Happy Holla-days, y'all!
I hope you had a meaningful Thanksgiving last month, and are on your way to an even better Christmas and a próspero año. I don't know what you celebrate, but I hope you enjoy it.
Last month brought a few new experiences to the Anouchka household. To start, back in October, I was summoned for jury duty. What an interesting -and mind-numbing- experience! I was to report to the city's courthouse on the Monday morning following the Thanksgiving weekend, convinced that I was going to be asked to determine whether an eccentric old man was Santa Claus, as he claimed to be. As it turned out, there were two cases being tried at that time: one civil, one criminal. I was among the pool of thirty jurors for the criminal case.
About two years ago, Habibi served on a jury for a criminal case. Prior to my report date, I had questioned him about the process and what to expect. I had some kind of idea as to how the judge and attorneys were going to proceed, but what I didn't realize was that this was a serious felony charge. When the case was fully revealed to us (prior to the trial actually beginning), it suddenly hit me that I remembered this event coming out in the news in 2017. As the details began to come forth, I recalled what I actually knew about this case (very little, but still enough), and was relieved AF when I wasn't selected for the jury. Nevertheless, I had to report for nearly two full days of jury duty, because the selection process took that long! It was insane.
Now that the trial is over and the verdict has been reached, I can say whatever I want. This particular case involved several city police officers and a mentally ill man. Long story short, the mentally ill man ended up dying in police custody from what the coroner called "excited delirium". It was a tragic situation that addressed a number of issues ranging from race to mental illness to women serving as police officers to possible police brutality to the integrity of the local sergeants. No part of it was entirely clear. I realize that I don't have all the information that the jurors had to make an informed decision but, based upon what I do know, I can't say how I would have felt in that deliberation room. When all was said and done, I could honestly see both sides of the case and I don't know how I would have called it. In the end, the jury reached a verdict of "not guilty". Undoubtedly, it was a tough case with people's lives being called into question in such a finite way.
Earlier in November, I also had the joy of returning to my plastic surgeon. One of my scars from my previous surgeries had healed a little oddly (not dangerous or anything, just weird), and he wanted to fix it. Hooray! It was a great pleasure, recovering from Postpartum Surgery #5.
Not.
Fortunately, this time it was a simple outpatient procedure, as it was more superficial in nature. Once again, I de-pants myself in the name of motherhood. Silver lining: my abdomen is still mostly numb from the severed nerves from my previous surgeries that I could feel neither the local anesthetic, nor the cutting of my bikini line. (Well, it's mostly numb. I could feel a little of the cutting, but that was mostly a nuisance.) The recovery this time wasn't painful, but itchy as hell!
As they werebarbecuing cauterizing my scar, I made some offhand comment about how I "hoped that no one was planning on BBQ for lunch". You didn't know I was such a comedian, did you? Have you ever smelled burning human flesh? It's hilarious.
See, I'm getting really good at being on the operating table.
After recovering from their hysterics over my impeccable comedic timing, the surgeon -an avid hunter- shared a little factoid with the rest of us. Did you know that human meat is referred to as "long pork"? Disgusting, no? I want you to think about that the next time you are eating bacon, you barbarian. Perfect timing, learning this right before a major eating holiday. If only we could have celebrated Thanksgiving with the Donner party. Alas, it was never meant to be...
This past month wasn't all about boring things like jury duty and long pork, though. Heavens no! Earlier this summer, Jammy and I began reading chapter books together. Our first one was Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary. It was a huge hit with her, and was a great trip down memory lane for me. I loved experiencing Ramona's antics through Jammy's eyes for the first time. Such mischief and so fun to be naughty sometimes, right? Ah, memories...
When the Christmas stuff came out in all of the stores around town, I found a beautifully illustrated full version of one of my most favorite stories of all time: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It was only $5 in "The Spot" section at Target, where everything is under $10. Naturally, I had to get it. While I understand that Dickens is still rather advanced for a four-year-old, I began to read it to Jammy. She is already familiar with the story from the Muppet version of it (a CLASSIC!!!), and so far, has enjoyed the story. I personally like to pepper it with character voices, animated expressions, and brief explanations of the author's complicated phrasing, which has made Charles Dickens accessible to my pre-schooler. It's never too early to introduce kids to classic literature!
Finally, I started trying the seasonal fragrances of Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day dish soap. This fall, I bought a bottle of the Apple Cider scented dish soap and MAN ALIVE, Anouchka actually liked doing the dishes for once! If you have never tried this stuff, I highly recommend it. I think they are done with the fall fragrances (Apple Cider, Pumpkin Spice), but they have some wintery ones out right now. More on those next time, in the final edition of New in 2018 (December).
In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas, friends! I hope you are able to enjoy the season and avoid the stress of too many expectations. Breathe, love, reflect, be mindful of hyggeligt moments in this season of warmth and coziness, and above all, eat cookies.
I hope you had a meaningful Thanksgiving last month, and are on your way to an even better Christmas and a próspero año. I don't know what you celebrate, but I hope you enjoy it.
Last month brought a few new experiences to the Anouchka household. To start, back in October, I was summoned for jury duty. What an interesting -and mind-numbing- experience! I was to report to the city's courthouse on the Monday morning following the Thanksgiving weekend, convinced that I was going to be asked to determine whether an eccentric old man was Santa Claus, as he claimed to be. As it turned out, there were two cases being tried at that time: one civil, one criminal. I was among the pool of thirty jurors for the criminal case.
About two years ago, Habibi served on a jury for a criminal case. Prior to my report date, I had questioned him about the process and what to expect. I had some kind of idea as to how the judge and attorneys were going to proceed, but what I didn't realize was that this was a serious felony charge. When the case was fully revealed to us (prior to the trial actually beginning), it suddenly hit me that I remembered this event coming out in the news in 2017. As the details began to come forth, I recalled what I actually knew about this case (very little, but still enough), and was relieved AF when I wasn't selected for the jury. Nevertheless, I had to report for nearly two full days of jury duty, because the selection process took that long! It was insane.
Now that the trial is over and the verdict has been reached, I can say whatever I want. This particular case involved several city police officers and a mentally ill man. Long story short, the mentally ill man ended up dying in police custody from what the coroner called "excited delirium". It was a tragic situation that addressed a number of issues ranging from race to mental illness to women serving as police officers to possible police brutality to the integrity of the local sergeants. No part of it was entirely clear. I realize that I don't have all the information that the jurors had to make an informed decision but, based upon what I do know, I can't say how I would have felt in that deliberation room. When all was said and done, I could honestly see both sides of the case and I don't know how I would have called it. In the end, the jury reached a verdict of "not guilty". Undoubtedly, it was a tough case with people's lives being called into question in such a finite way.
Earlier in November, I also had the joy of returning to my plastic surgeon. One of my scars from my previous surgeries had healed a little oddly (not dangerous or anything, just weird), and he wanted to fix it. Hooray! It was a great pleasure, recovering from Postpartum Surgery #5.
Not.
Fortunately, this time it was a simple outpatient procedure, as it was more superficial in nature. Once again, I de-pants myself in the name of motherhood. Silver lining: my abdomen is still mostly numb from the severed nerves from my previous surgeries that I could feel neither the local anesthetic, nor the cutting of my bikini line. (Well, it's mostly numb. I could feel a little of the cutting, but that was mostly a nuisance.) The recovery this time wasn't painful, but itchy as hell!
As they were
See, I'm getting really good at being on the operating table.
After recovering from their hysterics over my impeccable comedic timing, the surgeon -an avid hunter- shared a little factoid with the rest of us. Did you know that human meat is referred to as "long pork"? Disgusting, no? I want you to think about that the next time you are eating bacon, you barbarian. Perfect timing, learning this right before a major eating holiday. If only we could have celebrated Thanksgiving with the Donner party. Alas, it was never meant to be...
This past month wasn't all about boring things like jury duty and long pork, though. Heavens no! Earlier this summer, Jammy and I began reading chapter books together. Our first one was Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary. It was a huge hit with her, and was a great trip down memory lane for me. I loved experiencing Ramona's antics through Jammy's eyes for the first time. Such mischief and so fun to be naughty sometimes, right? Ah, memories...
When the Christmas stuff came out in all of the stores around town, I found a beautifully illustrated full version of one of my most favorite stories of all time: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It was only $5 in "The Spot" section at Target, where everything is under $10. Naturally, I had to get it. While I understand that Dickens is still rather advanced for a four-year-old, I began to read it to Jammy. She is already familiar with the story from the Muppet version of it (a CLASSIC!!!), and so far, has enjoyed the story. I personally like to pepper it with character voices, animated expressions, and brief explanations of the author's complicated phrasing, which has made Charles Dickens accessible to my pre-schooler. It's never too early to introduce kids to classic literature!
In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas, friends! I hope you are able to enjoy the season and avoid the stress of too many expectations. Breathe, love, reflect, be mindful of hyggeligt moments in this season of warmth and coziness, and above all, eat cookies.
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