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.