Welcome Baby Nicholas James!

I want to welcome baby Nicholas James to the world! My sister had her first baby today. A Leap Baby! So kewl. She went into labor at 330 AM on Feb 27. They sent her home because things were progressing slowly, and she went back in again at 715 PM. Was there all night long. Finally had the baby aroond 100 PM. I don't have all the details yet, but Mom and baby are doing well. Nick was 7 pounds 4 oz, and 21 inches. And even though I don't have pics yet, I already know is the cutest baby ever (excluding my future child(ren)), LOL. I guess he has a lot of dark hair and sleeps a lot! :). I can't wait to see pics. I also can't wait for the weather to clear up so I can get up there to visit! The weather is HORRENDOUS here, but appears to be clearing up, or at least was better on my way home from work. I promise to post a pic of Nick as soon as I get some sent to me. My family is not as OCD as I am with pics, so it may be a while, ha.

So, poor Kurt. He was given an anti-inflammatory drug and told that in some people, it will cause stomach pains. Of course, it caused this for Kurt. He was up half the night, in pain. So, I called the dr this morning and asked for an alternate med to be called in. Nothing called in yet. AARGH.

Work was really tiring today, and I have no idea why. I think the week is finally catching up to me. We are overwhelmingly busy, I had to go to court twice this week, and when I am not in the office to do all paperwork, it starts to get backed up. Which is why we have to work tomorrow. Ugh. So, I took the night off of working out since i am beyond exhausted and don't want to make myself sick. I have been doing some laundry and dishes, relaxing....made us pasta marinara for dinner and have just been hanging out with Kurt. Will prob go to bed early too. We are so exciting on a Friday night, WOO HOO. Sadly, this is my fav kind of night. You really start to cherish your free time when you have so little.

Heather's Blog Challenge #26

Heather asked in her blog challenge this week...

1. What jobs have you always wanted to have?
2. Or did you think for a long time that you wanted to have but got over at some point?

Interesting questions. I don't recall, when I was really young, what I said I wanted to be. I would have to ask my Mom! :). But, I do recall playing "lawyer and Judge" with my cousin, Tim, when we were kids. We would make up cases, and spy on my sister and her friends, then run the scenarios and cases by my Mom and make her reach a ruling. Ha. Yes, this sister is the same one I talk about below, the one who just went into labor. Heh. Obviously, I am no longer spying on her.

As a high schooler, I decided that I wanted to be an eye doctor. NO idea whatsoever how I decided on this. Our school did not really have a good program to help us decide what areas or careers would interest us. I decided to go to Ferris, as it was the only state in Michigan that had an eye doctor program. So, I applied, got it, and quickly decided that I did not want to be a doctor. Even though I loved science and did well in it in high school, college was another world....and, the partying and everything probably did not help my concentration in early morning Chemistry, LOL. Took a required Accounting class and fell in love.

Thus, the switch to Accounting.

Took a year off of college. Met Kurt, who was finishing college and started law school.

Started helping Kurt type his notes and started to have a real interest in law, while continuing to complete my degree in Accounting at Davenport. Decided about two years into his law school, that I wanted to be a lawyer too. Quit my waitressing job and got a job at a family law firm in Lansing. Learned so much there, and learned even moreso than I wanted to be a lawyer.

And, that's where i am today! Been a practicing lawyer for about a year and a half. I really do like it, even though it can be stressful running my own business and all. But overall, I think this is the career for me.

OK, but, my dream job? A travel photographer. I would love to write articles and take the pictures for trips that I get to take around the world. Maybe I can just retire and do this for fun?? :).

Where is Nicholas?

My sister is in labor! But, she has been since 330 AM. They sent her home because *things were not moving along quickly enough* and she spent the rest of the day at home until 715 PM, when she headed back to the hospital. Looks like we may have a Leap Baby after all! :). Which would be super kewl. My Mom is supposed to keep me posted, and I am hoping by morning, I am an Aunt to baby Nicholas James! Everyone pray my sister has an easy labor. She hates pain, so I am really hoping that it is not too hard on her. I am glad that they did not have to induce though. My Mom is staying with Carissa and Jimmy (my sister's stepkids), so they have had a fun night watching American Idol with my Mom, having her make dinner, etc. My Mom is so awesome.

I have been so backed up with blogging. Life is crazy right now. And I simply have just not felt like logging on here and writing. Sigh. But I sooo need to, because by the time I blog, I seriously forget everything that has happened. And, it's only been like a week!

Had lunch with my friend, Hollie, at Mexican Gardens, in Southgate, on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. We sat for like three hours and talked.....After that, i decided to run to the mall because I am in desperate need of more business casual clothes. I found some stuff, but I was having a horrible luck kinda day. Everything I tried on, I hated. Ended up with two new pairs of pants, a headband, and a shirt from NY and CO, then two shirts from Kohl's. Stopped at Men's Wearhouse too and bought Kurty two new suits--one tan and one dark grey/blue. Those had to be altered and we picked them up yesterday. He wore one today and it looked awesome. They have the best customer service in that store. I think I amuse them when I go in there. I don't go in often, but when I do, I walk in, go to Kurt's size, quickly pick out 2 suits and pay. Then, I have them altered without Kurt being measured, and they literally never see Kurt.

Kurt went to the doctor today, as he has been having severe back pain. He thought it was his rotator cuff. Anyway, he found out today that he was correct. I guess there are three rotator cuff muscles, and they think one of Kurt''s is torn. They had him do some exercise type things to figure it out, and the doctor is now sending him to physical therapy for three weeks to try and fix it. If they can't, then he has to go back to the doctor to figure out the next step. Ironic thing, Kurt was just at a mediation, and one of the attys there just had rotator cuff surgery. Ugh. I hope it can be fixed with just therapy.

Anyway, because I am blanking on anything else going on in life, I am going to end it here. Night!

Random

So, the braces thing? They are still bothering me. Ow. I guess I should be glad because it means that the process is moving. Gotta again say that I am thrilled the real braces part of this is super short. Can't wait to get the Invisalign, it looks so much less pain filled......:). I am such a wimp. I have a friend who just got a boob job on Friday, and was back working on Monday. And not complaining. So, I should seriously shut up. LOL.

I don't think I have posted this yet, but I am officially addicted to 21 Jump Street. I started watching it on Netflix videos, and never saw it when it was originally on TV. Anyway, great show! Hopefully, it keeps getting better. I love the characters. I have never been a biug Johnny Depp fan, but love him in this.

I have been trying to get more on top of keeping in touch with others. I called my sister on the way home last night from dinner. She is due on the 24th, but if she does not have it, they may induce on....Feb 28, meaning she would have the baby I guess on the 29th! Of Feb! How kewl would that be? A leap baby! That would be awesome. Also called Julia, who is taking the Cali bar this week. It's THREE days v the two days we had here. Ugh. I do not envy her. And, found out two of my friends from law school are engaged. One of them getting married this summer, and the other newly engaged. Kellie also got a new job at head atty at a corporation, so congrats to her too! :). Fingers crossed for Julia, although she is so smart she does not need me to wish her luck......

I so want some new clothes. I was going to order some online, but I hate doing that because I am so picky about the fit of stuff and my body is so odd. So, I may go this Sunday shopping someplace. Since it's the end of a season, now would be a good time to get some dress pants, sweaters, etc.



Had dinner last night in Royal Oak with Rebecca and Lauren at Katana. It was really nice. I got miso soup, a california roll and steamed rice. Then, afterwards, we stopped at Astoria for dessert. Tiramisu. Best ever. Love it there. It was nice to see Lauren, who I have not seen in a while, and of course, it's always awesome to hang with Rebecca. Rebecca showed me some pics and stuff, but I can't really post of what because it's a secret! :).

Anyway, I know this is a bunch of random crap, but nothing too exciting is going on here!

The Day of Presidents

Love federal holidays. The courts are closed, so we have a ton of time to do paperwork in the office.

Went this morning to my first orthodontist appointment. They had to take one more xray, and then they put 6 brackets on some bottom teeth to fix what needs to be done before the Invisalign can start it's work. I go back in three weeks. They put a power chain on the brackets and umm, ow. I am remembering the fun of braces now. At least nobody can see these and they are only on a few teeth on the bottom. And eating is so odd now. Everything feels differently. As soon as I get used to it, they will come off though, LOL. I am glad to get started though. It's funny, a friend of mine from elementary school on, Jill, wrote me today and said "Didn't you have braces in high school? Or are you just like me and stopped wearing your retainer and now your bottom teeth seem to be moving?" It cracked me up because that's exactly what happened to me and is apparently happening to her. :). Her smile is gorgeous though, so people would think she is as nutty as I am if she got braces again or anything.

Not much else going on here. The snow all melted here, and I am so hoping for Spring, BUT, I know it's not here yet. Bummer.

Been trying to schedule appointments and catch up on some stuff. Made a hair appt for later this month, and it's a good thing I did, as my hairdresser was pretty booked and this is for a while away. I really need to get in for a pedi and mani as well, and my eyebrows. AHHH. Not enough hours in a day, seriously.

Stocked Freezer

Well. Like a week has gone by without a substantial post from me. I guess the answer to why is because not much is going on with me, at least nothing exciting enough to post about. We have been crazy busy at work, to the point that when I get home at night, I make dinner, work out, and go to bed. And don't feel like posting..........The weather kinda makes me feel BLAH as well. We have had a very cold winter here in southern MI and I hate it. It really gives me incentive to work harder so I really can retire earlier. I want to be someplace warm at least part of the year so I can avoid this crap.

Got a great deal Friday night on a new coat for Kurt. He had this one coat (I don't recall if I have posted about it or not). I literally bought it for him like 8 years ago or something and he refused to get rid of it because it's *comfy*. Finally, the zipper broke and I took charge and threw that baby away. Got him a nice mid length dark grey coat marked down from $225 to $79 at Elder Beerman. I love it on him. After that, we headed to dinner at Pete's, then stopped at a Pet Supplies Plus to buy Bugsy a new scratch pad and some little toys. While there, we met Peaches, a really gorgeous birdie and Kurt totally wanted to buy her. Umm, does Kurty want the bird to die? LOL. Bugsy's dream is to capture a bird. He spends his days watching birds at the feeders outside the window.....Finally tore Kurt away from the bird and we headed home for the night.

Saturday, we worked part of the day, then headed to Lowe's with Kory to buy wood for my walk in closet. I have a walk in closet in my bedroom, that has sat with nothing in it and not usable for over 5 years. FINALLY it is getting done. Kurt worked on it all day today and it is about 3/4 done. I can't wait to start hanging stuff in there, and putting my shoes on the shelves, moving my purses in there. Yay. It looks super kewl. I love how Kurt can create something that looks professional and I pay no labor. :).

Went to Canton today to go to some grocery store type places that are not around here. Trader Joe's, Joe's Produce and Sam's Club. Stocked up on fresh fish and pastas and other stuff we use all the time that I was totally out of.

OMG, annoying night last night during sleep. Kory was at Britton's to hang out and spent the night, leaving Whiskey with us. Fine. We wake up in the middle of the night to him HOWLING and barking. And he won't stop. Finally, he does. About an hour later, it starts again. And stops. A THIRD time it starts, and Kurt had enough. He went and put him in the dog carrier we have (it's big), put it in the laundry room, closed the door, and came back to bed. He is so freaking obnoxious sometimes. When I was telling Kory about it, he was like "Don't put him in a cage next time, just put him in my room." Yea, so he can chew everything up in there? I have an antique wood piece in there, my four poster bed, etc. Whiskey ruins everything (just the previous night, he chewed up my fav pair of Pumas). I was kinda surprised that instead of saying he was sorry his dog kept us up half the night, he complained he was in a cage part of the night, but whatever. He either needs to train the dog, or I am putting him in a cage. I can't sacrifice sleep and spending thousands to replace things in the house so his dog can be happy and roam free 24 hours a day. The pugs were not perfect either as puppies, I understand puppies are not perfect. But. The pugs don't howl so loud they wake an entire neighborhood. With dogs that are loud, big, whatever, you have to train them more or they will drive you bonkers. Anyway, sorry about the vent, but I am ready for all the dogs in my house to be adults. Certain stages of puppydom are horribly annoying.......

Promises

Watched a docmentary last night with Kurt called Promises. Wow. What an incredible film. To see a world through the eyes of children experiencing it is so eye opening. I highly recommend this movie, it was beautifully done.

Some info from the site about the film below:

PROMISES — the Film

PROMISES follows the journey of one of the filmmakers, Israeli-American B.Z. Goldberg. B.Z. travels to a Palestinian refugee camp and to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, and to the more familiar neighborhoods of Jerusalem where he meets seven Palestinian and Israeli children.

Though the children live only 20 minutes apart, they exist in completely separate worlds; the physical, historical and emotional obstacles between them run deep.

PROMISES explores the nature of these boundaries and tells the story of a few children who dared to cross the lines to meet their neighbors. Rather than focusing on political events, the seven children featured in PROMISES offer a refreshing, human and sometimes humorous portrait of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

PROMISES, a film by Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg and co-director and editor Carlos Bolado, was shot between 1995-2000.

Running time, 106 minutes.
Arabic, Hebrew and English dialogue with English subtitles.

The Children

The 7 children featured in PROMISES were filmed over 4 years when they were 9-12 years old:

Yarko & Daniel. Secular Israeli twin boys living in Jerusalem.

Faraj. A Palestinian refugee boy living in the Deheishe Refugee Camp in the West Bank.

Sanabel. A Palestinian refugee girl in the Deheishe Refugee Camp in the West Bank.

Shlomo. An ultra-orthodox Jewish boy in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Mahmoud. A Palestinian boy living in East Jerusalem.

Moishe & sister Raheli live in the Beit El Settlement in the West Bank

Busy Season

So, besides the fact that I worked both days this weekend, I had some fun too!

Saturday night, Rebecca came over and we all went for an early dinner at Quatro's. Yum. After that, we came back to the house and set up Rebecca's new Wii to play. OMG, super fun. Not fun enough where I want to buy one (I would never have time to play), but fun just the same. If I were going to buy a gaming system, that would be it for sure. We bowled, golfed, boxed, played baseball, and tennis. I think tennis was my fav, but everything was pretty kewl! We then watched this documentary I had gotten from Netflix. Was pretty lame, but interesting just the same. Rebecca went home after that and we went to bed early. I have been so tired lately from the excessive amount of work. Ugh.

I have been trying to catch up on gift sending. Ordered Maga (Maga is my Grama on my Mom's side) a book and DVD for her birthday...which is today, Happy Birthday Maga! And ordered Heidi a baby shower gift for the shower I could not make because of crappy Michigan weather. I now need to send my Mom's gift and send Misty something for her new baby..........

Off to bed! Hope everyone had a nice weekend....

Long Day

AArgh. Way too long of a day. I need downtime, and I am not getting enough of that today. Worked all day, and then had a board workshop and meeting and did not get home until like 950 PM. Fun. Luckily, they had food at the meetings so I was not dying of starvation.

OK, I am way behind on Heather's blog challenges (OK, I admit, I like barely do them, but I do enjoy reading everyone else's responses). Since my day was totally boring though and I still feel like posting, I am going to do one! Here is what Heather asked on January 30, 2008:

You have one day. It's your day. You can do anything you want. Money's no object. However, space and time are. You could fly to Hawaii, but then that's your whole day: just the travel. You can't magically appear there. Likewise, time is still, well, time, so you can't sleep in until noon and then still take a two-hour nap, make a three-hour car trip, eat three meals which take at least an hour apiece, watch a two-hour movie, make out for an hour, and drive another two hours to a hopping city to have drinks. You're out of time.

So. With everything being realistic except for the money thing (and the whole day to do whatever you want... that's a little fanciful in itself), what does your ideal day look like? Where do you go? Who are you with? What do you eat?

Well, everyone who knows me KNOWS I love to travel and see new things. I think if I truly had one day only to do whatever I wanted, I would choose to take several of my friends to New York City for shopping and a night on the town. We would get up early and fly, via private jet of course, to JFK Airport. We would then head somewhere swanky for breakfast, and head out to Chinatown and any other kewl shopping area. We would, of course, all have black american express cards with no limit and buy whatever the heck we wanted. My main stop would be to a travel agency to buy a bunch of dream trips for Kurt and I. For example, an African Safari, Galapogos Islands, Australia, Borneo, Thailand, etc. Pretty much, anything possible ever so I would never pay for a trip again. Genius, eh? After the shopping, lunch, etc., we would all to to a super-lux spa and get whatever it is everyone wanted. We would have the place and employees to ourselves. I would most likely get a deep tissue massage (hour and a half, I think). We would have dinner somewhere super yummy and Japanese, and then maybe see a Broadway Show if something good was playing, which, since it is MY day, it would of course be playing. After that, we would head back to our private jet and head home.

Anyone wanna come? :).

Off to bed to dream about this trip..........Sweet dreams!

Dc Trip--Revisited

So, as everyone know, I *surprised* Kurt with a trip for his birthday to Washington DC. To start, we had an amazing time. Seriously. It was kinda an out of the ordinary trip for us, siteseeing in a major US city. Loved it though, and did not have even close to enough time to do everything we wanted to do.

Thursday night. Flew into DC via Northwest. Was terrified because it's them, we would be delayed or have a bad flight or lost luggage, but everything went well. Arrived on time, and decided to take the Metro to our hotel, as suggested by my friend, K.C., who used to live in DC. Managed to figure it out, and met a girl on the Metro who lived near our hotel and so kindly let us follow her there! She also recommended a place for dinner, Afterwords Cafe, which we chose to eat at. Awesome dinner. I had a lobster and asparagus ravioli that was to die for. We were exhausted after that, and went to bed. Hotel we stayed at was Hotel Palamor, which wwas incredible. The entire hotel was recently redone, and completely modern and as Kurt said "lori like". Our bed was super comfy, and the bathroom and view from the room were really nice.

Friday. Got up and headed to the Russell Building and Carl Levin's office to take a tour of the Capitol. The tour was very kewl, and conducted by a Levin intern who knew like everything. LOL. I loved the tour. My fav part of the Capitol was probably seeing the first Supreme Court, which was in the Capitol Building. Very interesting. After that, Kurt and I headed to the Supreme Court. Just as we walked in, a tour of the court was starting, and we jumped into that. Learned a bunch of fun facts about the court, and explored some on our own. Next, headed to lunch at this place called Burrito Brothers. Yum. Kinda a hole in the wall place with super yummy, Mexican food. After lunch, headed to the Library of Congress. Got there just as a tour was starting and jumped into that one as well. Learned a lot, then explored on our own. There was a really kewl exhibit there on the Incas. Next, we stopped at this Conservatory that was breathtakingly beautiful. I love flowers, and miss the greenery in my midwestern winter. Headed to the hotel next to get ready for dinner with Angel, Ryan and Char at an Heritage India in Georgetown. Angel and Ryan picked us up and we met Char at the restaurant. The conversation and food was awesome. We stayed over 3 hours, and had a blast. I really wish they all lived closer to us.

Saturday. Got up and headed to the Holocaust museum, which was awesome, but depressing at the same time. Really educational, I learned a lot I did not know. Cried a couple times while there and watching video on people who were part of it. Horrible. Headed to lunch next, at a cute bar next to the White House called Elephant and Castle. Had a great crab cake sandwich. Next, went to the National Archives museum. My fav things there were the original legal documents of famous cases, such as Brown v Board of Education and Gideon v Wainwright. After that, headed to the Aviation and Space Smithsonian Museum, in specific wanted to see the Wright Brothers' room and Amelia Earhart's belongings and plane. Very kewl. Headed next to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Amanda and Jason for Kurt's birthday. Ate at a place called Nage, which was super yummy. Had an awesome time (for the second night in a row) at dinner, staying again for over three hours. Again, wish they lived closer.........

Sunday. Decided to do the tour of Monuments and Memorials this morning. Started off by walking past the White House, Treasury. My favorite Monument was probably the FDR Memorial, as I really liked how his little dog Fala was a statue there. But, everything was very incredible and beautiful. I was very excited to see the Lincoln Memorial as well. After that, headed to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to see fossils and animals. Really kewl. After that, headed to the International Spy Museum (which was literally the only attraction we paid for the entire trip). After this, stopped into the Smithsonian Portrait Museum, which my fav painting was this one of Richard Nixon by Norman Rockwell.

Flew home that night. Such a great trip, even if we tried to do more than we should have, exhausting ourselves. This is the norm for us though, LOL. We do need to go back at some point though, do to the stuff outside of DC, which we did not have time to do this trip. The weather was a nice break from Detroit as well, as it was in the 40s to 60s while we were there. I am so glad Kurt had an awesome birthday too. :).

Pro-Choice

Watched this documentary last night called Soldiers in the Army of God. OMG. So good. I don't know why Kurt and I torture ourselves watching this kind of stuff, because we just end up swearing and yelling at the TV, but I need to remind myself what idiots people are sometimes so I can remember why I vote the way I do and support the causes I do. Anyway, highly recommend.

DC Pics

Pictures are done! Please click here to see pics from the trip to DC. Trip report to come soon....