I am loved.

Yesterday was my 23rd birthday. I don't feel much different. Actually I feel full! My friends and I went to Buca di Beppo for dinner; and if you've ever been there, you know how good the food is and how much they give you.

So I feel full, and I feel loved. I had a very nice birthday. A friend from work made me a triple chocolate cake, and of course Anthony came through with some chocolate for future chocolate emergencies! I also got the most divine chocolate brownie with peanut butter frosting - which I ate for breakfast this morning. - It's my birthday so I'm allowed!

Girls' night with Jas

As Yasmina and I sit here polishing our fingernails, eating kettle corn, and watching Julie & Julia we are, of course, eating chocolate. We are in total girl mode.

On the menu for this evening is Nirvana Belgian Chocolates. This is no ordinary Hershey bar. The ingredients from this bar have come from all over the world. We are eating dark chocolate from Trinidad, Golgi berries from the Himalayas, Mulberries from Turkey, and Goldenberries from Peru.

The chocolate tastes divine! We can tell it is good, organic chocolate. 72% is the perfect compliment to the tart "Superberries." While I wish there were more superberries I enjoy trying these exotic flavors. The texture somewhat reminds me of tough raisins. The pairing works quite nicely.

Happy New Year

My New Year's Resolution is to eat more chocolate!

I'd also like to try new kinds of chocolate. I tend to stick to the same brands and the same kinds of chocolate. I'm thinking in 2010 I'll branch out and try some new stuff.

Here's what's in my Chocolate Drawer (yes I have an entire drawer in my kitchen devoted to chocolate) that I'm going to try:
* M&Ms Premiums: Chocolate Trio
* Green & Black's Organic milk chocolate with almonds
* Nirvana Belgian Chocolates with Goji berry, mulberry, and goldenberry
*Curenero dark chocolate with red chili peppers
*Some dark chocolate square that doesn't contain a word of English!
*and Earl Grey Tea Chocolate

Should be a good year.

Reason #836 why I hate the English language

I can't take credit for writing this; it came to me in an email. So listen up.

The word up, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake up? At a meeting why does a topic come up? Why do we speak up, why are officers up for election, and why is it up to the secretary to write up a report?

We call up our friends, brighten up a room, polish up the silver, warm up the leftovers and clean up the kitchen. We lock up the house and fix up the old car.

People stir up trouble, line up for tickets work up an appetite, and think up excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed up is special.

A drain must be opened up when it is stopped up. We open up a store in the morning and close it up at night. When the sky becomes gray, we say it's clouding up, but when the sun comes up we say it's clearing up. When it rains it messes things up.

We seem to be pretty mixed up about up. Maybe we should look it up in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, up takes up almost 1/4 of the page and can add up to about 30 definitions. If you are up to it, try building up a list of the uses of up. It will take up a lot of your time. But don't give up.

I could go on but I'll wrap it up. My time is up, so I'll shut up.

Success is sweet - literally

Call it luck, or really good friends. If you look about 3 post below this one you'll find the post about a contest I recently entered. Godiva hosts a blog called "I'd rather have chocolate." Surfers post their moments in 50 words or less and then people vote on their favorites.

Because I have really good friends (and friends of friends) who took 15 seconds to rate my story the highest, yours truly won! I won 100 pieces of Godiva Chocolate! Wooohooooo! Thanks to everyone who voted.

I don't care what shape it is.

My friend Katie got me a present yesterday! A chocolate bar from Sarris! (I have the best friends in the world - not only cause they give me chocolate... but it helps.)

One of the things Sarris Candies is famous for is their chocolate covered pretzels. This version, comes in a bar. The bar is traditional milk chocolate with bits of salted pretzels. It tastes every bit as good as Sarris's delicious chocolate covered pretzels.

I recommend you try it!

Ben is famous!

I recently wrote a letter to a veterinarian in Mississippi who answers questions pet owners ask. My grandma saw that our local newspaper will occasionally publish a column he's written to answer someones question. She suggested I write to him about Ben and his outrageous eating habits.

Here's what Dr. James Randoloph had to say about my boy.

Read the article here.

I'd rather have chocolate

Ever have that feeling that there are a million things you would rather be doing, except you can't because you're stuck in a meeting, sitting in traffic, or counting down the seconds until quitting time at work? Happens to all of us. Usually eating chocolate is at the top of my "I'd rather be doing" list. - shocking, I know.

Well Godiva Chocolatier is making a contest out of those little moments. Go to their website to read little moments from people's days where they'd rather have some chocolate. Share your own story of a Chocolate Emergency!

Visitors to the site vote on the best moments and the person with the highest rating wins 100 pieces of chocolate to satisfy those little emergencies. Genius!


VOTE FOR MINE! NOW!!!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Anthony's mother was using her noggin when she got this Valentine's gift for me back in February. It is a pointe shoe made entirely out of chocolate! It's too pretty to eat! But it's Philadelphia Candies. I can't not eat it. Let's be serious. I'm going to eat it. But I'll look at it and display it for a while. Thanks, Amelia!

Reason #45 why I hate the English language

Prefixes.

Why are you UNcomfortable when you experience DIScomfort?

I dunno.