Tag: Rose Parade

Daily Thoughts

Happy New Years!!!!

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

2014 is almost gone. So many memories, some good some not so good. I don’t like to use the word “bad” because some of the “bad” memories, in the end, allow new and exciting experiences that happen in our lives. This past year brought many changes in our household. Randy retired, we moved from California back to Texas, we have a new granddaughter, Payton, and I completed my first book.

Randy’s retirement, in itself, allowed us to travel from the West coast to the East coast. We visited our kids along the way and ended up marking one thing off my bucket list….going to eat at Paula Deen’s Restaurant, Lady & Son’s. We learned that we can be together 24-7 (or is it 365 days, 518, 400 minutes as it seemed when we were traveling in the car some days).

After 2 months of traveling, we both knew when it was time to put away the suitcase and find someplace to nest. And nest we have. We are so grateful for the time spent on the road and grateful for the new memories that we collected. As we look back over the last 12 months, we are grateful that we were able to live in California for almost 4 years and experience living where we could watch the Rose Parade set up. We learned that there are precious people who touch our hearts, no matter where you live. We learned to love Lebanese food, In & Out Burgers, the mountains, walking along the seashore (and yes, all the while I would be looking to see if anyone famous was walking past). God provided a dear precious friend who told me that she would do the behind the scenes work on the book, if I would complete it…I did and Kathy did as she said…she turned it into book form. I remember kicking and crying as we drove across the desert, back in 2010, when moving to California; never dreaming that it would be while living there that this goal would be accomplished. But God did and He used it to fulfill what He had ask of me.

We are now nested in our new place. We look back with such fondness for the people and experiences that were ours last year…but are looking ahead with excitement for what God has planned for us. We don’t know yet what that is, but we know that we can always trust His heart and whatever that plan is, may we grow in our faith and trust to fulfill what He wants us to accomplish. Living back in Texas has given us an opportunity to get to know the kids who live near us as adults. Looking back over the past year, we had no idea that last year would be the last year we would be living in Pasadena and how God orchestrated Cam, Mandy, Jodi and Eric to come out for the Rose Parade is one of those, “this is such a God story” times.
So here is to 2015…a new year, new memories and new adventures. May Randy & I both look expectantly ahead and allow God to use us as He sees best.
Thanks to each of you who have taken the time to read cbocolatecastles! That blesses my heart that it might be bringing a smile to your heart! Happy New Year to each of you…….
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Everyone Loves A Parade

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Everyone Loves A Parade

…Especially if you can watch it live from a warm house with plenty of food. Apparently, we are the most favorite relatives right now. Because we live on the street where the floats line up for the Rose Parade, we have discovered that we have cousins that we didn’t even know we had. This week cousins Frankie Joe and Emma Lou Cox from Arkansas realized that they had 4th cousins who lived in Pasadena, CA….Ha! Seriously, our kids are trying to make us think that they are coming to see us, but we know the truth. They are just wanting to come to the parade…for free. When we heard that they wanted to come, we thought, well, we can let one of the families stay here and get a hotel room for the other. When Frosty began calling around to get a room, we discovered that they are around $400 a night and since we felt we should be paying, since they are in fact, our guests, we decided to “make do” here and have some fun quality family time with 4 extra adults and 3 little wild hellions, oops, I mean darling grandchildren. Frosty says that we will have fun the minute we see them drive away. He is such a grouch sometimes. I can’t believe he doesn’t like a 4 yr old sleeping with us. So making room for an air mattress to be placed in the den, we had to do some arranging. I never mind arranging furniture, but in our quest to make room, and still have the house looking somewhat nice and orderly we had to put some of the den furniture someplace. The only place that had any wall space left was our bedroom in front of the patio door. So I lifted the wing back chair in the air and the side table and set them in front of the window. Actually it looked pretty good. I was proud that I had found a space. When Frosty walked in and saw this he growled, “and how am I suppose to get in bed, there is no room to even put my legs between the chair and the bed!” I told him I had it all figured out. All he had to do was climb up in the chair and swing his legs over onto the bed. He told me we are getting too old for this. I assured him it was only for a week and the extra exercise of climbing would do him good. He told me that he noticed that I had not put in on my side. I informed him that he needed the exercise more than I. Things began to get ugly from there. But I won’t go there today. We will just say that we have learned a few things this past year. Things that we hope we aren’t too old to remember come 2014.
1. If you don’t really want your home used for a bed & breakfast, don’t keep a stocked fridge or have an extra bedroom.
2. Do not answer phone calls when you don’t recognize the number, it will be a computer call or distant cousins from Arkansas.
3. Don’t live on a street that has a parade.
4. Do not, EVER, say, “oh stay as long as you like.”
5. Remember in spite of whatever anyone says, “your family are the ones who bless your heart and love you in spite of all your weirdness.” And that’s the truth.

Thank you for reading Chocolatecastles. and Happy New Year. God’s blessings upon each of you. Baking blessings, TKbakesalot

Daily Thoughts

Grumpy Gets in the Christmas Spirit

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Merry Christmas to all and to all a great time of enjoying your blessings.

Bah Humbug Grumpy Goes Soft
Bah Humbug Grumpy Goes Soft
In spite of Frosty being under the weather a little the past few days, we had a great afternoon of delivering goodie baskets to some friends. Isn’t it amazing that even when you are missing being with family, when you get out and do a nice deed, if just blesses your spirit. Frosty was able to correct me on some Christmas trivia today. Beginning with posting Five Golden Rings 3 days ago and counting down, I apparently don’t know the correct words to Twelve Days of Christmas. I had written Four Turtle Doves, when he tells me that should be Four Calling Birds and today would be Two Turtle Doves. I told him that if he gets any more Christmas smarts and doesn’t stop enjoying doing nice things for friends, I will have to take away his “Bah Humbug” pillow from under his Grumpy doll, which hangs on his side of the bed. So this afternoon, he is back to being his same ole self. He balked when I ask him to help me wrap presents and went on-line to see just how much I had spent on grandkids, throwing those, “you ordered what?” looks at me all afternoon.

He did slip once this afternoon when he told the store clerk “Merry Christmas” as she ask if he would like to use the Senior discount to purchase a last minute gift.

Because of his coughing and wheezing, we are in for the night. He escaped for a couple of hours today, but think that we will watch what has become a tradition in our family each year, Griswalds Family Vacation. I just happen to have jars full of cookies that we will have beside our cups of hot tea.

Christmas for us, will be next week when some of our kids come in. They told us they are coming to see us, but we know they are really coming to watch the Rose Parade. We live on the street where the floats line up, so about 5 a.m. NY day, we go out and walk up and down to see the floats before they start down the parade route. It really is a fun way to begin the New Year and this year, we will enjoy watching the grandkids’ eyes as they see the beautiful floats of some of their favorite characters. All this to say that we are very blessed, in spite of this being a little different year for Christmas. We have not been without some family on Christmas, but just knowing that it’s not just one day that makes up Christmas, it is the knowledge of knowing that Christ came to earth as a babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, to give us hope, to give us Peace, but most of all, to give us Eternal Life. That’s the best gift of all…and it offered to us 365 days a year, not just December 25th. When you gather your family around the tree, remember to give thanks for all the things that you do have, instead of thinking about the things you might not have or receive tomorrow. Having Christ in our hearts causes us to sing, Joy To The World, The Lord Has Come.
Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends. We love you! Frosty and Noel