Ice Storm and Trial by Jury

This week was interesting to say the least. Monday I was selected as a juror on a murder trial. This is an incredibly difficult task...one that I hope I never have to endure again. The "man" was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count of carrying a weapon while under disability (meaning that he has previous convictions of violence)...he shot his (ex?)girlfriend in the head and left her five year old alone with her dead body and a loaded gun. Her son was left with the responsibility of calling 911 and telling the dispatcher that his mother was dead because this "man" shot her. I spent my days listening to the heart wrenching 911 call where the boy was asking the 911 dispatcher to come to his house and be with him. I viewed photos of her dead body on the ground...autopsy pictures of her flesh peeled back to see the hole the bullet made in her skull. In the end, we found him guilty on ALL counts. After we were released from our duties as jurors, we were allowed Google his name and the case and I am so thankful we came to the decision of guilty on all counts...this dude is a MONSTER.

In addition to the nightmare of my civic duty...we had an ice storm...a major (if you listen to the news/weather people - it was Armageddon) ice storm. In fact we watched from a restaurant as the transformers blew all the way down the street and lit the night sky for about 30-45 seconds straight. That night, we lost our power and didn't get it back for 40+ hours. The temps dipped below 50 degrees in our home. We had everyone sleep in the living room together one night - to keep our body heat in one room. Times like this make us realize how truly unprepared we are. In our home, we want a fireplace/wood stove to keep us warm. We want more canned goods on the shelf. We want to be able to cook. We want to be able to keep the food in our fridge. It was an experience...

On a good note? We celebrated my handsome, wonderful, amazing, sexy, awesome husband's 47th birthday! Happy Birthday Mark!!! I am so thankful that my in laws created this beautiful, strong, caretaker for me and and our children. I am going to attempt making a carrot cake...from scratch for my man...fingers crossed everyone! I'm also taking him the the home and garden show today...hopefully getting some great information for our home buying experience.