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.

Alone

So, Kurt had to take a business trip to Tampa/Orlando this weekend.  He left Thursday after morning court and will be back shortly.  He had to drive (long story).  So, I am anxiously waiting for him to get home.  It's kinda pathetic how at a loss I am without him here for one short weekend.  But, I guess it's good I still like him this much after 16 plus years!  :).

I had a pretty chill weekend.  I stayed home for most of it, and relaxed.  I worked part of the day on Saturday (it was my and Kurt's Saturday to work, so he got out of that, bastard!), and today, I went over to Jessica's house to deliver a present I had bought for baby Ava.  I got to meet her doggie, Duke, and he is such a little lover.

Got a lot of laundry done and all the unpacking, putting away done from the Vegas trip, did dishes, took garbage out, picked up a lot of stuff around the house.  Glad to have all that done.

So, some pics from shopping in Vegas!  I got three pairs of awesome shoes at the Tory Burch outlet for summer.  And am bummed I now have to wait to wear them!  Also, I got a super cute sun dress at the Gap, that has green heart polka dots.  I saw the shirt below at Zara and could not pass it up.  Got two t-shirts on clearance there too, but did not take pics.  I wonder if I start wearing summer clothes if it will warm up here?  No?  Ugh.

After last summer filled with campaigning, I want to start running 5Ks again this summer.  I was going to do one today, but it was way too cold to venture out.  I am looking at races the first week of April.  There is one in Detroit on Belle Isle raising $$ for colon cancer research, so I might do that one if it warms up by then.  Next weekend, I am going to Grand Rapids with my Mom for a girls' weekend and I can't wait!  We are going to a spa one morning for massages and pedis, shopping, and having dinner out at Charley's Crab and The Melting Pot.

As I took a break in post, kurt got home, so I am going to sign off so we can go take the rental car back!  More later!  :)

Viva Las Vegas!

So, I had a blast in Vegas.  It was a much needed relaxing getaway.  We went with our friends, Ron and Erika.



We left on Friday morning via direct flight through Delta.  Flight left on time and we arrived in Vegas on time.  Got luggage right away, and headed to the hotel, Monte Carlo.  We tried to check in, but our rooms were not ready yet, so we all headed to lunch at Serendipity 3.  I had been craving a crab Caesar salad from there since Thanksgiving.  Ate there then headed back to the hotel.  Our room was ready, but Erika and Ron's was not yet.  So, we all headed to our room, and Erika and I changed into bathing suits to head to the pool and take a nap while Kurt and Ron played some craps.  We stayed there a few hours, having a drink and napping.  Perfect lazy afternoon.  Went back to the room after that and showered, then found Kurt and Ron. playing craps.  Got ready and then decided to head to dinner at another great place, McCormack & Schmidt's.  Stopped and got some champagne after that and headed back to the room for the night.

Day two, Saturday, got up and used the hotel gym.  After that, headed with Kurt out to explore and then had lunch at Margaritaville.  Headed to The D hotel after that to buy tickets to a show that night and ended up playing some blackjack at Four Queens and poker at Golden Nugget.  Had dinner at Landry's, then headed back to The D to see Raack and Roll, which was super amusing.  Back to the room for the night.

Day three, Sunday.  Got up and worked out, then headed to my fav outlet mall while Erika hung at the pool and Kurt and Ron gambled downtown.  Ended up with some amazing purchases from the Tory Burch outlet and used a coupon for some awesome savings at the Gap outlet.  After that, Ron and Kurt picked me up and we went and picked up Erika for lunch at Diablo's in Monte Carlo.  Fun place.  That night, we had dinner at Sushi Robu in Caesar's, then headed to Pure, a nightclub there.  Did not really like the atmosphere there, so we headed back to Monte Carlo to hang at a lounge there called Ignite.  Had an absolute blast there, closing the place down.  Back to the room for the night.

Day 4, Monday.  Got up and worked out without Kurt, as someone was still drunk when he woke up, LOL.  And hungover.  After that, met Erika and Ron in Caesar's and had lunch at La Salsa.  I went after that to Fashion Square Mall, where I got some replacement foundation at the Chanel counter at Nordstrom's and some t-shirts at Zara.  Also got a quick pedi at this place in the middle of the mall called LAKA Manicure Express.  Got an amazing mod purple color.  Kurt picked me up after that and we chilled, then headed to dinner at Bubba Gump's.  Awesome food.  Next, Zarkana at Aria.  Show is a Cirque show and was amazing talent.  We were harassed quite a bit by the performers before the show.  One of them stole my purse and I had to chase them to get it back and another one made Kurt stand up and stole his seat next to me, LOL. It was a lot of fun.  Back to room for the night.

Day 5 was our travel day home.  I woke up and worked out, then packed everything up to leave.  BOO.  The weather was beyond amazing while we were there.  Perfect sundress and flip flop weather.  And, I came back to 28 degrees.  Ugh.

Back to Reality

Vegas trip was awesome.  When I have time, I will post an entire trip report.  Relaxed a lot, and had a great time in general.

I will leave you with a pic of Erika and I from the night we all saw Zarkana at the Aria.  Awesome seats, 4 rows from stage.  Also, one of my and Kurt from the same night before the show.

The Book of Mormon

I knew nothing about this show going in, except that two people I knew saw it and loved it.

The Book of Mormon.

FREAKING hilarious.  Best production I have seen in ages, pretty much loved every second.

I saw it at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit with my season tickets, and I read online that every show has sold out for it's 10 day appearance.  I am sure you can get tickets on Ticketmaster, through the Fisher ticket exchange, eBay or Stubhub.

If you like musicals and comedy and are not easily offended, SEE THIS SHOW.

Surgery--Kurt

Exactly one week after my surgery, Kurt had his LASIK done.  His went about the same as mine.  He went in at 1100 AM and surgery scheduled for 1130 AM.  I took him and dropped him off, and picked him up afterwards.  He was really out it from the surgery tiring him out as well as the Valium they give you.  Took him home, helped him put the drops in his eyes for the first dose, and headed back to work for the day since I knew he would pass out until later that night.  I had to work until 600 PM, and when I got home, he was up in the kitchen getting a snack.   Only real difference between mine and Kurt's surgeries is Kurt ended up taking that Friday off too.  His one eye was kinda swollen and he was a lot more exhausted than I was on day two, maybe because his surgery was a few hours later in the day than mine.

Back to my surgery, one week later and I am still not "perfect".  Both eyes still have a little bit of red in them, and I still have slightly dry eyes and use the wetting drops often.  Dr says all of this is normal though.  My next checkup is on April 11 so we will see if everything is OK then.  Kurt's day two recheck went fine.  Dr said one eye looked kinda swollen, but did not seem concerned with it.

I have been kinda tired since the surgery, I think because my eyes are healing and that is slightly tiring.  I have worked out daily after the 48 hours I could not work out, but most days I am doing lighter workouts, like long bike sessions.  One of the days I was feeling slightly more energetic and I ran, did weights and biked.  I am hoping to return to good workouts this week.

Two weekends ago, I grabbed my phone out of my purse and tried to call my Mom and noticed that her voice sounded really distant and warbled.  I thought it was a fluke, but after that, calling on my phone could only really be done via speaker phone, which is a pain.  So, I finally had time to take it to the Apple store in Ann Arbor today.  They gave me a new phone, no charge.  They could not figure out what the issue was.  Glad to have a working phone again.  And with iCloud, all my stuff was saved.  Walked around the mall a bit, did not buy anything, but saw some really cute Detroit Tigers clothes at Victoria's Secret.  May get some once it is marked down.  Went to Whole Foods to get some TV dinner lunches and other stuff I like.  Found this vegetarian chili that only has 25 calories in one cup.  Made it tonight and it was awesome!  I so wish there was a Whole Foods closer to me than Ann Arbor.

Went to Ron's "strawberry party" last weekend and had a really nice time.  It was also for Jarod's bday, and he ended up not coming as he had the flu that has been going around.  :(.  I made a strawberry cheesecake for the party which must have been good since it all got eaten.  :).

Last weekend, I also went to a party with my friend, Mel.  The house had scentsy being sold, as well as North Face coats, various jewelry, sunglasses, scarves, etc.  I ended up buying a Scentsy thing for my office (see below).  I also bought three scents, French Toast, Blueberry cheesecake and Citrus.  They make not only my office smell amazing but the entire office smell awesome.  Great purchase and I got a great deal on it.

The wallet below I got for free!  I need a new one, as mine is starting to fall apart.  I am a member of this online panel and have been saving points forever, and finally used some of them to buy the wallet.  Which shall go great with the Kate Spade purse I purchased from my previous post, the cobalt blue one.  It went on sale and I had a 25% off coupon!  whoot.

Got the dress below for Vegas.  Super cute and amazing deal.  

Shirt below is another clearance find.  Super comfy.

Love the shirt below.  another clearance find and super comfy as well.  Wore it with a black cardigan to Ron's party.

Got the shoe below to wear with my new dresses to Vegas!  I went to Macy's and found the cutest Vegas dresses super marked down on clearance.  Will have to find pics of them to post when I have time, since they are not on Macy's site due to being so marked down, I think.  One is green though, and I cannot wait to wear it on St Patty's day!  We are going to Pure Nightclub that night, and we purchased VIP line passes that also get us free alcohol for two hours.

Got the bag below to use as a BriefCase for work.  Super cute and unique.  also, super marked down.

The weather today was amazing.  My car said at one point when I was driving it was 67 degrees!  Crazy.  We took the dogs for a long walk, fed the fish in the pond, and I cleaned out the Jeep and Saab, and took the garbage out and did not freeze!  It is not supposed to stay this way, but I enjoyed the day of nice weather and not having to wear a winter coat.

Vito's last physical therapy appointment is tomorrow.  we decided to not purchase anymore sessions because with it being nice out, we can work with him outdoors.  we mostly liked the sessions because it really forced him to work the muscles and exercise, and in winter, he is pretty lazy when just staying home.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well!