Holiday Weekend

So, one would think with my lack of working this weekend I would have had time to post daily? Yea, you already know that did not happen, but I will try to catch everyone up here.

Thanksgiving we got up and headed to Bay City to spend time with Kurty's Mom. We picked her up at the hospital where Kurt's Grama is, so we got to see her as well. She seemed SOOO much better, and they are thinking she will be released soon. Which is fab. We went to eat then at a place I had found online. Ironically, even though Kurt's Mom rarely ventures out of Pinconning, she had just eaten there two weeks prior for an anniversary party for a good friend of her's. Even more strangely, NONE of us had turkey. So, we were part of the 10% of the country who did not eat turkey on Thanksgiving. Kurt and his Mom had fish and chips, and I had a shrimp alfredo, all of which was very good. started out with salad and ended up some tiramisu. Decided to head back to Pinconning after that. On the way, we stopped and looked at the outside of his sister's new house that they just bought (on 20 acres), and to see his grama's renovations on her house. While she has been in the hospital, her kids and grandkids have been doing some major work on her house. It looks awesome. Spent the rest of the day at Kurt's Mom's house, talking and looking through old picture slides. Kurt was looking for one particular picture, which he could not find, but I did find a bunch I would like to get made into pics. Now I just need to figure out how to do that. Anybody know?

Friday, we stopped into the office, very shortly, to check on Amanda and give her some things to do for the day. After that, came home and cleaned. A lot. I love my house, but, with three dogs, Kory's dog, a cat, and my work schedule, it is REALLY hard to stay on top of things. I read online about how much other people clean and I feel like a slob, but when I told Kurt this, he reminded me that most people work normal work weeks and have a lot more time at home. Anyway, we got a lot done, which was nice. Fixed a couple things too, like the main light in the kitchen which has been driving me nuts. Friday night, we went to dinner at Vaquereo's, then stopped at Kroger's for some more cleaning supplies, and stayed in the rest of the night. No Black Friday shopping for me! :).

Saturday, I kept the cleaning thing going. I cleaned out the entire refrigerator, removing everything as well as the shelving units and scrubbed it. The frig looks brand new, it's kinda scary. Also organized the freezer (which was pretty clean really). I then removed everything from the kitchen cupboards to reorganize, which was great. I now know where all my sauce pans, fry pans, baking goods, etc., are. I removed the ugly ass liners from the cupboards and drawers that I have always hated (the old owner like "country" style, which I detest). Also mopped some and Kurt did a lot too. That night, headed to Sterling Heights to pick up Julia and Tony for dinner. They are visiting from Cali, and she is pretty much one of the only people that could get Kurt to drive to Macomb County. SOOO much traffic there. Went to dinner at a local Italian place where Jamie met up with us too (julia's sister), and had a fabulous time. It was awesome to see them and catch up. I miss her tons. :(. I don't blame anyone for wanting to leave this hell state, but at the same time, I hate how far away she is!

Today, went grocery shopping, then made my mac and cheese for Thanksgiving at my Aunt's. Headed over there, and it started to turn into blizzard weather. Nice. Got there, and had an awesome dinner. My mac and cheese was a hit! :). Well, I should say Martha's mac and cheese, but I am calling it mine. It was nice to sese everyone, and now we are home. :).

So, it was nice to not work for 4 days. It went by much too quickly, but, not too long now until we leave for Galapagos. Kurt has been researching new places for us to go, and now he wants to go to Guyana and Gabon. I think he has an infatuation with places that start with the letter G? haha. Flights seem really cheap right now. He was looking up flights over Memorial Day, and to fly to San Jose, Costa Rica, or Panama, it's umder $300, which is crazy good. Guyana, which is by Brazil, was only $400 something...........

oh, I almost forgot! I was feeling domestic this weekend, maybe all the cleaning.....I made Kurt breakfast TWICE (which is totally rare). Morning one he got french toast, which sadly, I have never made. I revised a recipe online I found and added cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and salt to the mix. Turned out fabulous. Then I made him cheesy scrambled eggs (which I added some onions to) with fake sausage and tator tots in the deep fryer. Looked awesome.............Kurt is way spoiled.

Anyway, hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! :).

The Day Before

Work was actually really nice today! Our trial this morning was settled, so we had NO court today, which is totally rare. Anyway, I got the chance to get a LOT of paperwork done. It's still not all done, but I plowed through more than half of it, and I was thrilled. Sometimes the small stuff just starts to add up and annoys me. Am glad to get it all off my desk. We took Amanda and Misty to lunch for Amanda's birthday, which was yesterday. It was nice. We went to Mexican Gardens. Next week is Misty's 30th, so we will prob go out again!

It totally felt like Friday today, so we went out for sushi tonight. It was super yummy, as usual. They were pretty busy, so we could not get seating in the bar area where we like to sit and were put in the dining room. RIGHT next to a couple with a screaming child. And the kid was not screaming in a crying kinda way. It was a high pitched noise or "MOOOOOOOOOOMY" kinda thing, like "pay attention to me" cry. AAARRRRGH. I am sorry, but why do people bring their 2 year olds to upscale restaurants? I know this kid must act this way on a regular basis. You could tell from her behavior that she was used to being spoiled and the center of attention. There were other kids there, quiet as a mouse. I just think when your kids start acting like that, you should get up and either leave entirely, or go outside. I would be soooo embarassed if that were me, and my child was ruining a lot of people's meals. On the other hand, if I had a kid that age, I would be going to more appropriate places for my child to enjoy and for me to not worry as much about their behavior. Anyway, we finally asked to be moved because I could not even concentrate on what kurt was saying. Every time either one of us would speak, we were interrupted with "AHHHH, MOOOOOOOMMMYYY" and we could not hear anything. It was SOOOOO much nicer in the bar. The waitress told us, after we moved, that the couple had been sitting there for two hours and the kid had not stopped doing that the ENTIRE night. Wow.

Stopped at Target after dinner because I wanted to look for Travel Scrabble. I saw a version of it in my Restoration Hardware catalog, and was thinking it might be cheaper elsewhere, and I was right! Found it! Also bought this glass pan with a carrier since I am making mac and cheese for this weekend, and I have nothing to transport it in. Picked up a new dog toy for the pugs (which Vito is hounding) and a new alarm clock, since ours recently died.

Anyway, we will be gone a lot of the day tomorrow, so I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! :). I am going to type the first 20 things that come to my head that I am thankful for this year.

1. My awesome husband and amazing marriage.
2. My "babies", i.e. Gretel, bugsy, Vito and Oscar
3. My Mom and how she can be both my Mom and one of my best friends
4. The time my Mom gets to spend with my new nephew, Nick
5. My thriving law practice, despite the bad economy
6. My camera
7. The ability to take the vacations I want
8. Obama winning for President (and in turn, keeping Sarah Palin out of the VP seat)
9. Emma Lynn, Kerry's new baby
10. My Saab
11. XM Radio
12. Rebecca
13. Apple stock
14. My iPhone
15. Sephora and Ulta
16. All my friends and online blogging friends
17. My uncoming trip to the Galapagos
18. The new superintendent working out well so far at the school
19. My new haircut
20. The rest of my family.

The Bronx

Had dinner with my Aunt tonight and saw A Bronx Tale at the Fisher Theatre. It was a one man show, and really good! The restaurant was good too....There is this restaurant in the Fisher, and I swear, it changes ownership, type of food, and name like once a year. I think the place does not do well during non-theatre season, because it's in an area of Detroit that is not busy unless there are plays going on. Anyway, it is not a pizza place, and they also serve other entrees during shows. We both ended up getting salad and pizza. I got mine with crab, and cajun crust, which was super yummy. I have never had cajun pizza crust. I highly recommend it though.

Today was crazy at the office, and I am dealing with a client who is kinda a loon. Thrilling. I will secret blog about that though, and I have another case to update you on......

Thanks for the Suggestions!

So, I ended up placing a Half.com order and got the following:

Love the One You're With

Second Wives Club

Gold Diggers

Daddy's Girls

I don't really want to bring more than that because of luggage restrictions......Hope they are all good!

Book Suggestions

OK, girls! I need suggestions! I am not very knowledgable about authors, books, etc., mostly because I never have time to really read.

I need help.

I am leaving for vacay on Dec 15 and will gone until Dec 25. I am going to have several flights, and a yacht, to read on. So, I need to buy a few books to take with me. I hate buying at the airport, because it's so much cheaper online.

Here is what I tend to gravitate towards: I do not like intellectual reading. I do that ALL DAY at my office, and when I want to relax, I don't want to "think" or analyze or whatever. I like fiction. I LOVE Jackie Collins. She is prob my fav author. So the "beach sex girlie novel" is kinda what I am looking for. I have read some other authors as well, such as Danielle Steele, etc., but am looking for something new. Oh, and I loved the Sophie Kinsella (sp?) series.

Any suggestions? :). Thanks in advance.

Itinerary

Came home today, after working a fairly late night, to a great piece of mail! My final trip itinerary is here! Complete with the names of the Equadorians picking us up from the airport, flight numbers, etc. I can't freaking wait to leave! Only 21 days!

So, Kurt talked to his Mom today about Thanksgiving. We are visiting hiss Grama in the hospital, then doing dinner with his Mom. She tells Kurt that everything up there is open on Thanksgiving. I highly questioned this since almost nothing near us is open, and yea, I would be right. I called a bunch of chain places and nothing is open. Finally found a place that is open, and therefore, made a reservation. Hopefully, it's OK. It looks nice though. Nice for Bay City, anyway. :). It will be nice to see his Mom anyway. Friday, I may brave the crowds and try to find some sales, Saturday, we are having dinner with Julia and Tony who will be visiting, and Sunday, dinner with my family at my Aunt's.

Anyway, had a long day at work and am super tired, so I can going to sign off here.

Beer, Domestic Stuff, Babies, Fights and Almost Acccidents

Friday night, Rebecca came to the office, as she had a coupon for a free pizza that she wanted to uses at Old Chicago. Her, Kurt, Kory and I headed there and had dinner. Decided to go bowling after that, and the place we wanted to bowl at was booked solid, so we headed to another place I had never been to before. While there, Britton and his friend, Doug, showed up, and we all bowled. It was fun. I downed a beer, which I NEVER drink, so I was majorly buzzed. Doug was slightly obnoxious. He is one of those guys who says, every other second, "Why arent you drinking? You need to drink more". Since I am not 18, this does not really work on me. Sadly, it does work on Kory and Britton, LOL. Anyway, headed home after that, since we had to work at 9 on Saturday....

Worked half a day on Saturday, then spent the rest of the day at home. I was feeling domestic (or something), so I made my homemade mac and cheese, with salmon burgers for dinner. Super yummy. Britton and kory ended up eating too, since they walked in as I was finishing up and I had made enough for like 6 people, LOL. The mac and cheese is always a winner. Kory and Britton liked the salmon burgers, but Kurt thought they were disgusting, LOL, and I was not completely sold on them either. Need to try a different receipe next time. Also, my Tastefully Simple order was delivered, so I made the Cheery Cherry Crisp for Kurt and it turned out really yummy too. And SOOO easy to make. Literally took 5 minutes for prep, then 40minutes in the oven. Ordered Gretel her winter sweater online. It is super cute, and I am hoping that Whiskey will leave her alone this winter and not tear it to shreds. It has been soooo cold here, and she shivers every time she goes outside. Poor little Gretel.

Today, I got up and headed to Ann Arbor to meet Emma Lynn Zain, the newest addition to the family of my friends, Kerry and Max. Emma is totally precious. SOOO tiny. I got to hold her for quite some time, and feed her. It is so incredible to hold and feed such a small baby. Love it. Does not make me want one AT ALL (at least yet), but, I just love babies. anyway, Sara and Nora were super fun to play with too, and they seemed excited about their baby sister. Kerry and Max really do make some gorgeous children........and super smart children. Nora's vocabulary is incredible for a child her age. Anyway. Had a really nice time there and then decided to head to Sam's Club. See the pics from the visit here.

Weirdest thing happened there. I was pulling into the middle aisle, trying to find a place to park. A minivan in front of me stops, and I see two guys in the van talking to two guys walking into the store. I assumed that they were friends or something. I am getting annoyed, because I can't move and I want to park. The two guys in the minivan jump out and start talking to the two guys standing there. And then, out of noplace, they all start fighting. Hardcore. Like, the one guy pulled his belt off and started beating the other guy with it, punches are being thrown, guys are on the ground......WOW. Anyway, I just sit there with my mouth open, assuming that somebody else will call the police. Then, I start to get worried about my car, so I back up slowly and pull into a spot that has opened up. I walk into the store and am thinking maybe this is not the best neighborhood, LOL. By the time I came out, the cops were there, but I have no idea what happened to everyone. Crazy. Never again am I going to the Ypsilanti Sam's Club.

Oh, crazy experience on Friday morning. Kurt and I were on our way to work and at our last turn to the office. Kurt was slowing down, as the light was red. We hit black ice, and start sliding and cannot stop, because everything in front of us is black ice too. Also in front of us are stopped cars at a light. Kurt did not want to rear end them, so he went over a curb and into the parking lot of a gas station. He then pulled out into the turnlane. Pretty freaky. We are sitting at the light, and we see a lady literally spin out, in the exact same spot we had slid, then slide into a telephone pole, which starts to FALL in the direction of our car! Her entire front end of her car has collapsed and she jumps out of her car, and see two little kids in the back seat. She is freaking out, calling someone. I was going to get out and help her, but someone else had already stopped and she had a phone, so I figured I wasa safer staying put. Anyway, we were slightly freaking as that totally could have been us. Anyway. Later on, Kory stopped into that gas station, and they told him that AFTER that lady crashed, 6 more cars crashed into her, causing a 7 car pileup! I am so glad we missed that, as we would have been the first car if Kurt had not driven so reactively. Scary.

What Have you Done Lately?

Stolen from Rebecca and Emily and Jennifer--things I have done are in bold, things I would NEVER do are in red, and things I have not done but would do are in italics.

1. Started your own blog (which I have had since 2004, crazy)
2. Slept under the stars (in camp in junior high, I love sleeping outside, but would prefer tents now, LOL)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (loved Hawaii. We went in December 2005)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (I do donate do charities on a regular basis, but would never donate more than I can afford)
7. Been to Disneyland/world (I have been to World several times, and Land once; I preferred Land, but love animal kingdom in World)
8. Climbed a mountain (not technically up the side or anything, but Kurt and I have done countless hikes "in the mountains")
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (did this all the time in high school)
11. Bungee jumped (I have neck issues, and I think this would really bother me physically)
12. Visited Paris (France is not at the top of my list, but since I want to see the world, it is on the list)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (the worst time was the time I ate ribs from Max and Ermas; after that date, I have never craved ribs again, UGH)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (tried would be more like it, LOL; but I did grow some as a kid that came out well)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (meh. I will never say never, but train is not really a form of travel that I want to experience, unless it's like a dinner train)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (best one ever was in Panama, Dec 2006, from the top of the Canopy Towers hotel)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (I would love to visit both Germany and Poland)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (limited Spanish)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing ( I would love to learn this)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (Yea, I pretty much rock, haha)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (this is one of my dream destinations, in specific, Zambia)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (snorkeling, and I love it)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I wish I still could. part of donating is you cannot have been to certain foreign countries in the past so many years, and I never qualify)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (I do have photography published in a book though)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

None of my Business

Sigh.

Gossip

Read about it here.

Holidays Cards Discussion

So, the holiday cards are ordered! :). I used Snapfish again, but the actual card is going to remain a mystery until I send it out! I was unsure I had a pic I wanted to use, but I forgot about one I loved that was taken this year. So, once they are mailed, I will post a pic of it here for everyone to see!

Cards and taking my Christmas trip are like the two things I really love about the holidays! Goal is to get the cards out BEFORE we leave for vacay this year, hence ordering them somewhat early.

So, to entice interaction here, let's talk holiday cards. Do you send them? If so, what type and with pics or no? Do you prefer getting cards with pics or without? Do you like those holiday newsletters that families do, or do you do one for your family? Do you not send cards?

I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting pic cards from everyone. I also love getting holiday newsletters so we can read how people are doing. I only get a couple of those each year. My friend Dawn in Cali does not, and I love it. My friend Jill did one last year too, and I loved reading it.

I kinda wanted to do one this year, but Kurt is trying to talk me out of it. He thinks that people take the holiday newsletters as "bragging" or something like that, and he does not want my talk of what we have been doing to be taken as bragging by other people. I really don't think our friends and family would think that of us, because they KNOW us....................My friend Dawn's is so cute. They do a "recipe" that has been their fav for the year, as well as talk about any trips they have taken and what they have been doing careerwise (they don't have kids).

Anyway, would love to hear what everyone does! I guess I know on some of you, since you send me a card, LOL. But, let's talk cards! :).

Just Another Day in the Hood

Crazy busy day today. I hate when work starts to pile up on my desk. It always happens the weeks when Kurt and I both end up in court a lot of the mornings. I was in court this morning, and prob have to go the next two mornings too. Ugh. Like this morning, we had court in three buildings, 5 hearings, so we both had to go. I did two bankruptcy hearings, and the other one I was supposed to do got postponed.

Got back to the office to a package! I forgot I had ordered some stuff from this site I like, For Counsel. Bought Kurt two ties, here and here, and bought him this hilarious pair of boxers. Bought this really kewl pic for my office too, but need to buy a frame now. I did not like the one offered on the site. The stuff is all really nice.

Started driving or "winter" vehicles, which sucks. We park the Porsches in the Winter, and Kurt is making me park the Saab too (sob), so we are back to driving the Saturn and Jeep. Which is better for the cars with winter weather, but I am going to miss my baby! The Saab is not 100% parked yet though, so I may get a few more drives out of her. The weather here is horrible. I am shivering every time I go outside, and this is wearing a heavy wool coat, scarf, etc. Ugh.

Saw a great hearing in court today. The two attys were YELLING at each other, calling each other names, etc. The Judge at one point threatened to throw them both in jail. Which did not happen, but it is not common for the Judge to threaten that because attys are not controlling themselves. I have never seen an atty thrown in jail in a family law case, but I think the day is coming! I can't believe how worked up some people get.

Felt a headache coming on tonight, so I am glad I have a massage appt tomorrow night. I need it..........

15 feet

Secret one.

Songs from Graduation

Mindy posted this, and I am copying! :).

Go to this site: http://www.musicoutfitters.com/

At the top in the search box, type in the year you graduated, then cut and copy the songs here.

For all the songs you liked, or even kinda liked, bold them. For songs you do not know, italicize. For songs you did not like, make them a different color.

**I prob know some of these songs I italicized, but often, I tend to not recognize the names of songs, so.......

1. Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio
2. Waterfalls, TLC
3. Creep, TLC
4. Kiss From A Rose, Seal
5. On Bended Knee, Boyz II Men
6. Another Night, Real McCoy
7. Fantasy, Mariah Carey
8. Take A Bow, Madonna
9. Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days), Monica
10. This Is How We Do It, Montell Jordan (totally loved this song. Total dance song for me and my friends)
11. I Know, Dionne Farris
12. Water Runs Dry, Boyz II Men
13. Freak Like Me, Adina Howard
14. Run-Around, Blues Traveler
15. I Can Love You Like That, All-4-One
16. Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?, Bryan Adams
17. Always, Bon Jovi
18. Boombastic/In The Summertime, Shaggy (this was a great song my freshman year of college, a guy I knew would sing it, and he was DEAD on, and hilarious)
19. Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Nicki French
20. You Gotta Be, Des'ree
21. You Are Not Alone, Michael Jackson
22. Hold My Hand, Hootie and The Blowfish (did you know the lead singer of this group now sings country?? I did not know this.)
23. One More Chance-Stay With Me, Notorious B.I.G.
24. Here Comes The Hotstepper, Ini Kamoze
25. Candy Rain, Soul For Real
26. Let Her, w Hootie and The Blowfish
27. I Believe, Blessid Union Of Souls
28. Red Light Special, TLC
29. Runaway, Janet Jackson
30. Strong Enough, Sheryl Crow
31. Colors Of The Wind, Vanessa Williams
32. Someone To Love, Jon B.
33. Only Wanna Be With You, Hootie and The Blowfish
34. If You Love Me, Brownstone
35. In The House Of Stone And Light, Martin Page
36. I Got 5 On It, Luniz
37. Baby, Brandy
38. Run Away, Real McCoy
39. As I Lay Me Down, Sophie B. Hawkins
40. He's Mine, Mokenstef
41. December, Collective Soul
42. I'll Be There For You-You're All I Need To Get By, Method Man-Mary J. Blige
43. Shy Guy, Diana King
44. I'm The Only One, Melissa Etheridge
45. Every Little Thing I Do, Soul For Real
46. Before I Let You Go, BLACKstreet
47. Big Poppa/Warning, Notorious B.I.G.
48. Sukiyaki, 4 P.M.
49. I Wanna Be Down, Brandy
50. I'll Make Love To You, Boyz II Men
51. Dear Mama/Old School, 2Pac
52. Hold On, Jamie Walters
53. Keep Their Heads Ringin', Dr. Dre
54. The Rhythm Of The Night, Corona
55. Roll To Me, Del Amitri
56. Scream/Childhood, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson
57. Freek'n You, Jodeci
58. I Wish, Skee-lo
59. Believe, Elton John
60. Carnival, Natalie Merchant
61. You Don't Know How It Feels, Tom Petty
62. Back For Good, Take That
63. Tootsee Roll, 69 Boyz (another classic dance song)
64. You Want This-70's Love Groove, Janet Jackson
65. Tell Me, Groove Theory
66. Can't You See, Total
67. All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
68. This Lil' Game We Play, Subway
69. Come And Get Your Love, Real McCoy
70. This Ain't A Love Song, Bon Jovi
71. Secret, Madonna
72. Player's Anthem, Junior M.A.F.I.A.
73. Feel Me Flow, Naughty By Nature
74. Every Day Of The Week, Jade
75. The Sweetest Days, Vanessa Williams
76. Short Dick Man, 20 Fingers Featuring Gillette (the real version of this song is so much funnier than the radio version)
77. Brokenhearted, Brandy
78. No More "I Love You's", Annie Lennox
79. You Used To Love Me, Faith Evans
80. Constantly, Immature
81. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, U2
82. 100% Pure Love, Crystal Waters
83. Ask Of You, Raphael Saadiq
84. Sugar Hill, Az
85. Good, Better Than Ezra
86. Brown Sugar, D'angelo
87. Turn The Beat Around, Gloria Estefan
88. 'Til You Do Me Right, After 7
89. 1st Of Tha Month, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
90. Like The Way I Do If I Wanted To, Melissa Etheridge
91. I Live My Life For You, Firehouse
92. Dream About You-Funky Melody, Stevie B
93. Cotton Eye Joe, Rednex
94. Thank You, Boyz II Men
95. I'll Stand By You, Pretenders
96. I Miss You, N II U
97. Give It 2 You, Da Brat
98. Best Friend, Brandy
99. Misery, Soul Asylum
100. Can't Stop Lovin' You, Van Halen

Fun, Paying Site (Vindale)

Hey there,

I just found this great website that pays you to try out new products, services, and websites. You can make $5 to $75 per survey, and you even get to keep the products you review! The surveys are really easy, and the membership is FREE, so what is there to lose, right?

Lori

Check it out!http://tryvindale.com/VEs0jEZxf

Weekend Fun

So, Saturday, we were going to work a few hours and ended up not going in, which was fine with me. I was lazy and kinda just hung out with Kurt, did some things around the house, then headed to Rebecca's. Her, Colleen, Lauren and I headed to dinner at Kona Grill. The food was average, but the company was awesome! :). And, the area we sat in was really kewl, it was kinda a sunroom, so it felt like you were outside (but obviously were not, since it is freezing here), and there was a fireplace, so it was SUPER cozy. Loved it. The sushi was nothing spectacular, but the ambience was great. After that, we headed to Jennifer's house for a Tastefully Simple/Pampered Chef fundraising party. I ended up getting some kewl stuff from both parties. Can't wait to get the stuff delivered.

Sunday was prettty lazy. Had breakfast with Judy (well, I had diet coke, she had breakfast), and then stayed in the rest of the day. I swear, I need at least one lazy day on the weekends to stay sane.

The pic above is one of my favs I took from Julia's wedding. Don't know if I have posted it before or not, but I was thinking about her because I am going to see her and Tony soon! I can't wait! They will be home visiting family for Thanksgiving, and Kurt and I are doing dinner with them on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. I am so psyched to see her and hate that she lives in Cali now! :).

Sushi Fridays

Kurt and I have been nonpurposefully going for sushi like every Friday, which is SOO nice. I love it. Kinda like "date night", but I don't really consider it that. We are obsessed with the Sammy Davis roll, and just sit and relax because after a long work week, that's about as exciting as my Friday nights can get. They have live music there on Friday nights, and the past few times, it has been a violinist that walks around the place. This time though, it was a guitar player/vocalist, who was AWESOME. He was on break for some of our sitting there, but when he played, i loved it! He started off with a James Taylor song I love, and Kurt just started laughing because I think he thinks my James Taylor love is odd. He can thank my Mom for some of my odd music tastes.



Isn't is strange how one's music taste is constantly evolving? Do certain songs make you happy, sad, etc. because they remind you of certain people or events in your life?

I totally have that.

I was driving to court yesterday and REO Speedwagon came on XM Radio. I instantly thought of Rebecca and texted her to turn on the station. We went to a concert where REO played, and now I think of her and I, singing the songs at the top of our lungs, at the concert.



James Taylor, Anne Murray and various other songs remind me of my Mom. She is also who started my love of Billy Joel, as she had his records in our basement and my sister and I used to listen to them together as little girls. Back then, I thought my Mom liked "dorky" music, but now I see she was kewl! LOL. So many songs remind me of my sister. She and I loved music and would sing the songs together in her room or in the car. Anything by Wilson Phillips, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson........



Weird Al always reminds me of my cousin Tim, and vacations in Glennie at the family cabin. Him, my sister and I would jump on the beds and sing Weird Al songs, we knew every word. We would also dance around the cabin singing Michael Jackson and Madonna songs. Super fun. I also know SO many 50s and 60s songs from these vacations, as my Mom had tapes of those kinda songs for the car, and my Aunt always laughs at how I know all these songs since I was not alive at all during these decadeds.



A ton of songs remind me of Kurt. "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel is kinda "our" song, even though we never had a wedding, first dance, etc. Daniel by Elton John, Allentown by Billy Joel, Into the Night by Benny Mardones, You Got it All--Jets, Don't You Want Me by Human League, all these songs remind me of Kurt for one reason or another. Jumpin Jumpin by Destiny's Child reminds me of my old friend Deanna.......Big Shot by Billy Joel reminds my of Kory and how we introduced him to the music of Billy Joel, which he now loves.....Oh, and Las Vegas NYE = Michael Jackson's Rock With Ya.......



Anything Paula Abdul reminds me of my friend, Becky, as we were constantly making up dances to her songs to perform in school talent shows, and the song Groovy Kinda Love, because we used to play it on her piano and sing it in harmony......A variety of songs remind me of my cheerleading days and dances we would perform at halftime shows.....Other songs remind me of my days in Pride (a drug and alcohol free performing group I was in), like 3AM Eternal by KLF, Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks--Dream is Like a River, etc.



The first concert I ever attended was at age 21. I went and saw Elton John in Grand Rapids with two of my bosses and one of their daughters. It was amazing, and I became hooked on music live (and Elton John). Since then, I have seen a TON of concerts with friends and with Kurt. prob my fav concert ever was seeing Billy Joel and Elton John together in Auburn Hills at the Palace. Incredible to see two of my favs together, on dueling pianos, on stage. Loved it. I have also seen Billy Joel a couple other times, elton John a few other times, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Janet Jackson, Poison, Hall and Oates, TLC, Whitney Houston, Nelly, Eminem several times in Detroit, Guns and Roses, and I am sure there are others I am forgetting. I dont do concerts as much as I used to as my friends who like concerts and will pay for good seats have either moved or dont do concerts anymore, but I still love live music. My one concert mistake was selling Paul McCartney tickets I had when he was in Detroit. I wish I would have gone to that concert after the fact. Whoops.



Anyway, what songs mean something to you, or remind you of an event or someone in your life? Also, what concerts have you been to and loved or is a fav of yours? Any concert you would love to go to and never have? Any new musician out who is new and you think I should check out????? I am in this rut with music, where I really like a lot of older stuff, and think a lot of new stuff out there is kinda crappy and generic. I love the classics....

Secret Post

People are Lame, but whatever....

Avon, Avenue Q, and Drugs

Last night, I saw Avenue Q at the Fisher with my Aunt (part of our season ticket package at the theatre). OMG, I had no idea what I was in for with this show. Freaking hilarious! Totally not for the conservative minded. The show was based around puppets, and was filled with hilarious racy songs, sex, swearing. Loved it. I think even Kurt would have liked it, and he is not a theatre person. We ate dinner at this little cafe at the Fisher before the show, and I had the BEST tuna salad I have ever eaten. I need the recipe. :).

Kurt and I had a dr.'s appt today to get prescriptions called in for our trip. We wanted these patches that were recommended to me by Rebecca for sea sickness, and Ambien for Kurt for the nights on the ship, in case he cannot sleep. We don't have a "family" dr, we just go to whomever at our local hospital that is near the office. Well, we got put with the dr who hates prescriptions. I thought at one point he was not going to call the prescriptions in. I mean, can I seriously become addicted to sea sickness patches? It's funny to me how friends of mine can simply place a call and get a script of 400 Vicodin, but I have to beg for sea sickness. And since the last time i went to the dr was two freaking years ago, I think he should see I am not an addict. I can't wait until Britton and Lisa are a doctor and PA, so I can not feel like a criminal when I need something simple like that. Lame. Picked up the scripts tonight, so all I need are the pills for altitude change that the travel doc is calling in for us.

Monday night we had a board workshop for the school board. It was very productive, but LONG. I was exhausted by the end of it and glad to get home.

Oh, the funniest thing ever. Misty, my secretary, decided that she is going to start selling Avon, basically to get the discount. IF she recruits others to sell, you can earn a lot of money for the referrals. Anyway, she talks KORY into being an Avon rep. Kory is convinced he is getting rich off of this. He is going to put himself through law school, date Avon models, and meet hot girls. Can we say "in denial"? Kurt is putting money on that Kory will never sell one item of Avon, but I guess we will see. It would amuse me greatly. Hopefully, I can get some stuff for cost though, haha. Kory is officially gay. LOL.

Dinner with a Piston

This week just flew by. Busy at work, some family stuff that came up, and so on...

Bad news of the week: Kurt's Grama is in the ICU in Bay City. I guess Kurt's cousin went over to her house to see her, and saw her slumped over in a chair in her living room. He thought she was sleeping, but when he knocked on the door and then window, she did not wake, so he used his key and went in, and could not wake her, and called 911. Apparently, she has pneumonia and a MAJOR infection. I am not good with medical terms, but I guess when you have diabetes (which she does), and you get a sore or something, you are supposed to contact the dr right away. She got one, and did not tell anyone. It has not spread and is really deep and huge. They ended up having to do minor surgery to drain and clean the area. As the norm, the drs are not really saying what the prognosis is or anything, so I have no idea on anything. She is 85 years old. Anyway, Kurt and i went to visit her on Thursday after work. It was a nice visit. She was really talkative, in good spirits and seemed really well (except the obvious). Update: Kurt talked to his Mom today who said his Grama is doing a lot better, so that's great!

Had dinner with Kurt's Mom after that since she lives near Bay City. Did not get home until 1150 PM last night, so we were zonked at work the next day.

Last night, we had dinner at Crave Lounge in Dearborn with my friend, Cassie, and her boyfriend, Ken. We have such a blast with them. They are both attys, so we enjoy exchanging "war" stories. They have a practice together as well. Anyway, guess who was sitting about 10 feet from me? Rip Hamilton! A star on the Detroit Pistons! How crazy is that? He has amazing taste in restaurants, haha. Anyway, the food was amazing, and we had an awesome time. It was nice to get out for the night. Kurt had three rum and cokes and he needed that as well.

Spent the day on Saturday doing laundry, dishes, cleaning, and watching The Gilmore Girls. I just finished up Season 3. Rory graduated from high school, and dudring her speech, I literally had tears pouring down my face. I was bawling. I can't believe I never watched this show before, I was totally missing out. Have to wait to watch more now until Wednesday when two more discs are delilvered. Sigh.

We worked all day today, which was not fun....ugh, but we got some stuff done that needed to be done. On the way home, it started SNOWING! AARGH! I cannot believe it was over 70 degrees less than one week ago, and today, SNOW. Anyway, none of it seems to be sticking, so that's good. But, it was almost blizzard like on the drive home. Crazy. I hate snow and cold weather, and all of the people out there who talk about wanting a white christmas, and loving the look of the winter season are NUTS. Which is prob why I enjoy leaving the country every December as my Xmas present to myself! :).

Speaking of which, only a little over a month until we leave for Galapagos, and I can't wait. We are doing a three hour tour of quito the day before our yacht leaves, which should give me some good pics as well! The city is really historic and beautiful (supposedly). I just called our dr to call in the patches for sea sickness, and there is not really much else to do in preparation for the trip. Yay!

Welcome to The White House, Barack

Words cannot express how I feel tonight. Happiness, relief, faith in our country and it's people....

I am not going to say much more, as I am exhausted. But, I am really looking forward to the new journey the country is going to be headed on. One filled with change, and one where we have a chance to get out of debt and attempt to give equal rights to everyone.

Hugs to everyone!

P.S. McCain's speech was very gracious and humble and I was very, surprisingly, impressed. I think if he would have acted like that during the duration of his campaign, instead of attacking all the time, this race might have been more close......

The Vote

So, we ended up leaving work around 1245 and heading to vote. No long lines, there were prob like 8 people in front of us. Got my ballot, marked off straight Democratic ticket, voted on the nonpartisan stuff and proposals (yes and yes). And, got my sticker, cuz hey, it's all about the sticker! ;).

Left there and headed home to change, then to lunch. I wanted a drink. I had a hard morning at the office. First of all, we were not even supposed to be there. Second, it was freaking insanity. All three lines were going ALL morning, people kept randomnly stopping in who did not have appointments, etc. Kurt kicked one guy out of the office who had the audacity to come in and try to yell at Kurt for something that the client himself did! He wrote a check to our office and wrote the wrong amount in the written out portion, and was mad at me because our bank could not immediately fix it, when in reality, HIS bank had to fix it. Unbelievable what we are blamed for.

Went to lunch at a local Mexican place, and ordered a JUMBO daiquiri. YUM. They really loaded it with alcohol, and since I am such a nondrinker, I was feeling it right away. Made work seem SO far away, LOL. Enjoyed lunch with Kurt, bitching about the office antics this morning, and the fact that anyone would vote for "Bush 2", and had a fabulous time. Took a drive afterwards with the top down in the Saab, then headed home. BTW, it is NOVEMBER FOURTH, and I had the top down in my car. This never happens. The weather was amazingly gorgeous today. Came home, sat on my chaise and proceeded to sleep the rest of the afternoon. Bliss.

We are now sitting here watching the results. I need to head downstairs to work out soon, and will turn the resultst stuff on down there.

Go Obama!

Time to Vote

So, we were going to take the entire day off today to vote. But, we are at the office working half day, leaving at noon. Whoot! This is very rare that I leave the office before 5, so yay for us! I wish we voted for President more often (OK, I take that back, I am actually SO SICK of politics right now, but I would like more days off, haha).

Anyway.

We have two proposals to vote for in MI time time around. I would love to hear about what proposals everyone else has in their state and what they think about them, stuff like that almost interests me more than the major stuff, like President. Anyway, in MI, it's medicinal marijuana and stem cell research. I am voting yes on both of them, for various reasons.

And can't wait to vote for Obama/Biden either. And, to everyone out there who thinks this is the immoral way to vote, SCREW YOU (I say this only because I know none of my readers think this, LOL). Last night, I kept hearing MORE on TV about "Republican: the way to be moral". GAG GAG GAG. In my apparently screwed up way of thinking, I think voting MY way is more moral. My party supports equal rights for everyone, giving women the right to choose, and not judging others for the way they choose to be. I also like how the Bible states that "Only God shall Judge", yet, the Republican party wants gays to have to rights and women to be forced into pregnancies they don't want. Interesting......................

Anyway, vent over. I am just truly sick of the whole "Republicans are moral and Democrats are sinners" bullshit. OMG, I just said bullshit. Send me straight to hell......

Wow, reading back on this, I can tell I am not feeling well this morning, LOL.

Most importantly, I want everyone to get out there and VOTE (especially if you are voting a straight Dem ticket, haha). So many people don't vote, and I just don't get that. I think it is our duty to do so. I would literally orgasm if Obama wins and the Senate gets those 60 seats needed (highly unlikely, but a girl can dream). If this does occur, I think we can start digging ourselves out of the HOLE that Bush has created, so lovingly, for us over the past 8 years. Those who think McCain will change that when he voted with Bush 90% of the time, are just a tiny bit delusional, me thinks..........

Click here to see the reasons people I know vote and why they are lame.

Define Morality, Please

political banter.

Another Doozy at the Firm.......J

Just when you thought you had heard it all........