Administering Public Justice......

So I got called for Jury Duty... again.......

This is the 5th time I've been called for Jury Duty:

1. Dallas - 1994 or 1995 - went down to Sterrett, waited for 4 hours, sent home
2. Florida - 1996 - jury foreman on a jury for a traffic case, acquitted
3. McKinney - 2004 - selected for a jury on a civil case about a guy who got part of his finger cut off at a DART work site, found for defendant
4. McKinney - 2005 - was juror #2, but they struck me out, it was a child sexual abuse case (one that I was glad to not serve on!)
5. Frisco - today - in and out in 30 minutes!!

First of all, Frisco jury duty doesn't start until 10 AM, so I was able to get up and my regular time, go run errands, eat breakfast at IHOP, and then arrive for jury duty. (Ed.'s note: This is awesome - I wish my job began at 10 AM. I'd rock!)

So, you get there, you check in, and then you sit. I was reading my Elizabeth Taylor book, so I was good. Then they called us in. I was #22 out of 22. I was pumped.

It was some civil case that only needed 6 jurors. The judge said that jurors #13-22 would pretty much be done shortly. The lawyers did voie dire, and the jury was seated. I didn't make the cut!! (Ed.'s note: I LOVE trials - I'm addicted to Court TV - I almost stayed to just watch and listen. Key word: Almost.)

I leave and I'm pumped!! I go to the dry cleaners, post office, get my oil changed, get my car detailed and go to a movie, Sunshine Cleaning, which was great. What a fabulous day!

If you have to do jury duty, Collin County Precinct 4 is the way to go. You are in and out in 30 minutes - that's our government working efficiently!!!

Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!!

Today my Dad turns 60!! Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!! Hope you enjoy your golf package to the Four Seasons - think birdy!! Love you!!

And Then There's Maude!!!

Meet Maude!! She's the newest addition to my family! Maude is a 3 1/2 year old basset hound and I got her from North Texas Basset Rescue. Isn't she cute?

Maude and I are still learning each other, creating a schedule and getting settled. She's going from a 2 dog family to me, so I expect that there will be adjustments.

It's been great to have a reason to leave work. And to have someone to snuggle on the couch with while I watch crappy reality TV.

More Maude as it happens.............

Spring Break 2009

Well, I'm back from my Spring Break adventure and ready to share!! The first few days of Break I was at home, running errands, cleaning and just enjoying the down time. On Thursday, I left for Hot Springs. This is my 4th trip with Betty and we just love it!!

I wasn't sure that this trip was going to be a go - we loaded the plane and had to sit on the tarmac while they fixed the toilet that wouldn't flush! I was like - are you serious? It's a 48 minute flight, we can all swear that we won't use the toilet, let's just get this plane in the air and GO!!

Finally, 25 minutes later, off we go. I land in Little Rock and Betty picks me up. Our first stop is the Clinton Presidential Library. As we drive, we run into the Heifer International Center. I got excited - a center for heifers... having been called a heifer, I felt like I was home!!!

We go around the corner to the Clinton Library (aka "The Doublewide in the Sky"!). We drove around and I took some pictures. I wasn't paying $7.50 to enter this place. I'm not a Clinton fan!

After our drive by, we drive to Hot Springs. We are staying at our favorite bed and breakfast, Bartee Meadow. Vista and Hu are the best!! We have a lovely dinner and crash pretty early. The next day we get up and do chocolate pedicures, massages, manicures, and all other things girly. Mimosas only made this better!

We eat lunch at our favorite restaurant, Cafe 1217. Yummo!! Then we learn that the owner has a new restaurant, Taco Momma, which is where we go for dinner after shopping and napping that afternoon. It was yummy. And the frozen sangrias were delicioso!! Que' rico!!

I come home and get sick, bleech..... long night!!

On the road to our B&B, here is the sign for Prayer Mountain - very interesting place!!

Saturday, I take it easy and then we head to McClard's BBQ. It's a Hot Springs institution and it was good!! We ate at the counter and filled ourselves full of BBQ!

Saturday night we enjoyed dinner with Vista and Hu, then crashed. The next morning, a quick breakfast and then back to the airport.

My trip was relaxing, quiet, and low key. And I loved every minute of it!!

I'm going to Mobile to see the leprechaun!

Sarah and I were held hostage at Cheddar's on St. Paddy's Day. Their credit card machine was kaput and it took them 35 minutes to cash us out. It made for a frustrating end to a very nice evening.

Meanwhile... over in Richardson.... my bro-in-law Mike found this little St. Paddy's gem that I must share with you:



Now I have many thoughts about this video:
1. According to the reporter, it only comes out at night and it disappears when you flash your light at it....hmmmm... could that be because it doesn't exist??
2. I do feel that the amateur sketch (done on looseleaf paper) will aid whoever is trying to find the Leprechaun.
3. What will the person do if they find the Leprechaun?

I particularly enjoyed hearing the different theories around the Leprechaun:
1. It cast a shadow (the first time someone in this story is making sense, he gets cut off mid-sentence so that we can see....)
2. It must be some kind of crackhead who has gotten up in the tree and is playing leprechaun. (All I can say is that it takes one to know one. I think there may be some crackheads in the crowd LOOKING for the Leprechaun.

But most impressive is the community member who wants people to not be afraid, he wants to help. Dressed in all fatigues and armed with his magic Leprechaun flute that was passed down thousands of years ago by his great-great-grandfather (who must be quite old) who lived in Ireland..... okay, I haven't been to Ireland, but..... do you get where I'm going here?

If you can explain this to me, please feel free to comment. Because I want the pot of gold!!

Why does this make me laugh so much?

I think I must have a warped sense of humor. Discuss.

Spring Break 2009!!

I cannot believe I actually made it to Spring Break! It's here - I have an entire week off to do what I want to do!!

These past 10 weeks have been hard at work. I've been doing two people's job and trying to get through the first round of TAKS. I survived, but barely. When we return next week, we'll have 10 more weeks of school and then I will have survived my first year as principal!

Last year, I did my whirlwind trip to DC that was jam packed like you wouldn't believe. This year, I'm taking it a little more slowly. The first five days, I'll just be here, relaxing, sleeping, scrapbooking, going to movies, getting ready for Maude to arrive on the 22nd, whatever I want to do.

On Thursday morning, I leave for Hot Springs with Sigh Sister Betty. I'm going to fly to Little Rock and meet Betty there. Our first stop is the Double Wide In The Sky (aka Bill Clinton's Presidential Library). Then we'll head down to Hot Springs.

We stay at a wonderful B&B, Bartee Meadow. This will be our 5th time to stay there. The owners, Vista and Hu, have become like friends to us. We feel that Bartee Meadow is like a spiritual place for us - within 24 hours of arrival, I can feel the stress melt off, you just feel relaxed and peaceful.

Now, as always - we have some favorite stomping grounds that we have to hit:

• Buckstaff Bathhouse - we love to do the bathing with hot towels and massage - it is the best!
• Cafe 1217 - this place is AMAZING!! The best salads, soups, and desserts!! We eat lunch there every day we are in Hot Springs, it is that good!!
• Central Avenue - have to go in and out of all of the cute shops - we always find something there that we like and/or great gifts for others
• Walmart - don't ask me why, but this Walmart is the BEST! We always come away with great finds that I swear I can't find here in Frisco.

Plus, we usually go to the spa and get massages and other treatments. This time, we are trying a chocolate pedicure - complete with chocolate to eat! I can't wait!

I get home on Sunday and when I do, I get to finalize my adoption for Maude, the basset hound. I can't wait to get her and I will post pictures of her here for everyone!!

I hope all of you that have a great week!!

A Night with Katherine Center (aka: Someone Besides Family & Friends Read My Blog!!)

So after we got the little kid reunited with his mother (and no thanks for it - I know, I'm not bitter in the least), I left Sarah to watch the stupid Bachelor while I went to Legacy Books to see author Katherine Center.

Legacy Books is a relatively new bookstore that has opened on the northeast corner of Legacy and the Tollway. It's two stories, very spacious and very welcoming. I worry that with the economy it might have challenges, but I hope it makes it. Great place for coffee and reading!!

I went to see Katherine Center - her new book, Everything is Beautiful, was released on February 17. I had read her previous book, "The Bright Side of Disaster," last year and listed it on my blog as one of my great reads for 2008. People are always asking me for book recommendations, so I just started putting a list on my blog and tell people to look there to see what I recommend. If you haven't read Katherine's first book, I recommend it - great read!!

So back in December, I had a comment posted by Katherine thanking me for putting her book on my blog. She had read my blogs about my friend Richard, and offered her condolesences, understanding since her hubby is a volunteer firefighter. She told me about her new book and that she would be in Dallas promoting it on March 5.

You can imagine how excited I was when I got this comment! It means that someone besides my close family and friends read my blog!

So I was even more excited to get Katherine's new book, hear her talk, and introduce myself to her. (Ed.'s note: Now I wasn't expecting her to remember me and I was worried that she would think I was some kind of stalking fan.) I get to the bookstore and get settled. She talked first about her history and how she got to where she was as a writer. Then she read part of the first chapter of her book to us. There sure is something exciting about hearing an author read their words to a group - it's often more magical than we read it ourselves. I always felt the same when my students shared their writing in class.

At the end of her talk, I walked up with copies of both of her books. I introduce myself to her and tell her about my blog.... and she remembers me! (Ed.'s note: Either that, or she's a really good actress!) We talked a bit, she signed my new book for me, she signed Sarah's copy for her, gave me a hug, and encouraged me to come to Houston for the Mom 2.0 Summit where they talk alot about blogging, how to make it better, and how to take it to the next level. Wow!! It was so awesome!! I really liked her, she is very down to earth and someone I could see being friends with in the future.

And FYI, her second book, Everything is Beautiful, is fabulous!! I'm about halfway through and would recommend it to anyone!! Check her out!

Where's the gratitude, people?

I don't get people sometimes.........

Lately, I've really been into gratitude. I've started a gratitude journal and I'm trying to make a conscious effort to tell people when I appreciate them or something that they have done. I'm also noticing that a lot of people don't do that themselves - but that is another blog entirely.

Here is a perfect example to make my case:
Tonight, Sarah and I went to dinner at La Hacienda. We come back to my place. She's going to watch Tivoed "The Bachelor" episodes while I go see the author Katherine Center at Legacy Books. I'm getting Sarah settled so I can leave when we hear a kid crying in the parking lot. We walk out and this 2 year boy is crying. My neighbor, sister and I try to find his apartment, trying to talk to him, and generally just try to help. We get nowhere so I decide to call 911. By this time a third neighbor has joined our group.

I'm on the phone with 911 stating my emergency when my sister sees a lady walking in the parking lot. Sarah asks her if she is missing a kid and the lady doesn't respond. She walks closer to our group, the kid cries out, "Mama! Mama!" - and the lady picks up the kid and just walks away with him.

So I tell the 911 operator that the mom has been reunited with the kid and we don't need their services anymore. The neighbors, my sister, and I are in shock. No thank you, no gratitude, no appreciation..... are you serious??

What is our society becoming? According to Oprah, we are becoming a society of unempathetic people. Everyone is so engrossed with video games, e-mails, Facebook, and the like... that we aren't able to sit and have conversations and work on social skills. We are basically becoming socially retarded.

Lovely.