An Unexpected First - Jury Summons!

I've always thought it would be interesting to serve on a jury - as long as the trial doesn't have to do with any physical violence because I am NOT good with blood! I can't believe it took until I'm 40 to get my first jury summons, but it will be an experience! It's for November 8th, so I'll have to post later the result!

How many will I accomplish??

It will be a miracle if I'm able to complete my list! I already know that I'll be missing the Dallas State Fair, but I keep hoping that I'll be able to get the rest of the 19 items that I have left done. I can't believe that I only have a couple of months left! I feel like I'm living life at a really fast pace right now and I'm doing my best to stay on top of everything, but it's challenging!

Missing the Dallas Fair this year...bummer! (But due to a good thing!)

Time and finances aren't on my side to make the state fair this year. So, I'll have to wait another year to see Big Tex. I'm a little bit bummed, but it's mostly due to a decision to buy a timeshare, which I'm pretty excited about! I've always wanted to buy one and my husband and I did so last weekend. We get our membership cards in a couple of weeks and I can't wait to start using it!

Twenty down, twenty to go!!

I'm currently listening to the audiobook of Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber and it's a great book! I'm glad to know that I've at least accomplished 20 of the items on my list so far! Life has gotten really busy and I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be able to finish them all by the end of the year. But I've decided if I don't, that's ok - as long as they DO get completed as close to the deadline as possible! Next week, I'll be starting a second job to help me with the funds to be able to do some of the more expensive items. And I know I'll get more motivated even more when the weather cools off again. I can't wait for it to start feeling like autumn! It's my favorite season!

Perseid Meteor Shower - or should I say meteor sprinkle?!

I can no longer stay up until 2am and it wasn't easy at all to go to sleep and have to wake up in the middle of the night! My husband, daughter, and I went behind a building that's right near our house and there are no lights. We saw just a few "shooting stars" in the half an hour we were there. I've heard so much about the Perseid Meteor Shower that I expected to see several in that amount of time - or at least a dozen! Instead, it was more like five! They were still neat to see and I'm glad that I did it at least once, but once was enough! From now on, I'll be sleeping through it every year! :)

Bang? Bang? More like...Pop! Pop!

I recently met a great lady who offered right away to help me with firing a gun! She had the guns, bullets, and plenty of land for target practice! She gave me a few choices, but I wanted to start small for my first time. So, she chose her .22 rifle. I was amazed at how tiny the bullets were!
My first shot went over the top of the target, but the next two shots hit it, and for the last shot I aimed much more carefully and finally hit the edge of the bulls-eye! Woo hoo!!

One of the things I was a little worried about with firing a gun was the kickback, but I didn't have that problem at all with this size gun. It felt just like the little rifles that you use at fairs for target shooting. I didn't think that I would like it, but it was fun! I wouldn't mind trying out some pistols in the future, too, and maybe even working up to a bit bigger caliber. But no semi-automatics!!

I'm an Official Hospice Volunteer!

On Friday, I got my badge and did my first hour and a half of on the job training. Then I went back Saturday morning for two more hours. It was sad to go in the next morning and see that a couple of patients had died overnight.

Part of the reason that I wanted to volunteer at hospice was to help me with my own fear of dying. It seems to be helping some. It's such a calming place and it's nice to see how many families are constantly at the patients' sides. There are rarely any who are alone for more than a few hours.

So far, I have delivered snacks to patients and families and sat with one lady whose daughter is out of town, so she didn't have anyone with her that week.

I'm not sure how long I will continue to volunteer, but at least for a few months. They have a lot of volunteers, so I don't really feel needed and I hate to feel like I'm in the way of the nurses. It's an interesting experience though.