Last night was fun… and interesting.
I had plans to meet up with my best friend and former college roommate (and bridesmaid!), Laurel, between our two homes in Tavares, Florida for dinner.
We met up around 7 p.m. and had a great time catching up and chatting away as always. There’s just something so fabulous about friends you’ve had for years!
Though we finished eating within an hour, we ended up hanging out and talking until around 10 p.m. when we said our goodbyes and I hopped in my car for the hour-long drive home.
The towns between Tavares and Ocala are quite small (Tavares and Ocala are quite small themselves) and the drive had me on a lot of very dark, rural roads which was kind of creepy. My mind started to think about what I would do if I got a flat tire and had to pull over which naturally freaked me out.
When I was about 20 minutes from home, a car drove up really fast behind me. I naturally changed lanes to let the car pass, but it changed lanes, too, staying right behind me. I switched lanes again and it switched lanes along with me.
And then it put on its lights.
It was a cop!
Duh.
A cop who looked exactly like James Marsden.
For real.
I pulled over and the officer asked for my driver’s license as I blurted out that he totally freaked me out! I told him that he had me convinced he was a drunk driver harassing me on the road!
Apparently I was going 15 miles an hour over the speed limit, but the friendly officer let me go with a warning, at which point I said, “You’re really not giving me a ticket?” (Gosh, shut up, Julie.)
“No. Just remember to keep an eye on your speed.”
“Okay. Thank you so much,” I said.
And then, in true over-sharing fashion, I asked him whether or not anyone has ever told him that he looks exactly like the guy from the movie 27 Dresses, which surely he has seen, right?
Someone put a muzzle on me, please.
For the record, the officer said he gets the James Marsden thing all the time. Just probably not from people he pulls over after 11 p.m. on a random Wednesday night.
So, we learned two things from my experience last night:
- Drive slow and obey the speed limit
- If you’re single and looking for a James Marsden look-alike boyfriend, speed through Ocala at 11 p.m. on a Wednesday night
Breakfast
Breakfast this morning is quickly becoming a new favorite.
I enjoyed a plate of two toasted whole wheat waffles topped with a mixture of ricotta cheese and cottage cheese, a chopped nectarine and cinnamon.
I’ve never been a huge syrup lover, so I am a big fan of topping my waffles with something a little different – something packed with protein!
I’ve also noticed that eating waffles topped with ricotta cheese, Greek yogurt or cottage cheese really helps me feel satisfied for much longer than eating waffles simply topped with syrup. The extra protein punch really helps with satiety.
Time to finish up one freelance project and brainstorm article ideas for my next contribution to What’s Up Ocala magazine. I have a few pitches in my mind and need to type them up and send them out for approval.
Wishing you a day free of run-ins with the law! 
Question of the Morning
- Do you have any interesting stories that involve being pulled over by a police officer?
Perhaps my most interesting incident happened in college when I got pulled over for rolling a stop sign on the UCF campus. The officer pulled me over in the parking lot of my sorority house, at which point another cop joined him with his lights flashing and parked me in, drawing an excessive amount of attention to the incident.
When I went to get the officer my driver’s license, I realized I didn’t have it on me (I left it in a different purse) and instead gave him my student ID. The officer then lectured me about the importance of having my driver’s license in the car with me at all times as my sorority sisters all gathered at the window to catch a glimpse of the convict in the driveway.
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Oh you crack me up Julie. You have such humor in your posts! Love it!
That is too funny! I’ve been pulled over twice – the first he let me go with a warning because my speedometer was broken (it read 60 when I was at a dead stop) and the second time I got my first ticket for an illegal u-turn.
The day I got my first ticket I was running late to work, it was the day before a huge vacation so I was mega-stressed, and later that night, my now-husband proposed to me!
awwww – even a speeding ticket can’t ruin THAT day!!
Breakfast looks amazing! I’ve never gotten a ticket (knock on wood) but I’ve been pulled over about 3 times!
Oh gosh…this post did make me giggle. I’m glad that Officer Marsden was at least a nice guy and didn’t give you a ticket!
(That totally would have freaked me out, though, especially if I were driving alone at night. Yikes.)
it really did freak me out! i was so flustered when he came up to my window that i didn’t know WHAT to say other than, “you scared me!”
Ha ha oh my goodness! The story about getting pulled over in your sorority house parking lot is crazy! Maybe one of those you laugh now at, but not as much then? 🙂 lol! I have been pulled over twice in my life, but haven’t gotten a ticket yet (knock on wood)! However, neither of the cops who pulled me over resembled James Marsden in the least bit! Ha
Oh my! I’m glad that you didn’t get a ticket. That is hilarious that he looked like James Marsden and that you said something to him. I would have been too nervous to say anything!
Breakfast looks yummy! 🙂
I’ve been pulled over twice – the first was when I was like 18 and I was coming home from tennis practice. All of a sudden, I saw flashing lights – apparently, someone called the police on me! I had no idea why the officer stopped me and he told me that someone notified the station that I ran a stop sign (really?!?) To this very day I still have no idea where the stop sign is…
The second time I was driving my ex’s car (my mom needed mine) and I was coming home from a night out with my girls in Atlantic City. I offerred to drive, but apparently I didn’t turn on my lights! It was 2am and I was not drinking so nothing happened – he just showed me how to turn on my lights 🙂
Oh my gosh I would love to get pulled over by James Marsden. You should have pulled a Rachel and Ross and been like “you know officer you were in dreams last night”
hello… officer pretty. 🙂
haha, i thought I was a Friends nut, but you just don’t miss a beat Julie! I don’t care if they have been playing the re-runs for a billion years, it is STILL so good! 😉
My friend was driving in high school and we got pulled over by a cop. Admittedly, she was going too fast for a city street, but we were in HS, what do you expect?
Anyway, after we turned a corner, a cop car was racing behind us lights flashing and siren blowing. We figured he was on his way to a call so we pulled out of his way. He pulled over behind us! TWO cops got out of the car and one stood next to her door and one next to the passenger door.
They asked what we were doing and we said headed back to school to get our books. He then proceeded to ask us, three teenage girls in Catholic School uniforms, if we were selling drugs. We looked puzzled and I guess he knew he had the wrong people. But he said “there are people selling drugs out of that grocery store that you just flew past. Slow down ladies. You look suspicious.”
We were terrified!
you crazy druggies. 😉
Hahaha oh Julie that is so funny! I am the same way like sometimes in my head Im like GOSH SHUT UP to myself in those situations haha
Actually in the [small] town i lived in in alaska, i knew a lot of the state troopers because my boss’ husband was the sargeant. i got pulled over for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign one day and the cop that did the shpeal had a young cop (a trainee) standing behind him observing. they let me off but when i got back to the office a few hours later my boss’ husband came in and asked me if i got pulled over today… and iw as like YES hwo did you know? and he was like you were QUITE the talk of the station today! apparently the trainee had mentioned he had a thing for me and they made fun of him for it all day!
and then a week later he pulled me over for speeding (i was even in a different car so it had to be a coincidence!) but he let me off again haha
I’ve never been pulled over for a ticket, but once when I was in college and home for the summer, I was driving home fairly late from my summer job and my car broke down in the middle of an intersection. I obviously panicked, and a police officer showed up about a minute or so later but he was very rude and yelled at me for not knowing if my car registration was under my mom or my dad’s name without looking at the registration (made worse as my dad had died the year before and I didn’t know if it had been switched over to my mom’s name yet, and I’d been gone away at college all year) I was sobbing at this point and he didn’t even believe I was 16 despite my license (I was 20 at this point!) It was just awful. Thankfully, my brother arrived shortly thereafter and got it all settled.
I was pulled over on the way home from my best friend’s engagement party two summers ago. I had just gone through a light, but I knew for a fact that it was green as could be and I also knew for sure I wasn’t speeding. Turns out one of my headlights was out and the police were all up and down the road that night looking for drunk drivers. Thankfully all I got was a warning to get my headlight fixed as soon as possible (which I definitely did!).
I did also once hit two parked cars in the mall parking lot within about 10 minutes of each other, but since that was on private property I couldn’t be ticketed by the police. I also dropped a knife point down on my foot later that day, but that’s another story haha
Actually, my father is a retired Ocala PD officer so my embarrassing stories involved him pulling my friends or people who knew me over.
I’ve never been pulled over, but another embarrassment related to cops is being busted by your dad’s co-workers at parties in high school or being dropped off at school in your dad’s police car(!!!!) Sooo embarrassing as a high schooler haha!
So, you’re kind of making me want to come speed through Ocala just to meet this James Marsden mystery policeman…
No scary police run-ins for me. Just one ordinary speeding ticket, that I unsuccessfully cried my way out of. I was so panicked and didn’t know what to do, but luckily my friend in the passenger seat took charge and found my license and registration! Lesson learned – crying doesn’t always help
I got pulled over for the first time this past summer. I had just gotten back from my honeymoon & was going back in to school to start getting my classroom ready. Apparently I was going 41 in a 30?!?! A 30, SERIOUSLY? Anyway, he gave me a ticket — a pretty large one, too! It always puzzles me when I hear so many people get out of tickets… I guess I just wasn’t having a lucky day.
I was pulled over by a cop a few months after I moved to a new town. I knew the speed limit but used the “Oh sorry, I just moved here and didn’t know what the speed limit was” story. Fortunately, that worked and I got off with a warning. Then I told the cop I liked her nails – it looked like she had just gotten then done and they were bright pink. Bonehead moment…
Haha! That story reminds me of the Friends episode where Ross and Rachel are pulled over. Lucky he let you off the hook!!
I was pulled over for rolling through a stop sign about 2 days after I got my license. I was so upset when the lights started flashing that I broke into hysterics and my little sister had to remind me that I should probably pull over. Unfortunately, the officer had no sympathy for a sobbing 16 year old. 🙁
OMG I love James Marsden! In 27 Dresses especially. The bit where he’s singing Benny and the Jets is my favourite. 🙂 As for my cop stories, I once got pulled over for going a little faster than I should have as well… but I cried my way out of it! :S
1 word: Jealous….I probably would have squeeled with delight if a hottie like that pulled me over (after the blood returned to my legs and I stopped peeing my pants). Glad you got home safe! It was so great seeing you. Love you! Cruise in a little over a month!!!
WOOHOO! The cruise countdown is ON!
Smells like a road trip to me! Better yet that you didn’t get a ticket!
When I was in college, I got pulled over 3 different times for rolling through the same stop sign within the span of a year – by the same cop! The first time he gave me a warning, and the second time I got a ticket. The third time it happened, I was so scared, but I ended up getting a warning again!
The only time I’ve ever been pulled over was in high school. Apparently I rolled through a stop sign too! But it was after soccer practice and we were all on our way to a team dinner. My entire team drove by as I was pulled over and they all cheered when I finally walked in the house. It was pretty embarassing haha!
One time I left really early to drive back to college. I had written a note on my hand to remember something to put in the car. I guess I never checked the mirror before I left the house, because when I got pulled over an hour into my trip, the cop asked what was on my forehead. Sure enough, whatever I had written on my hand was stamped onto my forehead. He must have felt sorry for me because he let me go with a warning!
I’m so mad at you for getting off with a warning. I’ve gotten THREE (yes… three. stop judging me) speeding tickets and cried during every single one since I didn’t even realize I was speeding (I’m not an idiot. I promise. each has a long story attached to it). however… I’ve never gotten a warning.
sounds like I need an Officer Marsden. time to pay julie and lyndzi’s parents a visit.
Ha ha, great story! I got pulled over a few months aging and the cop let me go because my sin asleep in the backseat. That was lucky!
My grandparents live in Tavares! I just thought that was interesting!
I’ve only gotten pulled over once and it was bad!! I was 23, just leaving college, driving through Iowa to live in Colorado for the summer. I had my car packed full and 2 bikes my rear bike rack. I was going 74 mph in a 70 mph zone of the highway. I saw a car pulled over by a cop ahead, so I got in to the left lane to give them room. Little did I know, he must have been finishing up and promptly pulled out and put his lights on behind me! I didn’t believe it was actually for me, so he ended up getting real close and pointing with his finger for me to pull over. I was really scared and unsure why I was getting pulled over. He came over and was REALLY angry. Yelled at me for “driving extremely unsafe” and apparently thought my window wasn’t down far enough, so he reached in and (manually cranked) the window open himself. Crazy! I started crying (I get emotional SO easily). In the end, he gave me a warning for not having a “safe bike rack” (apparently a properly attached, high end bike rack for 3 bikes with only 2 on it is unsafe to him. — I know it’s not because I work at a bike shop and know how to install them.) He also told me I would need to remove the bike rack? I didn’t and just drove off and all was well in the end.
Oh I LOVE James Marsden and 27 dresses he is such a cutie. I will definitely have Benny and the Jets stuck in my head all day now!
I haven’t gotten pulled over luckily but be careful of the new cameras on traffic lights. I was driving hope really late one night and was going to turn right on red. I apparently didn’t stop all the way before turning right because after all it was around midnight and no one was on the road.
About a week later I got a ticket in the mail and a link the video of my car not stopping all the way at a red light.
That was 100 dollars I didn’t want to spend!
Once, I got pulled over for going 10mph over the speed limit on a rural road I didn’t know well. For some reason, I didn’t have my license OR registration on me. I thought I was in for it. The cop let me off with a warning, but told me he could’ve written me tickets totaling $1,000!
hahaha OMG…next time i get pulled over (which will probably be like, tomorrow with my track record lol) i will definitely be telling the cop that i am HANGRY and i needed to get home lol..hopefully he’ll understand
I once got pulled over for speeding and after the cop lectured me and asked what my reason for speeding was I bursted into tears and told him i had low blood sugar and needed to get home to eat!! Which was true, my class in college ran late and I hit major traffic coming home and was STARVED. He let me off with a warning. It shows not to get in between this girl and her food!
hahaha OMG…next time i get pulled over (which will probably be like, tomorrow with my track record lol) i will definitely be telling the cop that i am HANGRY and i needed to get home lol..hopefully he’ll understand
i’ve actually never been pulled over (knock on wood) in the 5 years ive been driving. if i do, i choose that cop. ha.
hahah this post is awesome….i’ve gotten way too many tickets to pick just one story…but once, i got pulled over and since i have a car covered in Notre Dame paraphernalia, the cop let me go bc he loved ND!
But once, when my friends and i were in high school, we went to this little neighborhood park thing around 10pm on a saturday…we decided we wanted music, so we clearly need to blast brittany spears’ “toxic” at high volume from the car and have a dance party (we were really cool)..apparently a neighbor called the cops and THREE cop cars (and the HOTTEST cops ever haha) came out, and were just like….uhmmm…wow. you have to turn that down…
it was so embarrassing but we still joke about that night five years later!
OMG. Matty and I got pulled over yesterday too!! He was going 15 miles over the speed limit at one of those weird spots where the speed limit suddenly changes you can’t see the signs. Matty was driving my car which was a total mess and stupid me started trying to “clean the car” when the officer pulled us over. Matty yelled at me and was like “Heather, stop! He’s going to think we’re hiding drugs or something!” …brilliant huh?
You’re hysterical. I can’t believe you talked so much to the officer! Fearless!
This summer when I was driving cross country, I got pulled over in Nevada for speeding. The cop came over to my car which was completely packed to the brim with clothes, coolers and a space to sleep in the back-complete with sleeping bag and pillow and asked me if I was really from RI.. Um.. yes officer I am (what did you think I made the license plate myself?) He proceeded to ask me what I was doing all the way in Nevada- and why I was pulled over.. Once I gave him my paperwork he disappeared for a while and I was convinced and hoping that he would let me off with a warning.. After all I was following traffic and it is just long, straight, flat roads- though nothing but dessert.. But as he walked back to the car with his little clipboard I knew I was screwed. Turns out he was in the mood to give me a lecture about how my little car (toyota yaris) would flip over a bunch of times if my tire just flew off.. (Umm how exactly he expected that to happen I don’t know) and that he didn’t want to clean up my mess.. He told me I was clocked doing 95 in a 75 but he generously put me down for just 10 over the limit. My ticket was still $200!
Oh that’s so funny!! I had an interesting experience once in high school. I got in an accident … me and another kid from high school had a bit of a collision. I was told by the cop at the scene that I would NOT be getting any citations. Well guess what? He ended up mailing me 3 citations … and to a super old address, where I hadn’t lived for years (and my new address was on my drivers license). So I never got the citations b/c I no longer lived at that old address… and after a couple of weeks, there was a warrant out for my arrest b/c I hadn’t paid the citations (that I didn’t know about!)!!! Thankfully, it was a small town, and another cop alerted my mom to the situation before they actually arrested me!
There’s this section of the road I take almost every day where you have to move over four lanes in order to get onto the highway… and you have a very short amount of time to get over or you’ll miss the on ramp. Most people know this so drivers usually let you merge in front of them because it’s such a tricky spot. I saw an opening (although small) and moved over, and the guy I pulled in front of actually sped up and pulled SO close to my bumper and laid on his horn. I gave him the finger b/c I’m classy haha. Then the blue lights went off… it was an undercover cop 🙂 He pulled me over and told me I was a “jerk”. I told him he nearly drove me off the road intentionally (knowing I was in the right). He let me go b/c he really couldn’t give me a ticket… I didn’t do anything wrong and if it went to court he would’ve looked real bad. I don’t flip people off while driving anymore though… so maybe we both learned a lesson haha
Ive had more tickets than I want to admit, but I’ve been let off a few times too. We were on our way home from a mariners game when we lived in WA. The baby was screaming so loud none of us could stand it ( when our youngest was tiny he hated car rides). I was just trying to get us home. I got pulled over going 15 over. Once the cop heard the screaming baby she felt sorry for us and let us go.
LAughing….HARD right now! Haha. SO glad you got away with no ticket though!!
One time I was in the front seat and my sis was driving…and SHE got pulled over-but I burst into tears. Makes sense right?! Hah.
I was pulled over once on a Saturday night. I was by myself in my silver 2 door Honda Civic. Out of nowhere, a cop put on his lights and sped in front of me. Within the same second, a cop pulls to the side of me and then one behind me!!! All with their lights on! I was TREMBLING! The officers walked up to my car and all I could think was “what did I do? Did I not stop completely at that stop sign?”
I now have 5 police men surrounding my car shining their flash lights! I roll down my window a little and while shaking like a leaf ask the officer “um, excuse me, what did I do?” And he said “we have had reports of kids driving around tonight smoking pot!” I was like, are you going to do this to every Honda Civic in the area?? It was so crazy. It took me a few minutes before I could drive off once they realized I was innocent!
Once I got pulled over when I wasn’t even speeding. The officer scared the crap out of me, knocking on my window. I rolled it down and he said “um, I’m sorry. I thought your license plate sticker was expired. By the way, do you happen to be driving on a suspended license?” He was looking for every excuse to give me a ticket! He then asked if I had been wearing my seatbelt when he pulled me over!
Hey Julie! I was wondering what brand of waffles you buy/what kind are those? I love reading your blog every morning when I get up and getting breakfast ideas!
they’re vans waffles. i LOVE them!
the first time i got pulled over, i was on my way to work and didn’t even realize i was speeding. there is a tiny stretch of 25 mph that is 50 mph for the rest of the entire length. as soon as the cop walked over to my window, i busted out crying at 22 years old. i just got so nervous and didn’t know what to expect. he felt bad for me and gave me a seatbelt ticket.
then, later that same day we went to a happy hour. it lasted till about 10 pm. i had two small overpriced watered down drinks over the course of 6 hours. i ran into my parents at the restaurant next door and told them that my friends would drop me off at my car and then i’d come back and meet them for dessert. i get my car and on the way back, make a k turn to get a spot right in front of the bar/restaurant. little did i know, the street i went about 10 feet into to make the k turn was a one way street–with an ancient sign conveniently half-covered in ivy. 3 cop cars come blazing after me in my nice fully viewable parking spot. i just sit there stunned because i was like no way am i getting pulled over in the same day twice when i’ve never been pulled over before. i mean seriously. they asked if i had been drinking, and i wasn’t going to lie. meanwhile, i’m about to cry because then MY PARENTS AND THEIR FRIENDS AND ALL OF THE BAR are outside watching this huge “bust” go down. the bartender in the restaurant had said to my mom, oh it’s probably just some drunk. um seriously?
so then they make me get out, do a bunch of sobriety tests, all of which i passed. and all of which my parents stood right there watching. worst night of my life, by far. i knew i was fine but i was so embarrassed. then even after i pass, they make me do the breathalyzer… it’s like since everyone was watching they wanted to make me into this PSA. again, i pass the breathalyzer because I WAS FINE. i cried the whole time. also the guy i had a huge crush on in college happened to be walking by. Great day, huh? I ended up walking away with no ticket, warning, nothing.
Don’t drink and drive people! The night could have ended with me getting cuffed in front of my parents if I had been irresponsible with my drinking.
I’ve been pulled over 3 times in my life. The last 2 were a week apart and I didn’t get a ticket either time. The last one should have given me a ticket. I had such an attitude with him. I was going 36 in what I thought was a 35. Apparently, it was a 25 and the residents of that street had been complaining about people speeding. I was not happy. I told him maybe they should post the speed limit then. The kicker to the story is the bridge ahead was closed and I didn’t realize it started that day. So, I shouldn’t have even been on that road. I ALWAYS go 25 through there now.
bahaha HILARIOUS that you said all that to him!
I have a “oh my gosh you are so dumb” story. I have only ever been pulled over once, for a busted tail light, which i knew about and actually had an appt. to get fixed the next day. I was in MS (for college) but my car had a LA plate, from my hometown, and I had a giant “mississippi college’ sticker on my back window. After we chat about the light and I assure him it’s being fixed tomorrow, he harasses me and threatens to give me a ticket for having a LA plate but residing in MS. He said “only military and college students are allowed to do that.” Um…HELLO!!!! GIANT bumper sticker that says “mississippi college” on the back of the car NOT give it away that I AM in fact a college student? Seriously dude. oy.
The last time I was pulled over, me and my husband were driving home from a friend’s house really late at night in his home town (which is really small, apparently the cops don’t actually have anything to do there?). We had been going the speed limit, so we were really confused. The officer came up to the window and wouldn’t tell us what it was about! Well, my car had been a graduation present from my dad, so it was in his name, but it had WI plates when my dad lives in IL. The cop thought we had stolen the car! He kept questioning us, and finally I had to have him call my dad to have the whole thing straightened out. Jeez!
I was once pulled over for rolling a stop sign on my college campus, right after a Panhellenic Council meeting that I happened to be president off. So everyone leaving the meeting saw me get pulled over. It was a campus police officer so I of course received a speeding ticket and I had a hard time not laughing the entire time as I watched my friends pass me by.
I wouldn’t mind running into that officer!!
Haha, your stories always having me laughing! I have been pulled over once in college and it was for havibg expired tags. Luckily, he just gave me a warning but my heart was beating a million miles a minute, I was so scared! Have a great day, Julie!
In college I was hanging out and cramming during finals week in an oversized sweater. There are usually leggings involved, but since I was just at home I was chilling in my underoos. I realized I left notes at a friends house and bolted out the door speeding over to their house
It wasn’t until a cop pulled me over for speeding that I realized I had forgotten pants
Haha! I have no idea how you carried on a conversation with the cop. When I get pulled over I usually freeze up and can barely say anything coherent. In fact, last year after I pulled over to let the 3 passengers in my car puke all over the highway (one being my husband) after a few too many mojitos, a state trooper pulled up behind us and of course asked for my license etc. Then he asks me if I was the DD for the night. A typical question…I was, but for the life of me I could not figure out what he meant by DD at that moment. I sat there staring at him blankly and I’m sure he thought I was either intoxicated myself or completely stupid. Thankfully, his radio started going off with a more urgent call and he pulled out of there in a flash with his lights and sirens on in another direction. I’m convinced he would’ve breathalyzed me had that not happened for stupidity alone.
Your breakfast looks fantastic! I’ve never gotten a ticket before, but I feel like cops are getting really tricky these days. I hate it when they hide in places. I also really hate it when other people drive cars that look like cop cars. That really freaks me out.
Ha! I drove rented Black Crown Victoria when I was down in Florida a few weeks ago. I felt pretty bad ass. All I needed were some mirrored sunglasses.
me too! any car that looks like it MIGHT be a cop car freaks me out!