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November 26, 2006
Kitties, Lamb, & Hot Water
I love having birthdays, now that I'm grown up! Birthdays used to really suck as a kid because I could never have parties since everyone is always busy with their families for Thanksgiving. But now, I'm able to hang out with a few friends every year on various days surrounding my birthday which is great because it stretches it out.
This year, I didn't bother taking the day off, even though my birthday fell on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Since most everyone was gone from the office, I got a lot done without everyone interrupting me. I left early about 3pm and met Don at the office to find out what my surprise was. First, he gave me my present: a gift card to Vicki's Secret and a beautiful Coach watch. It has a leather band, which I'm not used to anymore, but I like it nonetheless.
Then he took my keys and we jumped in my car. I had no idea where we were going for my surprise, and the fact that he drove my car threw me off even more since whenever we go anywhere together, we take his car. When we slowed down in front of the Ann Arbor Cat Clinic, I immediately exclaimed, "KITTIES!!!" I knew then he was taking me to visit the kitties up for adoption. YAY! Don made a nice $100 donation to the clinic in exchange for letting me play with them. They were SOOOOOO cute! They had 4 little kittens, two of which looked a lot like Gabriel and it was hard not to take one of them home. Especially since the one I liked was already giving me kisses! God, she was adorable! We also visited the adult cats. Don saw a beige one (I think she was Siamese) that really liked him and he really liked, but I think that room was for patients who belonged to other people. There was another room with more adult cats for adoption. The black ones were really cute. The black boy cat was really bossy toward his sister. I wished I could have taken one of them home too, but we already have 3 and we don't need any more fur flying around the house.
Later, we went to the Chop House for dinner with Greg, Sue and Tony. Of course, I had my lamb chops which were really yummy. And for dessert, we went next door to La Dolce Vita and I had my creme brulee, which I hadn't had in ages. I was very happy! Poor Sue, though. She ordered a nice looking filet, but when it came, she had been coughing so much she lost her appetite. She's getting over the flu. Poor thing. But at least she boxed it up to take home.
After that, we ditched Tony and went to the Oasis Hot Tub Gardens and got a couple of private hot tub rooms. One for me and Don and one for Greg and Sue, who had never been there before. I knew Sue would LOVE that place since I know she's the type that loves to relax on the beach in Maui. This was right up her alley. The water was really nice and warm, but with all the food we ate for dinner and for Thanksgiving, I was still in food coma and the heat made me really sleepy. But it really relaxed me and I slept really well that night.
Then yesterday, Kate (who I hadn't seen in ages) took me to Shalimar Indian restaurant for the lunch buffet. She always treats me to lunch or dinner for my birthday, then I do the same for her in January. She gave me awesome pink flowers...I think giant daisies. Then we did a little Christmas shopping on Main Street. Found some great stuff! But I didn't want to spend the entire afternoon with her because I knew Don was waiting for me. In fact, he wanted to do more shopping when I got home. But it was great spending time with her since I hadn't been able to for a couple months now. We got all caught up and she told me about her new job at Motawi Tile Works, which she loves. Hopefully, she won't be away from the dojo any longer.
I have to say, I'm not used to the attention being focused on me. But I love it nonetheless! Birthdays rule!
Posted by Amy at 01:55 PM | Comments (3)
November 24, 2006
Happy Turkey Day!
Yesterday was kind of a long Thanksgiving day...Don and I got up at about 9am to drive to Kalamazoo for Thanksgiving at my sister's house. We got there and I was nearly tackled to the ground by Tessie, who's only half my height, but she caught me by surprise while I was taking off my shoes. WHOA! haha! My sister, John, all three kids, my brother Oupie, and Dad were all there. Mom was in California on a religious retreat and too bad my aunt Noi and uncle Ed weren't there. I miss them. Poor Dad, though...he's losing so much hair. In fact, he'd gone to the bathroom and came back--I think he had combed his hair--and there was a ton of hair on his shoulder. EEK! Poor Daddy! But he's only got 2 more chemo treatments to go and he's doing very well. He's still sore from the surgery, but his appetite is good and he's gained a few pounds, which is really good, since chemo kills your appetite.
Ippie made a great turkey with all the trimmings. Stuffing with gravy was the best! Yum! And I got gifts for my birthday. Dad and Mom gave me a beautiful blue Hilfiger sweater, got a nice check from John & Ip, Sara made me a cute cardboard ornament for the Christmas tree and Tessie drew me a stenciled picture. Oupie probably got me the most fun gift I've ever gotten...A SPEAK & SPELL!!! That was my absolute favorite thing to play with as a kid (that and the electronic Simon). But it wasn't mine. It belonged to my best friend Annie. She had all the cool toys. Speak & Spell, Simon, Atari console, etc. I loved going to her house to play. And honestly, I've always wanted a Speak & Spell of my own. Oupie says he found it on eBay and from the tone of his voice, sounded like it wasn't cheap! Probably cause it's retro. But it was really fun.
Then we drove all the way to Farmington to visit Don's aunt Nancy & Uncle John along with the most of the other Bucks. The turkey was good again, but it's hard to eat 2 big meals in a day. I ended up not being able to finish what was on my plate and had to give it to Don. (I couldn't believe he even snacked on some cold fried chicken when we got home!) It's always fun to see the Bucks and it was even more fun to watch little Derek run around playing. He's saying short, but complete sentences now. He even surprised his mom by saying, "Excuse me!" for the first time while trying to get by me! hahah! What a doll!! And I was lucky to get it on video. Yay!
I ended up playing Texas Hold 'Em with Tom, Jon, John, Don and Brian. I always love playing that with them! Great game! I thought I was going to lose half-way through, but I had a hand with a king, so I thought I should just go for it. It came down to me and Tom (the big better) who put me all in by betting as much as I had. And even though he had a pair of 5's with an Ace high, I also had a pair of 5's, but had a king. Just when I thought I'd lose, Brian (who was dealing) flips a king on the 4th card and I won! HOLY CRAP! I couldn't believe that happened. I won $10 bucks out of it, but gave it to Don. He put in the initial $5 for me to play.
Anyway, I'm leaving early from work today at about 3pm and Don and I are having dinner at the Chop House for my birthday and he supposedly has a big surprise for me...not sure what it could be! But I can't wait to find out!!!
Posted by Amy at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2006
I've Been Blogged!
So some attorney guy named Paul in South Africa found our company blog WHAT'S THE DIFF and blogged about us. It's really cool what he says and plus, he liked my author bio! And here's another guy who says good things about it.
This blog we're doing has taken off so quickly and I'm really proud of it. I love blogging and it's really nice to know other people out there appreciate the things you have to say. In a couple of weeks, I'll be taking over the main functions of WHAT'S THE DIFF and being the main point of contact. I think I'm really gonna like that!
Posted by Amy at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2006
Grace without Grace
Boy, life is really funny sometimes! When you take martial arts, you have to be coordinated and somewhat graceful in order to perform the techniques. Even before I started martial arts, I took dance lessons as a child for many years--tap, ballet, acrobatics and jazz tap. I was the best student in the class not only because I could remember all the steps for the recitals, but also because I was the most coordinated and could perform the moves the best. When I got into private school (starting in 5th grade), we were required to take 3 sports per year (2 in high school) in order to gain enough credits to move on to the next grade. I took basketball, volleyball, and lacrosse in middle school and volleyball and lacrosse in high school. Eight years, I did sports. Then I went on to college and continued to play volleyball for some years. I stopped for a few, then started up with martial arts 5 years ago. So you would think that by now, I'm a pretty darned coordinated person. Not true!
Today, I'm sitting at my desk at work. I've got 3-inch heels on (which are good for my arches) and I'm wearing a long sweater that hangs down to my thighs. Just a few minutes ago, I happened to be sitting on my foot (it's comfortable) while I was working. I went to stand up and my heel got caught on the back of my sweater and I couldn't get it uncaught. So half-way down, I just thought, "Fuck it! I'm going down!" and landed on my knees. Ouch! Everyone turned around when they heard the thud of me hitting the floor, but at least I could laugh at myself, embarrassed as I was. I tell you--even Don can attest to this--that at least once or twice a week while I'm walking down the street with him, my foot will collapse inward on me and I'll stumble, having walked over an uneven crack in the pavement or because I'm just stupidly clumsy. And all I can do is look at Don and say, "I CAN'T HELP IT!!!" Plus, I'm constantly walking into things, bruising my thighs or my shins. Oh well. At least I'm not bruised this time...must be all those kneeling forms we do in swords class. D-OH!!!
Posted by Amy at 03:35 PM | Comments (2)
November 13, 2006
Weekend Update
Boy, these weekends just aren't long enough. Friday night, Don and I went out to eat at Carlyle's and split a mean ribeye. Got home in time to watch our favorite show, Battlestar Galactica, though since we were on time, we couldn't skip through the commercials. :(
Saturday, went to karate class and practiced my weapons, and realized I have all my material for sankyu level...I just have to practice it all now so I can get promoted. Afterwards, Don and I spent an evening with Tony and Crystal, and Nick and Pam. Crystal cooked us a Chinese dinner which was pretty yummy. I was pretty full by the end--she had cooked 4 dishes (shrimp, chicken, eggplant, and scallops), plus there were 4 desserts (peach pie, fresh pineapple, roasted almonds and cake). YUM! We stayed a bit to watch the UFC fights until Crystal and I were about to fall asleep (can you say, "food coma?").
Sunday was a long day. Don and I managed to get tickets from my office to the Lions' game against the San Fran 49'ers in the suite! Took us an hour to get there and traffic wasn't bad, but the Lions were! Someone there put it aptly: They never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Plus the officiating sucked--they made 2 really bad calls against the Lions. But the suite was sweet. Good food and it was indoors like the Palace; I think the suite was even a bit bigger than the one at the Palace. And the seats were like first-class airline seats, though not as wide. Comfy! I think the worst part is that it took us about 45 minutes or more just to get on the highway, but once we did, it was clear sailing all the way to Dad's house where we ate dinner. (Dad's doing very well...just had his first chemo session. Still sore and has less appetite, but he only has to have 3 more sessions.)
All the while, Don's been wearing his snore guard when he goes to bed, but then takes it out in the middle of the night cause it bugs him. Then he goes upstairs to sleep so he won't keep me up all night snoring. I think he needs to give it more time to get used to it. Hopefully, he will. He just has to give it more of a chance.
Posted by Amy at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2006
Sleeping in Heavenly Peace
Don finally got his snore guard yesterday. It's a mouthpiece much like my bite guard that he has to wear at night to keep him from snoring. The thing looks like a monster--it's got 2 pieces, one for his upper jaw and one for his lower and they have to be screwed together with a special key. It's supposed to keep his jaw from falling backward so that he doesn't snore. (Move your jaw back and you'll see what I mean--it closes up the throat somewhat.)
So last night, he skipped his nightly allergy medicine and wore the snore guard. Now, there are three occasions when I know for sure Don will snore: when he's sick; when he's been drinking a lot; and when he's really tired. So yesterday he had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn at a client's in Howell by 7:30am. He'd gotten up at 6am. UGH! (He normally doesn't get up till I leave at 8:30.) He didn't make it to the dojo for classes, I figured because he was complaining about his knee the other day. He also texted me to say that Dr. Jay was working on his knee yesterday evening. Well, when I called him at 9:30pm after I was done with classes, he was just finishing up work at the office! That's pretty much a 13-14 hour day! I knew he'd be extra tired which meant he would snore for sure.
Whaddya know, the snore guard worked like a charm! I slept very soundly until about 7:15 when Don woke up to go to the bathroom. I heard him putting the snore guard back in its case and sure enough, when he came back to bed, he started snoring again! Not a big deal since I had to get up soon anyway. And when he got up again for good, he came into the bathroom whining to me: "I don't like it! waaahhh!" I was like, "Too bad! How do you think I feel having to wear a bite guard all day, all night?" He only has to wear it at night. Oh well, he's just not used to it, but he will be soon. I'm so glad that he's not going to have to keep taking allergy drugs every night to keep him from snoring. They don't even work all the time! But whatever Don paid for this thing is money WELL spent!
Posted by Amy at 08:30 AM | Comments (0)