Sunday, February 28, 2010

News Herald Article

Below is a link to another article Kurt was in. I do not like the title of this article at all, and if you read the content, it has nothing to do with conspiracy theories. Kurt and I were speaking that day and telling our stories, not trying to talk about conspiracy theories. I guess whatever they need to do to draw the readers in, LOL. Kinda tacky though, IMO.........

The News Herald: Breaking news coverage for Southgate, MI

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Weekend

Great weekend. Went out to dinner with Kurty on Friday night to Nick and Nino's for fish tacos (the only meal either one of us have had there, LOL) and to watch basketball.

Saturday, I decided to work out in the morning, which confused me for the rest of the day since I generally work out at night. Cleaned out my closet and finally bagged up some clothes to donate. Had dinner that night with our friends, Cassie and Ken, at Mitchell's Fish Market in Livonia. Really fun night. We had a crab dip appetizer that was incredible. I made Kurt try Chilean Steelhead since I had never heard of it before. He liked it! :). I had a crab and shrimp penne that was awesome. Great service as well.

Today, ran errands. Made a mixed fruit pie and Kurt's favorite dinner. He is WAY spoiled. Went to Target for the first time in a LONG time today. I was looking for some storage drawers for my closet and did not find what I wanted, but did find some great deals on clearance racks. Also bought Nick (my nephew) some stuff for his 2nd bday, which I need to put in the mail first thing tomorrow.

Of the deals I found on clearance, found some new shampoos and conditioners to try, so I will review them as I do. I got Fekkai full volume shampoo and conditioner (which I have heard good things about, but never wanted to pay full price, thank you clearance rack!), Burt's Bees Super Shiny Grapefruit shampoo and conditioner, and Yes to Tomatoes shampoo and conditioner (I think I just liked the name of this one). Walked down the make-up aisle and saw Maybelline has a line out of eyeshadows I have not seen before. Got this one in Emerald Smokes.

Finished a book this weekend, LA Candy, by Lauren Conrad (of The Hills) (purchased on Half.com). I really wondered if I would like it, but I read good reviews and read it was loosely based on her life, so I thought I would try it. Anyway, great mindless reading. I kept trying to figure out, while reading, which parts were similar to her life and which were not. Anyway, not the best book in the world, and the writing was kinda flat at times, but I would still recommend it. Great beach book, or book to make you forget about the world for a little bit.......

Weather was fab today, however, we are supposed to get another snow storm tonight...boo. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Damon to Tigers!

I am so excited about this. I have always loved Johnny Damon. Hopefully, he grows back his beard since the Tigers don't restrict their players like the lame Yankees do! Whoot. Gooooooo Tigers! Cannot wait for baseball season.

Click here to read.

ROLLYE JAMES SHOW PODCAST FROM 2-18-10

Kurt was on the Rollye James show on Thursday. Below is a link to the broadcast:


http://www.mystreamingserver.com/index.html

Friday, February 19, 2010

Uganda Trip Report

I’ve had a hard time doing this trip report. I usually have them up like less than a week after a long trip, with pictures. For some reason, I have been avoiding writing this report. I think it’s because every time I think of this trip now, I think of the end of the trip and the terrorist attack, and I don’t want to keep reliving that. It’s hard to separate our awesome African adventure from what happened to us afterwards. But, here goes…..

*******************************************************

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Literally.

Flying back from our trip to Uganda, we talked about how this was our favorite vacation thus far.

And then, in an instant, I completely forgot all the details of the trip, and the trip is now a reminder of what happened in those last ten minutes.

But, enough with the dramatics! Let’s get on to the trip details.

This is going to be long, so you may want to read part, and come back later for more. This was also the longest trip of our lives, and I journaled the whole thing on actual PAPER and not my computer (since I did not take my computer), so I have lots and lots of details on everything.

We used the tour company Abacus Uganda Safaris, and this is the tour we took (with Ngamba Island added to the start and a city tour added to the end). Paying this place was weird, they had you wire them a deposit, then pay the rest upon arrival. You could pay with a card, but there was a 10% surcharge.

December 11, 2009

Left at 5:55 p.m. to fly from Detroit to Amsterdam, direct flight, via KLM/Delta.

December 12, 2009

Short layover in Amsterdam. Flight to Nairobi, Kenya. Another short layover, then flight to Entebbe, Uganda, via Kenya Air. In total, 23 hours from Detroit to Entebbe. Crazy. We were picked up at the airport by a driver holding a sign with our name on it. Checked into our hotel, The Boma, and had a midnight dinner of veggie pizza and fish lasagna. Drunk guys sitting next to us gave us a bunch of advice we did not plan to take. Went to bed to try to get some sleep, and get on an African time schedule.

December 13, 2009

Slept in. A lot. Headed into Entebbe to explore. Walked through a Christmas craft show. Bought a plug adaptor, which is the one thing I forgot to buy before we left and is really needed here. Also, used internet for a few minutes, had lunch at a place called Four Points, which was an amazing Chinese/Indian place. I had ginger fish and Kurt had veggie rice and hot and sour soup. Kurt said it was the best food he has ever eaten, and has deemed it his favorite restaurant in the world. We played croquet in the yard of the hotel, which was super fun. The little things make us happy…….;). Oh, and I kicked Kurt’s butt in three games! Watched the huge variety of birds at the hotel fly around and relaxed in general. Ate dinner again at Four Points and the music at night was awesome! Our tour company met us at the hotel to collect final payment and give us details on our tour starting the next day. The woman ran like 2 hours late, but it was OK, we were just chilling in the garden of the hotel.

December 14, 2010

Thankfully we woke up in time since the hotel forgot our wake-up call. Got ready and headed into the lobby for a quick breakfast, and met our tour guide, Farouk, for the first time. Got a quick briefing from Farouk of the day's events and off we were to Ngamba Island, where the orphaned chimps live. Took a boat for about a 45 minute ride, to the island. It started POURING about half way through, but luckily, the boat had ponchos on board which kept us somewhat dry. Stopped raining just before we got there. Got a chimp briefing when we got to the island. Headed to the platform where we watched the chimps eat, play and yell. They were absolutely amazing to watch. I was seriously in love. They are so smart. Also saw lizards and various bird species while there and learned about the people who live on and run the island. Took a boat ride back and had lunch at the Imperial Botanical Beach Resort restaurant, where I had some of the most amazing tilapia I have ever eaten. It was caught fresh in Lake Victoria that day. Headed to our hotel next, the Cassia Lodge. Awesome view of Kampala and right next to the President of Uganda’s house! Headed by taxi into Kampala and got massages at a local spa in the Garden City Mall. SO cheap, and awesome massage. Then had dinner at the hotel, which was good. Bed.

December 15, 2010

Left at 730 AM for Lake Mburo National Park. Had some trouble with our SUV, so we had to stop on the way and get a new alternator put in. Stopped at the Equator line to take a pic. Had lunch at a place that Kurt totally hated. Got to park and on the way to our lodge, Mantana Tented Camp, we saw vervet monkeys, zebras, impalas, topi, warthogs, several bird and duck species, and cows. Seeing zebras was so surreal. They looked almost fake to me, seeing something so gorgeous, with black and white stripes, just hanging out by the side of the road. The Lodge was in the middle of nowhere. Our room was a raised platform tent with a toilet that was a hole in the ground, LOL, and showers were “available by request”, meaning, you tell them that you want to shower, and they pour hot water in the tank for you, then stand there until you are done in case you need more water. So odd. Headed to the Lake for the boat ride, where we saw warthogs, fish eagles, hippos (SO many), vervet monkeys, water buck, cape buffalo, topi, impala, warthogs, and antelope. The fish eagles would look for fish, then swoop into the water and the splash would be so large, it was almost like a person was doing a cannonball into the water! And the hippos were so incredible to see in person. Gorgeous creatures, but the most deadly in Uganda to people.

December 16, 2010

Got up early and had our “shower by request” which was actually really nice! Had breakfast, then went on a game drive and saw cape buffalo (with babies), impala, zebra, yellow billed storks (I love storks!), spotted bushback, topi, kob, and warthog. We then began the long drive to Bwindi National Park. Had to take an alternate route because a bridge was out and the roads were HORRIBLE. We did get to see a lot of the really rural areas of the country though, which was pretty kewl. Got to our lodge, Lake Kitandara. Our room was up a LOT of stairs, but we had an amazing view. Another raised platform tent. Went and saw a cultural children’s performance that was incredible. All the kids are either orphaned, have one parent only, or have parents who cannot care for them any longer. They raise money for the school and for them to go to school by doing these performances. So, or courses, I had to donate. After that, checked email, and chilled playing cards, enjoying the view from our porch. Had dinner.

December 17, 2010

Woke up early, had breakfast, headed to Bwindi with our rain ponchos, garden gloves, lunches, excessive water (which turned out to be not so excessive), and safari clothing. Had a briefing at the park, picked up a porter (someone to carry our bags, and thank God we did that) and drove 15 minutes to the hiking site. There were 8 people in our group, the max allowed to visit a gorilla troop in one day. The hike was pure hell, the most strenuous hike I have ever done in my life. 3 hours, literally straight up a mountain. We had to deal with the elevation/altitude changes as well as walking straight up, and wow. I think we almost died, LOL. At least there were gorgeous views on the way.. J Saw a baboon on the way. The gorillas were absolutely amazing. Totally worth the trip. Kurt now says “a 23 hour plane ride, 13 hour car ride, and 3 hour hike straight up hill” to finally see the endangered highland mountain gorillas. We got to watch them for an hour, in which they mostly ate leaves, and were lazy. Got to be really close to them, and they were not scared of us at all. We saw 5 members of the troop, including the baby and the silverback (the leader of the group who was HUGE). Hike back was a lot easier, loved the downhill, haha. Came back to lodge to shower and headed out for a community walk. We walked through where they grow tea, coffee and bananas to get to the little town area. So much work goes into making their crops and they get so little money from it. We first saw the “traditional healer”, which was one of our fav parts of Bwindi. He is also known as the medicine man. He makes remedies for illnesses for locals. He put on a uniform which was an animal skin hat/vest and explained to us what he does with all his herbs and administering them. Next, we went to the banana home where we learned how they make banana juice, wine and gin. Kurt tried all three, but I just tried the juice because our guide told us there is extremely high alcohol content that might make us sick. Kurt was fine though. Phew! We headed next to the primary school, which is K-7 (and the only required education in Uganda). The head teacher explained the school system to us. Next, we headed to the Batwa Village (pygmy people). They did a show for us with tribal song, dance and music which was really kewl. Kurt loved this part, he had been looking forward to it. He bought a little handmade doll in the village, which is now in his office.

December 18, 2010

Slept horribly last night. I don’t know where hotel security was, but someone was having a HUGE party, yelling, drunk, and nobody told them to be quiet. Ugh. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone, as management is horrible. Had breakfast and left for Queen Elizabeth Park. Stopped at Ishasha to look for tree climbing lions. Found none, but we did see kob, elephants, baboons, giant bush pig, water buck, buffalo, warthog, Columbus monkkeys, vervet monkeys and the African eagle. Got to Mweya Safari Lodge. Got massages. Lodge is gorgeous, with amazing views. Saw warthogs at the lodge and tons of buffalo on the shores of the Lake. Had dinner overlooking Lake George.

December 19, 2010

Went on an early morning drive of Queen Elizabeth. Saw elephants (including a super cute rambunctious baby), kob, buffalo, warthog, bush pig (with babies), and water buck.. Took nap and had lunch. Then took the Kazinga Channel boat tour, where we saw hippos, buffalo, elephants, warthogs, Nile crocodiles, storks, eagle and many other birds. I started to feel sick during this tour, and when we got off the boat, I threw up in the Channel! Ugh. Not like me at all. Decided to try a night game drive anyway, but then when we got back, I got sick again. I read someplace that more than 50% of people who go to Uganda get sick from something in the food/water, even when they only drink bottled water, so I am sure that was it. Kurt went and ate dinner himself and I slept the rest of the night.

December 20, 2010

Got up and did an early morning game drive. Drove to Kibale National Park. Checked into Primates Lodge. Took a Chimpanzee trekking tour and saw chimps in a tree and on the ground as well. Seeing the chimps in the wild (as opposed to the island) was pretty incredible. Also saw grey cheeked mangabeys. At our room, we saw white Columbus and red tailed monkeys. Had dinner, then went to bed.

December 21, 2010

Drove all day to Murchison Falls. Took a ferry to the Lodge, only way to access it, called Paraa Lodge. Relaxed for the night, playing cards, had dinner, went to bed.

December 22, 2010

Got up and did early morning game drive. Saw giraffes, elephants, oribi, Jackson hartebeest, kob, buffalo, water buck, birds and hippos. Had lunch. Did the Nile River Cruise that afternoon where we saw hippos, elephants, Nile crocodiles, warthogs, Jackson hartebeest, fish eagle, and other birds, as well as the Falls. Which were gorgeous. Came back, played cards, had dinner, bed.

December 23, 2010

Got up, drove to the top of Murchison Falls to see them from a different view. We were much more close and it was kewl how powerful the Falls are. Drove to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Saw three rhinos after a short hike on dry desert like ground. The rhinos were insanely kewl, they looked like dinosaurs. They have 24 hour guards that watch the creatures as they were poached to extinction previously. Drove to Kampala, had a couples massage, dinner, bed. Stayed at Cassia Lodge again.

December 24, 2010

Got up, had city tour of Kampala. Saw Kasai Tombs, the Uganda museum, the law school and university, parliament. Had lunch at Masala Indian restaurant, then visited two craft markets and a coffee store. I bought a wood bowl with different Ugandan animals carved on the top, and Kurt bought two really kewl carved African figurines from the Congo. Also bought a handmade African tote bag, a carved hippo and a carved gorilla. Bought Kory coffee. Relaxed at the beach, then to the airport and home.

This realy was the trip of a lifetime. I feel really lucky and blessed that I got to see all these animals, and experience this adventure. I am also thankful that I survived a terrorist attack and am here to tell my safari story!

I posted pic links before, but will do so again below, so you can see them if you have not yet.

Click here to see Lake Mburo

Click here to see Ngamba Island

Click here to see Bwindi

Click here to see Kibale/Ziwa

Click here to see Entebbe/Kampala

Murchison Falls here

Queen Elizabeth here

Have a great weekend!

Southgate Rotary and Radio Show

Kurt and I were invited to speak at the Southgate Rotary Club meeting yesterday. The meeting was at a local hotel and the food was great! Had a really nice time at this meeting, really nice people and Kurt's speech was great as well. People were really interested in knowing what "really" happened, as opposed to the media/government version.

Last night, he was on the Rollye James radio show. Cannot find the link online yet, but will post it once it is up on her site.

Happy Friday!

Reviews

Tried the above soup on Tuesday. We don't have measuring cups at the office (I have since brought one in), so I kinda had to guess at water amounts and the like. But, this soup was awesome! And I am VERY picky about miso soup. Thumbs up to this one. They had a lot of other choices at the store with this brand, so I may need to try more! Easy to prepare as well. Tried the quesadilla on Wednesday. Again, I am really picky about Mexican in a box, LOL, but this was surprisingly good, and VERY easy to make. I will buy this one again. Plus, there are two servings, so great price as well.



This shoe was an AWESOME find. I saw this shoe, long ago, on Piperlime and fell in love, however, it was WAY more than what I will pay for shoes, since I am kinda addicted to shoes........Anyway, I shop on this site called ideel (which is amazing, let me know if you want an invite to the site). They have daily sales which only last like 2-3 days, and this week, they had Lovely People shoes on special. WITH THIS SHOE. For like one third of the retail price. So, of course, I had to purchase it. As well as the one below for Spring. Turquoise will look great with black, blue OR grey dress pants and skirts. Whoot.


Happy Friday everyone! Gretel is at the office with us, and we may leave early today! Whoot.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

AN INTERESTING NOTE TO TODAY'S CNN ARTICLE ON FLIGHT 253

By Kurt Haskell


A few days ago, CNN contacted all of the known flight 253 passengers by email. The email stated that as the Haiti earthquake story had calmed down, CNN wanted to write a new article on flight 253. The email listed a series of questions that CNN wanted the passengers to answer about flight 253. This is the first major media organization to contact Lori and I after the hearings took place in Congress. These hearings provided the statements from Patrick Kennedy and Michael Leiter that led to the obviously conclusion that the Sharp Dressed Man was a U.S. Government agent (Please scroll down below and read previous blog posts if you are not informed as to these comments and this conclusion). Therefore, I expected CNN to address these issues, as they are now, in my opinion, the most important part of the flight 253 story. When I provided my answers, I informed CNN that it could only use my answers if it intended to discuss the Sharp Dressed Man in its article. I heard nothing further from CNN. Lori, however, got another email that said, since we can't use Kurt's answers, can we at least use yours? This was not a surprise to me since it is obvious that the major media is furthering the U.S. governement's flight 253 propaganda. Lori's take on all of this is that we should keep flight 253 in the media no matter what. My take is that it is time for the media to step up to the plate and ask the hard questions. Until that happens, don't bother wasting my time to further the U.S. Government's agenda. You can read the article below as Lori posted a link in her most recent blog entry. Notice that I am not mentioned in the article. At least the media is showing its true colors.

CNN

New article on CNN.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Food Reviews


So, I decided that even though I rarely have time to eat at work, I need to start bringing meals so I am not starving on those days I do have time to eat. So, I bought a bunch of little meals from the grocery store, and will review them all on here. I am also going to start bringing in my homemade veggie chili and other stuff, but I need to unfreeze it first.

Anyway, today I tried "Shrimp Fried Rice" by Tai Pei Food. To display how hectic work is, I started heating this up at 1215 PM. Finished eating at around 200 PM because I was interrupted three times to do appoiontments, and a couple times by walk-in questions. But, I loved this quick meal I bought at Kroger's. Microwaved for 5 minutes, and opened the box to eat! Super easy. Also, 0 trans fat in the meal, and very low saturated fat. Yum. Usually I am VERY picky about shrimp in stuff like this, but, it was very good! :).

Also, last night for dinner, I made La Choy Terayaki "chicken", but I used ahi tuna. I also threw in a little bit of soy sausage as I did not have a pound of tuna, as the recipe called for. Anyway, this was awesome. Kurt loved it, and he can be kinda picky. Very easy to make as well. Highly recommend this one too. There is a coupon on the La Choy website if anyone wants to try it.

Happy President's Day!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

Even though I do not really celebrate the holiday, wanted to say Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! :). Valentine's Day was always fun growing up, my Mom would always make my sister and I really cute baskets, with stuff like t-shirts, our fav candy, etc. She is the kewlest Mom.....

Had a busy weekend. Friday night, went to dinner with Rebecca and Jessica at Union Street in Detroit. The place had a pretty kewl ambiance and vibe, but the good things ended there.......Jessica and Rebecca did not like their food, and mine made me sick later on! Ugh! And, our waitress seemed annoyed that she had to do her job. It was my goal to make her smile, and I think the one time she did was when she picked up our credit card slips with her tips.........It was nice to see Rebecca though, and to gossip with the girls! :).

Saturday, Kurt and Kory headed to the Ypsi office. We were having carpet put in (the stuff they had in there was super ugly) and paint. I went into the Taylor office to try and get ahead on some paperwork and stuff. After the office, I stopped at the mall at NY and Co and Macy's. The mall was having some great sales. I think it's so odd they have "Spring" clothes out when we have snow on the ground and a freezing 10 day forecast. Anyway, I got a cute new sweater at NY and Co,



as well as two new necklaces and some tights.

Macy's had this rack in their suit department with suits for 70% off that I always look thru while there, and almost always find something. I found a great skirt suit with a black skirt and dark turquise colored blazer. Also found a cute sweater marked down.


Had dinner out with Kurty at nick and nino's, as there is no way in hell I am trying to go out to dinner tonight with the holiday. I had been craving fish tacos and they are awesome there.

Today, got up and headed to the grocery store and to Elder Beerman's as I had some coupons to use there. Ended up getting some great deals there too. Got a really cute dress that I can wear with blazers to work.



Also found a black skirt for 75% off,



a sweater marked down (mine is like below, except the main color on mine is green)



two dress shirts for Kurt on clearance, a tie on sale, and two pairs of tights. I heart sales and clearance.

Home for the night now. Need to go work out and then make dinner! :).

Friday, February 12, 2010

Etsy


I discovered Etsy last night! A friend of mine posts her jewelry and other creations on this site, so I finally got around to checking out the page. OK, I am way behind the times on this I guess, but what a great site. The handmade stuff on here is great. When you buy something, it's a unique product that pretty much nobody else will have. Much is one of a kind and people on here really seem to care about their work product. And, the prices are great, and shipping is not through the roof like on a lot of eBay sellers' pages.


I finally found a scales of justice for my office from one seller. I have been looking for one, but wanted something girly and unique, that would fit the decor of my office. Score on Etsy! Also, found two kewl necklaces to buy as well from a seller who has beautiful things. Hopefully I like everything in person. Luckily, if I don't, the sites have great return policies as well! Just went on this morning and bought my Mom a couple things.............Hopefully she like them! :).

Happy Shopping!

VIDEO FROM WEBSTER TARPLEY OF RUSSIA TODAY

By Kurt Haskell


This is a very interesting video, which backs up much of what I have been saying, but takes it a step further.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU4RjI9ZhKA&feature=player_embedded#

Yelp

My friend, Rebecca, introduced me to Yelp a while back. I have used it quite often to look up places to get, spas to use, etc. and the reviews are all from "real" people and tend to be really, really helpful.

Anyway, are you on there? If you are, please add me by clicking here. Really fun site, and really great when you are travelling and don't know what to do next! :).

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

One of my associate attorneys, Stacey, is training to participate in the San Diego, CA Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. On June 6, 2010, she will run 13.1 miles in an effort to raise funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

If this cause is important to you, please help Stacey out. :).

Click here to see her page.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

UPDATE ON THE CAMERAMAN

By Kurt Haskell

As I've previously mentioned, I have been in contact with several passengers from our flight. Many of them want to remain anonymous due to how Lori and I have been treated by the media and government officials.

Earlier today, an anonymous poster commented on this blog that he has been in contact with the cameraman and that I know who "The anonymous poster" is. I do know who the anonymous poster is, and after I read the comment, I called the anonymous poster. He went on to state that he has spoken to the cameraman and that he is certain that the cameraman is not involved. According to the anonymous poster, the cameraman is a single man who was flying by himself to visit someone in the U.S. Also, he indicated that the cameraman recently purchased a camera and was testing it out on the flight because he was alone and bored. I am still somewhat unconvinced as it is difficult for me to believe that someone would film a terrorist attack and not stop filming during the attack.

HE THEN WENT ON TO STATE THAT THE CAMERAMAN THINKS THAT HE HAS A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE MAN IN ORANGE!

I now have the camerman's contact information and I will be attempting to contact him shortly to obtain this photograph. Apparently, the cameraman was taking still photographs on the plane as well as video and the government only confiscated his camera, but did not confiscate his memory card, which contains the still photgraphs.

I will give an update as soon as I have something further to report.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Kurt's Bday Indy Trip--Trip Report and Pics

Normally, we fly someplace for Kurt’s bday, but with our recent near death experience, flying was NOT happening this year. We decided to pick a place we could drive to, and Indy it was!

Started out the trip by renting a car from Enterprise to drive to Indy. Got a Dodge Charger, which was a very comfy car to take with us. Got that, and headed off to Indy! The drive was very nice--no traffic at all, totally clear roads, took about 4 hours from Newport. Kurt and I both drove some. Got there around 730 PM or so, and checked into the Canterbury Hotel in downtown Indy. We were upgraded to a Parlour Suite by the concierge pre-trip, and our room was really nice. The hotel itself was 122 years old and everything was historical and gorgeous. Our room was an entryway, a living room with desk, couch, and chairs as well as a flat screen TV, a bedroom with sitting area and TV, and the bathroom. Relaxed in the room some, and then headed to Mccormick and Schmick‘s for dinner. We sat in the bar area and our waitress pointed out that late night happy hour started in like 15 minutes. So, we ordered drinks and some salad/soup, and then ordered SUPER cheap meals at 930 PM when happy hour started. Fish tacos, parmesean/garlic fries……..Yum. And each choice was only $1.95, which is a crazy good deal for a nice restaurant! Great service as well. Headed to the room after that for the night.

Friday, slept in. Yay. Rare we get to do that in the middle of the week. Anyway, we got up and it was a blizzard outside. Which was kinda funny, since at that time, we had gotten no snow in Newport yet. Stopped and ate lunch at Chammp’s. Their BBQ salmon salad is awesome……Headed next to the Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum located in the basement of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. The museum was very kewl. Lots of Civil War info and memorabilia. We also went to the top of the monument (kurt wussed out on me and took the elevator, refusing to take the stairs, haha) and we got to see some pretty nice views of the city (through the snow). Walked around the mall (Circle Centre Mall) attached to our hotel after that. Went and got a massage next at Spa in the City. Place was a hair salon with one room for massage, but they are expanding right now and will have an entire area for massage soon. Then, the Pistons game! We walked over to Conseco, and found our seats, which were awesome. 5 rows behind the Pistons bench. The Pistons lost BAD, but the game was a lot of fun and I loved sitting that close to the game. Conseco felt so small compared to the Palace, but I liked it because there really was not a bad seat in the there. After the game, walked to The Old Spaghetti Factory, where we sat in the bar area to watch the Bulls game while eating dinner, and we had the entire floor to ourselves. Food was really good, and service was perfect. Great prices there as well. Went back to the hotel and to bed.

Saturday, slept in again. Bliss. Got up and headed to Studio 2000 for another massage. Really nice place with awesome décor. Massage was incredible as well. My therapist really understood deep tissue, which is rare. I was in pain (in a good way). After that, went and had lunch at Chammp’s again, then headed to the Indy Art Museum. I was not expecting a lot, but the place was gorgeous and the art fabulous. Not an overwhelming place, but great stuff. After that, headed to the hotel room to relax and get ready for dinner with Charlene and Brent. They picked us up at 700 PM and took us to a hangout of theirs, Ale Emporium. We got to see a band, Living Proof, while there, that was the best local band I have ever seen. They were awesome. Dinner was really good, and it was nice to catch up with Char and meet Brent.

Sunday, got up and headed out to the War Memorial. The interior of this building was incredible, like all marble with gorgeous detail. We visited the museum there, which was great. Very interesting artifacts and information. After that, headed out of town and home.

Overall, great relaxing trip. We tried to NOT pack in as much as we do on weekend trips, and just planned a lot of time to relax and do nothing, which was nice. We loved Indy--very down to Earth, laid back people live there, and we felt very safe walking around the City and area.

Click here to see the pics from the trip.

Oh, I almost forgot. I felt so bad we could not take a flying trip someplace this year, that I bought him an actual gift, which I have not done in forever. He was surprised, and loved it! I got him a Fantasy Press Package to a Detroit Tigers game, which includes the following, for two people. We also had dinner on his actual birthday with a group of friends at Crave Lounge in Dearborn, which is Kurt's fav restaurant in MI. Click here to see pics from dinner.

Receive an autographed baseball signed by both the TV and Radio Announcers

Dinner in the press box

Spend two innings in the Tigers radio broadcast booth with Dan Dickerson and former Tiger Jim Price

Spend two innings in the Tigers TV broadcast booth with Mario Impemba and Rod Allen

Watch the remainder of the game in the press box with Tigers VP of Communications Ron Colangelo and a Tigers beat writer "TBD"


Happy Birthday, Kurty!

Monday, February 08, 2010

AN ARTICLE FROM GHANA BUSINESS NEWS

I was recently sent this link to an article in the Ghana Business News:

http://ghanabusinessnews.com/2009/12/28/nigerian-terror-suspect-is-well-educated/

The article is rather unremarkable. However, notice that the African picture of Umar Farouk is different than the pictures of him here in the U.S.

This is probably just an innocent mistake, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Scott Horton and Charles Goyette Show

Kurt on the Scott Horton Show Yesterday.

Click here to listen