Contest CONTEST Contest

Hi Chocolate Emergency readers!

I'm feeling generous and in the christmas chocolate spirit, so I thought I'd do something I've never done before: a CHOCOLATE contest!

I've been tracking the hits I get each week and I'm getting close to the 1,000 mark. (Sorry I can't be like PostSecret and average about 500 hits every hour.) I'd really like to hit that mark as quickly as possible.

So, like those cheesy website hoaxes, I'm having a 1,000th visitor contest. Be my 1,000th visitor and you win a free box of chocolate! Just either leave a comment under this post with the date and time of your visit as well as contact info or send me an email to annemwatkinson@gmail.com. With that, I should be able to track who was lucky number 1,000.


The winner can choose the type of chocolate they receive. I'll contact you and write a post with the winner after I figure it out. Enter as many times as you like. Good luck!

My thoughts on Lean Cuisine

As I sit here at work eating my lunch, I'm thinking about, what else, but lunch. I never really used to eat lunch so regularly until I got a job. Then I thought, "Why yes, I'd love to take an hour out of the work day and eat." What I eat usually isn't so important as the fact that for this whole hour, I'm not working.

On the menu today [and most days]: Lean Cuisine. I usually get the frozen lunches at GE (for you non-Burghers out there, that's Giant Eagle - which is a grocery store) because they're pretty cheap. And though I hate to use cliches this one's true; you get what you pay for.

They make the meals look so good on the box. Big pieces of chicken smothered in a zesty orange glaze atop piles of fried rice with vegetables. Open up the box and what do ya get? 3 chicken nuggets with 18 grains of rice all frozen with a little orange square that might be a carrot, and that red fleck on the chicken just might taste like a red pepper.

Never fails. After lunch I'm left wanting to eat a whole other meal. Although, today was a pleasant surprise. Thank you, Mr. 5 Cheese Zitti! That thing was full of noodles and there was actually some cheese in there! Unlike you Mr. Broccoli and Tortellini Alfredo with one broccoli stem, two leaves, and 5 tortellini.

One day a week I treat myself to Au Bon Pain. [But just one, cause chocoholic is on a budget.] Can't wait for those days. What's for dessert? Dark chocolate kisses of course! Yummm

RIP King of Pop

1958-2009

I'm so sad to hear that Michael Jackson passed away yesterday. The music industry will never be the same. Never. Okay, towards the end, things may have gotten a bit dramatic for him, but there's no denying the genius behind the music.

I remember listening to his cassette tapes when my brother and I were little. I remember when my cousin Emily got really into him when she was younger. I remember learning all the steps to the "Beat It" dance he does in the video. I even did a solo jazz routine to "Dirty Diana" when I was in high school.

What this man did for music and dance can never be matched. He will be missed.

Want to hear something funny?

So Anthony, who by the way is the greatest boyfriend who ever lived, thinks that I eat too much chocolate! Me? Eat too much chocolate? When the world makes enough chocolate for me to eat, I'll let you know.

I bought Hershey Kisses the other day to keep in my desk at work for, you know, chocolate emergencies. He made a face and asked me how many Hershey Kisses I would eat in a day. I lied and said 3. [Just move the decimal to the right a few times for the truth.]

He thinks that I should limit the amount of chocolate that I eat... Oh it's laughable, I know. Gosh, he's such a comedian sometimes.


Love you, Anth!

What would your father say?

As I write this entry literally fighting off my 14 week old kitten from biting my fingers as I type, tangling his paws in the cord, and chasing the red light of the mouse, I'm thinking about my father. Yesterday was Father's Day and I was thinking about how awesome my dad is. I could go on about his endearing qualities and his exemplary golf skills, but that's not what makes my dad unique.

Here are some of my favorite "dad" quotes:

Me - "Dad, did you get a hair cut?"
Dad - "No, I got them all cut."

When we kids would shout, "Hey!"
Dad - "Hay is for horses!"

Me - "Dad, my arm hurts."
Dad - "How bout your face?" [you know the rest]

While I was practicing for job interviews: Me - "Dad, what would you say when the interviewer asks you what your weakness is?"
Dad - "My short game."

When my sister was little and would whine all the time: Laura - "Noooo-ah!"
Dad - "Noah built and ark."

"God only created so many perfect heads; the rest he covered with hair."

The very first time my dad met my boyfriend in college: "Hey, your hat's crooked."

Teaching my brother how to drive: "Just because you pay for half the street doesn't mean you get to take it out of the middle." and me how to parallel park: "That's ok, there's a bus to come and take us to the curb."

My dad leaving me a voicemail: "Hey, Anne it's your dad. You don't have to call me back; my name's not back. Just call me on the phone."

Check back later. As I think of more, I'll update. (-8

My thoughts on checking the mail

I don't suppose most people have given a whole lot of thought to checking the mail, but yes, my friends, I have. Allow me to share.

The ubiquitous "you've got mail" has made it exciting to receive a new email! They've even made a movie out of it. There are a couple dozen @whatevers you can use, too. @gmail, @yahoo, @hotmail, @comcast, @verizon, @needigoon?


Now I'm not talking about email. No, email is such a big thing nowadays the average person has 2-3 email addresses. I'm talking about good 'ol snail mail. Let's think about snail mail for a second, shall we.


When Brittany and I moved into our apartment a little over a year ago, things were new and exciting. I got excited to check the mail. I had a mailbox. Not at my parents' house, at my apartment. Seems kind of silly to me now. The only things we ever get in the mail are bills and junk mail. Now I don't like checking the mail. It usually means I'm going to have to cut a check to somebody. Great.

The other thing that comes to mind when I think of checking the mail is my former dog, Shiloh. Shiloh thought about checking the mail, I bet. She loved to go get the mail with my mother. Sometimes she'd happily prance into the house carrying a few envelopes. Sometimes she'd just come along with my mom for the walk, deciding half way to the house that she didn't want to carry in the mail and drop it in the middle of the yard. I think having a dog who retrieves the mail would make checking the mail more exciting.


See, aren't you glad we thought about checking the mail for a while? Me too.

Hey stranger

I must apologize to my loyal readers (like my dad) for being absent for too long. I could tell you a couple reasons why I haven't written for about two weeks, but you don't care about that. So, here's what you've missed.

- First and foremost, I must introduce you to the new man in my life. Benjamin Roscoe is probably the cutest little orange kitty the world has ever seen - and probably the worst behaved too. We thought Riley was a wild man, but Benjamin is quite the mountain climber (and when I say mountain I mean my leg - ouch!). So now Brittany and I have a mountain lion and a tiger. See pictures of the little guy here.

- The last week in May, Yasmina, Brittany, Katie, Amber, Stephanie and I took a vacation to Cape May, New Jersey. It was such a great time. I have the greatest friends a girl could ask for. I would show you pictures, but you know what they say... "What happens in Cape May..." never mind. I have three words for you "Hot Dog Tommy's" - google it.

- I've left the fast and fun-filled world of advertising (against my will) and got a big girl job. I have broken into the life insurance and financial investments industry. From this new job, I've learned that there's a darn good reason I majored in English in school - because numbers and I do not get along. Thank goodness for blogging, otherwise I'd have no outlet for my writing. (Other than the short stories I'm too self conscious to let anyone else read.) I'd love to get back into advertising and PR.

- I haven't worked at Godiva in a few weeks due to vaca and the new job and such. MUST EAT CHOCOLATE NOW!

- UPDATE: Speaking of chocolate, I got my coupon for free chocolate! EEEeee!