Not Enough Hours

Haven't blogged in a while, let me see if I can recap some in the last week events in our household......

Another crazy busy week last week. I was in court almost daily, which is rare for me. Kurt is in court almost every day, but I try to stay at the office as much as possible so the phone calls and paperwork don't pile up, but this week, that was not possible. Being in court this week was interesting though, saw some hearings where I could just not believe some of my colleagues behavior--yelling, interrupting, arguing with the Judge. I was kinda appalled really. There must have been something in the air........

Tuesday, I saw a show called Spring Awakening at the Fisher Theatre. WEIRD show. The singing and music were awesome, but it was one of those shows that had a lot going on, and I really could not tell you in less than a couple paragraphs what was going on. There were a lot of different story lines and characters, but i liked it. It was really eccentric, kinda like Rent (if you have seen that). Had dinner beforehand with Auntie at The Regis' restaurant and had a really good salmon meal. Auntie had a steak that she said was the best she has had in a while, so good meal! :).

Kory got into law school! He got his first acceptance letter on Friday, and he was so psyched. He's still waiting on hearing from two other schools though, before making a final decision. Kurt is really, really hoping he gets into U of Toledo, as Cooley (which is Kurt'a alma mater) is really tough, and Kurt does not want Kory to have to go through the hell he went through there. So, fingers crossed. Kory is also moving out soon, him and his cousin Britton are renting a place together in Ferndale beginning 06/01. Britton starts his residency soon at Oakwood in Detroit, and is moving off campus. So weird, Kory has lived with us for 5 years now. I did not even realize it had been that long. It will be nice for him to be on his own for really the first time ever! Hopefully, the two of them live well together, and Britton is not a bad influence on Kory with the partying/drinking and stuff, LOL. Went to dinner Friday night to celebrate Kory's law school acceptance.

Sunday, Kurt and I went and saw Elton John at the Huntington Arena in Toledo, OH. It was an awesome show, thanks to my friend, Jeff, who got me access to our amazing seats. He has season tickets there, and gets first access to concerts, and he could not make this show so allowed me to buy his seats. which were in ROW FOUR next to the stage. Closest I have ever been at an Elton concert (this was the third time we have seen him live). Awesome show, gorgeous arena. Loved every second. Except the food. Food was lame there, so I had a pretzel, which was good, but you cant really screw up a soft pretzel. I think. LOL.

Worked some on Sunday as well, then went to NY and Co cuz I had a great coupon. Ended up getting a pair of jeans, three basic t-shirts in black, turquoise and cobalt blue (can't find pics online), a cute shirt to wear under suits at work (in grey), a black shirt that is kinda different, which I wore to the concert on Sunday under a black jacket, a blue neckace, and a really unique pearl necklace, which of course i cannot find online to show you. Had a coupon for $60 off $125, plus i got 5% more off for being a card holder AND most of the stuff I bought was already on sale. Deals make me super happy.

MY NEW PURSE CAME TODAY and it is amazingly gorgeous. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I am so glad I like it as much in person, as you never know and I am super picky about handbags. Literally, perfect size, unique style, will match everything. I switched everything over from my other baby, my Cole Haan, and am storing that to carry again someday.

Actually got to watch Glee today on TV, when it aired. First time ever! :).

Happy 28th bday, Stacey! :). Went to lunch to celebrate her bday today.

So, nothing overly exciting to report, but am glad things are calming down some at work. Insanely busy season is ending, which I am happy about as I am exhausted......

How Much......

can one do in a Sunday? A lot when you are me and have the energy for some reason! :).

Normally, Kurt and I, when we have the chance, which is rare, love to sit around the house and not do much on Sunday. For some reason, we were feeling motivated today.

We started off the day by heading into Monroe to go to Lowe's and to three furniture store. I want to get new great room furniture, but I am really particular about the things such furniture must have, and I never can find it. Did not find it again, but we bought two lights at Lowe's so I could replace the great room hallway lights. As I have said on here before, the previous owner of this house had cheap and horrible taste in lighting fixtures and I have been slowly replacing them all. Kurt hung both of them and they look awesome. While he was doing that, I moved all the great room furniture and swept and mopped in there, and did some laundry, picked some stuff up around the house.......We then went back out to Lowe's to buy lights for another hallway in the house, but have to return them because they are not the right type, boo. On the box, they looked flush to the ceiling, but they are not, and I need that type. I put in the new desktop computer I bought, and was going to hook up the Slingbox we bought for Kurt, but realized we need another part for it that we did not buy. Stopped at Tractor Supply to pick up bird food as well. Nonstop running all day, but I was glad to get some things done before the work week starts. Oh, and Kurt hung a new light in my bedroom as well. We bought two a while back, and had to return one that was broken in the box, so one of the new ones has been up for a while, and the other in a box on the floor. Finally up! yay!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! :).

Busy

I really should post more, because I forget everything by the time I post. Work and everything else has been really busy.

I had a board committee meeting on Monday night after work, another board committee meeting that went forEVER on Tuesday night. Had to work late on Wednesday night by myself, since Kurt was home planting trees that afternoon. Thursday and Friday we did not work late which was nice.

So, my exciting event of the week was booking pretty much all of our Memorial Day trip, otherwise known as our "Annual Lori Bday Trip". Kory is excited too since we are taking him with us as his bday present this year. We are doing something kinda different this trip. We are renting a house on the beach in Costa Rica; Puerto Viejo to be exact. It's on the Caribbean coast and an area of the country we have not yet been to (which is weird since this is our 4th trip to the country). The house is on a black sand beach, which is my fav kinda beach (there was one in Hawaii that was prob the most gorgeous beach I have ever seen). It is actually cheaper to rent this house than a lot of the hotels are, and we get free access to one of the local lodges who owns this house. Anyway, it will be kewl because we can cook our own food or go out, and are not tied to eating what they serve at the places. Plus, we have a lot more privacy and don't have to worry about socializing and the like, which Kurt hates about staying at smaller lodges like the ones in Central America. I then rented an SUV (needed in Costa Rica for some of the roads). We are driving from San Jose, and it is about 4 hours. We will just book stuff to do when we get there, but there is a sloth sanctuary I really want to go to, and a kewl canoe trip on a local river where you can see a ton of animals and birds. I cannot wait to simply relax for a few days. This area really looks gorgeous and laid back. Kurt has contacted a couple of realtors as well, and we may go look at some land while we are there, if we like the area.

Had lunch with my friend, Hollie, today, and I am so proud of her. She started her own side business doing medical billing, and it has really taken off to the point where she may be quitting her job and doing her own business full-time. She wants to rent some office space, so I am trying to talk her into renting part of the suite across the hall from us so I can see her more often. I know, I am selfish. haha. Anyway, I hope it keeps doing well for her, but I have no doubt it will.

After lunch, i stopped at the mall at Macy's, to look for that elusive Nine West suit I want to try on. Yea, did not find it again. Tried on a few suits and did not love anything. Walked around the rest of the mall and did not see anything exciting, so I drove home. Took a nap, then did dinner with Kurty.

Hope everyone is having a really nice weekend!

#1

I was reading on Mlive today and ran across this article while searching under Kurt's name.

Click here to read. Apparently, our story was the most read story on their site in 2009. Crazy.

Lazy Saturday

First weekend day where I was at home in a while (meaning not working or out of town). It was really nice to do whatever I wanted. First, I slept in! Whoot! Then, had an appointment at David Broadway's in Toledo for brows, highlights, and cut. Love that place. Had her add in some extra blonde for summer. :). My colorist is awesome, she does a partial highlight/lowlight, which basically equates to me only having to go in every 3-4 months, and my hair never looks unnatural.

After there, I headed to the mall in Toledo. I was on a mission to find this suit to try on i saw online. Alas, they do not carry it in the store. BOOO. I refuse to pay the shipping Dillard's wants online for it. Maybe if they get free shipping at some point. Anyway walked around the mall some, since I am never at that mall, and found a Sephora I did not know was there. Needless to say, I spent a bunch of money I did not need to, but, whatever. Beauty products do not go to waste in this house! :). Here is what I got:

**in tender rose.
**in Nude.
**half off, whoot!

**shower gel in Cake Batter (half off, whoot)

**in Forever. For a lip gloss, this seems to be longer lasting than others thus far.
**in petal pink. The applicator on this is to DIE for. Love Dior products.

Oh, and Mindy? All purchases above are YOUR fault, as the reason I went into Sephora was to look at Laura Mercier, per your suggestion, and I somehow ended up with all of the above.

Had dinner out tonight with Kurty, and we are now chilling at home. Still trying to make a decision on my birthday trip for this year. I was really leaning towards Guatemala, but I may be starting to lean towards an area in Costa Rica called Puerto Viejo, which is on the Caribbean side. We have not been there yet, and it looks nice. So, we will see. Back to researching.......

Weird Michigan Weather

Yesterday, i wore a Spring skirt, with no nylons, a short sleeved shirt, and peep toe heels to work.

Today, I wore a long sleeved dress, nylons, and suede heels with a blazer.

The weather in Michigan is so weird in Spring. So odd.

Work was crazy busy today, and the second half of the day was exhausting for me. I was up late watching the Tigers lose (booooooo) and realized I should have gotten more sleep about half way through the day. Whoops! :).

Yummy recipe of the week, got it at Kroger's:

1 TBP Soy Sauce
1 TBP Sugar
1 TSP Ginger
1 TSP Garlic
1/8 TSP Salt
1/8 TSP Pepper

Mix the above, then spread on meat (I used it for ahi tuna and fish tacos).

Super easy, and VERY tasty. The above recipe is for a pound of meat.

Off to bed! :).

Kansas City Trip Report

So, as most of you already know, Kurt and I went to baseball opening day in Kansas City, MO, this past weekend, from Friday night until late Tuesday afternoon. It was also our first flight post-253, and we were both pretty nervous about it. I really tried not to be, because I knew Kurt was freaked, but as I was stepping onto the plane to board, I had to take a deep breath before moving forward....Also, both times the pilot announced "flight atttendants take your seats to prepare for landing", I got REALLY nervous (since right then is when terrorist boy tried to started the fire trying to ignite the bomb). We survived (obviously), and I think I am ready to try flying further next time. Kurt had to take sleeping pills for botb flights, but he made it through much better than I expected.

Anyway, our flight there was fine, a little bit of turbulence, but nothing major. got there, got our luggage and took the shuttle to our rental car with Thrifty. Nobody in line, so we got the car right away, a Ford Fusion. Drove to the hotel, the Westin, in downtown Kansas City. Parked, checked in, then grabbed a snack at the hotel restaurant and crashed.

Got up on Saturday and headed to have massages i set up in advance at Solaris Massage. After that, headed to the Negro Baseball League Museum, which was really interesting and had some very kewl stuff to look at. Bought a kewl hoodie there. Went next and walked around this kewl outdoor shopping area called the Country Club District. Kurt bought some kewl sunglasses (since he somehow lost his old ones while setting up the new offices)

and I bought two shirts on sale at Ann Taylor Loft.


I got to go into a Cole Haan store (I have never been in the actual store, only shopped it online), which could have been dangerous, but ended up being OK, haha. The girl there complimented my purse, LOL....Always find it amusing when the people that work at those stores can pick out, from a mile away, one of their products. Especially since Cole Haan bags are not obvious, dont have logos and stuff all over them. Had dinner that night at a sushi place near our hotel called Kabuki.

Sunday, woke up, and since it was Easter, decided to be really lazy. We went and drove to see the Royals stadium. It was open, so we decided to try and get in to see it before the game on Monday. Walked right in! We went out into the seats and we were like the only ones out there, which was pretty kewl!!!

After that, headed to Country Club District to try and find a place for Easter dinner, and ended up at The Cheesecake Factory. Had lunch, then relaxed a bit in the room, then headed to Harrah's to play some poker. Played there a couple hours, where one of the dealers was really rude to us and told us to "Go back to detroit" (NO idea what his issue was at all, we did NOTHING to him, I think he had some issue with us being from out of town or something, the place was mostly locals), then headed to this kewl bar called 810 to watch the Red Sox/Yankees game and were thilled to see the Yanks lose.

Monday! Game day! Started out the day with massages (yea, it seems like we get these a lot, but since Kurt only gets them on vacation, he makes me get a LOT Of them while n vacay), and did a little shopping in an area called Zona Rosa. the Dillard's there is crazy huge, if Kurt had not been with me, I could have shopped a lot going through clearance racks........Had lunch, then headed to the game! Our seats were incredible. Right behind home plate (Section 125 Row R Seats 7-8). The game weather was perfect in the mid-70s. Fans were super nice. Game was awesome, close, and we won. Could not have asked for a more perfect afternoon. After that, played some poker at another casino, Ameristar. Watched the NCAA final game there as well, then headed to dinner and back to the hotel.

Tuesday, last day, boo. Packed up the room and headed to massages Kurt had booked. Best one we had of the trip. Then had a quick lunch and headed out for some antique shopping. They had some awesome stores in an area called Westport. I totally could have bought a lot at these stores, but since we were flying, I had no way of getting this stuff to the house! Awesome pieces of furniture in some of the places though. Why don't we have places like this in MI? Headed to the airport and home.

In non-Loriness, I took almost no pics. I was enjoying relaxing and did not feel like toting my camera everywhere, so I just took a couple shots with my iPhone and called it a day. Which is OK! I have the memories in my head, which are the most important ones. I am sure I will go crazy with pics on our next trip, LOL.

Anyway, hope everyone had a nice Easter and holiday.

Cute

I was asked by a friend of mine who is doing student teaching to speak at her elementary classroom this Thursday about being a lawyer, and my Uganda trip. Should be fun. Love little kids, and I have never spoken in an elementary school before! :).

Ordered myself a new black purse yesterday--I love my current Cole Haan, but it is green and does not match with everything, so I want a black purse to go with other stuff. Got a great deal on a Tahari purse on Ideeli (my fav site), and can't wait for it to get here.

Also ordered two new work dresses that I got amazing deals on a couple weeks ago by Calvin Klein, but we will see how they fit whe they get here. Clothes are hard for me to do by ordering online.



Stacey was at a trial in a bad part of Detroit yesterday, where we can only park on the street. No lots or public lot at the court. Her back window got smashed in by a brick and everything from inside stolen (including her beloved Garmin GPS). She reported it, and the guy in the court told her "Oh, this happens every day and we dont have the manpower to patrol around here". Nice. I ordered her a new GPS because I felt bad, so hopefully, it will make her feel slightly better.

Anyway, since this is day 16 in a row of working, I am really looking forward to getting the heck out of here on Friday night! Back to work......

Sick of Work

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Today, at the office, I actually saw parts of my desk that I have not seen in forever. :).

The downside? Half way through the day, my stomach started hurting really badly and it is still hurting. went out to dinner for my Dad's bday, and I could not even eat anything, which sucked. I did order something, and bring it home, so I will eat it tomorrow for dinner if I feel better. I really think I am just overworked and my body is not reacting well today. We have not taken an entire day off in over 2 weeks. Bah.

But, we leave on Friday night for Kansas City, so I do get a little bit of time for myself to celebrate baseball opening day and Easter! :).

Stopped at the book store on Saturday after work and bought some new travel books. Kurt wanted a new one on Costa Rica, and found a Frommer's 2010. I also bought books on Indonesia and Malaysia/singapore. Trying to research our December trip for this year, which I like to book far in advance. I think the top contenders are Sumatra (Indonesia), Brazil (the Amazon), and Australia (and New Zealand). It will all depend on where I can find the kewlest trip at the best price. And who knows, other places might pop up as well. I change my mind frequently with these trips. Travel books are really dangerous, LOL.

Looking forward to the weather warming up here on Tuesday! Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Exhaustion

Got home from work today, and proceeded to fall asleep, sitting up, on the couch, for like 2 hours. I guess I am tired? :).

Today was yet again, another crazy busy day. Got to work, headed straight to court. Had three hearings and some various filing to do. Got done with that stuff, headed back to office to open and distribute mail, return a couple phone calls, then headed to mediation on a divorce case. Was there the rest of the afternoon, settled the case, headed back to the office to file a couple docs online that were due, then headed home. Mediations EXHAUST me, as they are a lot of waiting, going back and forth, and just take a lot out of me. Glad I don't have to do them very often, but was glad to get things done for this client. He is a very nice guy, and I really wanted to get things done for him today.

Went to dinner with Kurt, but brought most of it home. I think I was just too tired to eat much.

Watching the Michigan State game now, and relaxing. Will work at least one day this weekend, possibly two.

Hope everyone had a nice Friday!

Broken Alarm Clock

So, today, I got up at 837 AM. Which is a prob, since i was scheduled to be in court at 900 AM. Called Stacey to cover my 900 AM hearings, but got to court right in time for the 1000 AM hearing! :). Seriously though, why did the alarm clock not go off? Annoying! I guess I needed the sleep. Kurt always wakes up pretty early, so I have no idea how we both slept in so long.

Tomorrow's court is pretty crazy busy. Kurt and I have three hearings each at family court, and Stacey has a bankruptcy hearing. Jessica is off. So, we are running around a lot tomorrow. I cannot wait until the weekend until....OH WAIT! I am working this weekend too. Boy, I do not like February-April. The months of insanity.

I am so ready for a few days away from the office. And, I need a massage. This week has been horrible for headaches, one night, I got a full migraine and the two nights since i have had smaller headaches kinda in the back of my head. I should not have to take Excedrin daily. Ugh.

Diet Ruby Red Squirt rocks. (that was random, I just felt like saying it).

Sorry nothing more exciting, but such is life right now! :). My sister is in Vegas right now, and I am really happy she is on vacay with her hubby. I hope she is having an amazing time.

Interesting Story

So, I was in court today for several hearings and was wondering why Channel Four News was in the courtroom taping. Figured out that it was because of a case of two gay women who broke up, have kids together (one is not the biological parent) and now the nonbiological parent wants custody and parenting time. Of course, Michigan does not recognize gay marriage, gay adopion, gay ANYTHING, etc., so there really is no legal standing or case law to discuss this, which is why I think the Judge will throw out their case due to no legal standing. Who knows though. Either way, i am sure the case will be appealed to the court of appeals and I am *hoping* that MI makes some changes, but I am not really hopeful. The hearing was adjourned. Don't know the reason why, as I was in another courtroom doing a hearing on another controversial area, grandparents rights.

Anyway, click here to read the article.

Today was busy, as usual. We stopped after work to pick up Kurt's new suit I got him half off in Monroe. Love supporting local businesses. I got a package from Sephora the other day with a couple necessities. Got this new lip gloss on clearance by Cargo that I love! And decided to try a new mascara and ended up loving it, by Make-Up Forever.

Anyway, off to bed!

Busy Updates

In the past couple weeks, I have started posts, and not finished, as there is really nothing interesting going on. Boo. Work has been insanely busy, so I have had to focus on that and less on the fun stuff I want to do.

I am very much looking forward to a short trip Kurt and I are taking to Kansas City in April to see the Tigers play on opening day. I think this is going to be a yearly tradition that we go to opening day of baseball, no matter where it is. we both would like to visit every pro baseball field, so this gives us one a year at least! :). Already reserved a hotel on Priceline, and am working on renting a car. There are a few museums and shopping areas I would like to visit in the city as well, while we are there. Bought tickets to the game on Ebay and we have aMAZing seats, between Tigers dugout and homeplate in the lower level. Bought myself two new Tigers shirts at Kohl's with some Kohl's cash I had to use up so I can wear one of them to the game. Whoot! Can't wait to get away for a weekend.

We also are going to go some place for my bday at the end of May. Have not decided where yet, but prob some place in Central America. I was leaning towards Guatemala, but not sure if Kurt wants to go there or not. I would love to visit Tikal and the rain forests of a new place.

Worked all weekend, BOO. But, I did clear a LOT of things off my desk that desperately needed to be done, and filed 8 bankruptcies.

New show I am obsessed with? The Secret Life of an American Teenager. On Netflix. Just wanted Couples Retreat too, which I thought was kinda lame. There was so much hype leading up to it, and I thought it was average and kinda not at all believable.

Another show we watched tonight for the first time? Undercover Boss. Loved it.

Anyway, off to bed. :)

Why I Want to Travel to Borneo...

Orangutan and the Hound

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Updates

Work has been crazy. To the point that I do not really have anything interesting to post about, but thought I was a little bit overdue, so I will try.

Today was super fun. Headed to Clawson to Rebecca's house so we could aimlessly do whatever. Which included shopping at Kohl's, Petco and Old Navy, then lunch with a coupon at Papa Vino's, then shopping at Target and DSWs. I shockingly found nothing I liked at DSW. This may be a first. :). Did get baby Nick three t-shirts at Old Navy (see here, here and here), and got some hair clips and a pepper plant at Target. It was great to see and catch up with Rebecca, and a really relaxing day in general. Rebecca's neighbor blew up a snowman with some fireworks, which was hiLARious.

Last night, had dinner with Gary and his girlfriend at Nick and Nino's, where they had never been to before. Had a nice time catching up with them and having dinner at my fav Monroe place.

I was super psyched today. I got home from Rebecca's, and Kurty announced that he is ready to get on a plane again. I think he is ready to move on from this Flight 253 stuff and try to put it out of our minds. I had been kinda down lately about our lack of travelling, so I am very excited to start planning trips on planes again vs road trips (which I do NOT prefer). We are thinking about taking a baseball trip in April, and then someplace for my bday in May. We were planning on Rome, but now we are a little leery about going to Europe, so will prob end up someplace South of here.

Stacey is in Aruba right now, and I am super jealous! We will miss her at the office next week, but I am glad she is off relaxing some. :). Kurt wants her to take pics of the bar Natalie Holloway disappeared from, LOL. And Megan is recovering from surgery, but will be back in the office on Monday. We will be happy to have her back as well, the phones have been crazy without her around! I was thrilled her surgery went well too, I get nervous when people have surgeries.......

The weather this weekend has been GREAT! I did not even wear a coat today while shopping, which is a first for this year! Whoot! I heart pre-Spring weather.

ABDULMUTALLAB'S BOMB NOT ENOUGH TO BRING DOWN FLIGHT 253

by Kurt Haskell

I found this interesting article yesterday:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1255722/Test-explosion-shows-Christmas-Day-flight-landed-bomb-detonated.html#comments


Apparently, Dr. John Wyatt, an international terrorism and explosives expert replicated the flight 253 attack with the explosive fully detonating. The result was that the passengers would have been sprayed with body parts of Abdulmutallab and may have had burst eardrums, but the flight would have landed safely. Seems like a strange result considering Abdulmutallab went through such trouble to obtain the bomb in Yemen and sew it in his underwear. It seems likely that he would have made sure that his bomb would have downed the plane. Several of you that have contacted me have indicated that he in fact, achieved his designated goal and that his bomb was only intended to scare us and be caught on film in order to achieve certain U.S. Government policies. Hence, the reason he was intentionally let on the plane. This article would lend credence to that theory. I take no position on this theory. Please note that the following videos also support Dr. Wyatt's theory:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZENvUVG6TE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbPeaBb0QT0&feature=fvw

A LETTER FROM JOHN DINGELL

By Kurt Haskell

As I previously indicated, I contacted my political representatives early in January regarding my concerns over the Flight 253 matter. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin have to date, failed to respond to me in any way. John Dingell, however, did recently send me a letter. The letter, dated January 25, 2010, was received by me on February 26, 2010. What follows is a word for word transcript of the letter:


January 25, 2010

Dear Mr. Haskell:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the need to protect our country against terrorism. I understand your concern and appreciate your comments.

As you may know, Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was a passenger flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Michigan on December 25, 2009. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian Passenger aboard the flight, attempted to set off plastic explosives sewn to his underwear as the plane reached its final descent. The plastic explosives failed to detonate properly, resulting only in flames and popping sounds. A Dutch passenger, Jasper Schuringa, tackled and restrained him as others put out the fire.

On January 6, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Abdulmutallab on six criminal charges, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder. If convicted, he faces a sentence of life in prison plus 90 years. The next day, President Obama released the "White House Review Summary Regarding 12/25/2009 Attempted Terrorist Attack," which can be found online at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/white-house-review-summary-regarding-12252009-attempted-terrorist-attack. Disturbing preliminary reports indicate U.S. intelligence agencies had sufficient information to have uncovered and potentially disrupted the December 25th attack.

A complete investigation into the attack is being conducted by the Detroit Joint Terrorist Task Force which is led by the FBI and includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Air Marshal Service, and other law enforcement agencies. Attorney General Eric Holder has claimed, "this invesitgation is fast paced, global and ongoing, and it has already yielded valuable intelligence that we will follow wherever it leads. Anyone we find responsible for this alleged attack will be brought to justice using every tool- military or judicial-available to our government."

I am committed to ensuring that our nation is safe from terrorist attacks. I am greatly concerned that Abdulmutallab was allowed to board the plane and enter U.S. airspace despite being flagged in at least one U.S. intelligence database of potential terrorism threats. I agree with President Obama on the necessity of a through investigation into this incident. Serious questions remain about the miscommunication between our various intelligence agencies and whether information sharing between them is effective. Although Abdulmutallab was unsuccessful in his attempt, without better precautions, our country will be vulnerable to future attempts . The proper Congressional Committees must exert their oversight authority and hold thorough investigations into this attempted attack and the systemic problems within our intelligence community. Rest assured I will continue to monitor the situation closely and will work with my colleagues to protect American citizens from extremist threats.

Again, thank you for being in touch. For news on current federal legislative issues, please visit my website at www.house.gov/dingell; you can also sign up there to receive my e-newsletter. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me again if I may be of assistance with this or any other matter of concern.

With every good wish,

John Dingell

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

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.