Thursday, 31 January

Happy Birthday Katie! It's Thursday and for not getting much sleep, I feel pretty good. Been to the gym twice today. The day has been going well so far, so no complaints from me. After work, having dinner with Michael and Dan. Spoke with Joe Hickey about Super Bowl Sunday, we are going over there for his party. Looking forward to that. Need to get a few things, making a really good appetizer to take. I had the weirdest dreams last night, little anxiety about finishing the adoption too so will feel so much better once it's all done. Only a few more days to go. Going to dinner at Pronto, Kurt is going to meet up with us after dinner. He has a dinner/meeting with someone from work.

Wednesday, 30 January

Happy Birthday Jim. It's midweek. I'm tired today but getting through it. Did my cardio this morning and did a chest workout. So this whole Britney Spears thing, I just wish it would end - her 15 minutes are over. I'm so over how she has monopolized the news when there are so many other more important things going on. Watched the Kwami Kilpatrick "Apology" - what a joke. It's such a shame what he has done to the city. It's made this city a laughing stock - it's all over CNN, the late night talk shows are having a field day with it. Ugh. Once a player always a player. Time for some real change in our city. I really hope they charge him with perjury but I'm sure it will be covered up. It was a very uneventful evening, didn't do much - went to bed early. I did make - Turkey Macaroni and Cheese, it was delicious.

Tuesday, 29 January

Got up and felt pretty good, lots of energy - which I needed. Did my cardio for 40 minutes then did Abs. Got to work and another busy day. So much going on, had several meetings so it made the day fly by. At lunch, did a shoulder workout. Michael came up to the gym, we didn't workout together but at least got to say hello. Ate my lunch (Chilli - finished the big batch up). After work, ugh - so much driving. Got home, fed the animals then packed up Olivia's stuff, headed over to my parents house (about 45 minute drive), before getting to their house I stopped at Milano's (men's clothing) I had a gift card for over a year so wanted to use it and got a beautiful cashmere sweater. Went to parents, had dinner there - got to see Mom, Dad, Shon, Tracy, Hudson and Ivy. I had a really nice time. Then had to drive Olivia back to her foster parents, then go home and change cars then headed to the airport. I was on the road for about 3 1/2 hours today.

Monday, 28 January

Monday, Monday, Monday... Long morning. Got up around 4:45, showered and dressed - then got Olivia up, changed her and gave her a bottle. Packed up the car and was on the road by 5:30. Got to my parents house and dropped off Olivia, she was already asleep again - so sweet. After that, had to head into work. Made it in about 40 minutes which I was happy with. Work was busy, Friday is the cut off date for support to the split-off division so trying to get everything running in our reporting system for them. At lunch, did 40 minutes of cardio and a back workout. Was there about 1 hr and 20 minutes - I figured I got in early by over 25 minutes so it's no big deal. Finished my day and went home. I had a horrible headache. So cleaned up for a bit then went over to Michael and Dan's house for dinner. Dan cooked the best meal, marinated chicken breast, brocolli, squash and salad. I brought over dessert and bread. Everything was good, after dinner watch TV for a little bit but then went home to go to bed. Head was still hurting. So got home and all the animals crawled into bed with me - I could barely move. Slept really well though.

Sunday, 27 January

Olivia got up just once in the middle of the night, changed her and she was back to sleep within a few minutes. Slept till about 7:00 am, got up and had some coffee. I need to go grocery shopping - out of several things. So got up and then a little bit later Olivia was up. Fed her a bottle and changed her then we hung out for a bit. She played and I did some sit ups. She was clocking her tongue all morning, it cracked me up. Around 10:00 am, did some laundry - had to wash her sheets twice, I think the fabric softner gave her an allergic reaction so rewashed everything. Around 11:45, got a call from Dan and Michael inviting me to Dave & Busters. So got off the phone and gave Olivia a bath, got her changed and dressed pretty quickly then jumped in the shower while Olivia had her bottle. When I was getting dressed, Olivia had fallen asleep so I cancelled going to Dave & Busters. Didn't want to wake her up again. The rest of the day was spent making tuna salad and egg salad for lunches, doing bottles and packing up her bag for Grandma's house. Olivia was having bad breakout sessions, I hope it's not the cats. So I changed her, put her in a 100% cotton pajama set and she laid on my chest while I watched some TV. Around 8:00 am, I gave her the last bottle for the day and then put her down to bed. She was pretty tired because she fell asleep almost immediately. Such a sweet little angel. I watched a little TV before falling asleep.

Saturday, 26 January

Got up pretty early, showered and dressed - made some coffee and we headed out to the airport. It was a good drive, no traffic and we even stopped for Tim Hortons on the way. After dropping Kurt off, I got home and moved the cars around. Then picked up Olivia - she had a tough few days with her allergies and eczema. Poor thing - I feel so bad. She scratched herself up pretty bad. :( Got her home and changed her, my parents arrived a little bit after that. We went out for brunch at Jimmies in R.O., it was good - I had a chicken salad plate. After brunch, went home and my parents headed out. It was good seeing them. After that, got Olivia cleaned up and changed for her portrait sitting. I got her two outfits yesterday and she looks so adorable. Took her to get her pictures and she did a great job, I'm so happy how the pictures turned out. They will be done in about 2 weeks so I will post them once I they are ready. Michael joined me up at the mall, we did a little shopping while we were there. Got a pair of boots and a sweater, I think I will probably take the boots back. After that, went home - having an issue with my bladder. Long story. Olivia was out so put her down for a nap and made some dinner for myself. Ate my left over food from brunch. Olivia got up a little bit after there so I fed her and changed her. Put her in her pajamas and we played for a few hours. She was so funny, only issue was she scratched herself again. I hope that I can get her in soon for the allergy testing. The pediatrician said I would have to wait a little while longer. I already know that she is allergice to - Non natural materials, cocoa butter, wool and I'm sure there other things too. So put her to bed soon after and she was out for the rest of the night. I ended up just watching some tv with Mocha, Riley, Finnegan and Henry and fell asleep soon after.

Friday, 25 January

It's Friday and the weekend is upon us. It's been a good morning so far, got to the gym and did a really tough arm workout. Didn't do any cardio, little tired - got plenty of sleep just decided to do arms since at lunch I have to send out papers for the adoption. Work has been good - going by fast. Meetings in the morning, at lunch time I also bought Olivia a couple of new outfits for her portrait sitting this weekend. Really cute little dresses, very Spring like. Listening to Rachel Yamagata all afternoon, really enjoy her music - very laid back. I'm suppose to have dinner with Mark and John tonight, that should be nice. Kurt is on his way to see his Grandpa in Grand Rapids but will be back late tonight, he has his flight to California tomorrow. After work, got home and fed the animals an then cleaned up a bit. Made a pot of coffee, needed to wake up - really sleepy. Then went up to Somersett to see Dan. We got Hot Ciders and walked around the mall for a bit, then left there and went to Pronto for dinner with Mark and John. Had a really nice dinner, good conversations and food was good. We hung out there for a while, saw Jack and Pete, Tom and Ron, Todd Lloyd, Mike R, Jennifer & Perry - it was a really nice night. Kurt got back in town and met up with us around 9:30 and we left around 11:00 pm. Kurt had an early flight and I was taking him to the airport before picking up Olivia.

Thursday, 24 January

Woke up and feeling some what better... feeling better and better. Hopefully by this weekend the chest cold will be gone as well as my sore throat. Almost there. Got to the gym and did an hour of cardio then got to the office & started my day. Had a few cups of coffee and some oat meal, I feel pretty good. The day went by pretty fast, busy afternoon. After work, came home and fed the animals and then took out the garbage to the curb. I painted the air vent to the stove, it was cooper so I painted it silver to match everything else. I then got changed and went outside to shovel the driveway. I can't wait - going to see Cirque de Soleil tonight with Michael and Dan. Fun stuff. They picked us up at 5:30 and we headed down town. Parked at the Greek Town casino, we gambled for a little bit before the show... I won over a $100.. :) that never happens. Since I was a winner, I paid for dinner. The show was awesome - really enjoyed it. Amazingly talented people. After the show, took the People Mover back to the casino and then headed home. It was a really nice evening.

Wednesday, 22 January

Got up early and to the gym. Energy level wasn't there but forced myself to go. Did an hour of cardio and some abs. Got to work and was busy, lots of issues to deal with. Morning flew by, at lunch time - went home and cleaned up a bit then had some paperwork to take care of. Back to the office by noon and had some more issues to work on. Afternoon flew by. I had a big meeting with Heidi today, signed all the paperwork and in about a week the adoption should be completed. So happy about that, I feel so good about this and I really feel that we are ready for this. Ready to be parents again. So after paperwork, I made some lasagna - used whole wheat pasta, fat free cheese, and turkey - so pretty healthy, well compared to regular lasagna. Kurt brought home Chinese food so lasagna for lunch tomorrow. We ate dinner, really good - weird fortunes in the fortune cookies, mine said - "lost cause go get professional help" Seriously, that is what it said. After dinner, went to CVS - had to return some movies at Blockbuster and pick up some lotion for Olivia at CVS. I'm trying out Dermarest... the pharmacist basically said it doesn't work, it has menthol in the lotion to help with itching but that's really the only difference. We will see. Came home and got stuff ready for Thursday and went to bed.

Tuesday, 22 January

Got up and felt horrible. Hardly had a voice, Kurt called in too. We are both feeling like crapola. Good thing, Olivia is feeling better. She got up and I fed her breakfast, gave her a bath and got her dressed. She played for a while, she still wanted to be held but her coughing was better. Tried to get her into the pediatrician but they couldn't get her in. (Just to be safe). She was sneezing a bit but a lot better. Got dressed and had coffee. Kurt went into Comcast to return the boxes and get new ones, they were charging us for something we didn't have so had to return them and get new ones. Good thing is that we got credit for an entire year of the service of HDR box. He should't have left the house though - he is a lot more sick than myself. So after he got back, I had to take care of a few issues at HQ so went out and did that. When I got back, fed Olivia and put her down for a nap. She was out cold. When she got up I held her for a long time, she wanted to be held again so did that and then got her all dressed to go back to Mr. and Mrs. Whites house. Took her there (only another couple weeks of that). Came home and we had chili for dinner then cleaned up a bit, did some laundry and then off to bed. Still feeling achy and a sore throat but better then I had been feeling. I need to get to the gym.. I feel gross.

Monday, 21 January

I have the day off, and it's a good thing - coming down with a cold. Even though I'm feeling sick, can't let the effect my day. Got up around 6:00 am, made coffee and actually had some stuff to do for work. Kurt got up and went to work, he is sick too. Olivia slept in late, she is really congested but the vaporizer is working well. So she got up and I fed her and then gave her a bath, she loves bath time. Got her dressed and bundled up. Went to Best Buy to get a couple of CDs and then met up with Michael and Dan for lunch. We ate at Nello's. After that, went grocery shopping for some stuff to make chilli. Got home and made a huge batch of chilli then baked some corn bread. Unfortunately our oven wasn't working, there is a short in the timer and it shuts it down. The stove was working fine. Dan came over and picked up the corn bread and took it home to bake. Kurt got home around 6:00, he picked up a prescription on his way home. Dan and Michael came over aroudn 6:30 and we ate dinner. We watched Family Guy and a really bad movie, I fell asleep during it. After that, got Olivia all ready for bed and fed her - she was out pretty quickly. Went to bed around 9:30 and felt horrible. Ended up calling in for Tuesday, just didn't feel well enough.

Sunday, 20 January

Got up several times during the night with Olivia, she was up coughing and couldn't sleep. Poor little thing. So got up and rocked her for a bit, changed her and she was back asleep almost immediately. I was up by 5:00 am and just stayed up. I think I have a cold too. So did some laundry and a made coffee. Had almost a pot of coffee by myself. Olivia woke up around 7:30 so changed and then fed her, after that - held her for a while. Gave her a bath and changed her, did her hair and then got showered myself. Kurt was asleep till about 10:00 or so - he was still sick. Around 11:00 am, Mom & Dad Stanley came over - they got to see the baby's room and Kurt's projects before we all headed over to Aunt Betty's house for lunch. We had a great time, saw Robin and Jim, Laura, Aunt Betty, Jeff, Nicole and Uncle Randy. Lunch was really good, Chicken Shack. After lunch we had to head out, Dawn and Todd were coming over. It was nice seeing them, Dawn got to meet Olivia. We all then headed out to dinner at Country Oven where we met Barry, A.J. and Micheal. Dinner was good, I had fish and chips. After dinner, came home and pretty much went to bed. I fed Olivia her last bottle and she was out cold. I was asleep by 9:00 pm or so.

Saturday, 19 January

Today was a really good day, got up and cleaned for a bit. Kurt was feeling a little off this morning so he slept in. I made us some breakfast, Spinach omlettes - they were so good. After breakfast and coffee, got cleaned up and then headed out to do some grocery shopping before picking up Olivia. I miss her so much on the days she is not with us. Picked her up at 10:00 and headed home. She was tired when I got home so laid her down for a nap - she is actually getting sick so all she wanted to do was sleep and when she was awake, she just wanted me to hold her. My sweet little girl. So got her up around noon and fed her, held her in my arms for a couple of hours and then she went back to sleep. She was real raspy and congested. Got some vicks to put on her chest and then a vicks vapor for the humidifier. She seems to be doing a little better with that. After that, had to run a few errands so Kurt stayed with her while I went to Target, had to pick up some new light bulbs and frames. After that, came home and made a late lunch. We ate then around 6:00 pm, Bonnie and Michelle came over. We watched a movie, ate pizza and hung out. Michael and Dan came over too - it was a fun evening. I was really tired so got the baby to bed around 8:00 pm then went to bed myself around 10:00 pm. I was out cold.

Friday, 18 January

Been listening to a lot of new music lately, I get into spurts, right now I'm really liking Tegan and Sarah, Kimya Dawson, Death Cab for Cutie, Eisley... Got a few CDs from Best Buy (Thanks Mom Stanley). Looking forward to the weekend, busy one - got dinner plans tonight, Bonnie & Michelle on Saturday, Sunday we have lunch plans with Kurt's family and Dinner with Dawn. I have a doctor appointment this afternoon, little nervous about it. I get my results back. I started taking Ginseng tablets and I feel great, more energy and I'm focusing better. I started taking that and a multi-vitamin.

Thursday, 17 January

Got up and headed to the gym, I felt okay - got my cardio and abs in. Work, busy, good I guess - the day did seem to go by fast. At lunch, did a chest workout - I'm sore from that which is good I guess. Got some great news after lunch, got an email from our Adoption worker and it said that that we received the Michigan Children’s Institute (MCI) consent for the adoption of Olivia by Kurt & I. The next step is to file the adoption with the Oakland County Court, they are coming to our house (Adoption workers) for us to sign some forms, we pay for the filing fee and it will all be taken care of. So with that being said, the adoption will be filed and Olivia will be with us full time within a week or so. I'm so happy, I was expecting more delays but it ended up being just a 3 day delay. By February, she will be our little girl. Great news and we are more than excited about it. Got home after work, fed, cleaned, laundered, packed and made lunches. Kurt got home, I made some coffee for us with the French Press, we had coffee and played some Wii. Did the age test, got an age of 24... Kurt got 29 so we are both fit in the game system's eyes. After that, we met up for dinner with Joel, I was starving - I got a salad, Kurt got soup and salad, Joel got nachos. We were only out till about 9 pm, came back home and pretty much went to bed. I was tired. On a sad note, Mason (Michael and Dan's dog is not doing well, they have to put him down this weekend... so sad, such a sweet dog).

Wednesday, 16 January

Mid-Week - I really can't complain the week is going by fast and it will be the weekend soon. Today was a pretty decent day. At lunch time, I ended up going to Oakland Mall and getting some Ginseng (for energy), I also picked up some multi-vitamins. The rest of the day went by fast, huge issues and working with this split off company has kept me busy. After work, came home and fed the cats, the dogs, cleaned the kitty liter, took out the garbage, put the dishes away from the dishwasher, did some laundry, folded clothes, made lunches for Thursday, got coffee ready for tomorrow, packed my gym bag and got clothes ready for work and that was before Kurt got home. Kurt got home, I made something to eat for him - I wasn't really hungry. We played Wii for a little bit then watched TV. Really nice and relaxing evening. I'm a little worried about Mocha, she has a lump on her chest, last year she had one and it was a fatty deposit so hopefully that is all it is. We watched Project Runway and I was asleep probably before 9:00 am.

Tuesday, 15 January

It's Tuesday..... Got through this day without any war wounds. I got to the gym twice today which felt good. Still not a lot of energy so I had to force myself to workout. Work was good, busy - good. Getting lots of calls about questions. I left work a little bit early today so I could vote - Did that and then came home. I fed the animals, got coffee ready for Wednesday, packed my gym bag and got clothes out for tomorrow, I then made lunches, shoveled the drive way and did two loads of laundry. Kurt got home with Olivia - she is just the cutest thing ever. She was very talkative last night. We all went out to dinner and met up with Todd. Went to Nello's, it was really good - I had salad. I then had to take Olivia back :( it makes me sad to do that but only a few more weeks to go. Got home and folded clothes then watched some TV in bed. Very relaxing night.

Monday, 14 January

New Week.... Got up and got the car all packed up. Then got the animals fed, made coffee, did some laundry and then got Olivia up. Changed her diaper - it was a full one for sure. Gave her a bootle while I cleaned her up and got her changed. She soiled through her pajamas so changed them and washed her up. After she ate, I put her back to bed for a little bit longer, she was tired still. She was giggling and cooing but she needed more sleep. I got everything ready for her to go to my parents house and Kurt was taking her. I then headed to the gym, did my cardio and some Abs. Work was okay - a little slow but good. The afternoon flew by..... After work, came home and lets just say it was a very relaxing evening. I got lunches made, coffee set up, gym bag packed, clothes out for tomorrow and by the time Kurt got home from work - I was already in bed. I had dinner heated up (left overs) so we ate then watched TV for the rest of the night. I was actually asleep by 9:00 pm. It was a good night.

Favorite New Song

Sunday, 13 January

Olivia woke up once during the night, but she was back to sleep within a few minutes. I had a soda the night before and it kept me up for a bit. So I got up, had some coffee and fed the animals, I then gave Miss Olivia her bath. She loves the water, she is so funny. She was wiggling around and smiling. Such the happy baby. Got her cleaned up and dressed - I learned something new today..... Kind of gross but I learned not to lift her legs up towards her head too much (I was changing her poopy diaper and I didn't want her to wiggle so I was holding her legs with one hang towards her head and the other hand cleaning up with the baby wipes.... well, I think that put too much pressure on her stomach and she became a human playdough machine if you get my drift - it shot out of her and all over me). So now I've been pee'd on and pooped on - I guess nothing can bother me now. Funny thing about it was that it didn't really bother me at all. Maybe because she is our Daughter now and I love her so much, the gross things you just deal with. Kurt still hasn't changed a poopy diaper yet but he's getting there. Okay - so got her dressed and her skin is looking so much better. I think we just have to be aware of all the stuff near her - the harsh materials and we have been putting socks on her hands so she can't scratch herself at night. I've been trying to cut her nails more often too - keep them short. I even got a baby nail file to use with her. Today, on the agenda - Kurt went to the gym with Michael while Olivia and I cleaned up. She loves for me to hold her while I vacuum - I think she likes the sound. Some sounds she doesn't like - the drill for instance, she starts to cry immediately if we have to use it. After Kurt worked out we met him for lunch at Jimmie's. Olivia fell asleep but I had to wake her to eat. Trying to keep her on a fixed schedule so that she goes to bed at a regular time. Lunch was good, I had a sandwich. (Egg Salad). After lunch, I stopped at CVS to get some stuff for Olivia, her own toothbrush and baby toothpaste - she has two teeth out and 3 more coming in, I got some hair care stuff for her and special lotion for her scratches. After that, came home and we hung out for the rest of the day. It was a really nice day - Kurt made dinner, I made lunches for Monday, we got our gym bags ready for Monday, I packed up Olivia's stuff for Grandmas tomorrow, made bottles and then I laid down with Olivia. Kurt went out for a little bit to play Keno with Michael and AJ. He was home within 1/2 hour though. I picked us up some Ice cream and we had that for a snack before bed. I shouldn't have eaten that but it was good. Put Olivia down to sleep, she falls asleep so quickly now - I just put her on her stomach and rub her back for a minute or so and she is out. New pictures coming soon. Oh - Olivia is eating baby biscuits now and it's great. I will give her one and that keeps her occupied for at least 30 to 40 minutes. It's great... for me at least. :)

Saturday, 12 January

Got up around 8:00 am, slept okay - made coffee, did some laundry and then hung out with the dogs. Got cleaned up and picked up Olivia. Got her at around 10:00 am and then drove home - she was ready to eat so fed her and then went grocery shopping for a few things. Returned some movies and rented a few more, went to CVS and then back home. Kurt, Olivia and I had lunch and then went to T.J. Maxx, we have been shopping a lot lately, need to tame that. But did get the cutest outfits for Olivia, she has so many cute things to wear. After that, we came back home. Michael and Dan invited us over for dinner, they got Chicken Shack. It was yummy, we watched a movie and ate, I fed Olivia dinner and played with her for a while. She fell asleep pretty quickly, it was a long day for her and she only napped once. We stayed till about 9 or so and then headed home. I was really tired to so I was out early. Kurt went out for a little bit but was home early.

Friday, 11 January

It's Friday...... Got up and headed to the gym, I'm in a really good mood - I have energy and I feel pretty good today. Did an hour of cardio then some ab work. Got to work early, started on some issues and that kept me busy all morning. At lunch - back to the gym - did a shouler workout, sore now. Finished my day and headed home. I have energy and it's 4:00 pm already - feeling great. Looking forward to picking up Olivia... she is just such a beautiful child. Kurt got home and we were suppose to meet up with Mike, Dan, Wayne and Justin for dinner but skipped dinner and just hung out all night. Saw Eddie, Steve, Jen, Kandy, Frank, John, Chris, Steve L and a bunch of others out. It was a really fun night. Was starving around 10:30 or so, so stopped at Burger King and picked up some chow for us and we went back to Dan/Mike's house to eat and watch some TV. Hung out till about 2:00 am or so then went home. I fell asleep for a while watching TV so I actually got plenty of sleep. Got home and went to bed.

Thursday, 10 January

It's Thursday again - just feeling like a wet towel. Not much energy, just can't seem to get motivated. It's the weather maybe or lack of sleep. The cats have been using me for a pillow at night time, they are really cute - both curled up next to each other and laying on my legs - I hate waking them so I haven't been sleeping to well. Work was a little slow today, not slow in nothing to do just slow in the clock moving forward. At lunch time, ran to the bank and then went to the mall. Picked up a few things, got really great deals - ornaments were 90% off at Macys and I got 2 shirts - really cheap. Finished my day, headed home - made dinner, took out the garbage to the curb and then vacuumed the house. Kurt was down today (about that job he didn't get) so we didn't do much. Watched TV, I played Wii for a little bit then watched Ugly Betty. I think I was in bed asleep by 9:30.

Wednesday, 9 January

Half way through this week, looking forward to a little rest this weekend. Haven't been sleeping very well, I'm getting sleep but just not enough. I got my haircut today, I really needed it - it's been over 8 weeks since my last haircut. I wanted to grow it out a bit but it just got too mop like. I like the cut, Marcos does a great job always. After my haircut, I met up with Kurt for dinner. Before that, I had a few minutes to kill so I went to a store near by and got a couple of books. We had dinner with Michael and Dan, it was really good and I'm glad I only ate half of my sandwich so I have leftovers for lunch. We hung out and played some pool for a little while afterwards, didn't stay out to late. Home by 8:00 pm. Got my stuff ready for Thursday, packed my gym bag, got my outfit ready for work and had coffee all ready to go for the morning. I got a couple of movies in the mail so I was really looking forward to watching one. We watched most of "2 Weeks" - it's a really sad movie but very good. It's about a woman (Sally Field) that is dying of cancer and she is trying to bring her kids together so they stay a family after she passes. Very sad but really good. Watched most of it, have about 20 minutes left to watch tomorrow.

Tuesday, 8 January

Another day of being tired, went to bed early, slept okay, just no energy at all. Did force myself into the gym but couldn't give it 100%.... I should have stayed in bed. Maybe not. Olivia stayed at my parent's house last night, so I called them in the morning and she did excellent. Slept for 11 hours. Lots of sleep for her. Work was good, did a back workout at lunch. After work, came home and got Olivia's stuff ready then cleaned up a bit and made dinner. Dinner was really good, Salmon, rice and cauliflower. I made a chardonnay butter sauce with shallots and onions, I steamed the cauliflower with chardonnay just to give it a little more flavor and brown rice. Kurt got home with Olivia around 6, so we ate and then I had to clean Olivia up, change her, give her a bottle and then drive her to her foster parent's. :( Only 3 days though. After getting back, we met up with Kerrin, Jon, M & D at Rosey O'gradys to watch the primary votes and play Keno. I only lost 5 dollars so I'm happy with that. After that, got home and pretty much went to bed. We were both exhausted.

Monday, 7 January

Got up this morning, early - got Olivia up, fed her, changed her and got her dressed. We got the car loaded and headed over to my parent's house. Mom was watching Olivia today. I had a meeting in Plymouth at 9:30 so it worked out perfectly. I dropped off Olivia and got to visit with Hudson and Ivy for a bit too. I stopped at the gym afterwards, did a half hour of cardio and an ab workout. Went to my meeting and it was very productive. After the meeting, did some grocery shopping, visited Olivia for a bit then met up with Kurt for a late lunch. After that, I was feeling really tired and not so well so went home and fell asleep for about an hour or so. Got up and put away some Christmas stuff that was outside, vaccumed the hosue and cleaned up the downstairs. Kurt got home and I was making dinner. He put in new shelf paper in our pantry and a full length mirror in that closet. It looks so much better. We ate dinner and watched TV for a bit. After that, I was exhausted so I went to bed.... slept pretty good too.

Sunday, 6 January

Got up, had some coffee and did some laundry. I started cleaning the laundry room, just organizing stuff while Kurt was working upstairs. After that, woke up Olivia - she was tired. Fed her, she was hungry and gave her a bath, she was dirty. :) After that, we all got dressed and headed out to lunch. Lunch was really good, I was starving. Visiting with Chelsea and Marlyn - it was nice. Kurt went to the movies with Christy and I went home with Olivia then I went to the movies with Michael, Dan and AJ while Kurt watched Olivia. We both saw Juno, it was such a great movie. I really enjoyed it- got the Movie Soundtrack for it. Very cute movie and good music too. After that, came home and laid down with Olivia for a bit, fed her a bottle then put her to bed. She is so sweet. Had everything already packed for Monday (Meeting out in Plymouth) so heading to bed.

Saturday, 5 January

So how cute is this picture. It's a picture that Dan took - so cute. Just love the look in her eyes. She is such a doll. Got up this morning and made coffee, fed the animals and then folded some clothes. Gave Mocha a bath and then got showered up. Headed out to pick up Olivia, was there at 10:00 am. She is so cute and I missed her so much. After getting home, changed her and put her down for a little bit - she was really tired. She slept for about 30 minutes. Got her up and changed and we headed out to pick up Michael. It was a da of shopping. We went to Target, Computer Warehouse, Macy's, Banana Republic, F.Y.E., Meijer and English Gardens. We were out till about 5:00 pm. Got home and fed Olivia and then watched a movie while we played. After that, cleaned up a bit and ate some snacks while watching Drawn Together 2. Kurt made dinner and we ate, I fixed our 2nd laptop and then put Olivia down for the night. She was a little fussy but then eventually fell asleep. Such a sweet little girl. Watched some more TV but fell asleep during it.

Friday, 4 January

It's Friday - so glad this week is done with, just difficult getting back into the swing of things. So had a good day, lots of issues at work but dealt with them all. After work - got home and cleaned up a bit, did some laundry and then had a few errands to take care of. Kurt and I went to Jimmy's for dinner with M & D and then went to Pronto. It was a real nice night, we saw Heidi from Judson out there. Ran into A.J., Tony, James and others out. We stayed out to about midnight then got home. Looking forward to tomorrow to pick up Olivia.

Thursday, 3 January

I got up this morning and was so tired but still made it to the gym. Man, exhausted but got through my cardio - barely. After that, did make it to the office on time and started on some issues that we have been experiencing. So day flew by, found out also that the deal at SAAB was BS, after working with the salesperson - the price was actually $200 more a month then what they advertised. So at lunch time, went grocery shopping - on a new healthy eating kick again. After that, finished my day and headed home. I went to the dealership to talk with the salesperson but nothing. No big deal. After that, went to the dollar store and gas station. Came home and made some dinner. We met up with Todd, Dan and Mike for a little bit afterwards at Pronto. Played some pool and then came home shortly after that. Not a long night, still tired so got home and fell asleep.

Wednesday, 2 January

So back to work - I'm just glad it's a really short week for me. Got up and headed to the gym, it was a good cardio workout then the work day started - it actually was a good day because it was really busy. Working on a project that has taken a lot longer than expected. At lunch time, did an arm workout - I'm sore now from it. It's been a while since I did a weight workout. After work, got home and made sweet corn bread and some ham/cheese biscuits. Fed the dogs then cleaned up a bit. Kurt got home and we headed over to Michael and Dan's for a Chili dinner. The chili was really good and after that we went to the SAAB dealership to look at a new car - great offer was out that we got on a mailer. Unfortunately the dealership was closed when we got there. After that, came home and relaxed for a bit before going to bed.

Tuesday, 1 January

The New Year is an opportunity to make resolutions for change or to do better at whatever it was you failed at last year. I could not help but think that if I did not ever fail, then my goals are not nearly ambitious enough. Comfort is a good state in which to find rest, renewal and refuge for a while. But I think, it is a dreary and dismal place to take up permanent residence. If I were constantly satisfied - wouldn't that be boring? The reason life can be so rich is precisely because it can be so darn difficult at times. I cannot possibly appreciate or fully benefit from the good things if I have no experience with the bad things. Doesn't that make sense? When my efforts are met with failure, I know I am on to something and at the very least trying. Because on the other side of that failure is real and substantial accomplishment. We've really got to be able to seek not to create failure, nor to avoid failure either. But we've got to seek instead to allow failure, when it comes, to keep us moving on the path to greater success. Failure confirms that I am reaching higher. And higher is always the best direction to reach. At least that's how I think this morning.