A lady named Miss Carrie....

Miss Carrie Cole

Sadly, our paths would never cross, yet Miss Carrie and I share something rather unique in common....we both love to cook for our CMPD friends in blue.

When I hosted my first dinner in December 2009, I had never heard of Miss Carrie. It happened to be my birthday that day, but I didn't let on. Without question, it was (and still is) my best birthday ever! That was over 4-1/2 years  ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. I guess that's because I was so nervous. I wasn't sure if anyone would come, but four officers stopped by that first night. 

A second dinner would soon follow in February 2010, and then another in April and May, and then breakfast started in June 2010 for first shift every other Saturday.

It didn't take long for Miss Carrie's name to come up in conversation. I could see a smile in the eyes of every officer who mentioned her name, as if they were remembering.

I am not a (real) cook like I think Miss Carrie was. I am limited on what I can cook because there are a lot foods that I do not like. How can you cook something if you don't know what it's supposed to taste like? So I stick to the kind of meals that you might find on a 'Blue Plate Special' like chicken pot pie, spaghetti, lasagna, meat loaf and pot roast -- the traditional 'comfort food'.

Over the years I have gotten to know which officers don't like tomatoes; some don't like peas; one officer doesn't eat pork. It is the cutest thing. Cooking for these officers really is like cooking for a real family and I try to be accommodating. When I sent an email out about my last Chicken Pot Pie dinner, I made a special point to say 'NO PEAS!"

Miss Carrie cooked Sunday meals for the CMPD for nearly 20 years. I have heard about Miss Carrie's fried chicken and wish she was here to show me how to make it the way she did.

Miss Carrie passed away December 22, 2004. If I could tell Miss Carrie's family one thing, I would want them to know how often I hear her name from my friends. Her memory is still very much alive in their hearts. The above picture of her hangs in the hallway at the CMPD Police Academy. Clearly she was loved by so many officers and by the Department.

Even though I never knew Miss Carrie, I think of her often. She is probably too busy and happy in Heaven to look down on us, but if she does, I hope she can see her friends are well-loved and appreciated.

♥

An epiphany for AHOP....

This week has been a GREAT week! It didn't really start out that way though. Just a lot on my mind about work, about life (my life), and about AHOP.  

AHOP has been going in different directions for a while now, and it has changed a lot in the last four years. I think about 'what's next?' all the time. Not that that's a bad thing. I just think about it a lot.  

Then Tuesday night, the tide changed and Annie had an epiphany. I think some may refer to it as an 'ah-ha' moment. 

I made a special cream puff drop to my new friends in the Metro Division. This was my second puff drop to these big-hearted 3rd shift officers. I have gotten to know them through my volunteer work in the gift shop, and I knew there was something special about them because they never fail to stop by the gift shop to say 'thank you' before they leave. They are all just super nice and a class act. 

So when I emailed one of the officers to set up a day and time to stop by, I received an email back saying "they would wait for me outside and greet me with open arms." 

Well, they weren't kidding! They surprised me with these lovely spring flowers and a thank you card. 

I won't tell you how many cream puffs each officer had (I plead the 5th...what happens at AHOP, stays at AHOP), but I will say that they LOVE them! I stayed for roll call and had such a nice visit. 

So here's where the epiphany comes in....

I have been so busy moping around missing my 'family around the table', that I didn't take notice at how much the officers all over the city were enjoying the other stuff I was doing. I kept thinking I wasn't doing 'enough' or making a difference because I wasn't serving my friends at the table.

But to the contrary. After receiving the text message on Monday from my friend Sharon, and my wonderful visit on Tuesday -- well, I thought my heart would explode with happiness on the way home.

If making cream puffs and other treats is all God wants me to do right now, I can do that! AHOP has evolved once already and she will probably evolve again....I just need to listen to God's still small voice.

♥

When I am blue.....

Nobody has a perfect life.....not even AHOP. Trying to juggle everything in a single working girl's life is not always fun. I down right hate it sometimes. I have to put my big-girl britches on many times and do things I am not particularly good at, like calling the cable company to yell at them and tell they have the worst customer service on the planet; bartering/negotiating when getting quotes for projects around the house (painting, yard help, etc.) I'm terrible at it.

And you would think I would get some kind of satisfaction when the negotiations turn in my favor, but I don't. I am so emotionally exhausted from the whole thing that I just want it over.  

Today was one of those days I had a lot on my mind. When the crapola comes down so fast I think I need a hard hat, but then the thick clouds of life seem to pass and I get a text message that chases away my blues almost instantly, like this one. Still, after almost 4-1/2 years of cooking for my sweet friends in blue, a simple text message puts a smile on my face and a few happy tears in my eyes.

♥

Happy Val♥ntine's Day!

On Valentine's Day, I love to see the flower trucks running from one business to the other. I love seeing the boyfriends and husbands standing in the Hallmark line on Valentine's Day during their lunch hour sweating bullets (no pun intended) after all the really cute cards are all picked over and gone. 

And I love the thought that every person has a soul mate.... a 'split-part'.  

The Split-Apart Theory -- The first ever written reference to each person having a destined mate was given from the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato (427 BC-348 BC). Plato's theory was that each human being is part of one soul, in which they only have half of. The idea is that the soul was "split-apart" and separated from each other– and, since that time, the two halves have been forever searching for one another in order to join together and regain their sense of original created wholeness. 

And here's a fairy-tale movie you might enjoy about mismatched people finding their way to their proper mates (their split-apart). It's called The Butcher's Wife. It's about a Greenwich Village butcher who returns from a NC fishing trip, and he can't wait to show off his prize catch....his beautiful wife, a country clairvoyant named Marina (Demi Moore). But the butcher's pride turns to prime concern when he hears gossip about a backwoods psychic whose charms are turning hardened city dwellers into love-struck kids. Great cast: Demi Moore, Jeff Daniels, Mary Steenburgen and Frances MacDormand. 

  

However you spend your Valentine's Day, I hope it is with someone who still makes your heart skip a beat when you get a text message in the middle of the day and she tells you your arms still drive her crazy. Or you text her to tell her she has nice legs, even though she knows she doesn't. The one who still surprises you with the teeniest little things so you can't wait to get home at night.  ♥

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All of the above vintage valentine cards were found on Pinterest.

♥

That Pooh....he was a wise old bear!
(Picture credit: Pinterest)

What a mother sees.....

In December 2009, four officers came to my very first dinner. That was over 4-1/2 years ago and I remember exactly what I served -- lasagna, salad, garlic toast, sweet tea, and I think I made a cheesecake for dessert.  

One officer reached out to give me a hug to say thank you before he left. I patted him on the back (my secret way of checking to see if he had his bullet proof vest on, and he did), and I thought to myself that very first night, "Oh my gosh...you're just a baby to have such a big and dangerous job!" And I can say this to some of these officers because I AM, after all, old enough to be their mother.    

So many of these officers right out of the academy are so young, but they have been put through the endurance wringer with extensive testing and training (written, psychological, and physical.) They have chosen a noble profession and certainly not a profession for the faint of heart.  

Whether an officer is 21 or 51 they are out there doing what they love....serving and protecting their community, and so many in very volatile and dangerous areas.    

In reality, they may look like this.....

Picture credit: Tampa Police Department (my hometown)

But in a mother's eyes, they will always look like this.

    

~  ~  ~  ~

What is a policeman ~ by Paul Harvey

~  ~  ~  ~

"When God Made Police Officers"

When the Lord was creating Police Officers,
he was into his sixth day of
overtime when an angel appeared and said,
"You're doing a lot of fiddling
around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the spec on this order?
A Police Officer has to be able to run five miles through
alleys in the dark, scale walls, enter
homes the health inspector wouldn't touch,
and not wrinkle his uniform.
He has to be able to sit in an undercover car
all day on a stakeout, cover
a homicide scene that night, canvass the
neighborhood for witnesses, and
testify in court the next day."

"He has to be in top physical condition at all times,
running on black coffee and half-eaten meals.
And he has to have six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said,
"Six pairs of hands... no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems,"
said the Lord, "it's the
three pairs of eyes an Officer has to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded.
"One pair that sees through a bulge in a pocket
before he asks: May I see
what's in there, sir?
(When he already knows.)
Another pair here in the side of his head
for his partner's safety.
And another pair of eyes here in front that
can look reassuringly
at a bleeding victim and say:
You'll be all right ma'am."
(When he knows it isn't so.)

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve,
"rest and work on this tomorrow."
"I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a
model that can talk a 250 pound drunk into a patrol
car without incident and feed a family of five
on a civil service paycheck."
The angel circled the model of the police
officer very slowly, "Can it think?" she asked.

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the
elements of a hundred crimes; recite Miranda warnings
in its sleep; detain, investigate,
search, and arrest a gang member on the street
in less time than it takes five learned judges to debate
the legality of the stop... and still,
it keeps its sense of humor."

"This officer also has phenomenal personal
control. He can deal with crime scenes painted in hell,
coax a confession from a child abuser, comfort a murder
victim's family, and then read in the daily
paper how law enforcement isn't sensitive to the
rights of criminal suspects."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger
across the cheek of the police officer. "There's a leak,"

she pronounced. "I told you that you were trying to
put too much into this model."
"That's not a leak," said the Lord, "it's a tear."
"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.
"It's for bottled-up emotions, for fallen comrades,
for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the
American flag, and for justice."
"You're a genius," said the angel.
The Lord looked somber.

"I didn't put it there," he said.

~ Author Unkown

Note:  I would like to point out that the above poem "When God Made Police Officers" was adapted by an original story by the late Erma Bombeck.  I didn't realize it until a friend mentioned it.  The story I found had no author's name linked to it.  Nobody could tell a story like Erma Bombeck. She was an extremely talented writer and a very funny lady.  Click here for her original story entitled "When God Created Mothers."

Picture credit:  Boy Officer (Google) and K9-Kid from Facebook.

♥

Simple brown gravy

Every once in a while you prepare a meal and you just wish you had a little gravy to go with it. But without any pan drippings to build from, you resort to packaged or jar gravy.

Meatloaf is a perfect example.

I have been working on this gravy recipe since August 2012 when I made my very first meatloaf for my friends in blue.  And every time I made it, I tweaked the recipe just a little trying to get it just right and I think I finally have it where it is not only tasty - or at least as good as you can get it without pan drippings - and easy to make.

I really goofed it up one time and followed a famous Food Network chef's suggestion and added ketchup. Don't do that!

I wish I had a picture of how good this gravy came out today.  I made meatloaf for my friends in the South Division, complete with mash potatoes, those delicious green bean bundles, rolls, and sweet tea.

Not everyone cares for gravy on their potatoes, but for me it is a must.  No question!  And since I took 'To-Go' meals down to the station, everybody got gravy whether they wanted it or not.  This brown gravy is so much better than store-bought and super quick and easy to make.  Nothing can compare to a gravy made with pan drippings, but this is a close second.

I doubled the recipe that I followed, because if you think about it, 2 cups is really not all that much and then you'll have the extra 2 cups for leftovers or freezing.  I NEVER have any left over.

If you make this simple brown gravy, I would love to hear from you.

~ ~ ~ 

Simple Brown Gravy
Adapted from this recipe

2 cups water
1 'extra large' Knorr beef bouillon cube
2 cups of beef stock
1/4 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder *
1/8 tsp onion powder *
1/4 tsp black pepper *
Salt as needed
 
Thickener
4 tablespoons cold water
4 tablespoons corn starch

• Dissolve bouillon cube in 2 cups of boiling water.  Add the beef stock, butter, and all of other ingredients - everything EXCEPT the thickener.
• Once the mixture boils, mix the cold water and cornstarch in a coffee cup.  You may need to add a tiny bit more water, but it should be the consistency of runny glue.  
• Slowly pour in thickener, while stirring. Continue boiling for 2-3 more minutes, still stirring. Remove from heat and let cool to thicken more. 
• I added 1 extra tablespoon of cornstarch, plus 1 tablespoon water  
• Add more Kitchen Bouquet if you like your gravy darker, but I didn't think it needed it.  

* NOTE:  The garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper measure was based on the original recipe I followed for a 2-cup yield, so if you're making 4 cups of gravy (like I did) you might want to add more garlic and onion powder.  Start out though with the measure as shown, then taste and add more if needed.

Sweet dreams, Miss Isabelle.....

I have always tried to preserve this blog to only AHOP-related stories and recipes, telling my readers that "it's not about me."

But sometimes it is about me.  I said goodbye to my sweet Miss Isabelle on Thursday and I am heartbroken. I held her sweet little face in my hands just like I always did at home and told her how much I loved her, and then she drifted away. 

When the AHOP light was on in the window for breakfast or dinner, Isabelle always enjoyed making an appearance in the dining room to say hello to the 1st and 2nd shift officers.  She would weave her little black and white body in-between their legs at the table or just sit there long enough so Officer Tom would pet the top of her little head.  She also knew if she bothered them 'just long enough', I would stop and feed her (again).  

Officer Tom always looked for Miss Isabelle before he left so he could say good-bye.  He would pass through the den where she was usually on the ottoman or in her big comfy chair and he would give her a pat on the head and say...."Bye Izzie".

The quiet in my house now is almost unbearable.  I would give anything to flip a pancake or two, or make a meatloaf right now -- just to keep me busy.  I have never missed my friends more.   

Sweet dreams, Miss Isabelle.....  ♥

"What we have once enjoyed 

we can never lose. All that we love 

deeply becomes a part of us."

~ Helen Keller

   "The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is
grief. But the pain of grief is only a
 shadow when compared to the pain of 
never risking love.”
– Hilary Stanton Zunin

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes.....Oh. My. Gosh!

Okay, so most of you who follow my little blog already know I am not a 'trained' cook.  I am just a working girl with two jobs who enjoys cooking for my friends when I can. 

Every new recipe I make is pretty intense and there is always self-induced kitchen drama -- especially when I'm cooking dinner for 2nd shift.  I freak out over lots of little things because I don't know what I'm doing half the time.

So I really love it when a recipe comes my way that is almost 'fool-proof' -- like this one.  These Pumpkin Spice cupcakes, although a little labor intensive, came out perfectly by just following the directions.  

The flavors in this cupcake (pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves) all blend together so beautifully to make this little cupcake exquisite.

In fact, they were so good, I sold three dozen the very first time I made them.  And, except for a colleague who needed some cream puffs for a PTA meeting, I have NEVER sold anything I have made. Three different people, after having just one cupcake, asked if they could buy a dozen for their Thanksgiving dinner. And they basically said....'just tell me how much you want for them.'  Wow!  Now that's a pretty good guarantee that these cupcakes are delicious.  And no thanks to me....I just followed the directions.  It's not even my recipe.  Thank you to my colleague, Miss Heather B., for sharing this one with me.  I hope I made her proud.

Here it is!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 (3.4 oz) package Jello brand instant butterscotch pudding mix

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt (optional...I did not use in mine)

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
Paper cupcake liners
2 muffin tins (holds 12 cupcakes) * Recipe makes 24 cupcakes. I do not recommend halving the recipe, but make all 24. They will be eaten!  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins (12 ea) with 24 paper muffin/cupcake liners. 
• Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, and cloves in a bowl; set aside.
• Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color.  Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.  Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin puree with the last egg.  Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.  Place one paper liner in each muffin space. Pour the batter into paper cupcake liner. (see my notes below)
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes.  Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.  NOTE: I used a double-oven and put one tin in each oven.  If you have a single-oven,  I would probably bake one tin at a time.  I’m not sure how evenly it would cook w/ two tins in one oven, so use your own judgement there.
• After the cupcakes are completely cool, frost them with the cinnamon cream cheese icing.  

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing (Delicious!)

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth.  Beat in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time until incorporated.  Add the vanilla and ground cinnamon.  Beat until fluffy.  NOTE: You may need to add a little more confectioners' sugar to thicken the icing.  Try it with 3 cups first, and then add more if you want the icing to be thicker, but not too much, as you don't want it so sweet it won't compliment the taste of the cupcake.  I did add a little more, but not much. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before icing them.

Notes:  

• The first time I made this, I panicked because after I stirred in the flour, the batter was VERY thick and was NOT ‘pourable’ as the instructions given to me called for.  I scooped the mixture out using a spoon. 
• The second time I made this, I used a scoop like this and it went much, MUCH faster.  I use this scoop for my cream puffs also and it is such a time saver.  The scoop size is a 2” circle. 
• If you use the scoop, put one scoop in each of the 24 cups, then go back with a spoon and evenly distribute the mixture until cups are ¾ filled.  Keep swirling the mixture around with a spoon to get the mixture to settle down. 
• You won't use all of mixture, so don't worry. 

I used a 16" pastry bag for the frosting and the Wilton tip #1M.

♥

Easy Peasy ROLO Chocolate Turtles

This has to be THE easiest sweet treat to make in the whole world.

I made these beautiful chocolate turtles for the first time last Saturday to take to the gift shop. By the time I left at 3:00 am, there were only 3 left, so I ate them.  

Nothing about making these is hard and the only time-consuming part is standing at the kitchen counter and unwrapping 50+ ROLO candies.

Enjoy!

This is all you need (plus parchment paper). 

Place pretzels on baking sheet lined with parchment paper - one for each Rolo.

Top each pretzel with one Rolo and bake at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes.

Top each softened candy with a pecan halve.  

And that's it!!  

♥ ♥ ♥

Easy Peasy ROLO Chocolate Turtles

Adapted from the back of the ROLO bag and here

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2.  Place one pretzel for each ROLO on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Top each pretzel with one unwrapped ROLO Chewy Caramel in Milk Chocolate.

3.  Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until caramel piece begins to soften, but not melt.  Start checking the candy at 3 minutes.  You want to make sure the candy is soft, but not melted.  I think mine were ready at 3-1/2 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with pecan half. Cool completely.  I put mine in the refrigerator.

Do what you love.....

This year has been a discombobulated year for AHOP. 

It has increasingly gotten harder for the officers to come to my home for Saturday breakfast. They are busy from the get-go and their territory is huge, and my own work schedule doesn't offer me the flexibility any more to host weekday dinners. As much as I miss them sitting at my table, we have found it easier if I take dinner to them, and more officers get to enjoy it that way too.  

To say it hasn't made me sad to not hear the chatter and laughter at my table and to see the officer's sweet faces as they walk through my front door would be an understatement. But nothing THIS wonderful lasts forever, right?  Or does it?

"When we lose one blessing, another is often most

unexpectedly given in its place.”  ~ C. S. Lewis

In June of this year, I became an official CMPD volunteer. I knew my own division couldn't use me since I work during the day and have a part-time job, but I figured something would come along (eventually) and it would be a perfect fit. I knew it had to be something special to fill my sadness from losing my breakfast bunch.  

In July, I made a midnight cream puff drop to Charlotte's unsung heroes -- the 911 call-takers and dispatchers. I met a supervisor that night whom I hadn't met before and I told her that I was a new volunteer without a project. She told me about the police gift shop which is located at the CMPD headquarters. She said the shop was always closed during 3rd shift. 

Enter blessing #2.....

The next day I emailed the officer who oversees the volunteers and I told her I was interested in volunteering in the gift shop for 3rd shift. I think she must have read my email and thought I was a little nuts, after all, 3rd shift IS in the middle of the night. 

So, after a brief interview with one of the Sergeants, I got the job! A volunteer job, that is. Of course, some training was involved, so I took a few vacation days and trained with Miss Judy, another volunteer. I love her! She was so kind and patient.

And here's the best part....the gift shop has allowed me to expand AHOP's hospitality to even more officers. 

Halloween treat table

I set up a little treat table in the break room outside the gift shop with hot coffee, cream puffs and whatever else I decide to make. Not only have my treats been well-received, it has made me realize how neglected 3^rd shift is. They are hard at work while most of the Queen City is asleep. When I refer to 3rd shift, it is not only the officers, but also the 911 call-takers and dispatchers. It makes me so happy to offer them a snack while they take a break. 

I guess you could say 'AHOP has her groove back!' It has been a long sad year, but my joy is back. The busyness, the planning....all of it! 

So the moral of the story is, if you're doing something you love and there's a bump in the road.....stop and regroup. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and figure it out!! We have to create our own happiness in this life.    

Will I ever see my officers at my table again? I hope so. The AHOP neon sign is still in the window and I miss lighting it up from time-to-time. 

But the truth is, I really don't know. But that's what makes life so grand. Something wonderful has been replaced by something wonderful, and I get to continue to do what I love....showing my friends in blue how much they are loved and appreciated -- one division and one officer at a time.     

♥

   

The Gift Shop is Open!!

Fall treat table

Christmas treat table - 12/7/13

Another Christmas treat table (12/14/13) -- see video below

The last Christmas treat table for 2013 - December 21, 2013

This last picture above, I cheated and had to stop by Krispy Creme donuts -- just too much to do.  But isn't it the cutest!!  

I took this quick video of one of my holiday treat tables so
you could see the blinking lights. Cute, huh?

For more information about the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Benevolent Fund Gift Shop, click here.

Charlotte's Finest Legacy

I had the pleasure of volunteering at the 4th Annual "Thin Blue Line 5K Walk/Run" last Saturday. It was my first volunteer event since my volunteer orientation in July. I had the pleasure also of meeting other volunteers who were there for the same reason I was. They were all so sweet and  genuine. I hope our paths will cross again soon. I worked the registration table for a short time and then helped pass out water to the runners at the halfway mark.

The event was sponsored by Charlotte's Finest Legacy Foundation -- a foundation established to honor and remember Officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton who were killed in the line of duty on April 1, 2007. The foundation is a scholarship foundation that rewards scholarships to deserving high school seniors who are seeking a career in law enforcement. When you support this foundation, you support future generations of police officers.

For more information on Charlotte's Finest Legacy Foundation, or to make a donation, please visit their website at: www.charlottesfinestlegacy.com

We will never forget.....time will not diminish our respect for these two officers....they gave the ultimate sacrifice.

End of Watch - April 1, 2007
Officer Sean Clark

Officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton were responding to what should have been a routine disturbance call for service at the Timber Ridge Apartments near Milton Road in east Charlotte the night of Saturday, March 31, 2007.  They were both shot in the head around 11:15 p.m. while struggling with a suspect in the apartment complex parking lot. They died at Carolinas Medical Center in the early morning hours of April 1, 2007, but not before officers picked up Demeatrius Montgomery, who later was charged with their murder. The suspect was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The suspect has five prior convictions for resisting arrest and assaulting a government official. On September 30, 2010, he was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Officer Clark, 34, was hired January 23, 2006 and graduated in the 148th Recruit Class. He was a 1991 graduate of West Mecklenburg High School and had served in the United States Air Force before joining CMPD. He was married, with a 3-1/2 year old son. He and his wife were awaiting the birth of their second son. Read more: http://www.odmp.org/officer/18829-police-officer-sean-clark#ixzz20cdd4CDY

End of Watch - April 1, 2007
Officer Jeff Shelton

Officers Jeff Shelton and Sean Clark were responding to what should have been

a routine disturbance call for service at the Timber Ridge Apartments near Milton Road in east Charlotte the night of Saturday, March 31, 2007.  They were both shot in the head around 11:15 p.m. while struggling with a suspect in the apartment complex parking lot. They died at Carolinas Medical Center in the early morning hours of April 1, 2007, but not before officers picked up Demeatrius Montgomery, who later was charged with their murder. The suspect was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The suspect has five prior convictions for resisting arrest and assaulting a government official. On September 30, 2010, he was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Officer Shelton, 35, was hired February 28, 2001 and graduated in the 136th Recruit Class. Officer Shelton had served with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for six years and was assigned to the North Tryon Division. He is survived by his wife. Read more: http://www.odmp.org/officer/18830-police-officer-jeff-shelton#ixzz20cZv4LV8

                                                                                 ♥

How to deseed a Pomegranate in 10 seconds....huh?

It was less than two weeks ago that I tasted my very first Pomegranate seed - ever - in my entire life! Although, I have to admit, I do enjoy a good Pomegranate Martini....does that count?  I didn't even know what a whole Pomegranate looked like until I saw this video. It looks kind of like an apple, if you asked me. Anyway, my sweet co-worker, Tammy, had a little container of Pomegranate seeds and she let me try one.

Since having only recently tried my first Pomegranate seed, I don't know that much about them, but one thing I have quickly learned is they are, apparently, a big pain in the butt to deseed....until now!

Thank you to my friend, Kat, for sharing this video with me. I immediately shared it with my friend, Tammy. She said she tried it and it works!

Any Pomegranate eaters out there....if you try this, would love your feedback.
   

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