Once upon a jury.

This blog was supposed to be about jury duty, but alas I have allowed a month to pass without writing. I guess I'll just catch you up on life in general.

I did serve on a jury. It wasn't as glamourous as John Grisham or Stanley from The Office made it out to be, but I crossed an item off my bucket list. :) First, there are no catered lunches in a beautiful downtown building. There is a downtown building, but with Tuscaloosa's under construction, I hardly call it glamourous. Second, the judicial system isn't exactly considerate of your personal schedule. I was at the courthouse at 8:30am one day, 10:00 the next, 7:45 the next and 9:00 the next. Seriously judge, you're messing with my schedule. Not to mention, we never got started on time and never followed a typical work schedule. Oh, and the courtroom was as hot as blue blazes (whoa, where did that country reference come from?!) and the juror seats were awfully uncomfortable.

Most cases I heard about weren't actually worth troubling the courts about, but it was interesting to see the process nonetheless. My first case was a domestic violence case. Typical man beats wife, right? Nope. The man was pressing charges against his ex-wife for harrassment in the third degree. That basically means she had intent to alarm or harrass him and she made physical contact. Based on that definition, I'm pretty sure I've committed domestic violence a million times. But on a serious note, I was extremely sad for the children. They were being used as pawns in this great custody battle between parents. Both sides had been married numerous times with numerous kids from other marriages. My heart broke for all those kids as they were being tossed from house to house and parent to parent.

Oh, and did I mention I was elected Jury Forewoman? Yep. The leader of pack right here. I was a little nervous about it at first because I had to sign the verdict, but I was actually very proud to serve as foreperson because I monitored the debate in the jury deliberation room.

After an incredibly busy week of jury duty, I jetted off for a weekend in Nashville. What a wonderful weekend visiting friends and seeing the sites of The Music City. My roommate Callie Ann, and good friends Pair and Amy Kat tagged along to visit Malcolm and Sydney, while Christy drove down from Kentucky to join in on some fun! We visited downtown to see where Malcolm works, the honky tonks and boot shops, and Arrington Vineyards owned by Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn. The weather was beautiful and our spirits were renewed from seeing old friends.

And of course, we found a little time to do some Geocaching... :)

The weekend after Nashville, I took a weekend trip to the puddle. Double Springs is not exactly a booming metropolis full of weekend fun, but I love stealing away from the humdrum of my normal 8-5 and enjoying a weekend with the family. We ate literally every meal together and snuck in some time to take engagement shots of Blake and Beth. You can see them all in the Facebook Album (but if you want to print one, email me and ask for an original in high resolution).

  

It seems I don't work much these days, but I actually manage to hold down a full-time job and take a graduate class when I'm not on the road. Since I work at a medical center for The University, we have plenty of policies "for the good of everyone," including a mandatory flu shot during flu season. The other option was wearing a mask from October until April. I thought about wearing one just for spite...

I'm all talk and no action. This was actually my first flu shot ever. EVER! I didn't catch the flu from the shot... yet... (they say it's impossible, but I don't believe them), but I did get a sinus infection the week after. I, of course, blame the shot.

The next weekend, I took a trip to Memphis to visit my dear friend Mollie. Mollie is in a teaching program called Memphis Teacher Residency. It's similar to Teach For America, but is based on Christian principles and includes an Urban Education Master's Degree in the program. Plus, residents commit to stay in Memphis for 4-5 years. It's a wonderful program and I loved meeting all of Mollie's new friends. Plus, Sydney and Malcolm surprised Mollie by driving over on Saturday so we could enjoy a 'Bama in Memphis' tailgate! :) Mollie freaked out when we had the big friend reveal... literally fell against a wall while her knees gave out. I'll post pics of that once Mollie uploads the photos.

Last weekend was Halloween weekend. I hosted a little shin-dig for my old people friends. Everyone was invited to come over and eat food and watch Hocus Pocus. (I told you it was for old people.) The neighbors hung a flyer on our door inviting us to the "Super Great Party Great Party," but we decided to go ahead with our get-together. Good thing because Super Great Party Great Party was a Super Lame Party Lame Party.

This weekend is LSU... I'm watching the game with about 15 people and I'm super pumped! Friends from every city are descending on Tuscaloosa for a jumbo reunion / tigers butt whoopin. Gonna be great. Next weekend I'm traveling to see the Avett Brothers play for the Mississippi State Game, then home for Thanksgiving and before you know I'll be celebrating Christmas and ringing in 2012. Hopefully, I round out 2011 with a few more blogs than the past few months, but I've learned not to promise anything. Hope all is well for you all.

Happy Fall! Don't forget to set your clock back! :)