Tasty Tuesday and Duty Served

I made it through Jury Duty. Honestly, I kind of enjoyed the whole experience. Well, except the part where I was a total airhead and forgot to sign in and then had to be called back to the window. "Ma'am, Excuse me ma'am, you Need to sign in." Or the time I thought the judge dismissed me and I left the courtroom and had to be called back in, "Ma'am, Excuse me Ma'am, you are not dismissed." Aside form all that I thought it was fun.

I learned....
that in my county and possibly in all of New Jersey they are NO LONGER giving exemptions. The reason is fairly obvious. The jury pool was getting too small so the same people were being called back to serve. In this county the same 19,000 were coming back in every 12 months. I think that is kinda scary. I know everyone moans and groans about jury duty, but I think it is a privilege to serve on a jury.

The courthouse where I served was beautiful. It is the original Victorian style courthouse from 1825. The courtroom where I sat at one time held high profile murder cases where a crowd of spectators observed from the top balcony. The balcony is now closed off but you can still see the original railings. additionally, The tree where they did public hangings is still standing outside the courthouse. The last public hanging took place in 1892 and had only one witness. The man was hung for killing his wife. I will remind Pete of that when he starts to get fresh.

and now a Tasty Tuesday Recipe from Dana

KIDS SOUP

Ingredients
5 cups Canned vegetable or chicken stock
3 Carrots, sliced into rounds
4 stalks Celery, chopped
1 Large potato, peeled and diced
3 Zucchinis, diced
1 cup Cauliflower
3 Plum tomatoes, diced (or one 4 ounce can)
1/2 cup Shelled peas (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup Corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup Elbow macaroni, optional


Preparation
Place stock in large pot. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, tomatoes.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add peas, corn and macaroni. Then simmer for 10 minutes more.

E's First B-Day Bash & Reporting for Doody!

I am still crawling out of the aftermath of Eliza's first birthday party! A day later I am still exhausted from all of the fun!! The party was fantabulous. It went so fast it is still a huge blur to me. Pete and I were so busy we didn't get too many pics. I know my dad got some great shots so I will post more when I can.

Here is E in her cake outfit. Yes! She pulled a My Super Sweet 16 First Birthday and had a costume change. Hopefully I will get a picture of her in her party dress on here soon.

Enjoying the cake daddy made her- recipe courtesy of Christy!

After a nap she opened some gifts.

and gave her butterfly rocker a whirl!

Pete and I admired the clever eco-friendly wrapping done by Alessia's daddy. Overall it was an awesome day.

Juror No. 1234567
Tomorrow I must report to Jury Duty. I am used to dealing with doody of a whole different kind. Pete is going to be a work-at-home daddy with Eliza. I am going to miss my little E!