Roses and Thorns

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for AVEENO®. I'm a 2014 AVEENO® Ambassador. All opinions are 100% my own. I received a 12 oz bottle of AVEENO® Daily Moisturizing Lotion and a $100 Visa gift card for participating in the #AveenoDailyChallenge. Come with me on my three week personal journey, as I commit to activities that will help me de-stress, meditate, reflect, and take time for myself. I'll be using AVEENO® Daily Moisturizing Lotion everyday, along the way.
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Challenge #8 - Turn A STRESSFUL Situation Into A Non-Stressful Situation. Have you ever served on a jury? I received a jury summons for criminal court and my STRESS level went through the roof! There are all kinds of cases in criminal court: murder, attempted murder, drugs, weapon cases etc. Twice a week, I passed police cars, barbed wire (thorns), and the city jail. There was nothing sweet about it (or so I thought). I said to myself, "I'm the author of A Very Sweet Blog! Find something sweet about this experience! Plus, I'm an AVEENO Ambassador for STRESS! So why am I STRESSING!" HaHaHa Well, here are my pics and what I found sweet. Bloggers can turn ANYthing into a post! HaHaHa
When I parked and walked to jury duty, at first I didn't see much that was sweet. Barbed wire (thorns), prison buildings and visitation centers are what I walked past. But I found beauty in the criminal court building, with it's gorgeous columns and inscriptions. It housed the judges that maintain law & order. I found beauty in the police cars. I thought of the police officers, that sacrifice their lives daily. They deal with the horrible element of crime and protect citizens.

As I would enter the jury waiting room, there was plenty that was sweet. A gorgeous mural, depicting the New Orleans French Quarter was displayed beautifully on the wall. It was actually painted by prisoners of New Orleans Parish Prison. It's sad to think, individuals with such amazing talent are in jail. Other things that were sweet, were the ladies working there. They really tried to make our stay as comfy as possible. The coffee they made was really good. Loved the free wi-fi (sometimes I commented on your blogs via my cell phone) and of course the vending machines with snacks. :) Also, the ladies that fried fish & shrimp! The food was so good! LOL There was also a very nice blind guy, that worked there. He filled all the vending machines. He didn't let his disability, discourage him.

Then there were the ROSES! One day, I looked across the street and saw an elevated spot that had palm trees, benches and roses. It felt really familiar to me. I walked over and SMILED. I had totally forgotten about it! You guys, this is where I started my VERY 1st JOB! I was 15 (yep, I've been working since I was 15 years old) and the job was for the entire Summer. I "worked" with a group of detectives. It really wasn't work, because we had more fun than anything. I would answer the phone, make a couple of copies and then it was time for lunch. HaHaHa It was also my 1st experience with makeup! I met a lady that sold Mary Kay and I would spend my entire paycheck on makeup. LOL We would sit on the bench, discuss and play with makeup. Then I would go back to work and the head detective-boss had a huge library in his office. He said, "Kim, you can read any book you like". I remember reading Jaws. LOL Well now, they've added more benches, light posts, trees and beautiful rose bushes. Ahhh, memories :) SO SEE! If you really try, you can DE-STRESS a STRESSFUL SITUATION! Keep your eyes OPEN and LOOK FOR IT! For me, it was right across the street :) BTW: I completed my jury duty this past Monday (got my certificate and everything).