Jury Duty and a great read

I completed my civic duty today and reported for jury duty. One word: Painful. The potential jurors sat in a crammed and stuffy room in silence for 8 hours while attorneys discussed a pending trial and the jury.

I was smart girl and brought my iPod and listened to the rest of a great book that I haven't been able to stop...

"In this emotionally charged novel, Jodi Picoult delves beneath the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be different in our society.

In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling’s residents. "

A great read.

So... at the end of the day the attorneys couldn't agree on anything, the trials were continued and we were all dismissed... and told that our service is complete. Well, at least for the next 12 months. How is it that I get picked for this sort of torture?

On God...

"I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't, and die to find out there is. " AMEN?!!!!!!

HaPpY bIrThDaY tIRzA eLiZaBeTh!!!!

Happy Birthday,Tirza! To my beautiful, talented, spunky, loving, dedicated, loyal, friend! Who knew that the nerdy and "stuck up snob from California" that you befriended in 18 years ago would still be around to keep you in check?

Tirza and I met at Sisters Middle School in Sisters, Oregon. (Population 711). I was in Mr. DeKay's math class and wearing a neon pink swap meet windbreaker. I had been teased as being from California (as the small towners didn't want Californians taking over) and Tirza (being cool and popular) was also a California transplant with a lot more clout than me. She told them to be nice and invited me to be her math partner.

The rest is history. We shared ballet lessons, ASB leadership, fundraising for Portland's Doernbecher Children's Hospital, being charter members of Habitat For Humanity and H.O.P.E (Tirza's brain child ~ "Helping Other People Every Day." We visited nursing home patients weekly and goofed off. I convinced her invite my crush to join and never missed a single outing. Imagine that?) Tagging along for PROM (I was stood up for the festivities) and walking together at graduation. (Class of 1996 - class size of 60). We were college roommates and I was her maid of honor at her wedding to high school sweetheart, Shane. We share the love for shopping, trying to figure out the latest in electronics, enriching the lives of children (she is the sweet mama to Mira (7) and Annah (3).

Even though we live far apart, we still manage to keep in touch by weekly phone calls and plane rides a time or two a year. We are both growing in our faith and enjoy sharing the work that God is doing in our lives.

Tirza is a dear friend and I am so thankful that she is mine!

"A true friend is one soul dwelling in two bodies." ~Aristotle

My cutenessnesses Brittnee and Taylor ~ Mini Brides

Today I got to see Taylor and Brittnee be a part of their cousin's wedding. They are so precious to me and I was so shocked to see how mature they are getting! I am their, "special" Godmother and Taylor got a kick out of showing me off to her family and emphasizing she's my SPECIAL Godmother.

Taylor is 7 and in 2nd grade and Brittnee is almost 13 (on Halloween) going on 30 and in 7th grade.

They share a very special bond. Brittnee is like another mother to Taylor.


This is a classic pose. They are too cool for school.

Princess

The veil completes the dress

Work it!

These girls warm my heart

Watch out Halle Berry!

And Tyra Banks!??!!!

So innocent looking....

Her Grandpa is not going to let her out of the house!

I love my girls!

A day with Tommy ~ The Peabody Rooftop

Hello, Angel Jake!

Meet Tommy. (And no, his picture is not upside down ~ it's "artistic.") We dated when we were youngins back when I first lived in Memphis. And now, five years later, he is one of my best friends. I love hanging out with him when I am in Memphis.

Notice his shirt, "cougar bait." This is new to my vocabulary. The urban dictionary defines it as: A gentleman usually 21 or older (19 and up in Canada) that is in a bar enjoying his alcoholic beverage of choice that is being hit on by a woman typically 35 and up that may or may not have a few kids and some extra baggage.

Last night I took my last Peabody bubble bath. I love these waffle robes.

Check out the duck soaps. They think of everything.

Here we are on the Peabody Rooftop. It's beautiful up here with awesome views of downtown. The weather this week has been made to order. It's been in the 70's and 80's and bright and sunny.

The brick buildings behind the baseball park are the apartments I lived in when I lived in Memphis. It was a studio and I loved the proximity to everything. Everybody should live in a downtown studio at one point in their life.

Right about now, Tommy politely requested if we could vacate the rooftop ~ he is VERY afraid of heights. What a trooper!

The Danny Thomas ALSAC Pavilion and what nots

Today I spent some time on the St. Jude campus. I snapped some pictures of the Danny Thomas ALSAC Pavilion.

The life of Danny Thomas and the history of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are commemorated in the Danny Thomas / ALSAC Pavilion, located on the campus of St. Jude.


The Pavilion has memorabilia of late entertainer Danny Thomas, founder of St. Jude. It is home to Emmy Awards and many accolades for Thomas' television show Make Room for Daddy, as well as other lifetime achievements.


One alcove in the Pavilion is dedicated to Thomas' life as a humanitarian, including an entire wall filled with hundreds of awards, honorary degrees and keys to cities that he received from admirers over the years. The Pavilion also houses Thomas' Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress.


Much is highlighting St. Jude's accomplishments in the fight against catastrophic childhood diseases. It also holds a lot ethnic history and successes of the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), the hospital's fund-raising arm.


This is the ceiling under the gold dome



Danny Thomas' mission for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

And in Arabic

Danny Thomas and his wife, RoseMarie Thomas, are buried behind The Pavilion

The stained glass windows are beautiful in the chapel

The Last Supper is hand carved and above the altar

Tonight I have a work dinner. It's seems like all we ever do is eat and sit... and then repeat. Today we had Corky's BBQ for lunch, complete with slaw and beans and my favorite banana pudding that I couldn't resist. Afternoon snack were cookies and popcorn and God knows what caloric cuisine awaits us for dinner. I could have a little willpower ~ but then, that's just no fun. But, as God is my witness... Monday starts a whole new eating regime. I'm 30 now... time to get with the program!

I get to hang out with my good friend Tommy tonight.

And tomorrow I'm going to a wedding reception with my sweetnesses, Taylor and Brittnee! YEAH!!!!

Happy Weekend! "Wherever delights you, spend more time there."

The Peabody Memphis

I'm in Memphis for a few days for some work fun. This time I get to stay at The Peabody. I've visited a few times but never had the chance to stay. It is a beautiful historic hotel!

The lobby is gorgeous. Every day at 11:00AM and 5:00PM the duckmaster walks the ducks out on the red carpet and they spend the day in the lobby fountain.


The celebrity ducks walk down the red carpet and head for the elevator. They sleep on the roof of the hotel!

The story behind the ducks is this: In 1933 Frank Schutrt, the GM and a friend returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Tennessee whiskey and thought it would be funny to put some of their live duck decoys in the Peabody fountain. They were a hit. 76 years later the ducks still grace the fountain. The ducks live there until they are full-grown and then released into the wild.

5 little ducks. When I was younger one of my favorite books was Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. My older siblings and parents read it to me and it's still on my shelf.

""'Good,' said Mr. Mallard, delighted that at last Mrs. Mallard had found a place that suited her."

The bathroom is awesome in my room. And you know it's all about the bubble baths for me. Everything is all about the ducks!

My room ~ big comfy down comforters

The pool

I headed to the rooftop. Here's the view from the top. You can see the Mississippi River. On the other side is Arkansas.

At night

And now... on to the Vice Presidential Debate. Governer Sarah's done her homework. Wonder if Tina Fey will star on SNL again?!

Traveling Trying Times

So this morning I took that BART (Bart Area Rapid Transit) to the San Francisco airport.

I get a little (*or a lot*) freaked out when the train goes through a long tunnel in the ocean before Embarcadero. Just knowing that if the train breaks down nobody could get out and there's no cell phone coverage and people are smelly on the train, and I have no food and it's hot in there and...) And wouldn't you know, today the train BROKE DOWN. But thankfully AFTER Embarcadero. They ended up returning to the station and wouldn't be able to continue the rest of their route.

I was stretched for time and opted to get a cab outside of the station. All of the taxis were full. All of them. I approached two fellow tourists and asked if I could share a cab. They agreed. Riding in a taxi with two strangers. Me in the front seat with the Asian cabbie with NO ENGLISH (he actually said that when we got in) and the two in the back who were seriously playing 20 questions with me.

I did make my plane ~ just barely and enjoyed a nice long snooze... Good times.