About Me

Originally from Tampa/Brandon FL, I have made my home under the Carolina blue skies for the past 34 years.

By day, I am an executive assistant, and by night, a blogger, foodie, and amateur cook, documenting my adventures and showing my appreciation to the officers in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

In 2008, my home was broken into (twice). After the second break-in, I did some volunteer work to fight crime on a community/citizen level and met several officers in my own division through that.       

In December 2009, I hosted my first dinner for 2nd shift to say thank you. I was really nervous that day because I had no idea if anyone would show up. But they did show up, and I am happy to say that four officers came for dinner that first night. I remember exactly what I served: Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread, and a homemade NY Cheesecake.

After the first dinner in 2009, I invited the officers in my own division to my home every 6 weeks or so, when one day in early June 2010, word got back to me that the 1st shift sergeant started asking about the lady who was cooking dinner for 2nd shift. He said "if she'd ever like to cook for 1st shift, we'd love to come for breakfast" (music to any cook's ears). So on June 26, 2010, I cooked my very first breakfast for 1st shift and had the joy of visiting with these officers every other Saturday morning for almost 2-1/2 years.

AHOP, a/k/a Annie’s House of Pancakes, is not a real business -- it is just a nickname the officers gave me when I started cooking breakfast for 1st shift.

AHOP continues to evolve to accommodate the officers I serve, and it has changed a lot in the last 12 years. From cooking dinner for 2nd shift, to dinner for 2nd and flipping pancakes for 1st, to just lunch and dinner now for 2nd shift and 3rd shift. And my cream puffs have really taken off! My 'Po-Po' puffs (named by one of the South officers) are delivered to officers all over the Queen City with my ongoing gratitude. AHOP is now more commonly known as "The Cream Puff Lady". 

My heart is happiest when I am busy serving my friends.

Everyone wants to feel needed and appreciated, and that’s what serving my friends has done for me. For the first time in my adult life, I feel like I belong somewhere.

    ♥

NOTE:  This blog is not approved or endorsed by the CMPD. It is just a place for my thoughts to go when I serve these fine people who have thankless and underappreciated jobs. It is also a way for me to share my stories and recipes with others who find my adventure remotely interesting, and to encourage others to find a way to give back to their own police department, wherever they may live.