My Civil Duty

So of course I can't really say much, but I have finally, at age 28, been summoned and selected to jury duty. And I must say, my mom who has never been called, is more than a little jealous!

I am kinda torn between 3 different emotions here:

1: Do I really really want to know about all the bad stuff that is happening? I don't even watch the news consistently because nobody has anything good to say.

2: This is going to be really cool, I'm going to learn a ton, and I'll be serving my state and country in a way that not everyone gets to.

3: Spring is my absolute busiest time of the year at work...how am I ever going to make this work?

Well, there is an oath of secrecy that says that I can't tell ANYONE ANYTHING that happens in the jury room. Technically I could tell you what jury I'm serving on, but I don't think that would be the smartest move since anyboy could ultimately get to this blog. I'm sure you get it.

So instead, I thought I'd just educate you a little bit...here's some of the stuff that I have learned just during my juror "orientation" if you will.

Juries, at least this one, are literally chosen by RANDOM. We're talking names in a hat. Some levels pull from registered voters, and some pull from those with driver's licences. I won't get into what I think about this...

So here's the selection process:
Everyone who was summoned shows up. Those people who feel they have a reasonable excuse for not serving share those excuses, either in public or private council. Then those reasons are taken to a judge who decides whether the excuses justify exception. The jury director returns to the room with the names of those people still in the running on pieces of paper. No one finds out who was excused and who wasn't...this keeps people from "borrowing" other's excuses if they want to get out of service in the future. Then the jury director mixes up the names...literally. In this case he used one of the bingo wheels. He then pulls out the appropriate number of names, and that's it. Telling you how many people I'm serving with could lead you to determine what I'm serving on...no can do.

There are two different types of juries.

First there's the Grand Jury. Grand juries determine whether a defendent should be indicted or whether there is not enough probable cause to do so.
Then comes the Pettit Jury. Pettit juries are trial juries (the ones we all think of when we think jury). You know, "we find the defendant..."

Then there are the different levels:
Metro, State, Federal, etc.

And juries at different levels serve for different amounts of time, and have different monthly requirements, etc. etc. So I can't say exactly what kind of time commitment this is or one could deduce what jury I'm serving on.

Let's just say that I'm going to be stretching myself thin for a while.

But in the end, emotion #2 is really what I am leaning towards the most. Yes, it's going to be a time commitment, and yes I may learn of some things that I would rather imagine are not happening. But the bottom line is, they are happening. And I have an opportunity to fulfill my civil duty and my constitutional right to do my part in making sure that the justice system works in the way it was designed.

I feel quite privileged to be serving on this jury. And I have definitely learned that I work better under pressure, so I don't really need to worry about the stress level of jury duty, full time work, full time school...and that thing I call a social life!

I would encourage you, if you are ever summoned, NOT to listen to your peers who will tell you that you should try to get out of it. I could have written a book of ways to get out of jury duty with all of the "suggestions and tips" I got prior to showing up at court. If everyone were to use these excuses, we would destroy the system that we have now. And although it is certainly far from perfect, it still strives to protect the innocent, afford anyone and everyone a fair trial, and consider all innocent until proven guilty. We can complain all we want about the flaws in our justice system, but at least it's designed correctly. Many other countries don't even have that foundation to build upon.

God Bless America!!

Dramatic, yes...The way I really feel...ABSOLUTELY!

Merry Christmas!

I have been on my vacation since Monday and I still feel like I should be doing something. Not that I'm just sitting around, I've had plenty to do. But this break feels a lot more like an actual break than some of the ones in the past. I don't go back to work until the 5th (followed by jury duty on the 6th), and school doesn't start up again until the 20th! WOW!

It's the morning of Christmas Eve, and the festivities are starting. I am headed out to buy A LOT of seafood for Cioppino, our meal for tomorrow. Every year we try to do something different and this year is no different. It's a Sicilian seafood soup that has had RAVING reviews. It only takes about an hour, prep and everything. I'm excited to try it. You can check out the recipe most similar to ours (we've made it our own) here. For some reason I can only get that to link to the Food Network homepage, but if you look up Giada De Laurentiis and Cioppino, that's the recipe.

I have to go find or make a dessert for my potluck/gift exchange with my "sisters" and their family. I'm thinking that there is a reason the stores overstock on desserts on Christmas Eve...so that people like me can continue to procrastinate!

Around 5 we're going to hop on the New Mexico Railrunner, a train system that runs North to South and that has just opened its route to Santa Fe. We will head into Santa Fe and stroll through Canyon Road. This has become a Christmas Eve tradition for us (my sisters and me) and if you're ever in NM for Christmas Eve you should try to make it there. It is the quintessencial Christmas scene; shops with lights, carolers, hot cider, bon fires, snow(!), it doesn't really get any better!

We'll be back in town in time for me to go to 11:00 service and then head to bed and get ready to spend Christmas day with my family.

I hope you all have a safe and blessed Christmas and that you find many things to be thankful for!

I HATE drama!

Why did God wire women to create or insinuate drama?? I don't understand it, but I truly loathe it. I'm not saying that I've never been guilty of it, but do people not realize that it's only hurtful in the long run. Eventually someone will have to deal with the repercussions of the drama and that's NEVER fun. Ok...done with the soapbox for the evening.

Totally cute aprons...check 'em out!

One of my fellow "Bods" has a friend who is starting to sell the adorable aprons that she makes. She's kicking off her new business with a giveaway...check them out here!

Enjoy enjoy!

Light at the end of the tunnel...

Well, I have to say that taking 3 classes while working and living is suddenly much harder than it has been in the past. I'm trying to figure out if it's the classes, the promotion, or just me getting older! I'm pretty sure it's the promotion. Although I was doing a lorge part of this job before the promotion, there have definitely been added responsibilities. Not to mention the fact that I have been out of town for at least part of 8 of the last 10 weekends...there went my school catch up time!

So, I have completed one of my two final papers, just finished one of my three final exams, and am off to finish the second paper now. I wish I knew why I insist on procrastinating until the very last minute to write. It's obvious by the length of my posts that writing, and especially BSing, is certainly a strength of mine! And yet here I am...24 hours away from turning in a 7-10 pager, and I'm posting instead of writing my paper. Could someone please play psychoanalyst and tell me what the heck is wrong with me?!?

OK, I'll stop wasting time and get to the nitty gritty.

Point of this post...2 classes will be my maximum load from here on out. And I need to light a fire under my butt when it comes to large assignments. One of these days my gift for BS isn't going to cut it and I will pay for the procrastination!

Hope you are all doing well!

A new venture...and a healthy one at that!

I have joined an online community called The Bod Squad. I am so excited about this group. There are 12 ladies who have made a commitment to change their lives to be healthier, and often thinner and more toned. There is so much more to it than that though...this is truly an emotional journey. Anyone who has ever struggled with weight loss can attest to that. Having 11 accountability partners, strong women who aren't afraid to tell you to get your act together, will be an incredible asset to my journey. And I hope that I can be just as helpful and encouraging to them. Although The Bod Squad is at it's capacity of "original" members, this community is an incredible way to gain encouragement on your own journey. Check it out!

If you get to this RIGHT AWAY...I'm not yet up there. Give me until the 7th to get everything to them so they can post it online. But I'm certainly not the only one...in fact, if you already know me, you probably already know my story. Check out everyone else's. Have a great day!

My new Advent tradition

Yesterday I was given an Advent calendar. I had never really had one, but had always enjoyed the thought of the tradition. As I was driving home with the piece I started to think. I certainly didn't need a piece of candy every day, and I didn't think grapes would last. Suddenly something popped into my head. It's entirely possible that this is not an original idea at all, but I'm really excited about it and I wanted to share. If you are looking for a way to celebrate the season other than empty calories...give this a try!

I ripped up 25 pieces of paper and wrote the names of people in my life on each. I folded each of them up, and tossed them into a hat. Then I pulled them out randomly and without peeking I put one in each of the 25 days of the Advent calendar. Each morning I pull one out and say a special holiday prayer for the person or people listed on the paper.

Like I said, no guarantees on the originality, but if anyone is interested in joining me in this new tradition of mine, you are SO welcome to!