Two Weeks Update

I really have issues getting on here to update!



**Angie and I, in dressing rooms at the Loft, we both took in clothing, and both ended up trying on the same dress at the same time, not knowing the other one even had the dress in their room.  Hilarious.  We both bought it, by the way.

Anyway, last weekend, Angie and I headed to Niagara Falls, Canada, for a girls weekend.  We met three of my friends there, one from Philly (kelli), one from Buffalo (Charlene) and one from London, Ontario (Lisa).  we stayed at the Sheraton Four Points for free with Starwoods Points I had.  So, free hotel!  Whoot!  Angie and left the office early afternoon on Friday and made awesome time to Niagara.  We were the first to arrive and decided to work out while waiting for everyone to get there.  The gym at the hotel was not huge, but sufficient for us with cardio equipment and free weights.  Worked out, then showered, and everyone started to arrive.  It was cold out, so we decided to stay at the hotel for dinner and ate at Eastside Mario's.  Dinner was yummy, and we all hung out in one of the rooms and drank champagne Lisa brought the rest of the night, and stayed up late talking.



**Girls workout session.  Super fun, wish I had them to work out with all the time.

Day two, we decided to head to New York for some outlet shopping.  Buffalo has an awesome outlet mall.  We had a great time there.  I got some dresses at The Loft and a pair of shoes at the Coach outlet.  We then had dinner at Boston pizza, and headed to Margaritaville to hang the rest of the night, watching bad (and good) karaoke, and drinking.  Did some interesting shots.  Angie bought shoes at midnight on the way back to the hotel, LOL.



Day three, had breakfast and then came back to the States.  Awesome girls weekend, but too short!



**In the Tigers store, playing with the monkeys.  Ha.

Thursday, our office and our friend Ron's office bought a Suite for the Tigers game.  It was awesome.  The game was during the day so we all met there at game time.  Kory brought his girlfriend, and my Dad came as well.  We were thrilled to be in a Suite since it rained on and off during the game.  Tigers lost, but we all had an awesome time.



This past Friday night, we celebrated our friend Ron's bday by having dinner at Ignite at MGM Casino in Detroit.  The place was really kewl and the food was awesome.  I really liked it.  They are mainly a sushi restaurant and they have all these fire features everywhere.  I highly recommend it if you like sushi.

**This dress cost me $8.  Yes, I am super proud of that.

Went to my friend Kelly's baby shower was on Saturday, and Angie and I met up to go to that.  The shower was at a church and really nice.  The cupcakes were super cute, and Kelly got a ton of gifts from her registry!  Can't wait to meet her baby boy, Nolan, in June (or sooner).  Congrats Kelly and Jason!

**Angie, Kel and I at Kel's shower in Trenton.  Super fun shower.

Updates

I am so behind on posting....Boo.

I will try and recall recent life events.

Mom's Easter Late Bday Weekend in Grand Rapids

First, weekend with my Mom.  Over Easter weekend, we met in Grand Rapids, MI, to have a late bday celebration.  I wanted to take my Mom someplace really awesome for her 60th bday, like the Florida Keys or the Virgin Islands (she does not have a passport).  She chose Grand Rapids.  LOL.  Cheaper, yet not as exciting.  But, we had a blast.  I booked us a room using her military discount (thanks Ronnie for being a veteran) at the Holiday Inn in downtown GR.  I got there around 1100 AM that Friday and she got there about a half hour later.  I had already had a weird experience, I was walking to my car to get my stuff after checking in and totally fell, tripping over nothing, and landed hard on the cement.  I was OK afterwards.  A lady from an inside office ran outside to see if I was OK because I fell that hard.  I felt like a total moron.  

After she got there, we decided to head out to lunch and to the mall for some shopping.  We went to lunch at On the Border near the mall, then went shopping, which was super fun.  Came back to the hotel for a bit, then headed to dinner at Charley's Crab House in downtown GR.  Dinner was great, and we then relaxed in the room for the remainder of the night.  

Found out while shopping that I like maxi dresses, so I may need to get some for Costa Rica.  I did not think I liked long dresses on me, but they are cute and perfect for the beach weather.  I already bought two of them online since returning, on clearance at Gap and Piperlime.

Saturday, we got up and headed to the spa for our morning of massages and pedicures at Design One.  Services were awesome, and it was my Mom's first pedi ever.  She loved it!  :).  Headed to another mall after that and had big pretzels for lunch.  Mom finally found a dress and shoes for my cousin's wedding at Younkers.  She also bought me two really awesome straw beach hats for Costa Rica for my bday.  Back to the room after shopping, and got ready for dinner at The Melting Pot.  Had a fun time there.

***Pic of the dress my Mom found while shopping.  She had already lost the cute wedges she found.  Due to a foot injury, she cannot wear heels for very long.  They were super cute though!  :).

Sunday, we had breakfast, then I headed home.  Had dinner for Easter at my Aunt's house, we ordered in from Max and Erma's and played Uno, which was fun.

House Closing and Injuries, Dinner with Friends

The following weekend, we had dinner out with friends on Friday night, at Crave in Dearborn.  Super fun night, stopped at the Post after dinner and watched part of the Michigan game with everyone.  

Last Tuesday, we closed on our house in Costa Rica!!!!  We are super psyched about that and cannot wait to move there someday.  Don't know for sure, but as soon as possible would be nice. :).  For now, it's nice to know I have a place to go once we do move.  I have to say a closing in a foreign country was easier than in the States, and I was expected it to be harder, with loopholes to jump through.  None of that.  Maybe having an attorney there made things easier, but it was so simple.  Glad it was, as it would have been hard to deal with drama from overseas.  The house is amazing and just what I wanted.  It is about 2200 square feet (significantly smaller than my house now, which is great as I am sick of taking care of the house we have), has an awesome pool, and 1.25 acres of wildlife.  The bathrooms are insanely nice, and it is one story, which I wanted as well.  We need to do some minor upgrades, but nothing at all to move in, just to make it Kurt and Lori accessible (meaning Kurt wants to build on a gym and wall in the garage, as well as put up some coverage at the pool to protect us from the sun while out there).

***Front side view of my new house and pool.  I cannot wait to put a hammock out there.  And some lounge chairs.  We are also going to build a thatched roof thing to sit under.

The SAME day as the closing, Kurt called me while on my way to court to tell me he fell in the garage and could not stand up or even sit up for that matter.  For weeks prior, he had been complaining of back pain, and I guess something happened going down the garage steps and he just fell over.  He said he was going to lie there for a moment and see if he felt better.  So, he did.  No improvement.  He called me and said he was calling 911.  I sent Kory down there to stay with him until I could get out of court.  I asked to be called first in the courtroom so I get to the hospital and they graciously helped me out, thank God.  Then left for the hospital so Kory could get back to work.  Kurt was sleeping in a hospital bed in the ER, they had given him pain patches, steroid shots and pain meds.  He was in a lot of pain still.  They ended up forcing him to lie on his side (after doing xrays and finding nothing) and doing some manipulations to his back.  Something "popped" and he started to feel like maybe he could move around some.  After a little bit, he sat up, then stood up, then wanted to leave.  They gave him some scripts and sent him on his way.  Thankful nothing major was wrong.  They diagnosed it as some kind of low joint was out of place in his back.  They had a medical term, but I am sucky with those.  He is still sore, but made it back to the gym with me today which I was happy about.  I hate going alone, it is much more fun with him!  :).

Family Wedding Weekend



**cousins, spouses, and grandparents.

This past weekend, my cousin, Tim, got married to his fiancee, Melissa.  They got marred at the Pi Banquet Hall in Southfield, MI, on Saturday.  Pretty much my entire family was there, which was awesome.  I know that made my grampa happy.  He is so proud of everyone in the family and loves seeing us all together.  The wedding was awesome, and the reception even more fun.  I had a great time getting to spend time with my nephew, Nick, who was on the dance floor before dancing even started.  

***Maga feeding Bumpa anniversary cake.  I love this.

The next day, we had a little get together to celebrate my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary.  That was a lot of fun as well, and of course, Grampa wanted more pics taken, LOL.  I took some too........It was nice to see everyone again, and it's inspiring to be around a 65 year marriage.  I can only hope mine lasts that long.  It is incredible.

*** The bride and I, at the reception.

Random

Weather is finally starting to feel like Spring here.  Two weekends ago, it broke 50 (my rule for running outside) and I ran 5 miles at the park.  I loved being outside, seeing the wildlife coming back, and seeing all the families out celebrating good MI weather.  The park is beautiful in the Spring.  Of course, got cold again after that until today.  Today was gorgeous, so of course I had to work late.  LOL.  My allergies (onset by age) are acting up, so I know it's Spring.  My throat is kinda scratchy and I am just kinda tired.  Started taking Claritin yesterday to try and calm it down and am taking my vitamins without fail each night.  As well as some Airborne just in case.

**one of my fav pics of the night, Bumpa and I.

Lauren, our associate attorney, is trying out for Big Brother tomorrow.  That should be interesting to hear about.  She also recently got a puppy and for about two weeks, she was bringing him to work with her.  it was nice to have a baby around the office for a while.  Gretel came in one day to meet the puppy.  Finn was very happy to meet Gretel, but I think finn had too much energy for Gretel, she bored of him quickly.  She wanted nothing to do with him after a few minutes of him hounding her.

**Gretel and Finn.  I think at this point Gretel was doing the aggressive I am the boss bark and Finn was a little leery, which was cracking us all up.

Anyway, I should sign off after this HUGE update.  Hope everyone is doing well.