The Colossal Deceit Known As The Underwear Bomber Case

by Kurt Haskell

With jury selection set to begin in the Underwear Bomber Trial set to begin tomorrow, I've spent the evening reminiscing about Christmas Day 2009 and the 21 months since. The Underwear Bomber attack has fundamentally changed my life. Not in the way most would think, but it has destroyed any faith I've had in the U.S. Government, the media and this country as a whole. To say that I believe the government is corrupt and the media is complicit doesn't fully explain my beliefs. Not only have I come to those conclusions, but I've witnessed that an ordinary person who sees something important can be silenced despite his efforts to spread the truth. Such is the Underwear Bomber case. I can do nothing but laugh at the TSA's new policy of "If you see something say something." That is exactly what I did, and not only did the U.S. Government not want to hear what I had to say, but it actively lied about it, attempted to get me to change my story, and hid, by withholding (secret government) evidence or putting a protective order on the evidence and nearly everything that would support my eyewitness account.

Where are we now? We now have The Underwear Bomber (Umar) representing himself with the help of standby attorney Chambers. Attorney Chambers has indicated to me that if he were Umar's attorney, that the defense would be entrapment and that I would be a key witness. Of course, such a defense would expose the U.S. Government's involvement in the plot. It is much too convenient to have Umar represent himself and be in charge of what the defense will be, what evidence is presented, what witnesses are called and what questions each witness is asked. A trial with Umar representing himself will leave the relevant facts of this case unknown for generations. I can't help but think that Umar fired his attorneys for a reason other than he is a crazy terrorist. It is much too convenient that the entity that staged the event, also controls the evidence, what information is leaked to the media, who the prosecutors are, and the prison where Umar has sbeen staying at for the last 21 months. Let's not overlook the fact that the U.S. Government has admitted to waterboarding and torturing terrorists. Do you see the pieces of the puzzle forming a clear picture yet?

Make no mistake that Umar did in fact attempt to detonate a device (although it was a defective device) on Flight 253. He is not innocent. It remains to be discovered whether my belief that Umar is complicit with the "theatre" going on before our eyes came about before or after the event of Christmas Day 2009. It really is not important except that you must understand that he is now complicit in covering up the true story of Christmas Day 2009. There is no other explanation as to why Umar is representing himself and rejecting the entrapment defense (Which I have discovered he will do).

For those that are still skeptical of my claims, please realize that I do not make my claims without a great deal of thought and research. My firm belief is that Umar was escorted around security and given an intentionally defective bomb by a U.S. intelligence agent. The bomb was never intended to detonate, but merely intended to create a "simulated terrorist attack" or a "false flag attack" if you will. In December of 2009, the U.S. Government hadn't seen a terrorist attack in 8 years, It was getting more and more difficult to spend hundreds of billions a year on terrorism and to continue to fight two fraudulent wars based on terrorism. Those making their livings off of the war on terror didn't want to lose their cash cow. Enter Umar the Underwear Bomber. A second benefit of a failed bomb being found in Umar's underwear, was to enable body scanning machines to be placed in every airport. How convenient for Michael Chertoff , a former head of the DHS, to have ties to the body scanning companies. I doubt that this was any coincidence. Once again, billions of dollars would flow from the U.S. Government for body scanning machines that were needed to protect us.

What we are now left with are the bits and pieces of the Underwear Bomber case that can form a clear picture of what happened that day. For those of you attempting to put it all together, please take your time and think about the evidence instead of glossing over it and continuing to remain in denial. The truth is that your U.S. Government staged a false terrorist attack in order to steal your tax dollars and your 4th Amendment Rights to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. Please thoroughly consider the following with an open mind and think about why this sort of behavior must stop now:

My thoughts on this case and the list of anomalies that differ from the official version of events were made through: (a) numerous discussions with other passengers, (b) my own eyewitness account, (c) discussions with Umar's standby attorney, (d) hundreds of articles on the story (e) evidence provided to me by others "in the know" or just other concerned citizens, and (f) from the official record at hearings I attended.

Anomalies of the case in no particular order:

1. In December 2010, Chambers told the Detroit Free Press that the Government's own explosives experts indicate that the bomb was impossibly defective. The Free Press later erased this article from its online site, but did not erase earlier underwear bomber stories.
2. The FBI has admitted to supplying the Portland Christmas Tree Bomber and the Wrigley Field Bomber with intentionally defective bombs shortly after the underwear bomber event.
3. Janet Napolitano's comment that "the system worked" was a Freudian slip.
4. The plane taxied to the gate. The passengers were not allowed off of the plane for 20-30 minutes (Was the bomb still on the plane?). There was bomb material that was supposedly explosive all over the cabin of the plane. Nobody took any action to make sure the passengers were safe or that the "explosives" were of no danger to the passengers. This is evidence of foreknowledge that there was no danger to the passengers.
5. TSA admitted knowledge of the threat while the flight was over Canada/Atlantic Ocean. No measures were taken to notify the pilot or to divert the flight for an emergency landing elsewhere.
6. My eyewitness account of the sharp dressed man and the related evidence as to this man. There is no other likely explanation for this man except for government involvement. The airport video has never been released and remains under protective order of the court.
7. The government's continued release of Umar's passport picture through the media. This was done for no other reason that to attempt to discredit me. Why such an effort to show a passport picture all over the media? In no other case has a passport picture been shown in the media. A copy of the supposed "passport" of Umar, however, was not released to Chambers until June 2011. The release of the passport to standby defense counsel was delayed 19 months in order to limit the amount of time Chambers would need to have experts verify its authenticity.
8. The explanation for the cameraman is near unbelieveable. He started filming the sky just before the attack started and then he turned to film the entire attack from beginning to end. We all thought we were going to die. The last thing on anyone's mind at that time was to film something.
9. On 1-5-10 Breibart posted an article that indicated the Government had viewed over 200 hours of video from the airport and it showed no evidence of an accomplice. This article is contradicted by the 1-22-10 article of ABC News by Brian Ross that indicated that "The government is looking into the identity of a man that helped Umar at Schiphol." The article fails to mention that this "sharp dressed man" escorted Umar through security without a passpot and instead tries to paint this man as Al Qaeda. The government is contradicting itself in both of these stories and is attemptin weak coverups in each story.
10. Umar is charged with conspiracy. The accomplices names or contributions are never mentioned. They are not listed as wanted and they are never discussed. This is because they are U.S. Intelligence agents.
11. Customs spokeperson Ron Smith changed the official story about the 2nd man taken into custody in Detroit 5 times. Then he sent a half hearted apoogetic email to the media. My story as to this man has never changed. Ron Smith eventually gave up lying and quit talking about this man who was witnessed by nearly all of the passengers.
12. Why were pictures of Umar's underwear constantly released to the media? These pictures show Umar's underwear is largely intact. I have information from a credible source that due to this incident, Umar "Will never have any kids". This fact is not in line with undamaged underwear. The continued release of the underwear was used as a propaganda piece to reinforce the deceit.
13. The prosecution has continued to block evidence from Umar's standby attorney and in some cases, has provided it late. Why? If Umar was a terrorist nut, what is it that the government does not want the defense to see? It seems to me that if the official story is true, then this is an open and shut case. It appears that the government feels a need to insulate itself from civil cases filed by the passengers.
14. Why has Chambers repeatedly indicated that Umar has a very valid defense? The answer is the entrapment defense.
15. Portions of the Patriot Act were set to expire just before Christmas Day 2009. The Congressional vote to extend them was delayed until February. Body scanning machines were already built and sitting in warehouses. Michael Chertoff, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security has ties to the body scanning manufacturers. The U.S. had no terrorist attacks from 2001 until Christmas Day 2009. A new terrorist attack was needed to get the body scanning machines in the airports.
16. If flight 253 had crashed, nobody would know that the bomb was in Umar's underwear. An unsuccesful staged attack was necessary to show where the bomb was held. This was needed to sell the American public that body scanners were needed to prevent similar future attacks.
17. The story of Umar obtaining his bomb in another country and wearing it to Schiphol is not logical. It is much more likely that he was given the defective bomb at or near the airport. It is likely that the second man taken into custody in Detroit gave him the bomb at Schiphol. My theory is that the bomb sniffing dog (which we witnessed) in Detroit sniffed bomb residue in his bag after we landed.
18. Umar could have been stopped in Amsterdam after boarding and been charged with various charges that would have resulted in a life sentence. Instead he was allowed to fly into U.S. airspace and light his bomb there, over Detroit, on Christmas Day in order to make this a MUCH large media story to usher in the body scanners.
19. How did Umar pick his window seat over the gas tank when he paid cash for his ticket? (You must buy your ticket with credit in order to pick your seat).
20. Other terrorist attack videos are released within hours. The relevant video in this case has never been released. Note that Schiphol airport has more cameras than any airport in the world.
21. The bomb was lit in the cabin and not in the bathroom so that it could be filmed and make more of a media event than a dud bomb lit in a bathroom.
22. Obama's "failed to connect the dots speech" is discredited by the Congressional testimony of Patrick Kennedy of the State Department. Kennedy indicated that, in so many words, that the government was tracking Umar and did not revoke his visa in order to track him into the U.S. This is almost, but not quite an admission that he was let into the U.S. on purpose.
23. The Congressional testimony of Michael Leiter indicated that the U.S. Government frequently lets terrorists into the U.S.
24. In early 2010, a Mr. Wolf appeared on the Keith Olberman Show and indicated that the Obama administration was looking into the possibility that this was an intentional plot by a U.S. intelligence agency.
25. Watch the Congressional testimony of Patrick Kennedy (available on the internet) and watch how he does vocabulary gymnastics to avoid saying that this was an intentional plot by U.S. intelligence.
26. Dutch military police initially indicated that Umar did not go through normal security measures. This was only reported once.
27. Why did a passenger call me in early January 2010 and attempt to convince me that I did not see Umar being escorted around security, but I instead witnessed a minor child being taken through security. This was untrue. I later found out that such passenger works for a contractor that receives a great deal of business from the Department of Defense.
28. Why does the mainstream media continue to not investigate this story and continue to not report my eyewitness account?
29. A second passenger contacted me and confirmed my acount of the Sharp Dressed Man. She is scared and refuses to come forward.
30. Why have nearly all of the passengers refused to talk about this case?
31. Why were a great deal of the passengers, military personnel, government workers and government contractors?
32. Why did the prosecution indicate at a recent hearing that it was still withholding some evidence that was deemed to be secret (top seret?). What could be so secret if the government was not involved in the plot?
33. Why has the online Detroit Free Press site erased all underwear bomber articles that support my theory on the case, but retained older articles that support the official story?

It is unfortunate that the upcoming trial will be nothing but a farce and deceitful theatre to imbed lies in the minds of the sheeple.

San Fran, Personal Record Run, and Related Stuff

Ran yesterday in a local race in Flat Rock, which is held every year in memory of a high school senior who died while running cross country for the school (I think he had a heart attack or something?).  Anyway, it was a great race.  I ran my best time ever, 24:50, and got first in my age group.  So, another medal, yay!  Anyone have any ideas on how to display the medals in my office?  Right now I have them hanging from my bookcase, but would like to do something fun with them.

On Friday night, I decided to run up to the rec center and work out, and while on the way, something flew into my eye. At the time, I stopped, closed and opened my eye, and it seemed fine again, although it was kinda stinging. By the time I got to the gym, I was fine. Worked out, came home. Next morning, eye was kinda bloodshot, but I thought it was go away. Went and ran the race, seemed to be getting worse. So, I took my contacts out and started wearing my glasses, thinking maybe it was my contacts. Still did not get better and this morning, was worse. Found an eye place to go into, and they looked at it and I guess no tears or cuts or anything, it just seemed "irritated" which could be from allergies, could be from the bug that flew in there Friday night, could be from my contacts. Anyway, they gave me some sample drops and called me in a prescription for the drops. So far, the drops seem to be working and my eye already seems slightly less bloodshot, which is good. I HATE wearing my glasses, and the dr wants me to wear them until my next appointment on Friday night. Boo.

So, San Fran! Have not uploaded pics, but thought I would do highlights of the trip, in bullet form! Here goes.......

• Flight there was great.  Direct via Delta.  Grabbed a cab to our hotel, the Omni, which is in the area known as the financial district in San Fran.   Emily has told me NOT to stay in certain areas, so I tried to find a place that was in a good location, and had a gym with cardio and weights, as well as free internet.  The Omni fit the bill.  Our room was on the 13th floor and super nice.  The employees at this hotel really went above and beyond with being helpful and friendly.  When I bought tix on Stubhub, the front desk printed them for me for free, when really, I should have been charged through the business center.  Bed was super comfy, shower was nice.  Free safe to use in room.  We had room service one night after a game, and the food was yummy as well.  Did not eat in their restaurant as well, but that's only because I am anti eating in hotel restaurants.  I generally think they are overpriced and not as good as venturing out.
• Anyway, first night we ate at this awesome vegetarian place near the hotel called Enjoy Vegetarian.  Everything on the menu is vegetarian.  No meat whatsoever.  I had a faux chicken and fish rice meal, and we split hot and sour soup to start off with.  AWEsome.  Oh, and I had some kinda of vegan ice cream dessert with bananas.  Went to bed after that, since we were still kinda on Detroit time.  :).
• Day two, decided to wander down to Pier 39.  Ended up taking a double decker bus tour, that started at 1030 AM.  Thought it would be a good way to see the different areas of town and feel everything out, and it was.  There was a stop at the golden gate bridge, which was kewl.  Got out there and took some pics.  Had lunch at Pier 39 after that, at a place called Neptune, and had a table overlooking the bay which was super nice.  Had salad and soup there.  Kurt got garlic fries that looked amazing.  Wandered around Pier 39 after that, saw the sea lions, stopped and bought a tour to Muir Woods and Sausalito and a tour of Alcartraz for later on in the trip.  Headed that night to the Giants baseball game.  I was excited to see Lincecum pitch, but he had an off night.  Game was super fun.  We ended up sitting like a few rows back from Barry Bonds, who was at the game with his family.  That was pretty kewl.  The stadium is absolutely gorgeous, prob the nicest stadium in baseball.  Comerica is my fav, but that's only based on the fact that the Tigers play there!  :).
• Next day, we had brunch with my friend, Dawn, from high school, and her husband, Todd.  We met at a place called Plant Organic, at Pier 3.  Brunch was yummy, and we found out Dawn is pregnant and due in February.  Super excited for her.  After that we went and walked around the shopping at Union Square, and Kurt headed to Chinatown while I shopped some more and he had a massage. Ended up scoring some great deals at White House Black Market, and tried on a dress I loved at Banana, but since it was not on sale, I decided not to buy it yet since everything goes on sale there within weeks.  It was from their new Mad Men collection, super retro.  That night, we had dinner with Kurt's friend, Dag, at The Stinking Rose in Little Italy.  My Mom had suggested the restaurant, and we liked it a lot.  The soup was incredible. 
***Sausalito
• Labor Day!  Woke up to catch our bus to Muir Woods and Sausalito.  We were taken to the Pier and transferred to a smaller bus to Muir Woods.  Got there, and walked around to see the amazing trees and forest there.  Totally gorgeous.  After that, drove to Sausalito, which is a gorgeous little town on the bay.  Walked around there some, then came back to the Pier in San Fran.  Once we got back, had lunch at a little hole in the wall Mexican place near the Pier, then headed to get massages in China Town.  Great massage.  And cheap!  :).  After that, we met up with Rachael for dinner at an Italian place near where she lives.  Super fun night and nice talking to and seeing Rach.  We closed the place down!  At all of 1000 PM.  Heh.

**Me and Rach.


• Tuesday, we met up with Emily for lunch at a Thai place.  It was awesome to meet her in real life, and I think we could have talked for the entire day.  :).  We went after that and walked Lombard Street and went to a couple stores on Union Street again.  Emily had suggested one called Loehmann's, and I loved walking around the place.  High end stuff at lower prices.  We bought tickets to an A's game that night, and had amazing seats in the 1st row, visitors side.  Game was super fun, and it was easy to get there taking the BART.  Ordered room service that night for dinner.  Oh, and Kurt caught a foul ball at the game!  So that was super kewl.
• Wednesday, packed up our stuff.  Headed out to Pier 39 for our Alcatraz tour at 1100 AM.  Spent several hours there, then had lunch at another place overlooking the bay.  Decided to get Thai massages after that at a place called Royal Thai Massage, then got ice cream at a cute local place and went to Ripley's Believe it or Not and wandered around.  Had dinner at a really cute Italian place, then headed back to the hotel to grab our stuff and head to the airport.
***Me and Emily.
• We worked out every day of this trip at the hotel gym and did a ton of walking in San Fran, so even though I ate like crap, I did get exercise in!  :).
• The weather in San Fran was not what we expected.  Last time I was there, it was in Feb, and MI was freezing so I thought San Fran was fab!  This time, the weather in MI was 95 degrees when we left, so San Fran felt freezing to us!  So weird.  I think it was the first time I have worn pants since May, since I wear so many dresses and skirts to work and shorts at home.

Anyway, we rated this trip as awesome.  Loved the city and how much there is to do, loved seeing so many friends and people we knew.  Loved getting to see two ballparks and loved how Kurt finally got to see Alcatraz.  Only downside was being exhausted since we took the redeye back, we are getting too old for this redeye stuff.  :).

We got the bikes back yesterday from the bike shop, good as new.  I went running the other night and was terrified with each car that passed me, so I guess Im not totally over the being hit by a car thing, which is annoying, but I guess I should cut myself some slack.

Bought tickets to the Lions season opener at home, and we have awesome seats.  cannot wait.  Especially after they won today!  Whoot!  I can't believe they actually looked good.  It's a shock.  Hopefully, it continues!  Can't wait to break my Haskell jersey out to wear to the game!

Kurt went to the dr yesterday morning for follow-up stuff from the accident and in having to get an MRI, go to rehab, and was put on two prescriptions, one for muscle spasms and another for pain.  He also was given a shot for pain while there.  My bruises are starting to fade, finally, but I still have some pain in my left calf and my hip/back where the car hit me.  Ugh. 

So, this is getting long...........Will post more soon with more pics.  Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

The Crash

So, I should have posted about this a long time ago, but life has been crazy. Between work, the accident and follow-up, going to San Fran for the holiday, working out.....no spare time to blog. :).

So, two weeks ago, on a Friday night, after I had just psoted a status on facebook about "looking forward to a relaxing bike ride after work with Kurt"......Kurt and I were involved in a bike accident on the street we live on. We were riding our bikes, on the side of the road, and we were about three houses away from ours (feeding into the theory that most accidents occur close to home). All the sudden, I was hit, and falling to the ground. I was watching in front of me, and saw Kurt fall. However, through all of this, I did not really see or know what happened, except I was on the ground.

I finally figured out that a car hit us. I did not even know if the car had hit Kurt or if he had just fallen off his bike. I was hit really hard on the back and hip, and then my handlebars were hit. Later found out that the guy's side mirror hit me and his mirror then flew off his car from the impact and flew about 20 feet away into the ditch on the side of the road. After he hit me, he hit Kurt's handlebars, which caused Kurt to fall. I was REALLY shaken up and kinda shocked. Once i realized what had happened, I slowly stood up, not knowing if anything was broke, and walked to the grassy area of the yard we were near, sat down, and started crying. Some other cars stopped and were coming up to me asking me if I was OK, to which I have no idea what I replied. Kurt then came up to me and asked if I was hit, told him yes, and he then became livid. The guy who hit me circled back and Kurt asked him for his license and registration and he was kinda leery about giving it to Kurt. He had expired insurance, but said it had been renewed. The people who owned the house we were hit in front of made me walk to their front porch and sit there while the ambulance and other rescue people came. The ambulance came, and we declined to go and decided to drive ourselves to the hospital so we had a ride home. We talked to the police for the report, and the fire department.

Through all of this, the guy who hit us (who also had his wife, three kids and dog in his car), NEVER asked once if we were OK, nothing. Towards the end of all this, I noticed him taking pictures of ouri bikes and then of us. I was livid. I wanted to go tell him off, but decided I was not really in the right state of mind to cause a scene, LOL. It's sad what our society has turned in to. I live in a small, rural community where everyone is generally super nice. I could not believe this man was totally selfish and setting such a bad example for his kids, not checking on us or saying he was sorry or ANYTHING. I would feel beyond horrible if I hit someone on their bike, let alone TWO people.

Anyway, I am still hurting from the incident, and Kurt's hamstring/back has been horrible. He had a really hard time while we were in San Fran walking around town. He has a follow-up appointment at the doctor tomorrow and I imagine will be sent for an MRI. We did go the hospital to be on the safe side, and they did xrays, but did not find anything broken, but told us to followup with our normal doctor. So, really, I am happy it was not worse. We are dealing with his insurance now for the cost of the bike repairs, my iPhone being smashed, medical bills, my sunglasses being fixed.

I think I freaked my Mom out when I called her. I keep doing that, whoops. I told her "I was hit by a car". I think she thought I meant while in my car, then I told her, I was literally HIT by a car while on my bike and she was a little more concerned! :). Love you Mom. Sorry I keep being involved in near death incidents.....

Energy Run--Monroe

Ran this morning in the Energy Run in Monroe, MI. It was a 5K at the local community college and raised funds for adult literacy. Kurt decided to sit this one out since his hamstring is bothering him, so I headed out myself this morning. Got there, and heard the end of the kids 1 Mile run, which is always so cute to see. The little kids running are always adorable. Anyway, got my t-shirt and put it in the car (BRIGHT orange), and pinned on my number, 163. Walked to the start of the race, which was at the back of a field. Race was pretty tough. It was not on cement or roads at all, but instead, was through trails covered with branches, logs, etc., with hills--and through grass that was pretty long. So, mostly trail like running. My time was a lot higher than normal, but I think it's because I have a harder time running on grass and dirt trails. The trails had a lot of really sharp turns as well, which made it interesting and relaxing, but a harder run. Better workout than usual though! :). Anyway, the age group medals were different as well, in that they grouped ages in groups of 10 instead of 5 (meaning I was in the 30-39 age group). Ended up getting 3rd and got a kewl medal. My # was also drawn in a raffle and I won a picture frame, which was kewl. After race food was bagels, bananas, oranges, and water. I drank like 4 little water bottles, the race got pretty hot in the sun. Loved that this race was local!

Had a massage this afternoon with Kurt at Biundo's Salon and Spa in Monroe (they had a $10 off each massage coupon on facebook), and ran some errands this afternoon. Drove to Westland tonight and had dinner out with Auntie, grama, Dad and Kurty at Eastside Mario's, which was super yummy. Hopefully, I can use those carbs at the run in the morning! :). Doing another 5K for the Vietnam Veterans United.

Booked our flights to San Francisco this week. Have not booked the details of the trip or anything, need to kinda figure out how much time we want to spend in San Fran vs the redwoods hiking and stuff like that, but have been too busy to look into it a ton. Need to do that soon.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Can't Feel my Arms

This is a positive statement, however. :).

Tonight, I started working out at a studio again (this does not mean the rest of my workouts will end, I just want something to build and tone muscle more than running and biking do). Before law school started, I worked out at a studio called Animal Instinct. Loved it a TON. Best workout of my life. I started out there doing kickboxing, added in a Core class, did some Pilates, and ended by starting to learn Krav Maga. I got some of my friends at the time to go with me, and the workout made one of my friends actually vomit. My kinda workout! :).

Enter law school and the end of my working out career.

Exit law school, begin insanely busy career, working 80+ hours a week, and still not taking care of myself.

Enter taking care of myself, but by working out at home, running, and biking, and loving summer.

Find studio again, which is now called The Fighting Fit, has two new locations. Same owner, same awesome people. I stopped in yesterday to get pricing, a schedule, and information in general.

Stopped in today at 545 PM to sign up and take my first class! Yay! Tonight, I just took basic kickboxing which, kicked my butt! I cannot feel my arms. Still. 3 hours later. Class was awesome. For those of you who have taken cardio kickboxing, this is entirely different. You wear wraps and gloves, actually HIT pads and bags, and do a lot of other training as well. Training included running outside (around the block), tons of abs, tons of push-ups, burpees, squats, kettle bell workouts, etc. Amazing all over workout. Plus, I ran into a friend of mine from the 5Ks, so that was kewl as well! I knew one person! Can't wait to take the other classes as well, once I can feel my arms again. They have a class that sounds awesome called Cage Rage, another called H.I.I.T., another that does Xtraining, a kickboxing bag class, and combo classes. Anyway, I just know taking classes here is going to improve my running and workouts in general. I was sweating and exhausted the bulk of the class.

We ran in one race this past weekend, in Brownstown, called the Wood Duck Dash, which was on Saturday. Was a very pretty race, through Lake Erie Metro Park, which is not far from our house. Loved running over bridges over the water and through the trails in the woods. Ended up 4th in my age group/female, and Kurt was thrilled I did not place as he hates staying and waiting for the medals, LOL. It was fine though, as I had a lot of plans on Saturday and needed to get going. The run felt really good, and I could tell my 5 Mile runs earlier in the week had helped my 5K time and endurance. Saturday afternoon, I headed to Canton to pick up my Aunt and head to the Milford Art Fair. It has really gotten huge! Prob twice the vendors from when I was last there. Ended up buying a really pretty wire pearl ring, and some drink mixes for fat free, calorie free drinks that are SUPER yummy and a good change from diet soda. Had lunch with my Aunt after that and headed home to get ready for dinner out with Kurt, and our friends Cassie and Ken and Zyon, at Crave in Dearborn. Had awesome sushi and a great time.

Sunday, I got up and the weather was perfect for running, so I ran 6 miles and stopped when it started raining. I worked part of the day as well, and ran some errands.

Work has been insanely busy, as usual. I feel like I am running all day long every day. Tons of court all over the place (mostly Detroit and Monroe for me, but Kurt has been in Detroit, Pontiac, Mt. Clemens, Ann Arbor and other district courts locally). Tons of appointments in all three offices.......Am thrilled Kory had been in all week, love when he has short breaks from school.

The mosquitos have been crazy around here lately. Ugh on mosquito bites.

Oh! We finally joined the Jefferson Rec Center, which is part of the high school I was on the school board for. Anyway, we rode the bikes up there and walked around. It is insanely cheap (like $100 per year per household) and I am looking forward to using the pool (I want to train for a tri, and can swim laps in the pool), racquetball (we are going to learn to play and they have courts), the track (for running NOT on a treadmill in the winter months).....We basically joined because there are a few machines Kurt does not have in the basement and does not want to buy cuz they are really pricey and they have them there (including leg press and a back machine).

Hope everyone is doing well!

You Look Like an Athlete

Race this weekend was super fun. Put on by the Detroit Lions in Allen Park, near their training facility. Instead of medals, they gave out glasses with Detroit Lions and the race info on it, and there were a lot of Detroit Lions prizes and stuff. Anyway, the race was at 900 AM, and of course, it was gorgeous and sunny and hot and muggy. And, I have not been running as much because of the heat, except on the treadmill (have been biking WAY more). So, I was just hoping to just get through the race without passing out. The course was fun. Neighborhood residents had sprinklers on for us to run through, and there were a lot of spots with water and/or gatorade. Anyway, I did way better than I thought I would, clocking in at 26:01. Got 1st in my age group and 77th overall. Kurt clocked in just less than 30 minutes, which he was OK with since he has not been running at all lately because of injuries to his hamstring and back. Our friend Jeff got first in his age group, and our friend Paul got 2nd in his. Anyway, I really liked this one and will do it again next year for sure.

Had a massage after the race at a place I had booked that I had a Groupon to, and could not believe that the therapist underSTOOD deep tissue. I will be back for sure. I don't even think he was using all his strength with me, but I was kinda sore from the run. My dinner plans that night got postponed, so I decided to stop at the mall to use a coupon I had, and ended up buying nothing. Went home, and Kurt and I decided to go out for sushi, which was super yummy.

Yesterday, went on my sunday morning bike ride. I love these rides. It is generally gorgeous and sunny and I just ride and ride. This morning, I went over 13 miles. I can really tell the difference in my legs/muscles from adding the biking in too. Love that. At weigh in yesterday morning, I was my lowest weight to date, weighing in at 66.2 pounds less than when I started in September. I was thrilled with this, as I kinda stopped tracking my food and have been eating healthy choices, but eating when I am hungry, so I am sure I am eating more than I was previously, but I am still losing, so that rocks! I just kinda want to maintain now though, and make sure my clothes continue to fit. I guess if I gain a lot or my clothes get tight, I will start the tracking again. Speaking of that, I was looking for a particular supplement at GNC, and was kinda annoyed by the lady's reaction who worked there. She basicaly would not even SHOW it to me, because I think she thought I should not use it as I don't need to lose any more weight. I really don't think that's ANY of her business, and then she started lecturing me on eating breakfast, that I should drink protein shakes, etc. Umm, no. Did not ask your advice on my life. I don't eat breakfast because I am not hungry in the morning and food makes me kinda queasy in mornings. If I get hungry, I eat a banana or granola bar or other fruit. Anyway, I will not be going back to that GNC. Or Ill take Kurt with me and tell them the product is for someone else, LOL.

This morning at court, one of our attorney friends stopped me in the hallway and said to me "I just saw Kurt and was telling him that you two seriously look like athletes now, you both look amazing!" That totally meant a lot to me, as that is what I want to look like. I am not into the waif skinny look, and want to look slender, but with muscle tone as well. Apparently, whatever I am doing is working! Or at least it is to that guy. : Kurt even commented on my arm muscles tonight while we were working out, so all those push-ups and kickboxing bag workouts must be showing finally! I'm kinda jealous of my friends who can accomplish the same results in a lot less working out, but since I dont have the time or schedule to do anything more structured, I gotta keep with my own thing, which works (albeit slowly).

Our Labor Day trip is selected by a roll of the dice. I had narrowed it to three places, Kurt added three more, we assigned each place a spot on the dice, and we rolled. Number one came up twice immediately and so San Francisco (focusing on the redwoods and hiking) is it! :). can't wait. Have not booked yet, as I need to finalize dates, but can't wait for our second trip to cali this year! I have always wanted to see the redwoods, so I can't wait. Oh, the 6 choices were San Fran with redwoods, Calgary with Banff national park, glacier national park in Montana, Honduras, Vancouver, and Puerto Vallarta. This is a shorter 5 night trip, so we cannot pick anyplace crazy far. Any recs anyone has for places to stay, hikes to do, would be appreciated.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Welcome Lucie Bella!

We have a new addition to the family! I would like to welcome Lucie Bella Haskell to our family.

Lucie was a stray kitty. We have tons of stray cats that come to our yard to eat and sleep (Kurt has a kitty house with AC and heat for the strays), but none of them ever come near us. Until Lucie. I was out one night after work and saw her near the front door. She did not run right away like the other strays did, so we called her. She did not come right away, but eventually sauntered over and kinda let us pet her. The next night, same thing. Before long, she was waiting for us at night, asking for canned food. She was also cuddling and demanding attention. Before long, Kurt brought her into the basement and she is now--after being checked at the vet, getting her shots, and getting fixed--living in the house. She is pretty nervous of the pugs and has been hanging out on the kitty condo in the living room, not really coming down, but, she is purring a lot and seems happy. Anyway, I think Lucie is a pretty smart kitty to adopt us! We are great feline parents. :). The only thing wrong with Lucie was that she was a little bit anemic, so she had meds for that. She was also realllllly skinny, almost bony, when she first came to the yard, but I have been working on fattening her up. The pic of Lucie above is when she was still outside and had not adopted us yet, but you can tell I already kinda liked her! :). we had just worked out and came home on the bikes to her waiting for us to get attention......

So, last Sunday was the Paul McCartney concert at Comerica Park. Loved seeing a concert at the baseball stadium outside. Only bad part was a tiny bit of rain right at the start, but other than that, perfect weather and night. The concert was awesome, and Paul sounds the same live as on the radio. He was awesome, and it's hard to believe he can put on a show like, at 69 years old! He was all over the stage and the show was almost 3 hours. We had great floor seats in Row 25 center.

Work week was crazy, as usual. We ran in a 4 Mile race on Friday after work in Southgate. I ended up placing, but the race was HARD. It was over 90 degrees out, even at 630 PM when the race started. I am not good with running in the heat like that, and I had to stop and walk a couple times becuz I felt like I was going to pass out. So, I was not expecting a medal, but I still got 3rd in my age group! I guess a lot of people had a hard time with the heat like I did. Kurt did really well too, and only came in about 1.5 minutes after me. We went and had dinner afterwards in Monroe, which was super yummy. I am getting better with eating out, making healthy choices. We really enjoy relaxing at dinners out, so I am trying to make good choices so I dont feel guilty about it. Saturday, I had lunch with friends, then Kurt met me and we drove to Birch Run for some outlet shopping. Kurt needed some new suits and has gone from wearing a 46L suit and 38/32 pants to a 40L suit and 33/32 pants. Crazy. We stopped at all my fav stores too, and I got a cute white suit coat and black skirt at BCBG (WAY marked down, I think the suit coat was originally $198 and I got it for $45), a dress, two shirts, and a tank at Ann Taylor, running shorts at Reebok, and a suit coat and skirt at Banana. There were a ton of good deals, as the stores are already getting fall stuff in and HELLO, its 95 degrees outside. We had dinner at a really good sushi place I found on Yelp while we were driving, where I had the house soup and a roll called a Firecracker Roll that was incredible. Great service and prices. wish the place was around my house or office! Today, we worked, did stuff around the house and grocery shopped. I got in a 12.25 mile bike ride this summer, which was really nice. The weather was just gorgeous, and I just randomnly picked roads to drive down, and saw some parts of Newport I don't think I have ever seen. Love the bike, although I can't wait for temps to cool down so I can run more outside again instead of on the treadmill. My attention span is really short on the treadmill.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

So, with the crazy hot weather this week (which I refuse to complain about because I would much rather have this than Michigan winters), I have been a little bit stir-crazy not being able to run outside. Since I am so not a morning person, I have no desire to get up early and run before work, and even later at night, it has been too hot (at least for me) to run outdoors. So, my workouts this week have been biking outdoors or working out in the basement gym. Boo. This morning though, I woke up at like 715 (without an alarm, go figure), so I decided to take advantage of that and go run. It was prob already like high 70s and super muggy, but I was determined. Ended up getting in just over 5 miles, which made me really happy. Followed it with an immediate shower since I was drenched in sweat, but that just means more calories were burned off, right? :). We ran a ton of errands today in Monroe and downriver, and then went on a bike ride today, when we proceeded to get drenched from a storm for about a mile of it, but whatevs! It was still fun.

My husband is an addict. To slushies. I think we have been to the ice cream place on bike rides like an average of three times a week. I think he has tried almost every flavor there. Tonight, he had a flavor called "Graveyard" where they mix several flavors together, which resulted, I guess, in a black cherry like taste.

We bought an inversion table last weekend and have been using it. I think it is actually really helping Kurt's back issue. He is upsidedown in it right now, haha. I have been using it too, and think it is helping with my issue with running and my one nerve in my back. My Mom has one and her and my stepDad love it, and my Mom was telling me she thought it would help Kurt's issues, and she was right! Thanks Mom!

This week was pretty busy and full. I had a ton of court. Had dinner with my lawyer friends on Wednesday night in wyandotte at Solero Cafe and Tequila Bar, which was fun. Got a massage on Tuesday night at Blu Water Spa, which was desperately needed. Then, got my hair done on Friday night at Daybreak Salon, which was WAY overdue as well. Ended up getting like three inches cut off, and instead of simply blonde highlights, got some strawberry blonde highlights mixed in. Really like it, although Kurt said he does not notice a difference at all, LOL. Today, we went to Blu Water for Kurt to get a massage, and I got a mani-pedi, which was also way overdue. I seriously have no time to get anything done and feel like I caught up on everything beauty-related this week alone. At least I am caught up for a while. :).

Tomorrow night, we are seeing Paul McCartney in concert at Comerica, and I can't wait. we have great floor seats, and I have been wanting to see him ever since I had tickets last time he was in town and sold them.

We are trying to figure out our Labor Day trip. I have mostly been looking at Central and South America, but may look at Canada and some american spots as well, since it's a pretty short trip. Nothing is really a front runner yet. And *someone* I know really needs to get on picking out destination for the Christmas trip, which is usually booked WAY before now.

Oh, made a new recipe tonight I have been wanting to try, Quinoa and Black beans. Turned out AWESOME. I used jarred cilantro (1/4 cup) instead of fresh, as I had no fresh, but other than that, followed the recipe exactly. anyway, super easy. I made mine with ahi tuna and Kurt's with tilapia. It would be good though, on it's own, with any fish or meat, or as a side with a mexican meal. Highly recommend.

Oh! One of my favorite high school friends, Becky, had her baby this week! Ended up being a c-section, as the baby was over 9 pounds, she was 12 days past due, and my friend is tiny (only 5'1), so I guess baby Nick was not going to come naturally. Sounds like everyone is recovering and doing well, and baby Nick looks super cute. cannot wait to meet him in real life. Guess I need another quick trip to San Diego? Would love to run on the beach again........

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. Oh, will be posting about an addition to our family soon! (and no, not a human baby addition). Stay tuned......

Wyandotte Run and Updates

This weekend, Kurt and I ran in the Wyandotte Portofino Art Fair 5K, Saturday at 800 AM in Wyandotte. It was a nice race and I was glad it was early, as it was already super hot at 800 AM! Kurt broke his personal record for time, and I placed second in my age group. Our friend, Paul, was there as well and got 2nd in his age group. So of course, we had to stay so I could get my cute medal. :).

Sunday, I had breakfast at Denny's with two of my school board friends. They had wanted to take me to a goodbye breakfast from the board. It was really nice. I totally cheated with eating and had some amazing pecan banana pancakes. I love pancakes with fruits or nuts baked in.......totally reminded me of the amazing pancakes I had in San Diego in April, at the place overlooking the Bay........worked the rest of the weekend on Saturday and Sunday, boo. Sunday night, we lost power from 730 PM to 106 AM, boo. Some kind of brown out in the area.

Kurt bought a bike rack for the back of the Jeep, so we can now take the bikes to the park and ride, which we have done one time now. It's nice, because of the no cars being there. When we ride around the house, there is some traffic, which I hate watching for. Anyway, we are up to riding about 6-10 miles at a time, and really, I think we could go much further, we just decide to go home at that point. I am so thinking I need to train for a tri. I can totally do the running and I think the biking, and the swimming would not take much for me to get since I pretty much grew up in the water. Something new to think about anyway. Maybe next summer. I have not signed us up for any 5Ks this weekend, and I am a little concerned about the heat and might not do one. We are signed up them a lot of other weekends, including our first 10K in August. That will be interesting. I also found this awesome American Lung Association stair climb, but don't know if anyone will do it with me or not. You climb up and down the 70 flights of stairs at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. Everyone I ask about it thinks I am insane though, LOL. I may *make* Kurt do it with me though. :).

Went to Old Navy this weekend to use a Groupon I had that was about to expire. I got an adorable dress, which is going to be worn a LOT. Also got a cute polka dot tank, a white tank, and a green tank on clearance for working out. I am kinda not happy with Old Navy lately, or maybe my tastes have just outgrown the store. Anytime I go in there, it is VERY limited the selection of what I would even try on. I also think a lot of the stuff just looks poorly made and see through. Stopped at TJ Maxx as well and found a great Calvin Klein bra and a New balance workout shirt.

My dream shoes are Pucci heels. I love the patterns and yea, hate the price. Finally found some for about 80% off and ordered them and of course, don't like them on, so back they go! Hopefully, I find some for that kinda deal in the future that I like on. Super cute shoe, but just did not look right on me. Boo.

Went to the Wyandotte art fair this past Thursday with my Aunt and my friend, Nancy. Ended up buying a really kewl ring, but I had to have it sized and they are mailing it to me. Can't wait to get it! We had dinner at a really cute little place after the fair in downtown Wyandotte that had a HUGE menu. Really great place to take people when everyone is in the mood for something different.

we have been slammed at work, and I so need to get some things done....I need a pedicure, badly. I also need to schedule a massage. And I am so far past due on my hair, but I at least have that scheduled for I think? this Friday. Maybe not doing a run this weekend will allow me to catch up on some of those things? I hope so.

Oh, almost forgot. We finally got word on the property we bid on in costa Rica. I guess the sellers were "offended" by our offer, but made a counter offer basically saying "pay our price". I found it funny because almost nodody has called on their property and only one person besides us has looked at it in over a YEAR. They should be glad they are even getting an offer. And I never understand when people are offended by an offer. If you don't like it, turn it down. Why would you be offended? It's not like we put in the offer and said they personally suck or something, and the offer was not bad anyway. I am not in a hurry to buy, so I will keep looking, and when their property is still on the market in a year, maybe they will negotiate more on the price. At least we are looking and getting out there. Kurt has also started looking in Panama and Ecuador. I guess Ecuador is the new "in" place that Americans are moving to, you can get ocean front property for about half what it is in Costa Rica. So, I guess we will see. We will need to go back there for sure and look around, since our Ecuador experience is solely Quito and the Galapagos.

Anyway, hope everyone had a great weekend. Stay cool in this weather! :).

Runs

So, have not posted in a while, have been super slammed and still am. Shocker.

Anyway, we have been in Costa Rica for the 4th. More on that later.......

Recent Races
We ran in two races prior to leaving that I have not posted about yet. One was in Taylor and raised money for a local food pantry in Taylor. Our friend, Paul, ran in it as well. It was a nice race through Heritage Park, which is right near our office. Had to be there really early though, so I don't think I even woke up until the race was about over, ;). I decided to start running races slightly differently this weekend. My prior method was starting off at my normal pace and pick up the speed later on. But, I realized that I was having to run pretty fast at the end with this way to beat my prior speeds. So I decided I was going to start off more quickly, and this really improved my times. Pushing myself at the start is more tiring throughout the race, but makes me run the entire race more quickly. Anyway, placed second in my age group in the Taylor race, and Kurt placed third! Our friend, Paul, placed first in his. All in all great race. the one the day before was called the Springswell 5K in Dearborn and was the first race ever for this one. Kinda not organized, very small amount of people, but it as run. They did not list where you came in rank on this one, but they did time it and tell you your time.


Ran in another race today in Taylor at Heritage Park. when I woke up this morning, I was kinda feeling tired, so I had no idea how I would do, plus we ran last night. Anyway, the race had a huge turnout and stiff competition. Kurt was sure he would not do well since he gained 5 pounds on vacay (which he has already lost, LOL), was tired, had been sick this week, etc., but he did really well! His time was close to his personal record, he got 28:33. I ran it in 26:02. I got 4th in my age group and Kurt got 6th in his. I think I could have done better if I was not feeling kinda tired, but I was heppy with my time anyway! :).

Costa Rica Trip
Costa Rice was amazing. As usual. Flights there were perfect, we left very early Friday morning. Got there, got our rental SUV and we were off to Jaco. We booked NOTHING prior to getting there in relation to rooms, tours, etc. and just decided to play it by ear. Got to Jaco and stopped to have lunch at my fav placed in the world to eat, Tacobar, which did not disappoint. Had our normal, ahi tuna tacos. After that, got a massage at Nazareth (walkd in, appointments gotten on the spot) and rented a room via my Expedia app on my iPhone at this placed called Club del Sol, which is actually condos hotel rooms. Anyway, our room was super nice and just outside of downtown Jaco. We had a full kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, laundry room, and the pool was right outside our door. Ended up staying there two nights. We ended up, which in Jaco, cheaking out a piece of property Kurt had been eyeing online. 30 acres, two houses (one regular and one caretaker), a barn. Anyway, loved the property and the ocean view, creek running through it, hiking trails. The caretaker house and barn were total crap, and the house was OK. Plus, we were confused as to "why" the people built the house where they did. If you go up further on the property, you have this amazing ocean view and a perfect spot for a house there. instead, they built the house at the bottom of the property, practically on top of the caretaker house. Weird. The house was also odd as well, the layout--but hey, we are in Costa Rica, they do things differently. The location of this property is pretty much perfect though--about 5 minutes out of downtown Jaco, in the middle of the jungle. so, we would get the jungle and animals, but be like minutes away from my fav city ever. we ended up putting a bid in on the property and we are waiting to hear back. I have a feeling they will not take it, but we will see. You never know. We basically bid not giving much value to the house since we would most likely build a new house higher up with the view, but the people who live there seem to value the house higher than the property (from their comments while we were there). Keep you posted on that, but I am not feeling that the bid will be accepted. Ate at an awesome sushi place that night called Koi. Service was perfect here, and the food and decor awesome. Really modern place.

We drove on day two to Manuel Antonio national park as well. We were there once prior, 5 years ago. We drove there and did two hikes around the park, and ended up seeing howler monkeys, capuchins, agouti, lots of birds. Great ocean views...........Had dinner at a place called i Love sushi that night that was new from last time we were in Jaco. Before we could order, they lost power (huge rainstorm). We still ordered and the food was great. Limited on what we could order due to no power, which was kinda annoying, but hey, it is what it is. I had tuna quesadillas and Kurt had a veggie and california roll with miso soup.

Decided to leave on day three and drive to Tamarindo. another area we were at before 5 years ago on our first trip to Costa Rica. more of an Americanized, uppity area, but we wanted to check it out again. Got there and had lunch, then checked in at the Hotel Diria, right in the centre of downtown Tamarindo. Nice hotel, except for the fact that two days in a row, the electronic part of door stopped working and it was kinda a pain to get it fixed. Ate lunch that day at a place called Copacabana and had hummus with pita bread as well as a tuna taco that was awesome. Breakfast buffet was awesome there as well and included in the room. We had a room literally right on the beach, ocean steps outside the door. Love that. Did some shopping in Tamarindo, had a massage, took a tour to Palo Verde National Park where we took a boat tour and saw lots of animals--iguana, lizard, holwer monkeys, crocodile. Love just sitting on the boat looking for stuff on the shore.......lunch for the tour was AWESOME. All costa Rican food. we had awesome fresh fish, black beans, corn tortillas, fried cheese, fresh guac and fresh veggies. Super yum. Had dinner at an awesome sushi place that night. Second night had dinner at another super good sushi place called Bamboo Club. I was so proud of Kurt there too becuz he ventured off his normal california roll and tried a tuna crunch teriyaki roll that was really good. had a massage in ion Tamarindo and checked into the cost of veneers for Kurt, they are about 1/10 the price of the US. Talk about mark-up in the country.

Fifth morning left there and headed back to Jaco for the night and the casino. Ended up not doing the casino and just relaxing. Looked at another piece of property which was beautiful, but I deemed too far away from jaco and overpriced. had dinner at my fav place again and then relaxed at the hotel for the night. next morning, left for the airport and home, BOOOO. Was proud of myself, got three runs in while there, two in Tamarindo and one in Jaco. It was HOT there, so I had to adjust my speed since I was not wanting to pass out. Went anywhere from 3-4 each time, and I was both proud of myself for running in the heat and not passing out and for working out while on vacay! Ate like crap, so I had to. I don't even want to know what I gained after seeing Kurt gained 5 pounds. Guess I will find out on Sunday when i weigh in.

Click here to see all pics from the trip.

This is totally off topic, but the Lauren Conrad dress I bought at Kohl's prior to leaving? totally great vacay dress for hot weather. Comfy, cool, and adorable.

Getting back on the eating right thing SUCKED once we got home, but I always feel better when I eat right. I made a new goal with eating to try to eat more "natural". I am going to buy fruit and veggies for the office and house and keep them stocked. when I am hungry for a snack, I want to only grab a banana, or a grapple, or carrots, vs my normal rice cake or granola bar. That is step one. I am not going to be anal about it (i.e. I am NOT giving up Skinny Cow or Smart Ones ice cream), but I am slowly going to add more natural stuff into my diet. I am not giving up lean Cuisines for lunch just yet, because they are so easy, but eventually I would like to bring other things i make at home for lunch. First night home I ran 4 miles, and Kurt and I ran 3 miles at the par last night,

Today, ran errands, worked, worked out, took the pugs on a couple walks, and took a short nap. Tomorrow, working all day again, BOOOO, and Oscar and Vito have a vet appointment in the morning. Hope everyone had a nice 4th!

Underwear Bomber Hearing 7-7-11

by Kurt Haskell

I haven't posted anything regarding the underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (Umar) in awhile. It is not due to a lack of interest on my part. There simply hasn't been much new going on with the story. That changed today. I expect this story to heat up once again as the October 4th trial date approaches.

As always, if anyone needs a background regarding this case and my throery on it, feel free to read this blog from Christmas Day 2009 forward. Please remember that this is my wife's blog and many posts regarding our lives are commingled between underwear bomber postings. This is not exclusively an underwear bomber blog.

I received notice of this hearing last week. It was set for 11:00 A.M. today. Unfortunately for me, I had a trial on one of my cases set for 9:00 A.M. today. I didn't have enough notice to move my trial. I was hoping my trial would settle or get adjourned to this afternoon. Judge Keith was an hour late today for my 9:00 A.M. trial and had several other cases to complete first. By 10:00 A.M., I didn't think there was any chance I would make it to Umar's hearing. At 10:30 A.M. Judge Keith called the two attorneys into his chambers to discuss the case to see if there was a settlement. There wasn't, so I asked him for a one hour adjournment and he granted it (from 10:45 to 11:45). I asked my client to watch my briefcase and I ran 4 blocks to the federal courthouse. Lori was already there. The hearing lasted 45 minutes of which I got to watch approximately 30 minutes of. See below:

This hearing was scheduled for two reasons: 1) The prosecution asked to "define" the role of stand-by attorney Chambers to determine what he can and can't do and 2) Stand-by attorney Chambers request to delay the October 4 trial date due to the prosecution giving him new evidence only one month ago.

The prosecution argued its motion first and asked for ridiculous requests such as Chambers not being able to sit by or talk to Umar while court was in progress. Judge Edmunds appeared to think most of the requests were ridiculous. A couple of the requests she indicated that she would decide after taking the issue under advisement (Judge talk for thinking it over) and would give her decision at another hearing in approximately two weeks. She took these issues under advisement as between Umar and Chambers: 1) Who will do jury selection, 2) Who will do the opening statement, 3) Who will do the closing statement, and 4) Who will question the witnesses. Interestingly enough, Umar told Judge Edmunds that he and Chambers will each question some of the witnesses. Judge Edmunds told Umar that would probably not be acceptable. I wonder if Judge Edmunds forces Umar to question all of his witnesses, if that will scare him into using Chambers as his regular attorney? I can only hope. Judge Edmunds once again tried to get Umar to use an attorney. Umar once again refused and indicated that he has been making progress on his studying to become his own attorney.

The more interesting part of the hearing today centered around Chambers request to adjourn the October 4, 2011, trial date. As part of his argument, Chambers indicated that the prosecution dumped the "Most significant evidence" of the entire case on his office in June after holding it for 18 months. Chambers then went on to describe such evidence as follows:

1) A copy of Umar's passport (Apparently it took 18 months to create it)

2) A disk containing a chemical analysis of the composition of the bomb

3) Airport security video and audio

4) Four disks of DNA analysis

5)A Witness statement from a Dutch, non-law enforcement citizen, government profiler, who talked to Umar during "the time in question"

For those of you following my theory on this case, you can see the obvious tie ins between the evidence that was withheld for 1 1/2 years and what it likely shows. I am, however, very puzzled as to item 5. I am not sure what the shows, who it is, when it was, or how it's relevant. Chambers then requested all other hidden evidence to which the prosectuion indicated it would turn over to Judge Edmunds for her review within two weeks. AS IF IT WAS O.K. TO HIDE MORE EVIDENCE!!!!! Apparently, the further hidden evidence is classified as SECRET (top secret?) and requires judicial review even before it's released to the defense. If I was representing Umar, I would be beyond livid over this conduct by the prosecution. What kind of evidence in this case could be so highly classified? I wonder if it has something to do with providing a "terrorist" an intentionally defective bomb and escorting him around security without a passport?

The hearing ended with Judge Edmunds denying Chambers request to delay the trial. Jury selection will start October 4, 2011.

*Note that some of the above information was provided by Lori as I had to return to my trial before this hearing concluded.

Weekend Recap--Happy Father's Day

**Before the race, at Kurt's Mom's house, photo courtesy of Scott Haskell.

Busy week!

Had a super fun time at the Pinconning Cheesetown Challenge yesterday. Kurt's hometown has had this race and festival for the past 28 years. There is a two mile race and a 5 mile race and you can run one or both races. The 2 mile is first, followed 30 minutes later by the 5 mile. Anyway, Kurt and I decided over Mother's Day weekend when we were visiting his Mom to run the 5 Mile. Drove up there Saturday afternoon and picked up our packets (which included a kewl shoe thing that tracked your time), and waited at his Mom's until race time. Headed out to the race and Scott (Kurt's bro visiting from FL) came as our cheering squad. Anyway, the race was nice. I did not like the parts through grass (which was prob about a mile total two different times), but the rest of it was nice. I was just hoping to finish in under 50 minutes. I always have a hard time at the start becuz I start out running slowly and see everyone speed by me, and I always want to run faster, but stop myself. No different in this race. Kurt and I ran together for about half a mile, then I started to inch ahead. I kept trying to pick out girls in the age group and pass them, LOL. Which is absurd since my age group is only 5 years (30-34) so like I could really pick people out. I started trying to really push myself at 3.5 miles, then more at 4. I know the people who start off really strong get tired at the end, and I am kinda the opposite (wanting to save energy until the end). Ended up finishing in 42:59. Was so super psyched, since I just wanted to come in under 50 minutes! :). Awesome time for me. Kurt finished under his goal as well. He finished in 46:56, and his goal was to finish under 49:08 (his fastest 5 mile time while training). Scott and I got to cheer Kurt on at the end and take his pic, haha. I wanted to see how we did vs everyone else so we went to the little awards thing, and I ended up placing first in my age group and getting a super kewl plaque!

Kurt got 6th in his age group. Went to dinner afterwards at Norm's with Kurt's Mom and Scott, then drove home. My muscles are really sore today, which is rare for me, but I think it was the pushing myself so hard. Love sore muscles....... Next race is next weekend, where we are running to raise money for a local food kitchen/pantry in Taylor, MI. I believe this is the race val, larry and dan are coming to, and our friend, Paul, is running in. can't wait! It's a 5K and a great cause.

Ran a bunch of errands today, and went and got my first, really late, pedi and mani of the summer at Art Nails in Monroe. They did a really great job, and I am feeling much better about my nails right now. They desperately needed some work. We bought a chest freezer today at Lowe's, which I am super excited about. My freezer is sooooooo overfilled, and I can never buy anything in bulk cuz I have no room. Started transferring some stuff to it tonight, but need to finish. It will be great to buy more than one of the foods I like to eat when they are on sale.

Made tofu for the first time tonight. i have been wanting to, but a little nervous. Did not do anything fancy for the first time, simply grilled it in soy sauce, chili pepper, and onion and served it over my spaghetti squash/marinara, with salmon and a bagel thin (for dinner). Speaking of spaghetti squash, I could not find it at ANY of the grocery storess while shopping. Ended up going out of my way to the fruit/veggie stand store, and they, thankfully, had it. I was about to throw a fit over not finding it anywhere! :).

**scott loves taking action shots, which means, when I ask him to take a pic, he takes like 10, and only one is the one I asked him to take in the first place (see top of page, LOL).

Kurt had a bunch of work done on the Jeep, and it is seriously looking brand new, even though we got it in 2002. We took it to a body shop to get the rust spots out of the body, and we replaced some of the chrome accessories. We also ordered new tires and rims, which should be here shortly. We ordered slightly different tires, hoping to make the ride better with the car. Rebecca said something to me the other day about needing to get a new vehicle to replace the Jeep, but Kurt and I are not typical americans. We run our cars into the ground. I do not buy a car unless i know I want it longterm. I have no interest in replacing cars every 2-5 years like a normal American and just becuz a car is from 2002 does not equate to needing a new car, at least in our book. Hate car payments, and love having everything paid off and I am keeping it that way (or alternatively, paying cash if I get another car in the future).

Pugs got baths and nail trims today at the groomer. I don't think we are going to take Vito in anymore. He apparently gets really stressed out while there, and I don't want to subject him to that anymore, so Kurt is going to just give him baths here and have the vet clip his nails. It's weird to me that Vito is the one who has issues with this, as he is the most social of our pets. They said Oscar is the first dog they have ever grommed that LIKED the dryers. No idea why. oscar is such an eccentric dog. LOL.

Booked our 4th of July flights to Costa Rica, can't wait! we were looking at Europe and other places as well, but flights there are SOOOO long, and I have been craving some jungle hiking. We can also look at property while we are there, if we want.

Happy Father's Day to my Dad, stepDad and Bumpa, and all other fathers and soon to be fathers out there, as well as all animal daddies (including my husband, who is an awesome parent to our pets). Thanks to my Dad for teaching me how to play cards, be athletic, and for giving me my sense of sarcasm--and for supporting me in all my crazy adventures in life. Thanks to my stepDad for being so amazing to my Mom, and for always being there for me and supporting me in everything I do, and always believing in me. And thanks to my Bumpa for being the rock of the family and an awesome Dad, grampa and husband. And thanks to my husband for doting on my babies, and for loving animals so much you want to devote your life to saving and caring for them. Thanks for picking spiders up and carrying them outside--one of the top reasons I love you is your love of animals.

Night all!

Happy Weekend

Had a super busy weekend after my dinner out Friday night meeting Megan, Chris and Nate!

Saturday morning, I ran in the 1st Cabrini High School 5K. This race was held during the Cabrini summer festival. Anyway, I talked Melanie and Todd into running, and Kory took Kurt's spot since Kurt was out of town visiting family. We all got there in time, and there was not a huge turnout. Most of the runners appeared to be high school track and cross country students, so we pretty much knew we were getting our asses kicked, haha. Anyway, it was Mel and kory's first 5K. The race was pretty organized, since it was new. The beginning and end of the race were on grass that needed to be cut, and I had a hard time with that compared to the part of it on the sidewalk and road. Anyway, my time ended up being 27:51. Todd came in shortly after me, then Kory, then Mel. It was a lot of fun. After that, i went home and did some stuff around the house, then headed to Farmington Hills to see my Mom and other family. She had come down from Manistee for a wedding shower on Sunday. Got there, and her, Carolyn and I went to a couple stores (Kohl's, Joann's, and Marshall's). I got a cute black belt at Kohl's. Had lunch made by Lisa next, and then headed out that night to the Tigers game. It was CRAZY downtown as there was a Taylor Swift concert and the Tigers game, right next to one another. Uncle Tim has priority parking in greektown, so he went to go in there. This next part is sad, but they would not let Carolyn (who is 15) or I in the parking garage as we did not have ID and you have to be 21. Yea........seriously. So, we got out with my Mom and waited for them to park. The game was awesome. Our seats were incredible, right behind visitors dugout. Tigers won, and we stayed to watch the aftergame fireworks. Headed home after that.

Today, slept in with Kurt since he did not get home until like 330 in the morning from wisconsin. We went to the park and ran 5.2 miles after that, great run. Perfect weather for it. After that, I went to work to try and organize my desk and ran to NY and Co to use a coupon I had ($40 off $100). Got some great stuff and deals. I needed a white tank for this one suit I have, which I found. Also got a cute shirt for work, another for casual and a casual dress and nicer dress for work (or not).

Have been relaxing at home since (after some grocery shopping). Tried to get Kurt to go for a bike ride with me, but he refused. meanie. I guess he's tired from being outside all day running with me this morning and doing yardwork the rest of the day. :).

Night!

Meeting in Toledo

So, I have had a long online relationship with Megan and her husband, Chris. They have also become friends with Kurt.....Megan and I met on a now defunct message board for 20 somethings, and have stayed friends, as we have a LOT in common. Megan is a professional successful woman, who loves sports (especially baseball), and has a great sense of humor and positive personality. Chris and Kurt harass one another about their teams (Chris loves the Twins, BOOOOOOOOO, haha). They have a little boy, Nate, who is freaking adorable. If you live in Iowa, you can check Megan out on TV, as she is a meteoroligist and all famous and stuff! :). Yes, I have famous important friends. haha.

Anyway.

They recently took a trip to New York and Toledo was their half way point to stop at a hotel, so I met up with them in Maumee tonight for dinner at PF Chang's. Kurt was supposed to come, but ended up going to Wisconsin to visit his family and his Dad who is in the hospital, so unfortunately, he could not make it. I got there and while we had planned on Granite City for dinner, the wait was longer than PF chang's so we headed over there. Dinner was super yummy and it was awesome chatting with Megan, Chris and Nate. Nate is the most well behaved little boy I have been around in forever! He loves baseball and is beyond adorable.

Can't wait for my next get together with them! :).

Kurt's 2nd 5K--Dexter Ann Arbor

Sooooo, last Sunday, we did Kurt's 2nd 5K of the year. It was in Dexter Ann Arbor, and supported a local hospital, children's hospital and another medical type charity for the blind. Anyway, parking was a PAIN. they suggested parking in a lot, but when we got there, it was full and street parking in Ann Arbor is IMPOSSIBLE. We ended up parking in a bank parking lot and hoping we did not get towed.........

Took a shuttle from downtown to a local school where the run started. There were 1793 people in the 5K (as well as more people in a 10K and a half marathon. I ran it in 26:42, which was my personal best, WHOOT, and Kurt ran it in 28:41, which was his personal best. I got 7th in my age group! The race was nice, until the end where we had to run up a big hill. Great workout, but I was about ready to throw up when I thought I was done, and then saw the hill........LOL.

Had dinner on Saturday night with our friends, Cliff and Lisa, whom we have not seen in forever. We ate at Fiamma in Plymouth, and it was super yummy. We took a walk through downtown Plymouth after dinner......Super nice night.

Weigh in on Sunday, and I was down another 1.4 pounds from two Sundays ago (since I did not weigh in while out of town). I was pleasantly suprised with this since we ate out Saturday night. :). Down a total of 66 pounds now. My running has been going really well, I have been running further and further with each run, and it is getting easier to go those further distances.

Anyway, I have been sooooo busy and need to get to bed. I will try and post about Puerto Rico soon! :).

World did NOT end

All this talk about the world ending just made me roll my eyes. Seriously. It's now 10:39 p.m. and we are all still here. :).

Ran in my 2nd 5K of the summer today! Kurt was supposed to go with me, but since he is sidelined with his ACL sprain and fractured tibia, I asked Becca to go with me, and she said yes! :). She met me at the house bright and early and we drove to Adrian, which is in the middle of nowhere. Literally. Plus, the GPS took us there on some weird backroad route, so it really felt like the middle of nowhere. Anyway, the drive gave us time to catch up, so it was not so bad. Got there and Adrian is SUCH a cute little town. Loved it. The run was at a little park. We got there wtih plenty of time to check in, pin on our numbers, and exchange our shirts for smaller sizes. I dont know why I can never figure out what size shirt to order. Anyway, then the race! It was beautiful out, and the run was nice. I kinda wished it would have been through the park, instead of through the streets of Adrian, but it was still a nice run since the town is so cute and nice. I got done in 28:09, which was great for me! :). I ended up getting third in my age division, which was awesome! I got a cute little medal, which is my first at a race. Bec ran it in like 32 something, and ended up with first in her age group! whoot! Runners also raised about $4500 for Special Olympics, so that was awesome as well. Overall, an awesome morning. Oh, we also got a goody bag with our t-shirt, a plastic water bottle, some pens, etc. Came back home, picked up Kurt and headed to work. Came home, ran another 5K (as I could just not stand being inside to workout). So, I basically ran a 10K, but during two different parts of the day, haha.

Had a kinda busy week this week, it just FLEW by. monday, had a board meeting which kept me out kinda late. Wednesday, had the monthly K-Fass meeting with the girls......Friday, had dinner with rebecca and Lauren at Cafe Sushi in Troy, then took a dress back to Banana Republic that was too big. Ended up walking around the mall some, I wanted to stop in The Limited to see what size I wear there, and also walked around Club Monaco and nordstrom's. Did not buy anything and remembered why I dont really like Somerset Mall. No sales really, and the people that shop there are just a little odd. I mean, seriously, who wears 5 inch heels or a suit to shop? people are Somerset, that's who. LOL.

Anyway, off to bed, exhausted after an uber-busy day.....