“Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelms us.”
- - -Jerry Bridges
Have you ever had TAZA Chocolate? They are organic, dark, & stone-ground!
I bought my Taza Chocolate (the Coffee kind) as a souvenir in San Antonio. It was expensive at the little shop, but you can get them less expensively from Azure Standard or Amazon! I can't wait to try more- like Chili or Ginger! =)
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Taken from Wikipedia:
Taza Chocolate has been noted for being economically, and
environmentally sustainable, and for their focus on compensating growers
fairly for their work.
In the February 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine, Charles Kelsey wrote,
"On the palate, Taza chocolate is wild. It buzzes, slaps, and sings with
an exotic, winy complexity. Most intriguing is its coarse, faintly
gritty texture. At first it's slightly off-putting. But when the tiny
granules - pieces of cacao bean - start flashing on your tongue, they
hit it with intense nutty, citrus flavors."
In the October 15, 2008 edition of Wine Spectator, Owen Dugan commented,
"I also liked Taza Chocolate... Forget about the texture - these guys
stone-grind the beans. Yep, stone-grind. Why? the simple answer is,
because they're crazy. But they claim that they get more fruit out of
the beans by refining less. Typically, there's a sweet spot in chocolate
production- perfect texture and peak flavor at the same time.... Bottom
line; If you can get past the graininess you do get a very fruity (I
tasted kirsch in the 80 percent bar) but also rustically chocolaty bar,
at both 70 and 80 percent"
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Do you know anyone who needs chocolate for Valentine's Day? Why not try Taza? =)
I can’t believe that a whole year has passed since my last year-end letter….I’d say that all in all, 2012 was much better than 2011, and I can’t wait to see what 2013 holds!
At the beginning of last year, I was able to participate in an internet 5 week long “blog party” that Bramblewood Fashionput on- that was a lot of fun, and my blog got a lot of attention, both in the US and the rest of the world!
I also reached my 300th blog post, and celebrated with giveaways, and got a few new “blog friends”!
We did not travel a lot this past year, but on one of our little trips Mom, Grandma, and I went down to Austin for a day , for Mom’s birthday~ that was fun! (I can’t wait to do something like that again!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had some firsts this year: (things that I “needed” to do to be a "well rounded" individual)
1. I’ve now got 1 ½ Sisters In Law
2. ½ a 13 yo nephew
3. I watched: “Grease”, “American Graffiti”, "Good Morning, Vietnam",
“Gallipoli”, “South Pacific”, “Mash“, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, “Leave it to Beaver”. (FYI: I have NO desire to re-watch those first 5.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some highlights of my year:
1. I had both of my brothers home for my birthday!
2. My health is improving, thanks to Mrs. Cronin & Mom
3. I’ve been working as a caregiver for Grandma H.
4. Mom and I are better friends than ever
5. I attended my 2nd Ball/Dance
6. My folks have been married for 30 years
7. I am the proud owner of blue jeans that are actually long enough for me! (that was no easyfeat!) 8. Sophie came to live with me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My wishes for 2013: (not numbered, because I don’t think that I could do it justice)
~Get completely moved in
~Make a snowman
~Have a fun 28th birthday party
~Make time for sewing/creative fun every week
~Have one get together/party every month
~Learn to drive (if I write these down will they be more likely to happen?)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Embedded just for you: