So, have not written in four days, I don't even remember the past four days I was so busy.

So, we worked both days this weekend, but today we only worked a few hours in the morning, so Kurt headed home and I headed to the mall to use some coupons Misty gave me. They were for $15 off if you spent $30, and she gave me 4 of them, so $60 off if I spent $120, at NY and Co. Score. And, the store was having a sale, Buy one item, get the second 50% off. Deals all around! I was really looking for some new work stuff.

I ended up finding a lot of stuff. I was hoping to find a new suit, but I did not like the way thier suit coats fit, so I ended up with non-suit purchases, which is fine. Here is what I got there:

Shirt (in white), which I can wear under suits or just with dress pants.

Pants

Pants

Shirt (in familiar green)

Shirt (in Vermillion): another one that will look cute under suits, or with pants in the summer.

Shirt (in familiar green): this shirt was more for casual wear, but I could wear it to work too

Pants

Shirt: I think I mostly bought this shirt because the style was "different". I love anything unique these days.

I then headed to Macy's, to see if they had any suit clearance racks going. Not really. I tried on a couple skirt suits, but nothing was very exciting. So, I wandered over to the shoe department, and got two pairs of shoes. This pair of Steve Madden's for work, and this pair of coach sneakers for casual. The tennis shoes are SO cute. And, I got them for so cheap! I could not believe the deal I got, and they had them in my size. Whoot. I was surprised they caught my eye because I am usually very nondesigner, and hate for labels to be on anything I wear, but I loved the contrast of colors on these. Oh, the ones I got are khaki with blue bands. Really cute.

I stopped at Best Buy next because I have been looking for a Greatest Hits cd of Paul McCartney. Found that, and also picked up Carrie Underwood's first cd. I was shocked at myself buying a country cd, but she kinda borders on pop, and so far, I love the cd. She reminds me of my love for Faith Hill, that kinda mixed pop/country sound.

Saturday, we worked all day on work at the office, and a LOT of rearranging. We bougght a new computer for the new employee, and set that up. After a LONG day, we decided to go out for a nice dinner, and settled on Big Fish, which is a classic Lori favorite. Kory had never been there, so it was fun to take him someplace new. I had my fav meal there, the Shrimp Fresco, Kurt has cashew crusted sole, and kory had a caribbean combo. Service was a little slow, but the food was amazing. On the way home, we were driving in Allen Park and all the sudden, saw a TON of cop cars going toward this gas station. So, we did what any curious citizens would do and turned around, heading back to check things out. The cops at the station had their guns pulled! I think it made Kory's day, LOL. we still don't know what was going on, but something major. We are thinking either someone was robbing the gas station, or some kinda drug bust. There was at least 10 cop cars there though. Crazy.

Office Updates

Where to Go?

Made tartar sauce tonight! Used this recipe. Have not tried it, because I hate tartar sauce. Made it for Kurt and did not make seafood tonight, so it is chilling in the frig and I will post if it's good or not upon consumption. ;).

Bought two books at lunch today. We are trying to decide where to go on Lori's Annual Birthday Adventure.....I think we are leaning towards either Guatemala or London. I bought books on both. The London book is really overwhelming. I guess I never realized how much stuff there was in London to see! There is enough to explore for like a freaking month! Crazy. either place would be kewl though. Guatemala looks like it would be similar to Nicaragua. So, Jenn, if you have any ideas on London, PLEASE email me so I don't feel so overwhelmed. No idea even where to start on that trip.

The last few weeks have been crazy with travel and work and the working out kinda fell to the wayside. I started again this week though and it feels really good to be in my gym every night again. I like my time down there alone...I think it relaxes me, oddly. I can read (if biking), watching The Gilmore Girls (I am on Season 6 now), and get a workout in. I always kinda feel at peace afterwards and it was really annoying me with working so many hours that it got cut out for a couple weeks or so.

New Secret Post...

Thinking.....

Read about my thoughts

Party with the Office

**Jessica, Misty and I

Friday night, Misty had the go ahead to go out for the night, so everyone from the office decided to go out to Malarkey's for dinner and drinks. It was a fun night, although jessica could not stay long since Matt was coming down to visit for the weekend and she had to get back to her apartment.

**me and Kurty

I did one shot at the start of the night, but that was the extent of my drinking. The shot was called an "alcoholic jolly rancher" and it was super yummy. Kurt drank a few too many rum and cokes, and Misty was totally cracking me up. it's weird how we have worked with her for so long, but never really been out on a social level (prob because she has three kids and does not go out very often at all). We played darts for a while, and Kurt and I left at 1030 p.m. to go home.

**Jessica, Misty and kory

I got pulled over on my way home near our house, LOVELY. I kinda lucked out though....I had no seatbelt on for some reason (which is weird, since I always wear my seatbelt), did not have my insurance on me, was going 15 over (60 in a 45), and had a light out in my license plate (that I did not know about). The cop only wrote me up for 5 over.....I am still going to fight the ticket though because I have a perfect record and want to keep it that way.

**Pic above is of Kory's "strip tease" while playing darts. He was hot, and was taking off his button down work shirt to reveal his Shimek Cherry Orchard t-shirt.

One thing I learned tonight.? The iPhone takes really crappy pics, LOL.

Saturday, we got a huge storm here, so Kurt and i stayed in the entire day and night. It was nice. I needed a day to just chill, we have been going out a little too much lately. Today, we worked most of the day and did not get home until dinner time. Worked out, made dinner, and am chilling out now. Really need to do some more laundry though.......

Philadelphia Trip Report

As eveyone knows, Kurt and I went to Philadedlphia for his bday over Valentine's Day weekend. Below is the trip report and link to pics from that trip! :).

Day one--Thursday

Flight to Philly was pretty short. It only took about 59 minutes of air time to get there. The end of the flight was a little bumpy because of a wind storm in Philly, but it was fine. (which after the fact was somewhat freaky because that night around after we landed, a plane crashed in Buffalo, NY, from windy/icy conditions). Got there and our luggage came out right away. We then grabbed a taxi to the Omni. Love the hotel to pieces (although this as shortlived because of a bad experience later in the trip). We are Omni Reward Card members, and they upgraded our room since it is Kurt’s bday. It is soooo nice. They left dessert for two in our room with a bday card. Our room’s bed is really comfy, and has a flat screen TV, couch, desk, and other kewl stuff. We have views on two sides of our room into Independence Park, and can see Independence Hall from our room. I love it. Anyway, the first night, we basically got here and explored the hotel, then went to bed. We were both pretty tired from work and then the travel.

Day Two--Friday

Slept in, and grabbed the orange juice, coke and newspaper that was left outside our door FREE. Part of the Omni Loyalty Program. Chilled and watched the news, then got ready and headed out to Independence Park. We did a lot of walking today, and saw Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Franklin Court, Physick House, Betsy Ross House, and the US Mint.

Independence Hall was VERY kewl. It had the area where the first Congress was, the first Senate, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and where the first Supreme Court held sessions.

The Liberty Bell was very kewl to see in person as well. It was smaller than I anticipated for some reason though......The museum leading up to it was really informative and since I am not a history buff like Kurt, I learned a LOT.

Stopped into an actual Quaker house too, and it was really interesting. They do not have a "leader" in their house. They are all considered equals. Anyway, this house we went to was one of the oldest in the area. The seating was all original, from the 1700s.


Franklin Court was where Ben Franklin's house "used" to be. It was all about him, and it had this ADORABLE movie at the end about a mouse called Amos that I loved.


The Physick House was a very old mansion that housed the first surgeon in the US, who also invented soda pop. The guy who did this tour was very friendly and seemed to really love the house and it's history.


The Betsey Ross House was neat too. Her grave was there, as well as her history. And, the US Mint was kewl to go to. We got to see money being made, and a museum with a lot of money history stuff. Had dinner at an Indian Place called Café Spice. Had lunch at a place called Cosi, which was awesome. I wish we had the place near the office. Awesome tuna melt. My legs are killing me now……….We were on our feet about 7 hours today. Almost nothing involved sitting down today, LOL.

Day Three--Saturday


Started with a tour of the Masonic Temple Tour where the free Masons meet. This place was GORGEOUS and the tour was really informative, although nobody filled me in on the "secrets" of the Masons, which I really wanted to know, haha.


We then headed to the Franklin Institute museum where we saw an Imax movie on caves, a 3-D movie about bugs and walked the museum. This museum itself was kinda lame, but the movies were kewl. I think it is more a museum for kids, I think we went to the wrong one by accident.


Off to the Mutter museum about medical oddities. This place was SUPER kewl. I could not believe some of the stuff they had in there. Prob not a place to take the kids.....And no cameras allowed, so boo on that.


Dinner with Sher and Patrick at Moriarty’s for Valentine's Day. It was awesome to meet them (this was Kurt's friend from high school). Kurt got slightly, OK a lot, trashed, but hey, it's OK! We were not driving, LOL. Had lunch at an Irish pub as well called Mace's Crossing Pub, and the place had AWESOME food. I had a tuna melt and cajun fries. The place was SO small, a total hole in the wall, but I loved it.

Day Four--Sunday

Had brunch with Heather at The Continental. The place was super cute, and the food was really yummy with interesting meals and way too big portions. It was awesome to finally meet Heather in person. She is super funny, smart, and so easy to talk to and be around. So much so that we had dinner with Heather at Raw, her fav sushi place, and went to her place to hang out afterwards. The food at Raw was INCREDIBLE. I always say Crave tops my list of sushi places, but this place is a CLOSE second. Plus, it is more laidback then Crave. The Capitol Roll i got was amazing. Earlier in the day, we got a massage at Topper’s in Rittenhouse. it was nice to relax, but the massage itself was average. I am used to my therapist here, or Rebecca, and most people just do not use enough pressure for me.


Went to the Anthropology and Archaeology museum at Penn. This place was really kewl as well. I loved the Egyptian portions, and the African special exhibit.

Oh, why I got pissed at the Omni. I scheduled massage appointments at the spa, Lux Spa and Salon. This was in the hotel. I then cancelled the appointment, because I decided to try a different place that was recommended to me. I cancelled the appointment FAR ini advance of the 24 hours notice required. On Sunday morning, I get this call from the spa asking where I was at. I told them I had cancelled my appointment. They proceed to argue with me about this, telling me I had not, etc. Kurt was right there and heard me do so. After about 10 minutes of being rude to me, they offered me appointments for later that day, but if I did not take them, I would be charged. So, i went downstairs to complain to hotel management. Well, the girl working the front desk, the "front desk manager", was rude and unprofessional. She was not the General Manager of the place, as he does not work weekends or something. Anyway, she was NO help, basically told me that there was nothing she could do, as the spa is separate from them and SOMEbody has to pay, and it was not going to be them. She told me to just dispute the charge with my credit card company. We were livid. I would have checked out, except we paid in advance with Expedia. Anyway, once we left, I called my credit card company and cancelled my card and they automatically too the charge off my account sinc it was still pending from the hotel. I could not believe how horrible I was treated by the front desk and the spa. **since we got back, i filed a complaint on the Omni site. That SAME day, I got an email from the hotel, the front desk manager girl. Of course, in her "I'm sorry" email, she was still being snotty and rude and telling me I was wrong. My guess is she got yelled at by corporate, because there is no way this girl would have voluntarily been nice to us. She offered me a free stay, and offered to take the spa charge off my card. I was like, it would have been nice if you did that WHEN I ASKED instead of after I complained to corporate. It would have made everything better. Now, I never want to stay at their hotel again. Lame, but I am glad it was taken care of.

Day Five--Monday

Checked out of hotel, headed to the National Constitution Center. Saw a show and toured the place. A lot of kewl legal stuff was there, which I liked. In one part, you could try on a Supreme Court Justice robe.


Went for a walk in Elfreth's Alley, which is one of the oldest streets in the country. The colors and buildings and road were really kewl...


Went to the Seaport Museum on the water. This place was neat too, it had replicas of all kinda of older boats and yachts and such.


Went to the Eastern State Penetentiary. This may have been my fav part of the entire trip. The place was a photographer's dream, and the history and tour was incredible. but, it was COLD. No heat and all colder than outside. They did have hot chocolate half way through the tour, which warmed me up. Had lunch at Brownie’s Irish pub. After the prison tour, we walked through some shops in Phily, and I got to go into a 1154 Lill store for the first time! That was awesome, but I did not want to make Kurt suffer, so I did not buy anything. It is kinda a time consuming process and I did not want to rush.


Stopped and saw the old Philadelphia Hospital, which I think is the oldest hospital in the US? Had dinner at airport, and then got home around 10:00 p.m.

Overall, this trip was great. I loved exploring a new US City, and it was very relaxing and low key. One odd thing was, people in Philly seemed surprised that we would pick there to travel to. I dont think people realize how BAD Detroit is. They were comparing Philly to Detroit, and I would say "HELLO, Detroit does not have spa, nice restaurant, and luxury store every block". Philly is so much nicer than Detroit. Anyway, I wish Detroit was as nice as Philly. It is sad that ou city cannot be as built up as other major cities in this country. It just shows how poorly run Detroit has been for a really, really longtime.

Best Parts of this Trip

1. Meeting Sher, Patrick and Heather

2. Eastern State Penitetiary

Worst Part of this Trip

1. Weather was kinda cold for parts of it, which was expected

2. Ordeal with the hotel

Here are the rest of my pics from the trip. Getting to use my camera for the weekend was so nice as well......I miss it!

The Red Door

Too tired to post much, so I will leave you with a pic. It's sad that I go away for two days, and it feels like I have 2 months of work on my desk. We will work one day this weekend and catch it all up, but still, I am exhausted. Ugh. And I had two board committee meetings tonight, and on top of all the work at the office, I am super tired.......

Not Much New

Still working on Philly pics......So many, and so little time at home since we have gotten home!

Worked late last night, and then tonight, Jessica insisted that everyone go to Happy Hour, so off to Malarkey's we went.......Misty surprised us and stopped in with her husband later after they had their taxes done, which was super fun. Everyone was there from the office......Everyone pretty much got drunk besides me, LOL. Well, and Joe only had two, so I doubt he was drunk. Anyway, nice night out.

Went to the chiropractor today, and I am already feeling better. Yay. Kurt went to the doctor today for his ear, which has been bothering him for a couple weeks now, and they used some watergun like thing on his ear which cleaned it out, and I guess he had this HUGE ball of wax in his one ear. How that happened, i don't know......Anyway, now he thinks I am yelling at him when I talk, haha.

Wanted to quickly say CONGRATS to Sarah and Matt! :). While in Philly, I saw my phone ringing with Sarah's name and it suddenly came to me! She was engaged. I knew it. I answered, even though I could barely hear in the bar, and asked her what she had to tell me, and she sounded SOOOO excited. Kinda drunk, but excited too, LOL. I am beyond thrilled for her. So freaking kewl. And the proposal and all that were very sweet and so well put together, I really think she had NO idea it was all coming that day. Can't wait to hear about the wedding and details.....

Exhausted

So, we got home last night at like 945 p.m., then worked 12 hours today. AARGH.

Anyway, I am working on editing pics, and a trip report and will post as soon as I finish and have time.

I will leave you with this pic, so y'all can be super jealous that I met Heather, and had brunch AND dinner with her! It was awesome to meet her, and I also got to meet her super sweet kitty cat, Manders, and see her place! :).

Overall, awesome trip. I loved Philly, and had a great time exploring and relaxing, and will post more soon. Night!

The Day

Even though I personally do not celebrate the holiday, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day from Philadelphia! Thus far, we are having an awesome time, and the city is very kewl. We have seen a lot of sites already, and Kurt is marking off what he wants to see today in my Philly book.

Hope everyone has a nice day today. Even if you don't have a significant other, call your Mom, or a sister, or whomever, and tell them you love them! :).

Off to call my Mom right now!

Told

So many things to do.....

This trip crept up on me so quickly! I can't believe we are leaving tomorrow after work. And, we are leaving straight from the office, so i have to pack everything tonight. So, tonight has been BUSY.

Did not leave work until 720 or so. Kurt had a mediation that went kinda late and we had some stuff to finish up for tomorrow morning. Stopped and picked up dinner and a prescription at Kroger that I needed before we could leave. Came home and ate and did the following:

1. Folded and hung up laundry, put laundry from washer into dryer and put another load in washer. Brought three hampers from my bedroom into the laundry room and an empty one returned to the bedroom.

2. Picked up a bunch of work clothes in bedroom and hung in closets.

3. Picked up random stuff in bedroom and bathroom.

4. Took dishes out of dishwasher and loaded in again.

5. Brought suitcase up from basement and cleaned it (really dusty). Took backpacks and life jackets to the basement from the Galapagos trip that were STILL sitting near the stairs to be taken down.

6. Emptied garbages in three of the bathrooms, put new Kleenex in two of them and changed refilled toilet paper in two.

7. Other random crap I can't remember.

I am exhausted, and I have not even finished. Ugh. Sitting here taking a break.

So, I told Kurt this morning where we are going. On accident. AGAIN. it's OK though because I wanted him to look at the Philly book I had to decide what attractions he wants to see. Gave him the book as soon as we got home to read through.

Had lunch today with an attorney friend of mine, Michelle, and the new person she hired in her office, Tracy. She hired Tracy at the same time we hired Jessica. So, the four of us had lunch, which was super fun, but too quick. Jess and I had to get back to prepare for an afternoon mediation. She was going with Kurt and I had to hurry up and finish the Brief beforehand. I was so slammed all afternoon too with appointments. It was craziness with only me there and Kurt and Jessica at the Mediation.

Anyway, off to do more stuff for tomorrow. I will be taking the computer with me, so I may post late at night, or I may not. If not, everyone have a nice weekend and I am sure I will be back with pics and a trip report early next week! :).

Happy Valentine's Day!

Relieved.....Exhausted

So, this morning, WAY TOO EARLY, was Kurt's procedure. We had to get there at 630 a.m. in Dearborn, which is like 40 minutes from us. So, we left the house at like 545 a.m. Got there, checked in, waited a half hour, finally someone came out and got Kurt. They called me back a few minutes later to see him, then like 2 minutes later, they took him into the surgery room and I went back to the waiting room. Read a Cosmo and had a Coke, and like 17 minutes later, the doctor called me back to tell me everything was fine, no cancer, no nothing. Yay. Got to go see Kurt next, and about 15 minutes later, we were out of there. Drove him home and got there around 9:10 a.m., so I took a shower, threw on a suit and headed to work. Had court at 11 a.m. andd was SLAMMED the rest of the day, worked late and got home around 700 p.m.

Needless to say, I am exhausted now. But, relieved everything went well. I get so worried with anything when it has to do with Kurt.....

Thanks everyone for your positive vibes, thoughts and/or prayers. I appreciate it and realize I get worked up over nothing..................:).

Girls' Sunday

Friday night, Kurt and I went out for sushi. Super yummy. Had our fav roll, and discussed some of the future of the business. Which I posted about the other day on the secret blog.....

Saturday, we worked past of the day, and went to Sam's looking for a new microwave. I am going to buy one for the office so we can heat stuff up there. The frig died at the office, so I am going to take in the one from the gym downstairs since I never seem to remember to use it down there. Did not find anything at Sam's, but we bought ahi tuna and flour tortillas to make tuna tacos with. Came home and made dinner, and played Gin Rummy. We tied--one game to one.

Today was fun. Rebecca set up a "girls day" with lunch and a movie. Met her at 130 at her house, and we headed to lunch at Azteca with Becca, Gina and Colleen. The food there was awesome, and since the staff barely spoke english, I practiced some of my Spanish. Love that. Headed to the movie next, where we met up with Heather, Keith, Jennifer, Julie (I think that was her name). Saw "He's Just Not That Into You". It was really funny, i really liked it. Oh, and before the movie, we stopped at DSW because i really needed new boots since mine died, and I found a pair on the clearance rack! Whoot! You can see them here. They are comfy and I can't wait to wear some that are not falling apart! Sad that I never have time to go to a store and buy stuff......

Anyway, off to bed because I have to get up early to take Kurt in for his procedure. Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Cutest Nephew Eva

I have not posted many pics of Nick lately, so here are some for your viewing pleasure.

Nick is now 11.5 months, and is standing up and crawling super fast, so I imagine walking will be any day now. He is at my Mom's this weekend.

The first pic below is of him before bedtime, making a pouty face and trying to get my Mom to pick him up (which of course she did after taking the pic). Too cute.

I guess in the second pic, my Mom was cooking dinner, and Nick decided to go into her cabinet and grab a bottle of Popov. I saw what pic and was like OH NO! he is taking after his Auntie Lori her freshman year of college! haha. that bottle looks HUGE next to him.

New One

Lack of Secrets.

RBG--My Hero

Probably the person I idolize the most in life and want to be like is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. For those of you who are not in the legal world like I am, she is a Supreme Court Justice, and is extremely liberal in her viewpoints. Probably the most far left on the Court right now.

She has been my hero since I started on this legal journey of mine... I think if I ever met her, I would burst into tears because I would be SOOO excited. I looked for her when we were in DC last year, but court was not in session at that time, so my chances were pretty much zero, LOL.

And today, i read this article, about her fight with pancreatic cancer, and it made me really sad. :(. I am glad they caught it early, but I am still worried about it.

Even though I know they would appoint another women most likely, nobody will ever be like Ruth for me. I have seriously thought about naming my future daughter after her, but I don't really like the name Ruth, LOL. That is how much I look up to her.

So, everyone, please keep Ruth in your thoughts and hope she gets better! :).

randomness

I really do not have much to say, but felt like blogging, so this will be kinda random. This week has been busy with work and board meetings. I have not had a lot of free time, and my desk is piled with work to get done. AARGH. We had an interesting custody trial this week that Kurt did, and I stopped in to watch some of it. I love watching Kurt in trial, he is really in his element, even though he hates the prep and getting ready for it. I have literally not seen another attorney, in our area of law, who comes close to being as good as Kurt in trial. He is a total natural. or acts like it anyway, LOL. We find out the results in a couple weeks. We reprensent the mother and it's just another of those cases where the father wants more time to avoid paying more money, which is sad. So many fathers WANT the time, and guys like this one make a bad name for Dad's everywhere. Jessica said after the trial that she does not see at all how Kurt could have lost, but you never know in family law. It's very unpredictable, so we will see.

I made a new mac and cheese recipe that I cut out of a magazine last night, from a chef named Alan Ashkinaze. The recipe was below average comopared to the Martha Stewart mac and cheese, but it was a lot easier to make. I guess the recipes that require more effort are just better sometimes. Oh well. It was OK.

Today, we walked outside to another gorgeous MI day (note heavy sarcasm). It was negative 5 degrees. I seriously am sick of this crap. I hate cold weather and I am getting really restless not being able to go outside, with my camera, and walk or hike. I know I could in the snow, but I hate cold weather, and it has been just brutal here. I need some time away in NICE weather. Badly. It is supposed to warm up some this weekend, so hopefully that helps me.

So, I need new boots. Not the knee high type, more like just over my ankle for wearing under dress pants. Any suggestions on brands you like, or sites to use? I have been looking online, and am just not finding what I want in a reasonable price. I don't want to spend $100s of dollars on a pair. I really liked my last pair, but they were cheaply made and only lasted part of last winter and part of this winter.

Happy Birthday, Baby

***Me, and my favorite husband eva.

So, today is Kurty's 38th bday! His "present" will come on Valentine's weekend, when I am taking him on his surprise trip. But, I did not want the day to pass with NO celebration, so at the last minute, the "office" decided to go to dinner, minus Misty, since she wasa visiting her uncle in the hospital. So, we decided to go to Crave. Until we got there and realized that they were closed on Mondays. So, we went two doors down to Annam and had Vietnamese.

**Soooo, for all of you wondering, this is Jessica, our new associate! :). She fits in fabulously at the office, and likes to socialize with us outside of work, so I guess we have not scared her away with our crazy personalities, LOL.

Food was great, and we had an awesome time. Kurt filled Jessica in one some classic stories that she does not know yet of his "younger, rum and coke filled days", and we closed the place down, LOL. Which is not saying much since they close at like 9 p.m.

So, hard to believe that I have been with Kurt through his twenties and part of most of his 30s! Each year just gets better, and I feel blessed every day to be married to my bestest friend and kewlest person I have ever met. I love you baby! :).


**Kurt telling a story about his younger days......

Took a few more pics, which you can by clicking here.


**Jessica and kory

Weekends Fly By....

Friday night, Rebecca came to the office and we (meaning her, kurt, kory and I) went to dinner. We went to this new place by the office that is Japanese, and has hibachi tables. We decided to sit at the hibachi table, and i had shrimp with rice and veggies, which was awesome. we sat and talked for a while then headed home. It was really nice to see Rebecca. :). i was glad she made it down, even though it had started snowing AGAIN.

Saturday, we got up and went into the office for a short time. after that, stopped at Sam's Club and Men's Warehouse (Kurt desperately needed new shoes and bought a new tie as well, which was NOT needed, LOL). Stopped at Kohl's so i could buy my Grama her bday present, and while looking, found a ring for myself marked down to $4! gotta love deals. Headed home then to my Grama's in Westland for dinner. My Dad, Auntie, Carl, Grama, kurt and I were there. We went to Max and Erma's, and I had a shrimp pasta meal, which was yummy. since Kurt's bday is tomorrow, it was kinda a joint celebration. Kurt got some nice gifts, a couple dress shirts, tie, cuff links, etc. which I still need to unpack from the car.

Today, we did pretty much nothing. Well, I did do some things around the house. Made a Super Bowl dinner of tuna tacos with mexi rice, and made chocolate chip cookies. Had a nice night watching the Super bowl andd playing Sequence with Kurt and kory. kory won, even though he was the newbie to the game.

Kurt and I were watching a dog show at my grama's, and saw this dog that we both fell in love with, that is NOT a pug. If I was in the market for a dog right now, I would so be buying one of these. Anyway, it is called an Affenpinscher, and it looked like it had a personality a lot like a pugs. Super cute. we do not need a fourth dog for sure, but I may look at one in the future. Anyone have any experience with the breed?

Crazy Weather

OMG, Tuesday was crazy with the weather here. Now that it has cleared up, it is almost like it never happened.....

Anyway, recap of the day. Kurt and I both had to drive to work, as we had court hearings in Detroit and Ann Arbor. Kurt had court at 830 in Detroit, I had court at 1000 in Ann Arbor. We left the house super early in order to try to get to the office by 800. The roads were HORRIBLE. It was like none of the cities plowed roads. Even I-75 was not salted or plowed. Then, there were multi-accidents on the highway, cars galore off the side of the road. Stopped traffic. We finally got to the office at like 850 or so. Kurt left immediately, and I called all the courts to tell them Kurt would be late (which they understood with the roads). Jessica got to the office and was coming with me, so we left around 900. It usually take me about 30 minutes to get to Ann Arbor. We got there at 1010. My clients were not there, but neither was the trustee. Normally, a 1000 bankruptcy hearing means I will be out of there by, at the latest, 1030. We left there at like 1140 because the trustee was so late. In the meantime, I found out that kurt did not get to Detroit until 950 (slightly late for his 830 hearing, LOL). Jessica and I left and went to get on the highway. To stopped traffic. A guy came up to our car and told us he had been sitting there for 2.5 hours already. So, Jessica and I backed up the ramp. Yea, first I have ever done that. We ended up using her GPS to find another highway, and get back to the office. At like 150. What a day. Kurt finally got back to the office at like 210. The weather and roads were just insane. I am glad to have that day over with, for driving anyway. I almost got into an accident like 10 times.

Went and got a massage on Monday night. My back has been KILLING me, as I think I pinched a nerve or muscle or something. She worked on me and I feel slightly better, but I am really screwed up and need more than one session, I think. She said that basically, in between my ribs, my muscles are all knotted up in a TON of knots. Nice. I have no idea how I did that. My body gets so screwed up from stress, AARGH.

My Sephora order came today! Yay! And Kory put our mailbox up, so no more fighting with the stupid post office.

Filed a ton of bankruptcies today, which was nice. When I started filing, I got one of our fav trustees, so I just kept filing. Yay!

Weirdly, we have worked so much this week, I don't really remember if anything elses exciting has happened!

Today is my Grama's 83rd bday though! Happy Birthday grama! We are going to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate........

9 Layers

I copyied this from Sarah. :). Fill it out and put it on YOUR blog now. :).

LAYER ONE:
-- Name: Lori
-- Birth date: May 17
-- Birthplace: Alma, MI
-- Current Location: newport, MI, on my couch
-- Eye Color: Green
-- Hair Color: Blonde with blonde and strawberry blonde highlights
-- Height: 5'8
-- Righty or Lefty: Righty
-- Zodiac Sign: Taurus

LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: mostly polish and german
-- Your weakness: beauty products
-- Your fears: death
-- Your perfect pizza: cheese and crab, cajun crust
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: retirement soon

LAYER THREE:
-- Your first waking thoughts: Ugh, don't wanna get up....
-- Your best physical feature: Smile.
-- Your most missed memory: summers with my family at the lake

LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: Coke. if specfic, Diet Cherry Coke.
-- McDonald's or Burger King: McDonald's.
-- Single or group dates: Single
-- Adidas or Nike: Adidas
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Neither, I tea is yucky
-- Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla
-- Cappuccino or coffee: Cappuccino

LAYER FIVE:
-- Smoke: never
-- Cuss: sometimes
-- Sing: I love to!
-- Take a shower everyday: Yeppers.
-- Do you think you've been in love: Yeppers
-- Want to go to college: Heck no.
-- Liked high school: Loved it.
-- Want to get married: I am, and love it.
-- Believe in yourself: Yeppers
-- Get motion sickness: Nope
-- Think you're attractive: Sure
-- Think you're a health freak: not really
-- Get along with your parent(s): Yes. I love them both.
-- Like thunderstorms: Love them when I am at home watching.
-- Play an instrument: I can, but have not in some time.

LAYER SIX:
In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: Hmm. Let me think....I dont think so
-- Smoked: No.
-- Done a drug: Nope.
-- Made Out: If you want to call it that....
-- Gone on a date: yeppers
-- Gone to the mall?: Yep.
-- Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: No.
-- Eaten sushi: Yes. Yum.
-- Been on stage: Nope.
-- Been dumped: Nope.
-- Gone skating: No.
-- Made homemade cookies: Yes. I made peanut butter cookies for Britton. LOL.
-- Gone skinny dipping: No.
-- Dyed your hair: Yep, just this past weekend.
-- Stolen Anything: Nope.

LAYER SEVEN:
Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: yeppers
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: yeppers
-- Been caught "doing something": depends on what something is.
-- Been called a tease: I dont think so.
-- Gotten beaten up: Nope.
-- Shoplifted: I plead the fifth.
-- Changed who you were to fit in: a little bit, but never would now.

LAYER EIGHT:
-- Age you hope to be married: i was 24
-- Numbers and Names of Children: No idea. Right now, I like the names Elle and Luke. But this changes yearly.
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: Borneo. at a monkey sanctuary.
-- How do you want to die: In my sleep.
-- Where you want to go to college: I don't.
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: Retired
-- What country would you most like to visit: Lots. Tops are Borneo, Africa.

LAYER NINE:
-- Number of illegal drugs taken: 0
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: prob about 7
-- Number of CDs that I own: geez, no idea.
-- Number of piercings: 2, but in the past, I had four more.
-- Number of tattoos: 0.
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper?: Gosh no clue. A lot.
-- Number of scars on my body: no idea.
-- Number of things in my past that I regret: not very many

The Post Office Is Evil

Started finally typing out some info for the firm website we are putting together. I have to draft info for the front page, atty page, staff page, areas of law page, etc. I never have time to even think about stuff like that, so I made myself tonight. I am not using it as a means to get more clients, although I won't complain if it results in that. It is more just to have a presence in the web for our current clients to see. I need to take pics of everyone at the office for the site as well, so hopefully I remember my camera tomorrow.

Worked most of the day today, which while evil, was necessary. Kurt had to work on some tax stuff, and I got a bunch of family law and bankruptcy stuff drafted.

Had leftover ziti tonight, YUM, and I made an apple cake that I got from Tastefully Simple a while back. It was pretty good, but now that I am cooking more from scratch, boxed stuff is not impressing me as much (see Rachael, I am being spoiled with home cooking, you were right).

BTW, I got so pissed the other day at the post office. A snow plow hit our mailbox a little while back, so the post office has had to hold our office. This happens every year to us. Either a drunk driver, someone sliding on the ice, a plow, etc. Anyway, kory has been stopping to pick up our mail, and they are rude to him every time he goes in there. They harass him about when we will be putting our mailbox back up, and so on. Which is ridiculous since it has not been above like 18 degrees and has been as low as negative 15 since the plow knocked it over. Of course, they are not annoyed with the city, they are annoyed with us. Like I asked for my mailbox to be knocked over. The ground is FROZEN. No idea how they expect us to fix that, but they do. So Friday, I went in to get the mail. The lady immediately says "Can we start delivery again?" To which I say "No, we do not have our box set up again yet". To which she states "You need to get that done..." To which I state "well, when it's not 5 degrees outside, I will, thanks." She then goes to get the mail and tells me that 30 days are up on 1-29. Apparently, there is a 30 day limit on this without additional permission by the post office. I tell her I was not aware of that, but will do something by then. She continues lecturing me, talking down to be, acting all condescending like. I finally say "Look. You should be mad at the city not at me. I really don't appreciate being harassed every time my family comes in here." She keeps lecturing. Finally, I can't take it anymore and say "You know, my tax dollars pay your salary and as a government employee, you are supposed to be nice to me." I then proceed to walk out the door and she is YELLING after me "You don't pay my salary! No you don't!" Duh lady. Of course I do. Federal government jobs are paid for by tax dollars. Is she stupid? I plan on making a complaint about this to the post office in DC, but have not had time to call yet. Kurt used to be a federal employee and that was one of the main things they were taught in training, they had to be nice to everyone, no matter what. I am not saying govvernment employees always are, but there is no need to be a condescending bitch because of my mail being held. It is not hurting her having it there, seriously. It's a very small office, so I imagine she is on a power trip being one of the only employees there.

Ugh.

I am so thankful my massage therapist moved my appointment to tomorrow for me. The pinched nerve in my back is getting worse and worse, and I need some help! Thanks, Crystal!!!

Getting my Hair Did

It's nights like Thursday night that remind me why I wanted to be on the school board in the first place. We had our meeting at the high school Thursday. There was a basketball game going on, and at half time, there was a ceremony to honor a girl, who graduated in 1993, who was on the basketball team. She is battling breast cancer. I don't know the entire story, but from everyone's emotions, I think it is pretty advanced cancer. Before the game, the school hosted a spaghetti dinner to raise money for this girl and 550 people. That is insane. 550 people. I live in a small town. Everyone here is so dedicated to this school district and town and supports everyone so much. The ceremony was beautiful anad tearful, and what made it even more kewl was the fact that almost all of her basketball team was there to support her. Many of them live really far away and came. The gym was full, the entire school board was there. Anyway, it was really nice. We had a really nice meeting too. January is "board appreciation month", so Thursday before the meeting, we had a dinner, and were presented with kewl framed certificates from the governor, sweatshirts from the NJROTC, cookies from the pre-school, a gift card from the PTO and some other stuff. I always feel badly getting this stuff, because I don't want anyone to get me anything. I am on the board because I want to give back to the community and don't expect anything, but the stuff was very thoughful just the same.

Friday, we took Vito into work. He is so funny at the office. We call him the Office Greeter. Clients LOVE him. He was going into appointments with kurt, sitting on his lap, and woul fall asleep with head on the desk, and snore. He would also sit in the waiting area with the clients. At one point, Kurt walked into the reception area and a client had Vito on her chest and lap, was petting and kissing him, and reading her Judgment of Divorce. He had a burger for lunch, and was all around wonderful to have there. I wish I couldd bring him every day. Friday night, we had dinner at PFChang's in Dearborn (newly opened) with Tammy and Tom. We were celebrating Tom's new job (he was laid off from his old job). He was really lucky to find another job in his field with the way the economy is. Yay for him! Had a fabulous time, with awesome food. What sucked though was we had to go back to work after that to finish some bankruptcy filings that were due by midnight, that we had no time to do that day. We were at the office until about 1120 p.m. UGH. Got everything done though.

Today, I finally got to go to a hair appointment. I have moved it THREE TIMES. The first was scheduled for right before our trip, and I had to work. The second was moved because we were interviewing candidates for the office, and I had to be there. The third was moved because the roads were HORRIBLE here and in Ohio (where the salon is). Finally, a month late (I usually go every 3 months), I got there. WOO HOO. Got my brows waxed, hair colored and hair trimmed up. Had her put in more red highlights this time, although Kurt claims he still can't see the red. I notice though and like it. Got about an inch and a half cut off. Bought a new shampoo and conditioner as well, a new product at the salon called Aquage. I got the shampoo and conditioner.

Decided to make dinner tonight, and it turned out AWESOME. I was in the mood for Italian, so I looked up some recipes for baked ziti. The one I found was by Mario Batali, and it was easy and very yummy. I modified it slightly by using a bowtie pasta instead of ziti pasta. Also, I had no idea what "parmigiano reggiano" (now I am seeing it is simply parmesean) was, so I just used a mix I found at the grocery store of parmesean, romano and asiago. Could not find balsamella at the grocery store either, so I made my own! yes, you read that right, I made the sauce from scratch. I have seriously lost my mind. But, I actually enjoyed making my own sauce, and it tasted awesome combined with the tomato sauce in the recipe. The balsamella sauce I found was by Emeril. Anyway, it all turned out awesome. And even with Kory eating some, there is a ton of leftovers for another night. They said four servings, but I would say it's more like 6 or 8. A lot of food.

Went on Sephora's website this morning because I got an email that some products were way marked down, a sale. Which Sephora rarely has. So, of course, I ended up placing an order for things I don't need, but will use....here is what I got:

Stila Shine On Gift Of Glaze (I have always wanted to try Stila lip glosses, one of my nieces swears by their products...I love sets like this where to can sample products before buying full size ones)

DKNY Be Delicious Charmingly Delicious (have been wanting to try this scent forever, and now it's on clearance)

Sephora Body Wash Sampler Gift Set

Fresh Strawberry Flowers

Bare Escentuals Star Style Collection

Also, got free samples of Phyto Phytojoba Intense Hydrating Shampoo , Kenzo KenzoPower Eau de Toilette, Canali Canali Eau de Toilette, and Phyto Phytolisse Finishing Serum.

Fault

Everything is.

Breathe

Wow. Today was insanely busy. Busy to the point that I barely had time to BREATHE. So much going on, all at once. Kurt had court all morning. I had appointments all morning, with random people stopping in as well to just chat or to sign documents. Then, our computer guy stopped in to fix some things, so I had to talk to him too. All afternoon was pure insanity too, and that was with both Kurt and I there.

Had a personnel committe meeting tonight with the school board. It went well. I got there early, and the meeting was at the high school, so I stopped in to watch high school wrestling. There was a meet. I don't think I have ever seen wrestling live like that. It was interesting. I was thinking while there that I should learn that sport, it looks like a great way to let off some steam, LOL. I think the outfits are kinda ugly though.......:).

EVERYTHING is finally set up at the office. For the most part. I still want to get a new sign for the entry way, but the guy I contacted has not called back yet. Service people drive me bonkers. I have the two new guest chairs in my office, two new ones in Kurt's office, the new table in Jessica's office.......All computers hooked up and networking properly. Whoot.

Nothing much else going on. :). Hope everyone else is less busy and stressed than I am! :).

First Day

Read here

Martin Luther King Day--At Work

Worked a long day today, did not get home until like 745, UGH. Anyway, once I got home, for some reason, I felt like making dinner for Kurt, so I made two new recipes that I found online that were simple, but looked tasty.

Made these Cheddar Cheese Mashed Potaotes with a Bean and Cheese Burrito. I modified both recipes slightly. The potatoes I used a mexican blend of shredded cheese instead of the American/Cheddar suggested. I also accidedntally put in 3 TBSP of butter instead of 2. For the burrito, I used mexi cheese as well.

Anyway, Kurt loved both things, so they were a hit! :). Made myself some black bean burgers, and we are now chillin with I Survived on TV.

Day was crazy busy at the office. Jessica started today, and we were just really busy on top of starting to train her. We had a LOT of appoinments (with no court because of the holiday), and Kurt had a doctor's appointment, and Mondays are always crazy, so.....I was glad to stay a little bit late and make return phone calls. I just took the call list and went crazy. Practically nobody answered their phones, LOL, but at least I left messages and they can call me back tomorrow.

Three Secrets

Update

Complaint

Funny

Office Updates

So, the week stayed completely crazy busy, with me going to court 4 of 5 days, which is insane. I am usually in the office far more than I was this week. I actually kinda liked getting out of the office, but it is not good having both Kurt and I in court, because we come back to chaos in the office with the amount of mail, faxes and calls to go through. We are going into work tomorrow to try to catch up on some of that though.

So, since we have a new employee starting, we needed to prepare an office for her arrival. haha, it sounds like we are having a baby or something. Anyway, we bought paint on Friday. "Smokey Blue" is the name of it. Jessica told me her fav color is blue, and Kurt did not want the color to be the same as his office, which is kinda a dark blue, so I picked out a kinda gray-blue color. It turned out amazing. Love it. Fabulous color. Kory painted on Friday and it only took two coats, which rocks. We already had a desk in there, but that was about it after we cleared the entire room out. We had been using it as Kory's office/storage area. We moved all the file cabinets to the conference room, the frig to the conference room, and everything else that was in there, differnet odds and ends. So, our conference room (which we rarely actually use as a conference room) is now a conference room/file room.

So, Saturday, we finished up her office. We moved three pieces of art from the conference room and my office to her office. One is a kewl oil painting of the White House that I bought at an auction, one is a photograph taken that I bought at an art fair of the pillars at the Supreme Court, and another is a pic I bought online of the Supreme Court pillars that we had framed a while back. We left a spot for her degree. We then moved in a chair for her desk, and two chairs for clients to sit in. We moved these from my office and decided to buy me new stuff and give her mine. Whoot! I heart new stuff. We also moved the fake tree I had in my office into her office. We had a kewl burgundy chaise at the office that Kory has been using in his room to store junk on, so we took that from kory and brought it to the office and put it in Jessica's office. Bought her a computer today at Best Buy, and set that up. We bought a table (we only bought the one desk part in the linked pic) for her office at Art Van as well, for kinda behind where she sits, I guess like a credenza? I use the one in my office all the time for files. Oh, we also moved a bookcase from Kurt's office into her office, and filled it with books. I think that's about it. I should have taken before and after pics though, because the transformation is AMAZING. It looks incredible.

Then, we bought me a new chair for my desk, and well as two chairs for clients to sit in. The chair I bought for me is pretty kewl, as it is burgundy instead of black, and super comfy. The chairs for clients I found in the clearance room at Art Van, and we can't pick up until Tuesday. Once Kurt saw the deal I found, he decided that he wanted new client chairs too, so we found two for Kurt and bought those too. So now, we are giving Jessica's the chairs that were in Kurt's office and throwing away the other ones, as don't really like them. Bought a new computer for Kurt today too. His is old and SOOO slow and our computer guy basically said it would prob cost as much to bring Kurt's up to speed as it would to buy a new one, so I said screw it, we will just buy a new one. We have to pick that computer up tomorrow though, as it was the floor model (another good deal), and they had to take all their Best Buy software stuff off of it. Stopped at Michael's too, and picked up a picture frame for this kewl picture I bought of the Supreme Court justices a while back. Kurt put all that together and we hung it in my office. Love it. Stopped at a greenhouse as well, and bought a Peace Lily to take the place of the fake tree that had been in my office. We put it on a little table thing that had been in the conference room before. The clear mat near my desk that my chair was on had cracked some, so we bought a new one for me, as well as one for Kurt and jessica.

Now everything is about done. Kurt and I were really getting sick of shopping by the end of the day. The roads were bad, and it was kinda hard fitting this stuff in the Jeep that we were buying. During one ride, Kurt had to climb into the back of thte Jeep, and I could not see most of the windows and could barely shift. Which is SOOO safe with bad roads, let me tell you.

Glad to finally have all that done though. Even if we did not have a new employee starting, I am glad to have that office all done and professional looking. It needed it. We only have a few small things left to do in the office to having it up to where we want it. There are things we have been wanting to do for sooo long, and never have time to do so. We still don't have time, we are just being forced into it because someone new is starting, LOL.

Made tuna tacos for dinner today. YUM. Last night, Kurt, kory and I went to Pete's for dinner, and I felt like I have not been there in forever. It wasa fun. Had a tuna melt. Really good.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! :).

Alive

So, I did not want anyone to think I had died after my miserable post on Monday, so I am quickly dropping in tonight.

We have worked late, and gotten to work early, every single night this week. Ugh. I am exhausted. But, after the day of feeling miserable on Monday, I felt OK since. Something feels kinda off, but I am much better than Monday, thankfully. I am trying to figure out myself what is wrong with me. I think I might have heartburn. Lately, I have been waking up in the middle of the night with a burning sensation in my stomach that is HORRIBLE. I also read up a little bit on heartburn and some of the symptoms mirror things going on with me. So, a while back, I had a coupon for a free box of Prilosec, and I got it and never used it. I am now going to try it and see if it works. Also, I noticed that caffeine is an issue with heartburn, so I am going to try and cut that out too, although I need to wean myself off of it so I don't end up with migraines.

So, we started to work on the office this week and getting it ready for the new attorney. We totally cleaned out the back office, which Kory has been using. We moved all the file cabinets out of there and into the conference room. We then set up an area in there for Kory. We are going to paint the back office, and then decorate it. I have been wanting new seating for the reception area for a while. We decided to stop at Art Van and scour the clearance center hoping to get lucky, which I rarely do in there. I really had an idea of what I wanted and lo and behold, it was there! And cheaper than what I was finding online! Whoot! Bought a couch and a loveseat, as well as a mirror for my bedroom. I guess I scored in the clearance department. The stuff is going to be there tomorrow and Kurt and Kory will go back andd pick it up. Whoot.

Because I am falling asleep, I am going to sign off...........

Today Was Miserable

I have not felt well ALL DAY. Which sucks. I am almost afraid to eat, as my stomach starts hurting, but I don't want to get a headache from not eating. So, I ate really limited food. Of course, had no choice but to go to court today. We had 6 hearings at two different courts, so I had no choice. The hearings I did were pretty low key though, so it's OK and I was glad to not be running like Kurt was....He did 4, I did 2. He knew I felt horrible................

I was hoping to feel better as the day went on, but alas, different symptoms came. I felt kinda lightheaded and tired and had a slight headache. AARGH.

Still don't feel well, but I laid low tonight. I skipped the workout, and kinda sat on the couch and chilled with kurt and the pugs, watched TV, surfed the net.

I am exhausted, so I think I am going to head to bed....nothing exciting to post about today....BLAH.

Get well me!

Shocker

Wow.

Busy Bee

So, I have been super busy this week. Work, combined with the interview process, has really worn me out. We worked late pretty much every day this week, including Friday night, which we never normally work late on. Ugh.

Had a massage on Wednesday night, which was nice and needed. I think my back and neck were screwed up even more than usual because of all the plane rides for our December trip.

Snowstorms started here on Friday, which screwed up some of my weekend plans. I had a hair appointment on Saturday, which was moved to Sunday, and I then moved totally to a new weekend because the roads are bad here and I have to drive to Toledo. Also had dinner plans on Saturday night to do sushi, and had to move those because of the roads here. So, on Saturday night, I made dinner at home, and made cookies. Britton wanted peanut butter cookies, after I started talking about them, so I made this recipe, which came out pretty good. :). Used the trusty Kitchenaid mixer, so the cookies took very little time to put together. Also, I made a new potato recipe for dinner for Kurt, which I served to him with sandwiches. The potatoes were yummy (I tried a bite, but was not hungry, so I did not eat very much of them and may have some leftover tonight). Anyway, this is going to sound odd, but making these potatoes was the first time ever that I peeled potatoes and mashed them! :). It is so easy to buy readymade or boxed potatoes, I have never wasted time peeling, boiling, mashing in the past. Well, I can see why people do it, because these were so much more yummy then boxed stuff. I made this recipe, for Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Bread Crumbs, by Giada. Kory and Britton tell me that giada is "hot", but I do not watch any of the those cooking shows, so I will just take their word. They also think porn stars are hot though, so they may not have the best judgment in the world........Anyway, the recipe took a little bit of time, but moreso because of the potato peeling part. The Kitchenaid Mixer was AMAZING for mashing the potatoes well. I don't like lumpy potatoes, and it did an amazing job. I really wonder why I have not used this mixer up until this point. It rocks! I substituted cheddar cheese for the mozzarella (since I had no mozz), and used skim milk instead of whole milk. I also halved the recipe, and used yukon potatoes instead of russet (because that is what I had in the house). Anyway, really yummy recipe. It's an interesting variety for potatoes, and super yummy.

Am trying to do laundry right now because Kurt and I both don't have much to wear! Ugh. I hate laundry, especially putting it away. Need to head back there right now though.....

Oh, and I am super jealous of Rebecca right now! She flew to Miami today to board her cruise and nice weather. Yea, I pretty much do not like her right now! Bitch. haha. Have fun, Rebecca! I will forgive you assuming you take lots of pics for me.

Weekend Interviews

Check out the remainder of the interviews

and

The Chosen One

Another Round

Ding Ding!

More

Update.

Pick a Word

A, B, or C.

And, we're off!

one, two and three.

Help Needed

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Back to the Grind

Wow. Monday was sooo hard for me! It is kinda, I guess, our first day back at the office for an entire work day, and then some since we worked late, since, hmmm.............12/12? We worked some half days after we got back from vacay, but that was about it. I think we are officially becoming lazy.....

Got home from work and was exhausted. Made Kurt and I dinner (leftovers for both of us), and proceeded to, after checking my email and stuff, fall asleep on the couch until bedtime. I guess I was tired? :). Did not workout, but whatever. Need a night off once in a while, and I figure, I should not work out if I am half asleep, it could be dangerous. Right?

I decided to donate some money, after returning from the Galapagos, to the Galapagos Research and Conservancy efforts. It's amazing what they are doing there to bring back species and the like that humans and global warming have messed up, and I want to help out with that. I have decided that I need to start finding charities that really "mean" something to me to donate to. I already donate to the local schools, but international things mean a lot to me too, since I plan on leaving the country one day.

Ordered some storage containers on eBay last night. I realize, with cooking more often, when we have leftovers, I have very few containers to put them in, with lids. I end up using mixing bowls and putting tin foil over the top, which is annoying and a waste. So, 100 piece set coming my way! Hopefully, the stuff is OK, but it's for storage, I don't need to spend a lot of money.

I just realized, in doing my year recap, that I have not posted a "Hot Topic" posting in a long time! I need to think some new ones up and post. I love reading everyone's responses to controversial topics. Any ideas for new ones?

Anyway, need to get back to work, but since I fell asleep before blogging last night.......

Errands with my Boy

Kurt ran errands with me today! Hell has officially frozen over! haha, kidding, but normally, he does not run errands, and normally, I would rather run them myself because I like to browse at stores, and he is kinda an "in and out" shopper.

We ended up running quite few planned and unplanned errands. First stop, the tanning salon in Newport. Kurt has a really uneven tan, and wanted to even it out before court tomorrow. Cutting it close, but he went one time while I talked on the phone to my Aunt. He bought a one month package....They asked me if I wanted to tan too. Thanks, but no thanks. Headed to Taylor after that to Bed Bath and Beyond. I had a coupon that expires tomorrow that I wanted to use. I bought a garlic press, a mini food processor, a food scale, and a garlic storage container for the frig. I looked EVERYWHERE for a cheese knife, to no avail. I will continue to look. Went to Borders after that because Kurt wanted some books on Forex trading. He bought this and this. Of course, I ended up browsing the travel section (my obsession) and bought an Africa travel book, a book on the parks of Montana and Wyoming, and I found the unauthorized biography of Tom Cruise on a clearance rack so I decided to buy more smut and purchased it. Stopped at Kroger's for groceries afterwards and impressed Kurt with my mad coupon skillz, then headed home for the night.

Made ahi tuna tacos again, and a new chili cheese dip recipe. I kinda took this recipe and added my own twist to it. Used cheese, chili (vegetarian), diced jalapenos, garlic, and onion. Yummy! While cooking, I used all my new stuff too, and like it all. The garlic press worked well, the food processor is awesome and easy to clean, and the scale is awesome for measuring things out. Woo hoo!

Kurt spent the morning writing out his goals for the year, personal and financial. They are lofty, but I think we can make a lot of it happen. Or at least I hope so. I will elaborate more later......................

Hunted

And, they strike again...

Happy New Year!

New Years Eve was perfect.

We closed the office at 1 p.m. That in itself made the day wonderful, LOL. Headed to Pier One to buy Kurt's Mom's Xmas gifts. Yes, I put off shopping until I am forced to purchase. Oddly, these were my first purchased Xmas gifts of the season! Bought her the softest red blanket I have ever felt, and a really kewl amber colored glass candle holder that is about 3-4 feet tall, then bought a matching candle to put on top of it. Got great deals on everything. Stopped at a Lazy Boy store that was going out of business to check out the deals, and yea, there were not any deals. Ended up buying a piece of artwork for the wall at the office. I would explain it, but it's too difficult. I will post a pic once we figure out where it is going. It was 50% off! Whoot.

After that, went to Kroger to buy supplies for my NYE dinner. Had an awesome dinner. I had ahi tuna tacos, and I made a black bean con queso dip. We bought dessert too, single slices of key line pie and oreo pie. Of course, way too much food. Ended up eating the tacos, but putting away all the dip after trying it. Ate the dessert later that night. Basically, we stayed in, played gin rummy, and did not leave the house. I had a fabulous time. :).

thursday, got up and went to Pinconning to vist kurt's Mom. Took her to lunch, then went to Kurt's sister's house (danielle), and visited with her and Jennah and Alex, our niece and nephew. We have not seen them in forever, so that was really nice. Exchanged gifts with Kurt's Mom, stopped at the cheese store to buy cheese for Aunt Karen and for our house, and headed home. Made the leftover dip for dinner (YUM), with one taco each.....I love my ahi tuna tacos. I did figure out in making the recipe though that I really need a garlic press. Emily recommended one, and when I get time, I will be running out to buy one. I also decided I want a very small food processor. Something low maintenance, and dishwasher safe, but will chop veggies for me easily. I swear, my cooking more, even though cheaper cuz we eat home, is becoming pricey with all the appliances and gadgets I want....haha.

Friday, we went into work, and totally did not want to be there. Suffered through half a day, and since it was fairly quiet, left Amanda there to man the phones and called it quits. Came home, and for the rest of the day, you guessed it. Did nothing. We are getting way too used to this. We need it though.......

Let's see, today is Saturday. I was woken up early to Kurt, telling me to get dressed because, yes, we have hunters on our property again. This is becoming really old, let me tell you. I am going to post more on the secret blog about this and will post a link later. Rest of the day, I did some laundry and chorelike stuff, and we went out for sushi, even though it felt weird going out for sushi on Saturday night, LOL. Wrong night! It was good though.

Happy New Year, everyone! :).

Movies and TV

A lot of bloggers seemed to post their book lists for the year. I have read some books, but nothing substantial, mostly for fun, and frankly, I usually read more on vacation because I simply do not have time during the week with work. (and I read so much at work, I really don't feel like coming home and picking up another book). Thus, I am going to list my TV and Movie list from Netflix! When I work out, running or biking or whatever, I watch movies on the DVD player that Kurt set up for me in the gym.

Here is what I have watched this year!

Gilmore Girls: Season 5: Disc 3
Gilmore Girls: Season 5: Disc 5
Gilmore Girls: Season 5: Disc 2
Gilmore Girls: Season 5: Disc 4
Gilmore Girls: Season 5: Disc 1
Gilmore Girls: Season 4: Disc 6
Gilmore Girls: Season 4: Disc 4
Gilmore Girls: Season 4: Disc 5
Gilmore Girls: Season 4: Disc 3
Gilmore Girls: Season 4: Disc 2
Gilmore Girls: Season 4: Disc 1
The L Word: Season 5: Disc 2
Gilmore Girls: Season 3: Disc 5
Gilmore Girls: Season 3: Disc 6
Gilmore Girls: Season 3: Disc 4
The L Word: Season 5: Disc 1
Gilmore Girls: Season 3: Disc 3
21 Jump Street: Season 4: Disc 4
Gilmore Girls: Season 3: Disc 1
Gilmore Girls: Season 2: Disc 6
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Gilmore Girls: Season 2: Disc 5
Gilmore Girls: Season 2: Disc 4
Made of Honor
Gilmore Girls: Season 2: Disc 3
Gilmore Girls: Season 2: Disc 2
21
Gilmore Girls: Season 2: Disc 1
Sex and the City: The Movie
21 Jump Street: Season 4: Disc 3
Gilmore Girls: Season 1: Disc 6
Gilmore Girls: Season 1: Disc 5
Gilmore Girls: Season 1: Disc 4
Gilmore Girls: Season 1: Disc 3
Gilmore Girls: Season 1: Disc 2
Gilmore Girls: Season 1: Disc 1
Wedding Daze
21 Jump Street: Season 4: Disc 2
Twin Peaks: Season 1: Disc 1
Bring It On Again
21 Jump Street: Season 4: Disc 1
Cobb
But I'm a Cheerleader
Save the Last Dance 2
21 Jump Street: Season 3: Disc 6
21 Jump Street: Season 3: Disc 5
Definitely, Maybe
Weeds: Season 3: Disc 3
21 Jump Street: Season 3: Disc 4
Weeds: Season 3: Disc 1
Weeds: Season 3: Disc 2
Freeway
21 Jump Street: Season 3: Disc 3
Death of a Cheerleader
21 Jump Street: Season 3: Disc 2
Over Her Dead Body
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
27 Dresses
21 Jump Street: Season 3: Disc 1
Juno
21 Jump Street: Season 2: Disc 6
21 Jump Street: Season 2: Disc 5
21 Jump Street: Season 2: Disc 4
21 Jump Street: Season 2: Disc 3
No One Would Tell
For the Bible Tells Me So
Hate.com
21 Jump Street: Season 2: Disc 2
The Sopranos: Season 6: Part 2: Disc 4
21 Jump Street: Season 2: Disc 1
The Sopranos: Season 6: Part 2: Disc 3
21 Jump Street: Season 1: Disc 4
21 Jump Street: Season 1: Disc 3
The Sopranos: Season 6: Part 2: Disc 2
Promises
21 Jump Street: Season 1: Disc 2
21 Jump Street: Season 1: Disc 1
The Sopranos: Season 6: Part 1: Disc 4
Sex: The Annabel Chong Story
Soldiers in the Army of God
The Sopranos: Season 6: Part 1: Disc 3
Spellbound
Big Love: Season 2: Disc 4
Big Love: Season 2: Disc 3
Deliver Us from Evil
The Sopranos: Season 6: Part 1: Disc 2
Thin
The Sopranos: Season 6: Part 2: Disc 1

As you can see, I finished up The Sopranos this year, and was sad to see it go! :). The best find of the year, hands down, was discovering The Gilmore Girls. I am addicted and love it to pieces. Also, started to watch 21 Jump Street, but kinda put it on hold because of my Gilmore obsession. Finished Big Love, Season 2. Loved it. Watched Weeds, season 3, and loved it. Started Twin Peaks, but am not sold on it yet, and it was also put on hold for my Gilmore obsession. All the movies and documentaries I watched are bolded and italicized. If I had to pick a best for the year, it would be Sex and The City. Documentary, prob the best was Soldiers in the Army of God, but I liked a lot of the doccumentaties.

Any suggestions for my next TV obsession? I may cry when Gilmore Girls is over. Boo.