Sunday, March 20, 2011

Deals Galore

I decided to go outlet shopping yesterday, as I desperately need some new clothes. I headed to Birch Run, which is my fav Michigan shopping venue. Not the best outlet mall in the country, but the best in the state of MI. It is about 1 hour 45 minutes from my house. Since I waited until the last minute, none of my shopping buddies were available to go, but I thought it was prob best I went on my own anyway as I really needed to spend some time figuring out my size and trying things on and I did not want to bore anyone. Anyway, the drive there was nice. Perfect weather for driving. Got there, and headed to customer service to pick up a coupon book (free of charge with a coupon I got online and my AAA card). Also had my 30% off coupon for Banana/Old Navy/Gap that I got via email. Score! :).

First purchases were at Ann Taylor. Love the store, hate the retail prices. PERFECT Lori work store though. I find deals here every single time I go to Birch Run, and this time was the same! There were a ton of clearance racks in the back, and I started piling stuff up to try on. Got into the dressing room and all the pants were too big. AARGH. Good, but annoying. Went back out and grabbed the next size down. Ended up buying two suit coats (marked down to $8 each), one pair of pants, and a cute t-shirt, all for $50! In the retail store, just one suit coat would have been like $169! Next purchases were at Calvin Klein. I bought two tanks (purple and pink) to wear under suits, a dressy shirt for work on a clearance rack, and a cute skirt to wear on vacay (too short for court, although maybe I could wear in the office when I dont have court). On to Banana Republic. Found Kurt a sweater marked down to $4. Bought myself a grey pin striped suit and a dress shirt. Next, Dress Barn. Bought a really cute dress with a shrug, and a pair of dress pants. Overall, really productive shopping day. Since I am still dropping weight, I never want to buy a ton, but I think I am getting closer to my goals, so hopefully this stuff lasts.

Speaking of which, lost 3.6 more pounds this week! I could not believe it. And Kurt lost 4.2 pounds. I am up to 54.2 pounds lost now. And, all the skirts I bought were between sizes 4-6, and pants between 4-6 as well. Shirts medium. I love, love, love seeing results from working hard at this since September.

Tonight, Val came over for dinner. Dan is super busy with tax season and could not make it, but it was nice to see her and Lucky! :). We went to dinner at Dolce Vita, and while my meal was healthy enough, I ate way too much bread. I rarely eat out, but I cannot resist that stupid bread basket. Now, my stomach feels like lead. Ugh. Bad bread. I worked out twice today though, so hopefully it does not affect my progress. Worked some today while Kurt cleaned the house, and i got 6 more bankruptcies filed and a bunch of family law stuff done, which is great since I have court all morning tomorrow. I hate coming back to a pile of work on my desk and I cleared most of it off.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Crazy Work Week

This was a crazy week. Both crazy, and insanely busy. I filed more family law cases (divorce, custody, etc) this week than I think I ever have in one week, as well as a ton of bankruptcies, and I have to file more bankruptcies online this weekend, when we work on Sunday. We had the other side on one of our divorce cases actually drive his wife to our office and sit in the parking lot. He told her to call us and tell us that they were coming in so she could fire us. She did not want to fire us. He told her if she did not, she would never see her child again. He has a lawyer, and had no business even being near my office, as I can't talk to him or deal with him. This guy is a major control freak, and has been dictating everything to her for the years of their marriage. Anyway, I told her he was NOT coming in the office, or I would be calling the Police, so he stayed in the car. I sent Megan out to take pics of him so I could show the Judge what a loon he is. Then I called his lawyer and told him to tell his client to back the hell off. Anyway, client ended up not firing us, and the Judge granted me an emergency hearing date to deal with the crazy person's behavior. we are actually concerned about our client's safety with this guy though. She cannot tear herself away from doing anything and everything the guy says, including letting him keep their baby and she is only seeing the baby if she goes over to his house and he is there. Cannot wait to argue that hearing.

Made an awesome new recipe tonight, that I slightly modified. The recipe is for Chili-Garlic Glazed Salmon. I modified and made it with ahi tuna instead, since that was what I had thawed in the frig. Also, it said to simply broil the fish, but I grilled it first, then broiled, and halved the recipe since it was just me and Kurt eating. Anyway, super good. Made it with low sodium Zatarain's Jambalaya Rice. Super yum. Kurt was a fan as well.

After work, we stopped at Dunham's as Kurt wanted to buy this Ab Coaster machine we saw last time we were there. We both kinda wanted something for our living room that we could use after a workout, while watching TV and throughout the night. I used it a bit tonight and WOW, great workout. PAIN. Great purchase. Oh, and the really nice cashier gave us 10% off, without us even asking for it! Super nice.

So, I am taking a solo trip to Birch Run tomorrow for outlet shopping. Everyone I normally go with is busy, and really, I kinda enjoy aimlessly wandering myself. I desperately need some clothing that FITS. I did get a referral to a tailor who I called today and left a message with because I am hoping some of my skirts can be saved to the suits I really like. I am so thrilled getting back to my pre-law school self and having time to think about eating right and working out again. I want to start running 5Ks again, and found one in late April near the office that I think I am going to do, it raises money for a local guidance center that a lot of our clients take their kids to. oh, and last Sunday's weigh-in, I was up to 50.2 lbs lost, which is so weird to me. I started this journey off wanting to lose like 20 lbs. I did not even know I had 50 lbs to lose.

Anyway, need to get some sleep. Hope everyone had a nice St Patrick's Day!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Long Time

So, a friend wrote me and told me I needed to update on here......My posts are really rare these days, ones with any kind of substance anyway.

I have been crazy busy with life in general, mostly in relation to WORK life. Tax season gets crazy at the firm. We are working this weekend, yet again, so hopefully, I can clear some stuff off my desk.

My Grama went into the hospital last Saturday night as well, so I spent part of Sunday at the hospital. They don't really know what is wrong with her, first they were thinking pneumonia (which was ruled out, I think), then a hernia, then some kind of issues with her sugar levels (she is diabetic). Hospitals drive me bonkers though, it seems like they never really know what is going on which drives me insane. Anyway, as of yesterday, she was still in there being "figured out", so if she is still there, I will go visit again this weekend in between working. After visiting her, I stopped at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, since I was right near there in Ann Arbor. I had never been to Whole Foods before, and OMG, total Lori store. Kinda pricey though, and coming from someone who never really pays attention to the price of food, this is saying something. It was fun to wander around the store though, and I picked up a few things. One thing I am loving is the mahi burgers I bought. Super good. I eat salmon burgers all the time, but had never seen mahi burgers in a store. I also bought feta spinach sole, and that was super yummy as well. I am liking everything I bought there so far. Oh, a refried black beans thing in a can--super good. Great store. I will be going back for sure when I am in the area of one of their stores.

Went out to eat with friends last Saturday night and had rock lobster tails, which were awesome. I have not had lobster in forever, and it was super good. Had middle eastern food last night with my friend, nancy, and that was awesome as well. Oh how I heart lentil soup............Had dinner with Rebecca last Friday at an awesome hole in the wall mexican place called Angelina's. Awesome food, and chips and salsa were great. I got really sick afterwards though, I think the dairy from the ice cream killed me. Boo. My body is weird lately with all the healthy eating, certain things just affect me. Super nice to see Rebecca though, and she got all dressed up for me! OK, not really, she was going to a party afterwards.....haha. Had lunch the next day with my friends Holly and Angela and ended up not eating because I was still feeling weird from the night before. Was nice to see them and catch up though. :).

Oh, we booked my bday trip! :). I wanted to go someplace super relaxing. That was my one requirement, I wanted a beach I could walk down, relax on, as well as other things to do, and something I could get a good deal on, with not a super long flight. I ended up booking Puerto Rico. Cannot wait. I for sure want to explore and take pics in San Juan, go to the beach, hike in the jungle.........Try some Puerto Rican cuisine. We are staying at this resort called El Conquistador Resort in an ocean view upgraded room. I booked through American Airlines vacations, using air miles, and we paid under $1000 for our airfare AND upgraded room for 5 nights. Score! So weird to be going someplace I don't need my passport for! Cannot wait. Wish it was like tomorrow........Need to get on booking our San Diego flights too for April.

Megan, one of my assistants at work, got engaged! We were all super happy for her. Her ring is gorgeous and she was totally surprised by the proposal. Yay for Megan!
I'm now down 46.8 pounds. It's so awesome having Kurt down there working out with me. He's lost about 10 pounds since he started as well, but he only wants to lose about 12 more. His blood pressure is way down since he started as well, which is AMAZING and why he lost the weight in the first place. I started looking into some classes to take, I would love to incorporate something else into my workouts, but soooo many places have most of their stuff during the day. Seriously, how many people have all this time during the workday to go work out? I am going to call the old studio I worked out at and see if they are still there, I would love to get back into combat kickboxing.

A great new snack I discovered last time at the grocery store: Quaker Caramel Corn Rice Cakes. I did not even think I liked rice cakes, but these are super good. Highly recommend. :).

Anyway, I am exhausted and am thrilled tomorrow is Friday and the end of the workweek. Yay. Off to bed, and I will try to post more often.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Since Everyone Else Is Posting It.....

A. Age: 33

B. Bed size: King

C. Chore you dislike: Pretty much all of them. The worst? Floors/mopping.

D. Dogs: I have three who I love to pieces.

E. Essential start to your day: Shower

F. Favorite color: cobalt blue

G. Gold or silver: Gold, but I truly like both

H. Height: 5'8

I. Instruments you play(ed): clarinet. some oboe.

J. Job title: Attorney/Business Owner

K. Kids: My pets

L. Live: Every day like it's your last

M. Mom’s name: Terry

N. Nicknames: Lor, counselor, freak, loser, dork

O. Overnight hospital stays: Zero

P. Pet peeves: Oh.....so many. Let's choose one. People who drive in the fast lane, slowly.

Q. Quote from a movie: "Let's ALL go!" (Legally Blonde)
R. Righty or lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: One sister. One stepbrother.

T. Time you wake up: during the week, around 715 AM. Weekends, around 830 AM

U. Underwear: Thongs.

W. What makes you run late: my husband. traffic.

X. X-rays you’ve had: teeth

Y. Yummy food you make: fish tacos

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys of any sort.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Shrimp Pad Thai--Missing Thailand

Click here to see recipe

This was amazing. I halved the recipe and it was the perfect amount for Kurt and I to split. I also quartered the shrimp for me, and made Kurt's with ahi tuna grilled since he does not like shrimp. Found the fish sauce and noodles in the Thai section of the grocery store, and the bean sprouts in the organic section of the grocery store (and they were locally grown, bonus). Everything else I had at home. Oh, I also subbed soy nuts for peanuts since I forgot to buy peanuts.

Anyway, highly recommend. I think I was missing Thailand? :).

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Germany Trip Report

Germany was a great trip! :). One of the reasons we chose Germany is that there is a direct flight from Detroit to Frankfurt. After booking the flights (and getting one flight free with miles, one for $300.00 off in price), we realized that there was limited things to do in Frankfurt, and decided to fly to Berlin as well. We were going to take the train, just because we have never taken a train before, but it actually cost MORE than the flight, so we went with the flight via AirBerlin. Speaking of which, AirBerlin was an awesome airline, with really nice, new planes that were very ontime.

So, we left after work on Wednesday, the 16th (also my Momma's bday, Happy Birthday, Mom!). Flight was overnight, arriving in Frankfurt at around 900 AM on the morning of the 17th. Flight was good, I pretty much slept the entire thing. We arrived and were greeted by a driver from the hotel we were staying at, the Flemings Hotel Frankfurt-Messe, which I chose because it was in central Frankfurt. Took about 20 minutes to get there. Checked right in and explored the hotel a little bit. The gym was pretty lame, with equipment that was not even up to par with what I have in my basement at home, but, since we were pretty jet lagged, we had no desire to work out anyway. :). Decided to make it a relaxing day and head to a local spa to use the saunas, pool, hot tubs. We went to Taunus Therme in Bad Homburg. Found it pretty easily, took the subway train, then walked to the Spa. The spa was very relaxing and nice. We used all the different saunas, went in the hot tub, went in the pool, had a drink and pretzel, and relaxed in the meditation room. Love European spas! Had dinner after that at a place called Maredo. I had salmon with wild rice and lobster bisque soup. Went back to the hotel after this and had a lemon white chocolate muffin from the hotel bakery that was aMAZing. The bakeries in Germany were all simply incredible and there were SOOO many of them. Off to bed......

Got up fairly early for a quick flight to Berlin. Same driver picked us up and gave us a little bit of history of the country on our way to the airport. Flight was quick and uneventful and we grabbed a cab to our hotel, the Radisson Blu in the Mitte District of Berlin. Hotel was great--nice room, kewl aquarium in the lobby that went to the ceiling and had tons of pretty fish, nice spa/sauna area with massage and other treatments. Went first to the JFK Museum. Interesting that there is a museum dedicated to JFK in Berlin. On the way there, we saw the Brandenburg Gate. The museum was really well done and classy, with some amazing photos on the history of the Kennedys. Really enjoyed it. Headed to lunch next at Casa Italia, where I had spinach gorgonzola pizza, that was pretty much awesome. Kurt had an onion tuna pizza. We then went to the Judisches Museum, which was a really interesting museum on Jewish history in Germany. Had dinner at Olivia International Kitchen, and stopped to buy an eclair for dessert at a bakery. Yum. You can see my normal diet when out the window while there, but I was on vacation and was not going to miss out on German food! Went to bed.....

Next day, we went to find the concentration camp, Sachsenhausen, which is located just outside of Berlin. After some figuring out of the subway system, which was slightly more confusing with the changing of trains that other places we have been, we found it! :). The concentration camp was one of the most eerie places i have ever been to. It was pretty much in the same form as it was back when it was a camp, with some added musesum like elements and descriptions on signs. We walked around the entire thing, both inside and out. I would highly recommend going here if you are in the area. It was a really educational experience. Had lunch at Antica Roma, and then headed to the Erotik Museum (total opposite end of the spectrum than the camp). The musesum was slightly shocking, but amusing. Some of the signs were only in German, so we did not totally "get" everything, but mostly there were artifacts, pictures and videos, so we could figure out most of it. Def NOT a place to take kids, LOL, and you have to be 18 to get in. Went to another spa that night called Thermen Europa, which was our favorite one we went to on the trip. After that, had dinner at a place called Alex near our hotel where we split appetizers and drinks.

Next day, we did two museums, the Topography of Terror, and the Deutsches Historiches Museum. Botht museums were really educational and I learned a lot about World War II and Hitler. Went to another spa called Liquidrom. Had lunch at an Italian place near the Topography of Terror and dinner again at Alex.

Last day, we went to a museum called The Story of Berlin, and the Neues Museum. We thought Story of Berlin was somewhat elementary, better for school aged kids. The Neues Museum was beautiful though, with really old artifacts from the Egyptian people, Roman people, etc. Really great place. There is normally a wait to get in, but we lucked out and walked right in. Had lunch at Capone Cucina and walked around some stores shopping in the area as well. Had a massage before we left at Mangmi Thai Massage, which was an awesome massage.

Somewhere in there, we also spent some time at the hotel gym, sauna, and got a massage at the hotel.

Back to the airport and off to Frankfurt again, where we stayed at the Carat hotel, which was near the airport. Ate dinner at the Mexican place in the hotel, which was super yummy. Had a tuna nacho. Germans seem to like tuna, it was on every menu, which rocks for me since it helps with protein intake for me. Went to bed, then the hotel took us to the airport in the morning and off to the States we came!

Sadly, when we returned, we had to go into the office for a few hours for appointments and catch up, and we are still kinda jet lagged!

We really, really liked Germany though and would like to go back and explore some other areas, like Munich. The people there were super friendly and polite, very respectful of everyone.

You can see the pics by clicking here.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Updates


The weather here has been horrible for southern MI! Sometimes, we get almost no snow in the Newport area, so the amount we have gotten in January and now February is crazy. Wednesday, we closed the office as all the courts called and canceled court, and a lot of businesses were shut down as well. I was thrilled to stay home in the middle of the week.

Wednesday was also Kurt's 40th bday, so it was nice to relax and do nothing for the day. We ended up heading out later in the day for massages and I got my nails done as well, while kurt went to Border's and bought a Germany book. Germany is where he selected for his bday trip (no matter how hard I tried to persuade him we need some warm weather and beach time), so we head out later this month for a quick trip there to explore. Should be interesting, and will be kewl to explore both of our heritages, as we are both 50% German. Got one of our tickets flying there free, and the other for $300 off, so we saved quite a bit using miles. Yay. Have planned nothing yet, but will start looking into it soon.

Another positive thing this week, Kurt started working out with me again! Yay! So glad he is working out again and I am not alone in our gym every night. Weighed in today, and I am down another 2.2 pounds, making my total since Sept 12, 2010, 44 pounds! So psyched. And telling everyone who asks me about my weight loss about the daily plate, which I give all the credit to. Amazing, free site. I was curious about how i have done each month, so I went back and tracked how much I lost each month thus far, and here it is:

Sept 2010: lost 11.5 pounds (began on 9/12)
October 2010: lost 7.5 pounds
November 2010: lost 9.2 pounds
December 2010: lost 5.4 pounds (less due to not tracking and being on vacay for 17 days I think)January 2011: lost 8.2 pounds
February 2011 so far: lost 2.2 pounds

21 weeks, average of 2.09 pounds per week (which is more than what i put into the daily plate to lose, I put "2 pounds per week", but the site is pretty right on).

Gave Kurty his surprise bday gift as well, a Porsche watch. It's super nice and I got an amazing deal on it. it looks even better on him than on the website i bought it from. :). I wanted to buy him a nice watch and while researching, I found that Porsche makes watches and since Kurt is obsessed with Porsches, I knew I had to buy him that brand. I really like Cartier watches, but spending $15000 on a watch is NOT happening. I can buy a kickass trip for that amount of money! :).

Got a great deal on two new suits this week from ruelala.com (one of my fav discount sites). One is Tahari, one Nine West. Hopefully, they fit well, but shipping to return is free if they do not. I have no idea why anyone would ever pay full price for a suit with all these designer discount sites out there! Yay for sales.

Very proud of myself for not eating standard Super Bowl foods today! I usually make an awesome chili cheese dip, and eat a ton of tortilla chips. none of that today and life totally went on. I did buy corn on the cob which tasted awesome. It's better in winter for some reason......Was thrilled that the Packers won as well. And the Puppy Bowl was wonderful. :).

Hope everyone had a nice Super Bowl sunday weekend!

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Fox News Interview Part 2



After we interviewed at the courthouse, Fox called Kurt the next day to see if they could come to the office to continue the conversation. I really don't like being on TV, but they wanted us both, so I participated and let Kurt do the bulk of the talking. Glad someone mainstream media is FINALLY reporting this. Go Amy Lange!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Happy In Court

Court

Updates........

Kurt and I went to Umar's status conference this week. Being in a court room, not being the "attorney" for one of the parties, is weird in itself. Sitting in the back watching the proceedings is odd to me. Kurt and I got there early and sat in the hallway until the doors opened. Once the doors opened, we went in and took a seat. From what I could tell, the only other people there besides us were the media, attorneys for the other side, and I believe, some CIA agents. Kurt was asked by a reporter who he was with (I think they thought we were reporters) and he told her that we were passengers, which sparked her interest. She was from The Free Press and talked to us a lot before the hearing, during it, and in the hall afterwards. nothing we said to her was reported in the Free Press, which did not surprise us since mainstream media seems to steer clear of reporting our story. I don't blame the reporters though, I think they are truly interested, but when they give the story to their higherups, the stories are shot down because we are speaking out against the government, who helps fund them/controls them.........Anyway, we walked outside and it was kinda crazy. Cameras flashing, video cameras everywhere. We talked to a bunch of TV stations, and Fox News was the only one to actually report having talked to us. I imagine Fox is able to report as they are a republican based station, and since we are speaking out against the government and the current administration is democrat, this makes it OK for Fox to show this stuff, and they are probably encouraged to do so. Fox also contacted us the next day asking to come to the office, and filmed us for an hour talking about our different ideas and theories. This was aired as well, two days in a row, however, I cannot find this video online anywhere for some reason. Was Fox told not to air it online by someone? Hmmmm.

Anyway, back to the hearing. When Umar came out, it was really eerie. He was wearing a white t-shirt, just like the last time I saw him. Seeing him was really odd. I almost felt like I was taken back to that day, all the memories of how horrible I felt for months came rushing back to me. I think Kurt felt the same, as I looked at him and said "this is creepy" and he agreed. One result of the PTSD was nightmares and flashbacks to the event, and that night, I had a nightmare and a flashback again. Luckily, it was just the one night though and has not happened since.

We had drinks after work with a friend this week who knew nothing about all of this, and when telling her about the flight, I almost started crying, especially when I saw my telling the story was making Kurt slightly upset. It's so strange to me that what I went through still affects me so much. I remember Kurt sitting back down in his seat, after walking up the aisle saying "we are going to die" and how all I could think about was how upset my Mom would be and how I thought I was living in some bad horror movie.

Had dinner with my friend Nancy this week at Roman Village, half off pasta on Tuesdays! Super good meal not following The Daily Plate! LOL. The bread there is incredible, service is exceptional. Wish it was closer to the office. Also had dinner on Saturday for Grama's bday at an Italian place in Plymouth. Food was below average, but the tiramisu was to die for. Even with the bad meals this week, I still am down another 1 pound, so I have now lost 41.8! I am expecting things to slow down at this point though, so I am happy with that! I worked out extra that night because I felt guilty about the dessert, haha.

Went to a different Kroger's today grocery shopping, and loved the fresh sushi! Kurt tried it tonight for dinner and said it was good! Grocery store sushi, how awesome! This Kroger's also had a much better fresh fish selection than the one I normally go to by the house, so I may be heading there more often.

Anyway, hope everyone had a nice week. Not looking forward to the forecasted snow later in the week, but am looking forward to Kurt turning 40! I will, of course, be harassing him endlessly............

USA Guilty: Underwear Bomber NOT Guilty Haskell Explains

Underwear Bomber Poll

by Kurt Haskell



It seems to me that the U.S. Government is in a difficult position right now. After all, the Underwear Bomber Trial is set for October 4, 2011. This trial could expose the entire false flag plot. I can't see that happening. My question is this, what will happen between now and October 4 that will cause the truth to be suppressed?



a. A plea deal is reached

b. Umar dies mysteriously in prison

c. Umar represents himself and puts on an incompetent defense

d. A bigger event occurs that takes the focus off of the trial

e. A legitimate trial will occur and the false flag plot will be exposed

f. Other (Explain)

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Seven Things

I've been awarded the Stylish Blogger Award by Nancy at Crazymrsnancy.com!

Rules of the award are as follows:

1. Make this post and link back to the person who gave the award to me.

2. Share 7 things about myself.

3. Award 5 great bloggers.

4. Contact the bloggers to tell them they’ve won!

So, 7 things about me, will try to make them things you may not know yet, although some of you know me so well this may not be possible........

1. I just recently found out what my exact heritage is. I am 50% German, 25% Polish, 12.5% French Canadian, and 12.5% English. I have no idea why I have never known this before. I always knew the German and Polish (HELLO, I have the most complicated maiden name ever), but I did not know the English and French Canadian. Maybe it was the French in me that stupidly made me take French in high school instead of Spanish. I so wish I could go back in time and take Spanish instead of struggling with it now.....

2. I had totally gotten over the post-traumatic stress stuff from Flight 253. We went to a hearing last week for umar, and I had a nightmare that night with flashbacks to the fire on the plane. No more yet, but I am hoping I did not trigger something by seeing Umar again.

3. On that note, we were telling the entire story to a friend of mine last night who did not know we were on the flight. When I was talking about seeing the fire on the plane, the thoughts that went through my head, I almost started crying it upset me so much. I did not realize it all still affected me so much.

4. I am really proud of myself for being a great attorney and being respected by others in the legal field, without having to do the "behind the scenes" stuff that so many lawyers do. I don't hold judge fundraisers, I don't suck up, I don't ask the Judges to lunch. I do my job, I am nice to people, and it gets me the same results as those that try and work the system.

5. I feel like I was put on this Earth to do something in relation to helping animals. I actually like most animals better than most people. I don't know exactly what my purpose in life is yet, but I know it's not divorcing people. Once I retire from this job, I hope to pursue whatever it is I was put on this Earth to do.

6. I am not running for school board again. I feel like I am not making the difference that I used to anymore and I feel like I need to move on. I plan on volunteering at the high school instead, perhaps speaking to kids/classes or mentoring or something of that nature. I want to feel that I am directly helping kids more, vs attending meetings and voting.

7. Unless I know the person personally, I will never vote for either of the two major parties ever again. Which is odd, after a lifetime of voting straight democratic.

OK, so now the tagging. Here goes! Let me know if you post.

1. Colleen at Life Beings at 39 1/2
2. Natalie at Texas Cowleys
3. Emily at Law For a Living
4. Alex at Dirt. Juice. Details
5. Joanna at just A peek.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Thoughts on Umar's Hearing This Week and a Look Ahead to the October 4th Trial

by Kurt Haskell:

Lori and I attended Umar's status conference this week. The proceedings were extremely interesting to me. First of all, Umar walked into the courtroom in a white t-shirt. He turned and stood about 20 feet in front of me. I kind of had a deja vu moment as when I saw him in Amsterdam, he stood about 10 feet in front of me with a white t-shirt on. I finally got to hear Umar speak. I've never heard him speak until this hearing. His English seemed pretty good, although he had a fairly heavy accent. He did have a Nigerian translator present and he did consult with him a few times. Most of the hearing was spent in a back and forth discussion between Judge Edmunds and Umar. The discussion centered around the need for Umar to accept standby attorney Chambers as his regular attorney. Umar refused over and over again. Everyone in the court room seemed to just want to stand up and say "LET HIM BE YOUR ATTORNEY!". Judge Edmunds finally gave up. Another part of the hearing discussed the fact that Chambers is not Umar's attorney right now, and therefore, Umar and Chambers don't have the attorney client privilege. Thus, anything Umar tells or shows Chambers can be found out by third parties. The U.S. Attorneys seemed particularly troubled with the fact that some of the information they turned over to Umar, could be obtained by third parties and used in a civil case. I wonder why? The hearing then proceeded with a discussion of if and how the evidence held by Umar's previously fired attorney (given to her by the prosecution) would be turned over to Chambers. The result was that it would only be turned over to Umar at Milan Prison and Umar could show Chambers only what he wants to. Note that Chambers, during this discussion, indicated that Milan prison had not been providing faxes or messages of his to Umar or being helpful in scheduling appointments. He went on to state that it was his belief that Milan prison was doing this intentionally, and he suspected that it had received a call from "higher up" to do this. Note that I had a similar experience with Milan prison last year. The hearing concluded with Judge Edmunds setting a trial date. She first suggested June 23, but Chambers wasn't available. She then suggested September 10, but Chambers again wasn't available. She then suggested October 4 and noted that she wouldn't likely reschedule that date. When she set that date, Umar stated that he needed more time than that to read up on how to do the trial. He then asked for a trial date in 2012. Judge Edmunds immediately refused. I was shocked at how adamant Umar was that he was going to represent himself. I now strongly believe that this matter will proceed to trial. What I am concerned about is that Umar will likely represent himself at the trial. If he does so, he may not know how to get the important evidence admitted into the record. If I am correct and Umar does not use Chambers in the trial, I fear that the facts will never be known. I was very impressed with Chambers and Judge Edmunds. I did not get the impression that either is biased towards the prosecution and the "official" story. I talked to Chambers for a few minutes after the hearing and we will be having a conference soon. It was strangely odd that no other passengers were present. This fact put Lori and I back in the crosshairs of the media crunch. We talked to at least 7 reporters, but only Fox 2 Detroit reported the interview. What is also strange is that nearly all of the passengers seem to have disappeared. I no longer have a valid email address or phone number for any other passenger. I am not sure what to make of this.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Inspiration

Kids can really be pretty inspiring and amazing.

I had a board meeting tonight, where three high school seniors spoke about a program that they started at the school this year, to educate other students about bullying and what can happen if you do so (i.e. suicide, depression, etc.) They talked about taking a stand, and not caring what others think, and doing the right thing no matter what, and helping others.

Their message meant a lot--we just dealt with 4 kids last week being suspended long term because of bullying on their sports team, so it's an issue high on our list of importance.

It's also something that really strikes close to my heart........Just two weeks ago, I posted a quote by Albert Einstein on my facebook, as follows: "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing". Someone sent this quote to Kurt and I, thanking us for our efforts in standing up against the US government, the body scanners, etc.

I spoke at the board meeting, when it was time for board comment. I rarely say much at meetings, but these kids were so impressive at the meeting and the parallel between them and adults was so blatant to me. We, as adults, do not set examples for the kids, IMO. I go to court every day and see ADULTS bullying one another, hear attorneys talking in a rude way to one another or judges, and basic bullying in general. I hear about domestic violence, adults hitting kids, so many things and I realize our kids are bullying because they are being taught the behavior and being taught it's acceptable. We as an adult society set SUCH a bad example for our kids. They learn through our example, not by being told what to do.

I am 33 years old. I just learned this lesson, REALLY learned this lesson, after Flight 253. I realized that, even when our opinion is not popular, and not widely accepted by society, that "Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it."- William Penn. The kids who spoke at my meeting? They get it at age 17, which is just amazing to me. They should be commended, and will do well in life learning such a valuable thing at such a young age.

I just want adults to get that the world is never going to change if we don't ALL change. If we don't all set an example, and try to make this country a better place. If we don't all open our eyes, and realize that there are problems out there with this country, with society........Be an example. Don't sit back and do nothing if there is something you are concerned about. Stand up for what is right. Stick up for someone who is wronged. Don't worry about the consequences or what anyone else thinks about it. If we don't, we are just setting our kids up for a horrible world to live in.

We need to care about what is going on in our government. Most people just don't care and sit back and just accept what is going on around them. Be brave, vote third party. Try to get people into office who will make a difference, and not just do what their party tells them to do. Ask questions. Don't just accept things as they are. Stop allowing our rights to be slowly taken away.

Kudos to the Jefferson kids who already get it. Let's hope the rest of the country gets it soon as well, before this country is run into the ground by the US government, who is taking advantage of all of us being lemmings.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Alana Turns 21!


Had a weekend mostly filled with.....work. But, did have a great time on Saturday night celebrating Alana's 21st bday! The entire office made it, and the event was held at a bar in Livonia called Slingers. Although not the standard place I would choose to hang out (think around 21 year old crowd, everyone trashed, crowded, LOUD, obnoxious DJ), but since we had a great group there, we had a blast anyway. We were convinced the DJ is normally a DJ in a strip club with the variety of music he played.........Above is a blurry pic my drunk husband took of Holly, Shannon and I (they are two of my co-worker attorneys) Kurt cannot take a clear pic for anything.........

Kurt and I got a ton of work done this weekend, which ROCKS. We started looking at which weekend we want to go out of town for Kurt's 40th, and I think it may be the weekend of President's Day since we know we have no court on that day. This is such a hard time of the year for us to getaway, but we can't do nothing for Kurt's 40th, and he does NOT want a party.

On another positive note, I weighed myself today, after not doing so last Sunday since I was out of town without my trusty scale. And, I am down another 4.2 pounds, bringing my grand total lost to 40.8 pounds, which is insane to me!

Exciting food finds of the past few weeks: World Catch Salmon Burgers from Sam's Club--quick to make and super yummy, low cal. Chocolate chip Special K bars--YUM. I found Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches in BULK at Kroger's. awesome.

I am trying a new hair salon this Friday, recommended by a lawyer friend of mine, Kara. It is located near the office, and while I have never found a place I liked downriver, I am hoping this one is awesome. I am really sick of driving to Royal Oak or Toledo to get my hair done and it would be nice to drive 5 minutes from the office. Finers crossed. :).

anyway, busy court morning, so I am off to bed. Hope everyone had an awesome weekend. :).


Saturday, January 22, 2011

Wrestlers from Jefferson High School in Monroe punished by the school board for hazing

Wrestlers from Jefferson High School in Monroe punished by the school board for hazing

You can see me on the right hand of the screen a couple times when they show the school board. What a night.....we were there from 530 PM-115 PM. Horrible to have to spend so much time on something like this, but hopefully, the school can take care of this issue which appears to have been going on for a really long time unknown to anyone by the team....

Friday, January 21, 2011

New Posts


Tampa


Flew to Tampa last weekend with my Mom. I had a free companion ticket, and could finally use it, so I decided to take my Mom there for her bday! :). We flew out Friday morning and came back Monday night.

Got there and picked up the rental car from Alamo. We rented a compact since all we were really using it for was driving to my grandparents and back, and when we got there, they were out of compacts, so they upgraded us for free to a Nissan Altima in dark grey which we loved. It was way cheaper to rent a car then get a shuttle to my grandparents in Port Richey. Total for rental for the time, $41.00. Drove to Port Richey (after getting lost at the airport for a few minutes). Stopped for a quick lunch and then arrived. Went and watched my grampa play the harmonica in his club, then we all headed back to their place. I decided to run outside, since the weather was in the 60s and being outside is awesome to me since it is currently 5 degrees in MI. Ate dinner and played cards.....Next morning, met my Great-Aunt Louise for breakfast and then went shopping. I got to walk around Dilliard's (love that store and there are none in MI). Found awesome clearance deals, got a suit marked down from $280 to $50 (Tahari) and a dress marked down from $120 to $30. Bought my Grama a winter coat for her bday with my Mom....It's sad they actually get cold in FL. haha. Had dinner out that night and went running again. Third day we did some more shopping and I found some awesome tights on clearance (pink and purple) and a pair of awesome green Converse on clearance. Went running again and had dinner at home and played cards. Learned some new fun card games as well. Day four we woke up to rain, so no running, BOO. Had breakfast, then relaxed at the house. Did some stuff on my Grampa's computer (set him up a facebook account, changed his printer ink, showed him how to do some different things like save bookmarks). Off to the airport, then home! Had an awesome time, and it was so nice to get out of MI weather for a few days.

Work has been crazy busy and exhausting. Had a really late board meeting last night, did not get home until 11:15 PM, which is crazy. Tonight, had a fun dinner out with Rebecca, Kurt, and Kory at Crave in Dearborn. Had a spicy california roll with spicy botan shrimp and rice, and hot and sour soup. aMAZing meal. They had a live musician there too, and he was great! Played a huge variety of music, just him and his guitar.......Have to work all weekend, but hopefully, will get somewhat caught up.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

UNDERWEAR BOMBER'S (STANDBY) ATTORNEY "ATTEMPT MAY HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE"

by Kurt Haskell

I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this story today. Umar's standby attorney now claims that his bombing attempt was impossible! There is only one explanation why this could be true. HE WAS PLANTED WITH A FAKE BOMB! Please take a look at My Christmas Day 2010 post where I claim that this was in fact what happened:

http://haskellfamily.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-day-one-year-later-underwear.html

Furthermore, Attorney Chambers gives us this bombshell quote:

"The file contains expert information which disputes the government’s allegations"

No wonder the prosecution has been attempting to hide evidence from the defense (see below):

http://haskellfamily.blogspot.com/2010/12/prosecutors-trying-to-block-use-of.html

This may not mean much to most of you, but to me this is a late Christmas present (no pun intended). After 13 months of hearing the U.S. Government's propaganda, the fog is starting to lift and I will soon be completely vindicated.

I am heading down to Umar's status conference tomorrow afternoon. This will be the first hearing of Umars that I've attended. While there, I will attempt to have a discussion with "Standby" Attorney Chambers concerning the necessity of having myself testify as a witness for the DEFENSE. The U.S. Government, the real terrorist in this matter, will not get away with this as long as I am alive.

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Short Update

Life has been pretty hectic, lots going on, work is busy, social life has a lot going on, kurt working on starting his radio show, me getting rready for a long weekend in Florida with my Mom......

Anyway, had a nice dinner tonight in Canton at my Aunt's house for a late holiday dinner with the family. My Aunt made my favorite salmon patties from Holiday Market, and I basically ate way more calories than I generally do in a day, but I allow myself some cheating on holidays. :). We also exchanged holiday gifts and I think everyone loved what I got them, so yay! Yesterday, I had to shop for the holiday (I never buy gifts until like the day before), and I stopped at Macy's while out because I desperately need clothes that fit me. I have like ONE pair of dress pants for work that fit right for suits, and like one suit that fits me right. So, I looked thru the clearance racks at Macy's and found three cute suits (one a Tahari, I love that brand), another skirt, and a pair of dress pants. Also, bought a pair of jeans since I have zero that fit me. And I needed something to wear this coming up weekend in Florida. LOVE the jeans I bought, they fit perfectly. Great brand that I have never tried on at Macy's before, but really like.

Bought Kurt a book at Border's while I was there buying grama a new dictionary. it is so funny for me to sit and watch Kurt read a book because most of his reading is online or in law books, LOL. He is totally loving this one though. I may read it when he is done, just because he is making it seem to interesting! :).

While working out, have been watching this show called Conviction on Netflix and just read it was not renewed for a second season! boo! Sad that I am watching it 4 years after it actually aired, LOL.

Lots of car issues going on. After it finally totally broke down, we donated my poor little Saturn to Purple Heart this week. RIP little Saturn, it was nice having you for 165,000 plus miles and 10 years, 2 months. Fabulous car with almost no issues. Also, took the jeep in to be fixed (needed a new battery as well as an entirely new heating system). Back and running great. Saab is also in the shop, from my incident prior to leaving for vacay that I dont think I posted about. I was driving down the highway and a tire literally flew off the car in front of me. I could not swerve as cars were on both sides of me, so the tire hit the front of my car, causing the bumper to partially fall off. I drove the car home, then realized I could not drive it anymore until it was fixed. Took it in, and the damage is enough for insurance to be called. So, i called, and the insurance person is going out to the shop on Monday to look at it and write a check. Boo.

My working out and weight loss is still going fabulously. Over vacay, I gained 0.2 of a pound. So, while I was bummed I did not continue losing, I was thrilled I did not really gain either. The following weeks, I continued to lose and I am now up to 36.4 pounds, whoot. I am so happy to be almost to my pre-law school self and to enjoy the ways clothes fall on me again.

There are so many things that need to be done around the house and office, and like zero extra time in my days. My laundry is really backed up (although I did get several loads done this weekend), the pantry light fixture has an issue so until Kurt has time to fix it, i have no light in my pantry, my master bath toilet has a broken part, so again, until Kurt can buy the part, I cannot use that toilet. Need to clean before my Mom comes later this week, need to pack for my long weekend in Tampa. I would like to start researching for flights for our Feb Costa Rica trip, but we need to decide when we are going. Kurt needs to get everything ready for his radio show, which starts later this week. Much more as well, just can't recall everything.....

Anyway, wanted to post a quick update, since I know this week is going to be super busy. I am still working on Thailand pics and a report, and will do that when i have time.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Monday, January 03, 2011

2010 Netflix List

What I watched in 2010 via Netflix (every year I post this)

Sex and the City 2

Conviction: The Complete Series: Disc 1-2

Rock of Love: Season 1: Disc 1-2

Obsessed

The Real Housewives of O.C.:Ssn 1:Disc 1-2

The Secret Life of...: Vol. 4: Disc 1-3

I Love You, Man

Happy Endings

Housewives of New Jersey: Season 1: Disc 1-2

Dance with Me

Spread

90210: Season 2: Disc 1-5

The Invention of Lying

Every Little Step

Popular: Season 2: Disc 1-6

Step Up 2 the Streets

When in Rome

21 Jump Street: Season 4: Disc 5

My Sister's Keeper

Bring It On: Fight to the Finish

The Hills: Season 5: Part 2: Disc 2

The Hills: Season 5: Part 2: Disc 1

Weeds: Season 5: Disc 1-3

Popular: Season 1: Disc 1-6

The Secret Life of...: Vol. 3: Disc 1-3

Couples Retreat

The Secret Life of...: Vol. 2: Disc 1-3

Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones

The Nanny Diaries

The Secret Life of...: Vol. 1: Disc 1-3

Bring It On: In It to Win It

Fame

Karen Voight: Burn & Firm Circuit Training

Post Grad

Glee: Season 1: Disc 1-4

The L Word: Season 6: Disc 1-3

Very Young Girls

Big Love: Season 3: Disc 1-4

90210: Season 1: Disc 5-6

Weeds: Season 4: Disc 2-3

Camp Out

Any suggestions for future TV show viewing? What were your fav things you watched this year? :).

Saturday, January 01, 2011

New Blog Name

New Year, New Blog Name!

When I started this blog, many years ago, it was started as my own personal space to fill my friends and family in on what is going on in my and Kurt's life.

At that point in my life, I was a pretty hardcore liberal democrat and was really into politics, and so, "lori's liberal realm" was born. Really, I just liked the way the blog name flowed when I said it.....;).

Things have changed, and thus, the blog name is changing.

I notice comments sometimes that talk about the fact that my blog name contains 'liberal', and thus I must be a democrat and must support all views of the democrats--not so.

Since Flight 253, this blog has changed quite a bit......Kurt now posts on here quite often, and I no longer affiliate myself with any political party, in fact, my opinion now is that we should all support third parties, as I think both the Dems and Repubs are corrupt. i no longer feel that the old blog name fits the purpose of this blog, and so I just randomly chose a new one.

Welcome to "Adventures with Kurt and Lori". Our lives--which always seem to have something crazy, interesting, fun or annoying going on--will continue to be chronicled on this site.

Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Stay Tuned for the Kurt Haskell Radio Show in Early 2011

by Kurt Haskell

In case anyone hasn't noticed, I am fed up with the fraud and corruption of the U.S. Government. I am also very fed up with the complicity of the mainstream media in the corruption. Therefore, I have decided to host a bi-weekly radio show to discuss various topics of government corruption and fraud. I will ask the hard questions and not hold back or be intimidated from discussing anything. The show will be entirely non-profit and paid for entirely by myself. As I've stated on many occasions, I seek only to expose the truth and nothing else. Fame and fortune can be had by others who are more desirous of obtaining them than I am. Stay tuned for details in the very near future.

Prosecutor's Trying To Block Use Of Evidence By Umar's Standby Attorney

by Kurt Haskell

Ho-hum, just another story that supports my version of Flight 253 with Umar as a patsy:

http://www.freep.com/article/20101122/NEWS05/101122060/Feud-rages-over-underwear-bombing-evidence#ixzz17kENrZf0

This story just keeps getting better and better. First of all, what the heck is a standby attorney? You either have an attorney or you don't. Having an attorney allows you to have the attorney client privilege apply to all of your communications between the client and attorney. Under no circumstances can those communications be discovered by anyone or held against you in court. Does that apply to a standby attorney? Does that mean that Umar has an attorney or he doesn't? Why do I ask? A few weeks ago I went to visit Umar in prison to discuss his case. I was denied access because Umar had a "standby attorney" listed on his visitor sheet. Without that listing, I (allegedly) could have met with Umar and discussed his case.

Now to a discussion of this article. Judge Edmunds previously ordered that Umar's standby attorney, Anthony Chambers, could have access to all of the discovery materials for the case. For non-lawyers, discovery is the pre-trial process in which both sides obtain all of the evidence that might be used at trial. Logically, if an attorney is getting ready for a trial, his staff will help him with that preparation, and consequently, will have access to all of the discovery materials. The prosecutors are now attempting to block the request of Attorney Chambers to give his staff and various experts (who may testify for Umar) access to such materials. A denial of such a request would greatly damage any help Attorney Chambers may be able to provide Umar.

A question I have is, why try and block such a request if you have nothing to hide? Wasn't that the excuse the U.S. Government used when it started using illegal wiretaps? If you have nothing to hide, then don't worry about it. Again, this is just another tell to the truth that I've been repeating over the last year. I caught the U.S. Government with their hand in the cookie jar and it knows it. Now it must take every unjustified step to ensure that Umar doesn't receive a fair trial. For those of you that ask if it really matters, yes it does. A person can commit a crime and still be found not guilty. Umar could be found not guilty based on a defense of entrapment. Umar could also get off on the Outrageous Government Conduct Defense. Such a defense came into existence in the 1971 case of Greene v. United State, 454 F.2d 783. In ruling for the Defendant in that case, the court stated that "we do not believe that the Government may involve itself so directly and continuously over such a long period of time in the creation and maintenance of criminal operations, and yet prosecute its collaborators".

Hidden in this article is also this gem: Anthony Chambers needs to discuss the evidence with experts. Hmmm, I have to wonder what kind of experts? Anthony Chambers is apparently an expert in criminal law with 25 years experience. Thus, I don't see that he would have a need to consult with other attorneys to discuss the issues. The only other possibility, is that he needs to discuss evidence with experts in chemical composition, explosives and plane construction. Each being tied to the question of whether Umar's bomb was viable. As I stated in my post on 12-25-10, this question is the only question that matters. Apparently, after looking at the evidence and/or discussing the matter with Umar, Anthony Chambers questions exactly what I do about the bomb. He apparently feels the viability of the bomb is the entire case. Obviously, he must be questioning some sort of shady government evidence as to its viability. I am almost feeling sorry for the man that nearly killed me (via fire from a fake bomb). On deck for me this week will be a personal visit to the office of Attorney Anthony Chambers.

Back to Reality

Wanted to let everyone know that we made it back, safe and sound, from our adventures in Thailand. Thankful that there was nothing on our flight that caused us to be on the news again, LOL.

Anyway, we had an amazing time. I started to put some pics up on Facebook (click here), but there are about 900 more to go through. I tried to put up a lot of them with us in there so you could see those first.

Hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. When I am not exhausted and have time, I will work on a trip report to post.

Hugs, Lori



Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Day One Year Later-The Underwear Bomber-Case Closed

by Kurt Haskell from Thailand

I've been attempting to write this article for the last 36 hours but the internet has been out at our hotel...............

It has been one year since the Underwear Bomber incident that changed my life. I'm not going to rehash the entire story of my account, as that is available here in my past postings on this blog. I just have a few things to say that I've been thinking about as I hike through the jungles of Thailand.

On January 28, 2010 I first posted that the Sharp Dressed Man was a U.S. Government Agent.

http://haskellfamily.blogspot.com/2010/01/truth-about-flight-253-has-been.html

I am now nearly 100% certain that I am correct.

Three days after I wrote the above blog post, I wrote the following post, which discusses what I considered to be the most important remaining questions regarding flight 253.

The third question that I asked, "Was the bomb intended to explode?", to me, is the entire key to the story. I believe it has been answered.

On January 31, 2010 I never would have dreamt of a scenario in which the U.S. Government would ADMIT that it was handing out fake bombs to terrorists, but that has now happened on two occasions that I'm aware of in 2010:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=11684350

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/27/mohamed-osman-mohamud-portland-car-bomb_n_788695.html

Also, if you take a look at this interview with the college kid that sat next to Umar (I refuse to call him a terrorist as he is a mere patsy), you can see that the U.S. Government seized all of his clothes:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123821351

The above three articles when taken together definitively solve the entire underwear bomber episode. The first two represent the modus operandi of the FBI/CIA, which is, if nobody get hurt, fake bombs are o.k. I will discuss that aspect in a minute. When you look deeply at the third article you have to ask the question, why were all of his clothes seized? The bombing substance, allegedly PETN was all over the airplane cabin near Umar's seat. It is not like there was a lack of material to be tested. The truth is that the government seized it all so that nobody could test the real chemical composition to determine that the bomb was indeed a dud. If I would have known that I would be writing this article one year ago, I would have picked up some of the substance as I walked within inches of it.

If you accept that the Underwear Bomber had an intentionally defective bomb /fake bomb, then you need not answer any of the other questions that I posed on January 31, 2010. The answers are either unnecessay or have only one possible explanation.

Before I get into that discussion, let me state that even if you accept that the bomb was fake, it does not mean that the plot didn't have victims. The last 10 minutes on flight 253 were the most terrifying moments of my life. For months I did not sleep, and my doctor diagnosed me with post traumatic stress disorder. It is also likely that without the fast acting efforts of a flight attendant equipped with a fire extinguisher, our plane would have blown up from the fire that resulted from the fake bomb.

Back to why the fake bomb is so important to this story...........

Since it can be almost certainly accepted that the FBI/CIA planted Umar with a fake bomb, we must ask a few more questions. Who was the Sharp Dressed Man? The answer is now certain that it was a U.S. Government agent sent to ensure that Umar boarded the plane. Obviously, the entire fraudulent plot fails if Umar fails to board the plane. Who was the Man in Orage? The answer is not really important anymore. It is likely that he supplied Umar with the dud bomb at Schipol Airport and was taken into custody after the bomb residue was found in his carry on bag. The scenario that he lugged it in his undies from Yemen is simply not plausible. One also has to wonder why the U.S. Government changed its story so many times in relation to this guy. Obviously, he is also a U.S. Government agent. Now we must dig a little deeper and ask how did someone get enough of Umar's trust to set up the plot and give him a fake bomb. One would have to have a deep involvement in a "terrorist group" in Yemen in order to do so. One person likely wouldn't be able to accomplish winning his trust. Two or three would also be unlikely. We must accept that the U.S. Government has planted numerous "Al Qaeda" plants, perhaps even entire terrorist cells, in order to win the trust of someone like Umar. When we accept this fact, one must ask if, without such a large encouraging environment, Umar would have been a "fake terrorist" at all. It has been reported that Umar is not very intelligent. I don't doubt that at all. Is it reasonable to believe that he could have set up this plot, created a bomb (I sure don't know how to) and attacked an airline without the help of the U.S. Government? No it is not. Without the U.S. Government, Umar would remain an unknown Nigerian.

If we accept what I have stated so far, we must dig a little deeper. The U.S. Government has now been shown to be staging "terrorist" plots with individuals who likely would be unknown without its help. We now must go a little further and question whether there have been any legitimate terrorist attacks ever. I am not well informed enough to answer that question, but in pondering that question you must consider, as uncomfortable as it may be, that the U.S. Government also staged the attacks on September 11, 2001. I will not discuss that further in this post other than to say that the only difference between the attacks on September 11, 2001 and flight 253 is a fast acting flight attendant equipped with a fire extinguisher. Without that flight attendant, flight 253 burns to the ground due to a "deranged terrorist from Nigeria."

Next, I would like to address why the U.S. Government would continue to stage such plots. There may be numerous answers to this question. The answer regarding flight 253, was that the Patriot Act needed to be renewed and body scanners needed to be placed in the airports. What a perfect way to bring body scanners to the airports: stage a fake terrorist bombing when the bomb is in the bomber's clothes. You see, if the plot was merely to catch Umar in the act, then he could have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, which could have resulted in a life sentence. There was no need to allow Umar to light the fake bomb on the plane, unless a propaganda campaign was being staged. Not surprisingly, Umar lit the bomb in full view of everyone and not in the bathroom where it would have fizzled, as duds do, and not caused any kind of stir. Allowing Umar to light the dud bomb on the plane served the ultimate plot of the U.S. Government, which was to renew the Patriot Act and get body scanners in the airports. It is too obvious. Why the U.S. Government is attempting to raid the treasury of funds and take away our Constitutional rights is unclear. There are many possibilities and I will not discuss them here. What can't be argued is that the U.S. Government is in fact engaging in such a propaganda campaign. I suspect in 2011 we will see more fake terrorist attacks targeted to take away specific rights of U.S. citizens. Fake plots that come to mind are: bombings of malls, trains, boats, universities and sporting events (Likely by U.S. citizens this time). Of course, each plot will be followed by a security solution that will involve the loss of rights and drain the treasury further. Stay tuned.

It is unfortunate that the USA has become what it has, which is the true global terrorist. This is no longer your grandmother's red, white and blue U.S.A. My support for my government due to this incident has become nil. When I tried to help in the investigation, the government lied. It put out false propaganda stating: "We've seen nothing in 200 hours of video", "No man in orange", "No sharp dressed man" and even stooped so low as to have another passenger call me to try and tell me I didn't see what I did. Unbelievable. Further, I watched as pictures of Umar's underwear and passport were shown on t.v. I have figured out that with the U.S. Government, what's up is down and what's down is up. The release of those photos told me that they were fake. Meanwhile, the Schipol Airport video that would reveal the truth remains hidden. Call me what you will, but my beliefs are entirely justified.

What also is entirely disturbing to me, is that the media does not do any investigative journalism. My claims have not been followed up on. I have discoverd that the media is nothing but a mouthpiece for the U.S Government. I saw a "documentary" put out by the BBC that showed Umar walking through security and showing his passport. Come on. When it is said that a picture speaks a thousand words it certainly does. That reinforcement made many more people believe in the official story.

Lastly, I must comment on the recent conspiracy charges that have been brought against Umar:

http://detnews.com/article/20101217/METRO/12170394/Suspected-%E2%80%98underwear-bomber%E2%80%99-arraigned-on-terror-conspiracy-charges


I have to ask why these charges have been brought so late in the game. To me the answer is clear. Only when negotiations on a plea deal broke down were these charges brought. Why? They are being used as a hammer to force a plea deal. The U.S. Government DOES NOT WANT to go to trial with Umar(who now knows that he was duped), representing himself. I blogged previously on why I thought that this scenario would be one of the greatest events in the history of the U.S. More importantly, the new charge is one of conspiracy. A conspiracy requires an agreement between at least two individuals. It is obvious that the failure to bring this charge until one year later shows that the U.S. Government did not want to admit that a conspiracy occurred. The indictment reads that Umar conspired with "persons known and unknown". We have to ask that if conspirators are known, why are their names not in the indictment? Why are they not being charged? Why are they not on the FBI's 10 most wanted list? The answer could not be more clear: The conspirators are agents of the U.S .Government. Hence, the reluctancy to bring this charge. I remain sceptical that this matter will ever proceed to trial. The trial would be too damaging to the propaganda campaign of the U.S. Government. If somehow it does happen, I will be there everyday, front row center and I will make a victim impact statement.

As I indicated on January 28, 2010, the Sharp Dressed Man was indeed a U.S. Government agent. To those of you that supported me over the last year, I thank you. God knows that there were times when I needed it. To those of you who doubted me, it's time for your Christmas dinner and crow is being served.

Saturday, December 04, 2010

updates

I suppose I should post before we leave on Saturday.......

Vegas was an awesome getaway. Flights were both good, no being felt up by TSA or being put through the body scanners. I was a little nervous Kurt would be selected and would cause some kind of scene. Instead, we got right through, and Kurt forced me to stand there and watch an elderly woman get felt up, and a 50-something year old man. The woman--I could not even watch. It was pretty horrible where they were touching her, and they pulled out her pants and kinda looked down them (she was wearing black, stretchy yoga-like pants), which disgusted me and made me turn away. The guy seemed to be respected more by his TSA employee. I was happy to see that some people were choosing to NOT go through the body scanners. I am really annoyed that so many people have the opinion that we should just "deal" with the scanners as "flying is not a right" and "we need to be safe." I wish everyone saying that would look at the details a bit more. The guy that tried to kill me? Yea......he did not have to go through any security at all. So, these body scanners that make us all super safe? The patdowns? Yep, would have done NOTHING on my flight because if the US wants terrorists here to track? They'll get them here. These scanners are a complete violation of my constitutional rights, but everyone in the US is so scared by the US government, they just say whatever and go through. It's sad. Pretty soon, the US government is going to be completely controlling everyone and their money, and everyone will be convinced it's "for our own good." Scary.

And since this is my blog? Please do not post to try and talk me into the scanners, or talk about how you are OK with them. Until you can say you were on a plane, on fire, with a terrorist, who did NOT go through any security because our government chose that, you don't really have the right to disagree with me.

Vent over. Back to Vegas.

Got there, and got the rental car. Did not like the new Vegas setup with getting to the rental car place. They have all rental car companies on one bus. It was maybe busy cuz of the holiday, but we had to wait about 20 minutes for a bus to get to our car. Once we got there, we got the car pretty quickly, it was some kinda Hyundai, cant remember exactly. Drove to Treasure Island, and there was a line there to check in too, LOL. But, once checked in, our room was incredible. We had reserved a tower Suite, and it was HUGE with two bathrooms, a jacuzzi tub, awesome shower, view of the Strip. Really comfy bed. I used the gym three of the mornings and they had awesome equipment. While in Vegas, we ate at Garduno's, a Thai place (went there with a local radio host whom Kurt knows and his family), the Mirage Buffet, Treasure Island buffet. Also saw Love at the Mirage, and a topless show called X Burlesque at the Flamingo. Played a bunch of poker, some slots, Kurt played sports stuff of course, and I did a bunch of outlet and other shopping (although I did not buy much). I was super psyched to see a White House Black Market outlet, a Kate Spade outlet, a Puma outlet.......Got two massages........Really nice trip. Really needed too.....

Weighed myself after Vegas on Monday (one day later than usual), and because I ate morein Vegas than usual, I expected to gain, but I stayed exactly the same, which was thrilling to me. This week, stayed totally on track with The Daily Plate again, so we will see in the morning what the scale says.

Went last night to the downriver bar association holiday party. It was an awesome time, got to hang out with some of my fav lawyers, there was a band, food, open bar.

I got new glasses a new weekends ago, which rocks, so I dont have to wear my contacts every night. America's Best has great deals, I got two pairs for $129! Could have gotten cheaper, but of course, I always favor the higher end stuff. Bad me!

Cannot believe we leave for Thailand on Saturday, it's so crazy! Looking at where to go for Kurt's 40th bday in February. I was thinking Mexico, but i know he really wants to go look at property in costa rica, so we may end up there in the jaco area again. Either one would be great to me.

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

My Visit to See Umar

By Kurt Haskell

As I posted about a month or so ago, I have been attempting to meet Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab (AKA- The Underwear Bomber) in prison. I initially contacted the Milan Prison holding Umar by phone. I was given an extension to a Ms. Rodriguez and left her several messages. She did not return any of my calls. I put this on the back burner for awhile as I have been busy at the office. While on vacation in Las Vegas this weekend, I decided that I would try again when I got back to Michigan. Today was that day. After my trial this morning, Shannon (An attorney in my office) and I drove to the Milan Prison. We met a guard who said he would attempt to have us meet Umar on the spot since we were there. I thought "sweet" as I wasn't expecting much from this visit. We were told that we would have to talk to Ms. Rodriguez after her meeting ended in approximately 5 minutes. So we waited. When Ms. Rodriguez finished her meeting, the guard talked to her and showed her our I.D.'s and bar cards. The guard then came into our waiting room and told us that we would have to call to schedule a meeting with Umar. O.K., this is more of what I expected. When we returned to the office, Shannon called the prison and was told that we could never meet with Umar unless he put us on his visitor list. She was further told that we could not meet with him as his potential attorneys either as he had a court appointed attorney listed on his visitor sheet. We were told this in spite of the fact that it is well known that Umar does not have an attorney. As I have stated all along, the government will have to kill me to stop me from my relentless pursuit of the truth. Until I am successful, the government's deceit of the American public concerning the Underwear Bomber will continue.

.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Figures

It kinda figures that kurt and i are flying out again on a weird day, when a nationwide protest is scheduled regarding the body scanners, which were put into place after Flight 253. Click here to read about it. I will post about anything interesting at the airports once we arrive tomorrow! I am really, really hoping that neither Kurty or I are chosen for the scan or being felt up, as I don't want to have to make the decision. It's like asking me "In which way would you like your constitutional rights violated? Pick the best option, you have no choice." My guess is Kurt is selected, LOL, and I walk right though.

Can't wait to get to Vegas, and simply do whatever I want for 4 days straight. We booked one show, and that is as far as I am going with planning. I do however plan on eating one fabulous dinner at my fav Mexican place, Garduno's. I have been dreaming about their shrimp fajitas and salsa bar. Yum. I am bringing workout clothes and plan on using the hotel gym while we are there, and probably hiking at Red Rock with Kurt at some point. Perfect weather for it, we are usually about dying walking around in 100+ degree weather while there. Also, packed my granola bars, so I can attempt to eat as healthy as possible while there.

Cannot wait to do some random walking around and shopping as well. I desperately need some work pants that fit. Hopefully, I can find something designer and cheap at the outlets. Heart Vegas shopping.

Hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving, with lots of family time, good food, and Black Friday shopping!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Death Threats

Got our first death threat at the office. I'm actually shocked it has taken this long, considering family law is so emotional and the opposing party in our cases does not generally "like us". We represent the wife in a case, and her husband told her that he has hired a motorcycle gang to kill Kurt. Kurt says he takes that as a compliment, as it means he did a good job during her hearing, but stuff like that still makes me nervous. We may go get PPOs against this guy, but what does that really do to help us if there is really a "hit" out on us? Nothing. So, prob won't waste my time getting one. Makes for interesting talk at the office though. I swear, we could have a TV show with all the drama that goes on, LOL.


**Me and Gretel Olivia, at the vet, waiting.

This weekend was pretty low key, which I needed. Took gretel to the vet for a shot on Saturday that she was overdue for, and got a massage at Blu Water with a discount they were having, whoot. We were supposed to have dinner with a friend of mine who was in town, but she ended up having to cancel, so we stayed in (last minute) on Saturday. I was looking forward to spicy botan shrimp from Crave, but The Daily Plate was happy I stayed in and tracked my food, LOL. Worked part of the day today, and grocery shopped after work. Made an awesome dinner and have been trying to ward off this headache I have had all day. Also, met Megan's new German Shepard puppy, Mya, and OMG, way too cute. Only 6 weeks old, and such a little sweetie. Makes me want a puppy (but not really). I wanted to take Megan's puppy, but she seemed pretty attached to it. ;).

Weighed in again today and am down another 1.6 pounds, which takes my total up to 24.2 pounds. Super psyched about that. Thank you, The Daily Plate! Best site ever.

Had a board meeting earlier this week, dinner out with Mel and Tammy on Thursday night. We ended up at Panera....I think I am driving my friends nutty with my strange eating habits. haha. Applebee's was having a special for Veteran's Day, so we did not want to wait for a table.

Ordered some new shoes this week as well, cuz I totally needed them, LOL. Really though, I have been wanting purple heels as I have quite a few things I wear that purple heels would love fab with, and I have been having issues finding the perfect pair. We will see when they come if I like them though, as I ordered some purple heels a montha ago I had to send back. Anyway, the purple ones are Michael Kors, and I also ordered a grey pair of Juicy Couture. If you like high end shoes and HATE the prices, check out 6pm.com. Great site. On just these two pairs of shoes, I saved like $400+ using this site. Not that I ever would have paid that much for the shoes, but it sounds good! haha. The black shoe below I actually got in grey, but it's sold out now so I could only post the pic of the black. I really like the black as well, but I have enough pairs of black heels. Never even knew Juicy sold shoes until I saw them on this site.

Saw Rock of Ages at the Fisher with my Aunt on Tuesday night and loved it!! The music was all 80s rock and awesome. Really fun, upbeat show. I wish I could take my Mom to it because she would love it. I think even Kurt would have liked it, and he hates the theatre and musicals.

Friday, November 05, 2010

Fast

This week went by so insanely fast....I seriously have no clue where it went. So busy at work. Which is the norm, and I sound like a broken record, I totally realize this, LOL. I had a lot of hearings this week, topped off by a hearing on Friday that both annoyed me (because of the snotty attorney who I was arguing against), but made me feel proud of myself at the same time because I kinda gave a good speech at the end that made the other atty look stupid. Which he totally deserved. I will write about it in the secret blog when I get a sec.

This weekend, we relaxed a lot. Saturday, we stayed home. I did grocery shop, but that was my only leaving of the house. Today, we worked a couple hours this morning, then I ran some errands at Kohl's and Meijer's. I decided it was time for some new frying pans. Mine are really old and really worn out, and I think have been put in the dishwasher a few too many times. Anyway, I bought a new 12 inch, 10 inch and 8 inch frying pans with lids. I have been wanting clear lids, as I like how you can "see" what you are cooking. My old lids were chrome. My old stuff I loved, it was cobalt blue and Circulon, a gift from my Grama and Aunt. New stuff is boring grey, but hard anodized Caphalon. Used one tonight and I love it so far. My goal for this stuff is to clean it immediately after use, so I am not forever scrubbing pots and pans. Did that tonight after grilling tuna. :). Also, while at Kohl's, bought two new work skirts (here and here) and a work variation on the blazer (in purple, I liked red as well, but they did not have my size), as well as two new pairs of black tights. I was super psyched when trying on clothes, as my skirt size went down 4 sizes, which is insane to me, as I don't feel like my size changed that much. Weigh in again today was down 3.6 pounds, which makes my total thus far 22.6 pounds since the start. Have been tracking religiously with The Daily Plate every single day, and that site is a God send. It really makes me accountable for what I eat, and I don't cheat, almost ever.

Anyway, off to bed, busy morning ahead! :). Hope everyone had a nice weekend full of rest and relaxation.

Monday, November 01, 2010

Week Update

Had a nice rest of my week! :). Rebecca and I met up for facials and dinner in Royal Oak on Thursday night. Caught up at dinner at Mezza Grille, which was aMAZing. I had lentil soup and spicy hummus, and their bread was to die for. Service was perfect and the food was super yummy, and not horrible for you. Well, I guess depending on what was ordered, but I tried to be good! :). Headed next to use our Groupon certs at Michigan Advanced Aesthetics in Royal Oak. Really liked the place as well.

Rest of the weekend, we did not work, which is somewhat crazy these days! :). Saturday, I had a massage appointment, then ran to Sams Club and then to Farmington Hills. My Mom and Ronnie got back from driving my grandparents to Florida, and I spent most of the night there hanging out with family, watching football/baseball and playing Euchre. Which my Mom and I rock at, BTW. Won every game! Sunday, I mostly ran errands. Went to Macy's to the MAC counter, where I bought some foundation I read about, powder and lip gloss. Tried on some suits, but the one I really liked was missing a button and I do not sew and was not going to buy a nice suit, then have to figure out how to sew a button on or pay someone else to do it. I should have asked if they would give me a discount, but I did not see any employees around. Tried on another cute suit at NY and Co, but since I keep losing weight, I dont want to buy clothes I only wear for a short period of time and I was just not feeling it. Went grocery shopping after that, then spent the rest of the day at home, relaxing with Kurty.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend as well!