Why Chocolate?

Last night as I was hanging out with Benjamin, my kitten, I was wondering why I crave chocolate as much as I do. There have been hundreds of articles written on chocolate, and I could regurgitate them to you now, but here's what I've narrowed it down to.

It has been proven that chocolate has physiological effects on the body. It is linked to serotonin levels in the brain; aka the chemicals that get off balance in people with depression. Therefore one might assume that eating chocolate can actually make you happier. For me, yes; for most people, probably not.

Dark chocolate has been argued by some to be healthy for you in moderation. Yes, that's why I eat dark chocolate; because it's healthy for me. Yeah. Right.

I eat it because it tastes good. Chocolate is my favorite food. Strawberries come in close second. Chocolate covered strawberries - now we're talkin. Chocolate does make me happy, too. It's my comfort food. Yummm

Seattle's Best

I've had Seattle's Best Coffee before so I thought it apropos to try their chocolate. I figure, pretty good coffee = pretty good chocolate. I got the Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee. I shied away from the coffee beans and cherries because I wanted to get a good idea of what the chocolate tasted like.

Upon first bite, I couldn't help but notice the toffee first. It is a huge piece of toffee wrapped in a thin shell of milk chocolate. The toffee was good. Perhaps I'm not English enough, but I didn't think it was much more spectacular than anything I'd find inside a Heath Bar. I know I may be a little bit biased, but there wasn't enough chocolate for me. The balance just wasn't there. It was about 85% toffee, 10% chocolate. The other 5% was a pleasant little surprise of almond. Not a whole almond, but still a good combination.

Overall a good chocolate. The chocolate itself was not cheap and actually tasted good, without relying on the toffee for flavor. $4.95 for 4oz. I give it an 8 out of 10.

Bucket List

If you don't already know, I have quite a lengthy Bucket List, or as I like to call it, "my list of things to do before I die." I try to fill it with fun things I've always wanted to do, but also practical things so that I actually have a chance at completing these things.

I've done pretty good so far at completing a few things. I've danced in New York (twice). I've driven a convertible with the top down. I've run up the down escalator; fallen in love; and read countless numbers of books.

A few I still have to complete are ride on the back of a motorcycle; get married; travel to Europe; and the one I keep thinking about: get everyone to dance like in a Michael Jackson video.

I'm a little bit worried that I won't be able to complete this one. It's going to be a feat. I'll just have to get a random group of people to dance to the same song.

I thought of this the other day on the bus ride home from work. I was listening to my ipod when the song "Shut up and drive" by Rihanna came on. I was jammin' on the inside and had a mini daydream of everyone jamming along with me on the bus. We were hopping over the seats and swinging from the poles as we traveled down McKnight Road. All the way singing the lyrics to the bus driver.

About halfway through the song I snapped out of it and started to realize how hard this one will be. I won't take it off the list, but I definitely want to have this one on tape when I complete it.

Reason #14 why I hate the English language

"I" before "E" except after "C" and in words like "neighbor" and "weigh". (And "weird" and "their", but they don't tell you those ones in the rhyme*.)

Why can't we all just speak Spanish where everything is phonetic. It sounds more appealing, too.

*Don't even get me started on rhyme and rhythm... rhythm doesn't even have a vowel. Ugh. Make rhyme and rhythm number 132 and 133.

Ellen + SYTYCD = Greatest show on TV

Last night Ellen Degeneres was a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance. She felt a bit out of her element, because, in her words, she has never had any formal dance training. But that's okay. The woman has a passion for dance, and that's all that matters. Plus she was stinkin hilarious! They needed to lighten things up with some comedy this season, and Ellen seems to be the perfect fit.



Be sure to watch tonight, as SYTYCD airs its 100th episode. They will be recapping the past 5 seasons and Katie Holmes is performing a broadway number. Who knew? Sure to be a good night. :)

1,000

Wooohooo! We did it Chocolate Emergency, readers! We made it to (and past) 1,000 visitors! Thanks to everyone for visiting!

After a few comments and lots more emails plus lots of math on my part (those of you who know me know how much I love math) I've found out my 1,000th visitor.

Congratulations Sister Rita! Sister Rita is the Head of the English Department at La Roche College, and my mentor. She will win a 19 piece box of Godiva Chocolate, which she informed me in true, altruistic Sister Rita style, she will share with her English Department.

Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks for reading. Come back soon!

SYTYCD - The fourth judge

One of the reasons I love summer is because my favorite show is on: So You Think You Can Dance. I've watched it every season and it's very rare that I miss an episode. Now that it's down to the top 10 dancers, it's getting good. I think the judges have been right so far with who they've cut. No one at work or any of my friends really talk about SYTYCD like they talk about American Idol. So I'll talk blog about it. I'm going to record everything before the judges give their opinions so they won't influence my thoughts. Here we go!

* Kayla and Evan - Beautiful. Kayla is a fantastic dancer, very well trained. Although Evan is one of my favorite guys, I would have liked him to be a little bit more powerful and more masculine. But overall, nice to watch.

* Jeanette and Ade - So much fun! I absolutely loved it! Tabitha and Napoleon are great choreographers. Ade was superb. Jeanette obviously did not have the same hip hop experience as Ade but she performed the heck outta that dance and looked great. Both performed well.

* Jeanine and Jason - Travis Wall is my hero! That was absolutely stunning. The chemistry almost lit my TV on fire. Jeanine has beautiful extension, lines and technique. Jason is a powerful dancer. He looked masculine without looking cheesy. Great technique as well. One of the best pieces of the night.

* Randi and Kupono - Good. But not my favorite. I thought Kupono was good. I'm surprised by Randi. Usually she is my favorite every week, but this week she was a little off. I guess the "wow factor" was just missing. It was good. Just not great.

* Melissa and Brandon - Groovy. I know they say this all the time but it's true: the choreographer played to their strengths. Melissa's ballet is phenomenal and Brandon has that style down perfectly.

So who gets my vote? Since I can't give it to Travis Wall, I vote for either Melissa - God bless the girl in pointe shoes, or Jeanine - I don't think Phillip brought out the best in her, but now she rocks.