Found

A friend of mine from high school.......Actually, a really close friend of mine from school, was recently found. She was not really *missing* in the sense of a missing person or wanting to be found though. She was running away from the law and had disappeared for like over 4 years. Let me back up so you can understand.

Samantha** was the all around perfect person. She is gorgeous, got perfect grades in school, and has(d) an awesome personality. Everyone loved her. She dated all the hot guys in high school. She wrote poetry, she could dance. She was one of my closest friends in school, and our parents were really good friends as well. We spent many hours in her room gossiping about boys, being there for eachother, etc.

Anyway.

After high school, she did what everyone *expected* her to do. She went to Michigan Tech and started pursuing her degree in engineering, following in her Dad's footsteps. I don't know when things started going wrong, but she ended up dropping out of school, partying too much, working at dead end jobs. She met her now husband, who was involved in drugs and the like, and really started to go downhill. They were married. Slightly after that, her husband got in trouble with drug related charges and instead of doing time like others would do, he and she decided to run from the law. And run they did. Nobody has heard a peep from them in over 4 years.

I can't even imagine how her parents felt. To not know if your child is dead or alive, if they are safe, if they need anything. What she did to everyone who knows her is terrible and selfish, not to mention illegal. But at the same time, I always wondered how she was doing, if I could do anything to help her get out of the situation.........................

Two days ago, she was found working at a telemarketing business in San Diego, CA, along with her husband. They were supposedly involved in some kind of commune out there, and I hope she is not brainwashed and messed up from it. The Feds picked them up, and they are going to be sent back to Michigan soon. Supposedly, they think her husband will get 20 plus years, and what Sam will get is unknown. Maybe just probation.

I hope she can turn her life around now. I hope I can get in touch with her again, at least via letters. Everyone has missed out on a lot of her life.

I really thought she was out of the country and would never be found. It was kinda shocking when my Mom told me the news today. I guess I will see what the future holds with this one......

**Name changed.....

Cancer Vaccine

Today, Kurt and I had an awesome day with our retirement account. When Kurt quit his IRS job, we rolled hiss 401K money over into another retirement account that we have control over. No investment advisor to tell us what to do or anything. With the spare time Kurt had not working at the IRS, he has had more time to study investments and the like.

Anyway.

Back when he first did this, he told me to pick a stock to buy from a list of 10 he liked. He liked all 10, but he said that I am *lucky*, so he had be pick one. I picked DNDN, also known as Dendreon. Dendreon created Provenge, which is a vaccine that stops the spread of prostate cancer. Don't quote me on this, science was never my strong subject, so I may not be saying this in a medically correct way, LOL. Provenge was on the table to be approved by the FDA, and today was the meeting and vote to see if it would be placed on the market or not. They had to vote on several things, one of them being if the drug was *safe* and the other being if it was *effective*. The vote was at 330 and I think Kurt watched the stupid message boards for most of the day because we had quite a few shares of this stock. It passed! So, tomorrow, the stock is most likely going to SKYROCKET and we are going to make a fortune. Not like millions or anything, but enough to possibly double what we have in our 401K account, if we had a really, really good day. It just depends. Anyway, I like the drug and stock because Kurt's Dad was just diagnosed with prostate cancer, and maybe the drug can help him, or others like him.

Click here to see a video and article on Dendreon.

So, after work, Kurt stopped at Kroger's and bought champagne and brought it home. Him, Kory and I went to Red Lobster for dinner to celebrate and they drank most of the champagne. And had drinks at dinner. I was the DD, so I did not drink at all. I am such a good girl, ;).

Fun in Family Law

More fun with Family Law! Just when you think you have seen *everything*, you see more! Yippee!

Click here to read the amusing article.

**The bird above is yelling at all lawyers in the world who file stupid lawsuits that have no chance of succeeding....***

Court

So, I appeared in court today on a child support hearing. Everything went fine, yay. Something different for me, different courtroom, different referee. It's so odd because I am not mentally nervous about appearing in court anymore, but physically, my stomach hurts, etc. It's so odd. Like my stomach hurt all morning, but I was not *nervous* mentally at all. So freaking weird.

Had dinner tonight with my friend, Nancy, from law school. She is finishing up in May, hopefully, and I am excited for her! I know what it feels like to be done, finally, with that hell. I love having a life again, being able to concentrate on other things again, like spending time with friends, photography, WORKING OUT. You totally can't do a lot of that while in school and it truly sucks. Anyway, Nancy and I ate a place I have never been to, La Pita, and it was really yummy. I had my standard middle eastern dish, salmon ghallaba. It's so refreshing having fabulous liberal conversations and not having someone think I am crazy. Nancy is probably even MORE liberal than me, so she never even blinks at most stuff i say, LOL.

Rain, rain, go away. The drive home from dinner was horrible. I could barely see driving and was thankful to get home safe and sound. So many semis on the highway, not paying attention, going into my lane. AHHHHH.

So, I am addicted to the Search for the Next Pussycat Doll show. Don't ask me why, because besides the fact that it is reality TV, it's totally not my thing. But, I can't stop watching. I was glad to see Sisely booted tonight, she is unique, but she was starting to get on my nerves with her bitching.

Sleeeeeeepy

So. I am exhausted and SOO want to leave work right now. But, Kurt is meeting with our last appointment. Blah.

Anyway. I booked my flight to San Fran today. Finally. Nothing like putting things off to the last minute, but that is, my friends, my downfall. Procrastination. I am leaving the night of April 12 (Thursday) and coming back that Monday (night). I somehow found direct flights to San Fran, which I am psyched about because I detest layovers. Especially since I am flying Northwest and they are almost always delayed, which makes the layovers stressful.

I have never flown without Kurt, so this will be a first. I love flying, so that part of it does not make me nervous, but it's just weird in general that I am going someplace and he will not be there. I am hoping to meet up with my friend, Dawn (from high school) while I am there. I need to remember to take her cell phone number with me when I go..........

So, why San Fran? A school board conference. It's the National Conference. Most of our board is going, and it will be fun. We are going to a baseball game on Friday night, and they is totally the highlight of the trip for me, I can't wait.

Anyway, gotta go, Kurt is done with his appointment. Will write more later.....

Converted

I converted.

OK, before you really wonder, a minor conversion. We switched our satellite service from DishNetwork to DirectTV. Why? My husband is slightly addicted to baseball. Dish previously had the rights to the baseball package on satellite and we had it. recently, DirectTV outbid Dish and so we HAD to swtich. At least according to Kurt. So today, the guy came out and switched all our TVS over. The most exciting part of it for me though, is the TV in my gym in the basement was hooked up properly. We had it hooked to an upstais TV previously, so I had to change the channel UPSTAIRS to watch in the basement. What a pain. Now, I can have my remote on the treadmill and channel surf all I want. Yay. In fact, I did that tonight, switching from American Idol to the Pussycat Doll Search to Boston Legal. Hooray again.

Work was productive today. I got a lot of paperwork done that I have been trying to get done. Got 4 new bankruptcies filed online, and a new divorce filed at the court. We have filed so many divorces lately, it's crazy. They seem to go in spurts.

So, the rest of my week is pretty busy. I will try to post when I can.....Night, y'all.

What Happened to the Days?

So. This cold? Has taken me away from blogging. Almost every night since Thursday, I have fallen asleep earlier than normal. Which, is most likely good for me anyway.

Friday night, I had dinner with Julia at Portofino's in Wyandotte. We were celebrating her finishing school, her taking the bar, everything. Plus, I have not seen her in a while. Dinner was yummy--I had a blackened tuna with rice and Jules had shrimp scampi pasta. It was really, really nice to see her. Came home and pretty much passed out because of this damn cold.

Saturday, woke up early feeling MISERABLE. Went and had a massage I had scheduled earlier in the week, which made me relax some. Stopped at the Gap Outlet after that and bought a new pair of jeans, a pair of black pants for work, and a blue sweater. Came home and worked out before Rebecca came over. Once she got here, we went to Target because i keep forgetting to buy a fruit basket/bowl and I wanted to buy one. Yay. Found a kewl black modern one. My apples, bananas and kiwi are now happily in said bowl. We also stopped at Kohl's where I bought Kurt a new Tigers sweatshirt andd Kory a hilarious Chuck Norris t-shirt. We all went to dinner at a Mexican place in Monroe, and then I passed out early again, thanks to the cold.

Sunday, I decided I had enough with the cold. Went to an urgent care doctor. Got a prescription to my fav, the z-pak, and am already feeling better today. Not totally, but I can function again and the congestion is almost none. I got on the treadmill today after three days of only biking. So, that felt good. I took it somewhat easy on myself, but still did the requisite two miles. Biked some too. While watching the first episode of Dancing with the Stars.

I have been so sick, the last few days are just slipping my mind....so, I will write more when I can think of what happened. I think the fever made me delirious.

Oh, one thing. Kurt and Kory finished sectioning out the basement. So, all the rooms are set, spots for doors, etc. AND, Kurt bought the stuff for the bocce ball course in the backyard and he and Kory may build it this weekend....Yay!

Proud

I thought I was going to post saying Rebecca would be proud of me for taking a night off from working out, but alas, I can't say that since I worked out. I came home from work not feeling well (don't know if it's allergies or a cold) and proceeded to fall asleep on the couch after watching half an episode of Big Love. Stayed there until 915 p.m. But then got up and worked out while watching Intervention. I tried to take it easy on myself though, so I biked and ran some, did crunches and push-ups. Basically, I exchanged running for extra biking. When I tried running, I was having a hard time breathing because of being sick, so I did not want to push it.

So, through my sleeping, I missed Grey's Anatomy! I will have to try and watch tomorrow or online later.

Off to bed, try and nurse my cold/allergies or whatever it is.

Published--Yay

Got an email today that another one of my photos was published on this website. Yay! I was psyched. :).

OK, I don't think anyone will believe this (OK, others in Michigan will), but today, we have SNOW on the ground. I had to get snow off the Jeep today too, because I left it outside not realizing it would snow during the night. Seriously, this is Michigan for you, LOL. Two days ago, I was riding my bike with a short sleeve shirt on, and today, I am wearing a long wool jacket and shivering in my office.

Having dinner tonight with friends! I will post more about it later....

Ugh

I think I am getting sick. Fingers crossed I am not, but I normally can feel crap coming on. I am hoping it's just allergies because of the huge change in the weather here in the past few days, but I don't think so. Arrgh. But. I am proud of myself for still working out. I totally am exhausted and did not want to, but I would hate to ruin my streak of days working out. :).

Picture above was taken in the yard yesterday, during our nicest day of the year.

You know, no matter how much I say I would love to live someplace that is nice all year round (And yes, I still would like to do that)........Nothing beats Michigan in the Spring and Fall. I love the beauty of everything starting to grow and turn green again, and the leaves and colors changing in the fall is simply incredible and so much fun to photograph.............

Sunny Days Are Here Again--WOO HOO

Today's weather was fabulous. Beyond fabulous, really. AND, we left the office at like 230 p.m. and closed, just to celebrate the weather. I am so glad we did. I had an awesome day. We came home and took the dogs for a walk. I tried to take some pics in the yard, but it was super windy and the pics were not working out too well. So I just walked. I did snap a few shots of the dogs, which I will upload later hopefully, after working out.

After that, we decided to take a bike ride. I got bikes two summers ago while in law school (got them free with points I racked up doing online research in school), and we have literally never ridden them once. Crazy. So, we rode to a nearby neighborhood to figure out the gears and everything. They were great. My legs were BURNING when I got back, it's totally different than working on my recumbent bike in the basement, but great at the same time because I get to be outside. Came back and cleaned out the Saturn to take it in to get new brakes, which it desperately needed. Also, Kurt got out the Spyder, so we washed that and took it for a ride. It was a lot of fun. We had been talking about selling it for a while, but nixed that today. Kurt has way too much with it. So impractical for MI, but oh well. I can be impractical if I want to be, right? :). Went to Lowe's to pick up some tree stakes, and the grocery store. Driving with the top down on the car the entire way. I needed to get my fill of that since the weather is going downhill again tomorrow. BOOOO.

Lori--South Park Style

My friend, Hollie, gave me the link to this site where you can create your own South Park character.. Click here to create your own. Thanks Hol!

So, I Finally Post

This week has been, in one word, INSANE. I only technically worked three of five normal work days, but those three were all long days. Ugh. And we worked a lot of the day today. Ugh again. And, we will most likely work most of the day tomrrow. It's sad that I got away on a short vacay and I totally have to *pay* for it when I return. Such is life, I suppose.....Weird, but I actually prefer working on the weekends, as the phone rings so much less and I can actually accomplish real work. Tomorrow, my goal is to make my bankruptcy filings disappear.

So. The continued story of my trip.

As everyone already knows, our plane there was delayed. But, the flight was good when we did get on the plane finally and the service in first class was incredible, as always. I love frequent flyer miles. Once we got there, we decided to just get a room immediately, as we were totally exhausted. We got one here, and our room was really, really nice. Jacuzzi tub, etc. Sad thing was, we could not use any of it because we both just passed out immediately, LOL. Got up in the morning and had continental breakfast at the hotel, then headed to Kurt's brother's house in Orlando. His house is really nice, on a lake. He has renovated it from the bottom up, and will most likely sell it soon and I hope, move to Michigan. He is the only family left in Florida and he is constantly up here on vacation. I know he likes Florida weather, but I am guessing he would rather be up here. Anyway. We went to this cute pet fair near his house, where people could take their pets to hang out for the day and they had food, little pet exhibits, etc., stores you could buy pet stuff at. After that, we headed to Lakeland to the Tigers game. I already posted about this game in an earlier blog, so I won't bore you with it again. But, I have all the pics from this game uploaded, so click here to see them.

Day two, Kurt and I headed to the Disney Parks. We hit all four parks in one day, which I totally DO NOT suggest if you have children. I think it was one of the most exhausting days of my life, and I am not kidding, I probably walked over 10 miles. But, it was really, really fun as well. My fav of the four parks was the Animal Kingdom. Click here to see all the pics from the Disney parks. We also did MGM (which was kinda lame in my opinion), Epcot (which was a lot of fun) and Magic Kingdom (which was really kewl). We went from about 10 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. at night. That night, we drove to Tampa (I know, we are nuts) and got a hotel near Busch Gardens.


Proceeded to Busch Gardens that morning. Here are all the pics from that. We were both kinda tired from the day before, and my stomach was bothering me, so we did not spend all day and night there. We ended up leaving (after seeing everything I wanted to see) at around 230 p.m. and headed to Port Richey to visit my grandparents (who live there in the winter months). We got there and had a blast. They live in a condo and showed us around thier clubhouse and the grounds. It is so nice there. We played Bocce Ball which I totally loved. I now want Kurt to build me an area to play in the yard. Then we went to dinner with them at Olive Garden, and headed back to Orlando. Spent the night in Orlando at a Wyndham on International Drive, which was nice.

Last day, we decided to not do another theme park, and went shopping instead. I had seen this outlet mall while we were driving around and really wanted to go there. Kurt rarely shops, so it was actually kinda fun to shop with him for once. He ended up getting a lot of stuff, including a new suit, several dress shirts, a t-shirt, and a couple of jackets at the Puma store. I got myself two t-shirts and a pair of pants from the Puma store. I love thier stuff for working out. Oh, we had lunch with his brother that day too.

Headed to the airport to leave. This time, I think Northwest was trying to prove us wrong, and they actually left on time. Had superb service on the plane again, and got home. Of course, just as I was forgiving Northwest, our luggage took FOREVER to come out of the carousel. Got our car, and headed home. I love sleeping in my own bed again. Nothing is quite the same.

Oh, almost forgot. Our rental car was so comfortable. We normally get convertibles, but the weather in Florida was only in the 60s and low 70s, and convertibles in Florida were a lot more $$ than in other areas I have rented them, so when I rented, I chose "luxury". Had no idea what that would be. It was a Lincoln. Kurt said he felt like an old person driving it, but I liked how it rode. I kept falling asleep everytime we went anywhere that was more than 10 minutes away. My Aunt would have loved the car--she was thinking about Lincolns the last time she bought a car, and I have to tell her, I highly suggest them.

While we were gone, Kory knocked out two walls upstairs that Kurt had told him he could. Basically, they are walls that are a kinda balcony overlooking the downstairs. I hate how it was a wall there, so we are going to put up railings instead, and a handrail. hard to explain. Anyway, this is a set I kinda like here. We have not bought anything yet because we don't have time this weekend to start any projects anyway. But, we went tonight after work and looked at Lowe's and Carter's.

So, I am exhausted, but am glad to be kinda caught up on here.

A Day in the Life

Read this article. It totally it representative of my life as a family law attorney.

I wish all clients would make their cases this simple.........

Gosh

OK, so I have been dying to post about my trip and give picture links out, etc., but the office has been insane since we returned. So, I promise that I will write out a trip report tomorrow night after work.

Well, after I got out and have sushi with my adorable husband! ;).

Overall though, for inquiring minds, the trip was awesome. We had a great time forgetting we have a job and office and just had a blast, doing everything we felt like, nothing planned. I loved it.

Will write more tomorrow. It's hard to get back in the swing of things again......

My Supposed Personality

Your Personality is Somewhat Rare (ISFP)

Your personality type is caring, peaceful, artistic, and calm. Only about 7% of all people have your personality, including 8% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

The Game

I have not edited all pics yet, but here is one I really like from the game. Today, Kurt, Scott and I went to the Tigers Spring Training game in Lakeland, FL. It was such a blast. Spring Training is so laid back, the main players seem to truly be having fun. I got a lot of really close-up pics, and our seats were awesome. We were right behind home plate. I think we got seats normally reserved for the press, as we had seats right next to several Free Press and News writers, some scouts and Dave Dombrowski was literally two rows up from us. I was floored by this. How kewl. I wanted to go say hi, but he has a job to do and I did not want to interrupt. His kids were at the game for a while too. Robertson, my fav pitcher, started the game, so that was kewl. I love him! The Tigers lost, but these games don't matter, so whatever. I bought Kurt a Lakeland t-shirt and a program, and his brother bought him a kewl hat and pin. After the game, we went to dinner, then got a hotel room. We were both exhausted from our lack of good sleep last night since we got in so late.

Anyway. Will write more tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Should be........

I should be flying to Orlando, towards warm weather and my vacation, but.....

I am still in Detroit, as my flight is delayed. Shocking! OK, not really, considering we are flying Northwest. I think literally the only airline, in all the times I have flown, that has delayed flights is Northwest. They are delayed almost every single time we use them. Nice. One positive thing though is we are flying first class (thank you upgrade miles), so once we are on the plane, I get a huge seat and awesome service.

I think I might just be crazy and get me a drink. With alcohol. And an umbrella. Anyone want to join me? Or have a drink suggestion? I am going to try and get Kurt buzzed as he hates flying and it may take the edge off for him.............

We ate dinner at a really good Mexican place in the airport--I had awesome salmon quesadillas. Yum. I highly suggest them.

Thanks Rebecca!

This was a really kewl personality evaluation, with pictures! If you try it, send me your results!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Me

Ha. This pic is from me in high school, I believe freshman or sophomore year? No idea exactly when. My friend, Shannon, posted in on her Flickr account and I about died when I saw it. I am holding my varsity jacket that I practically lived in, have the required flannel shirt tied around my waste, and the bangs.........I can't even remember having bangs, it's been so long......

I Long For Summer

I am sick of Michigan winter. Florida this weekend will be a nice break, but I can't wait for the weekends of hiking, photography and friends......It's funny how a pic can make you long for something even more.........This one was taken at a park near the office one day after work. In warm weather. With no coat on! Gasp!

Tired

So.......was too tired and busy last night to post, so I am doing it briefly now before the office becomes insane.

Work was crazy yesterday--which is common for a Monday. Blah. I totally don't like Mondays. Ever. I will like next Monday though, because I will not be here and will be in sunny Florida! Yay. Still have no set plans for that trip, except a plane ticket. Need to rent a car (reminder to self).

Rebecca came over last night. We were supposed to watch the last episode of Queer as Folk together (because she is insisting I watch the final episode with her as it is supposedly shocking and really good), but NOW, she is out of luck! Her and Kory went to dinner at Pete's because she was craving a burger and their curly fries, and were gone for over 4 hours....I worked out, made dinner for Kurt and I, and watched some other TV, including the second to last episode of Queer as Folk. It was then like 1015 p.m., and Kurt and I had to be up early for work, so I went to bed. :(. And then she called me *lame* because I went to bed before they got home, LOL. Sigh. I would love to stay up all night and sleep in the mornings, but my work schedule does not permit.....So tonight, I am watching the final episode! I can't wait any longer......

Sorry, Rebecca! I tried to watch with you!

Low Key Day

We were supposed to go into the office this morning, but when we went outside it was horrible. Kurt almost fell over--in the driveway. So, we cut that plan short and came back into the house.

Kurt worked on the upstairs bathroom all day. We went to Lowe's and Target tonight to pick up some more things. Kurt needed paint and 6 more tiles from Lowe's. We bought all the accessories for the bathroom at Target, including a white/black rug, two towel holders (silver), the toilet paper holder (silver), and then red tissue holder, garbage can, soap holder, toothbrush holder..........Also, bought three black frames in which I ordered three of my own photos for--three different red flowers to match the red in the bathroom. I can't wait to put those up, but I have to wait for the pics to come in the mail. Yay. Can't wait until this bathroom is done.

Watched a new show on DVD today called Big Love. Liked it, so I put more of it on my Netflix list. Also watched more of Queer As Folk, I am addicted. I am almost done watching the entire first season and am going to feel deprived until Rebecca brings me season 2.

Shopping on Saturday

So, today.....Slept in, and while Rebecca and Kory were at breakfast at China Buffet (yes, they ate breakfast there, LOL), Kurt and I ran to Lowe's to buy some more stuff for the bathroom upstairs. Everything is not done, but I found pics of some of the stuff online until I can post pics. We bought the mirrors, the cabinets for the sinks, the faucets.........We also bought a pendant lighting fixture with a red light covering for the end of it.

After that, Rebecca and I headed to Ferndale so I could take her home, and we could stop into some stores. We went to DSW, where I scored an awesome deal on a clearance rack on some Pumas. Also, went to TGMaxx, where I got some 2 and 3 pound weights for my workout video which requires them, and a pair of really cute capri workout pants, and some Anne Klein trouser socks...........Went to Somerset Mall and the H2O store is closing! Rebecca was sad because there is a product there she buys......Anyway, a bunch of stuff in the store was 60% off, so we both got some fun stuff for cheap prices. Then stopped into Bath and Body Works because we had a coupon to use, and I got some lotion and conditioner. I so don't need lotion, but this one smelled so yummy.

Trader Joe's was the last spot, because I wanted to buy fresh fish.....I bought like 7 different kinds, as well as some veggie chili, milk, fruit, and Clif bars......I made southwest salmon for dinner with rice and ceasar salad. So good.

Off to bed.

Crazy Busy

This working out crap is really cutting into my blogging time. Ha. But really, it is. By the time I work all day, come home, make dinner, work out....I am too tired to do much else than check my email and regular websites. I need to figure something out here to catch up on a more regular basis. I at least have been keeping up on the workout blog.

Tonight, I had a really nice dinner out with Kurt. We went to Dolce Vita in Monroe after work for sushi and to relax. It was so yummy. We had miso soup, split some sushi rolls, and then Japanese ice cream. Yay. We stopped at a furniture store we had never been to on the way home, and it had some nice stuff for really reasonable prices. We may go there and buy some new stuff once the hardwood flooring is done in the living room.

Work was crazy this week. And i had a board meeting last night that lasted over three hours. I was so exhausted when I got home.

So, this week, during the midst of the insanity of work, we decided to take a quick vacay. So, next weekend, we are going to Florida! I booked our flights and we leave after work on Friday. AND, we are flying first class with frequent flyer mile upgrades. Woo hoo. I heart flying first class. It makes the trip that much better, but I would never actually pay for it. So, while we are down there, we are going to watch a Tigers Spring Training game, visit my Maga and Bumpa in Port Richey, visit Kurt's brother in Orlando, and do some other stuff, maybe Busch Gardens. I can't wait just to get out of MI for a while.......

Anyway. Can't remember anything else significant, so I will write more if I can remember later.........

Rebecca Yelled at Me

...because I have not blogged since Friday. I took away all her fun of reading updated blogs on Sunday night. Sorry, Rebecca! Better late than never, right?

Pretty nice weekend here at the Haskell Home. For the most part, we stayed in. Yay. I did not feel like having "set" plans, just wanted to go with the flow.

Friday after work was hilarious. Rebecca loaned me some workout videos she does not use anymore, and Kurt sits in the room while I do them sometimes. He likes to harass me, and was talking about how *easy* the videos were. I laughed, because besides the fact that he is totally uncoordinated, he has only used the gym maybe 4 times since it opened downstairs, and is totally not in shape yet. So, I challenged him. We came home and did the video, and umm, Kurt did not do so well. He stopped after part one, and for what he did during part one, it was not very good. Because he is not coordinated, he probably only did about half and was off beat the entire video. I guess it was not to easy, hun Kurty? :). I love being right. My Mom's birthday was Friday. Happy Birthday Mommy! I sent her two packages and she had only received one as of her birthday. She really liked it though (gift one was two drummer shirts) and I already know she will like gift two....

Saturday was another fun day. Kurt and I went to Lowe's in the morning so I could pick out the tile for the walls of the second bathroom upstairs. I had a vision in my head, which was what we bought at Lowe's. I looked at sinks too, but nothing there was right for me. Britton was over and while Kurt was working upstairs on the bathroom tile, Britton and I watched two movies: Accepted and The Break-Up. Both were great, lazy movies. I liked The Break-Up more, but I did not like the ending of that one very much. Accepted kinda started slow, but ended up being funny and good. I worked out in the afternoon after the movies, took a shower, and then Rebecca got here. Kurt, Britton, Rebecca and I did dinner at Quatro's, which was yummy. Came home and hung out at the house for the rest of the night. Oh, Rebecca introdued me to this show called Queer as Folk, that I am now addicted to. Total Lori show, but Kurt and Kory won't watch with me. :(.

Today, went this morning to Cabela's to buy some new workout clothes. Kory gets a discount since he works there, so I got awesome deals on really high end stuff....Also bought a new pea coat--mine is like 5 years old (maybe older) and really needs to be discarded. The new one is cranberry and so pretty! Got some cute Columbia gloves to match. Anyway, I ended up buying two Under Armor sports bras, one pair of black North Face capri pants, one pair of long pants (Under Armor), Under Armor black shorts and a black Northface tank.....I needed the stuff, my workout clothes are so old and worn. Watched another episode of Queer as Folk today, i love it!

Kurt finished the upstairs bathroom, for the most part. He put up all tile, and now needs to grout, put the sinks in, paint and I need to accessorize. I ordered the sinks online tonight, and they are super kewl. Click here to see them. Today at Lowe's, I accidentally found the perfect black stands for the sinks. Kurt will have to go back and pick them up when we need them.

So, that about sums up my weekend. Hope everyone else got a chance to relax as well.

Unopposed

Called Monroe County on Wednesday morning to see if anyone else put their name in against me for the school board. Nope. There are two seats open (mine and another board member who has an expired seat) and only two people (including me), put their names in. So, *hopefully*, I can win! hehe. This is a four year term, so I can rest easy for that amount of time now. I can't wait to go vote and check next to my own name. I wish I could take a camera in and take a pic, but I don't think they allow that, and they may think I am slighly strange......

I am so cold. The weather in MI right now is seriously wrong. Kurt and I are thinking of planning a quick weekend getaway in the near future just to warm up! Tigers started Spring Training in FL recently and I would love to go to a game and take pics. You can get really close to the players at those events, and we could visit Maga and Bumpa since their condo is near the Tigers facility.......

Grey's was awesome last night. I doubt they can really kill Meredith off, I mean, the show is *her* show....But, we will see what they do with this.

New Stuff

Woke up this morning to a 5 foot drift of snow in front of our garage. Which is an issue when your cars are parked in the garage. Oops. I would have loved to just call into work, but no such luck when you work for yourself and have court, hun? I had two hearings this morning and a ton of paperwork too.

The drive to work was horrendous too. None of the roads ANYWHERE were cleared. Not near our house, not on the highway, not near the office. Accidents everywhere, people driving like idiots. Fun. It took us double the amount of time to get to court today.

I had two hearings today. One was something new for me, at a hearing for someone *supposedly* way behind on child support. I say supposedly because the Friend of the Court messed up his account. He had custody of the child from 1997 on, in a court Order, and they never stopped his support from accrueing. So, now after today's meeting, they are doing an audit to fix everything. My client was so glad he was not going to jail. I told him that would not happen, but people always think they will. Other hearing was a divorce case, which I finalized. I was pretty shocked it did, because the parties were pretty far off on what they wanted, but somehow, we did it.

Oh, Happy Valentine's Day to those who celebrate it! I personally don't. For some reason, the holiday kinda annoys me. Don't ask me why, I don't really have a reason. I just don't like it. I guess holidays in general annoy me, because I hate having this *obligation* to buy things for people. I would rather pick things up for people when I *want* to, not because it's Xmas, or Easter, or whatever. Kurt did buy me some gum today! Ha.

Snow is Bad

Those of you who *like* snow? Umm, why. Seriously. I can't stand winter, and I can't stand snow. They are predicting like 12 inches or more in our area. I hate it. What about snow is good whatsoever? Nothing. And in Michigan, everyone forgets how to drive in this weather. Accidents everywhere, people driving too fast/slow. Growing up in northern MI, I get this. People downstate? Clueless. For the most part anyway.

So, the weather is cancelling like all my plans. I was supposed to do dinner with friends last night. Moved. Supposed to see a show at the theatre tonight. Cancelled. Tomorrow night am supposed to go to a bday party, and prob will not be able to do that either. See everyone? Snow=bad. :).

My kickboxing bag was delivered today, and I put it together in the basement. But, the base needs to be filled with water, a lot of water, and I have to figure out a good way to do this. The hole the water pours into is not that large, so I need to figure something out....One bucket at a time is going to take me the rest of the life.

I did an ab workout today since we left work early. We closed the office early because of the storm. The video killed me! Check my workout page if you are interested in the video. Oww..

Went to the Monroe County Clerk to put in my petition for the school board. It was due--today. Nothing like me procrastinating. HA. Paid my fee, put in the paperwork. As of the time I put it in, only one other person had, and there are two spots open. So, unless someone put their name in after I did at 9 a.m., I don't need to campaign or anything. Cross your fingers....

Busy Times

So, I had a pretty busy Saturday and weekend in general.

Saturday morning, I got up, took a shower, and headed to Rebecca's to hang out before my hair appointment. She massaged me some, which I apparently needed since I was in pain. Thanks Rebecca! After that, we went to Trader Joe's, and I discovered the best workout bar ever. I read on a blog previously about this bar, and have been looking for it since. It is a new one by Clif, and I have not seen it in any store yet. Well, Trader Joe's came through for me. I bought a bunch, and OMG, Yum. I highly recommend. It seriously tastes like a condensed blueberry muffin. I am def going to buy these in bulk. Oh, it is called Blueberry Crisp Clif. After that, got my hair done with Marnie. I actually got about 3 inches cut off, new highlights and some sideswept bangs, which is totally not like me. I dont change things with my hair often. Kurt can't really tell a difference, but I def can.

Then, drove home, changed, and left for dinner with Cliff and Lisa in Detroit at Pegasus. What a pain it was getting to Detroit. This winter blast thing is going on down there, and traffic and parking was a total chore. Pegasus was OK. The food was very good--I had a grilled shrimp meal with green beans and rice and diet coke, kurt has a greek salad. But, the service was horrible. The staff was rude--all of them. They practically kicked us out when we were done because they wanted our booth for others. I wont go back there. I can get Greek food elsewhere. But, it was nice to see Cliff and Lisa......Kurt and I headed to the Windsor casino after that, where I played some poker and blackjack and did not win. But thats OK, I had a good time.

Today, slept in a little bit. I needed it after the long day on Saturday. Got up and did some stuff around the house, stopped at the grocery store. I was feeling guilty for not working out yesterday, so I did one of the videos that Rebecca loaned me. Loved it. It kicked my butt. It was like cardio Pilates. I will be doing this one again. It hurt. Then, tonight, I did another workout in the gym.
Oh, went to Lowes today with Kurt to pick out the flooring for one of the upstairs bathrooms. Him and Kory pretty much finished it today, except for the grouting. It looks SOOO good. they also finally hung the mirror I bought forever ago from zGallerie in the other bathroom. It needs to be cleaned (they got stuff all over it hanging it, but it looks so kewl. I love that mirror.

Latest Finds and Such

Nothing too exciting is going on. So, I am going to post about some new products I have found that I love since I started working out hardcore again.

1. Zenalean ProCaps. I discovered these today at Better Health when I stopped in to buy Redline drinks. Tada! It has ephedra. I heart ephedra. I used to take Xenadrine way back before law school, and then it got banned. Since then, I have found nothing even close. Until Zenalean. I took one this afternoon, and I was soooo awake. Love. Yay.

2. Redline drinks.

3. Clif bars. Yum. The first energy bar I have eaten that actually tasted good. I tried a Zone bar today, and, not so good. I need to start buying the Clif ones in bulk.

Restless Pugs

Had a board meeting tonight. It was slightly shorter than normal, and I got home just in time to change, drink an energy drink and head down to the gym to watch Grey's. It was a great episode. I wonder what will happen to Meredith?? The drama......

I don't know how I get the energy sometimes. I worked all day long, came home, attended a board meeting, came home again, worked out, made dinner, did some laundry and dishes, and am now relaxing. I am avoiding this horrible movie that Kurt and Kory are watching, I think it's called Saw III. I have no interest. OMG, so violent. But, I want to sit in the living room, so I am forced to listen to it anyway. Ugh.

The weather in Michigan is horrible. Gretel has been really restless, and I think we are finally figuring it out. When it is below zero like this, she does not run around outside as much because she gets really cold. I kinda feel like Gretel. I want to be outside SOO badly, but winter in Michigan just sucks, especially right now. I can barely stand walking to my car from the office door. Me and Gretel both really need to get outside, and the forecast for the next week is more of the same. I really was not meant to live in this state, but at the same time, I don't really want to leave, at least right now. I am so cold 24 hours a day. Even when I work out, I have been wearing long sleeves, which I never do while doing cardio.

Cliff called today and asked what Kurt and I were doing this weekend. When I said nothing major, he suggested going to the Detroit Winter Bash. Which is outside. And it is negative zero forecast for the weekend. I was like "I will never talk Kurt into that in a million years." I really have no desire to walk around in that either, LOL, but Kurt cannot stand the cold more than me. I suggested meeting for dinner down there instead, in case they still wanted to walk around in the cold. So, we are prob meeting in Greektown for dinner. It will be nice to see them.....

Nothing New in Newport

So, today was a pretty standard day, really. Nothing ultra-exciting to post about.

I was pretty tired when we got home, so I made dinner, and sat down to watch Beauty and the Geek. I totally did not want to work out, but I made myself. Yay. I always am glad once I get done.

I ordered a kickboxing bag on Amazon tonight. Yay. I have always wanted one, and now that we have the gym, I see no reason why I should not have it. Now, I need to put together some program for it. My old instructor told me he would help me out, but I feel kinda guilty asking him. I will try to find something online first.

I finally made my hair appointment today. I kept forgetting. So, I am going on Sunday and will prob meet up with Rebecca beforehand. I am going to get a massage from her and try to pay her, but she always just wants food, so I guess we will see. She always makes me feel better, and with all this working out, I really need it, I think! ;). I can't wait to get my hair cut. I really want something different, but always end up chickening out and getting the same sort of style. I don't like short hair for me, so my options are fairly limited.

Great Store

I got this coupon in the mail for a store that was having a grand opening in Taylor called Better Health. We stopped in after work. OMG. Great store. It was like GNC times 20, and they sold organic foods and drinks. I needed to buy some protein bars and the like. Sometimes right before working out or during the day I am hungry, and I wanted to buy something to supplement my working out, with high protein. So, I bought some Zone and Clif bars. I bought different flavors, so I could try them out before buying a ton of one kind. Kurt bought a bunch of drinks, and I bought this one energy drink for working out. We tried it before our workout, and WOW. I think it really did give me a boost of energy. Not a ton extra, but some. Called Redline.

Anyway, highly recommend the store if you live in Michigan.

Oh, took some pics of the gym. Keep in mind while viewing that we still need to clean the floor again (drywall dust, etc.), but for the most part, it is done. Kurt and Kory put up drywall, a drop ceiling and lights, the mat flooring, and the equipment and posters. Click here to see the pics.

The Lawyer Game

You have got to be kidding me. People would BUY a game to be a lawyer? What are they thinking? LOL. It's really not that exciting......

One game I will not be buying when I buy a handheld game system? Check.

Click here to see.

Sore, but Happy

I had a fabulous workout tonight. (which can be seen at my workout blog in the sidebar). Kurt worked out with me, which was nice. I think I work out even better with him. Anyway, I can feel myself getting better with each workout. I can do more crunches, can walk uphill longer, can run further.........did more weight on my chest/back exercises.

I was so mad What About Brian was not on! Some stupid wedding show was on in it's place, ugh. Next week, thankfully, it is back on.

Work was great today too. I got so much paperwork done, as Misty was there answering the phones. The conference room table was filled with work done.

It was so cold here today, schools were cancelled simply because of the temperature. The schools in our town were all cancelled, and prob will be tomorrow as well. Crazy. I have never heard of school being cancelled because it is too cold. And Manistee, where I grew up?? They never cancelled school ever. And they are cancelled today AND tomorrow. That shows how insanely cold it is here. On the way to work today, the bank clock said -4. I have never seen the bank clock say anything negative re the temperature.

Congrats Jillllllleeeeee

My friend, Jill, just told me that she is pregnant with her third child! She is predicting a boy, and her due date is around Sept 1!

Baby 3 will be joining Jamin and Leah at home. I can't believe one of my friends is on baby 3! Wow!

I have known Jill since 1st grade.....she befriended me then, and it's so crazy that we have been friends all this time, and now we are both married, and she will be having baby 3! :).

Congrats Jill and Ben!

The Oscars Contest--Join the Fun

My friend, Megan, has created a new fantasy game for the Oscar's.

You can join in!

Here is the link: http://andthewinneris.msnbc.msn.com/default.aspx.

The Group Name is Megan's Movie Mania and the password is weather

Please join in the fun!

Cold in Michigan

It is so cold in Michigan right now. Almost record cold temps.

Current temp? 0 degrees Farenheit. Feels like? -15 degrees Farenheit. Not even kidding. And the rest of the week is not much better. It is not going to be over 23 degrees all week. Nice. Today, I went outside to the grocery store briefly and I could barely stand it getting into the car in the garage, it was to cold. Ugh. I can't stand this.

So, got to sleep in this morning. This working out crap annoys me sometimes, because I get fairly anal with what I am eating and doing. Bec, Kory and Britton went for pizza for lunch and I did not go, because I don't want to be counter productive with the working out. So, I just need to stay away from those kind of eating establishments...........Rebecca said the pizza place they went to was not that good anyway, so I am kinda glad I did not go.

The rest of the day, I just tried to get some things done around here. It is so cold though, I dont even want to get off the couch with my blanket. I did some laundry, did some dishes, picked up the house......My husband, the pseudo-plumber, fixed some things in my bathroom today that I have been begging him to fix for months. My sink and my shower had clogged pipes, so the water was taking longer to drain than normal, which in turn made the sink/shower get dirty more quickly, which drives me insane. He took eveything apart and now everything works. Yay.

Oh. Rebecca brought over a small refrigerator for the basement and I put water in it today. It will be nice to have it down there. I tend to forget it and have to run back upstairs to grab some.

The Colts won the Super Bowl. I did not really care who won, but I was rooting for the Bears since they were the underdog. So many turnovers in the game, it was crazy. Prince was the half time show, and I actually really liked it. Kewl lighting and fireworks effects.

Being Blonde

All the school in the world (which I have had now), cannot make me more blonde, LOL.

Last night, at the casino, I got stopped at the door. I guess I was kinda surprised, because you only have to be 19 to get in there. Since I was that age 10 years ago, I was kinda shocked the guy asked me to stop. Anyway, he asked me how old I was and my response was....

"ummmmm, 20, ummmmm, 9?"

Yea. I totally forgot how old I was. I think he must have thought I was amusing though, because he let me go.

I got carded again in the poker room. Whatever I wore last night must have made me look young because 10 years later, I am still getting carded there, LOL. It annoys me, but at the same time, I guess I should be glad I don't age very much as each year goes on........

Kurt's Birthday--Part 2

Today, we celebrated Kurt's birthday again. Went to Fishbones in Detroit for dinner with Kory, Rebecca, Britton and Gary. It was really good. I had gumbo soup and sushi. Afterwards, Kurt, Gary and I went to the casino in Windsor. Kurt and I won $102.50. My portion was only $2.50. I played Texas Hold Em. Kurt played blackjack and craps. It was a lot of fun, but nothing beats Vegas........

This morning, Kurt and I went to work for a short time, had a meeting with a new client. We then went to a couple stores.....One, this place Kurt likes for paintings and furniture....We bought a painting for the basement once it is done. Stopped for lunch at Zoup, and then at the Pier One Clearance Store. It was fun. Then, he hung all the posters in the gym. I really need to take pics....

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

It's Kurty's birthday today! Happy 36th birthday honey! I told him he is old today, as he is closer to 40 than 30, LOL, and I have not even hit 30 yet. Ha.

We went to dinner tonight with our friends, Tammy and Tom. We went to Uno's. I had salmon teryiaki and rice, and a smoothie. I think the smoothie was a mistake, as I am somewhat lactose intolerant. I usually can handle a smoothie, but now, my stomach hurts. Rather, it started hurting about half way through my workout, and I had to stop. But, half a workout is better then none, right? It was nice to see Tam and Tom, we have not seen them in forever.

We also stopped in Home Goods and I saw this ottoman that I may go back and buy. It would literally look perfect in the sunroom. It is really modern, and the same colors that are in there. Went to Michael's as well and bought frames for the gym posters as well. Just need to bring them in the house and hang them up now, and the gym will be pretty much complete. The only things left really then are hooking up the satellite down there (right now we have the TV hooked through upstairs), and need to buy a couple mirrors for the walls. I also would like to get a DVD player and some videos.

Had to workout alone tonight because Kurt had a little bit too much to drink at dinner tonight. Three raspberry pina coladas and three rum and cokes too much. Ha.

So, court was somewhat annoying for Kurt this morning. One hearing went well. It was filed pointlessly by a father. In MI, there is rule that you cannot move more than 100 miles from your residence without permission from the court or the other parent in the case. Well, our client moved like 103 miles away. She did this like 3 months ago, and the father never said anything. She says he actually agreed to the move. 3 months later, he files a Motion for Change in Custody based on her violation of this rule. Done out of spite, pretty much. So, she hired us over the phone, as she lives in a differnet area now. Met Kurt at the hearing, and Kurt pretty much got their Motion thrown out. She was thrilled. The other hearing was the annoying one. We had a client that was very unreasonable. We filed a Motion to Change Custody for him, as the mother moved to another state and left him with the kids. He wanted her to have no parenting time, or parenting time only in the state of MI. The other side hired an atty, and they stated they only wanted 2 weeks in the summer. This is very, very minimal, and less than the Judge would probably give her. Our client would not agree. Somehow, miraculously, Kurt got him to understand and agree, but the guy was not happy, and told Kurt he was not working in his best interests, yada yada. Kurt was like "it would not be in your best interests to go in there in front of the Judge, because your deal will be worse....." Sigh. People seriously just dont get it. Why do they hire lawyers if they think they know everything? Seriously.

The rest of the day was nice though. Phones were fairly quiet, which is not the norm on Friday afternoons. I got some paperwork done, returned some calls.

Oh, and we heard through the grapevine that a lawyer we know was disbarred! Apparently, he stole money from a law firm he was working with as well as a local bar association. How stupid can you be? I am wondering if there is more to the story, like a gambling or drug prob.

Friends and Family

So, tonight I went to dinner with my friend, Nancy, at Big Fish in Dearborn. I had a coupon to use for 40% off one meal, and I love that place. The food was awesome, as usual, but the service was somewhat annoying. This waitress walked by the table WAY too many times......I really wanted to be like GO AWAY. And then, she came and took my credit card slip away before we left and that is a pet peeve of mine. I never did that to customers when I waitressed. I think it's so rude. Anyway. It was awesome to see Nancy. She claims she thought I would look different now that I am a lawyer, but apparently, I don't. :).

Yesterday, Val (my ex-stepsister, LOL, who Kurt just calls my sister now since it's easier than all those pre-words), came over after work and spent the night. Rebecca ended up coming over too, so we all hung out. We took Val to Uno's for dinner, and then once Rebecca got here, we watched Napoleon Dynamite on DVD, which I have never seen. I really need to watch it again because I did not get to see the whole thing.

So. I think I need some sleep. I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. This week has been total insanity at the office and I so need a break.

Remind me to schedule a hair appointment.

Happy B-Day Gretel Olivia!

My little girl is no longer a little girl. OK, she will always be *my* baby, but now that she is 2, she is considered a doggie and not a puppy.

Gretel Olivia turned 2 today! It seems crazy that we have had her for two years now. It seems just like yesterday that we drove to pick her up in West Salem. When Daisy died, I vowed I never wanted another female pug, because she had been my best friend and nothing could replace her. Her death was so sudden, and I took it really hard. I was depressed, cried a lot when I went to bed, and missed her so much. I was really angry she had been taken from me so suddenly. Kurt really thought getting another little girl would help me. So, he researched online and finally found a fawn female in West Salem, which is a pretty far drive from our house. So, one night, we jumped in the Carerra, and drove there. Once I laid eyes on Gretel, I fell in love. She was so tiny, the smallest pug I had ever seen. She made me feel so much better about the death of my best friend, because I had someone new to love and take care of and get to know. Nothing will ever replace Daisy Lou, but Gretel Olivia holds a different place in our hearts that I love.

She got a cheeseburger for her birthday from Burger King. She is different from the boys though, in that we bring it home to her, because she is a strange dog and does not like car rides (they make her nervous).

Work was so slammed today. We had a pretty light calendar, but people kept calling and stopping in, and it took up a lot of our time. Had court on two cases today, but nothing major happened in either case. Sometimes, I wonder how people can be so stupid in their divorce cases though. I met with a lady today, long term marriage, one kid. Her husband makes a lot of money, and she was a stay at home Mom. Anyway, I ran some numbers for her on the phone previous to the appointment, and she tried to talk to her husband about the possibility of settling previous to us filing anything. Well, he basically told her to screw off. I looked at the numbers she offered and they are far less than what she should be getting. His getting angry simply made her angry and made her want to fight for what she truly should be getting. OK. What a moron.

Came home, made dinner, then worked out. I thought when I woke up this morning that I totally was not sore. But, as the day went on, I started feeling the workout more. It's nice because I was feeling sore in the spots I worked out last night, so I guess I know I am doing the exercises properly.......:).

My Gym

OMG, having a gym in the basement is SOOO awesome. And working our with my husband is amazing too. We used to work out together in Bay City, Lansing, and Taylor, but since then, we have worked out separately, or not at all during my law school stint. Anyway. I forgot how much fun it is to work out with a partner.

So. I am going to start a new page and link it in my sidebar to track my workouts. Today, I ran 2 miles, did abs, and then did chest and back exercises with Kurty. We watched Jeopardy and then Deal or No Deal. It was awesome having a TV down there too. We still need to do some odds and ends in there, but overall, I love it. Need to buy batteries for the top part of my recumbant bike, and need to buy something to pump up my ab balls......

I am so going to hurt tomorrow, and I so don't care. Yay.

Work today was crazy busy, as most Mondays are. Lots of phone calls and appointments and Kurt had court all morning. No interesting hearings to report on though. Ended one divorce, and the Judge in another case referred it to Mediation.

So weird too, we were talking about getting a refrigerator for the gym and literally an hour later, Rebecca sends me an email regarding a friend of hers who is moving and the fact that has a frig to give Rebecca (who is in turn probably giving it to us). How ironic. It will be nice to store Propel and other water down there.

I am so sleeping well tonight. I am falling asleep right now, and What About Brian is on!

First Snowfall of Newport

So.....Saturday, I slept in, then got up and went into the office for most of the afternoon. Rebecca met me there around I think 430 p.m. and we ran some errands I needed to run. I picked up my new can opener (with 20% off coupon) from Bed Bath and Beyond, and we went to two Dunham's to look for this flooring Kurt needed to finish the basement. He needed 3 packages and we only found two. Boo. But, today, Kurt and I stopped at a Dunham's in Canton and found the last one. Yay.

Kurt and Kory worked on the gym basement most of the day yesterday and part of the night today. And, tada, it's done! I will take pics another time and post. It's awesome. It looks like a real gym! No, it does not have the luxuries of Rebecca's gym, but to me, it's better because it's in my basement, I can watch what I want on TV, and it has everything I need. Kurt ended up putting in a closet, where he is storing my medicine and other workout balls. We bought a TV today at Rex in Monroe and hooked it up to our satellite. So, tomorrow, I will be starting my workouts and keeping track of those and my progress. Can't wait.

Today, we went to lunch for my Grama's birthday, which is tomorrow. We went to this place in Livonia called O'Charley's. I had soup and salad and I bought my Grama a really kewl ring from Kohl's. She loved it. My two aunts were at dinner, my Dad, Grama, and me and Kurt. It was fun.

Saturday night, we had a fun dinner. We went to Dolce Vita, which now has sushi, YAY. There are no sushi places in Monroe, so I was psyhced to find out that they are now serving it. And, it was super good, especially considering they are serving it at an Italian place. We started to watch a movie, John Tucker Must Die, but Kurt thought it was stupid, so we ended up turning it off. Speaking of movies, Rebecca and I watched Little Black Book before dinner, and it was hilarious. I loved it. Really lighthearted, cute movie.

I went outside and took some pics of the snow. We had our first major snowfall here today. Which only equates to about 2 inches, but still. Click here to see them, they are the first nine pictures. I am shocked I went out in that weather, but, for a picture, I will do just about anything. ;). I hate to admit snow is pretty, because I can't stand winter, but it is the one, and only positive thing I can say about snow.

Welcome Home Rebecca!

Rebecca is home, Rebecca is home! Yay! Even though I have not seen her, I get to at least message and email her and text her. Hooray! Welcome homee girlie! Glad you at least got to go someplace, even if I had to suffer in Michigan, all alone. :).

I forgot to post about my friend, Julia, the other day. She just finished school and is studying for the bar exam, and got a job offer! She had been working at this place called Valeo (auto related) and they told her at first because of budget constraints, they could not offer her a job. Then, one of the attorneys quit and they offered her the position. I am so psyched! It's rare to have a job all set up like that BEFORE passing the bar. It really takes some pressure off...Congrats Jules! Get back to me about celebrating.

So, tonight was fairly productive. I came home to my shower curtain found! Apparently, Kory did not throw it away, and he found it in his room in a garbage bag. So I threw it in the washer with hot water and bleach. Hopefully, it gets clean, although it has been in that bag for several weeks.....We will see. I hope I can just rehang it. I finally called in on Kurt's computer too, and I have to send it in for repairs, which are no longer under warranty since we have had the computer for over 4 years. The video card and mother board need to be replaced. Lovely. But, it is less money then I expected, and so we are going to have it replaced instead of buying a new one. To replace Kurt's computer would be pretty pricey because he has upgraded everything.......They are sending a box on Monday or Tuesday and we should have it back within a week. Yay. Also, made dinner, put some dishes in the dishwasher AND switched over the laundry. How's that for me being domestic on a Friday night?

I made crab rangoons with rice for dinner. It made me think about Kendra. :(. She should live here.....We had those for lunch last weekend and they were SOOO good. Better than the ones I made, but mine were good.

I need a new can opener. Mine for some reason does not seem to be working. I have no idea how a manual can opener breaks, but mine is really old. We have prob had it for like 10 years....Any suggestions, you kitcheny peeps? I found one on Amazon that looks nice.... but I have no can opener buying experience. Ha.

Nothing too amusing at the office today for me to post about. We had no court today, somehow. So it was nice to be in the office drafting and trying to catch up on calls and the like.

Lesbians in Love

So, today, Kurt had an interesting and somewhat amusing hearing.

We filed a divorce a while back, and had an Ex-Parte Order signed at the start giving our client 4 days with the child one week, 3 days the next week. The Mom objected to the Order and asked for a hearing. Today was that hearing.

Our client had told us that his wife was living with her girlfriend. Yes, she is now a lesbian. She was exposing their daughter to this. Judges really hate, during a divorce anyway, when you bring your significant other around kids, let alone LIVE with them. He had videotape of this relationship (he bugged the house while they were still married).

She had not told her lawyer about this. So, instead of bringing it up, Kurt decided to use this as his "wild card" and kept the info quiet. He knew if they had time to discuss the info beforehand, they would come up with some story, like the woman was a friend, or whatever.

So, during his argument, he announces that she is a lesbian and living with her girlfriend, and he has videotape footage. Kurt says the other attorney literally *gasped* and stepped back. LOL. She tried to deny it and her client says "I am a lesbian. I live with my girlfriend and we just signed a year lease. I am not breaking it." Kurt was thinking in his head "THANK you for admitting this on the record......No need to prove my case here." Ha. The Referee told her that her girlfriend needed to move out. I wonder if she will listen or we will be in court on this again?? One can only wait and see.....my prediction is she will not listen.

Had a school board meeting tonight. We got t-shirts from the girls varsity color guard that are really nice. Also got cookies for board appreciation week. The meeting went well.

Grey's was great tonight. Can't wait to see if Christina says yes and what happens with the George situation in which I hope Callie says no. One should never say yes to a marriage proposal when someone is in the state George is in.

World Record

So.

Incredible things are happening at our house. The oven? It was used two days in a row. Yes, yes it was. I made two meals in a row. In the oven. This is truly a remarkable thing.

Ha.

So yesterday morning, I had my first multiple hearing day. Also, I had my first hearings at the Friend of the Court. Everything went well, and I was especially pleased with one hearing. Here are the deets:

Child: Age 6, boy.
My client: Dad, has not been allowed to see the child much in 6 years, and has gotten nowhere asking for parenting time himself.
Other side: Mother. Control freak. Has enjoyed having complete control over parenting time for 6 years. Pregnant with third child, only 23 years old. No lawyer, representing herself.

We filed a Motion for specific parenting time and reduction in child support. Went in front of the referee and advised what was going on. Said we wanted specific schedule. Referee asks other side what she wants, she agrees with me. OK. She also says, I will agree to whatever you want, Mr. Referee. OK. I jump all over that. I tell the referee we want every other week in the summer (which is VERY rare) and every other weekend during the school year. The Ref asks her if this is OK and she just says YES. I am thinking, WHY are we in court? Anyway, my client was thrilled and the time starts this weekend. Strange. I usually have to argue more than that. Which would have been none. Gotta love those cases.

Oh, and everyone welcome home my laptop! After vacay, I took it in for repairs. They called me becausse they needed my restore disks, and I could not find them at first. Finally found them and took them in and picked up the finished product today! I am beyond thrilled to be sitting on my couch and typing and watching American Idol. Now I just need to get Kurt's fixed, which requires calling Dell, which is basically my worst hell. I hate calling there.

I think that's about all going on in the household in the past couple days......I miss having Rebecca around to talk to! Damm her going on a cruise....

For all those who read this who are wondering how she is doing though, she emailed me today from an Internet Cafe and she is having a great time. She says she is getting an awesome tan, and today, her and her Mom were on shore in the Bahamas and were going to Atlantis to a casino and aquarium. I am so jealous! She also advised that she bought Kurt three bottles of foreign rum, so he will be psyched.

Pictures

The rest of the pics are downloaded from the 1st birthday party for Maya and Nora.

Click here to see them.

Important Events in Life

My husband actually suggested going to bed early tonight.

How could one not be aware that What About Brian is on at 10 p.m.? Like very important episode tonight. Marjorie is back in town...How will everyone react?

Picture above is of my friend, Kerry's daughter, Nora. So freaking cute.