Trip in the Car for the Cat

Bugsy had an appointment after work to get his vaccines.....Took him in the car and he did not like that. He has not been in a car for like a year, and I don't think he remembered. He meowed quite a bit the entire way, in his cute little carrier. When we got there, we had a slight wait, so I took him out and held him, then Kurt carried him around the waiting area so he could check things out and look out windows. The tech there was amazed and said most cats would not allow you to hold and carry them around their waiting room, LOL. Bugsy is not normal, I will give her that. He likes to be cuddled and held though, and had no interest in staying in his carrier, that's for sure.....Anyway, his exam went well and he got three shots, including a rabies, which I have not gotten him in the past since he is an indoor cat. The vet said that rabies has increased by 4 times in MI in the past year, and I am worried if something were to get into the house and bite my kitty, he would not be protected. So, shot it is.......He was better on the ride home. ;). Such a good cat. perfectly bahaved for the vet and the techs. he is kinda annoyed with us now, and I can't say that I blame him.....

I got this new skin care regime I ordered in the mail today. It is called Skin ID and is made by Neutrogena. It seems kinda like Proactiv, but more geared to each individual. They ask you a lot of questions about lifestyle, eating habits, your skin, etc. and gear a line towards you personally. So, we will see how it works for me. 100% money back guarantee, so if I dont like it, nothing lost. My number set is 12-32-38. I like how I have a number set, heh. I am going to start using it tonight.

Came home, worked out, made dinner, did some laundry and am heading to bed soon. there are seriously not enough hours in the day. Work was seriously INSANE today. I was glad to leave right at 5 to take Bugs to the vet.

Loss of Power, Tigers Games and Massage

**This pictures reflects how I temporarily felt when I got my massage tonight.....Yay.

Bought tickets to the Friday night Tigers game tonight, and we have awesome seats, behind home plate, row 10. My fav pitcher is on the mound, Nate Robertson. Love him, and his glasses.....heh. And we are playing our enemy, the White Sox, in a sold out game. This is my first game in like 2 years, so I am pretty excited to head down there.

Work was insane today. We had no power for like almost 3 hours in the morning. Nice. So, I felt totally helpless with no technology...could not copy, check voice mails, check emails, nothing. AARGH. So, I returned some calls on my cell, filed, reviewed documents, met with a couple clients, sent Kory out to run errands. Of course, the rest of the day was filled with excessive phone calls from people who could not reach us in the morning as well as everyone else.

Newest Love

I am in love, I fell in love again tonight with something new. Ulta. It's like Sephora, but has both high end AND low end products AND a salon. Yay. The grand opening of the Allen Park store was tonight and my friend, Nancy (another product whore) and I decided to attend, and have dinner afterwards. Love it. Love how they carry both high and low end. Love how it's only like 15 minutes or less from my office, depending on traffic. Love how they have a point system wherein I can get free gifts. Love how they have deals in store, i.e. spend this amount, get this wonderful little free gift (which Sephora pretty much never has). Have not decided if it is BETTER than Sephora, but it is comparable. Sephora carries a few brands I like that Ulta does not, i.e. Nars, Benefit, Fresh, but Ulta is fabulous just the same. Also, because it was the grand opening night, they gave us coupons for 20% off everything. Yes, you heard me right. I could not let that opportunity pass me, so here is what I got.

Estee Lauder Emerald Dream Spray (like I freaking need another perfume, I have like, not kidding, 40. But, I loved this to pieces, and remember, the coupon, heh, also it is an Ulta exclusive and not available elsewhere)

Rubber Bands (am running low)

Alagio Manderine Isle Color Therapy Shampoo (on sale at the store, whoot, smells amazing)

Burts Bees Pomegranate Soy Shampoo (smells amazing as well, and I have been wanting to try this)

Red Earth Twin Line Duo Effect Eyeliner Pencil (for some reason, SCORE, I was only charged ONE CENT for this product, I am sure a mistake by the store, but hey, I will take it)

Ulta Pro Slanted Eyeshader and Liner Brush (on sale in store more than on the website, whoot)

Jelly Belly Blueberry Muffin Cologne (Oh. My. God. This smells insanely amazing, thanks to Nancy for turning me on to this brand, Demeter. They have a ton of really fun scents for cheap prices.)

Armani Attitude (for Kurt, obviously. He needed some new stuff, he is running low)

100% Pure Blueberry Body Lotion (incredible. I love blueberry, and have never seen a Lotion, link not on website, but similar to the link I provided)

100% Pure Blueberry Body Wash (again, not on website, but link is a different scent)

Quilted Bag (got this for free for making a fragrance purchase, WHOOT, it was a $30 bag that I paid nada for)

Went to dinner with Nancy afterwards at this Mexican place called On the Border that I had never been to before. It was yummy. I had a Lori classic, fish tacos. Yum. Came home and am watching the Tigers game with Kurt (after making him dinner). Work was crazy busy today, and I was happy to have a relaxing night out. Had a headache this morning, which my chiropractor fixed for me. Yay. Thanks, Dr. Thomas! I was really out of wack, ugh. Also had an ortho appointment today for a new wire, which is KILLING me. Hopefully that subsides by tomorrow. Night all!

Gardens with my Bestest

Rebecca and I went to the Toledo Botanical Gardens today. Of course, per the norm, it started raining, then pouring, as we started driving there. But, Ohio is MUCH better than MI, because as soon as we crossed the border, it was sunshine and a beautiful sky. Of course, that beautiful sky also equated to really hot temps, and neither one of us wanted to do the entire gardens (there are a lot of good hiking trails, but it was HOTTTT). We did get some nice shots of pics, and it is just nice being around her and gossiping. We were followed the entire way home by THREE cars of guys. And Rebecca was actually WAVING at them and kinda flirting! And she says she is not outgoing! Maybe she is more outgoing when there is no chance of ever meeting the people?? I almost got her to flash them, but she held back. She is a crazy one, I tell ya.

We drove around Ohio too looking for a Friendly's, which I have never been to, but Rebecca tells me that they are really friendly there. Heh. Instead, we went to Steak and Shake since she has never been there. Good, but the shake made me feel kinda sick because of my lactose intolerance thing. Ugh. I feel better now though.

Came back to the house and hung out for a bit, and I wasa exhausted from the sun. I think my fair skin and eyes makes me a horrible candidate for being in the sun a lot, because it just simply exhausts me. Ugh. After Rebecca left, I fell asleep on then couch and woke up with a headache. Fun. I needed her here to massage me! hehe. I feel much better now, but I think I have learned not to combine sun with dairy products. I have issues. ;).

Kurt saw more deer tracks at the pond today AND he claims that my lily pads have actual lillies now! Hooray! I must go take pics. I heart lily pads flowering. Prob the most gorgeous flower to me ever

Edited to add: Rest of the pics from the gardens can be seen by clicking here.

Windchimes at Grama's

Got up today and decided to head to Canton to visit my Grama at her new place and hang with my Aunt. We were going to go to an art fair or maybe out taking pics, and of course, on my drive over, it started to pour. So, we started out by picking up some stuff at my Grama's house and taking it to her at her new place. Which turned into a 2 hour event. My Grama had a list of things for Aunt Karen to get for her, and she had to explain each and every one in great details. Sigh. I like to go see her, but I am not a slow moving person and stuff like that just KILLS me. While she was talking to Aunt Karen, I kinda zoned out and surfed the net on my phone. Saw my dad too, who pulled up as we were leaving.

The rain had let up, kinda, by then, so we stopped and had lunch at Qdoba (where I had never been before) and then headed to the Farmington Art Fair. Qdoba was just OK. I have friends who rave about it, but I would rate it simply OK. My food was good, but Moe's simply blows it out of the water. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I am vegetarian, and they did not have much in that regard on the menu, and I am always sad when Mexican places do not have shrimp or fish options. Moe's fish tacos are to DIE for, more Mexican places should take their lead. The art fair was nice to walk around, did not see anything much I wanted, until I saw this really unique, kewl wind chime. It is made out of old anethesia bottles from the hospital, copper and cobalt blue crystals and beads. Hung it on my backporch and love it. One of the most unique windchimes I have ever seen. I will take a pic when I get a second.....Of course, it started to rain again, so we stopped into TJ Maxx and then headed home. We had seen about everything at that point anyway.

Headed home after that to work out and make dinner. Watched the Tigers lose on a horrible call by the ump. Bah.

I am praying for no rain tomorrow, as I would really like to get out with my camera. Rebecca is coming over and we are supposed to head out to botanical gardens and I am really looking forward to it a lot.

Oh, exciting news! Kurt saw deer tracks at the pond today! We have seen deer a few times in the yard over our years living here, but it is way kewl that they have discovered the pond. I am hoping this means now that they know water is here, they will come back more often. He also saw my squirrel friend who only makes very short appearances. Yay.

Change of Power

Secret Blog posted.

Loss of power

Last night, while watching the ONE show I actually watch on regular TV, The Baby Borrowers, the power went out. We rarely lose power at our house, so I was confused......Went outside and looked around and it appeared that nobody else had power either. I called into DTE Energy to tell them, just to get a message thanking me for calling in and telling me my power would be on within 9 hours. How's that for an automated system....So, Kurt and I, being helpless without power, ended up playing chess on my computer, hoping it would not die......He beat me, but it was fun anyway. I was half asleep, and still swear that I would have won if I was awake more. Chess is kinda like pool though, you gotta have patience, and I just don't really have that when being competitive.

Been busy at the office. Kory is up north for cherry season so we are one less at the office, which is annoying for me because I have to answer the phone more then. Thankfully, he will be back on monday.......

SOOOO hot here today. When I stepped outside to go home after the work day, I kinda had a flash of Vegas in my head. Besides the fact that it is super muggy here and not there, the temp and heat felt like Vegas to me when we have been there in the summer. I did not even go with Kurt and the pugs on their walk because I knew the hear would get to me. Instead I fed the birds, changed some garbages, watered my flowers, and did some laundry. I swear, it's never ending at this house with stuff to do.

Rave

OK, one of the new products I got from Sephora, I just had to rave about. Have not tried everything yet, but loved this one.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Usually, when I put eye shadow on in the morning, by the time I go to bed, it has either totally faded or almost completely faded. Right now, it's 1045 p.m. I have been to court and walked around in really hot weather between three courts. I worked all day, drove around with the top down in the convertible, took a long walk in the yard, AND worked out. And guess what? My eye shadow looks like it did this morning. LOVE LOVE LOVE this new product. Also used the new eye shadow set I bought, and I love the colors on that as well. Used one of the Philosophy shower gels, Rootbeer, and it smells super yummy.

Will fill y'all in on other products as I use them.

Mail Order on the Weekend

Aargh. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.....Got my Sephora order and my White House Black Market order tonight. Did not like anything in the clothing order. The skirt fit well, but the material is horrible for me, it is kinda shiny black and I can tell it needs to be ironed like every 5 minutes. The top is kinda ugly on for some reason, I am just not digging it. And the flip flops are not comfortable at all, which is a prob for flip flops. White House shoes run kinda narrow though, that may be why I dont like them too. Of course, love everything from Sephora though, without even trying it, LOL.

Weekend was fun. Friday night, we met up with our friends Tammy and Tom at Bob's Boathouse in Wyandotte, which was a blast. The place is new, and is a huge old boat warehouse. The inside is a restaurant, the outside a tiki bar, and it is right on the water. Dinner wasa good, and we sat outside with drinks the rest of the night. Tom is ready to quit his job to invest his entire 401k in Kurt's stock method. Yea, talked him out of that. I think. :). Saturday, I had lunch with my friend, Hollie, at Red Lobster in Southgate. After that, headed to Westland to help move my Grama into the senior apartments she is residing at, at least temporarily. She is not happy about it, but she needs to be someplace before her house can at least be made handicapped accessible. I basically did not do too much moving, but instead sat and talked to my Grama and helped unpack some boxes. Also ran to Target to pick her up a wreath for her door (all the other residents have them), a toaster oven (hers is so shot) and a garbage can for her kitchen. I had not bought her bday presents yet, so this was it......That night, had dinner with Kurt at Quatro's.....Sunday morning, had breakfast with Judy and Ruth from the Board, then Kurt and I worked the rest of the day. Got a lot of paperwork done.

Tonight, had a Board meeting. I am going to post a Secret Blog about that, but will do so another time because I am off to bed.......

Transvestite in Pink

Secret Blog Posted....

Around a Necklace

Went to the Wyandotte Art Fair with my Aunt last night and bought a really kewl cut glass necklace pendant. I get the kewlest stuff at art fairs, and always get a ton of compliments, and the stuff is generally super cheap. Got a cute black chain with it. I can never have enough chains to put this stuff on. Afterwards, we went to dinner at a place I like down there called Austin's H.P. Grille, where I always get the same meal--blackened tuna served oscar style with asparagus and rice. So freaking good every time.

Yea, after the Sephora purchase, made another online purchase yesterday. Whoops. White House Black Market sent me a coupon and they are having a sale, so I bought a cute skirt for work, cute jacket for work and some turquise flip flops (not for work, or at least not for court, LOL).

This morning, I felt like a total girl. I designed an entire outfit around my new necklace. So, I am wearing a cute shirt from White House Black Market, grey dress pants, cute heeled sandals by Steve Madden, and the necklace. I don't think I have ever designed an outfit around jewelry. I am a dork.

Oh, a secret blog has been posted. Click here.

Locked Up Abroad

Kurt and I watched this really good show on Monday night, called Locked Up Abroad. We saw the ones based in Venezuela, Uganda, and Columbia. Wow, freaky show. Loved it though. It is making me second guess my desire to go to Africa though.....Uganda is right next to Tanzania, which is where I want to go. I am sure after some time passes, I will change my mind, but WOW. The people in Uganda were staying at luxury safari resorts, and were taken hostage right out of their rooms. Ugh. The reenactment of the kidnapping were so real, and it scares me just thinking about it. Granted, nothing has happened in Africa like that since 2001, but still.....

Anyway, my point was, if you are into stuff like this, these shows are good. It appears there are more coming and some that have already shown, so I will have to watch those too!

I am an Addict

OK. I went just a tiny bit crazy last night. I went on the Sephora website just to surf around. I need some new mascara, and had read about this product in a magazine (eye shadow primer). While on there, I placed an order. A kinda large order, but I am justifying it by saying that I have not bought anything beauty related in forever. I am starting to get low on a lot of stuff and have forced myself to stop purchasing anything until I use what I have. I kinda let that fly out the door last night, but hey, I WILL use the stuff, I swear! :).

Anyway, here is what I ended up with, I will let everyone know how I like the stuff that is a new item for me.

*****************************************

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Dior Diorshow Mascara - Black 090 (I have used this product before and it is by far the best mascara I have ever used; highly recommend)

Pop Beauty Eye Class - Green Eyes (I have been wanting this product forever, and for some reason, held off on purchasing......)

Bare Escentuals Get Started Kit - Fairly Light/Light (have been wanting to try this for a while too, and since Sarah is addicted, it must be good)

Philosophy The Soda Fountain (anything by Philosophy is automatically good, its the law)

My three free samples are as follows (you get three with every order on their site)

Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme Eau de Toilette

Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gio Pour Homme Eau de Toilette

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau de Toilette Spray

My deluxe sample is as follows (since I am an addict and get this on top of my other samples)

Blinc Kiss Me Mascara in Black

And, with a promo code I had, I also get this for free:

Sephora Brand The Ultimate Eye Sampler

Also, sadly, I saw this really unique and kewl colored shoe in my Shape magazine made by a company called Unisa. Went to the website, and cannot find the shoe anywhere. I now want it even more. Called the site this morning and left a message with someone about my issue, and am hoping for a return call soon. I am sad.

I have also started the search for two new ceiling fans for the living room. I have never liked the ones in there, and I want something really unique and kewl for it there. I really like some of the Fanimation fans, but am looking on a ton of sites for the perfect item. I will know it when I see it...Any suggestions, let me know.

The viewing is today for my stepDad's Mom, and the funeral tomorrow. It is going to be a really hard two days for my family, and I can't be there for them since it is 5 hours away, so I would appreciate everyone keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.

4th of July Girls' Trip

So. Hope everyone had a nice 4th. Mine was awesome, relaxing, and I could not have asked to have spent it with a better friend....:). Pic above is of me and Rebecca, drinking, at a BBQ in Kaleva. Rebecca rarely sees me drink ANY alcohol, so this was a memorable night. We bought stuff before thee BBQ, me choosing Smirnoff Wild Grape, and her a really yummy berry beer. I drank three, which is almost record breaking for me. LOL. My mom was the DD, so I felt safe drinking. Thanks Mom!

So, Rebecca and I left for Manistee at around 1015 or so on Thursday. The trip is around 4 hours from her house, after my drive to her house which is like 50 minutes with the construction going on in Detroit. The drive was super fun, we talked, gossiped and listened to XM Radio (mostly the 80s and 90s stations). Got there, and stopped into House of Flavors, which is where my Mom works. We decided to have lunch, and ate with my Mom's friends, Fred and Bill. I had a super good tuna roll up, and rebecca had a turkey sandwich. After that, drove her around to see the beaches while we waited for my Mom to get off of work. Picked her and her friend Jane up after work to have a drink at TJs in downtown Manistee, then headed home. That night was the fireworks, so we played some Rock Band then headed to the fireworks at the beer tent. The sunset was gorgeous that night, so we got some shots of that and then watched the show. Fred invited us all to his house for a BBQ the next night, and we played Rock Band until like 230 in the morning.

Day two was the 4th. We went to the art fair at the beach, then randomly shopped in downtown Manistee, which was fun. I bought this adorable little bird figurine for my sun room, and a pair of Croc flip flops. I hate regular Crocs, but the flip flops? To die for. So comfy and cute on top of that. Highly recommend. Went to the grocery store after that to pick up BBQ supplies, then headed to Fred's for the party. There was a ton of food, all really good. The corn may have been the best I ever had. So good. I had BBQed salmon, some macaroni salad, corn, veggies, YUM. Then we had smores, which rocked. Got eaten ALIVE by mosquitos, but a good time anyway, hehe. Oh, this was the day Rebecca fell in love as well. We were driving by this abandoned hospital and saw the cops there, which was weird. JUST as we pulled up, we saw one of the cops pulling a gun out, which is RARE for Manistee. don't know what happened, but when I took a pic, and Rebecca looked at it, she was like "that cop is HOT!" From then on, we saw this guy everywhere. Like 3 times a day. She will marry him someday, I know. Oh, Rebecca also rode a motorcycle for the first time at Fred's. She liked it! ;).

Third day, we got up, had breakfast, then headed to the beach for the flea market, went shopping at some other stores in town, chilled at the house, and then headed to dinner at Big Al's, which I had to take Rebecca too. Big Al's is literally, the best pizza and breadsticks ever. Yum. Rebecca, my Mom and I split a small Chicago style pizza and breadsticks. So good. Went to the beer tent after that, where there were bands playing and lots of people and alcohol. Sat and listened to music and hung out, saw some people I knew in high school, but it is SO crowded there, and I did not feel like walking around and finding a ton of people. Left there and went straight to bed....

Next morning, we had breakfast with my Mom, and stopped at House of Flavors on the way out of town so Rebecca could try their ice cream. OK, still the best ice cream ever. I had one scoop split into two--one peanut butter cup and other half cookie dodugh. So good. We drove home after that, listening to this XM Radio rock legends countdown that was awesome.

Overall, the trip was incredibly relaxing. I loved it. I rarely have four days like that when I have no plans, nothing I *have* to do, I can just aimlessly wander and shop.......Can't wait for my next girls' only trip! :).


Rest of the pics from the trip can be seen by clicking here! Enjoy! :).

Death Brings Out the Stupid

Secret Blog posted.

Food for the Husband

It is storming really badly here. I love lightning and thunder though, for some reason, it calms me.......I hate not being able to go outside though and walk the dogs, fill the bird feeders, etc.

Instead, I have been making dinner, doing laundry, and making these amazing blueberry muffins for Kurt to eat while I am gone. I know he will only eat Taco Bell, pizza and McDonalds while I am gone, so I wanted him to have SOMETHING. I actually thought about making him some sandwiches, but cmon, he can make himself that. LOL.

I finally unpacked ALL vacation bags--LA and Nicaragua and all backpacks and suitcases are closed and put away. Whoot. I was kinda forced to do this as I wanted some stuff to take to Manistee and most of my casual summery clothes were in those bags. There were some pieces of clothing in the Nicaragua bags that I forgot I even owned. Heh.

So, tomorrow morning, Rebecca and I are leaving for Manistee! It's our first girls only trip and I can't wait. Road tripping with Rebecca will be super fun, I am sure. Mapquest says it is 4 hours from her house, which really means less since nobody drives the speed limit in michigan........

Stylists and Porn Stars

Secret Blog posted, yo.

Friends, Shocking Events, and Unpacking

Had a really nice night. :). First, had an appointment with Roman to get my hair highlighted and cut. This was long overdue. I was supposed to go like a month ago, but had to reschedule because I had a work conflict. I only go every three months, and today was four. Ugh. With the summer months though, my highlights last longer because my hair bleaches out from the sun. Anyway. Got to chat with Roman, cut an inch of hair off, get my layers back, and get fabulous new highlights. Yay. I love it. Afterwards, met up with Rebecca and Lesley (who I have not seen in forever) for dinner at Little Tree. YUM. Love Little Tree. Had soup and susgi and some crab wontons. So tasty. And got to catch up with Lesley and harass Rebecca. What more could a girl ask for? hehe.

I called my Mom on the way to Royal Oak and asked what she was up to...She told me that my stepDad's Mom died! I had no idea she was sick. I feel really badly for my stepDad and his Dad. She was only 64 years old. I guess she had something wrong with her pancreas, and they did an operation, where they took care of it, found cancer and removed that as well. The surgery supposedly went well, then when she was recovering the next day, she took a turn for the worse. And then died. It just shows you that life is SO short, and to appreciate the time you have with people. Everyone was relieved the surgery went well and BOOM the next day, she was gone. It's horrible. My mom said everyone is doing OK, considering. They are doing an autopsy, so the funeral will not be this weekend while I am up there. Kinda glad about that because funerals really depress me........

Finally started unpacking the backpacks from the Nicaragua trip. Yea, we are slightly behind. LOL. Threw half the stuff in the washing machine, so I am getting there. Needed some of the stuff to pack for my manistee trip. :).

Work Annoyances

Secret Blog Posted, y'all.

Just gotta say, the Secret Blog does wonders for me. I need a place to vent, and it is seriously therapeutic, not kidding. :).

Interesting Article from Kurt

I have no idea if I want kids or not. Some days I want one, some days more than one, and some days, I don't want to have kids at all. Really, the decision is not even open for discussion at the moment. My life is insanity, and I plan on not even adding the kid factor into my life (or even thinking seriously about it), until my life slow down a LOT. As in, I am like, retired. Yea, I know I am now over 30, but age has nothing to do with it for me. If I want a child and I am *too old*, I will adopt. Anyway, I digress.

Kurt was on Newsweek today and came across this article, which I found interesting, and a lot of it true. There are obviously pros and cons to having kids. The article talks about the *whispers* about the only couple on the street who does not have kids. I am glad that not having kids is not as *crazy* as it once was, but I think people still kinda look at those who are not interested with disdain, like they are selfish and not willing to make the sacrifice to have kids. That's not how I look at it at all. I think a lot of couples who have kids are selfish in HAVING the child. They don't have enough money, enough time, enough WHATEVER to dedicate to that child, but choose to have one anyway because it's in their plan for their life, and because it's just what people do. My fav friends to talk to about motherhood are the ones that talk about the good and bad, and dont solely emphasize the good. People should just tell it like it is. Being a parent is not all fun and games........

Too many people have kids because they want a cute baby to play with and look at, and dont think about how hard it is to be a parent, how time consuming, how it completely changes your life. I know for most, it changes it in both good and bad ways. But, this is part of my reason for being nonchalant about it all. I love my life. I love my relationship with my husband. I love how we can take off, almost whenever we want, and galavant around the world. Can do crazy jungle hikes, eat at nice restaurants, and sleep in, without any added responsibilty......I love how when I do have spare time, I can do what I want, and not have to worry about the needs of others. I don't consider that selfish, I just consider it a choice.

Don't know why this is all coming out of me tonight, i guess the article just sparked a blog topic. ;). To my friends with kids, this post is not meant to offend AT ALL. I love all my friends' kids, adore them and love getting emails with kid pictures, spending time with them, etc. I just dont want that 24 hour a day job yet!

PS It's hard to look at the pic above of nick and NOT want a baby, but I was happy to be able to hand him back and drive home at the end of the night. ;).

Birthdays, Babies and Days Home

Friday was Rebecca's 30th bday! We headed to Royal Oak for dinner at Mongolian BBQ. The drive there was horrendous. There was a huge ordeal in Detroit, which we found out about later. When we got into downtown Detroit, traffic was pretty much unpassable. Roads were closed off, and power was out everywhere. we thought it was the storm, but it ended up that lightning struck the courthouse, and a fire had started and blown out like 4 generators. Good part of this is....Kurt and I will not have court next week, at least at that court! Woo hoo! Hopefully, we can get some paperwork done. Finally got to dinner like 30 minutes late, and I hate being late. Then, Royal Oak being what it is, could not find parking right away. Finally found it. Dinner was good, but our server pretty much sucked.....Gave Rebecca her card with a picture of what I bought her, LOL. I bought her a Wii game she wanted (Guitar Hero Aerosmith), and a book she wanted as well. Hopefully they get to her house soon, but the game does not come out until the 30th. Went to Rebecca's house afterwards to celebrate some more. Kurt got trashed, ha. This is rare for him, but drinking makes him stay awake longer, so we stayed until like 130 a.m. at her house. Kory started a bonfire in the backyard, we all played the Wii, and basically just chilled and had some drinks (except me, since I was the designated driver for kurt). The drive home was horrible again, it wasa POURING rain, and I could barely see at some points. Was happy to get home and to bed.

Saturday we worked part of the day, then I ran some errands and headed to macomb to my Aunt's house to meet Nick for the first time. OMG. So cute. He is adorable and totally precious. I took a bunch of pics of him, and dinner was really good. It was nice to see the family as well. Gave my Dad his Father's Day gift, and bought two new bras on sale......

We were going to work today, but ended up staying in. Of course, it rained (since it does that like daily this summer), so I could not go hiking anywhere. But, we did take a long walk in the yard with the pugs after it stopped raining. So muggy and hot out. Gretel cracks me up in the water now. She loves the pond, and runs and plays in the water. Vito is starting to copy her, and he is kinda going in as well. Oscar stays on the sidelines, he is having nothing to do with getting his little paws wet! :).

New Ones

Secret Blogs Posted.....

Saying Goodbye Sucks

So tonight, I had to say goodbye to working with two board members who I love, Nora and Jeff. It was their last meeting. Nora did not run in the last election and Jeff was defeated. I did well with my little speeches to both of them though, and did not get too emotional or cry. I usually get upset saying goodbye to people I am close with, but I sucked it up and did OK, LOL. Both of them have taught me a lot since I got on the board, and I am really sad to see them both go. Ugh.

Last night, I was so irritable after work. I was glad my massage therapist fit me in. My neck was still feeling out of place after the roller coasters at Disney and I could tell while she was working on me. She asked what I had done to myself because she was having a harder time getting into my neck muscles, it was almost like they were swollen and tighter. I told her and she told me no more roller coasters for a while, haha. Sad that I get so screwed up on rides at Disneyland. :). Can you imagine me after Cedar Point? Yea, me either. She did a lot of work on my neck, and I made an appointment to go back in 2 weeks. She said she could have worked on me another hour I was so out of wack. Gladly, I feel so much better today. No headache, not as tense. Stopped at the grocery store afterwards and forgot the one thing Kurt asked me to pick up. I am such a ditz sometimes. I was kinda out of it from my massage, so I blame my forgetfulness on that. Sorry Kurty. ;).

More later.......really tired and my pets and husband are already in bed!

Pedicures, Non-Compliments, and New Places

So, my life is insane this week. On top of my Grama being in the nursing home and family stress, I have a totally booked social calendar. I am trying to move stuff around because I am exhausted.

Monday night, we had dinner with our friends, Cliff and Lisa, at Moro's in Allen Park. Lisa was running really late, so we ended up not getting home until almost bedrome. Dinner was nice though and the marinara sauce they made up for Lisa and I was awesome. We wanted spicy, and it was sooo spicy. Yum. The food there is great. Lisa is in school to be a physicians assistant, so we dont get to see a lot of her or Cliff because she studies around the clock. She is now in the clinical portion of her studies though, so she is in different doctor's offices and out of the house a bit more.

Tuesday night, met Nancy after work for pedicures and dinner. Love Nancy. Being around her just relaxes me. We got our pedis at Pure NV Salon in Taylor. Their pedi room there is really nice. Chatted and gossiped through that. After that, had dinner at Pete's Place in Taylor, which I had never been to and loved. Cute little diner with awesome food. I had a tuna melt that was fabulous and onion soup. Filled Nancy in on all the stuff going on with me. She is almost done with school, which is great! Can't wait for her to graduate.

Got the best compliment yesterday, which was actually not meant to be a compliment, Ha. There is this female attorney who I am friends with. She kinda has a love--hate relationship with Kurt though. She likes him as a person, but she HATES the way he argues cases. Each of them has a totally different way of arguing cases. Betty is more laid back and nonconfrontational, and Kurt is, umm, kinda an ass. But, an effective ass. Sometimes, you just gotta be mean to the other side to get your point across. Betty does not like Kurt's use of words such as "liar", "druggie", "strung out crack head", and so on. Anyway. I digress. I was arguing a case yesterday, and Kurt was waiting in the hallway for me because his cases were done. He and Betty were talking, and she had to come into the court for something. Kurt asked her to see if I was arguing my case or waiting. She came back out and said "she is on the record. AND. She argues her cases just like you.." Then, she rolled her eyes. But seriously. Kurt is amazing in court. If someone is comparing me to him, I must be doing something right! :). I like how her noncompliment totally made me day! Heh.

Back to work.

********Secret Blog************

First entry with substance posted.

Remember, if you want access, let me know and i will add ya (link in the post below).

Hugs.

P.S. For those of you who don't know me really well in real life, please don't be shocked at my language and bitchiness on the private blog. I swear, I am not like that all the time, just when I vent......

Secret Thoughts Blog

So. I decided to follow up with what I was discussing the other day, and add a page onto my normal blog site for things I want to talk about that are not for the general public to view.....

Anytime I post, I will advise you guys on here, so you can click over to it. If you would like an invite to the blog, please let me know via email (loridz@comcast.net) and I will add ya.

Sometimes, I just need to vent, talk about work (and don't want clients, judges, other attys to see), etc.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.

Here is the link to the new blog, once I have sent you the invite.

Sums Me Up--Photo Quote

Basically, I love photography - and travel. You could say I travel to take photographs and take photographs to travel.

- Rick Sammon - Vision - Lowepro 2004/2005, page 37

It should rain while I am Working

OK, seriously. I had plans to work the first part of the day, hang with rebecca the second. So, of course, it is gorgeous out while I am working, and starts to pour shortly before Rebecca gets to the office to pick me up. Totally not fair, ;).

Rebecca and I had plans to go to Heritage Park and take pics, then do dinner. Plans changed since neither of us wanted to ruin our cameras in the torrential downpour lower michigan was experiencing. So, instead, we shopped! Not a smart alternative since Rebecca is trying to save money, but what else can one do in rain? We went to the outlet mall in Monroe, as well as to Kohl's and TJ Maxx. Outlet mall, I got a couple new things at the Gap outlet. If I recall, I got one pair of darkm tannish colored bermuda shorts, a pair of black capri pants, and three short sleeve sweater type shirts. Next, we stopped in Van Heusen and I bought Kurt a greenish colored dress shirt. A color he does not have, which is rare, LOL. Rebecca also got stuff at Gap and at the kitchen store outlet. Next, we browed Kohl's and I ended up with a really cute pair of red heels. I have been wanting a pair of red heels.....I have been trying to branch out from basic black. I think that is all I purchased today. I was happy about the Gap stuff, as when it's warm out and I don't have court, I like having casual, but can be dressed up options for the office. After that, we went to dinner with Kurt at Pete's, and Rebecca worked on my shoulders, back and neck a little bit. I am really out of wack, yet again. I think still from the rides at Disney, this time. After she left, threw a load of laundry in and have been watching the Tigers with Kurt.


Kurt saw a white heron near the pond today. He also discovered an eastern fox snake, which is a threatened species in our area. He had me go out and take pics of it, so we could verify online what it was, even though we already kinda knew from seeing one before in a picture. It was a pretty big snake, but your typical yard snake. Non-venomous, so I am OK with it living there. They are threatened from idiot humans trying to keep them as pets or destroying them, so if my land can help them out, I am more than willing to share my space with the snakes.

Night!

Hour Early and New Food

We left the office about an hour early, which is unheard of...............It was nice though, as we got home, and took the pugs on a walk, all before 5 p.m. Craziness. Took my camera and took some pics of the pugs (new ones are photo 10 and on) and the yard, which you can see by clicking the links herein. It was nice to be outside with my camera and relax. Came in, worked out, made dinner, did some dishes and just relaxed. Am tired now, but still up because Kurt is watching the Tigers game. Oh, the pic below is a partial pic of the pond in the yard (you can kinda see part of my house too in the background). It is so relaxing to be out there.....

Kroger had this new item by Morningstar, and I love it! I love a lot of their products, and this is another great one to add to my grocery list. I microwave the burgers, throw them on bread with cheese, and in the toaster oven. Super yummy, super easy and good for me too! I am so happy with our Kroger's expansion and addition of organic stuff I like. I just hope they keep it, because our area, being rural and all, is not really an organic kinda environment, LOL. People don't like change here, or pricier food or anything they consider elite or snobby. We will see. Maybe if I keep buying stuff, it will keep it on the shelves??

So, update on Grama. They did a barrage of tests and basically found nothing. She was transferred today to a nursing home in Shelby Township, for rehab. They are going to do rehab for like 6 weeks to see if she can walk again. If so, she can go home. If not, she will most likely stay someplace. I hope the rehab helps. After all that testing, you would think they would find something. No wonder Kurt hates going to the doctor.........Auntie also had a heart test today, and thankfully, they found nothing. I was really worried about that one. My sister is coming down the last weekend in June, so I will most likely be meeting Nick then. I have to look at my calendar, and I know I have rebecca's party on Friday, but I think I am free the rest of the weekend. Hope so anyway.


Pic at the top off this post is of Oscar. I think it looks like he is talking to me, but in essence, he was yawning....hehe. The pugs were such good little models today. They are so used to the camera, seriously, I think they are posing sometimes.............

I am thinking I may start a private blog on top of this one. There are a few things I would love to talk about, but I am unsure of who reads this. If I do, I will post the info here, and if you want the link, you can request the password and I will give it to you. Sometimes, I just need to vent, and it's hard to in public. On the other hand, I think, maybe I should just say what I want and not worry about what others think. Who are we kidding though, we all know I act like I don't care what others think, but I do. :). Some things never change.

Pics Finally Done!

Finally got done with the pics from the LA Trip, as well as Julia and Tony's wedding festivities........

Wedding: Click here

LA Trip: Click here

Enjoy! :).

Grama

My Grama (my Dad's Mom), is in the hospital. I went to visit her last night. They are doing a battery of tests on her, but they are thinking she has some kind of nerve damage in her back and/or spine, from what I gathered. I swear though, they are so evasive at hospitals. Anyway, they are most likely going to send her to a rehab facility like place, and if she does not get better there, she will have to go into an assisted living type place or nursing home. My Grama does NOT want this. But, even before this, she could barely get around. And oddly, she seems to be doing BETTER in the hospital than at home! She is more alert, way more talkative...My Aunt thinks it's because she gets attention nonstop, is conversing constantly with others, etc. Anyway. Hope they figure out something soon, because I hate seeing her in the hospital. I do not like hospitals.

I was driving home last night, and I kinda had this *epiphany* when driving home. Seeing my Grama in the hospital, and realizing that life is so short made me think that sometimes, we, as Americans, (and myself), just focus on the negative a little bit too much. There is nothing wrong with feeling down or sad sometimes, but we really need to focus more on the positive and think less about the rest. I was thinking this, because I was kinda bummed about this friend of mine (whom I have posted about before), that has just kinda unilaterally cut me out of her life, and me wondering how she could be so shallow and obnoxious, when she has always been a good friend. (I think a lot when I drive alone, bad thing, lol). I realized that it is stupid to even give her another thought. I have given her adequate chances to tell me if something is bothering her, have contacted her numerous times, and the like. If she does not respond, HER LOSS. I need to focus on and remember the awesome friends I do have, who are ALWAYS there for me, and do not go through mid-life crises and forget who their friends are. Which is exactly what I am going to do. I have so many friends who want to spend time with me and try to get me to fit them in between the insanity of work. Why would I even want to spend one second with someone like her? I don't know, it was odd. I guess seeing my Grama and realizing I might not be seeing her forever made me realize that sometimes my priorities are slightly misguided. Someetimes, I just want to *get* people or **get* people's actions, and sometimes, there is no explanation that makes sense or will make me happy. I sometimes expect more from people than I should, and I need to just stop doing that, and just BE.

Thanks, Grama, for making me see the light......

Home Sweet Home

I am back in the D! OK, not exactly Detroit, but my home in Michigan, LOL.

Took a lot of pics at the wedding, but am too tired to upload them now, so I will do that later. :).

Flights to and from LA were great. Left on time, no turbulance, and the flight to Detroit actually arrived like 35 minutes EARLY. Yay.

So, we left Wednesday night, via Northwest, who I generally hate. They moved up a little bit on my list with this flight, but they still make me leery from past experiences. Anyway. Got there, retrieved out luggage and proceeded to Thrifty to get the rental car. We rented a convertible, and it was nice to have in the literally perfect LA weather. We started to get a taste of the insanity of traffic in LA just on the shuttle to pick up our car. Craziness. And this was at 9 p.m. at night. Got the car (a Sebring Convertible, red) and drove to Simi Valley. It was further than I expected, and we arrived tired. Got our room and pretty much went to bed after checking email and watching some news.

Thursday, got up early and headed to Disney after breakfast. So weird, i never eat breakfast unless I am on vacation. Drive to Disney was easy, only a little traffic. And I loved it! Disneyland is even better than DisneyWorld! I was shocked, because I was expecting less for some reason. But, it was less walking, less lines, better weather, and cheaper. Loved it. My fav ride of the day was prob Space Mountain. We went on every ride we wanted to, and had a blast. Headed back to Simi after that, and had dinner with Julia and Jamie at a cute Mexican place with some of the best salsa I have ever had (made with organic, nondiseased tomatoes, LOL). Headed to bed after that.

Next day, we decided to try to get some touristy stuff in prior to the rehearsel dinner. We headed to Beverly Hills, as I wanted to see Rodeo Drive and Kurt wanted to buy a map and search for stars homes (tacky, yet fun). Beverly Hills is like a perfect world. No trash, everything is gorgeous, quiet, so different than I expected. I think I saw more nice cars there than I have ever seen in my life. We did not actually shop, but we walked Rodeo Drive, than bought a star map from two transvestites who were hilarious. We saw a bunch of stars' homes, my fav being the house Fresh Prince of Bel Air was filmed at. A lot of them were hard to see because of gates and high bushes and trees and fences, etc., but it was fun just the same. Bel Air is so nice. If I *had* to live there, Bel Air would be my choice, but I would never live there. Even the really nice houses did not have a lot of land and were very near their neighbors. Headed back to Simi after that to get ready for rehearsel. I wore a really cute dress I bought at Macy's before we left (black and white), with flip flops. Really summery, Cali kinda outfit. Did the rehearsel (which the organist *forgot* about and Tony had to go pick her up), then headed to dinner at Macaroni Grille. Yum. After that, headed back to the hotel and the bridesmaids all hung out in Julia's room to gossip and chill. Everyone was sooo tired from the time changes and such, we did not feel like going out. The guys had just all gone straight to bed.

Saturday was wedding day! Julia, Melinda, Lynnette and Julia's Mom all got our hair done at Satori Spa in Simi. Julia and I also had our make-up done. Did my hair curled, half up. I counted the bobby pins at the end of the night and I had more than 40 in my hair and more hair spray then I have worn total in a year. LOL. rushed back to the hotel to put my dress and shoes and jewelry on, grab Kurt in his tux and headed to our respective meeting places. Girls and Julie's house, guys at the reception hall. Helpled Julia into her dress, had pics, and headed to the church. Waited some, then the wedding began. Kurt and I started everything out, and it was kinda fun to *walk down the aisle* with my fav husband again! :). The wedding was perfect, and really nice because the minister actually really knew them and it was very personal. I cried, which is normal, but I did not bawl and ruin my smoky eye make-up. Ha. My eyes looked good....HAHA. After the wedding, we had MORE pictures, then headed to the reception for MORE pictures. Finally, after not eating all day, we got to eat! The food was exceptional for a wedding. Nonmeat pastas, with meat on the side, ceasar salad and bread. Had fun at the reception too, and finally at the end of the night, got to hang with Julia and talk a bit. They are leaving for a cruise on Monday and spending two nights in Long Beach prior to that. Anyway, am SO happy for them. They really are perfect for each other, and Julia looked amazing in her dress. Absolutely stunning actually. Kurt's response was "I don't like you girls all done up, I like you better natural and laidback..." Yea, we did not ask your opinion Kurt. Thankfully, he did not say that to Julia, just to me. And really, I like that he thinks I look better in a ponytail and no make-up, because if I had to do my hair and makeup like that daily, I would be exhausted! :). After the reception, headed back to the hotel and passed out from exhaustion.

Sunday, today, got up and showered and packed and headed to the airport. We were early, and we almost missed our flight. That is how slow that horrible airport is. I would never choose to fly out of there again, it royally sucked. so many different lines. Ugh.

Now, we are home! Yay! Not looking forward to work, but glad to see my babies and take a walk in the yard. I am tired though, so I may have missed things. If so, I will post more on another day, along with pics.

The LA area was nice, but I would not choose to live there for the sole reason that the traffic is really bad. The worst I have ever since, and i did not even drive during rush hour! The best thing about the area is the weather, and the scenery. it was totally gorgeous. the mountains were so pretty.

Congrats again, Julia and Tony! I was really happy to be part of your wedding day, and to be able to celebrate with you guys. Welcome to the wonderful world of being married! I have had an awesome time in the *world* and know you guys will too, as you are great together. :).

Hope everyone had a nice weeekend.

California Dreamin'

Quick update to let everyone know where I am.......then off to get my hair and makeup done.

Kurt and I are in Simi Valley (outside of LA) for Julia and Tony's wedding...

We left after work on Wednesday, and have been hanging in LA ever since. I will update with details and pics once we are back on Sunday night.

We are having a great time. Weather is awesome here, prob the best of anywhere I have been, with the exception of Hawaii. The one had point of this area is the traffic, it's absolutely horrendous.

Talk soon, hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Changes

Had breakfast this morning with the two soon to be board members, Judy and Ruth. It was nice. I am glad with Nora leaving that two other females will be on the board and I will not be the only one. Especially since these two are so nice and really care about the schools and kids. Went to work after that, and have been chilling at home ever since.

I have this friend I am slightly annoyed with right now. I normally take on the attitude with *friends* that if they are not going to be there, or respond to me or whatever, then it's their loss. Or at least I say that's how I feel. But this friend, we have been thru a lot together. She has literally not responded to my texts, emails, myspace messages, nothing. And I KNOW she is online, because she updates her Myspace, posts new pictures, leaves messages for other people, etc. I have stopped writing her and inviting her to anything, because I am beginning to feel like a stalker because she never responds. Which in itself is just plain rude. I know she is busy, but I have no doubt I am busier...and I still respond to people's emails/texts on a daily basis. No idea why she is avoiding me, but, I have a feeling it's just because we don't have a lot in common socially right now. I think she may also not want me around because she does not want her new friends to know that she used to be part of a more normal circle of people, or does not want these people to know she used to be part of a modest lifestyle. It appears that her new cirlce of friends worship her, and I am kinda a tell it like it is friend, so maybe she does not like that I am not fawning over everything she buys and does. Who knows. I posted about her before, if this is sounding familiar. Her main thing right now is luxury partying, luxury anything. I don't think going to an Applebee's for a night out to gab would be on her agenda. It's kinda odd to me, all of this though. She has this entire new group of friends, most of them who I have no doubt earn less money than I do (I say this only because they all appear to spend money in a way that sasys that they earn far MORE money than I do). They all *act* like they are rich and high class, wear only the best, drink only the best, go VIP and first class on everything. What's weird is, I truly could afford that stuff if I wanted, but have no desire whatsoever to do any of it. I would much prefer spending time with friends in a laid back environment, in flip flops and capris, and drinking *gasp* something that does not cost $100 for a pint. What's even weirder to me is that my friend is into all this. She used to be one of the most down to earth people I know, and I am wondering if she is ever going to return to reality in the near future. I am just trying to ignore it, as I know she is having fun, and she needs that, but I would love to have her back sometime......I used to say of all my friends, I had the most in common with her. Literally, we seemed to be like the same person re personality, upbringing, etc. Now, I think she is the furthest from me in similarities of friends. Oh well. I was just thinking about this and thought i would post. I am sure someday, she will get tired, or meet someone and get married again or serious, and she may calm down and become the person I used to know. I will just have to wait it out, ;).

Anyway, can't wait to see pics and the trip report from Rebecca's whirlwind trip to meet Mindy in Vegas!

Happy Birthday Kory and Christie!

June 6 was Kory's 23rd birthday and my sister's 29th bday! Happy birthday both of you!

Bought a computer! And I got an amazing deal on it at Staples, of all places. Anyway, I got the Dell Inspiron 1721. I liked it because the screen is huge for a laptop (17 inches). At Staples, it was on clearance and marked down $500.00. Then, since it was the last one in the store, they came down another 10%. Plus, I get cash back for using my Staples Reward card, so I will get 10% more back in the mail in a couple months. So, I got a $1600 computer for under $600. Gotta love deals with shopping. Yay. Am getting used to it now because it is heavier and the keyboard is wider than my last computer, so it is weird right now, LOL. Thus far though, love it. Especially since it functions.....

Had a board meeting on Thursday night to see presentations by companies that will assist us in our superintendent search. We chose MASB, which I am happy about. I felt like they had a lot more experience in searching, and would do so more quickly. It sucks Tim is retiring big time, but, I am really happy for him that he gets to spend time relaxing and with his wife. Congrats again, Tim.

Friday night, Rebecca came over before her flight to Vegas to have dinner for Kory's birthday. Well really, she was just coming over and it happened to fall on Kory's birthday. Went to Pete's, and showed her the pond. Later that night, Kory's parents got here and we all went out for drinks at Jerry's Bar. Today, we went to Grassroots (the pond store near our house) and for breakfast at Newport Cafe with everyone. Keith and Kellie left after that, and we have been chilling the rest of the day. I watered my flowers with my new attachment for the hose I bought, and watered some shrubs and trees as well. We bought some really kewl floating plants for the pond today. Oh, and the well people came on Friday and started that, so hopefully, it is done soon because our water levels are low from the hot weather we have been getting.

Anyway, off to bed. Having breakfast in the morning with Judy and Ruth, then heading to work for the day, I think. Night.....

Feeling Sorry for Laptop

OK, not really. But, I came home and went to get on my laptop, which is having issues. It does turn on, but it keeps going to that screen where you have to choose to *start normally*, or in *safe mode*, etc., and nothing is working to get it on. I tried my restore cds which worked once in the past, and NOTHING. Thus, I have to make a decision. I am going to take it in and see if it can get fixed, or perhaps get a new one. Mine is desperately old (it was bought near the start of law school, which was a freaking long time ago). But, the computer is great, and if fixed cheaply, I would like to keep. Decisions, decisions. Then, if I decide on something new, I need to decide if I want to take the plunge to Macs. I love Apple products, but I have only used Windows my entire life. Hmm. Anyone have a laptop they love and that I MUST purchase?? Suggestions, if you have them, please!

Last night, Val came to visit with her new boyfriend, Rob. It was really nice to see her. It is truly scary how much alike we are, and we are not actual sisters, simply former stepsisters. She is me, minus 11 years. Even getting the same undergrad degree......Anyway, Rob was really nice. We all went to dinner at Pete's, and hung at the house afterwards. Rob's family can get into the dealer auctions that are not open to the public for cars, so him and Kory were surfing the net lookings for Audis and others. Kory wants to sell his truck and get something more gas efficient. So, Rob was his bestest friend last night, HAHA.

Announcment: Rebecca is coming to my hometown with me over the 4th of July! We are taking a girls' trip and I can't freaking wait. One, to spend lots of time with her, and two, to see my Mommy. I sent emails to all my friends who still live there or might be there over the 4th, so hopefully, Rebecca and I can get drunk a lot and have fun! hehe. At the very least, we will spend a lot of time at the beach and the festival. I grew up in Manistee, MI, which is on Lake Michigan. So, awesome place to be in summer, HORRIBLE cold place to be in winter. Should be so super fun. Rebecca will most likely be meeting Nick (my nephew) when I do for the first time, so we will have to take lots of pictures.

It's also getting SOO close to our LA trip. I can't believe I leave on Wed night. Crazy. I still need to rent a car, but I have the hotel room rented, Kurt's tux is ready to be picked up, and my makeup and hair appointment was made for me, thanks to Julia. Yay.

Anyway, off to bed. Have an early appointment and deposition, and a late night, with a board meeting. Speaking of board meetings, there is a bunch of drama going on there which annoys me, but I am working through it. Which is why I hate politics and could never be involved any further than a school board! :).

At Last--Trip Report

So, I am finally getting around to posting about the trip. I need to, before I forgot what I did. I normally journal while on vacay, in order to recall what we did, but I did not feel like it this trip.

Anyway. I will attempt to put everything into writing after the fact. I am sure I will need to update later as I always forget things when reporting in this manner.

Day 1

Got up realllllly early, as we had to be at the airport for a flight at 6 AM. Got there, half asleep, and flew through security. Yay. Flight left on time, and flew into Houston. Flight left Houston on time as well. Gotta love Continental. Got to Managua, Nicaragua, and quickly got through customs. Paid the $5 per person fee to enter the country (which is SOO cheap compared to the other Central American countries we have visited), and headed to Avis to get our rental car. I had rented an automatic mid-range SUV. Of course, being Central America, they had no automatics available. So, we got a stick. Which is sooo much fun in stop and go traffic in busy foreign cities. Took us forever to get out of Managua. Nicaragua is just like Costa Rica in that there are NO freaking signs. Or very few anyway. We had an awesome detailed map, which would have helped if there were ANY street signs to help me. We had decided to head to Granada first thing, as it is a central location to get to a lot of things we wanted to see. Finally got to Granada after some wrong turns and figuring things out. Checked into La Gran Francia (stayed in the junior suite which was nice) and headed to lunch at the hotel's restaurant, El Arcangel. Super good lunch. The hotel was really kewl because it dates back to the 1500s and is a historic building. After lunch we found a tour guide store and booked a trip for the next morning to Mombacho Volcano. We were pretty tired with the time change, and the flights, and driving around the country, so after wandering the city some and grabbing something to drink, we decided to pass out and go to bed.

Day Two

Got up early and headed to the tour guide's office and to Mombacho Volcano. Took a truck to the base of the volcano to wait for the huge truck that would take us to the hike in the volcano. The trucks were pretty kewl, they were old army trucks from the civil war in the country in the 1980s. Rode up in the truck with our tour guide. On the way up, we stopped at a little village that makes it's own coffee and sells it (among other things). Wandered there and took some pics, and headed up to the top. As soon as we got there, it started to pour. Waiting in the little lodge until the rain subsided somewhat. Started the hike, which was through rain forest in the volcano. There were many places to stop and see the views, which were breathtaking. Of course, it started to pour again and we got totally drenched. Since it was so hot out there though, it was not too miserable. I was glad I was not wearing anything white or see through though. Stopped raining about half way through, as soon as we got to the really kewl part of the hike with even more amazing views and opportunity to get close to some steam vents and lava. Hiked back and were taken back to Granada. Since we were still feeling adventurous, we booked another tour, which was a boat tour on Lake Nicaragua to see the lake, a really old fort, and different little islands, including one with lots of spider monkeys. :). The boat ride was really nice. I love being on the water. We saw a lot of birds, a turtle, and lots of monkeys, including howler and the spider monkeys on the island they call Monkey Island. The fort we visited was pretty kewl too. Love how old everything is in this area. Got back to Granada, booked another trip for the next morning and decided to wander around town for me to take pics and explore.....Did that, then had dinner at a really kewl little place where I had shrimp pasta and Kurt had veggie pasta. After that, headed to bed.

Day Three

Got up really early to head to Zapatera Island, which is the home of many ancient petroglyphs. The boat ride each way is 1.5 hours. Stopped at two different areas. The first was a smaller island that had petroglyphs as soon as you stepped off the boat on the lava on the shores. It was SOOO hot that day, and this would be the day both Kurt and I got way to much freaking sun. Oww. I always wear sunscreen, and it was just not helping this day with being in a boat so long and out hiking on black lava. Anyway, on island two, we went hiking in the rain forest to different areas that had petroglyphs. Very, very kewl. Really hard hike for us though because of the changes in elevation and temperature. It's kinda sad too because the petroglyphs are not really protected. The government there cannot afford to preserve and find more of the beauty of these petroglyphs and thus, once they are gone from the sun and exposure and not being blocked off from humans and such walking on them, they will be gone and never available to see again except in pictures. I felt really privileged to have gotten to see them. Headed back after this hot day and had lunch at a little Mediterranean place, had paella. After that, headed back to our car to drive to our next destination, Ometepe Island. Drove to San Jorge, and to the ferry. As soon as we pulled up, people were trying to help us, which we actually needed. A taxi was set up to pick us up on the island and take us to a hotel. Ferry ride over was nice. The ferry was three stories, with the second level having air conditioning. Whoot. Got there, and our taxi driver was waiting and drove us to the hotel. Got there, and luckily a room was available. Checked in, and had dinner on the deck overlooking the ocean. Signed up for a tour the next morning and headed to bed.

Day Four

Got up early for our hike through the primary rain forest. On the way there, saw a TON of capuchin monkeys and babies playing in the trees. The hike was awesome, over lava rocks. We saw some really kewl bats, as well as a snake, some neat bugs including a centipede, and awesome HUGE trees. After the hike ended, we found some howler monkeys playing in the trees with their babies and literally stood and watched for a about 40 minutes. Love the monkeys. Headed back to the hotel and checked out the beach, but with our burn, we were not laying out that day! :). Had breakfast with another couple we had met (canadian), and then headed back to the ferry. After the ferry, we decided to head to Masaya, which is known for it's really kewl open market shopping. Went there, and ended up buying a really kewl wooden bowl, as well as a little parrot for Kurt for his office, and a wooden thing that I deemed a paper clip holder for my desk at the office. Left there and headed back to Managua. Got pulled over on the way. I had just read that the police in Nicaragua like to pull over foreigners and try and get bribes out of them, when they are doing nothing wrong. So yea, doing nothing wrong and got pulled over. Got out of the ticket when we refused to pay the bribe. Really annoyed us, as I don't think screwing Americans over is going to boast toursm in your country. Found a hotel that was really nice, and decided to get massages. Did that, and then had dinner at the hotel and crashed.

Day Five

Got up early this morning and headed outside of Managua to hike in a primary rain forest. This was prob the most awesome hike of the trip. We saw so much. Tons of monkeys, a peccary, birds, etc. The trees were incredible on this hike. Kewlest I have ever seen. Also saw a gorgeous waterfall. After this, went and walked through a local mall and had lunch, then headed back to the hotel. Ended up getting kinda drunk, hehe, and playing pool in the hotel's poolside bar. Kurt beat me, but I did win 4 games to his 8. Decided to get a mani/pedi next, while Kurt had another massage and went to the casino (where he won $70 playing blackjack). Went and had dinner that night at this really yummy seafood place in town. Came back afterwards and hung out in the room, and crashed.

Day Six

Back to reality, boo. Slept in, got up and had breakfast, turned the rental car in, and headed to the airport. All flights back were great.

Overall, had an awesome time! It was prob our least favorite of the Central American countries thus far, but still had an amazing time, as usual. Some of the things we did not like about the country were the lack of road signs, the amount of people begging us EVERYWHERE we went, the police pulling foreigners over for no reason.............But, I did like the lack of tourists, the beauty of the volcanos and rain forests, and being in nice weather! :).

Of course, took lots of pics. Click here to see them.

Odd

An entire weekend went by and......I did not work at the office! Really strange feeling, but I can handle it. ;).

Went this weekend and bought flowers for the house. I have three large pots on the pillars in front of the house, as well as a three tiered thing on th front porch. After doing those yesterday, I went today and bought three pots for in front of the garage. I have been wanting to buy those for a couple years, and never have. They look awesome. I went a tad overboard with the flowers I think, but I love them. Took a lot of walks near the pond this weekend. We bought two new frogs yesterday and I have seen both of them surface in the pond, one eating a little fish. Kurt saw a HUGE bullfrog at the pond, which is kewl because we did not put it there. It came from someplace in our yard, I guess. I want to see it!

Friday night, my Mom and stepDad came into town. They had been at my stepbrother's graduation in Hudsonville. We went to dinner at Pete's, then hung out at the house. I taught my Mom how to use Flickr, so she could upload her pics of Nick to the site. Also downloaded Picasa to her computer. The next morning, we went to breakfast at a local cafe I like, then went to a few stores in town. My Mom bought me this silverware I have been wanting at Target for my birthday. Love it. You know how some people say socks disappear at their house? Yea, silverware disappears at mine.

I am working on uploading all my pics from the trip. Have not started the trip report yet, but need to do that too! I am so slow. Too much outside yard stuff this weekend.......