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A recent poll found that California is the least popular state in the United States.

Rubbish! I’m calling jealousy.

We’ve only been here 7 months but we LOVE California. The sunshine, the perfect 72 degree plus or minus 10 degrees weather, the laid back atmosphere, the friendly folks, the year-round fruits/veggies, the access to the beaches and the mountains, etc.

Obviously California has a reputation among non-Californians (land of the fruits and nuts?).

Today’s More About You Monday question is: When you think “California” what do you think? (Say whatever you must…we will not be offended!)

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Yesterday we got home from church and lunch and dove right into our beds for long naps. Lauren took a two hour nap. Dave, Hope and I slept from 12:30 to 4:30pm. It was blissful.

I don’t normally remember dreams but I had a really vivid one. It went something like this:

Lauren suddenly became a huge St. Louis Cardinals (sorry Uncle Steve) and Mark McGuire fan. She started praying that Mark would accept Jesus as his Savior. We decided to fly to Hawaii for a Cardinals game and while on the flight, Lauren saw on the news that Mark had indeed become a Christian. She was so excited! Apparently he had gone to a Billy Graham type crusade at a swimming pool where the Gaithers were singing and someone was doing cartwheels. That did it for him and he marched right up and accepted Jesus! All of a sudden we weren’t on the flight anymore but driving around the desert in California. Hope needed a nap so we stopped at a Bed & Breakfast that looked like something straight out of New England (big Victorian house). Dave and Hope laid down for a nap and Lauren wanted to read out on the big wrap-around porch. I decided to keep driving around. (That right there would never happen as I get lost. A lot.) I drove up a mountain and found snow all over. The car was slippin’ and slidin’ back down the mountain but I finally made it back to the B&B. That’s when we realized that we hadn’t checked into a room. Dave and Hope had just marched right in and taken a nap in an empty bedroom. So, we found the owner and paid and went on our merry way. Then I was reading a journal written by a farmer from back east who had traveled by covered wagon in the 1800s all the way to California. He kept talking about stopping in the desert and building a home because they were so tired of traveling and I was thinking, “NO, NO, keep going!!! You are almost to the coast. You can do it! You’ve got to get to the coast. Get a big plot of land on the coast and your descendants will be sooooooooo rich!”

Right then Lauren tapped me on the shoulder, jolting me right out of my most wondrous dream.

Today’s More About You Monday question is: Do you remember dreams? Any funny, strange, scary, etc. dreams you want to share?

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I’m working on a big, long Christmas post but in the mean time, how about something free?

My MOPS group had a Scentsy fund-raiser. Uh oh. Me and strong candle smells do not go well together, starting all the way back in 9th grade. Why 9th grade? Because my 9th grade English teacher kept mulberry potpourri in her classroom, which introduced me to ocular migraines.

Nonetheless, I picked a few Scentsy bars for the fund-raiser thinking just maybe I would be able to handle yummy food smells. Unfortunately, that’s a no. They do smell delicious but not delicious enough to warrant a headache.

So, if you don’t have any problem with fabulous candle scents, leave a comment telling us about your hopes and dreams for 2012 and you’ll be entered to win the following:

1. Scentsy Bloom Plug-In Warmer

2. Extra Light Bulb

3. Mochadoodle Scentsy bar

4. Peach a la Mode Scentsy bar

5. Sugar Cookie Scentsy bar

Today’s More About You Monday question (which, if you answer, will get you one step closer to free Scentsy stuff) is: What are your hopes and dreams for 2012?

We will pick one winner (randomly, of course) on Wednesday and announce on Thursday.

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The holidays are a time of excitement and cheer but for many they are also painful.

Do you have anything you would like us to pray about? Do you need a job? Are you fighting an illness? Do you feel discouraged? Is a loved one going through hard times?

Lauren, photo by Rashmi Pappu

Today’s More About You Monday question is: What can we pray for today?

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I am making cookies for a cookie exchange this week. I think I am going to make Chocolate Chip Mexican Wedding Cookies.

Today’s More About You Monday question is: What is your favorite Christmas cookie? (And please feel free to share a recipe!)

Photo from howardbealeszucchinibuffet.blogspot.com

Today’s More About You Monday question is: What sort of Black Friday shopper are you? If you got some great deals this year, feel free to share and let those of us who didn’t do any crazy-deal-shopping this year live vicariously through you!

Today’s More About You Monday question is: Are you and/or your kids dressing up for Halloween tonight? If so, what are you/they wearing?

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Dave and I follow a few blogs. One of my favorites is Kelle Hampton’s blog. Kelle has two daughters. Nella is the same age as Hope and has Down Syndrome. Kelle is a photographer and I have gotten many creative ideas from her blog. I’ve had varying success “copying” her ideas but I love to look and see what she is up to!

I took this picture of Hope after Kelle took a similar picture of Nella.

I love to be inspired and Kelle’s blog does just that for me.

As an incentive (or bribe…we are not above bribing!) to get you guys to answer and give us ideas of other blogs to follow, leave a comment and Tuesday at noon Pacific time, we will randomly choose a winner of a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

Today’s More About You Monday question is: What blogs do you read?

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Today’s More About You Monday question is an easy one: What is your favorite TV show?

I’ll answer first. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I would have said American Idol. I love American Idol! My friend Lori and I even went to an American Idol concert in D.C. Fun, fun! However, I am enjoying X Factor (Simon Cowell’s new show) even more. It’s like American Idol except better. But, it is missing Ryan Seacrest. I figure it is only a matter of time before Simon woos him away from AI.

So, tell us. What is your favorite TV show? If it’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey, fess up!

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Today’s More About You Monday question is: What famous people have you met or seen up close and personal?

We’ll start by sharing a few pictures.

This is Dave and P.J. O’Rourke. P.J. is a political satirist and author.

There is a funny story behind this picture. About 11 years ago, Dave and I went to a book sale with Wes (Dave’s brother) and his wife, Karen. It was one of those $5 per bag sales. Wes stuck P.J.’s Give War A Chance in Dave’s bag as a joke. That started a few years of Dave hiding the book at Wes and Karen’s house and then when they found the book, Wes would hide it at our house. I vaguely remember the book being found under mattresses, inside hard drives, etc. Of course, Dave and Wes left notes for each other inside the book. When Dave saw a notice that P.J. would be signing autographs at a bookstore near us, we had to go! P.J. signed the book, “Wes, Give War Another Chance” and Dave taped this picture inside the book before he hid it again at Wes’s house. Hmmm, where is that book now?

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This is me and Christian rapper, TobyMac. Almost 10 years ago, he came to our local Christian book store and signed autographs. So, I stood in line for an autograph for Dave!

We had just gotten a Nikon N80 — Nikon, gasp! We had no earthly idea how to use it other than to point and shoot. Toby asked to see my camera and promptly changed some of the settings. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that he had to change my camera back to the way I had it! Poor guy. He probably set it to manual, what we should have been doing all along!

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Last but not least, Chris Rock. Dave’s paparazzi picture.

In 2002, Dave and I went to see a Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles baseball game. Actually, we watched two games, a double header. In between games, Chris Rock was filming a scene from his upcoming movie, Head of State. They announced that they needed a bunch of fans in the background so we did our best to position ourselves as close to Chris as we could. We almost made it into the movie. We were on the very edge of a shot. The person sitting next to us was in the scene but we got cut off. Boo!

And here we are in the stands.

So, tell us who you have met or seen up close!