Voir Dire

Voir Dire is a French term for "speak the truth". I received a summons for Jury Duty beginning last Monday. Yes!! As long as I'm not on death's door or about to board a ship for foreign ports, I want to serve. I do.

A few years ago I was picked as a potential juror on a criminal case. During voir dire (when the attorneys get to question you) I was asked many questions....mostly about my knowledge of DNA. I was not chosen. Fast forward to last Monday. From a jury pool of about 200, they picked 50 names. I was # 47. Only one trial needed a jury (12 jurors and 2 alternates). I watched as the defense attorneys and the prosecutor wrangled with the first panel and then the second. Lots of people were excluded right away. By Wednesday after lunch, I was sworn in.

During the Thursday morning and afternoon sessions, my group was questioned. What took so long was that there was a list of at least 50 or so potential witnesses in this trial and they question you to see if you know them. Plenty of people did...not me. Some were related to multiple people on the witness list. Cousins, aunts, ex-husbands, you name it. Some were neighbors, former co-workers.

Here's just a few questions I got: Do you have any law enforcement personnel in your family? (yes...I'm a mother of a police officer, Los Angeles Police Department.) Have you ever been to ____'s Lounge? (no, and I've never heard of it) Did you follow the Casey Anthony case? (yes) How do you feel about serving on this jury? (I'd be pleased to do my duty as a citizen) And so forth.

Attorneys for both sides can challenge a juror for "just cause" (if they believe you're biased) or "peremptory" for which they don't have to give a reason.

I was released. And disappointed. But that's the way our american judicial system works. And it's the greatest system in the world, flaws and all.

I'm going to try to catch a few sessions of the trial this week, as a very interested observer. I'd welcome company if anyone wants to come along. :)

By the way, you can read about this trial on this site: (click around and you'll find it, it's the only big trial going on now...defendants are two women, charged with 2nd degree murder)
KPLC - TV

Because I was released I can now discuss, read about, research, or even blog about it.

Too bad I wasn't picked. They wouldn't have found a more willing, a more interested and unbiased juror with an attention to detail and a good memory (no note taking allowed in capital murder trials) than me. Seriously. And that's my voir dire.

Rolling in the Deep ~

Last month we did some rolling in the deep on this baby:

The Carnival Magic is gorgeous, really!! We did a 7 day cruise, eastern Caribbean. Ports: Key West, Florida...Freeport, Bahamas...Nassau, Bahamas. Since we were onboard for Valentine's Day, we dubbed it the Love Cruise. Think what you will.

She's a new ship. The only other ship I'd sailed before was the Conquest, which was very cool and a big ship too. But, The Magic is a Dream Class, over 1000 ft. long. I loved that!!

Here's some stock photos of some of what Magic has to offer. Up first is SkyCourse, the first ever ropes course at sea. That must be a thrill, if you're not bothered by heights. I wouldn't know. But it's fun to watch. We talked to one of the guys in charge of this and he says Carnival takes this very seriously. And he said it's a total blast.

Here's one shot of Serenity Deck, an adults only area. If the chairs look comfy, just know that they are. One of the crazy good things about The Magic is all the different decks/areas they have for you to relax outside. One of our favorite places was on deck 11 aft, quiet and relaxing with magnificent views.

This is the Atrium (lobby). It goes from deck 3 all the way to the top. It's pretty, and the glass elevators are shiny and sparkly. (I like shiny things) Notice the long sofas? They come in handy if you're a people-watcher, and I am.

This shop is called Cherry on Top. Of course it's just darling, filled with pricey treats of all kinds. Sweet things in shiny containers to put in cute packages with shiny ribbon...well you know where that's going to lead.

Carnival's Waterworks. It was a bit chilly on our cruise but I bet if you're there in warmer weather, you can play the heck out of this (if you're so inclined). They have several giant waterslides and more things than you can count.

This next place is adorable. Like other cruise ships, there are dozens of places on the Magic to eat, most included in the cruise price, some you pay for extra. But unlike others, this ship has it's own family-style Italian restaurant. It's called Cucina del Capitano. You choose your meat or seafood, your pasta, and your sauce and they fix it for you, along with a signature Caesar salad. It was delicious. You can eat free for lunch or have a more elaborate dinner (with desserts) for $12 each. It's charming...love the wall art too. We only ate there once but for sure I want to go again next time. And there will be a next time.

OK, here we go, here's our pictures. Me and the Bear. Papa Bear. (I call him that sometimes. Breaker breaker Papa Bear.) Nevermind - wrong story. Wrong decade. Wrong century.

And our favorite cruising compatriots...Charles (brother in law) and Lou Ellen (sister). Better known (on this cruise) as the people who swim with dolphins.

We stopped at Atlantis, on Paradise Island in Nassau. It's where the wealthy play. And the cruise passengers walk through and look. I am a bit taken with my own picture of this water thing, so here you go.

Lots and lots of yachts.

I believe the dark blue one is my very favorite. Now why didn't we ("we" is my sister and I, the guys really don't care) look up the vital info on this beauty and see who owns her. Maybe it's not too late....google is my friend.

Final thoughts...

Rolling in the deep is an excellent way to spend a week. And I say that in all seriousness. I'm someone who gets carsick if I have to ride an hour in the back seat of a vehicle and I never, not once, felt queasy.

The Carnival Magic was everything I imagined and more.

Really, people...the amenities!!!!

(amenities are in the eye of the beholder...)

Key West (come as you are)

Key West, Florida...where the signs say "Come as you are" was our first stop on our cruise last month. It's a small place, only a few square miles but it's interesting and artsy and kind of pretty. The whole island vibe, the we're-cool-and-we-know-it attitude, and the historic areas all add up to a fun place to visit. Be aware though...it's a liberal minded, liberal culture, alternative values kind of town. (No worries, we avoided posing with the naked statues.)

We rented a 4-person electric car to cruise around the island. It was sort of like riding in a souped-up golf cart.

The infamous Sloppy Joe's saloon.

We passed by Ernest Hemingway's home but didn't have time to stop. I'm not such a Hemingway fan anyway, but I was sort of interested in the cats on site, most of them still are bred to have six-toes.

However, when in Key West, take a pic with Hemingway....

The sisters. Oh yeah, we're cool. And we know it. ;)

My brother-in-law Charles, eating the Kermit's (award winning) Frozen Key Lime Pie.

We had lunch at Pepe's, the oldest restaurant in Key West, known for oysters, steak and key lime pie (like everyone else on the island). Not friendly service...but they don't have to be, they trade on their name and the homemade menu items. I ordered the Oyster Medley. They were good, but small. Once was enough.

We ate on the patio. Here's the chandelier over our table. I bet it's pretty at night.

We got a parking ticket while we were there. (we were targeted, I'm sure of it). Big Daddy wasn't such a fan of Pepe's. This is his happy face.

What's a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?

Key West is eclectic. And they're proud of that. On Duval St. you can see a seafood shack right next door to a Birkenstock store, just across from Fast Buck Freddie's (souvenirs), a museum, an independent art gallery, and a Coach store.

Yes, we stopped at Coach. I took this khaki and red puppy home:

Pretty scooters, all in a row.

Goodbye, Key West.

The Right Stuff ~

Sometimes I read cruising blogs and see that the bloggers (or their families) are winners. Winners of contests...trivia...whatever. My sister and I are smart. We know things. So, why haven't we won something?

Yeah, why? Because we never did it right. So as we boarded The Carnival Magic on Feb. 12, we vowed to do it right.

What is right? Right is teaming up. Right is looking over the schedule to see what we want to play. (Bean bag toss, no...hairy chest contest, no....country music trivia, yes!) Right is arriving early enough to get a good seat, an answer form, and to scope out the competition. Right is a sip of diet coke. Husbands are considered good luck, too.

Check, check, check and check.

FYI...the trophy (fondly named Ship-On-A-Stick) may be made of gold plastic, but they are very prized by all. They actually have the name of the ship on them too. Our first win was Famous Faces Mash-Up. (ex, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise).

Our second was for Famous Movie Quotes. ("You want answers? You can't handle the truth!") So we won a total of two each.

Were we proud? YES!!!

But still, you always remember the one that got away. We were one point (we had 37 out of 40 possible) away from a win in Country Music Trivia, a category that should have been a cake walk for us! What the heck?? How is this possible?

OK, so we're not infallible. Now, we will never forget that Dust On The Bottle was a hit for David Lee Murphy. We had the song title, just couldn't come up with the name.

The sisters. We've got it.

The Right Stuff!

Find the perfect shoe, then come out and play

This is not becoming a shoe blog. I promise. But sometimes something grabs you and you just have to beat the drum, form a circle around the campfire, grab a guitar and sing "Bye bye love, bye bye happiness, hello loneliness, I think I'm gonna cry..." OK, I digress. The topic is shoes.

Here it is: Keens

I'd heard about Keen Shoes for many years now. My bro-in-law Charles is quite fond of his. My sister Lou Ellen loves hers. I wasn't buying the whole camping, hiking, water shoe that you can wear in the woods. I don't hike, I don't camp, I don't get in the water except to take a bath or get in the hot tub.

Then something crazy took hold of me and I wanted some. Right away. For our cruise. I figured that if I used Amazon Prime, they might make it in time.

They're crazy good. Here's the ones I bought, the Keen Venice H2, in Raya Blue.

No better time to take them for a spin than around the deck of an ocean-liner, exploring foreign ports, and shopping.

I'll let you know how it goes. But it's looking pretty good so far.

I'll have Fryes with that ~

If you can love boots, I do love these. This all started about 4 years ago, when we went to Park City, Utah for the first time. Sundance. Cool stores. Western art. Rustic home decor. Handcrafted handbags. Fringes, boots, leather. I haven't been back to Park City since then, but I bet I'll go again. In the meantime, I started scanning catalogs and looking at boots. After much thought...MUCH thought, I decided on these, the Veronica Slouch, by Frye Boots. They have a soft shaft (not tight on the calf) a small heel, and the leather smells good.

Pricey yes, but oh so gorgeous. I figured I could blow some of my sock drawer stash (birthday money) and order them. They're not sold anywhere near me so I couldn't even try them on. I was a little intimidated by the procedure for breaking them in. Thought I couldn't do it. I even considered sending them back. But I soldiered on (it was love) in a Sundance-induced fog.

It's been a week. They're so much better now. I'm keeping them. Here's a link to the maker:

The Frye Company Lot of celebrities wear Frye boots. Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) wears them and even gives them away from time to time on her site. This weekend, if you're out at the movies and see "One For the Money" with Katherine Heigel, she is wearing Fryes (saw an ad, Bloomingdales has a give away to tie-in to the movie). Me, wearing my Fryes. Handsome, awesome. And they keep my feet warm.

Love. Utah. Park City. Boots. Fryes. Love.

4 Gifts

Even though it's January, I'm still thinking about Christmas. So I'm just doing a short post here, with a link and an observation.

And this is what I think: most children (certainly not all) get too many presents at Christmas. And some barely have time to register what the gift is, before they go on to rip open another one.

Getting too many things doesn't make a child feel loved. In my experience, it usually does the opposite and makes them insecure and envious for what they didn't get. And spoiled. No one likes a spoiled child. And spoiled children grow up to be entitled adults. It's not a good way to be. To live.

I like this blog and the ideas she expresses in this post:

August Fields: Christmastime

In the post above, I think it's perfect that each child gets only 4 gifts, (plus stockings):

1) something they want

2) something they need

3) something to wear

4) something to read

Yes, we did do Santa in our house when our kids were growing up but if I had to do it all over, I think we'd do things differently. After all...Santa is what he really stands for, the spirit of love.

That's my opinion. Peace out.