Jury Duty

So I haven't posted in a little while and figured I'd better post something so you all don't think I've fallen off the face of the earth. Last week was just so busy I haven't had a chance to do much of anything! For those of you who didn't know, I was summoned and chosen for jury duty. I'm not sure how many of you have ever had jury duty but it's pretty interesting to see our tax dollars and bill of rights at work. The trial was scheduled to last three days (jury selection included). So I appeared on the first day hoping I would not be chosen so I wouldn't have to worry about what to do about work. That was not the case. When I found out that I was juror #1, I knew I would be chosen. Out of pool of about 30 people, 8 of us were the lucky winners- lucky female winners that is. It just happen to be a jury of all women. Because the attorneys are not allowed to make a decision based on gender, and each was given 4 veto's in the selection process, the first 8 of us left after that just happen to be all women! After the jury was selected, the attorneys for both sides made their opening statements and we were sent home for the day. We found out that the defendant was being charged with 10 counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor... let's just say I was less than thrilled with what I was sure we would be hearing about our second day on jury duty.

The second day we were asked to appear at the court house at 8:45am. Because you are not allowed to exchange any conversation with any of the witnesses or attorneys (not even to ask about the weather or time of day we were instructed), we were asked to wait on an entirely different floor as to avoid any contact. (Although I couldn't help but wonder if one of the people I was standing in the elevator with happen to be involved in the case- turns out I didn't recognize anyone so it was alright.) We finally filed into the court room for a long day of testimony. I'll spare you all of the details since I like to keep this a G-rated blog and just say that I definitely got an education on a lot of things... Anyway, the short g-rated version: a 20-year-old started dating a 15-year-old. Everything they supposedly did was consensual but in Utah you are considered a minor until your 16th birthday. The hardest part about the trial was that the girl involved had the worst memory of anyone I have ever listened to. Because of that, we were only able to convict him on 2 of the 10 counts- only after nearly having a hung jury, we finally made it home at 7:30pm.

It was really an interesting process and I definitely learned a lot about our court system. Even though it's extremely stressful trying to make an objective decision that will ultimately affect someones life so drastically, it does make you grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy here in this country. I'm just glad I won't have to sit through another graphic trial like that for at least another 2 years when my name will be put back into the pool of potential jurors.

Rewarding Yourself- Changing Your Thinking

So here's the weight loss thing I hinted about on Annette's blog:

The last time I got my hair done, I read an article in a magazine about how to lose weight and be happy at the same time that really just hit home for me. It talked about changing your thinking about what is rewarding yourself and what is not in terms of the things you eat. A lot of times when I eat unhealthy, I justify it by thinking that I'm rewarding myself for having worked out earlier that day (twisted thinking I know...) or that I need some extra chocolate love because it's been a crappy day or because it's the weekend and I deserve to splurge a little bit...the list goes on and on. Anyway, I'm sure you've all noticed where that thinking has gotten me- 35-40 pounds heavier than I was when we got married! But the article talked about how you should change the way you think about rewarding yourself and what you consider "rewards." The unhealthy stuff I was telling myself was a reward really just made me feel crappy, fat, sick, and guilty an hour later. Some "reward" huh? (Not to mention all of the other fun health side affects that have come along with those extra 35 pounds...) Instead of that way of thinking, we should be telling ourselves and our bodies that the things that are going to make us feel good (now and in the long term) are the things that are rewards. So, I've been trying to implement that thinking and I think I've noticed a difference. Instead of taking chips and cookies to work with me, I take trail mix with a few m&m's mixed in (mostly because all women need a little chocolate fix right?). Instead of binging, I carry something in my purse to keep me from getting to the point where I feel like I would eat anything I'm so hungry and reward myself with something healthy. Instead of eating Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, I eat my favorite flavor of yoplait yogurt. Instead of bringing pizza to work for lunch, I've been trying different flavors of the Lean Cuisine meals to find the best ones. (Don't believe they're good and good for you? Try their Sesame Chicken!!) Instead of grabbing those oreos in the cupboard, I've been trying to grab an apple from the fridge and you would be amazed at how good a really good apple can taste and just how well it can fill the void of junk food... Well, I guess that's the long explanation. In short, I've been trying to think of healthy things to reward myself with instead of reaching for the bag of cookies. I still haven't been completely converted, I did buy a plain bag of m&m's over the weekend and almost down the whole thing, but I don't feel guilty anymore because I'm treating myself better. So, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for true rewards! The more ideas, the better! This thinking might not make sense to anyone else, but it's helped me. I just wish I had written down where it came from so I could read it again.

We've finally opened the bottle!! Gordon and I have had a bottle of this sitting in our fridge for almost a month now and haven't had the courage to open it up and try it. For those of you not familiar with akaRISE, it's very similar to Xango, Tahitian Noni, and any other variety of health-promising super beverage. Gordon's brother works for this company now and brought us over a bottle to try claiming it was "the best of the best". I guess it's worked wonders for him and his wife. The problem for us, however, is that we've tried those other health-promising super beverages and would rather drink (insert any number of disgusting liquids here) than drink them. But, our guilty conscience at having taken the bottle, promising to try it, and then leaving it on the shelf finally won over my gag refluxes' protests to breaking the seal of the bottle. So, we've been drinking it since Monday and I'm happy to report it's a hundred times better tasting than Xango or Tahitian Noni (which both taste like you're drinking your own vomit). I haven't lost 40 pounds yet, or had the feeling that I could run a marathon without breaking a sweat, but I do feel more energetic which is always a plus for only having to drink 1 ounce every morning and night. I guess we'll see what happens as we persevere in our attempt to actually finish the bottle! I'll keep you posted! (Maybe if it doesn't work wonders, we'll finally have to break down and crack open the 3 bottles of Xango we've had in the closet for about a year...then again maybe not...)

Wedding Anniversary

Let's hope all of our husbands are smarter than this...


Dave was in trouble.

It was Thursday and he forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was really angry. She told him, "Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in less then 6 seconds, AND IT BETTER BE THERE!!"
The next morning Dave got up early and left for work. When his wife woke up, she looked out the window and sure enough, there was a wrapped gift box in the middle of the driveway.

Confused, Dave's wife put on her robe, went out to the driveway and retrieved the package. She opened it,and found a brand new........bathroom scale.Dave has been missing since Friday.

We Miss Them Already!

It's true! We miss those Gardners already! It was so fun having them all here for at least a little while and everytime they leave we realize how much we miss having them close by. I've decided we all need to join forces to get them back up here for good I think! Until then... I guess we'll just have to settle for wishing and hoping... (sniff, sniff)