Tag: San Diego

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Senior Hotel Shenanigans

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We have returned from our quick trip to San Diego, where we met some of our kids from Texas and inlaws. Our son had invited us to come for a couple of days while they were there visiting our DIL parents, who keep their sailboat there in the marina in San Diego. Looking back, we are so grateful we didn’t stay any longer than 4 days. We might not have lived to tell about our adventures.

We were both excited to be able to go and spend time with our kids and Sevy, our grandson, who is quickly learning how to navigate the sailboat. But…let me begin at the beginning. We checked into our hotel and were offered assistance with our luggage, but Mr. “No, we can handle it just fine” (AKA, he doesn’t want to have to tip anyone else that day.) decides that we will just park at the back entrance and, after all, how hard can it be? We both have rolling cases, with hanging travel bag with too many clothes in it so it won’t close properly and then cases with toiletries. We park and proceed to unload our bags. So far so good. I have my hanging bag with clothes over one arm, my roller suitcase behind my right side, with my toiletry bag hanging over that and look over and Randy is trying to get his roller bag behind him so he can pull it across the parking lot, when I see him loosing his balance. I quickly drop all my things, trying to help balance him when he falls completely over me, knocking me to the ground. We looked like dominoes that someone pushed the first one and they just kept falling. We sat there, trying to figure out what to do. He couldn’t find anything to help him get leverage to get up, and he was on top of me, so I couldn’t get up to help him. I finally scooted my garmet bag over so he could kneel on that (poor thing, his knee was bleeding pretty bad) and thus would allow me to get up. Looking back, over that, I can only imagine what I looked like, with my rear in the air, trying to get up, then trying to pull him up. We couldn’t help but laugh thinking about what the man watching the security camera must be thinking. They probably watched us over and over with, “oh man, wait till you see these old geisers, not only does the guy fall, but he falls over and knocks her over! It’s hilarious”

We do like to provide entertainment and laughter wherever we go. We were so proud that we were able to still walk with our heads held high into the hotel, even though we had gravel in our hair, blood dripping down his leg and dirt marks all over my white shorts. Luckily we have no boating incidents to write about but then on Saturday, we woke up. We should have just stopped right there. But, I was thirsty for my Dr Pepper and Randy wanted a cup of Starbucks coffee. As he was stepping into the shower, I yelled at him that I was going to go downstairs and buy a Dr Pepper from the hotel gift shop and yes, I would bring him a cup of coffee. I grabbed my phone (thank the Lord, I did take that), the room key and my wallet. After paying $10 for a Dr Pepper and a pack of gum, I stopped at the Starbucks counter and bought my sweetie pie a cup of coffee. I jumped on the elevator and proceeded to our room. As I reached the room, I realized that I didn’t have a hand free to use the key card to open the door, and after knocking, realized that he must be taking a little longer than usual shower, since he didn’t answer.

The key didn’t work. I realized that, after trying to call him, he must still be in the shower, so I didn’t have a choice but to pick up the coffee off the floor, grab my Dr Pepper and ride back down from the 10th floor and ask the clerk to reactivate the key card. We have had that happen many times, that after about 3 days the key has to be activated. So back down I go and she hands me 2 more cards after having to show her my ID. I thanked the Lord that for some reason I had picked up my wallet, which I really don’t know why I did, because I was just charging everything to our room anyway, but I guess God knew I would need my ID. So back up to the 10th floor I go. When I get off the elevator, I am thinking to myself, that his coffee is probably cold by now, when I try the new key and IT doesn’t work. WHAT? OK, i put everything on the floor and try it again, still doesn’t work. I begin to bang on the door for Randy to open it and he doesn’t. I am now running out of patience. How long of a shower is he going to take today? I call him and he answers. In a not so nice voice, I ask him why he is not answering the door when I am banging on it. He said he didn’t hear me knock. You are kidding me. I bang on it, just to let him know how loud I have been banging on it just to prove my point. My cell phone rings and once again, I have to put his coffee on the ground, to have a hand to answer it. “Why are you calling me, when you should be answering the door?” He informs me that he did answer the door and no one is there.  I had gotten off on the wrong floor. I hurriedly pick up my drinks, and run down the hall before the people in that room decide that the crazy lady at their door at 7:30 a.m is just not going to go away, open the door to see what I am wanting. When I got to the elevator, I looked and I had got off on the 6th floor. How did I do that, I know I punched “10”.  When I walked into our room, I couldn’t help but just fall on the bed laughing. If  indeed they have security cameras in the halls, the camera guy must have been cracking up.

On our trip home, I ask Randy if he thought we were just odd or did the Lord just always allow funny things like this to happen to us so I would have things to write about. He just looked at me and said, “well, all I know is that over the past 21 years, we have certainly had our share of funny stories that has brought lots of laughter for us and for others and for that, we should be thankful.”  Easy for him to say, he wasn’t the one on the hotel hall security camera!

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High Maintence Momma

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Truly, I do not understand why these things happen to me. I am trying to figure out if the clumsy fairy just follows me around, or am  I just that uncoordinated? The day began just like an ordinary day. We drove down to San Diego to go visit a church where we love the pastor. Since we are headed back to Texas, we have made a bucket list of things that we want to do before leaving this great state of California. Going to hear David Jeremiah was on that list. We left at 8 a.m. and drove down without incident. In fact, it was a lovely day, sunshine, cool temps and a day planned that was exciting to both of us. We knew that before we headed back to LA we would be looking for a great place to have a nice lunch. Then we would treat ourselves to Moo Creamery, our very favorite ice cream in all the world. The best toasted coconut-chocolate flaked ice cream, EVER! We leave church determined to find the best new seafood place since this would be our last time to be in San Diego for quite some time. Jason, our son calls and tells us where  should go. He tells us that they had eaten at The Fishery with his in-laws last summer and that we would like it. So off we go, after already going to a different place that we didn’t like the menu. We arrive at The Fishery and like the looks of it immediately. We enter and they quickly seat us. So far, so good.

The waitress brings us a lunch menu. I look over it and do not really see anything that catches my eye. I was in the mood for grilled seafood with baked potato and a good salad. All I was seeing were fish tacos and fish baskets with fries. Randy looked at me and knew that I was disappointed. I ask him if he thought we should ask for the dinner menu, maybe it would be different. He agreed. When the waitress came to take our order, I ask her if there was a dinner menu we could look at because we weren’t in the mood for fish and fries or fish tacos. After rolling her eyes, she went over and retrieved dinner menus for us. We looked them over and it was evident that we would be spending $30-$40 per entrée if we ordered off the dinner menu. Knowing that if I spent that much money on lunch might mean that I would go home without ice cream or possibly not being able to buy makeup for a year, I decided that I could just order off the appetizers from the lunch menu. So, our sweet little waitress, who is already getting a little huffy, comes back to take our order.  I apologized for making her bring the dinner menus, but I had found something from the lunch menu after all. I ordered a Caesar Salad and crab cakes. Randy ordered the fish tacos.

My salad comes and she places it in front of me. My eyes focus on two giant (they looked at least 3 ft long) anchovies laying over the top of my salad. Before the waitress can release the bowl, I tell her that she has got to take it away and get rid of those huge, what appears to be jumbo anchovies off my salad. Once again, the rolling of the eyes and grabs the salad back. Randy looks at me and informs me that the anchovies were not 3 ft long, but only 2″.  I inform him that he needs glasses.

My salad, without he huge fish laying on the top, is set in front of me. It now looks great. I am so hungry that I immediately pick up my knife and fork and begin to cut the lettuce. As soon as I attempt this simple feat, my hand slips and as I am trying to cut the lettuce, the knife slips out of my hand and lettuce goes flying through the air. We both just die laughing. I ask him if he thought anyone noticed. He tells me that it would be hard not to notice lettuce flying through the air and he quickly uses his foot to try to  push some of the lettuce under our table. When the waitress brings my crab cakes and his tacos, there was no way they could serve our food without stepping on lettuce. But, because I think by this time they were just trying to hurry an feed us so we would leave, they ignored the acrobatic lettuce and left it laying on the floor. We ate as fast as we could. As soon as we waked out the door, Randy told me that we had eaten there twice, the first and the last. I told him to just add it to the list of the many places that I can no longer show my face. It made me glad I am moving back to Texas where they have restaurants with peanut shells on the floor in  some of the steak places. I think we will give up fish and just eat at the steak restaurants. Hopefully my lettuce will get lost among the peanut shells.  

Daily Thoughts

Every Thing You Ever Wanted to Know About Your Mom (but have been afraid to ask)

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

This past week we have spent a couple of days with some of our adult kids in San Diego. There were times that in conversation, different things about myself were said that surprised our kids. When I mentioned that we were in my “homeland” of where I was born, my daughter in law and son in law told me that they never had heard that before and asked why they didn’t know that. I told them I guess they had never ask. It was at that point that I realized that as parents of adult children, all they know about us is what we have wanted them to know or what they have imagined us to be, as parents, never just a “person”.

We were out on Sunday night on the beach with a fire pit and having a s’mores night. It was a beautiful full moon, perfect temperature,  when I realized that as we were all sitting around in these little beach chairs (I commented that I could just stay here forever when Randy whispered that we might have to, he didn’t know if he could ever get up out of that “cute little beach chair”) that we were on the same level. Not really children and parents, but just people who were enjoying each others company, sharing stories and laughing as old friends. It was truly a Hallmark moment. Each day just got better and better as we listened to each other and shared experiences from our past that told much of what and who we were, as “people”. Suddenly, we found that we actually enjoyed being around each other, even though we were family, all different ages, different seasons of life and different likes and dislikes. But it worked. We ended our time together determined to get together more often. Jason and Tracy, thank you for initiating this time and inviting all of us to share your vacation.  Jodi and Eric, even though I know it takes great effort to pack and haul little ones around and work around their nap schedules, we are so glad you made the effort.  It was pure joy for us to be together and to experience you as really nice and gracious people, not just being our  “kids”.

Over a year ago when my dad died and different people got up to give stories about what he had done for them or tell about his likes and dislikes, I realized that he was a different person that I truly didn’t know. It made me sad that I never really knew my dad, other than just the man who took care of us. He was always so quiet and never talked much, so there was a lot I didn’t ever know. So, on a lighter note, thinking that our kids might not know certain things about me that might surprise them, I thought I would just write out different things about myself.

1. Yes, I was really born in a naval hospital in San Diego, Ca and lived there until I was two and my mom moved to Corpus Christi, TX.

2. Lived in a housing project until I was 5 with mother and daddy.

3. Learned to drive sitting on my dads lap when I was 10.

4. Said a really bad word (without knowing what it meant) when I was in 4th grade and was sent to the principles office. Only time in my life I was sent to the Principle.

5. Always wanted to be a flight attendant or movie star, but wouldn’t have traded being a mom for anything in the world.

6. Love to sit and read or play Candy Crush for hours, but guilt sets in and doesn’t allow me to do that for over an hour.

7. Still dream about having that special day when we would be able to get all 5 of our kids together with their families for a trip and have those pictures taken of the whole family with everyone wearing kaki pants and white shirts, standing at the edge of the water on the beach.

8. One of the most things I am proud of in my life (besides our kids and grandkids) is that I have almost competed a book to be published.

9. My bucket list includes:

1. Taking a cooking class in Italy

2. Going on a river boat cruise through Europe

3. Seeing all our grandkids loving Christ and serving Him.

4. One day having one of our grandchildren blow me a kiss or wink at me while they are playing an athletic event or the stage before they perform their skill.

5. Learning Zumba

6. Leading someone to Christ

7. Having our kids all present for a Christmas Eve service

8. Take acting lessons

9. Be in a commercial

10. That all our kids and kids-in-laws would know how much we truly love them and want the best for them.

My favorite color is shades of yellow, green and blue.

My favorite shows are The Middle and AGT

All time favorite movie is Pretty Woman

I love to name my cars, to give them a little personality

My favorite candy is Ethyl M and Dove

I don’t like to have my nails done, but like how it makes them look.

Would rather go out to eat than eat at home, but since I write a cooking blog, I make myself cook things other than desserts of which I love to make.

Love writing more than shopping

Going adventuring to different places or restaurants with Randy.

Would move every two years to a different house.

Love meeting people and getting to know them.

I enjoy and love my life and feel so blessed.

To each of our kids, I love you and enjoy being with you. Thank you for the grace you extend to us “oldies” and for letting us share different parts of your lives. Gives me lots of laughs and material for the blog.  Remember that when you are with me, what happens doesn’t stay just between us…it goes on Chocolate Castles! This sweet memory might have been a little less “sweet” had it been longer than a couple of days, but in my perfect little imaginary world, I like to think it would have just gotten better each day.