Halloween kind of stresses me out.

I’ve never been much of a costume girl. I can’t imagine wearing a mask, and face paint just cracks and flakes on your clothes. Growing up, I was a hobo about eight years in a row because you got to wear comfortable clothes. I don’t think I’ve dressed up for Halloween since the sixth grade.

Now that I’m all grown-up, Halloween generally means turning on the porch light and doling out sweets to little (or not so little) kids in cute (or lame) outfits while thier parents try to peer in from the sidewalk and see how we’ve decorated our version of the neighborhood townhouse.

It’s the candy part that gets me stressed. How much do you buy? The first year in our house, we had exactly two trick-or-treaters. That number has grown steadily over the past couple of years, priming tonight to be the biggest turnout yet. But there’s a chance of rain… how will that affect our numbers? It might seem like a minor issue to you, but I was twenty minutes late from lunch this afternoon because I was standing in the candy aisle at Kroger debating one more “Party Pak” of suckers and Smarties, just for ultimate volume in the plastic cauldron I use to hand out candy.

What kind of candy do you buy? I know that when the dump their loot onto the kitchen table when they get home, they won’t know which house gave them what. But I remember that disappointment felt when your high hopes of Snickers and Twix gave way to Dum Dums and that weird waxy stuff wrapped in black and orange paper. I don’t want to be the cause of that kind of anguish in the next generation, but the good stuff’s expensive.

How much do you give to each kid? You don’t want to give too much too early and run out before the night’s over, but you also don’t want to give too little and end up with a ton of leftover Jawbreakers and Sweet Tarts. This could also be an argument in favor of buying the good stuff… at least if you have leftovers, it’s something you want to eat.

It’s a tough holiday, Halloween. I feel the need to comment on each costume, and saying “Ooooh, how cute!” over and over again can really get to you after a while. We have to keep Miles upstairs to avoid a repeat of last year. (It’s a good thing I looked up that link, because I was trying to use that title again.) It takes all of my willpower not to eat all the Milky Ways and save the Fireballs for the kids.

But I will power through. I will persevere. I will not be whatever the Halloween equivalent of a Scrooge might be.

Well, it’s over. For me anyway. The trial must go on without me.

Because Aaron and I had plans to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow morning before the trial started, I have officially been excused from my duty. As instructed, I informed the judge that I was scheduled to be out of town, and she told me that the trial was not expected to last three weeks (!) and if it did, an alternate juror could be called to replace me.

So. Three weeks of testimony, lawyers, courthouse cafeteria food and evidence. OH SWEET LORD, the evidence. I’m not sure I can discuss it before the trial is over, but let me just tell you that this evidence, it was not pleasant. It was not pretty. It was bad and disturbing and has infiltrated my brain.

Two days of deliberation. Two days of trying to come to twenty-one separate unanimous decisions with eleven strangers, many of whom are certifiably insane. You’d think they would screen for that stuff. Trust me when I say - do not do anything, ever, that requires you to go before a jury. These people, they are not smart.

I’ve been spending eight hours in the courtroom followed by three in my office every day to get ready for the event we’re flying to Los Angeles to attend. It feels like I haven’t seen my husband or my dog in weeks.

But it’s over, even if I didn’t get to deliver a verdict. An alternate will show up in the morning to help decide the remaining counts, and I will get on a plane and go to California where I have no plans at all other than to drive around and look. I can’t wait.

I feel like I’ve been completely disconnected from the world for three weeks. I haven’t seen my friends or coworkers, I haven’t been cooking or doing work at home, I haven’t been shopping or running errands. I have a lot of catching up to do.

I’m exhausted.

So this is pretty awesome.

I have been called to perform my civic duty this month and am currently serving on a federal jury. The trial is expected to last two to three WEEKS, so I will be disconnected from universe for quite some time and won’t be updating here.

A tip for future potential jurors - if, in front of the judge, the lawyers and the defendant, you say, “Where I come from, people like that are shot or hung”, you will almost assuredly be excused from service. Just food for thought.

“When you go into court, you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty.” ~ Norm Crosby

THINGS THAT ARE AWESOME:

chai lattes, naps, my new black boots, jersey mike’s subs, andrew bird, oktoberfest parties, shiny new jeeps, possibly going to see the Cowboys play on Christmas day, trips to Los Angeles, spending lazy girly time with friends you don’t see often enough

THINGS THAT ARE NOT AWESOME:

jury duty, wisdom teeth trying to come in and waking you up in the middle of the night with the pain of it all, non-fall weather, pumpkin lattes, grocery shopping on Sunday evening, being one touchdown down with 45 seconds left at second and goal and throwing an interception in the end zone that the other team runs all the way back for a touchdown

I’ve been trying to avoid writing the typical Woo-hoo! Fall! post that’s been bouncing around in my brain for the last few weeks. I had every intention of not being sappy about the changing season. When it first started to cool off, the leaves weren’t changing yet, so I didn’t feel it. Then the leaves started turning, but it got warm, so that didn’t work.

But today, I couldn’t deny it. It’s fall.

It hit me on my way to work this morning (in my own car!) There are two big tree-covered hills right where I get on the highway, and the unmistakable shots of red and yellow were peaking out from beneath the big green trees. I cracked my windows to let in the cool morning air and popped in an Andrew Peterson CD. I was set to go.

I took my lunch to the park and ate at a picnic table on covered pavillion. The kids on the playground were wearing jeans and sneakers, not shorts and flip flops. The leaves crunched under their feet as they raced to be first on the big slide. I couldn’t focus on my book - I was distracted by the squirrels chasing the acorns being blown from the trees by the wind.

I’ll have to wear a sweatshirt over my workout clothes tonight on the way to volleyball, but it’s not quite cold enough yet to negate how good the cool air feels when you leave the gym. I have big plans to make beef stew this weekend. We’ll probably hit a high school football game in the next few weeks. Many pumpkin-related baked goods will soon be finding their way out of my kitchen.

Since we’ve been in Nashville, I’ve really come to appreciate fall. In Texas, it’s 100 degrees until one day in October (or November) when the leaves decide to turn brown and fall off. But here we get several weeks of crisp air and changing leaves. There’s a solid sweater and boots season before coats need to be added to the mix. It’s a season of reflection over the year so far, as well as anticipation of the holidays to come. It’s comfortable and cozy and warm, and I’m thrilled it’s here.

Guess I’m not so good at not being sappy.

Big news, people! We bought a car!

We have been operating for several months with just one car, my fabulous Saturn. She is a noble car, stepping up to the challenge and performing wonderfully. But while I love her, she’s not so good to Aaron. (”Saturns are not made for tall men!”)

We are lucky in that our offices are across the street from each other, making a second car a luxury, not a neccessity. But the contstant coordinating of schedules and planning of days that had to take place before we could leave the house was beginning to take its toll. After several weeks of research and budgeting and shopping, we took the plunge Saturday afternoon. We found what was already a great deal, and once we multiplied that by the fact that we were buying at the end of the day at the end of the month, it was a steal.

So please say hello to the newest member of the Manes family: a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. Black with black leather interior. All kinds of fancy stuff like heated seats and separate temperature controls for the driver’s and passenger’s sides and a tow package that caused us to have the following conversation:

Aaron: We could tow a boat! Or jet skis!
Brandi: We don’t have a boat. Or jet skis.
Aaron: We should definitely look into getting some jet skis.

Also, please note that this is not a picture of our actual car, as my digital camera has planted itself firmly in “close up” mode and I can’t figure out how to fix it, causing all of my pictures not taken from 12 inches or closer to be blurry and unrecognizable. But it looks JUST LIKE THIS ONE. Except, you know. It’s black. It’s so pretty. I am thrilled.