perhaps

after finding my blog a couple months ago, a friend of mine had the following reaction:

"you have an obsession with chocolate and men --
which makes you like 99% of women in the world"

hmm. i'm not sure i like that. and i thought about it a lot, actually. see? well, i probably am obsessed with chocolate. i'll give you that. i mean, with a blog title like mine, i think that's probably a given. but obsessed with men? dunno. hmmm.

for those of you who don't know me in real life, i don't know that i really want that to be the impression you have of me. and for those of you that do know me, i hope you realize that i have to write about entertaining things -- y'know, to keep readership up. but i kinda decided that i was going to change the topics of my posts.

so, i did. i haven't been writing about chocolate, like at all. (i wrote about beef, yes. but no one ever suggested that i was obsessed with beef. did they??) and i really haven't written anything about men.

... and my blog has been a little dry. admittedly.

i am getting a bit tired of trying to make my work life seem *really* interesting -- well, at least interesting enough to not fall asleep while writing about it, let alone reading about it. which is really exhausting! i'm sorry, but accounting just really isn't that exciting. (hope nobody slits their wrists because of that revelation. if so, i'm sorry for that, too.)

and so, i'm changing my mind again. we will soon be welcoming posts about chocolate, posts about men, and maybe even some posts about chocolate *and* men! ooo! this opens all kinds of doors!! so sit tight kiddies, this will be fun.

oh -- and if any of y'all want to think that i am obsessed with chocolate and men ... well, perhaps ... you might be right ... but i guess there's not much i could do about that, anyway. so i might as well just write what i want. right?

listen to this

"because you really, really love chocolate.
we start with a perfect balance of the very best ingredients -- rich, dark ghirardelli cocoa, the finest wheat flour, and a hint of sweet vanilla flavor.
a generous measure of ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips adds that luxuriously rich, intense chocolate experience chocolate lovers cherish.
the result is a brownie that is ultra rich, moist and chewy.
in short, pure brownie perfection.
ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix.
creating moments of intense chocolate pleasure, from people who know it best ... ghirardelli."

that's what i made today. ... uh, huh ...

oh. and i spread mint-chocolate swirled chocolate chips on top, melted and luscious. pure decadence.

(by the way, i'm not gonna just listen to this: i'm gonna eat it. a lot of it.)

fajita night

at byu my roommates and i decided we were cool. as such, we started pronouncing f.h.e. as if it were a word: "fa-hee".

one monday afternoon, as i was heading up to campus to drop something off, i called out to one of my roommates, "oh hey, are you going to 'fa-hee' tonight?" just then, one of our neighbors was passing by: "wait, what are you doing? what's 'fajita night'?" needless to say, we thought it was hilarious *and* we thought we were even more cool. so it's been fajita night ever since.

tonight i went to fajita night with my friend becky at the singles ward in my stake. the night's activities were (1) white elephant gift exchange and (2) sharing favorite Christmas treats.

while i was driving home from work kinda late tonight, i remembered that i, umm, i'm not a fan of white elephant gift exchanges. i already have too much junk and i am certain that no one wants the junk that i don't want -- pretty sure no one really wants the junk that i *do* want, either. plus, i didn't have time to worry about that: i had to make a favorite Christmas treat!

i stopped at the grocery store and then skeedaddled home to make ...

easy peppermint bark
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
10 - 12 peppermint candy canes

place candy canes in plastic bag and seal. crush candy canes to small pieces.

prepare a large plate by covering with waxed paper.

starting with the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a small dish, melt in the microwave by heating on medium power for 2 minutes. stir. continue heating for 30-second periods on medium-heat, stirring between each, until chocolate chips are fully melted. watch carefully and do not overheat as chocolate burns easily.

spread melted chocolate on waxed paper to a thickness of about ¼-inch. sprinkle crushed candy canes over melted semi-sweet chocolate. place in freezer to harden.

melt bittersweet chocolate chips in the same manner. once the bittersweet chocolate is melted, pour over previously prepared semi-sweet chocolate, creating a new layer. sprinkle the bittersweet chocolate layer with crushed candy canes.

once completely cooled/hardened, break into pieces. enjoy.

mmm. it was so good! it's super easy to make, *and* *it's* *chocolate*!! (no, i'm not drooling on my keyboard.)

the end of an era

i declare that i can now buy chocolate.

ha.

bring it.

no snickers, please

on thursday i was supposed to meet one of the girls i visit teach for a lunch visiting-teaching appointment. i have been brown-bagging lunch recently, but because we were going out, i didn't bring lunch ... well, my girl had to cancel last minute, at which point i didn't really feel like going out to lunch all by myself. so i thought, "well, if i just work straight through lunchtime, then maybe i can get out of the office early today." i wasn't super hungry anyway, so yeah.

at about 230 i just wanted something to chew, so i went up to the vending machine. lots of fun snacks there! cookies, candy, chips, gum, more candy, more cookies ... lots of chocolate. but i'm not allowed to buy chocolate. :S so i started crossing things off the list of options. as i stood there, i was getting more and more hungry. so i figured i better get something with a little substance. well, cookies are good -- wait, those are chocolate chip cookies -- nevermind, can't get those. umm, chips are good. okay. what else? ooo! a snickers! "snickers satisfies!" yay!

well, $1.50 and a half hour later, i was satisfied. :)

mmm. really enjoyed that snickers. haven't had a snickers in a long time. mmm ... wait a minute ... snickers is chocolate!! argh!!

confessions of a chocolate lover:

at this time, i must confess that since february i have had a few breeches in my chocolate-purchasing-ban.

1. april 9 -- mcdonald's hot fudge sundae
2. june 1 -- starbuck's hot chocolate
3. august 16 -- snickers candy bar

the stories behind each of these offenses are similar to the one related above -- by definition lapses in judgement. aside from these minor mistakes, though, i have remained compliant with the rules set forth. that's 6½ months of not buying any chocolate for myself ... more than half-way there!

the stash

sadness.

after much thought and pondering, i think i will have to do away with the hoard of chocolate in my purse. this may come as a shock to a few of you -- especially those of my co-workers that have grown accustomed to raiding my purse for a mid-afternoon chocolate fix -- but i really believe it is for the best.

chocolate melts in this hot l.a. summer sun.

i have had to clean the contents of my purse too many times already this summer. and it's not even july yet.

chocolate?

i recently conducted a poll among my family members and i appreciate your opinons. and now, it is with some dismay that i make the following announcement ...

seeing as how a majority of those polled (60.0%, to be exact) have expressed a concern for the amount of chocolate i currently consume, i have decided that i will abide by the results of this scientific study and refrain from purchasing chocolate for one year. now, since i haven't technically purchased any chocolate since beginning of february, that will count as the start date for this exercise. therefore, the following will now restrict my chocolate consumption during the year starting Feb-2007 and ending Jan-2008:

1. no purchasing chocolate for my own consumption -- in a recent discussion, my sister was quick to think of other possible requisite purchases of chocolate, and it was decided that purchases of chocolate as gifts *for others* are allowed. of course, her concern was whether or not i could purchase chocolate for her. the answer is yes.


2. eating any and all chocolate currently hoarded up in my room is allowed. waste not, want not.


3. gifts of chocolate from others to me are certainly welcome and even encouraged but there can be no "payment" or "exchange" made on my part for any such kindness.


4. the chocolate drought officially began Feb-1-2007 and officially ends Jan-31-2008.

any and all comments/encouragements/concerns/doubts/gossip are welcomed.

thank you.