Shopping Gods Smiled Upon Me

**Pic above is of me, my Mom, and Maga (my Mom's Mom).

So. This week was so odd. Thursday, I am sitting at work, feeling kinda out of it. As afternoon approaches, I feel like I am burning up. I put my hand to my forward, back of my neck and I feel really, really hot. I am also feeling kinda dizzy and out of it. Kurt is at court, and I am at the office alone, so I continue working, but can barely focus. Kurt finally gets back, and I tell him I am going to lie down for a second, after he feels my head and confirms I feel really warm. I do so. Proceed to alternate between working and lying down for the remainder of the day. Had a board meeting that night and call in saying I don't think I will make it, but will try. I proceed to pass out the entire ride home. Wake up to Kurt helping me into the house. Take my temp--102. Lie down on couch with blanket, shivering. Two pugs proceed to jump on couch and cuddle and I pass out until around 10 p.m. Get up, take temp, STILL 102. Go to bed. Feel fever break in the middle of the night and JOY--get a headache. But am glad fever is gone. So strange. No other symptoms or anything, but this odd fever. Ideas anyone? The next day, Friday, I was really worn out and felt like I had a slight fever again that afternoon. Today, woke up with a headache, but proceeded with me day and finally, late afternoon, feel like myself again. I don't get up, but whatever. It would be nice if I could actually take time off when I get sick like that, like most of society can. Con #456 of being self employed--Can't call in sick to work. :).

Today was fun. Had lunch with Hollie and Becca at Red Lobster in Southgate. Bec is leaving for Michigan State soon (she is going there junior and senior years of college), and we wanted one last lunch before she left. After that, i headed to the mall to try and get some summery skirts and shirts for our Vegas trip over Labor Day. Did I mention that yet? We are going to Vegas over Labor Day, and Kory and Rebecca are coming too! Rebecca has never been, so it should be super fun. I can't wait. We rented a condo (timeshare kinda thing) I found on eBay, it's kinda like an apartment. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, etc. Spacious so we are not all over eachother like we would be in a hotel room. I like my space. :). Anyway. Hit the freaking jackpot at NY & Co. Had a coupon (25% off). Pretty much everything I tried on I liked. I was actually HOPING I would not like something it was so bad. Found 5 skirts, 7 tops (including tanks and tees), a dress and two pairs of sunglasses. Got all this for $137.00. Not kidding. Regular price before sales and coupons? $370.00. I am the BEST bargain finder in life. Most of the skirts were regular price $40 marked down to $8.00. And bonus, I can wear them to work too. Went to Men's Warehouse next to buy Kurt two new suits. Found an awesome Donna Karan one marked down from $700.00 to $199.00. I think the shopping Gods were smiling on me today.

Here are links to some of the stuff I got, although I could not find it all on the site:

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/product_detail_with_picker.jsp?productId=prod110008

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/product_detail_with_picker.jsp?productId=prod150026

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/product_detail_with_picker.jsp?productId=prod160074

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/product_detail_with_picker.jsp?productId=prod190072 (two)

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/product_detail_with_picker.jsp?productId=prod160108

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/product_detail_with_picker.jsp?productId=prod60028

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/product_detail_with_picker.jsp?productId=prod160012

http://www.nyandcompany.com/nyco/browse/product_detail_with_picker.jsp?productId=prod160011

Oh, and I am done with the wedding pics (mostly). I think I have most of them uploaded, so if you wanna check them out, click here.

Rock on

Brides can have fun too, see?

**My sister, post ceremony at her wedding, 08/2007.

Still Working

Still working on the pics, but should be done by later tonight and will send link out to all you want and also post here. This is another fav of mine.....This is my Mom, sister and me.

Love Her

Pic of Me and Carolyn, my cousin, at my sister's wedding this past Saturday. Had a blast with her! :).

First Glimpse

I totally need to go workout and I took over 400 pics that need to be edited from the wedding, so the link to the photo page will be a while, but I wanted to post one quick shot from the wedding. This is one of my favs from the actual ceremony of me and my sister, Christie. Will tell the long story later, but to make it short, the wedding was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun. Will post more later....

Short Vacay

My sister's wedding is Saturday! I went and picked up my dress today at the store (alterations were being done), and put my shoes and jewelry in the shoebox and in the car. Just need to pack the rest of my crap. Kurt and I are closing up shop tomorrow at noon and heading to Manistee. The rehearsel dinner is Friday night, then the wedding at 330 p.m. and reception thereafter. SOO many family and friends will be there, it should be pretty fun. Kurt hates Manistee, but hopefully with all the activities going on, he will be OK, LOL. I am just glad he decided to go up with me and not on Saturday, because I really did not want to drive myself all that way.

Anyway, off to do more errands and go to bed. Have a great weekend everyone!

Where to Start

It seems all my posts start out this way lately..............I seriously don't have enough hours in the day with working, working around the house, working out, having a social life....AHHH. And people think I should add a KID into this mix? Are you freaking nutty? LOL.

So, the past week has been busy. This weekend was fun and eventful. Saturday, Kurt and I worked on the house all day and got a LOT done. I actually feel like our house is kinda starting to come together. We have a wetbar in our living room that the previous owner never finished all the way. Kory built and hung shelves last week, and I moved all my glasses and such to the shelves. After doing so, I got this idea that we should tile in between the shelves and the sink/counter of the wetbar. So, Kurt and I went and I picked out this really kewl Venetian textured marble tile and we put all that up first thing Saturday. It looks awesome. Beyond gorgeous. It totally makes the entire area of the living room. Rebecca's sister bought me flowers (so freaking nice of her and unnecessary) and I pulled a vase out of my china cabinet and set it on the wetbar with the flowers and it looks amazing. I need to buy fresh flowers more often. Then we went back to Lowe's and bought a bunch more odds and ends. We are slowly changing all the light switches and plugs in the house over to chrome, so I did a bunch more of those this weekend in various rooms. I love the difference making those chrome makes in a room. Kurt also started tiling the laundry room floor, which is the last room in our house to get flooring. I picked out this really kewl terra like color for in there, and it is coming along nicely. He has to do that project in sessions, as he has to move the washer and dryer and can't do so until another part of the floor dries. We also bought new glass light covers for the two downstairs guest bathrooms. The guy before us who owned the place had these really ugly floral looking things up there, and those had to go. Yay. I can't even remember what else we did that day. Went to dinner at Pete's and then I headed to Sterling State Park up the road because some friends of mine were camping and they wanted me to come hang out, which I did. We sat around the fire gossiping (only girls there, yay) and made Smores which were super yummy.

Sunday, another day of Lowe's and working around the house. We bought spindles and posts for the upstairs staircase. Bought a door for Kurt's bathroom closet. Bought more tile for the laundry room baseboard area. Bought more switch covers. We pretty much bought Lowe's out, LOL. Kurt sent me to another Lowe's afterwards to see if we could get the rest of the stuff that we bought the first Lowe's out of. Bought a new light/fan for the guest bath. Kory put that up today and it looks AMAZING and the fan is much quieter than the old one. Also bought a new toilet paper holder and towel holder for both guest baths. Kory put those up today as well in the one bath. Bought new shower rings for Kurt's bathroom, and washed his shower curtain, put up a new liner. Kory built shelves for Kurt's bathroom closet as well as the hall closet upstairs. I keep buying really kewl hardware for all the closet doors as well, so it is all unique. I hate anything common. :).

The rest of last week was basically filled with work and a board meeting on Tuesday. I was so annoyed getting to that meeting. It was at 530, and I left the office with plenty of time. Until I hit an accident. And sat. And sat. Ugh. Finally got there, WAY late, which I felt awful about, but, what can you do.....

Anyway, off to bed, I will post more later. Too tired to think about any more details.......Took some pics this weekend that I post later as well.

Monday, Monday.....

Weekend was great. Saturday morning, slept in and Rebecca came over at 11:03 a.m. HA. Had to post that because Kory was saying that she is never on time, and I was agreeing (although I could care less if she is late, we were simply harassing her) and she walked in at 11:03 a.m. She was supposed to be over at 11, so it was funny when she was 3 minutes late. OK, maybe you had to be there. We were literally talking about her being late as she walked in, LOL. Then she proceeded to try and claim she is NEVER late and always on time, which cracked us up even more. To be fair, Rebecca is very timely. But, when she is coming to our house, we usually have nothing specific planned, so time is NOT of the essence. Harassing Rebecca is so fun. Anyway, she got there, and we decided to go have breakfast/lunch at Newport Cafe, which is my new fav little local spot. I had blueberry pancakes again, and they were awesome, AGAIN. Everyone else had different sandwiches and stuff like that. Awesome place. Then Rebecca and I headed to the mall so she could exchange the shoes I bought her for her bday (for some reason, they don't fit her right, AARGH). She returned those and tried on a couple dresses. I harassed her again, because she is one of *those* girls that literally will not try on something if it does not fit her in th size she *thinks* she should wear. She tries on this really kewl dress, that is slightly tight because it was obviously made for totally flat teenagers. She tries on the next size and still no zipper movement. Going out to get the next size was not even being mentioned by me, because I knew she would have a heart attack if she had to buy something that size and would probably not eat for a week, LOL. Seriously, I wish there was something I could do to not get girls in society to look at a number. In women's clothing, every line of clothing, the sizes run different. Some girls could wear a 2 in one line, and an 8 in another. But they will NEVER buy that 8 because "they don't wear a size 8...." LOL. If something looks good, who cares what the number is? Really. So, we went to a couple other stores, got some goods at Victoria's Secret (great sale) and bought Kurt a shirt with Zumaya on the back of it (Tigers pitcher), which he loves. We all ate at Pete's Garage after that. Oh, I almost forgot. Rebecca brought her videos for new techniques she is learning and literally kicked my ass. OK, I guess I should say "kicked my neck" because it was all neck work. Satisfying pain, I should say. My neck is always so out of wack and I love and welcome her pain. I was almost crying at some points I think. The guy on the video cracks me up, I love him. We watched it on the big screen while she worked on me, so I got to be amused AND punished. WHEEEEE. I heart Rebecca.

Sunday, we were supposed to work, but instead, I headed to the Toledo Botanican gardens for a lazy Lori photography date. Had an awesome time. That place is beyond gorgeous and I have been so busy lately, my photography has been falling to the side. Got like 111 shots that I really liked, that are posted on my Flickr page. Came home that night and Kurt and went to dinner at Red Lobster, which was nice.

Oh, and please, pray for my Bumpa (that is what I call my Grampa). He should be fine, but he was admitted to the hospital this weekend for a blood clot in his lung. He had clot before, but near his stomach, which is much less dangerous than your lung. They *think* they can treat it with drugs, but if not, they may need to operate later. Ugh. Fingers crossed.

Random Crap

So behind, so behind. I still have not posted about LAST weekend, which I promised. Apparently, I am not so great at making promises to myself.

I promise right now to type as much as I can before going to bed. Which I also need to do, but this is of utmost importance, right? :).

Had a good week, besides the working thing I have to do every day. Last night, I met up with my friend Nancy (law school Nancy). We went to Somata for pedicures, then headed to a place she wanted to show me called TV Diner. I had pasta and it was super yummy. Waitress was really nice as well. Great little place that I never noticed before in RIverview, I think. It was great to catch up with her. Wed night, I went to Mel's for a Lia Sophia jewelry party and got to see a few people that I had not seen in a while, and talk, which was nice. Bought some really kewl jewelry. Can't wait until it comes in. I usually don't like much at these tupperware, pampered chef, avon parties, but this stuff was actually really kewl and I would buy more if I went to another party.

OK, last weekend. Had dinner with Julia and Tony on Saturday night at this cute Japanese place in Livonia. I had teriyaki salmon and we all split some sushi pre-meal that was very good. I was impressed. The miso soup was great as well, and I am picky about the miso. It was awesome to catch up with them and celebrate their engagement, and by the time we left dinner, we had been there for 3.5 hours! I don't think I have ever been at a restaurant that long before. It's so weird how Julia and I are now lawyers......I remember day one of law school when I met her, and told Kurt about her. His comment was that I was going to be friends with her the rest of my life. There is like this bond you form in law school with the poeple you start off with that is different than anything else. Nobody else understands what you go through in law school except others who have been there. Anyway, it's awesome that Kurt was right and Julia is still one of my best friends, years later, post taking the bar and everything. We are two entirely different kids of people, yet so similar at the same time because of this law school bond. Anyway. Dinner was great and I can't wait until next time.

Friday night, we took the pugs to the new Petsmart in Monroe that just opened. We have never taken all three anywhere like that, so it was interesting trying to walk them at the same time since they are not really leash experts (never really on them). They did really well though and the store is super nice and modern. We did not buy anything, but I am sure I will be in there all the time when the pugs need stuff. After that, we took them to the local ice cream place and got them all baby size scoops of vanilla. they loved that too. Vito ate all of his, and part of Oscar and Gretel's that they did not finish. He is such a pig, I swear. LOL.

Sunday, we worked. Which sucked, but I did get a ton done, which was nice.

Anyway, I really should get to bed. I need to post more, but I am tired and the pugs are getting antsy because they don't understand why I am up and their Dad is in bed.

Rebecca is coming over tomorrow and we have no set plans at all. We are just going to do whatever and she talked me into (hehe) letting her practice her new massage video on me. I decided to be a friend and help her out. It's hard being me, being friends with the best massage therapist around. Seriously, she rocks. She has this mentor, Garry, who she thinks is incredible and I have to tell you, I have been massaged by both of them and I am favoring her slightly over him....She won't believe it, because she pretty much thinks he is God, but she is Goddess like herself....Love you Rebecca! :). See you tomorrow, drunk. Too bad the Tigers lost tonight.......

Hope everyone had an awesome week.

Stress Sucks

OK, I am aware I am far behind on here and totally need a post about the weekend, which I will get to, I promise. Speaking of which, I had a great weekend.

But, onto the stress.

Yesterday was crazy. I know I spoke previously on here about the upcoming school board meeting where we had to pick who was going to be pres, VP, Sec, Treasurer, etc. And committess were to be selected. That meeting was scheduled for last night. Going into it, the only position really in conflict was the VP position. Number one candidate was the guy I spoke about earlier that called and was harassing me about voting for him, and number two guy was another board member. It was going to be an annoying meeting, because Guy 1 was pretty much guaranteed to throw an absolute fit if things did not go his way, it's in his nature. Which is part of the reason maybe the position is not best suited for him. Anyway.

Yesterday morning, I get a call from the board president that he does not want to support either of them, he wants ME to get the position. I was shocked. I had not expressed interest in ANY of the positions, as I have only been on the board since October (almost a year). I asked him why he changed his mind, and he explained all his reasons for it and asked me to do it, as he wanted me to (speaking as President of the board). I was a little perplexed, really. Moreso because of GUY 1 causing so much freaking drama and me knowing I would be the one he was mad at, for the most part. So, I basically told Mr. Pres if that is what he wanted, I would do it. I want to do what is best for the board and if that is truly what he thought was best, I would do it. This is supposed to about business, and GUY 1 makes me feel like I am in junior high again with the drama. So, before doing anything, I wanted to know if I had any chance whatsoever and talked to some other board members. I needed 4 votes to even have a chance (there are 7 of us). I already knew three people would hands down vote for GUY 1. I also decided to call GUY 1, because I did not want him to think I was going behind his back and trying to plot for this position, because I was totally not. At all.

The conversation:

Me: Just wanted to call and let you know what is going on, you talked to Mr. Pres, right? I did not want you to think at all that I have been out "plotting" for this position behind your back, because I was totally not. I was just approached with this today, and am only looking into it because Mr. Pres thinks it is in the best interests of the board.

Him: Yes, I talked to Ms. Pres. I don't know what he is doing here. I think he has some ulterior motive. I don't support you in your run, and I won't support you if you get the position, which I doubt you will as I don't think you have much support. I also don't think you know enough about the district, or are smart enough to handle the position. I don't think you are "ready."

**some other very unfriendly things were said here as well, I think I was kinda tuning him out at that point and can't recall.

Me: Well, that's your opinion. And maybe I will get no votes, who knows. I just wanted to make sure that this was not going to harm our friendship outside the board. I will have no hard feelings whatsoever if you win, and will support you as VP if you do win.

Him: So, you will accept the nomination?

Me: Yes, if Mr. Pres thinks it is in the best interest of the board.

Him: I can't believe that. (Goes on to again tell him I can't do the position).

**he then has another call beeping in and lets me go.

It's funny, because during this conversation, his comments did not even bother me, because this guy just is like that. He says things like this, not even realizing how stupid they are. To say to me that I am not "smart" enough for the position is completely and totally retarded. I could have said a lot back, but I chose not to, and will still choose not to, because I refuse to bash anyone like he is choosing to do. This position is basically a title, and that's it. The only thing the VP really does, on top of being a board member and voting, is sit in for the pres if he is not at a meeting. If anything, the other positions on the board have more power than VP. The Secretary signs a lot of documents, the treasurer deals with the schools money, the Pres talks to the Press, etc. He simply wanted this position because he is trying to line himself up to be the next President if the Pres does not run for reelection next term. Which, I have no desire to be the President. I did not do this for that.

Anyway, constant phone calls later from Mr. Pres, Guy 2, etc. and I was off to the meeting. Stressed. I did not eat all day from being busy (and not hungry) and realized I was starving, so I met Mr. Pres and the Superintendent for a quick bite to eat. It was seriously the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever eaten. With rice. I think dinner calmed everyone down slightly, and I was kinda worried about Mr. Pres because he was totally stressed by all of this.

After dinner, drove to the meeting, and walked in briefly to use the bathroom before making a phone call. Walk in with Mr. Pres and GUY 1 is sitting in the hallway and immediately starts verbally attacking Mr. Pres. I could not even understand what he was saying, he was so angry. Pretty much every other word was him swearing. I walked into the restroom and out to this still going on. So, I walked outside to call Kurt and my Mom. Walked back in shortly after that and things appeared to have calmed down. Sat and talked to the new board member in the hallway for a bit and GUY 1 actually sat there with us (not saying anything, but not avoiding me really either). He basically thinks Mr. Pres is a "traitor" because they have been friends for 30 years, they have family members who date, yada yada. Which as you and I know, has absolutely nothing to do with who would be best for a position, but try explaining that to someone that is on a rampage.

So, the meeting starts. I am so uncomfortable. The voting is all open, and I was dreading it. We started out with some other business, then moved to voting for the Pres. Mr. Pres got the position again, no opposition. Then VP. GUY 1 is immediately nominated and it is seconded. There is a pause, and then I am nominated and seconded. So, they go around to each board member and vote, and I win....4-3. Aargh. Then all other positions and committees are chosen. I got on the committees I wanted as well, which is kewl. Anyway, as the meeting is closing up, GUY 1 is obviously still peeved and starts packing his stuff up before the meeting is even over. He was invited for dinner/drinks and his response is "I am only here for the kids..." Umm, he comes for drinks every other night. Childish, I tell ya.

So, it's over with. It's like a hollow victory, as I did not want the position in the first place. I am happy, and honored actually, to do it, but, at the same time, having someone else so angry always sucks. Oh well.

I am thankful to no longer be stressed. Sigh.

I Can Title Posts Again!

Yay! I am so psyched to be able to post titles again! Woo hoo!

OK, enough of that. It's sad I get excited by something as lame as a title on a post. :).

Last night was fun. Auntie came over because she wanted to go to Elder Beerman to look for a wedding gift for someone, and she brought me some new plants for the yard that she had dug up in her yard. I need to figure out where I am putting them. She found her wedding gifts, and I ended up getting some cute drinking glasses on clearance for $11! For 10 of them. They are glass, really retro, really ME. And I needed some glasses, we are kinda lacking in that department since most of our household only drinks liquids out of cans or bottles. Went to dinner afterwards at this place called Skyline Chili that Kory recommended. It was OK. I had a baked potato because I was not that hungry. It's kinda a meat eaters place. They have some veggie options, but none of them were appealing to me. I think the heat is making me less hungry. I will *feel* hungry, but when I go to eat, nothing tastes good. It's odd.

Oh, this was funny yesterday. I got a call, and I am going to kinda change the facts here, because I have no idea who reads this blog and who does not. Next week, the school board I am on has to pick it's new positions on the board (Pres, VP, Sec, Treas), etc. Well, a particular person on the board has called me several times asking for my support for him for a position. I have not even really thought about this too much. We have a budget to balance and all this other IMPORTANT stuff going on, and I don't really care about titles right now. So, I told him that much. I would like to wait until our meeting, hear what everyone has to say, and make my decision. This is what is said to me, which cracked me up (and will crack you up to if you know me at all). "Well, you need to make a decision NOW." I am seriously laughing reading this. I don't do well with being told what to do (unless I am in court and a Judge is telling me so, then I am on it). If anything, calling and demanding that I do something is going to have a negative effect on the situation because nobody is going to DEMAND that I do anything. I think my response was "Umm, no I don't, I will keep your words in mind and make a decision on Monday. Nobody is going to call me and tell me what I need to do or not do." It backed him off a little bit, but I think he is a little peeved I won't make a decision. Oh well. I will make a decision when I am good and ready and the people who are not hounding me probably have a better chance than he does. And hello, my office is crazy. Calling me at work during a busy day and pressuring me to make decisions is just going to drive be bonkers. Being at my office is not relaxing and not a time I want to make decisions about nonwork related issues.

I guess we will see what happens on Monday.

Need to work now, later.

We were supposed to go into the office today to try and catch up on some paperwork, but did not because Kurt was not feeling well. :(. Felt bad for Kurt, but psyched I got to spend the day NOT at the office! Woo hoo!

So, I slept in. Went outside to feed the birds and water my flowers and that was about all my outside time today (besides walking the dogs). OMG. It was so freaking hot in Michigan today. Hottest day of the year (literally). I think they said it was supposed to hit 98 and it's way too humid on top of that. Aargh. I hate weather like this. So, I decided to do some stuff around the house (i.e. laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc.), and head into Monroe to run some errands. Got an oil change in the Saturn and am glad I did! They pulled the oil stick out and it was totally dry! I went over slightly on my mileage (which is normal for me), but I guess since the car has high mileage, I need to be more careful about that and check it more often. I had them put in high mileage oil. The place was having a deal (buy one get one free oil change), so I will be getting a coupon in the mail soon for a free one! Yippee!

After that, headed to the mall. You know the quest for the silver shoes? How I have looked freaking everywhere? Well, apparently, I should have started with the mall where I live. Elder Beerman had like 6 pairs I liked! I got the pair that was the most comfy and has the most possibility of being reworn. I would have loved to have gotten flip flops, but this dress needs a little bit of a heel. Anyway, click here to see the shoe. And they were on sale, which is totally a bonus. Then, walked into the jewelry department and TADA! Really cute pearl earrings for freaking $6.00. Plus, found another pair of adorable earrings for $3.00. I swear, it is all about the deals this weekend for me. Walked around the mall after that, just browsing, and stopped at a place for a mani/pedi. Got this hilarious color on my toes called "I'm Not Really a Waitress". And had them use my own Mac nail polish on my fingers (I am really picky about using only the lightest colors on my finger nails).
Oh, and this morning? Used my new Lush shampoo and conditioner (I talked about this in yesterday's blog). The shampoo is incredible. It is this scrub, almost, that turns into a lather and makes your head kinda tingle. It smells great. I liked the smell of the conditioner, but it is not the best detangler. I am going to ask next time I go in there if there is specific stuff for tangly hair. Love the products and how they are natural. And I read online today that part of the proceeds from their products go to PETA, so that makes me love them even more (if that is true).

Well, should get back to my laundry and such. Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

Such a great day! :). I got up and headed to Rebecca's house. We had lunch at Pita Pit (a new experience for me, I really liked it). We had plans to go to the zoo. But, the zoo had other plans for us. We drove there (after taking a brief detour to a furniture store going out of business) and were directed to the overflow parking. Which I have never been directed to in my zoo outings. I think flashes of 90 degree plus weather, too many people, strollers making it impossible to get around and screaming hot kids made us decide to head to the mall instead. With air conditioning. Yay.

We headed to Somerset, which I love because they are always changing, getting new stores etc. I hate the mall because of the people (SO freaking snobby), but I can ignore that and shop. Seriously. The mall is for shopping. One should wear capris, flip flops and t-shirts. The women in this mall are dressed like they are going to a club or something. Heels (who shops in stilettos, seriously), dresses, expensive designer bags......Aargh. I have to just not look because I can't stand it. Anyway. We got there and attempted to find me silver shoes for the wedding. I think Rebecca's comment was "If you can't find shoes at Somerst, you won't find them anywhere." I guess I am going barefoot, because I am still without silver shoes. I think I will look online next. What I did find were some great sales. We first stopped at Ann Taylor Loft and I got an adorable skirt and t-shirt for work. Next, The Limited, where I got an awesome skirt marked down from $65 to $19. On to the Gap where I got $80.00 in t-shirts for $20. Whoot! And last, but not least, Somerset (drumroll please) now has a Lush! I have always wanted to try their products, and never have for whatever reason. I even have them on my Amazon Wishlist. Anyway, today, I purchased shampoo, conditioner and lip balm. I can't wait to use all three. And the people in the store were so upbeat. Loved it.

Came home and Kurty and I went to Red Lobster to have dinner and watch the start of the Tigers game. Which is STILL on. We were supposed to watch a movie tonight, but I dont know if that will happen now. Tomorrow night maybe.

Friday At Home

**I was attempting to take a pic of a flower, and noticed this gorgeous butterfly. I proceeded to forget about the flower and focus on him...


Friday night. At home. Nothing to do. Bliss.

Kory is up north, and it is really quiet here......The puppy slept all the way up there with him, and shockingly, everyone is in love with little Whiskey! hehe. We will have to see if Kendra attempts a dognapping, as she has threatened.

Rebecca changed the name of her puppy to Charlie. I refuse to call it that. Kramer it stays. Seriously, who changes the name of a puppy after owning it for a week and only calling it another name? Poor little confused baby. Plus, Kramer was a kick ass name and Charlie is common. Give the little guy some uniqueness, right? Boy, harassing Rebecca is so much fun! Speaking of Kramer, I get to see him tomorrow because I am going to Ferndale to visit Rebecca and go do something. If the weather is not insanely hot, the zoo. If not, maybe shopping? I still need silver shoes for the wedding. I actually bought a necklace online today on a site I liked called ice.com. Click here to see the piece I got. I had an awesome coupon. It was down to that one and another on Bluenile.com, and pretty much, this one won out because of the coupon and because of the fact that I liked the little diamonds in between the pearls.


**Pic above is of Whiskey, attempting to play with Kramer's toy...


Our cars are costing us so much money lately. I hate when maintenance things happen all at once. The Saturn windows were replaced from the vandalism ($500.00). Just had to get all new tires on the Jeep, and a new starter ($1400.00). The Carrera and Spyder are also in the shop getting stuff done and I will be so excited to find out the costs on those, but at least we will be done after that for a while (hopefully). I would much rather spend my money on something fun. Although I guess having a means of transportation is important. I suppose. I should just ride my bike, it's better for me! But work is a little bit far, hehe.

Need to get to bed. Hope everyone has an awesome weekend.

4th of July Fun

The 4th of July was so freaking nice. I stayed home the entire day (except the quick trip to the grocery store) and it was awesome. I feel like my entire life is so nonstop lately, and I rarely get to be at home at all. Anyway. Rebecca decided to come over and bring Kramer, the lab puppy. Kramer and her doggie Simon are having some "issues" getting used to eachother, and Rebecca wanted him to be able to play with some other doggies for the day. Everyone loved eachother. Kramer is seriously too cute for words. He is a total lazy baby and I loved holding him and hanging out with him all day. We had a mini-bbq in the backyard and were generally lazy the majority of the day. Once Rebecca and the baby left, I did some stuff around the house, worked out, and watched a movie called Born into Brothels with Kurt and Kory. I loved it. I found out this morning that it was an Academy Award winning documentary, and I totally can see why. I could not take my eyes off of it.

Today was back to the grind. Aargh. We went into work a little bit late, but stayed until 5. I had wanted to leave earlier, but lost track of time and did not. Hopefully tomorrow flies by, because I really need a weekend.

**to see all the pics from the 4th party, click here.

Tagged--You're It

I was tagged by both Nancy and Rebecca.

For this, you go to Wikipedia and check your birthday - then post 3 events, 2 births, and a holiday. And, of course, tag 5 people.

May 17:

Events:

1998 - David Wells of the New York Yankees pitches the 15th perfect game in baseball history against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium.
1973 - Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised.
1954 - The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

Births:

1970--Jordan Knight, American singer (New Kids on the Block)
1965 - Trent Reznor, American musician (Nine Inch Nails)

Holidays:

International Day Against Homophobia aka IDAHO.

I tag Heather, Jeannie, Kelsie, Amanda, and Lisa. And anyone else that reads this! ;).

On Probation

Rebecca put me on probation because I don't blog enough. Bad me.

OK, maybe she will forgive me now since I am blogging again! Hi Rebecca! Am I forgiven? hehe.

So much craziness going on here. I feel so busy. I had a great night though. I spent the entire night alone. We left work early since we have family in town (Kurt's brother Scott and his girlfriend DJ). They were all going to the Tigers game, but I decided to stay home. I really wanted to relax, workout, eat dinner on my couch. So, I did. I watered my flowers, filled the bird feeders and bath, then went to the spa for a massage. After that, did a quick trip to the grocery store, then came home and worked out and made veggie chili for dinner. And have been watching TV and chilling with the pugs and puppy since. :).

Last weekend was crazy busy. Friday night, we went out for Rebecca's birthday. We went to dinner at Dolce Vita (I had sushi, yummy), then had birthday dessert at Independent Dairy (I had one scoop split into cookie dough and peanut butter cup), then went bowling. We all had a little too much to drink at the alley, and had a blast bowling. My high game was 179, which was pretty good considering the lane conditions and the alcohol I had consumed. I bought Rebecca some kewl Rockport shoes for her birthday that just screamed her name when I was in the store. I got her the ones in black.

Saturday night, we had dinner with our friends Cliff and Lisa in Livonia at Eastside Mario's. Sat outside on the patio and I had angel hair pasta with spicy marinara and shrimp. We had not seen them in a while, and it was really nice to talk. Lisa started PA school in May and is crazy busy, as she actually studies a lot (unlike me in law school, haha). She seems to really like it, but seems really stressed too. Ugh. I am glad I am past the school part of my life. Went on Saturday as well and got my dress alterated for my sister's wedding. Went to the mall and looked for wedding shoes and jewelry again, and still found nothing. I need to come up with something pretty quickly though. I hate shopping. :(.

Sunday, my Dad came over and went golfing with Kurt and Kory for a late Father's Day. Had dinner afterwards at Pete's with him and Auntie.

Oh, big story of the week. We left the Saturn at the office on Monday night, and came to it on Tueday morning to find the windows smashed out. We leave it there overnight a lot, and have been doing so for over 7 years, so I was shocked. Apparently, some kids thought it would be a fun activity. Lovely. So, I made a police report, then called the insurance company and tow place and it is currently being fixed in the shop. I about freaked when I saw it because I assumed they stole my camera, which I had left it in. But, nope. I guess destruction was their goal, not stealing. Nothing was even touched. I was lucky, really. I would have been devastated if my camera was taken by those idiots.

Anyway, I am exhausted, so I am going to close here. Night everyone.

Meet Whiskey Shimek

Whiskey is Kory's new puppy and the latest addition to our household. He is a pure bred blue beagle puppy. He is currently 8 weeks (tomorrow). Kory bought him last weekend in Ohio. We drove down on Saturday to pick him up. Anyway, he is a totally sweet puppy, and the pugs have been fabulous with him. No episodes at all, and I was SOOO sure Gretel would be jealous. Sigh. Yay.

Bye Bye Stitches, Hello Treadmill

Hooray! The stitches are out! Got them out this morning. The nurse praised me on how well I took care of the areas, and they think I prob won't have scars at all. I was so excited to come home tonight and USE MY GYM! The doc would not let me until the stitches were out. I had a great workout tonight. I forgot how much I missed it, and it's only been two weeks. Of which I was sick most of, so my workouts prob would have ceased a little bit anyway.

Had to go to the Cingular store today. I accidentally put Kurt's phone in the washing machine. And of course, he was annoyed at ME because of it. If he actually took his phone out of his pocket, this prob would be solved, but whatever. I screwed up. The phone is like 2 years old anyway, so it was prob about a time for an upgrade. Of course, the phone I wanted for him was out of stock. So, I came home, after my workout and called Cingular. I somehow talked them into a cheaper price on the phone and it is getting delivered overnight to us. He is getting the Treo 750. I had to stop myself from looking at phones for myself--I heart new phones.

Anyway, break down of my weekend.

Friday night, Kurt, Kory and I went to dinner with some friends at Crave in Dearborn. The food was awesome, as usual, and dinner was fun. I had my fav shrimp meal and Kurt got kinda drunk on Japanese beer, LOL. After dinner, we sat in the outside lounge which is really kewl. Saturday, I had lunch with friends again in Dearborn, and then headed to Ferndale to see Rebecca and get my monthly shopping at Trader Joe's done. I needed more fresh fish, we were about out at the house. Sunday, Rebecca came over and we went shopping in Toledo at the mall. I ended up only getting some stuff at Bath and Body Works--they were having an awesome sale. Afterwards, we had a small BBQ with Kory, Kurt and Britton. We grilled steaks and swordfish, and made twice baked potatoes, grilled asparagus, chips/salsa, ceasar salad and lobster, lava cakes for dessert.......We lit fireworks that night too, which was a lot of fun.

So tired. Talk more later. Night!

Personality Test

This was fun! Below is how I see myself. Click here to take it yourself so I can see if you view me the same as I view myself. Once on this page, enter the following in order to take my personalized quiz: http://personaldna.com/psychyou-psychme.php?for=f8a682081a4a'.

Dwindling List

The list at work is getting smaller. I think the list is at the lowest it's been in years. Oh, the list is a master list of all clients, and what the status of their case is. Some cases nothing needs to be done, some cases documents need to be drafted, some phone calls need to be made, etc. Anyway. We have worked a lot of weekend days this year, and I think it has really helped us catch up, which is awesome. It's easier to leave the office at a normal hour when we are so caught up. Yay.

Last night, we went to Pete's garage with Kory and had dinner. I felt like I had not been there in forever, and it's a normal hangout of ours. It was nice to relax and watch part of teh Tigers game and eat my normal tuna sandwich. And the Tigers played awesome!

I cannot wait until Monday morning. I am getting my stiches out, first thing. And--I can workout again on Monday night! Hooray! I am so sick of not working out, although I will say that some things have gotten done around the house because of not being able to work out. And I have been sick all week, so my workouts would have been limited anyway. I can't wait to start watching all my DVDs in the basement again.

Kory went and rented equipment and started digging one of the ponds in the backyard. It seriously looks like a huge meteorite has landed in the yard. They are leaving an island with a tree on it in the center of the pond. Everything looks very odd right now. The pugs think it's like a new play area for them though. Anything new and different is exciting for them though.

Anyway, back to my laundry and dishes. I have a really busy weekend, socially, so I am sure I will have more to post about and maybe pictures in the near future....

Britain Got Talent - Connie Singing Over the Rainbow

This is one of the cutest things I have seen in forever. I was crying at my desk at work watching this little girl.

Wedding Showers and a Cold

Went to my sister's wedding shower today. We got pretty much everything on her registry and more. The one thing she did not get on ger registry, I might get her for her wedding present. I got her pots and pans from Target she wanted. My Mom did an awesome job on her shower. The food was awesome, the games were not tacky or long, and everyone seemed to have a great time. I took pics, which I will post later. I gave my Mom her Mother's Day gift as well, which was the total perfect gift for her, and she loved it. She loves roosters and gardening, and this gift combined the two. Click here to see it. I can't wait to see what she does with it in her yard.

I can't believe how sick I am either. It seems to be getting slightly better, but ugh. Last night, I fell asleep at 830, which is so insanely early for me. Slept until 1030 a.m. So like 14 hours. And I was STILL tired. It's crazy. I guess I need the sleep, but UGH. I don't have time to be sick.

I got annoyed with someone today. I get so sick of mothers who think they are better than other people, know more than others, whatever. The comment "You will understand when you have kids" has got to be one of the most annoying statements, and one of the few things people can say that get under my skin. Not only is it rude, but it's condescending and offbase. I witnessed someone today being rude to a child. Said child was just telling a story, and mother did not like the story. Fine. If you don't want your kid to tell the story, tell them to stop telling said story. You don't have to belittle the kid, be overly stern, and be rude. No, I am not a parent, but if I was, I would not embarass my kids in front of others and reprimand them for tiny little things that are not necessary. I simply rolled my eyes at said person (she is family, so I can do this, LOL), and that is the comment I got. well, NO, I won't understand when I have kids, because I don't think it's OK to act that way EVER. My Mom never did that to us. If we ever got in trouble (which was rare), she would take us aside or do so at home, not in front of others, and not in a bossy, annoying way. I think it makes your kids respect you less when you treat them in a totally crappy way like that. It's common sense and decency, not knowing how to be a parent or some kind of learned parental behavior. This person will also constantly make comments when the kid is around like "she never listens" or "she misbehaves all the time" in ear range of the kid. I can't stand this either, but HEY, she is a mother, so she must understand more than me, right? Anyway, end of vent. Also, please understand that this is just me going off on a tangent....I don't think said person is a bad person or bad mother or whatever. I just think that just because you are a mother does not make you smarter or better than the next person....

I'm Dizzy for Donr

And no, my friends, not because I am blonde....OK, maybe that is some of it....Ha. OMG, I am so sick. On Tuesday night, out of noplace, I suddenly felt soooooo sick. Like the worst symptoms of a bad cold all at once. My throat was totally scratchy, my sinuses all plugged up, ugh. Well, the next day, Wed, I was pretty much useful at work and today was slightly better, but not much. I have no patience whatsoever when sick, and this is not helpful at my office. But, I did what I could. Being sick should not be allowed for busy people, I swear.

Tonight had a board meeting. It was really long, as their was a special meeting called at 5, then the normal meeting at 7, and I went out for dinner afterwards with some of the board at like 9. I know I should not do all this when sick, but it is what it is, I suppose. Dinner was fun though.

So far, my cuts from the surgery seem to be healing nicely. I can go back in about a week and a couple days to get the stiches removed and get back to working out. That is so the worst part of this.

Oh, and hilarious comment. I got this comment on my last post that is wrong, on so many levels. I will cut and paste for your reading pleasure.

donr said...
your gross, that's gross, why would you go somewhere, where you can get something like that. it's almost like having sex with someone who you know has a disease and you do not use protection or let alone just have sex with them.....and by the way why would you tell strangers your personal business bloggin is stupid. my friend told me about how nasty you were so i just had to see for myself and they were right

After the first two words, "your gross", I knew I was in for a classy, nontrashy comment. How about YOU ARE GROSS, Donnie boy? If you are going to put me down or trash me, could you do me a little favor and use proper fucking grammar? Thanks sweetie. Also, I don't know what perfect world you live in, but there are hazards and issues in EVERY country. Assuming you live in the US, here's a little fact for ya. WE HAVE BOTFLIES HERE. Yes, here, Donnie, in your own country! OMG! Maybe you should move. Because living in the US would kinda be like sleeping with someone with an STD! or having unprotected sex. And yes, blogging is totally lame. That's why you are reading my blog and posting on it.

Off to sleep with the aid of cough syrup. Talk to y'all tomorrow. :).

Warning: Don't Read If you Are Easily Grossed Out

So, more on the ER visit from last night.

Kurt and I got a bunch of mosquito bites while in Belize. This is common with walking in the jungle, hiking, etc. It happens to us on like every trip we take, really. Anyway. They usually go away fairly quickly. Since we got back though, we have both had several bites that have not gone away, and have actually been somewhat painful. Painful enough that I wake up in the middle of the night in pain. For those of you who don't know me well, I never wake up in the middle of the night. I am like the soundest sleeper ever. I basically blew it off, thinking I just had really sensitive bites, but Kurt decided to try and look up the symptoms online last night. He was starting to think we were bit by something maybe poisonous, or perhaps a tick, or something similar. Umm, yea.

So, he finds several articles where people who have travelled to Central America are listing our exact symptons. Sharp pains, bug bites that seem to get bigger, etc. And they are listing the culprit as a nondeadly, non poisonous bug called a Botfly.

This is where is gets disgusting.

Basically, mosquitos in the jungle pick up the eggs of the botfly and carry them around. When they sting someone, they deposit the eggs in your skin. Then, STOP READING if you can't take this, the eggs basically grow into larvae in your skin and turn into small creatures that kinda resemble a maggot. They are basically living underneath your skin. This condition is called myiasis and is actually fairly commonin Africa, and Central America, as well as South America. there have even been cases in the United States, although much rare.

We still don't know at this point what is going on, because you know what they say about self diagnosis when you are not a doctor. But, we decide to go to the ER anyway.

Get there and are ironically seen by a doctor who used to live in Columbia, which has this bug there too. He looked at our bites, prescribed us an antibiotic and told us that we needed to see a dermatoligist the next day in Monroe, as we needed biopsies taken of the area for testing.

So today, the appointment. We went together, but they put us in different rooms. The doctor started with Kurt, and then came in for me. He told me he cut one of Kurt's open and found nothing. So, I was thinking, "Maybe we are nuts..." They started with one bite I had on my side, kinda right below my bra line on the right hand side. They numbed the area (which was the only part of the procedure that even hurt), by giving me 5 shots around the bite. After that set in, they did the biopsy, which was basically cutting about a one quarter inch piece of skin out at the bite area and taking a sample of the area. The next thing the doctor says is "well, I guess you are not as lucky as your husband, you have a little friend!" Yes, I have the larvae in my body. Nice. And, it was alive. So nice. DISGUSTING. Anyway, he asked if I wanted to treat the other two or wait, and of course, I was like, let's get this over with. So, they numbed the other two on my legs, and found "friends" in each of those two.

The doctor was beyond excited. I am glad someone was, LOL. He kept having different nurses, etc. come in to watch my procedure and was taking pictures and just raving about how "cool" this was.....HA. I am glad I made his year, anyway.

Went into the waiting room and told Kurt that they found 3 in me. He insisted on going back because he was convinced they missed someone on him. So, the doc opened up 2 more wounds and found two "friends" on Kurt too. He wont do more than 3 biopsies a day on one person, so Kurt has to go back next Monday for the search for more. He was not happy about this as he wanted it all done on one day. Oh, I got to watch Kurt's second procedures, and it was actually pretty interesting. I never thought I could be the doctor type and watch stuff like that, but it did not bother me at all.

So, I guess that's the end of the story with this one. I am now hurting from where the stitches are allowing my skin to grow back together, ugh.

Everyone kept asking if this would deter our travel in the future, and of course it won't. It is an experience I will for sure never forget though, and not a souvenir I *wanted* to have from Belize.......

Weekend

So, this weekend was nice. We were supposed to work at least one of the days and ended up not going in at all. I hate working weekends, but sometimes,it is necessary.......Anyway.

Saturday, I got up and went to an art fair in Livonia with my Aunt. It was nice to walk around, the weather was perfect. I bought a really cute nail file for my purse that is apparently indestructible (made out of glass, and has a cute lady bug design on the end), and a cement bird bath for the yard. My Aunt and I had lunch at Eastside Mario's which was super yummy, love that place. After that, Kurt and I headed to Toledo to the Mudhens Game (for those of you to don't know, it is the Tigers Triple A baseball team). We were invited to an event held by one of Kurt's former colleages at the IRS, Steve, and his wife, Marilyn. They get a luxury suite every year at the stadium and invite others to come out to watch the game with food, etc. Anyway, the game was awesome (the Hens won in extra innings), the food was great, and it was awesome to see Steve and Marilyn. Thanks again for the invite, guys. We had a fabulous time. I took pics, but have not had time to download them yet. The one downfall of the game was the suite next to us. They were seriously the most annoying people EVER. Totally wasted and allowing their kids to run wild. the one little girl, I am not kidding, every 1 minute or more, would let out this screeching yell that literally made us cover our ears. We were all giving her dirty looks, and she would just scream louder. Total spoiled brat. Towards the end of the game, she accidentally? hit the lady next to her in our suite. The lady said something to her like "maybe you should calm down". Her Mom immediately jumped all over the woman in our booth telling her that her daughter would now scream louder and she should not tell her daughter what to do. No "sorry my kid hit you" or "sorry my kid drove you insane all game." Of course not. These people were complete and total trash.

Sunday, we stayed in. I picked up a lot of crap at the house, did some laundry, vacuuming........And the night ended with a trip the ER, which I am going to post in another post on here, if I decide to divulge the disgusting details.....I prob will later.

Hope everyone had a great weekend too.

Time for a Parisian Vent

Not that another source needs to talk about this, but I had to put in my two cents.

It made my day that Paris Hilton is back in jail. Not because of how I feel about her (because I don't really *feel* anything, she is a celebrity who is famous for doing not much of anything, whatever). But because I think what happens today shows that justice does prevail (sometimes) and celebrities don't always get out of everything.

For those of you who think Paris is getting treated wrongfully and differently than others and to Sheriff Baca who let her out (wrongfully, without consulting the Judge AND ignoring the court's Order that she not serve her sentence under house arrest), let me fill you in on the obvious.

First, Paris drank and drove a car. WRONG. Horrible, really. If Paris had hit and killed a pedestrian who Sheriff Baca knew, you think he would be saying this? No, she did not hit anyone. Could she have? Totally. Which is why you don't drink and drive, the possibilty of those things happening. Anyway. She barely got a slap on the wrist for that. Which most first time offenders get about the same. Fine. Then, she violates the probation by DRIVING. Most people would be arrested at this point. Not Paris. The officers simply warn her and make her sign a statement that she realized she should not have been driving and would not do it again. Here, my friends, special treatment. Next, Paris, intelligently, DRIVES A SECOND TIME, after being warned. Her excuse this time is the same, "I don't get it", but the stupid blonde act did not work this time. She gets put in jail for a measly 45 days. Whoop de do.

People seriously think she is getting made an example of? Most people in her situation would have been in jail for the first violation. And for the second? A much longer sentence than 45 freaking days. She should have been thankful for that short of a sentence for what she did but NOOOO. Her entire family thinks this is "atrocious", "horrible", "unfair" and a bunch more descriptive words that about the opposite of the truth. Her mother cracks me up. She is the root of Paris' problem superior attitude. Seeing her talk about the sitution is almost comical, if it was not making me vomit.

I just hope she loses her appeal. While I don't blame her for actually leaving jail (yea, someone tells you to leave, I would leave too), she should not bee so appalled at being put back in.

Vent over.

Birdies

I heart the birdies in my yard. :). Today we stopped after work and bought a ton of bird feed and suets at the store, as we were out of suet and low on food. The lady who checked us out was like "Is this ALL for your yard?" I said yes, and she was like "I have never seen anyone buy this much bird feed in my life..." LOL. We have spoiled birds, what can I say. Kurt is seriously in love with the cardinals. I think we may two males and a female. And there is this robin who is hilarious, who is the size of like two robins and sits in this tree just watching the action. I want to get a hummingbird feeder next, but need to find a good one. I know we have them in the yard, but I dont see them much, prob because we dont have a feeder.

Work was crazy today. Like usual. Aargh. I hate the phone so much from being there.

I posted previously about enabling. There was more drama with that story tonight. It's almost amusing because Kurt and I predict the next things that will happen with the situation, and it happens. Everyone in her family will be like "Oh, her boyfriend is gone, everything will be OK now" and Kurt and I crack up because she is the root of the problem, NOT the boyfriend. Yea, I agree, he is a loser, but SHE is the issue here. They think that everything she does is because of him. Umm, no. She makes her own choices. YOU ARE ENABLING HER BY CONTINUING TO SAY THAT THIS IS SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT. MAKE HER TAKE BLAME FOR HER ACTIONS. Duh. I don't see what is so difficult about this. It's exasperating, yet not surprising.

Kory sold his car! Yay Kory! Someone came over tonight, looked at it, made an offer, and are coming back this weekend to pay. He was thrilled to get rid of it (since he is already driving a new truck). Congrats!

Weekly Challenge

I know I have not posted a response to any of Heather's Weekly Challenges yet, but I am hereby going to start and try and go back and answer some of them from the past, if I am trying to procrastinate at work. Thanks, Heather, for a reason to procrastinate. You rock.

Heather's Weekly Question.

What would you do if you won a million dollars today?

1. Pay off my mortgage and land mortgage.
2. Pay off the two cars that still have payments on them.
3. Pay for someone to put a pond in on our land so Kurt and Kory don't have to do the work (no idea how much this costs, so I am guessing).
4. Pay someone to finish my basement immediately so Kurt and Kory dont have to do that either (no idea how much this costs, so I am guessing)
5. The rest of it I would most likely buy land and build a house someplace in a Central American country, i.e. Belize or Costa Rica.
6. If anything is left over, I would invest it.

**I challenge everyone who reads this blog (who does not already answer Heather's Challenges) to answer this question as well. :).

From Jeannie--MEME

I normally don't post stuff like this on my blog, but since Jeannie tagged me, the rule is I must. If I tag you at the end, you MUST answer. If you don't.....Well, I won't tell you what happens if you don't, because it's not a positive thing....MUHAHAHA. Here are the questions.

Four things you learned or experienced or explored for the first time in the past four years.

1. Photography. I don't recall exactly when my exploration began, but I found a hobby, a passion really, for something that makes me think I am creative (which I never thought before), makes me relaxed (which is difficult with my career), and makes me truly happy. I love the fact that people think I am "good" at something that I am so passionate about, and at the same time, I like the fact that I don't "care" if I am good at it or not. Even if every picture I took sucked, I would like photography because of how it makes me feel. I have had hobbies and interests in the past, but this is on a totally different level.

2. Confidence. I think I have always been somewhat confident. My parents both encouraged me and supported me in anything I did my entire life. But, I think it just happened last year that I started to really believe in myself. When I took the bar exam, I truly had myself convinced I failed. I started doing this thing to myself where I would set myself up to fail, so when I did fail, it would not be a big deal. Well, I did that again with the school board interview, and got that too. Passed the bar and got appointed the same very week. I sat back and said to myself, "You know what? You need to start believing you can do stuff like this. There is no reason whatsoever for you to think you are going to fail." So, if I fail. Fine. But, I am going into things now believing that I will succeed

3. Money Is Not Everything. Kurt and I have a very successful law practice. I have a nice house, luxury cars, and can pretty much buy what I want (within reason). I get to take awesome vacations, and don't have to worry about paying bills. BUT. This does not make one happy. Does money help? For sure. I don't have to worry about the things others do, and I am very lucky for that with the horrible economy in Michigan right now. On the flip side, I am stressed out. I work a lot of hours. I have little spare time. My job is my life, since I run my own business and am constantly thinking about things that need to be done, documents that need to be drafted. I can't just "leave the office at the office." I am not saying at all that I am not happy at all, because I am. I am just saying that money does not make everything perfect.

4. Enabling is BAD. We have a family member who has serious issues. She has stolen from her parents, lied excessively, etc. I am a huge forgiver, but there is a point where I just can't take it anymore, and can't trust anymore. If you steal from your parents in the manner she did, I really wonder if there is a point of return there. And when someone does not even realize that they did anything wrong, or try to fix the problem, and others just keep forgiving and acting like nothing happened, this is a problem too. Hence, enabling. If someone has a major problem, and I mean major, sometimes forgiving and not making the person get help is totally not helping the situation. Ever seen Intervention? Yea, that. Not just about drugs and alcohol addictions. I found that although I feel horrible about the entire situation, I am NOT going to enable this person. I doubt my actions mean anything, since most of the rest of our family acts like nothing has happened at all, but if my actions help, even remotely, than I will be happy that I could help this person. I know, this is evasive, but you get the point.

Four things I want to try new in the next four years.

1. Comfortable Public Speaking. I am confident in my knowledge of law and the areas we practice. I am confident in my ability in court. But public speaking terrifies me. Nobody would know this, as I don't come across this way at all. But every time I have to speak in public, I am freaking out inside. It is so odd. I follow through, do what I need to do, but it is not second nature at all. I want it to be. I want to learn this.

2. Driving a Stick. We have one car that is a stick shift. I kinda know how to drive it, but don't, because I am not a pro at it. Need to take Kurt and the car out more and become comfortable with this.

3. Rockclimbing. I want to start by going to a local gym that has indoor stuff, and then maybe escalate to minor outdoor stuff. I love being outdoors and exercise, so this seems like my kinda thing.

4. Learning Spanish. I bought a really advanced Spanish program in January. yea, that has barely been used. Need to use the program and LEARN.

That's it, my friends! I now tag: Rebecca, Lisa, Nancy, Alex, Sarah, Julia, Justine, Mindy, Rachel, Racheal, Heather, the other Heather, Kelsie, and anyone else who reads this blog! I am too tired to list out any other names......

Happy Birthday Kory and Christie!

**me and Kurty, at Crave in Dearborn.


Today is kory's 22nd bday....we took him to dinner after work at Crave in Dearborn, which is my fav restaurant. Food was exceptional, yet again. Service? Not so exceptional. Horrendous, actually. I don't even know if I can describe howw bad, but, let me try. Got there, were seated right away since I have a reservation (glad I did, because they were slammed). Sat there 25 minutes with nobody even GREETING our table. Nice. Went and asked the host to send someone over. He did, with water. The guy (who was not our server, but the bartender) took our order. We waited another 25 minutes with NOTHING. We had ordered miso soup, sushi as an appetizer AND meals. Nothing. This is 50 minutes into the meal by now. Kurt gets up and goes and talks to the manager. Manager is basically making up excuses--servers called in sick, yada yada. Prob with that? Others tables around us were getting food and service, and we were not for some reason. Aargh. Long story short, we started to get food and stuff about 15 minutes more later and everything tasted fabulous. They did not charge us for drinks and took 25% off our bill, which was nice, but I Would have beeen fine paying full price and getting good service. I always order Kory something at Japanese places and dont tell him what and make him eat it. This time, I got him sea urchin (uni). It looked horrible, but of course, he liked it. ha. Oh, and for his birthday, we got him a pug card with a little IOU inside for a plane ticket to Vegas. So, when we go next, he only needs to bring food and spending money. Prob won't be until later this year, but he liked it. :).

**Kory's sea urchin.

Oh, Kurt actually BOUGHT me something today. On his own. I know, I was shocked too, LOL. He was at court and they were having a book sale and he got me this awesome book about birds written by the Audubon Society. I love it.

Tried to call my sister to tell her happy birthday and at 915 p.m., she was already in bed! Craziness!

**birdie in our back yard eating.

Happy Birthday Christie and Kory!

Bad with Posting Lately

I feel so insanely busy lately, and I have no idea why. By the time I get home, make dinner, take the dogs for a walk, feed the birds outside and workout, I have no time to do anything but check my email and go to bed. Blah. Need to start making time for blogging daily again, somehow.

Anyway. Will try and update now from Friday on.

Friday. After work, Kurt and I decided to do dinner at Red Lobster, because seriously, I had NOTHING in the house to make for dinner. If I would have remembered to take some fish out of the freezer, I could have made that with rice, but this was the most empty I have ever seen our house on food. Dinner at Red Lobster was nice. I had lobster rolls (which I always get) and a side salad. Yum. Watched the Tigers game during dinner and all the high schoolers who had just graduated walking around in their skimpy slightly nonappropriate outfits....It's crazy what teenagers wear these days, and let me tell you, I am totally aware I am aging myself by saying that. But really, there is a fine line between being classy and trashy and so many people are crossing way ovetr these days.......Ugh.

Saturday and Sunday we worked. Not the entire day, but large portions of it. Saturday, after work, we stopped at Sam's Club and ended up running into another attorney we work with on a lot of cases and a clerk from the court. This is the reason we avoid downriver for the most part--don't want to think about work when not at work. Running into them was fine, because we like this clerk and atty. But running into people who want to talk businss is NOT good. Luckily, these two did not, :). Came home and went to the store to buy more bird food because the birds were almost out again. It's insane how much they eat! Also bought flowers at Lowe's for my pots out front. Bought Zinnias for two of the pots, and for the other pot, bought festival spider mix gerbera daisies and floriline spider gerbera. Love, love, love them. I wanted something unique and they turned out so well. I took pics, but have not uploaded them yet. Sunday, after work, I grocery shopped. It's great to have food in our house again, let me tell you. Yay for a full pantry and frig.

We bought this book online about birds in Michigan. We have been writing down each bird we see in the backyard and it is up to 11 now. My fav are the cardinals, we have both male and female and I am crossing my fingers they lay eggs where I can watch the babies like I did with the robins....baby cardinals have GOT to be beyond adorable, right? And there is another one I really like called the Downey Woodpecker, it almost looks exotic with its really kewl colors.

Finally. Belize Break-Down.

The question of this trip seemed to be “What are you doing next?” Our response always was “We don’t know yet…” This was the most unplanned trip Kurt and I ever took. We did not reserve a room, did not write down an itinerary--we played everything by ear, and we loved it! I have done a trip report day by day, and we can’t wait to go back for a longer period. Oh, another quick note, the people in Belize were the nicest I have EVER met in my travels. When we got back to Miami and the US and encountered our first rude person, we quickly realized just how nice people in Belize were…..

All pics of the trip are on my Flickr page. Click here to see them.

Friday

Flights there were great. Stopped in Miami for a very short time (enough to get a quick snack and board again). American Airlines, thumbs up! J.

Arrived and got our rental car. Steve, the owner’s son, picked us up and took us to the place, he was really helpful and nice. We found out he is in school to be a lawyer, and he is a realtor, so Kurt asked him a bunch of questions about property in Belize, which he is interested in. Steve’s Mom was at the car place, and she is a realtor too, and gave us advice on where she thinks we would like to live, which is around Punta Gorda.

Left there, and headed to the Belize Zoo. Stopped and got gas, and for everyone complaining about gas prices, it’s almost $5 here per gallon. J. The zoo is known as being the best in Central America, and it was really kewl. We saw jaguars (black and spotted), pumas, ocelots, jaguarondis, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, tapir, peccaries, harpey eagle (which was one of the kewlest birds I have ever seen, really scary, they kill sloths for their main food), toucans, macaws (scarlet), and others. After this, we stopped and did two short hikes in Guanacaste National Park, which was really nice. Did not see any exciting animals there, but did see a lot of butterflies, birds, and lizards. After that, we were exhausted since we were going on like 4 hours of sleep from the night and our early flight. So, we stopped at this resort I read about called Caves Branch Jungle Resort. Our room was really, really kewl. It had a thatched roof and no electricity, except the ceiling fan. We had to use oil lamps. Which is really roughing it for Kurt and I. HAHA. Around our bed were all screens so you could look outside at the jungle and hear the sounds of the night while sleeping. Took some pics of the grounds while Kurt took a nap. The shower had a view of the jungle as well. Dinner was kewl, it was served buffet style and you sat with others staying at the place. We mostly talked to a couple from San Francisco, and a girl who was from D.C. but went to U of M for college. It was fun. We crashed after that, as we were totally exhausted.

Saturday

Got up early and checked out of Caves Branch. On the way there, Kurt stopped to help a turtle cross the road because he was worried about it. J. The drive here was gorgeous, all mountains and jungle. Headed to Cockscomb Basin National Park. Did several trails there. The first was called Wari Loop, and was 3.7 KM. We saw a lot of lizards, birds, and a kinkajou in the tree. After that, stopped and had a drink, then headed on another trail, which was like three trails in one that we kept following. This trail was marked “strenuous” and it really was because of the heat. Much of it on the way was uphill…….And, we ran out of water on the way back. Whoops. The bottom of the trail was this awesome waterfall. We saw a lot on this hike too, with the highlight being a herd of peccaries (which we only noticed because one of them snorted at us, LOL), an armadillo, and lots of birds and lizards. After this hike, we found another kewl resort to stay at, called The Lodge at Big Falls. We got there and were literally the only guests staying. The owners were really kewl and three cute dogs. We hiked around their property, which is right on the Rio Grande (river). Our room was really kewl here too, thatched roof cabana, with hammocks and chairs on the front porch. Restaurants were almost nonexistent in this area. We stopped at two, before finding one finally. The first, which said “Bar and Restaurant” on the sign, told us they did not serve food unless you called in advance. OK…..the second, only served fried and bbq chicken, oh, and pork. The third, had one vegetarian option, so we stayed there. The owner was really kewl, sat with us through dinner telling us stories about the area, with the help of his parrot, Jerry. Jerry said many things to us and was adorable. He could say Hello, How Are You, Come Here, Goodbye. After dinner, we came back to the room.

Sunday

Got up early this morning and headed towards Punta Gorda, which is the biggest city in Southern Belize, and also the poorest. Drove through down, the views from town into the ocean were spectacular and I predict this will be the next place to build from big resorts, etc., or that Americans will move to. After Punta Gorda, decided to drive to a national reserve, which we never actually got to really. Well, we did, but there were no hiking trails and such, and we could not figure out how to get in except driving. We drove a little bit and gave up. We were really in the middle of nowhere though, LOL, and it was an awesome jungle drive. It seemed like nobody had driven there in weeks from the buildup of grass, plants, etc. Next, we drove to Baranco, which is further South than Punta Gorda and right on the water. Really pretty, but really poor area. Next, we went to Laguna, which had this really kewl little walk in another reserve which is known for birding. In the wet season, there is a creek that flows under the bridge we walked on. Anyway, it was really hot out, so we did not spend a lot of time there since it was totally in the sun, but the walk was really nice. After that, we started to drive back towards the Cayo District, where we wanted to spend the remainder of our trip. Stopped on the way back at Blue Hole National Park. Saw the Blue Hole swimming area, which was kewl--like a swimming pool in a cave, kinda. Hiked this hellacious trail, talk about strenuous without warning. The trail was called “Hummingbird Trail…” Yea. Practically all uphill and freaky. We saw three snakes, two ON the trail, which we had to wait for them to move so we could continue. Two were green vine snakes, about 4 feet long and the other was a snake with a white head, no idea on that one. It was in a hole though. The first snake, I guess I was not paying attention because I walked right by it, almost stepping on it. Whoops. Kurt about died since he is terrified of snakes, LOL. Got done with that and headed to St Herman’s cave, which was VERY kewl. Walked to that, saw the cave, walked another trail out (all uphill, I swear, we were getting our exercise this day) and headed on the road again. Decided to drive to San Ignacio because there are a ton of resorts outside of the area. We picked one called Chaa Creek. Ummm, nicest place I have ever stayed and so freaking relaxing. Loved it. Our room was called a cottage and was gorgeous. Had a huge deck with hammocks and furniture that overlooked the Macal River. Breathtaking place. Had dinner and drinks and were going to do a night walk, but it rained and we decided against it and just chilled, walked around the property, and headed to bed.

Monday

Today, we started off by doing an early morning bike walk with a guide. We saw SOO many birds and got to use our new binoculars. My fav we saw was this bird called a motmot that we have never seen before, and of course, the toucans. We also saw a lot of other birds, including two really kewl woodpeckers, vultures, robins, yellow birds (that really was their name), and others. After that, had breakfast and then Kurt took a nap while I went to the butterfly and nature exhibit at the hotel. The butterfly exhibit was beyond kewl. I actually got to see two butterflies emerge from their cocoons, and learned about their growth and such. I stayed in the butterfly house for a long time, taking shots. After that, went and woke Kurt up and we went for a hike on the medicine trail at the hotel. The medicine trail has different trees and greenery marked with what they are used for in real life. It was pretty kewl. At the end, there was a lady who sold herbal remedies for ailments, and I was going to buy one for migraines, but ended up not. We then left the resort and went into San Ignacio, which could be considered a “big” town, but only has about 6000 people, LOL. We walked around the town, talked to a realtor, walked in some little stores. We then went to a nearby botanical garden, and got a flat tire which we changed. Ugh. Went back to the resort and hiked another trail down to the river, which was really relaxing. There were sooo many hummingbirds on the trail. It was beautiful. We sat by the water for a while relaxing and enjoying the sun setting then went back to our room to shower and head to dinner. After dinner, finally got to go on the nightwalk with a guide. We saw a bunch of things, including two different kind of possum, armadillos, scorpions, tarantulas, other spiders, etc. It was fun to walk around in the dark looking for things. Went back to the room and laid in the hammocks for a while, then went to bed.

Tuesday

Got up this morning and packed and headed to the airport. Both flights again were awesome, and I am now a fan of American Airlines for sure.

Craziness

This week has been beyond busy, indescribably busy. I can't even put it into words. I think I have returned and answered at least 100 phone calls, maybe more, and that is in 2 days. Sometimes I need a vacation as soon as I get back FROM vacation.

I started working on a trip report and my pics last night, and will try and finish tonight and post.

We were supposed to be going up north for a graduation this weekend, but now cannot because of our work schedule next week. We have 40, yes you read right, hearings in one week. We need to prepare for them this weekend. Ugh.