Day 3 ~ Your Favorite Television Program

My Favorite Television Program

Again, a toss up between two!!!

I've watched this since the very first season and I'm addicted!!

Grey's Anatomy


And I just started watching this show when it premiered a couple of months ago. It's an awesome show!!

Rookie Blue

Day 2 - Your Favorite Movie

Your favorite Movie

My favorite movie right now I'd have to say is a tie between:

Sweet Home Alabama



AND

The Notebook

Day 1 ~ Your Favorite Song

Day 1 ~ Your Favorite Song

I just love the lyrics to this song. We all take different roads in our lives. Often times we think we're on the right path, but low and behold we hit road blocks and/or obstacles that cause us to go a different direction. This applies to every aspect in our lives.

For me, I don't regret any part of my past. I don't regret any of the 'paths' I took which ended up being an obstacle or road block, because every single one of those obstructions brought me to the point I am in my life today.

Today I am the happiest woman on earth. I have a loving husband who loves me unconditionally for who I am. He tells me every single day how much he loves me. He supports me in all of my endevors and is there by my side to pick me up when I am down. He makes me laugh when I am sad. He makes me feel better when I am not feeling well. I have three amazing kids who love me. Granted it was a rough for several years, being a single mother; losing sight of my priorities for a while. But then finding that right road to go down. What a blessing. And if it wasn't for any of my past struggles, I wouldn't be exactly where I am today.

This is also the song that a little more than 4 months ago, I walked down the aisle to when I married my best friend!

30 Day Blog Journal

I got this idea from a fellow Destination Wedding Bride, Abri at Absolutely Ridiculous. She got this idea from a blogger who got it from another blogger and so on and so on and so on! I love how these ideas get passed on from one blogger to another! It's absolutely amazing!

I'll start this 30 Day Blog Journal tomorrow (Sunday) so I can get off to a great start this! Here's my list of topics for the next 30 Days:

Day 1 - your favorite song
Day 2 - your favorite movie
Day 3 - your favorite television program
Day 4 - your favorite book
Day 5 - your favorite quote
Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things
Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 - a photo you took
Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 - a photo of you recently
Day 12 - something you are OCD about
Day 13 - a fictional book
Day 14 - a non-fictional book
Day 15 - your dream house
Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19 - a talent of yours
Day 20 - a hobby of yours
Day 21 - a recipe
Day 22 - a website
Day 23 - a youtube video
Day 24 - where I live
Day 25 - your day, in great detail
Day 26 - your week, in great detail
Day 27 - my worst habit
Day 28 - whats in my handbag/purse
Day 29 - hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 - a dream for the future

So, if you're interested in any of my "Favorites", be sure to check back daily so you can see!!!

If you'd like to jump in on this 30 Day Blog Journal with me, just add your Blog to the list below!

Happy Blogging!!

It's been TEN DAYS!!

A couple of months ago I decided that I wanted to fulfill my desire to go back to school to pursue my Bachelors in Criminal Justice. Back in 2007, I double majored and graduated with my AS in Criminal Justice and my AA in Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Here's a little back story:

My mother passed away in 2004. While she was in the hospital, a few months before she passed, we were discussing all kinds of life experiences; past, present and future. One of the goals I shared with her was my desire to get my college degree. At that point, I was just one month shy of my 36th birthday. We were discussing the fact that I felt I was too old to "go back to school". Of course, my mother thought it was all nonsense on my part.

After my mom passed away, I felt the urge to do the one thing she asked of me. And that was to pursue my dreams. My life's goals. So, I bit the bullet and went back to school.

Summer of 2005, at the age of 37 I enrolled in college. I hit it hard. I was working part time off campus, part time on campus, and carried a full load. I remember one semester taking 18 units! Of course, I had to petition to take the extra units because 15 units was considered max at the time.

In the Spring of 2007, at the age of 39 I graduated! Woo Hoo!!!! Go Me!!!

After graduation, I had every intention on pursuing my Bachelors at that time. But I decided I needed to take a semester off. A much needed break from school. Well, one semester led to two semesters.. then three... then, well, you get the point.

Which brings us to present time. 3 years later ~ August, 2010 at the ripe old age of 42, I am once again a College Student.

Then only thing that (excuse my language) SUCKS about it is the fact that since I took more than two semesters off, I have lost my catalog rights, therefore the Breadth Requirements to transfer to a University has changed. Yes, that's right, additional class requirements have been added therefore, there are few more classes that I have to take at the JC level before I can transfer to Stanislaus State. (Or any University for that matter).

10 days ago, I walked on campus for my first class. Can I just tell you that although I know I am WAY older than 95% of the students there, I was relieved to see that there are people I assume to be my age, if not OLDER?!? I did feel out of place in a couple of my classes where the kids are fresh out of High School (like my Algebra class)and here I am, old enough to be their mother, sitting in class with them. Quite humbling actually.

My first obstacle in my quest to transfer came the first day of classes. I walked into my Physics Class and the "Professor of Physics" as she labeled herself, was very intimidating! I sat thru the lecture listening to a bunch of mumble jumble and walked out of class not knowing what the heck she was talking about!! It was kinda like:

"If you're at the top of the Empire State Building and you drop a sharpened pencil over the railing into a Starbucks Cup which is at the base of the building, at what speed was the pencil spiraling downward to make that much of a hole in the bottom of the cup upon impact?"

Those type of questions. I'm all good with the "Distance equals Rate times Time" kind of scenarios, but talk about confused!!!

PHYSICS = EPIC FAIL
So, after a week of classes, I had to drop my Physics class. Physics is just not my cup of tea. I do need another Science Class to fulfill my transfer requirements, so I will be having to take SOMETHING one way or another.

It's been a butt kicking 10 days for me (since I last blogged AND since classes started) and I am not liking it at all. However, I am so very lucky to have a WONDERFUL husband who is very supportive of me. It's with his support emotionally that helps me get through the days!!

Oh... another thing that's been helping me get thru my 7 a.m. Algebra class is my favorite in the whole, wide world!!
Mmmm... A Grande Caramel Frappucinno with Caramel around the cup! Yummy!!

xoxoxoxo

You wanna see a Video Montage of a Wedding?!?

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wedding Cake Disaster!

This past weekend was a weird sort of weekend!! I had a wedding on Saturday, so I spent the most part of Friday night, into the wee hours of Saturday morning baking my little heart out.

The bride requested a 3 tiered, off set, square cake with an alternating ribbon border and alternating scrolls on each tier. Along with that, she also wanted 5 dozen cupcakes. Not a hard thing to do at all!! Unless you're me of course and PROCRASTINATE until the last possible minute!!!

The bride elected two weeks out that she would like to forego the traditional cake topper and go with fresh flowers instead. No biggie. We discussed her options and she chose to go with two different types of flowers. Two colors ~ one of a light purple and the other a lighter blue ~ both to offset her wedding colors which were more darker than what she wanted her flowers to be.

Not an unusual request at all. However when I got to the venue to set up her cake I can not find any flowers for her cake. I was looking for two dozen flowers, 12 of two different colors. What do I find waiting for me on the cake table instead? A mixed flower bouquet. One that looks like this:
Minus the purple flowers, but replaced with these:



Seriously doesn't even go with the color scheme of her wedding colors at all!! Nor did any of those flowers match her bridal party or her brides bouquet!!

I had no other choice but to use the flowers from the bouquet to put on the cake. I had texted her to be sure that maybe I somehow didn't see the correct flowers, but she confirmed that I was to use the bouquet that was left on the cake table. I took a picture of the bouquet and sent it to her for confirmation because I thought maybe, somehow, someone had put the wrong flowers on the table. But NOOOOO. Ugh.

So, needless to say, the cake AFTER I added the flowers to it didn't look so good after all. All of my hard work! 6 cakes.....10 lbs. of powdered sugar for the buttercream icing.....the pretty ribbon border....the hand piped scrolls on each tier. UGH.

I don't even want to post a picture of what the end result looked like because it was THAT bad. I'm almost embarassed to say that I created that cake. After years of doing event cakes and some 40 + weddings later, I don't think I've ever been so disappointed!!

And the winner's are..........

Beth is the lucky winner of our 200th Post GiveAway Grand Prize!! ~ She will be receiving a $25 Gift Card to ♥Target♥
Katie is the lucky winner of our 200th Post GiveAway consolation prize!! ~ She will be receiving a $10 Gift Card to ♥Target♥

Thanks to everyone who particpated! Be sure to stay tuned for an End of Summer Give Away Bash that will feature a number of GiveAways from several awesome Etsy Sellers; some Tastefully Simple products, Scentsy products and more!!!

Friendly Friday & Social Parade: Follow on Fridays

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way for everyone to get even more traffic to their blog.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers!

We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

Laura at Along for the Ride started blogging to keep in touch with her family, but now she also uses it to share her faith, share about all the crafts she makes, and share about her job as a hall coordinator at a large university. She and her husband have been married for about a year, and they actually live in the residence hall on campus with their kitty. Her blog is about being along for the ride…the ride that God has planned for her!

Melissa at Mommy Living the Life of Riley! is a SAHM and devoted wife who loves writing about her journey through motherhood. She writes about such things as the “potty training saga” going on at their house right now with their daughter, Riley. Melissa has a lot of great giveaways, product reviews, and info such as how to clean up your blog graphics so that your blog loads faster and you get more search engine links.

Having grown up in Canada, Heather at Acting Balanced is a SAHM now living in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Their family of four, however, will soon be five in November. Heather shares about their son with autism and how tough it is to be the parent of a child with a disability that can’t be identified by sight. Her blog features not only their family but also book reviews, giveaways, contests, and product reviews.

Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it’s time for you to join in! Add your link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can grab the code to share the link list on your blog too.

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – be sure to leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Hope everyone has a great weekend!



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Social Parade Follow on Friday Blog-Hop is a weekly link-up hosted by Smart and Trendy Moms . We created it for socializing and to get new followers, subscribers, readers without feeling overwhelmed. Every week will be a new link-up that will focus on following blogs.

And don't worry you do not have to carry this button or any button of ours on your side bars. Your blog sidebars are great real estate and we respect that : ) The button needs to be posted in your participation post only.

How it works: You follow Smart & Trendy Moms and Grab the link-up button and post It's a Social Parade-Follow on Fridays on your blog!. Every Friday a new linky will be posted.

Beautiful Bloggers

I am honored to receive this Beautiful Blogger Award once again!!

Thanks so much to Doreen at "They Say Everyone Has A Story" for so graciously awarding me with this award!


The recipients of this Award have to state 7 Beautiful things around me, and pass this Award on to 7 other blogs who inspire me!

7 Beautiful Things:

My three wonderful, most amazing, beautiful children because they inspire me to be the best mother ever!

My beautiful (okay, handsome) husband because he loves me unconditionally and accepts me for who I am. Faults and all!

My little beautiful new puppy, Duke because he's so freaking cute!

My DW friends: Knotties and Nesties alike, because without them, I wouldn't have had the most beautiful and amazing wedding I did 4 months ago!

My beautiful Blogesphere friends and followers because you give me motivation to blog!

All my beautiful friends because each and every one of you have touched my heart in a special way!

My beautiful God who gives me my strength and wisdom to do all that is right in my life!!

7 Beautiful Bloggers:

Meg at O is Me

Maura at Maura's Malarky

Sheila at Running Late Again

Kelly at Dare to be Domestic

Amy at We're in for it

Kiera at Imperfect Daisies

Kim at The Perpetual Party Planner

Of course, there are soo many of you fellow bloggers who deserve this BEAUTIFUL Award just as much as I or anyone else does!

I am honoring EVERY.SINGLE.ONE of you and passing on this BEAUTIFUL BLOGGER AWARD to you!!

Wordless Wednesdays

Harley Davidson Color Flow 'Plaque' I made for a Cake

Tasty Tuesday!

Cinnamon Rolls
Yield: 8-12 large or 12-16 smaller cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:
6 ½ tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
5 ½ tbsp. unsalted butter or margarine
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp. lemon extract or 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
3 ½ cups unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
2 tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 1/8 to 1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature

For the filling:
6 ½ tbsp. granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
other spices to taste (ginger, cardamom, allspice, etc.)

For the white fondant glaze:
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. lemon or orange extract
6 tbsp. to ½ cup warm milk

Directions:
Cream together the sugar, salt, and butter on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Whip in the egg and lemon zest/extract until smooth. Then add the flour, yeast and milk. Mix on low speed until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes, or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. (You may have to add a little flour or water while kneading to achieve this texture.) Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don’t roll out the dough too thin, or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling over the surface of the dough and roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll. With the seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 pieces about 1 ¾ inches thick for larger rolls or 12 to 16 pieces about 1 ¼ inches thick for smaller rolls.

Line one or more sheet pans with baking parchment. Place the buns approximately ½ inch apart so they aren’t touching but are close to one another.

Proof at room temperature for 75-90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pan out of the refrigerator 3-4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.

Preheat the oven to 350° with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the rollss in the pan for about 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops, while the rolls are warm but not too hot (see instructions below). Remove the buns from the pan and place them on a cooling rack. Wait for at least 20 minutes before serving.

White fondant glaze for cinnamon rolls:
Sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Add lemon or orange extract and 6 tbsp. to ½ cup warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as needed to make a thick, smooth paste.

When the rolls have cooled but are still warm, streak the glaze over them by dipping the tines of a fork or a whisk into the glaze and waving the fork or whisk over the tops.

Source: The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

Winner of 200th Follower GiveAway!

Congratulations ASHLEY! You've won the Scentsy Warmer and Bath & Body Works Gift Package! I read your blog post about the giveaway and you said you'd put a monogram on the Warmer. Be sure to share pictures with me once you're done with it!

Please e-mail me at shellicabo@gmail.com by end of day Wednesday, August 11th to claim your prize. If I do not hear from you by then, a new winner will be chosen.

Meandering Mondays

Yay for Meandering Mondays!

You guys are going to love me for this one!

Today's featured Blog is:

"Design it Chic"

I absolutely love this blog because it's here where she shares ALL KIND OF tips to help make your blog pretty!

Here's this author's "About Me" section of her Blog:

I am a twenty something years old gal married to my highschool sweetheart and
the love of my life. Since we've been married our lives turned into an exciting
new adventure and we're enjoying every single bit of it:) I love my life and I
learned how to dream big! I love everything pretty and chic and I'm as random as
anyone.. that's a fact! Welcome to my world! :)

She is an amazing individual who has an awesome Tutorial with step by step instructions how to do various things in your blog like:

• resizing your buttons
• uncluttering your sidebars
• how to add a signature in your posts
• resizing YouTube Videos

Among 40 gazillion other things! She also hosts Blog Hops and GiveAways! So, be sure to stop on by her blog and leave her a little Blog Love! Let her know you stopped by via "Meandering Mondays".

xoxoxo

CELEBRATION TIME!!! 200th Post Giveaway!!

This is it!

It's my 200th post here on Minnesota Meets California and we're celebrating with another great Give Away!

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When I first started blogging YEARS ago, I never took it seriously. I look back to my very first blog and the things I blogged about and I just laugh. It's funny. I didn't take it seriously and eventually just forgot about blogging altogether.

A couple of years ago, I started blogging again. When I started planning our Destination Wedding, I totally got into it and blogged on almost a daily basis, journaling all of my wedding planning processes! I figured I'd have this to look back on in the years to come. :)

Now that our wedding is done and over with, along with all of our wedding related events, I've been trying to figure out what direction this blog is going to go. There are a ton of blogs that focus on things like Product Reviews, Nutrition, Weddings, Foods, etc. I don't think I'm going to be one of those bloggers that do any one certain thing. I think this blog will be a mixture of EVERYTHING. Perhaps more focused on my daily life, but I think I'll eventually get into a product review here and there; I already feature "Tasty Tuesday" where I share a recipe with you all; Mondays, I feature my "Meandering Mondays, where I share different blogs that I follow. And from time to time I will be doing some awesome GIVEAWAYS!!

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Have I expressed how much I just love Target? I am all about Target for many different reasons.

1) I love that I met my husband there;
2) I love that I had the opportunity to open a SuperTarget Store;
3) I love their products;
4) I love their prices;
5) I love that they have a Starbucks in their stores;
6) I love that I get a discount when I shop there;
7) I love that everytime YOU shop there, it's helping my future;
8) I love that they give back to the community and schools;
9) I love their super cool One Spot Dollar section;
10) I love their awesome deals on Black Friday;

I could go on and on and on, but I'll save you all from it. However, I would like to share with you the awesome cupcakes that I did for the SuperTarget's Grand Opening in Atwater, California.


I enjoyed doing those cupcakes. We had like three of those tables around the store that day and can I just say that I was so sick of cupcakes, not to mention RED and WHITE.

The reason I bring up ♥Target♥ and how much I love them, is because in celebration of my 200th Post, I will be doing a very special Giveaway!

One of my lucky readers will receive a $25 Giftcard to Target! Now how awesome is that?!?

And, that's not all.

There will be a second drawing for a "consolation" prize ~ a $10 Giftcard to Target! WOW!

To enter, please tell me why you too, absolutely LOVE shopping at Target! (this is mandatory). For additional entries:

Subscribe to Minnesota Meets California or let us know you are a subscriber

Grab our button and put it on your blog or website and post a link here showing us.

Blog about Minnesota Meets California or this giveaway (worth 2 entries so please post two comments) and post a link to the post.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure to include a link to your tweet, blog post, etc. All entries must be posted on this blog as a direct comment to this post. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada and ends August 13th at 11:59 pm PST. The winners will be selected by random.org and announced on August 14th. If the winners fail to contact me within 48 hours, a new drawing will be held so be sure to check back to see if you've won!

Nightmare.....but a REALITY!!!

TRUE FREAKING STORY.........

(And I'm going to share every.single.little detail with you lucky readers. HOLY CRAP is all I can say, so grab a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine and live vicariously through me and what I went through last night)

It's a little after 11 p.m. on Thursday night, August 5th. Brian is asleep because he has to be up at 4:15 a.m. I'm sitting at the dining room table watching past episodes of Boston Med on ABC.com, minding my own business.

:: Doorbell rings :: followed by a "thud, thud, thud" on the front door. I jump up a bit, but just sit there. Another "thud, thud, thud" (knocking) on the door. Again... I just wait. :: Doorbell rings :: again. I get up and look out the peep hole, but don't see anything but shadows, or so I tell myself. "Bang, bang, bang" as I continue to look out the peep hole, but this time it scares me and I go running down the hall (totally scared shitless) into the Master Bedroom, frantically shake Brian and tell him there's someone knocking at the door and ringing the bell and that I'm scared!

Half asleep and groggy, he's totally out of it... and the loud "bang, bang, bang" on the door once again. Brian is getting up (very freaking slowly I might add) and tells me to go ask who it is. I go back to the door and ask "Who is it?". "Police Dept., open up". So, ever so slowly I open the door. There's one officer, to the left of the door way who is partially blocked with his head popping in the doorway; there's another officer standing to the right of the doorway; and another standing directly in front of me, but a few feet away. All three of them with their hands on their weapon, which by the way was still holstered.

As I open the door, I'm freaked out that there's all these officers standing there. The conversation goes like this:

Officer: Is there a Brian here 'mam?
Me: Um, excuse me?
Officer: Is there a Brian (last name) here?
Me: Yes, but he's asleep.
Officer: We need to speak to him, can you please get him for us?
Me: Sure, I'll be right back. :: tries to shut the door ::
Officer: :: puts his foot in the door way :: Sorry 'mam, you'll have to leave the door open
Me: What for?
Officer: 'Mam, you need to leave the door open while you get Brian.
Me: :: shurggs ::

I go to the bedroom and tell Brian it's the police and they asked for him. He puts on a pair of shorts and groggily walks to the door. (At this time, I had to hold our killer attack dog, Duke, so he wouldn't go after the intruders.)

When Brian gets to the door, the conversation goes like this:

Officer: Brian Lastname?
Brian: Yes
Officer: Do you know a Jose Camacho?
Brian: :: looks at me :: Hmmmm... I'm not sure.
Officer: :: Pulls out a Booking Photo of Mr. Camacho ::
Brian: :: looking at Photo :: (Still half asleep and couldn't really focus)
Officer: :: shines his flashlight on the photo :: How about a "Hector?"
Brian: No, he doesn't look familiar and I don't know a Hector or a Jose with that last name.
Me: :: looks at the Photo :: He doesn't look familiar to me.
Officer: Do you own an '01 Explorer?
Brian: Yes
Officer: You do?
Brian: Yes. Would you like to see it? It's right outside... at least it better be outside!

The officer and Brian both walk off. I'm left with the other two lovely officers.

Officer Friendly: Is there anyone else in the home at this time?
Me: Nope
Officer Friendly: Do you mind if I check?
Me: (thinking go ahead...there's no freaking body else here)

Officer Friendly continues to make small talk..about the weather, about our 'cute dog', about all of my Target Dogs in the living room. I then ask if everything is okay and he replies: "The officer's outside will explain everything." Fine... I go walk outside.

This is the scene outside:

Lady Officer is on the stairway outside 'watching' our fence of our patio; Another Officer on the other side of our patio; Officer #6 was with Brian and Officer #1 out at Suzy (our Explorer ~ remember all of our vehicles are named.) WTF IS GOING ON?!?

When I walk up to them, Brian was speechless...... Officer #1 explained that the back License Plate on Suzy was a Stolen Plate.

*I FREAKING KNEW IT. I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING 'OFF' ABOUT THE TAGS ON THE PLATES BUT COULDN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT.

Apparently this is what occurred. We don't know when this happened, but someone stole the back plates off of Suzy, our Explorer. They put a stolen licence plate on Suzy (so we wouldn't notice it missing) Then, they put Suzy's License Plate on another Explorer. Said Explorer was involved in a Hit and Run earlier in the evening. Evidently, a Lieutenant (not sure from which department) was injured during the Hit and Run some how.... not really sure what the situation is / was. There were six (6) officers from three different Departments on this call. SIX.

Officer #1 proceeds to take the stolen plate off of Suzy. He tells us that he's hoping they'll "get prints of one Jose Camacho" off of it. He also tells us that we have to go to the DMV first thing in the morning to get new plates. New plates that WE HAVE TO PAY FOR. So yes, we were VICTIMS here! And they came to our home....with their hands on their weapons. To our home. Geeze Louise!

So, after oh about an hour or of 'dealing' with the worlds finest from three different Departments, we were "free to go".

To be continued...........................

*The reason why I knew that there was something wrong with the plates and I couldn't place it was this: We JUST transferred Suzy's registration from Minnesota to California (no pun intended) last year. And, we had trouble with getting the registration tags this year, and had just put the 2010 ones on them last month. SO.... there were only two stickers on Suzy's plates. The stolen plates that was put on Suzy had sticker, upon sticker, upon sticker, upon sticker... THAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE. That's what I noticed different about Suzy's license plate, but NEVER IT NEVER CROSSED MY MIND.

Side note: My next post will be my 200th Post! Be sure to come back for your chance to enter my very special GiveAway!!!

Friendly Friday

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier, Christi at Frugal Novice and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect - this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they're a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it's a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post - the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Physics.... WHAT?!?

General Physics ~

“This course will try to relate physics to other areas of knowledge and discuss science in general, and physics specifically, as part of the concept of culture and time”

Say what?!? Oh boy. Physics. Yes, me.. I’m a 42 year old going back to school. See, what happened is this. I got my Associates of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and my Associates of Arts Degree in Behavioral & Social Sciences back in 2007. At that time, I had every intentions of pursuing my Bachelors in Criminal Justice. I decided to take a semester off since I had been going full-time for two years straight, some semesters taking 21 Units… (yes… I had to petition for the extra units and they amazingly approved it!!). Well, one semester break turned into two semesters…which led to three… and then four… and the rest is history. I was right on track to transfer to California State University Stanislaus with the intent of receiving my Bachelors by the end of Fall 2009.

Needless to say, that didn’t happen. I took the time off in the beginning to focus on my Cake Decorating Classes. At that point, I’d been teaching 4 nights a week, three classes every evening. Slowly but surely, my Cake Decorating Business was getting more business than I anticipated, so I kinda just focused on that.

Well, all that procrastinating did me a bunch of good. NOT. What happened?!? Oh.. I lost my Catalog Rights, therefore, instead of only the two transferrable classes I needed to take, I now have 4 PLUS a Lab. AND…. of all things, PHYSICS is one of those classes.

Do you know how much I detest any type of Science? Seriously… I don’t even like any Science Fiction movies at all! Never got into Star Trek. The closest to Sci Fi for me was "Back to the Future”. Ha ha ha! This will be me the very first day of class:

To make matters worse, since I’m a degree holder, I don’t get any type of priority when it comes to Registration. So, after all the Priority people register, then the Returning Students register, it’s my turn. What classes are going to be left?!? NOTHING I NEED. Despite what the photo below says, in this case, it's NOT OKAY to be last in line!!!

The classes I really needed were all full and I’m wait listed on one of them. Just one. The rest were already closed and there had reached it's limit on wait listed students. So, the one that I'm wait listed on is my Math Class. Actually, I'm okay if I don’t get into it this semester because I’m not sure if I can handle a Physics class with a Lab AND a Math class. (Which by the way, meets Monday thru Thursday) It’s bad enough my Physics class meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with the lab on Thursdays. (Yes, my Date Day Thursdays) Ugh.

All of this because of what?!? My goal to obtain my Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. And just what in the world will I do with that Bachelors at say….45 years of age?!?

My 20 year old daughter told me a while back, “Mother, we’ll be graduating with our Bachelors Degree about the same time”. Ah…….. out of the mouth of babes. :)

So, wish me luck people!! (And keep your fingers crossed that my books for this Physics Class and this Math Class isn’t like $1,875.00)

xoxoxoxo

Wordless Wednesday

(You all know how much reading is my FAVORITE pastime right...Duke is just like his momma!!)

Tasty Tuesday!

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, about 12 inches long (or 2 6-inch)
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
½ cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
1 lb. ground beef, sausage or ground turkey
2 tbsp. dry white wine
2-3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving a shell about ¼-inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and reserved zucchini insides to the skillet and sauté another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in the ground beef, sausage or ground turkey and cook until lightly browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cooked onion and mushroom mixture. Add the wine to the pan along with the tomatoes, basil and rosemary. Cook for 1 more minute. Drain of any excess fat, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Once the meat mixture has cooled a bit, mix in the Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini shells with the mixture. Fill a baking dish with ¼-inch of water. Place the filled zucchini shells in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the zucchini from the pan and serve immediately.

Recipe and photo adapted from Annie's Eats

♪♫♪ 200 Followers!! ♪♫♪ Special Give Away!!

HORRAY!!

We’ve reached 200 Followers on Minnesota Meets California!! (On our Blogger Blog ~ Minnesota Meets California)

We’re going to celebrate with an awesome Give Away! I’d like to first of all give a great big CONGRATULATIONS to Teresa at “Too Many Heartbeats” for being my 200th Follower!!

Teresa, along with one of my lucky followers will receive an exclusive product from Scentsy Candles!!

Scentsy’s unique warmers use a low-watt bulb to slowly melt their specially formulated, highly fragrant wax, maximizing the fragrance time of each Scentsy Bar or Scentsy Brick.

Here’s what the lucky winners will receive:


Mid-Size Scentsy Warmer ~ “Hatteras” design.

The simple designs and classic finishes of Mid-Size Scentsy Warmers are perfect for dens, offices, dorm rooms, reception areas or anywhere you’d like to introduce your favorite Scentsy fragrance in an understated design.

AND

The lucky winners will also receive an assortment of Anti-Bacterial Hand Soap from:

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To enter to win, visit both the Scentsy , and Bath and Body Works website and tell me which product from each store is your favorite. (Please post two separate entries, one for each store) This is mandatory.

For additional entries:

• Subscribe to Minnesota Meets California via Google Connect Follower on Blogger , let us know you are a subscriber
• Grab our button and put it on your blog or website and post a link here showing us.
• Blog about Minnesota Meets California or this giveaway (worth 2 entries so please post two comments) and post a link to the post. Please leave a separate comment for each entry (two if you've blogged about the giveaway) and make sure to include a link to your blog post, etc. All entries must be posted on Minnesota Meets California as a direct comment to this post.

This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada and ends August 8th at 8:59 pm PST. The winner will be selected by random.org and announced on Minnesota Meets California on August 9th. If the winner doesn't contact Minnesota Meets California within 48 hours, a new drawing will be held so be sure to check back to see if you've won!

Welcome to:

Meandering Mondays

Meandering Mondays is where I share with you a couple of different Blogs that I've recently came upon and/or have been following for awhile. I enjoy reading blogs of all kinds! Last week, I shared the blogs Slam Dunks and A Few of My Favorite Things. I hope you all took the time to check them out!

This week, I'll be featuring two blogs again! The first blogger is Meg at O. is me.   Here is Meg's "About Me" taken from her blog:

I'm a highly energetic cupcake-obsessed high school theatre teacher/director. I actually teach at the high school I attended as a young dame and teaching with my favorite theatre teacher! It's a blast. I love my job and my crazy awesome students! I direct up to 3 shows a year, and that definitely keeps me busy. I'm super artsy fartsy, so my job lets me explore that outlet on a daily basis. Lord knows I need to get that out of my system. I'm also a classically trained singer (having studied it in college along with theatre), and I sing with the Houston Symphony Chorus. I'm interested in a multitude of things, which definitely gives me a reason to blog. I mean, who wouldn't want to know my opinion or insight?

Aside from my artsy-ness, I consider myself a huge foodie. I'm talking obsessed. I'll try anything. I love cooking, dining, and trying new restaurants, especially ones off the beaten path! Side note: cupcakes are the perfect food. Seriously. I also consider myself a bit of a health nut. I'm into nutrition and fitness (although sometimes I get lazy on the fitness part... don't we all?). Even though I am waaaaaay into food, I try to develop ways to incorporate my favorite things in moderation and in a healthy way (aside from cupcakes). I love beauty products -- getting my hair done, trying new makeup and skincare. I try to take good care of myself, since it's the only "me" I have. I also love to travel. I've been many different places including South America and Europe, and I am hungry for more!

I'm married to a wonderful man named Greg O. We got married on July 25, 2009. He's a sports lovin', former New England boy working in the insurance industry. He's extremely intelligent, well-spoken, intuitive, and being from MA, he's hot and looks like a Kennedy. His logic and sporty-ness balance out my emotion and artsy-ness. He is the perfect man for me! He always makes me laugh and he is my best friend. We love to travel together. Greg and I have a new kitty named Dexter O. He's an Abyssinian, which is the coolest breed of cat ever!! Dexter is very much a part of our family. He is well-loved and we even take him on weekend trips because he is that awesome.

Meg blogs about everything! I love that she's an ARTIST, and a DANCER. And most of all, she was a BEAUTIFUL BRIDE who just celebrated her 1 year anniversary!!
(Seriously folks, you should click on the "Dancer" link above, and you'll see the most amazing Happy Dance ever!!)

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The second blogger is Pam at For the Love of Cooking.  Pam shares all of her delicious recipes on her blog, along with beautiful, and helpful photos!!  Here's Pam's "About Me" taken from her blog:

... I am a stay at home mom with two children who inspire me to be a better cook. I love using fresh ingredients, organic when possible, and I like to experiment with different tastes and textures. I try to keep my recipes lower in fat but still tasting great. My favorite hobbies are cooking, photography and blogging so I decided to combine them and create a recipe blog. It has been a wonderful way to organize my recipes and share them at the same time. A big thank you to my amazing husband Chad who has helped me become a better photographer.

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Please be sure to stop by these blogs and give them some blog love!

Also, if you'd like to Link up your Website, Photography Site or Etsy Store, to the Marketing Mondays Blog Hop, please join in!!!

My Week All Wrapped Up ~ and FOOTBALL!!!

While it was a beautiful week, weather wise, I must say it was a very 'unproductive' week for me. It was my first full week with Duke ~ and he was a joy!! I thought it was going to be a hellacious time sleeping at night....or having to wake up every two hours to take him out potty....or him going potty everywhere around the house. But it wasn't bad at all!!

Tuesday was Duke's first Vet's appointment. He did rather well for being so scared!! Of course, everyone was just tickled pink and fussy over how cute and small he is! He weighed in at 2.14 lbs, got his 2nd set of shots and his nails trimmed. So overwhelming for a new puppy.

Our Date Day Thursday was certainly different this week, You can read all about it HERE and I'm actually fine with changing it up from time to time. In fact, I think going for a walk mid-morning is not so bad after all. Especially when going for lunch is included in there!

Pretty much the week was just blah. Nothing exciting planned, nothing exciting happened. Just another 7 days all rolling into one.

HOWEVER.... do you know what's coming up?!? What is the one thing I'm most passionate about in the Fall?!? Come on now!! Here's a hint.....................

That's right! FOOTBALL Season is coming!! Pre-Season starts in a couple of weeks and I AM OVER THE TOP EXCITED!!!

Yes, for those of you who don't know already, I am a DIE HARD Pittsburgh Steeler Fan! That's right.... I am . No if's ands, or butts about it.

It can get pretty hairy in our household, what... with Brian being a Vikings fan and all... and last season, it got pretty intense. If ya'll remember.... these two teams met in the playoffs. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. If there's anyone interested in reading about the outcome of the game, you can read about it HERE. Or I can just remind you guys:

Steelers defeat Vikings, 27-17

I'll leave you guys with a little bit of Football SuperBowl Facts!!
(NOTICE WHO'S ON THE TOP OF THE LIST?!?)

Most Super Bowl Wins!!

Pittsburgh Steelers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 5-0
Dallas Cowboys 3
Green Bay Packers 3-1
New York Giants 3-1
Oakland/LA Raiders 3-2
Washington Redskins 3-2
New England Patriots 3-3
Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts 2-2
Miami Dolphins 2-3
Denver Broncos 2-4
Baltimore Ravens 1-0
New York Jets III 1-0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1-0
New Orleans Saints 1-0
Chicago Bears 1-1
Kansas City Chiefs 1-1
St. Louis/LA Rams 1-2

Minnesota Vikings 0-4
Buffalo Bills 0-4
Philadelphia Eagles 0-2
Cincinnati Bengals 0-2
Tennessee Titans 0-1
Seattle Seahawks 0-1
San Diego Chargers 0-1
Carolina Panthers 0-1
Atlanta Falcons 0-1
Arizona Cardinals 0-1

(You notice who's on the top of the list of those with ZERO wins with 4 appearances?!?)