found them, and sent her the pics today. I need to give them to my Aunt and Grama too, but will wait until Thanksgiving when I see them and my Dad.

I can't believe how long I have kept up with this blogging everyday! I actually really love it. I am going to try again for December, but it may be hard if we go on vacay......

Cards and Shoes

Almost forgot! Got my bar card in the mail today! It is shiny and pretty and new and now I can go through the special attorney lines at the Friend of the Court! Yippee! The only thing I have left to do now is get sworn in at Federal Court, and I am waiting for them to send the application in the mail.

Oh, and my really cute new shoes came in the mail today! Click here to see them! I got them for shipping only because I had gift cards on Amazon.com to use. They seem really comfy and I may just have to try them out tomorrow at work. Yippee for new shoes too!

First Meeting

**Above picture is of one of the flowers from the plant that my friends Deanna and Brian and their son, Ben, sent me when I passed the bar exam.........Love them and the flowers.

So, tonight was my first board meeting! And boy was it a long one! We had a board workshop previous to the meeting, then the board meeting, and a closed session as well. All in all, I was there from 530 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., but this is was an out of the orindary thing. We don't normally have closed sessions or workshops. Anyway, it was great and I am so excited about being part of it.

Slept in a little bit this morning, which I really needed after getting up so early the previous morning. Work was really productive today, which was great.

I think my first court appearance is going to be Monday. We have a divorce that is ending and are simply presenting the judgment to the court for entry. I am going to start off slow and work up to cases where I need to actually argue things in court. Can't wait. I love how being a lawyer is really testing me with my public speaking skills, since public speaking is not my favorite thing to do.

Anyway, that's about it for today's post.....Night everyone.

In the Paper

**Above is another picture from the fog in our yard last week.....

Whoot! I was surfing the net looking for school boardish stuff today, and found an article that was in the Monroe News after I was appointed to the Board. Click here to see it. How kewl is that?

We had to get to the office SOOO early this morning, it was horrible for me because I get used to a certain amount of sleep and hate change. We were there around 7:30 or so, and losing even an hour of sleep kills me. But, I must say, Kurt and I are a kick ass team. We needed to get a bunch of docs drafted, printing off and organized in a very limited amount of time and we were done with minutes to spare. Phew.

The rest of the day went pretty well. We brought in a couple new clients, and got a lot of paperwork done. Also left the office 10 minutes BEFORE 5, which is like a miracle. We barely ever even get to leave AT 5:00 p.m., but since we were there so early today, I think this was well deserved. Blah on long hours.

I finally scheduled my hair appointment AND Rebecca wants me to come over after so she can try a new hot stone technique on me. Seriously, she is the bestest ever. My mental well being is so much better getting these weekly massages from her. My neck and shoulders rarely hurt, and I am so much more relaxed. Thanks Rebecca! :).

I spent the beginning of the night going over all my board materials for my first meeting tomorrow night. I have a board workshop, then the meeting, and the meeting includes a closed session, so it is going to be a busy night.

We went at lunch today and bought a book re Costa Rica, which I think it where our December trip is going to be this year, although no decisions are yet final. My travel agent has been out of town, and I have been waiting for her to get back before booking anything. I think they said tomorrow she would be in, so I will call and get her thoughts on it. There are so many places we want to go--I was just looking at Rio online too and that looks beyond kewl, but I think we are set on Costa Rica for the next trip.

Off to See Billy......

OK, not quite......I am going to see Movin' Out at the Fisher Theatre tonight. The music is based on my favorite musical act ever, Billy Joel. I have actually already seen the show once, but it is part of my season ticket package again this year and we decided to see it again because I absolutely loved it the first time. I love anything to do with Billy Joel. Yay.

I wanted to blog before leaving because I may be home late, and gotta keep up with my goal of blogging every day......

I had a great morning. Went with the superintendent to visit all 5 schools in my district. We have really nice schools, and everyone I met was really nice as well. The schools seem so organized, and all the kids were really well behaved. That could be because the superintendent of schools was standing there, but hey, it was a pleasure visiting the facilities. :). The high school has so much more than my high school did when I was in school, and they have so many more programs and classes available.

The rest of the day here was insanity! We have been so slammed, I cannot even describe it.

I found out the state bar passage rate for new takers was 91%! That is crazy high! I have never heard of a number like that. In recent years, it has been between 60-75%! So, apparently, the people I was taking it with were extremely intelligent, or the people administering the test were more relaxed. I don't know which it is, but I will go with intelligent! Ha.

Off to dinner.......More later y'all.

You Are Now Free to *Leave* the Country

So, finally, today. After endless years of saying, I am going to get one, I finally ordered it! A passport. Woo hoo. We are running out of places to go that don't require one, so we finally broke down and went to the post office today. Everything done and ordered, expedited. Two weeks and we can go anywhere...we....want. Hooray! We are thinking Costa Rica for our December trip. It looks like Hawaii to me, with more wildlife. So, of course, I will love it! Camera heaven for me.....

Finally, went grocery shopping after work. We had like, ummm, nothing? in the house. Whoops. Well, now we are stocked for a while. I had this awesome $14 off purchase at Kroger's that I got to use. Freaking love Kroger's coupons.

Tomorrow morning should be fun. I am doing a tour of the local schools with the superintendent. I can't wait to see what I get to be a part of. I am beyond excited to get to *do* something that I *want* to do with my spare time. The last 4 years, make that, 7 years of my life, have been so much about studying and school.....

Anyway, off to bed.....

Sleepy......

**Picture above is of our yard last Wednesday morning....It was so foggy here, the schools had a fog delay for two hours.

So, I am sitting here exhausted because of my lack of sleep on Friday night coupled with the awesome Sunday night massage Rebecca gave me........She was here last Sunday night too, and massages my neck and shoulder during Desperate Housewives and my back afterwards......Yay. She tells me I am stressed which is why my neck gets that way. AHHHH. Oh well, guess I can't really fix that...

**Picture above is of Bugsy, in front of the fire, relaxing. He loves the fireplace and getting warm in front of it.

So, today, I was still kinda weak this morning from being sick. So, I stayed on the couch until Rebecca got here in late afternoon. Then, we ran to a couple stores to do some shopping as we both had coupons we needed to use. I had a $10 gift card to use at Kohl's and was planning on buying myself a dress shirt or necklace, but instead, bought Kurt a really kewl Ralph Lauren suit......Grey pinstriped. Love it. And gotta love Kohl's sales. also, got myself new shampoo and conditioner at Bath and Body Works in my favorite scent--Black Raspberry Vanilla.

We all went to dinner after that, and have been home since....heading to bed soon.

I Know Myself.....

So, post from last night? It would have been correct. Shortly after I posted, I vomited. And then proceeded to do so about every hour for most of the night. What was wrong with me, I have no idea. I was up most of the night, and Kurt was worried too....He said that was the sickest he has ever seen me. He said if I had not stopped vomitting by 9 a.m., he was taking me to the doctor's. I hate the doctor's, so I proceeded to stop vomitting, LOL.

So, today, I have pretty much laid on the couch all day and zoned in and out of sleep, which I needed since i barely slept last night. I am up now for a few moments, but, I will most likely go back to sleep after this again. I am glad this happened on a weekend, because I don't have time to be sick during the week.

Kurt was sweet and went to Kroger's to buy me diet Vernors and saltine crackers, so that has been all that was in my diet today. Have been eating a couple crackers here and there, and no more getting sick, so I think that part of my sickness is cured. Although, all day long, I have been really warm and I think I have a fever. Ugh.

Here is some more proof I was sick. I had a massage appointment today and I cancelled! I never cancel spa appointments, ha. And Rebecca, I did it as far ahead in advance as I could (I think two hours).

Because I have been sick and busy, I never posted about my conference on Thursday, which was great. I took a class for beginner board members, and learned a lot. Got to spend the day with another board member who is new as well (he started in May of this year), and learned a lot from him about our board as well. Had dinner after the conference at Seldom Blues with 4 other board members, and my food was yet again, awesome. I love that place.

Dedication

OK, this is how dedicated I am when I commit myself to something........

I am sitting here, blogging on the couch. I truly think I am going to vomit soon (my stomach feels really strange and my face is like a weird shade of white), but I don't want to miss a day of the contest, and thus, I blog. Ugh.

I came home and took a nice afterwork nap, and woke up feeling like I have to vomit. How is that fair? Seriously?

I'm Up At WHAT Time?

Just a quick post to anyone trying to get a hold of me today....I will be gone most of the day, and possibly part of the night, so I will not be online until most likely, after dinner. I *might* get a break during the afternoon to head to the office and catch up.

I am going to be at a conference for my school board gig, learning about school boardish stuff. I actually can't wait, but also can't believe I am up at this unGodly hour. What kind of class starts at 8 a.m.? Seriously.

Will let y'all know about the conference later..........I am hoping I can drive to Detroit without falling asleep. ;).

Jumping Up and Down and Screaming

I am offical! I am official! I finally got the bar number! Maybe the bar read my vents from last night and took pity on me? Or maybe I am just impatient.

**This post was edited to remove the link to my entry on the bar site..........To protect me from stalkers and the like. :). Because Kelsie was worried about me. Thanks Kels! (and Kelly too, who emailed me on this issue).

Election Day--Go Dems!

So, we voted! Just in time. Right around 7 p.m., the polls closed at 8 p.m. We had to vote at a new spot, at the high school. We used to vote down the street at the firehouse, which I loved. It is a historic little firehouse and so cute. Plus, never a line. Tonight, we had to wait in line about 15 minutes, I think.

I had a hard day. See why below.

Vent One: Who takes their kids to go vote? I mean, most kids, fine. But an infant that screams every 30 seconds? Make it stop! People are trying to concentrate. My friends who have kids would never, and I mean never, take their kids to VOTE. Especially when they are young like that. Argh.

Vent Two: Today, work was difficult. I think clients really don't get that every call I answer, is less work I am getting done. Kurt was out most of the day, at court and mediation, and I was in the office alone. So besides trying to draft paperwork, I was answering calls, talking to people stopping in, etc. Ugh. And almost every call, was someone calling to "see again" if Kurt was in the office. Please, please, please, I beg you...LEAVE one message and wait for us to call you back. We are very good at answering calls and will do so. But, there are only so many hours in the day.

Vent Three: It is KILLING me that I don't have my bar number or card yet. I sent in my stuff last Tuesday afternoon. My friend, Kellie, sent hers in on Wednesday. She has had a bar number since Friday. I STILL DON'T HAVE ONE. They are supposed to be processed "in the order received". I called yesterday and was told they had mine, and it would be processed yesterday. Still, nothing. It is exasperating because I need it to go to court. Many of the attys getting their numbers don't even go to court. They should process those apps of people who go to court first. The others don't need their number. Can you tell this is totally exasperating me?

Vent Four: How there are no winners with the outcome of Prop 2. Affirmative action good, or bad? There are arguments to both sides. Kurt and I voted in opposite ways, but I think we both have valid arguments for the side we support, as follows:

1. Here is Kurt's: "poor boy, from Pinconning. (Kurt is referring to himself here). Does awesome in high school, but gets NO assistance with college and turned down from colleges like U of M,, while others he knows who had worse grades, who are minorities or female, get in AND get financial aid. They get this because of affirmative action. How is this fair?"

2. Here is mine, which refers to nobody in specfic: "If affirmative action is eliminated, it allows others TO discriminate, for NO reason. For example, I apply for a job at a large corporation. I am more educated, more experienced, than the other candidates. I lose out because the person who runs the corp is sexist. How is this fair?"

Both arguments make sense. How do we make this right? We don't. We would need everyone to overlook color, and sex, and I truly don't think it will happen in our lifetime, and that makes me sad. It looks like the proposal will pass, which in essence will take back many of the strides women and people of color have made in this state, and that makes me sad for my friends' future daughters, for MY future daughters'.

On a positive note, as of right now, it looks like the Democrats are doing AWESOME in this election. So, that is incredible. Kurt cannot tear himself away from the election coverage......

I am Begging You

Everyone, please vote today. Every year, I am saddened by the poor election turnout. And then to hear everyone (including those who did not vote, really moreso those than others) complain about the outcome! VOTE VOTE VOTE!

And for those of you who have no idea "how" to vote this year, here are my picks. Feel free to use them, and share them with your friends and family! hehe.

Straight Democratic Ticket

Prop 1- no (I am kinda wavering on this one though, and could go either way by 7 p.m. tonight when I vote)
Prop 2- no (this would be a step backwards in the strides women have taken towards equality)
Prop 3- no (killing animals=bad. Especially helpless little birds who are not a food source for the state)
Prop 4- yes (taking MY property for the use of others? Bad. No matter what.)
Prop 5- yes ($$ for schools = good)

Happy Voting!

Early to Bed

At least tonight. I am exhausted, and I have no idea why. All day long, I have just wanted to go to sleep, and it has not gotten any better since I got home. So after this post, I am heading to bed early.

Today was so slammed at work. Mondays, the phone just rings off the hook. It drives me bonkers when people call checking on the status of their paperwork because every call I take, umm, it takes even longer to get paperwork done and printed. But nobody gets that. I am one person, I can only do so much in one day. Argh.

I so so so want my bar number. I got sworn in before most people did, since I happen to know a licensed attorney, wink wink. Sent my stuff in last Tues, and still have nothing. This might not bother me, except for the fact that my friend, Kellie, who sent her stuff in the day AFTER I sent in mine, has had her bar number since last Friday! I called today to check on it though because they "supposedly" process them in the order received. The lady called back and left a message that she found mine, and it would be processed today. Yea. Umm, still don't have my number. Hopefully, tomorrow. It would have been helpful for the morning as Kurt has three hearings and I could have covered at least one for him. Not now.....

Tomorrow is voting day. I think I have finally decided how I am voting. Straight ticket Democratic, as usually. And for the proposals, as follows: 1-no, 2-no, 3- no, 4-yes, 5-yes. I feel the most strongly probably about Prop 4. And I have gone back and forth on Prop 1 and still may change my mind before I vote tomorrow night, who knows. We have appointments until 630, then we will head out immediately to the polls.

I have so many things I need to do, but never have enough hours in the workday. I am going to list a couple here so I can try to remember.

1. Call a heating guy for the house. Our heat downstairs stopped working on Friday night. We have the fireplace on though, which I love, so it has still been fine in the house. If it gets any colder though, we are all going to be hanging out upstairs where the heat IS working.

2. Call Marnie and make a hair appointment. My roots actually do not look bad, but I really need a trim because all my layers are getting to be the same length, which I hate. And maybe I will do something different with color for winter. I heart Marnie. I love how I can get in with her right away too and don't have to wait ages. I am not good at scheduling appointments way in advance.....

3. Call the Federal Courts to get info on getting sworn in there, send in more money. I was sworn in for State Courts, but Federal Courts is separate and of course, more $$. Plus, Kurt does not "know" any Fed Court Judges, so I will have to make an appointment. Blasphemy.

4. Call and change my dentist appointment. They scheduled me for a night I have a board meeting. Must change. One of my resolutions has been to get in there every 6 months, and it has been exactly 6 months.

5. Call and make a dermotoligist (sp) appointment for Kurt. He is out of his shampoo that is prescription, and no longer uses his old doctor.

6. Call and schedule a massage/facial/something with the spa I have a gift card too. I want to finish up the gift card. I love free services.

7. Shop. I really need more workish clothes. I got some great stuff at Kohl's and TJ Maxx a couple weekends ago, but I don't like doing laundry constantly and I will need to if I don't get some more stuff. I would love some more button down cute shirts, and maybe some more dress pants, a couple more suits. And some cute comfy shoes. Any suggestions on shoe brands anyone? :).

8. Call and make the pugs a grooming appointment. They all need baths and nail clippings. I wish they would let us do the nail clipping thing, but no. They hate it and squirm way too much.

9. Catch up on paperwork at the office. I am slightly behind, but hope to remedy that by the end of the week.

10. Grocery shop. We have like, umm, nothing, in this house.

That's about it for now. I will add to the list and cross things out, as done. Maybe this will help me. I am usually organized, but I have so much on my plate, sometimes it's hard to remember everything......

Spinal Snap

Tonight, I had my first spinal snap. LOL. Rebecca was over--we took her to dinner, she massaged me. I like that exchange. During Desperate Housewives, she did myofascial on my neck and shoulders and after the show, she did that same on my back and some other things, including the spinal snap, which was different. I have not yet decided if I like spinal snaps or not.

Before that, we all went to dinner at Red Lobster and had a hilarious time. Our table conversation is so much more interesting than the average table. Even the waitress found us amusing.

The rest of the day, we just stayed in. I was kinda tired from going out the two nights before. I am not looking forward to work tomorrow, I am still exhausted. Blah. Did some laundry, watched some football, slept in. I must have been tired, I slept in longer than I have in forever, like 1145 a.m.! Craziness!

Anyway, off to bed.

Party All the Time

**Pic above is of me, before the party. I love a sparkly silver shirt, black dress pants, Steve Madden heels.........I even kinda curled my hair, which is rare, but I love it that way.......I was trying to get Bugsy to pose, but that does not work so well...I love my kitty. :).

Not really. But tonight, we went to a party for our friend, Tom....It was his 40th b-day party, a surprise. It was a great party....but, we were both tired, so we did not stay too late. I got to talk a ton to Hollie and Jim, as well as Angela and John, so that was fun! Also took a few pics for Tam--she never remembers to take a ton of pics, and always likes when I send her a bunch.

Before the party, earlier in the afternoon, my Mom and stepDad came over for the day. We went to a guitar/drum store in Monroe, then to TJ Maxx, Elder Beerman and some other stores at the mall. Went to lunch at Ruby Tuesday. I really wish my Mom lived down here.......We would do stuff together all the time, I know it. And we are both huge bargain shoppers, so I would have fun looking for deals with her. :).