How to Turn Bitter Events into a Sweet Life

Let’s face it – life can be hard. No matter who you are, no matter what your circumstances – bad things can happen to you. Your heart can get broken, a business deal can fall through, or your investments can go up in smoke. (Not that THAT has happened to any of us recently.) You need a boost – a way to hit your own personal reset button and get back in the game. Because that’s the secret really – you can’t give up. You have to have the hope that things will be better – that tomorrow is another chance to find love, put together a great business deal, or earn even higher returns.

I don’t think anyone can do this resetting for you – I think you have to do it for yourself. You have to find some techniques that work for you. Lately I’ve been using some techniques I borrowed from the love of my life, chocolate.

1.) Try new things (this can be read new books, listen to new music, hang out with new people, wear new clothing styles – you get the picture). Chocolate has been trying new things since it was discovered by the Aztecs. It started as a hot drink; it evolved into a myriad of candy bars, and now is an ingredient in everything from salad dressing to breakfast cereal. Chocolate is definitely a player in the game of life – always pushing the limits – even combining itself with bacon! If chocolate leads such an adventurous life, so can you.

Human nature is such that we get set in our ways, we hate change. This leads to boredom and depression. Mix it up!

2.) Have fun! Chocolate is definitely not uptight. The minute chocolate shows up – everybody smiles. Chocolate can be serious – when you start talking about dark chocolate and the benefits for your heart –that’s serious. But chocolate immediately reverts to fun. I have in my possession at this moment a grinning dark chocolate Easter Bunny. This bunny can save your life (in tiny doses) AND make you laugh. The key is that chocolate doesn’t take itself too seriously.

We get blue when we start taking ourselves and the things that happen to us WAY too seriously. We think if we make one mistake, our lives are over. We are so hard on ourselves! The truth is, if you gain 10 pounds, most people don’t even notice. But you can sure beat yourself up about it. In the grand scheme of your life – will people remember how skinny you were or how much joy you brought them? Remember how you thought you’d never recover from the loss of your first love? In 20 years, you’ll feel the same way about the loss of your invested money. Over time, very few things really matter. Have more fun – THAT is what you’ll remember and that is how we very often measure the true quality of our lives.

3.) Live unconditionally. Chocolate gives its all to you. It expects nothing in return. From the fragile cacao tree all the way through harvest and roasting and transport and preparation – chocolate goes through heck just to offer itself to you. And it doesn’t care if it winds up as a truffle in a fancy restaurant or a Tootsie Roll in a Halloween bag. It is still chocolate and still received with love and affection by all.

We don’t do this – we hold back. We worry about what other people might think of us. We don’t go to the beach until we lose weight. We don’t say what we really think because someone might not like us. As we age we get worse, we say “No” more to opportunities than we say “Yes.” Our world shrinks. Assume you are chocolate and wherever you go, in whatever form you take, people will like you and accept you. Be comfortable being you. Next time you find yourself putting conditions on your life (I’ll do it when I’m thinner; when I have a date, when the kids are older – remember – you may never have this chance again.) Chocolate ALWAYS shows up.

4.) Be flexible, but stay true to your nature. Chocolate can be a lot of different things. It can be molded into almost any shape imaginable. It can be paired with many other foods and mixed with many other ingredients. But we all know the taste of chocolate.

We humans can’t control much – not other people, not the weather, not the stock market. Very few things are under our direct control. To have any degree of happiness, we have to be flexible, to be willing to compromise, to share. We have to accept change. But, you must be true to yourself. If you sacrifice your core values, you will never be happy. If you hide your true nature and try to be something you are not, you will never be happy. Be like chocolate – be yourself. It won’t work in all situations, but when it does, the world will cheer.

I’m not saying these are easy – I think the reverse is true. But if you can force yourself to do them, I guarantee the results will far exceed the effort. And the more you do them, the easier they become. You can take bitter (the cacao bean) and make it sweet (chocolate). In the candy shop of life, you are your own chocolatier. Will you create a masterpiece? Or give up after the first bad batch?

Easter in the Tropics

What the hell was I thinking when I suggested orange as an Easter flavor? It apparently already IS an Easter flavor. How little I know. And I gotta tell you all, I am going to be biased here - I'm not a huge fan of orange. I like orange as a jelly bean, but so far, not much else. Well - I mean, I like orange juice, but we're talking candy here.

I was even at the Just Born factory when they told us the new flavor for this year was orange. I was covered in orange sugar dust - how could I have forgotten???

One of the things I like most about these is the multicolored sprinkles - how festive is that? And, now this is kind of weird - the inner marshmallow is pink. I don't know how that happened - I saw them made - orange blobs - solid orange goo. It's an Easter miracle!!! (I'm not going to say anything about Just Born and Resurrection - I'm already headed for the tropics as it is.)

Miracles aside - the taste is definitely orangey. If you like orange, marshmallow and sugar, these are custom designed for you. Having eaten them hot off the line, however, I am ruined forever and nothing less will do.

Even Hershey has orange Kisses!

Okay - that bag design is totally boring - I'd go so far as to say - it's ugly. And the Kisses - not so good. If you are into orange you might like these - kind of like a creamsicle. Too orange, too sweet, too gross.

Even Cadbury has an orange egg!! What rock have I been living under??? There's an orange rabbit on there for God's sake! Orange is an Easter staple! Orange is the backbone of Easter!

Of all the orange things, Cadbury was by far the best. I even sliced open my finger performing the autopsy on this baby (I BLEED for you all!). And it was worth it - check this out:

Wow - how cool is that? They still have the yoke! I was sure it would just be solid boring orange cream. Go Cadbury - you rock! These are worth trying, but I really prefer the traditional Cadbury Egg. These are just sooooo orangy! But Cadbury chocolate is so delicious it makes a nice combination. I still don't know why orange for Easter, but some things may never be understood. It's good that there are still some mysteries in the world.

And I missed some eggs for the Eggstravanza! There is a white Reese's Egg:

And a fudge Reese's Egg:

And a Mound's Egg! Will the possibilities never end???

I still think the original Reese's Egg is the best. White is good, but it's terribly sweet. It's my second choice. Fudge is last in my book - the fudge almost overpowers the peanut butter. And you know how I feel about peanut butter. I adore peanut butter. I would join the peanut butter cult if I knew how to find them. I could fall in love with Mr. Peanut - well. he might need to lose the monocle. Wait - back to Easter.

The Mounds Eggs has no weird aftertaste like the Almond Joy - the coconut was good and moist. No weird cream. But I still like Bounty best in the coconut category.

Orange you glad they didn't pick banana?

Chocolate is a Many Splendored Thing

Happy Monday, everybody!! Thought I'd share some shots from the GORGEOUS chocolate shop in the Bellagio - Jean Philippe Patisserie: http://www.jpchocolates.com/

I gained weight just by breathing in here:

Look at these great chocolate sculptures:

And the show piece - a fountain with white, milk and dark chocolate. When I die, will you all scatter my ashes here?

Can you tell how big this thing is? It's amazing! I tried to break in, but casino security stopped me.

Of course, something has to pay for all this fancy beauty. See this chocolate bunny? He's MAYBE three feet tall. Cute, right?

Look at the price tag:

That is something that is staying in Vegas.

As far as the love life, I actually had a great date this weekend!! Woohoo! Can you believe it? I have to proceed with GREAT caution, however, because I actually like this guy. After the Afghanistan Affair I'm proceeding VERY slowly. (Obviously my judgement when it comes to men has not been the best.) Of course, we'll have to see if he likes me - there's the Big Personality, my chocolate obsession, and a myriad of other quirks to consider. Good grief - I could probably get better odds in Vegas!

Have a great week!! More EGGSTRAVAGANZA to come!!

And know that any country that produces a $325 chocolate Easter bunny is the greatest country in the world!!

More Eggstravaganza!! Cuckco for Coconut

I have to tell you, I still don't know how or why coconut became an Easter/Spring flavor. If anybody has any ideas, please let me know. I mean, why not banana? Or orange? Or the dreaded and horrifying lavender? But, hey, I'm rolling with it. (The White House doesn't have the only Egg Roll in town.)


The first coconut offering is from Lake Champlain Chocolates (LCC). This egg is dark chocolate with their awesome logo on it:







I hate to say this, because I love LCC, but this coconut is a joke. It's a great dark chocolate egg, but the chocolate completely overwhelms this "coconut" filling. I say "coconut" because it didn't really taste like anything other than dark chocolate.





I have another bone to pick with LCC. This egg was part of an assortment:





The assortment has six flavors - gorgeous colors - very pretty. But when I took them all out and counted them, it had:



9 java - boo!

9 peanut butter - yea!

5 hazelnut

4 coconut

2 raspberry

1 caramel



Call me crazy, but I expected a more even mix. I only got 1 caramel (which I LOVE) and 9 java (which I hate). Not happy. I think we need to redraw the egg districts.



You know how I feel about Russell Stover. I bought their crummy candy at Halloween and again at Christmas and then decided No Mas! Compared to all the other chocolate makers, I just found their stuff inferior. But they had some great egg flavors I hadn't tried, so I decided to give them yet another chance.






They don't look bad - hell, even Russell Stover can make an egg shape. (Santas are WAY out of their league, but they can handle the egg). I like the nest - it's cute and using the jelly beans actually took some creativity! Go RS, it's your holiday!


The nest is really good, it is basically the Christmas Wreath I loved with three jelly beans on it. Nice and coconutty, moist - the only RS candy I really, really like.

The egg, however, is disappointing. It's the only egg that says it's a coconut CREAM egg, so maybe that explains why it's a little more gooey than all the others:

I think the "cream" might be marshmallow. This tasted sweet and not very coconutty. I didn't like it. If you like coconut, get the nest, forget the egg. (Boy, if only more people took that advice......)

You can't talk about coconut without talking about:

I was REALLY looking forward to eating this egg. I always liked Almond Joys, but I haven't had one in forever. Now get this - it has a weird taste. The only way I can describe it is like a cooking odor got into it. I know, gross, right? But that was what it was like. I opened another sealed one, tried it too - same thing. I don't know if I got a bad batch or what, but these were seriously disappointing.

The final coconut egg is from See's Easter candy - it's the giant one at the bottom:

See's has an Eggsortment (my make up word - you know I work fast and loose with the English language) containing peanut butter, coconut, and two flavors we'll review next. I like the sheer size of these eggs. Yay See's!

See's coconut egg is much better than Stover's, but it's very sweet. I like more a coconut taste. But of the eggs, See's was the best. And the biggest! WooHoo!

LCC has to get an honorable mention (even though I am still bitter about the assortment) for the deliciousness of their chocolate. It was definitely the best of the bunch. (or the dozen - eggs don't really come in a bunch, coconuts do........).

Now this isn't an egg, this is a bar made by Mars but not available everywhere. I got this one at World Market. It looks a lot like an Almond Joy (sans Almonds):

This bar ROCKS! It was the best of all the entries - at least as far as coconut goes. Nice chewy chunks of coconut - yum! Looks just like the Almond Joy egg when autopsied, so no real info there. If you're looking for a good coconut bar, this is the one for you. Happy Easter, My Little Coconut!

Weekend Update

Hi Gang! Quick post - I'm reviewing coconut eggs tonight (wow - are you so jealous?). The eggsciting news is that I should have much to report early next week!

I have a lunch date tomorrow - good potential - but you can never get your hopes up about these things. It's a Match.com date so I haven't met the man yet. And there's a huge singles Meetup tomorrow night. Who knows what might happen there? I could be called Marcy, hear how someone was beaten by his spouse, or maybe even be told of run ins with the law! All of which I find simply irresistible! Ah - the weekend! Who knows what might happen?

There's also the back-up promise of lots of Easter chocolate which NEVER lets me down! So have a great weekend - chances are good I'll be thinking about you! You all are with me on every date and during each misadventure! So stay tuned for the next episode of "Dating with Denise, Searching for a Man as Dependable (and sexy) as Chocolate."

Enjoy your weekend!!! (Eat some chocolate!)

More Peanut Butter Eggs (Better, Faster, Stronger)

I strongly agree with Marcus Buckingham, author of Discover Your Strengths, who says that rather than trying to work on our weaknesses, we should do the most to maximize our strengths. For example, I'm a great speaker, but I'm a lousy computer programmer. It makes much more sense for me to hire a web guy rather than try to get better at programming. I can spend that time getting even better at speaking.

One of my seminar attendees asked about this when I advised that an important part of leadership was putting the right people in the right jobs. I always use the example that some people are great at dealing with customers - they have outstanding people skills. There are other people who should be kept far, far away from customers. Not everyone can do every job. The question was, "Shouldn't you move people around to different jobs so they can learn different skills?" I said no - echoing Buckingham's words. Later, of course, I though of a better example. Would a football coach take his best kicker and put him in at QB so he could learn some different skills? No way. Put your people where they can excel. It's what will win the game and what will make the most money. The leader should figure out what people are best at and put them in positions that make the best use of their skills.

What does this mean for you? Figure out what you are best at - chances are you enjoy it the most - and find work that utilizes those skills. Don't know what you're best at? There are a lot of assessments that can help you figure it out, but the bottom line is that none of us can do everything well. Success is about figuring out what you do best and doing more and more of it!

And that bring us to our chocolate! I failed to include in my peanut butter Eggstravanza, Peanut Butter M & M's Speck-tacular Eggs (See? the BP is not so good with the details):

These compete most closely with Reese's Pieces Eggs:

Here they are naked:

Now, the M & M Eggs look just like regular peanut butter M & Ms except for the speckley Easter colors. But the Reese's Eggs are completely different than regular Reese's Pieces and therefore, I give them higher points. I also like the colors better.

But for the real deal - you gotta autopsy:

I wondered why the M & Ms weren't as good as the Reese's - they have chocolate. Now I know I am committing heresy, but I like the candy shell and the peanut butter better WITHOUT the chocolate. I think this is a great example of our motivational point. Reese's owns peanut butter. M & M's rocks chocolate and peanuts, but peanut butter, not so much. Do what you are best at, don't try to be all things to all people.

**WARNING** - if you buy Reese's Pieces Eggs you will not be able to stop eating them. Motivation by Chocolate and its author, Denise Ryan, are not responsible for any weight gain, increased heart rate, erections lasting longer than four hours, blurriness of vision, increased cholesterol levels, or fighting among family members. Happy Easter!!

Tomorrow - COCONUT EGGSTRAVAGANZA!!!

Random Acts of Chocolate in the Spring

Still no luck in the dating arena - during my latest Match.com date, the guy didn't even crack a smile much less actually laugh. I am, however, pretty sure he was breathing. For his part, I'm sure he thought I needed to be put on Ritalin. The date gave new meaning to the phrase "one man show."

Springtime makes people do crazy things - fall in love, plan weddings, dig in the dirt. Apparently candy makers are also struck with Spring Fever. (I couldn't bring all those eggs on the road with me, so Eggstravaganza will pick back up in the next entry.) These aren't really Easter candy, although there are Easter Eggs on the Three Musketeers bag - right under the Limited Edition banner:

VERY festive - don't you think? Covered in dark chocolate and flavored with raspberry, these are a more subtle pink than those screaming red cherry ones I reviewed a few entries ago:

But again, I'm not digging the taste - there's something medicinal about it. Not so good. This edition needs to be kept limited, very limited.

Coconut seems to be a springtime favorite although I have absolutely no idea why. See's has a coconut egg, Russell Stover has a couple of coconut Easter things, Almond Joy does an Easter Egg. Why? I can see Summer - tropical - but Spring? Is there some politically correct Caribbean Easter Celebration? Is it the egg-like shape of the coconut? Anyway, check these out:

Coconut Creme Kisses - see the flowers? Springy.

I gotta tell you, I was skeptical here. I mean, how many damn flavors of Kisses do we need? How much coconut can you even fit in there? I just knew these were going to be gross. Well, I'll be damned if Hershey's didn't do it again! These are really good. There are actually coconut flakes in there! And, while I like coconut, I do not love it (coconut cake is not my favorite). But here, the chocolate coating created the perfect blend of flavors. These were surprisingly good. (Nothing on the Hershey wrapper about the coconuts being grown on a 500 year old coconut plantation, harvested by free-range natives with machetes sparkling in the sun, but they are GOOD.)

I like my chocolate like my friends - down to earth. Just be yourself. Don't go all prima donna on me. I mean, I do think these different sea salts are interesting and enjoy the creativity of the chocolatiers in using them, but when we start talking about how they sparkle in the sun, we have drunk WAY too much of the culinary Kool-Aid. At the end of the day, I just want my chocolate to taste good.

Hershey's is trying to get in on the higher end with their Truffle Kisses. I reviewed the cherry ones a few entries back and they were awesome. These chocolate truffle ones are good too:

These are made with a much better chocolate than the regular Kisses and they are larger. These were good, but nothing to really write home about. I liked the cherry ones better. Save your money and buy one grain of salt at Vosges.

So this spring - have fun, be yourself, and don't forget to laugh. And remember, Almond JOY is the nutty one - the world needs more joyous nuts!

Easter Eggstravaganza! Round One Peanut Butter

I'm back from Vegas and the trip was great - even though I wasn't there very long. I do have to say I would not go back during Spring Break and March Madness - too many people. More like Mardi Gras than typical Vegas. But hey - any day I get paid to speak is a good day and if I'm speaking at the Bellagio - life is grand!!



I went down to Steve Wynn's next extravagance, Encore (a huge casine, resort combo). I really think the Wynn is fabulous - although they don't do it up for spring like the Bellagio. Encore is aptly named - after all, the encore is nothing but a shadow of the main performance. It's a lovely, elegant place, but it didn't blow me away. I prefer the Wynn. Now the Bellagio is just unparalleled. I'm saving the shots of the chocolate fountain - these are just shots of their conservatory decorated for spring. I got up early one morning so I could shoot it when it wasn't packed full of people.



Getting up early also let me see the army of people out there replacing wilted flowers, redoing designs - it was impressive. And they weren't just in the conservatory. The Bellagio had fresh flower arrangements everywhere. Gorgeous, elegant, of the highest standard - and Vegas has fantastic deals right now. If you want to stay in a place of the utmost elegance for a steal, I say go to the Bellagio. And see Cirque's Show "O" while you are there. Cirque du Soleil is something everyone should see before they die. It is am expression of the best in man. Every time I see one of their shows I am so moved by the beauty, the imagination, and the skill of the performers. Please don't miss Cirque.



Here are some shots from the conservatory:








Yes, this cute guy is made out of fresh flowers:






This is the area behind the check-in desk:

How beautiful is that? Can you just feel spring? They change this display regularly and it is breathtaking every time. I think one of the best ways to keep motivated is to get a big dose of beauty. The Bellagio provides that everywhere you look.

Spring is a time of rebirth, of new beginnings - of spring cleaning!! Time to get rid of clutter and dirt and anything else that has been junking up your life! One of the pagan and Christian symbols of the season is the egg. And, my friends, Motivation by Chocolate is having an Eggstravanganza! We are going to be reviewing all kinds of chocolate eggs! Whee!! What could be more fun that that?

And we're starting with my favorite - peanut butter! (Okay, my show isn't quite like Cirque's - unless you find poetry in melting chocolate - but the tickets are much cheaper. And the performers are sooo low maintenance.)

Since I stopped at Vosges in Vegas, let's quickly review their organic peanut butter bonbon:

http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/product/peanut_butter_bon_bon_9pc/peanut_butter_bonbons

Gorgeous packaging - Vosges has the most beautiful and elegant packaging anywhere. Nine bonbons for $27.00 - oh yes - that's $3.00 a bonbon. I should keep this box and have my ashes placed in it when I die. Here's the description of these apparently magical chocolates:

Two types of rare sea salt are speckled throughout this bonbon, adding a subtle crunch and remineralizing the body with calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. Pink Himalayan salt is hand-mined from deep inside the Himalayan Mountains where it was deposited from the sea over 250 million years ago. Each bonbon is topped with Maldon salt sourced from Southeastern England. Maldon salt is made from the water of the Blackwater River estuary in Essex county, collected via natural methods, boiled and gradually evaporated. As the water slowly boils off, beautiful pyramid-shaped crystals remain that sparkle in the sun. Maldon salt has a mellow, soft flavor with none of the bitterness characteristic of grey salt.

Somebody call the FDA! Remineralizing the body? Hand-mined? Sparkling in the sun? You have got to be kidding! I'm thinking some peanuts were involved, but what the hell do I know?

If any of this high-falutin' stuff is true, I guess $3.00 a pop is cheap. I mean it must be expensive to do all that hand mining and have all those English people standing around watching salt dry.

Here's one brutally hacked open:

And the taste? Well, you know I am pretty ruthless when it comes to peanut butter. The more peanut buttery the better. This was too far to the chocolate side of the house for me. Not bad, mind you - the salt is a nice touch. But in the category - I'd rather have Reese's. And you can fill the trunk of your car with $27.oo worth of Reese's. Guess that puts me in food critic hell. Or maybe the food critic ghetto.

But on to Easter!

The heavy hitter in the peanut butter category is Reese's. I don't care what anyone says, when it comes to peanut butter and chocolate, Reese's owns it. Other companies all use orange to signify peanut butter - why? Because orange was the color of the Reese's wrapper since back in the 1920's. (I am only guessing at this, but unless someone gives me a better reason this makes the most sense to me.) Marketers have always tried to benefit from the success of the strongest product in a category.

Here are the peanut butter egg offerings I've found so far from Reese's this season:

Same thing, different package:

These are like regular Reese's Pieces except they are shaped like eggs. Which means - more peanut butter!!! YAY!!! These rock! I love them.

Now these are all the different sizes of chocolate and peanut butter eggs:

Here they are naked:

The smallest is my favorite only because it's such a good edible size. Each has 85 calories - and you can pop the whole thing in your mouth. YUM! They aren't sold individually only in a big bag. Next to that is the standard Reese's Egg - 180 calories. Then the double sized egg - 340 calories and good God - this thing is really huge - the giant molded egg. It has 840 calories. If I had gotten this as a kid I would have started an Easter Bunny cult. (Hell, I still might.)

What can I say? These are all awesome. The only complaint is the same one I have with all of the giant Reese's molded things (remember the snowman at Christmas, the heart at Valentine's Day) the base is too thick. Too much chocolate. I know they have to do this or all that peanut butter will seep out - I learned this by looking at all the grease and the back of the double sized egg. All that peanut butter kind of oozes through the thin layer of chocolate. I, of course, like this.

See the thick base here?

The next up is See's Egg Quartet. I'm just pulling out the peanut butter egg for this entry. We'll review the rest soon. Keegan Hurd, in See's Marketing Department contacted me and asked if I would review some of their Easter treats. And you know I said YES! (Keegan is my Easter Bunny this year.) He liked the Eggstravaganza idea and was kind enough to send me a bunch of See's eggs.

Check out See's Easter candy yourself. They have some great stuff.

See's Peanut Butter Egg is a good size - here it is compared to the Reese's Eggs:

See what a good size it is? It's actually somewhere between the standard Reese's Egg and the double one. And look how delish it looks when autopsied:

I had pretty great expectations when I bit into it. But it was a little on the sweet side for me. Close to Reese's, but needed a little more of that salty kick. However, the texture of the peanut butter was much better - smoother and creamier. Definitely worth a try. The PB to chocolate ratio was perfect. Maybe they should get some of that estuary salt from England.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Lake Champlain chocolates. My ex husband (God, it seems hard to believe I was ever married!) and I visited their factory about a million years ago. Sometime around when that salt was being deposited in those Himalayan Mountains.

They have a cute bag of assorted eggs:

See - peanut butter is orange! Love the logo design on the egg - classy, nice touch, beautiful attention to detail. The autopsy photo (that's not caramel, just melting milk chocolate):

Now - if you have been paying attention to my many reviews of peanut butter and chocolate you will know right away what I'm going to complain about. Yep - too much chocolate. While I do think that, I have to say that the quality of LCC's peanut butter is hands down the best. And their chocolate is to die for. I can't wait to review the other flavors in this gorgeous assortment.

LCC has a lot of oh so cute Easter items:

http://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/

And last but not least:

A cute assortment from Lindt - they really have some creative items this year. Again, peanut butter is orange. This one was lovely - smooth creamy milk chocolate and nice peanut butter. You can't really complain about it. The highest quality chocolate, but I actually like Reese's better. More of that awesome salty peanut butter. Hey, I'm in the ghetto - what can I say?

Here's my ranking of peanut butter eggs:

1.) Reese's

2.) See's

3.) Lake Champlain

4.) Lindt

Now as far as the quality of the chocolate, reverse the list. But I'm all about the peanut butter.

Oh - and you'll notice I did not include Russell Stover. As you all know, I am trying to learn from my mistakes and make better choices. Russell Stover has broken my heart one too many times.

And now for their encore:

Here's the whole cast!! A standing ovulation!!!

This visit to Vegas has been a little bittersweet. That's because Afghanistan Affair man and I talked about coming here when he got back. Bastard. (Oops, did I type that out loud?) I've been to Vegas several times (solo every one) and I've always thought that it would be a great place to go with someone you were into. I mean, let's face it - Vegas IS Sin City. It's sexy. It's fun. It's hot! But, c'est la vie. The hope of finding somebody to share stuff like this with is what keeps me trying.

However, mostly the trip has been sweet. The weather is amazing, the town is packed (Spring Break and March Madness), and I'm here making money. I'm also sitting in my room at the gorgeous Bellagio enjoying the view:






See the mountains? And the water? That's where the fabulous Bellagio Fountains are - I can see them too when the shows on. How cool is this???

Not only is the view great, the Bellagio is decorated for spring and it is gorgeous:

Now that's some yard art I can live with! That globe has water coursing over it and it is breathtaking.

The speech went well (the BP does come in handy!) and I spent the rest of my day checking out the chocolate situation. One of the places mentioned in the LA Times - Chocolate at the Wynn - is closed. Boo!

But M & M World is alive and packed:

Now you have to admire the genius of M & M World. Every time I've ever been in one (Vegas,Times Square) it has been packed. This one is FOUR floors of M & Ms promotional items that people are falling all over each other to buy. People (myself included) are paying to buy marketing materials. I bought a M & M hoodie for $42 and I love it! I will plaster the M & M logo on my body and pay to do it! I love M & Ms and I want the world to know it! There was even a celebrity there:





I wonder if he's single?

You could also make your own color combination of M & Ms choosing from just about every color imaginable. Lowe's paint section ain't got nuthin' on Mars. At $11.99 a pound (good God!) these were flying out the door. Take that, Naked Cowboy.

But, of course, I didn't stop there.

There's a Vosges Store in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. The Forum Shops are my favorite place to shop in Vegas. I love the ceiling that changes as if you were outside. I like the cheesy Greek statuary and the fountains. And they have some very high-end shops, but a good mix of affordable ones too. Oh - I saw the Cher store - she's performing out here. And the stuff was cool - kind of hip and Gothy. But if I met a guy wearing a Cher shirt - that would scare me. But I digress. Vegas does that to me - too many shiny objects.

Love the saying in the window: one taste and my lips were seething. Vosges is just soooo cool.

I was intrigued by this because I didn't really think seething seemed quite right, but number two in the definition is right on:

–verb (used without object)
1.to surge or foam as if boiling. (uh...maybe not, eww)
2.to be in a state of agitation or excitement. (oh, yes)
3.Archaic. to boil.

Oh - the fountains are going right now! WOW! It's dusk and they are lit up - so romantic. Sigh.

Anyway - I went a little crazy in Vosges. But, hey, I passed by all those ritzy designers and I don't gamble - what's a ton of chocolate? And I got something I have been dying to try. One of their cheese truffles:

I didn't have my autopsy tools, so I had to bite this one to show you the inside.

Gotta tell you - didn't like it. Ate one, trashed the other. At $2.75 each this wasn't the cheapest experiment. Hey - I guess I DO gamble! The money that goes to Vegas STAYS in Vegas!

The cheese taste wasn't too overpowering, but it was definitely there and I just don't think the combination does much for either chocolate or cheese. But you may like it. I didn't like the bacon chocolate combo either but some people do. I think these two are fads that will not stand the test of time. But hey, the Circus Peanut is still around, so what do I know?

I also went to Payard and have great shots of the chocolate fountain at Bellagio. But I'll save those for next time. Wish you all were here with me - we would be having a blast!!

The one good thing about being a solo traveler is you can spend as much time as you want doing whatever you want to do. It would be the rare man who would want to hike up and down the strip in search of chocolate. Freedom is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I am so lucky to be here, to have work that I adore, and a shopping bag full of some of the best chocolate in the world. I just need to stop thinking about what I don't have and start celebrating what I do have. Motivation by chocolate!!

The Method Behind My Madness

Hi Gang! Forgive the slackness in my posting - I'm on my way out to a gig in Vegas. Which means pics of the amazing chocolate fountain in the Bellagio for YOU! But since I have a freakin' three hour layover in the Dallas airport - I'll be talking to you.

There's actually an great article about chocolate and Vegas that ran in the LA Times:

http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-vegas10feb10

And I'm going to try to hit all these hot spots. But no promises. Who knows what might happen in Vegas?

However, I can assure you that whatever happens in Vegas will not stay in Vegas.

I thought I would take this opportunity to fully explain what must seem like a bizarrely disjointed or perhaps a completely desperate effort on my part to find someone cool to date. Let me assure you it is neither. I am totally not desperate - I am a little blue over the Afghanistan Affair, but I've been single for almost 12 years now. If I were desperate, I've had some chances. Hey - there was restraining order man!

As far as disjointed - not that either. Here's the plan (honed over many years of experimentation). Profile posted on match.com - this seems to be the best of the dating sites. E-harmony is a pain and the "matches" are creepy. You can't pick your own people - you only get what they send you. I got a guy who wanted to do ballroom dancing (GLAACK - I'll go for salsa, even swing, but screw ballroom. I'm saving that for my golden years. Maybe.) and another guy who's biggest hobby was growing orchids. Hmmmm.....lets' see - I'll be lifting at the gym and he'll be tending his orchids? Are you kidding me? I find flower tending almost as sexy as SI.

I've also checked out some of the other sites, but the freak factor was very high. And I do mean freaks. One guy e-mailed and asked me if my feet were as pretty as the rest of me. Eew! And we won't go into detail about the man who posted a picture of himself in latex. And there was the woman who e-mailed to ask me if I might want to have a threesome with her and her husband. Ahhh......the stories I can tell. Who needs Vegas? I've got all this happening in my home office!

So match.com is the best. And I have met some really nice guys and a few really big jerks. Unfortunately I seem to be attracted to the jerks. It's the initial appearance of a BP. The Afghanistan Affair was a match.comer. I accept full responsibility for my attraction to jerks and I am trying to do better. Thus - the words "restraining order" and "separated" send me running.

Now remember - I've met a lot of nice guys, so don't go thinking Internet dating is a bad thing. It's a great way to meet people especially if you work for yourself (no work contacts) and you don't think hanging out in a bar is enjoyable. And no, church is not in the cards, so don't even go there.

So I got that going on. It's a mixed bag and I am a hard ass. I don't really want to date someone with three or more small children. I don't want to date someone who mentions Jesus more than 5 times in his profile. And the latest guy who contacted me just set up a zip line from his back porch to the river behind his house. I don't know about you, but that makes me think of "Deliverance."

Now before you start giving me crap about being too picky - I give lots of guys a chance. I'll exchange a few e-mails and see if they have any life. If they seem like they might, I'll talk to them on the phone. Several blow it here - you wouldn't believe the things people tell you! But if they get through all this - I'll meet them. I've met some nice guys who just didn't do it for me and some weirdos and some guys I didn't do it for. You, dear readers, get the best of the stories.

As of today - and this is since the end of the Afghanistan Affair at the beginning of February - 2775 men have viewed my profile. Now I assume there are duplicates in there, but you can't ask for better exposure. Roughly 150 men have contacted me, I've gone on 7 dates and have 2 more set up. Several guys were screened out over the phone. Some I quit e-mailing because they were so damn boring. One guy spelled honest, onist. And judging by the rest of his writing, we're not talking typo. Call me crazy, but I like a little literacy in my men. The truth is, if a guy can't make me laugh or at least be interesting, why bother?

Okay, you heard about the speed dating. That was 20 guys. I scared them.

The other piece of the strategy is Meetup. This is a huge website - check it out http://www.meetup.com/ that has about a billion different groups. Everything from knitting to hiking to dating. I, of course, have joined the singles group. They are set up by age - I started with the 40s and 50s group - thinking I'd rather be a hot, young member than a trolling cougar (I'm 43). But I found that men drop down - so all the guys in their 50s were at the 40s/30s group. Men seem to have no sense of their lack of hotness. I mean, some guys in their 50s are hot, no doubt. But most are not - at least not to someone 15 years younger. It's kind of creepy when these guys hit on you. And at the 40s/50s group the guys hitting on me were in their 60s. I was not diggin' it.

So, every Tuesday if I'm not traveling, working, or on a date, I try to go to the 30s/40s meetup.

Here's a pic from St. Patty's Day:

See the name tag I'm wearing? It doesn't say Marcy.

So far? Mixed results - have met several separated people. A few weirdos - one story I am sure I will share with you. And a lot of really nice guys I am not attracted to. But it's early in the game! And I really like to go to hang out with my buddy Carole - yes, the SI got her name right - she's in the pic with me. She is good enough to tolerate my random jokes (I am SO going to hell for the things I say about other attendees) and is a fellow chocolate lover. It was Carole who brought me the Vosges Bacon Bar.

So - that's the dating strategy and where all these random stories come from.

Upcoming - chocolate report from Vegas and the Easter candy!!!!!! See's sent me some awesome eggs, so we will be having an Eggstravanza!! I've even purchased a couple of the evil Russell Stover to give them a 100th chance. Stay tuned! And if you have any advice on the dating (other than the BS "if it is meant to be it will happen"), send it on! I say that is BS because both my UPS man and my postman are married. Those are the only men I see on a regular basis.

Viva Las Vegas!!!

Getting Naked on St. Patrick's Day

Ah, St. Patrick's Day. Although I have a bit of Irish blood in my veins, St. Patty's Day has never really been one of my favorite holidays. It has NO good candy. All the best holidays have good candy - Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day. Hell, Just Born doesn't even make a shamrock Peep! I've almost always gone out with my friends and, as a non-drinker, been suitably unimpressed. Green beer just seems nasty to me.

Now don't get me wrong - my non drinking is not a moral thing. I'm no Mormon - hell, they can't even have caffeine! And, as we know, I'm really not excited by the thought of being one of multiple wives. I'd like to be the ONLY woman in my committed relationship. And, no, I'm not a recovering alcoholic. I am a practicing chocoholic, but that's it.


I simply don't like the taste of beer and I need ALL my calories for candy! I mean, choosing between a beer and a Reese's Cup is easy for me. I will ALWAYS choose the chocolate.

But as far as what others do, I don't care. I prefer not to hang out with those who mainline heroin, but drinking? Bottoms up! In fact, I have found that my non drinking bothers some people WAY more than their drinking bothers me.

The only thing that does bother me is when the extremely drunk are attracted to the Big Personality (BP) like besotted moths to a flame. I actually like the BP - it makes me laugh. I like to walk up to a cute guy and give him a hard time for not wearing green. Or bust on him for texting when he could be talking to all the people around him. (Apparently this scares more men than I realize, but I think it's funny.) And the truth is, most of the guys I like have BP's themselves and they like the attention. They give it right back to me.

But sometimes what seems like a BP is just severe intoxication (SI). When the BP teases the severely intoxicated, the SI wants to attach itself to the BP. Now let me elaborate on SI. SI is not a good buzz. SI is slurring speech, loss of balance, and possibly an inability to focus the eyes. Quite frankly, SI is repulsive. There's a whole lotta SI going on on St. Patty's Day.

Tonight I made the mistake of talking to two SIs. The problem is, you can't tell at first they are SIs. They seem to make eye contact like BPs. But as soon as the SI speaks, they betray themselves. It's the slurring. Combined with the incoherence. Then there's the leaning - they can't really stand erect. And they see the BP and think - "Ooh.....shiny......I want to touch the shiny thing........" YIKES!

The SI also thinks he has serious mojo which could not be further from the truth. As the night went on, the SI ratio began to skyrocket and we decided to escape. One SI followed my girlfriend and I into the parking lot and called after us "Marcy and Carole? Marcy and Carole?" We were wearing name tags. And my name ain't Marcy. His stumbling, slurring and use of God knows who's name was so sexy I immediately wanted to go home with him. I'm not sure if it was the loss of motor skills or the illiteracy. So hot!

Needless to say, I did not meet any dating prospects tonight. But all was not lost!

On the way home I stopped by Rite Aid and got my first haul of Easter candy! Whoo Hoo!


These were the cutest guys I saw all night:




Aw- look at them!! Made by Lindt with their creamy, fabulous, delicious chocolate. They are hollow, but if they were solid, it would be too much chocolate. This was perfect.

This was the only body I wanted to see naked tonight.

I wonder who the hell Marcy is?

The Great Caramel Throw Down

I love caramel. But like chocolate (and men) caramel is all over the map. Some caramel is nice and chewy, some is almost like liquid, and some is that horrible wheat flour stuff in Goetze's caramel creams. GLACK!! Of course, the best caramel for you is the one you like the best. But I think you have to try a lot of caramels so you can figure out which one is really your favorite.

All these caramels taste so different I thought I should get a definition of caramel. From Wikipedia:

Caramel (pronounced /ˈkærəmɛl/ or /ˈkɑrməl/) refers to a range of confections that are beige to dark brown in color and derived from the caramelization of sugar. Caramel also refers to a soft, dense, chewy, caramel-flavored candy made by boiling milk, sugar, butter, vanilla essence, water, and glucose or corn syrup.

Yahoo! I'm all about milk, butter, and sugar - YAY! And all of the caramels we'll review here (except for one) are covered in chocolate. YUM!!!

In the last entry I told you how fabulous the caramels from The Chocolate Fetish were. Well, today we're going to look at their sea salt collection:

http://www.chocolatefetish.com/proddetail.php?prod=SSCGBO&cat=8







And because it's easier for me to compare and judge than just describe, we're also going to look at caramels from another Asheville chocolatier, French Broad chocolates:

http://www.frenchbroadchocolates.com/salted_honey_caramels.html

We'll talk more about their other chocolates in an upcoming entry.

And since all the celebrities (including our new President) keep raving about Fran's chocolates, we'll take a look at them too:
http://www.franschocolates.com/home.php?cat=1

Okay - first off, the diamond shaped thing is not a caramel - it's a hazelnut milk chocolate truffle. And it's very, very good - especially if you like hazelnut.

Okay - on to the caramel.

Let's compare all the dark chocolate sea salts and then the milk chocolate ones.

The winner is The Chocolate Fetish - their caramel is slightly softer than French Broad's and has a richer taste. There is also a better marriage between the chocolate and the caramel in the Fetish caramels. The French Broad chocolates use a local wildflower honey rather than corn syrup - I don't know if this accounts for the difference in taste and texture or not.

The Fetish caramel is so rich and chewy - it's just amazing.

Now what about the famous Fran's? Third place! Too salty - the salt completely overpowered the caramel. Now French Broad's caramels could actually have used a little MORE salt. It was too subtle there. Fetish was just right, Goldilocks.

Now here's the thing - if you only had Fran's you might think it was good. The combination of salt and caramel is a delicious one. But when you compare it to these other two - not so good! And Fran's is the most expensive, thank you very much. In this case, celebrity endorsement is worth more than quality.

Now what about the milk chocolate ones?

Fetish wins again! I just can't tell you all how amazing these caramels are. They have such a rich, deep taste. And look at all the different salts - they use SIX different salts from around the world. This really gives you an amazing taste experience. You would never think salts could taste so differently.

This time Fran's comes in second - I really liked the milk chocolate ones much better. The salt was less overwhelming than on the dark chocolate ones. But it was close, the French Broad caramels had a delicious finish. The chocolate was a bit smoother on the Fran's caramels.

So, when it comes to chocolate covered caramels, The Chocolate Fetish RULES!

All I want to do is get you to try something different. You may decide you'd rather have Kraft caramels any day, and that's great! But choose based on knowledge, not just because those are the caramels you've always eaten. And remember, this blog is about chocolate, but the message is bigger. Don't just do what you've always done or hang out with the same people you've always hung out with. Try new things! Meet new people! Your life is as big and as exciting as YOU make it. Everyday can be an adventure.

Even salt can be exciting!!

Perfection and Caramel

No progress on the relationship front - although I was contacted out of the blue by the perpetrator of the Afghanistan Affair. He told me I was the perfect woman - maybe too perfect. (Apparently his other women aren't quite what he expected.) Ah....so I'm TOO perfect and my personality is too big. What am I going to do with all this "constructive" criticism? Heavy sigh.



On to sweeter things:

This is an interesting assortment from The Chocolate Fetish. Let's take it piece by piece from the upper left.

First are white chocolate covered dried apricots - I didn't care for these - the apricots were too hard - when you bite them all the softer white chocolate crumbles off. And it's not like I really love dried apricots.

Next over was a milk chocolate covered caramel - WOW - fantastic!! Buttery, rich, and chewy - just the way I like them!!

Next was a dark chocolate covered crystallized piece of ginger. I'm biased here because I'm not a big ginger fan, and there's no middle ground with a hunk of ginger. You'll either love it or hate it. I'm not lovin' it.

Next is a nice, dark chocolate covered fig. This was good - as far as dried, dark chocolate covered figs go. If you're a big fig fan - this is for you. Me - not so much. Hey, don't get me wrong - I love the Fig Newton. But eating dried figs doesn't really rock my world - even when they are covered with chocolate.

Immediately below the fig is a dark chocolate dipped dried kiwi. Same problem as with the apricot - the dried fruit is too hard for the softer chocolate. Didn't like this.

Next is a dark chocolate covered caramel - FANTASTIC!! Almost fudgey - chewy, rich and decadent. LOVED the caramels in this assortment.

Next was the only dried fruit I really liked - a crystallized pineapple wedge covered with dark chocolate - heavenly!! I wish I had more of these. A lot more. YUM!

Finally there is a milk chocolate and a white chocolate covered dried raspberry - these looked gorgeous - like strands of chocolate lace over the raspberries. If these had been fresh raspberries - this would have been wonderful. But with dried raspberries. Eh.

Okay - so dried fruit covered in chocolate isn't my thing, but these caramels were mind blowing. They were the perfect consistency - not too soft or too chewy. In fact, they were perfect - not too perfect - just perfect.

And don't worry - I know that someday, perhaps in the old folks home, I will find the man who thinks I'm perfect - at least for him. And if I don't? Well - there is always chocolate!!

Round and Round We Go

This has been a challenging week on the dating front. (A fantastic week on the business front, however, just so you know I'm not a total loser.)

I met a man in the real world - i.e. not on match.com. He seemed okay, not scared by the big personality. He seemed to have quite a big personality himself. We talked for a while and he asked me to dinner - all good. But, since I am trying to learn from my mistakes, I asked how long he had been divorced. (This apparently is the money question!) Aw, shucks, dear readers, guess what? Not divorced. Separated.

Let's recap - the Afghanistan Affair resulted in me waiting for nine months for a recently DIVORCED man who upon his return decided he needed to date more. Well, after that, there's no way in hell I'm going to start dating people who aren't even divorced yet. I don't want to be the transition person (or whatever I was) again! I say - get your party on! Play the field! Go wild! Don't bother me until there's at least a remote chance of an actual relationship.

So I tell this guy - oh - sorry - I only date the divorced. He didn't want to give up at first - called me twice, sent e-mail, but I did not give in. I know the only person who's got my six is me. I gave my heart away too easily last time - I will not do it again.

Tonight I went out with a man who is successful, handsome, and you would think, a good catch. Only problem is that when he talks, he is engaged. When I talk, he immediately checks out. Since I blather about myself endlessly in this blog, you all probably think I do the same thing on dates. Not so. How else do you think I find out about things like restraining orders? I listen.

If there is a chance to share something about myself, if I like the guy, I will. Tonight we were talking about travel. When he talked about his travel - I listened and asked questions. (For example I know how much his boat cost, how he decided to buy it, if it was hard to learn to drive, and many other details.) I mentioned that the last big trip I took was to Australia. He leaned forward and looked at the clock across the restaurant. I stopped talking. That's all he knows about my travel. This makes me sad. I would really like to meet someone who would like to know who I am. Sigh. This blog is now my diary. Just call me Bridget Jones.

After dinner we took a salsa lesson. I learned something. You should never take dance lessons with someone you are not into. You have to touch them. It is creepy.

And depressing. I left thinking how awesome it would have been to take that dance lesson with a man I was into. Another deep sigh.

Okay - so let's look on the bright side. I am not getting involved with someone who is actually still married and I have some new hot dance moves. (At this rate, I'll have a relationship about the same time we pay off the federal deficit.)

Thank GOD there is chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are rounds from The Chocolate Fetish. Many chocolatiers do chocolate bark - this is Fetish's version. I like the concept here - not as thick as bark or a bar, these are nice and thin. But I wasn't as blown away by them as I expected to be. They are about the size of a large saucer.

This one looks gorgeous - it is peanut butter swirl:

My comment won't surprise you - not peanut buttery enough for me. WAY too subtle. It looks fabulous and like it would really taste peanut buttery, but the swirl is very thin resting on a thick base of chocolate. : ( Sad face, very sad face. Not creepy like the dancing, however.

This one looked great also - it's Rocky Road with milk chocolate:

Nuts, marshmallow, rice crisps - sounds great. I say - eh. Not as amazing as it looks. I'm not sure what I think it needed. Marshmallow and rice crisps are kind of bland. This just didn't rock my world. Not bad at all. But I like Baby Ruth bars better if that tells you anything. Now this chocolate blows the "chocolate" on a Baby Ruth away, but as a total confection? ZZZZZ Boring! (Apparently like my conversation.)

Now look at this! Like a work of art! Look at that thin drizzle! The mix of textures - like lacework over the cashews!

And I adore cashews - I thought this would be delish! But the chocolate overpowered the nuts. And there is some type of caramelized stuff on the cashews. Again - not as good as I had hoped. Maybe if the divorce papers were signed.......

Now this one was my favorite:

An outstanding dark chocolate - the word lovely comes to mind again. It's just so smooth and not bitter - it's quite amazing, really. And those giant lumps are toffee - like in Heath Bars (which I adore) but better. More buttery. THIS did live up to my expectations and was fantastic. I guess I like my men like I like my chocolate - tall, dark, a little rugged, but with a sweet side. And okay with the idea that I might not want to share them.

Chocolate Ecstasy

The Chocolate Fetish is not messing around with their Ecstasy Truffles. (And since you know about my love life, this is the closest to any type of ecstasy I'll be getting any time soon). These truffles are simply amazing!

The brochure says that Ecstasy Truffles are European style in taste and texture. They have a lighter center than the typical American truffle, are more complex, subtly flavored and are enrobed with a blend of outstanding European chocolates. Well, snap!

I hate to say this (since I do worship all things American), but I like these better. Most truffles are so heavy, these are much lighter (thick fluffier). I wish I had gotten more of these, but some of the weird flavors scared me off. I am, in retrospect, an idiot. But, I can learn from my mistakes and will be in Asheville again in my lifetime.

Chai Moon (if you know Asheville, this is a suitably flaky name for a truffle to make it big there) is the white truffle in the bottom row with cinnamon on top. This was my favorite of all the truffles. Here's the official description: The 14 spices commonly used in Chai (Indian tea) are blended into the milk chocolate ganache then enrobed in white chocolate. You experience the flavors of Chai and a rich full mouth chocolate taste. I say - oh hell yeah! I was wary of the whole tea/chocolate combo but this is more about subtle, delicious spices. A+++

See the inside here:

Ecstasy Blossom - this one is in the second row - far left. See that bit of purple on top? It is garnished with a crystallized violet petal. Cool. This was another I wasn't sure I would like - the description: the rich dark chocolate center is delicately flavored with lemon zest, a touch of ginger, and a hint of saffron then encased in a dark chocolate coverture. I'm not big on lemon and ginger in chocolate, so I was sure I wouldn't like it, but it was also delicious. This is because these are made with the touch of a master. The flavors compliment rather than overwhelm the chocolate. They are subtle. Some chocolate with lemon leaves a Lemon Pledge taste in your mouth. Not this - it is also amazing - a wonderful palette of flavors.

You have to love the names - I also tried Velvet Sin (dark) and French Kiss (milk). I don't think I have the power to adequately describe these. Think rich, smooth, melt in your mouth chocolate. Almost fluffy blends of the highest quality. Wow! But after trying the others with their exotic flavors, these seemed boring! Believe me, they were not, but I'm just showing how quickly I got spoiled.

Wine and Roses - second row, third from the left, has a crystallized rose petal on top. How beautifully these are all made! This one has a deep, dark chocolate ganache infused with red wine and an essence of rose. Holy smokes!! I think if you wanted to seduce someone, this would be the one to choose. So sexy!

Hazelnut Gianduia was the only one I thought could actually use a little more flavor. I really like hazelnut and would have enjoyed a stronger flavor here.

That said, there was one truffle not listed in my brochure. It's the top right one - pistachio. Look at the autopsy photo. While fluffy, this one was way too strong for me. To much pistachio. Go figure. Some people are never happy.

Overall, these truffles were like works of art. I think this is why chocolate snobs look down their noses at Hershey and Mars. But these Hershey and Mars are meant to be affordable and for the masses. These are a completely different thing. Sometimes I just want a Mr. Goodbar - I don't want a Chai Moon truffle. I just want simple and cheap, not expensive and complex. I'm just thankful we have the whole range - how lucky are we? Life is good!

Motivational lesson - you don't always know what you do and do not like - try what the experts recommend. The more things you try, the more you learn about what YOU really like. This doesn't just apply to chocolate - it applies to life. Meet different people, travel different places - taste it all! The journey is what it's all about.

Share your sense of enthusiasm. I was so excited about the chocolate, that the kids working in the shop wanted to share their favorites. They were a joy to be with and they made my experience so much more fun. And when the owner, Bill Foley, came in and gave me a tour - well, it just doesn't get any better than that. You can do the same thing in your local drugstore! Once a retail store owner told me "You bring joy wherever you go." I always want to live up to that description of me. That is when I am at my best. What description of yourself do you want to live up to? Have you lost your best self lately?

This recession (or a break up or anything else) cannot take your best self from you - unless you let it.

May all your truffles be ecstatic.

Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen

Last night a man I've never met tried to talk me into having his baby.


I don't even have to go on the dates now. I can just talk to the seemingly normal guys who contact me on match.com on the phone. Some of them will go ahead and cross themselves off the list within a matter of minutes.


I don't even have to be very astute with my questions. One man asked me what I did for a living, I told him and asked what he did. He went on to tell me he was recovering from some mysterious illness and had several part time positions and was hoping something better would come along. I'm sorry, if this is your life in your forties I don't want to date you. For some reason, pity doesn't draw me to a man.


The man last night got off to a bad start by asking me how match.com was treating me. Well, you all know how it's been treating me - restraining orders, abused football players, etc. (There have been one or two normal guys, but no spark.) But I have had several dates, and I'm not starting off a conversation with a new guy with a pity party! So I said it was treating me fine - how about him? He said he didn't know what was wrong with him, that he knew he wasn't the handsomest guy out there. That he'd been on for three months and I was the first woman to respond. He just wished the others would tell him why, so he could change whatever wasn't working.


HELLO! Blockhead! You have a fish on the line! Don't whine to her about your inability to catch other fish! He was blowing it - I was immediately cast in the role of trying to console him - I said hey, you are a good-looking guy (which he was) - you should try to find someone who likes you for who you are, not try to change for these people you don't even know. The more he whined, the more I lost interest. This man is 50 - he needs to pull himself together. Even if he feels this way, he shouldn't have been telling me.

So I was already thinking how I could avoid going out with him. I tried to change the subject and asked him how long he had been divorced. This has become a favorite question of mine since the Afghanistan Affair. I don't want to be the transition relationship again if I can help it.

Seems this man married his childhood sweetheart and after 4 years they split. He's been single a long time. The reason for the split was that she didn't want to have children. I said, "Is that still a deal-breaker for you?" (Thinking that maybe since he was now 50, he might have let that go.)


"Oh yes" was his reply. (Yahoo! My out!!) I told him that I was not the girl for him - I was too old to have kids. He said, "No you're not - you're in great shape!" I tried to explain that having a baby didn't fit my lifestyle, I'm 43, that's not what I want. I told him he should probably try to date younger women. He said they were hard to talk to - they didn't have much in common with him.

Well, hello again - maybe your baby making days are over! You are 50!

I apologized for wasting his time and told him it just wasn't in the cards for me. I had no interest in a high-risk pregnancy and in staying home with a baby. He said he had made plenty of money, he would stay home with the baby. I could just "hand it off like a football." I replied that I didn't think you should have a baby if that was what you planned to do with it. Good God.

Can you believe this conversation was even happening? Between two complete strangers?

I said I was sorry, but let's do the math. I am 43. Let's say I meet the man of my dreams tomorrow. I would want to date him for at least a year before I married him. That puts me at 44. I would actually still want to travel with my husband and enjoy life before I brought a baby into the relationship. A baby changes everything. That puts me a 45/46 - I AM TOO OLD. I want a great relationship with a man, not a rush to produce a baby (or, apparently, a football).

I didn't say this - but I AM in great shape - can you see me at 60 raising a teenager AND taking care of a 70 year old man? Gee - think I'll pass.

Guess we can see why this man is still solo - he really doesn't want a woman in his life, he wants a baby. I finally slapped myself (I couldn't believe I was defending myself to someone I had never even met) and apologized again for wasting his time.

Whew - at least that didn't happen during a date! Sometimes a phone call is all you need.



Chocolate save me!!!


Look at these gorgeous truffles from The Chocolate Fetish!

Two of these aren't really truffles - the two small spiral topped ones. One is filled with peanut butter and the other with soft caramel and pecans. Here's the autopsy photo:

The peanut butter was REALLY good - it was the first time I've really been thrilled with the quality of the peanut butter. (Well, other than Reese's which I worship for it's sheer quantity.) Not too sweet, nice and moist, not dry or grainy. And a good balance with the chocolate. Usually my complaint is too much chocolate but this little guy worked. Perfect balance.

Immediately below peanut butter you can see caramel pecan. Look at all those nuts! Yay! But there was some empty space in there - needs more caramel I say.

Fetish has two types of truffles - America's Best Truffles and Ecstasy Truffles. According to the brochure that comes in the box, America's Best were rated in America's Best by the LA Times. They are described as "made in the American style with a firmer center and more traditional flavors than the Ecstasy truffles and are enrobed with a blend of premium American chocolates." I didn't even know there was an American truffle style. I have so much to learn.

Several of these are America's Best Truffles:

Milk Pecan (you can see it in the autopsy photo bottom far left). This was good - the milk chocolate deliciously smooth and creamy, but I want more nuts. (You would think with all the nuts I've been dealing with lately I'd be okay with this.)

Here's a close up of the Milk Pecan truffle and the caramel pecan confection:

Raspberry is nothing remarkable in the pictures. If you really want to see pictures, their website has great ones and you can build a custom box: http://www.chocolatefetish.com/americasbest_box.php

I like the option of building a custom box. Much better than taking your chances with the selection some companies force on you. A+++ for catering to the customer.

Another thing I like about these is that identification is easy unlike many with other chocolatiers. Fetish gives good guidance with the string colors (that is the drizzle on top of the truffle - raspberry is dark chocolate with milk chocolate string) or with a flower petal or nut on top. Bonus points in my book. I need all the help I can get!

Raspberry was very subtle on the raspberry - the best way I can describe this is to say it was lovely. I know that seems lame, but I can see ladies having tea and finishing with these. Excellent dark chocolate with a hint of raspberry. Lovely.

Kahlua (dark chocolate with white chocolate string) was amazing - very sweet with only a hint of Kahlua. I usually don't get this flavor because it's too strong on the Kahlua and the chocolate is overwhelmed. This was a great blend.

The rest of the Truffles I got were Ecstasy Truffles. And since this entry seems to be about agony, we'll save the ecstasy for tomorrow.

Saving All My Kisses for You

Since I'm been talking so much trash about the men I'm meeting (and am obviously NO closer to finding love), I thought I would give you all some kisses! We'll go back to The Chocolate Fetish tomorrow.





I am still LOVING the white chocolate raspberry Kisses - and get this - I didn't even know there was milk chocolate in the middle! What a savvy reviewer I am! They are actually milk chocolate wrapped in white chocolate hugged by raspberry. I should have performed an autopsy. Everything comes out in the autopsy.


Check these Kisses out - are they trying to be healthy?

These are not so good. I like vanilla yogurt. I like Hershey's Kisses. I do not like them together. Bleech. Here's the autopsy:

They look much better than they taste. Get the raspberry/milk/white combo - it rocks! Pass on the yogurt.

But the yogurt foil design is gorgeous - it has a light taupe striping - very cool and elegant. It would make a kickin' dress or sweet wallpaper. It really is a great design.

Just goes to show you can't judge a candy by its wrapper. (Ditto for men.)

Nuts

I love nuts. I am slowly starting to believe that men are nuts. But I don't know if I love nutty men.

Last night I went to an event called Meetup (Meetup has all kinds of events - this one was for singles in their 30s and 40s). I met a guy who seemed nice. We were talking and several men approached us to meet him. Turns out he played professional football for two years THIRTY YEARS ago. Apparently when other men hear this, they turn into little kids and can't wait to meet this guy! (And he loved it.) I've never seen anything like it! I hate to be a girl, but who cares? That was two years thirty years ago! The guy is in his 50s!!

I care WAY more about who someone is today, not who they were thirty years ago. But apparently men will fawn over a pro football player for his entire life.

Now, of course, this guy must have been telling people that he was a pro football player 30 years ago. It's not like they recognized him. Turnoff.

Okay, if all that wasn't nutty enough, when this guy was talking with me I asked him how long he had been divorced. Turns out he's not divorced, he's separated. And he goes on to tell me - I kid you not - that he had to leave his 15 year marriage because his wife was physically abusing him.

Now let's ponder this for a moment. Let's say that it is true. Why would you tell a stranger you have just met this? Shouldn't you keep this to yourself? At least for a while? This is private information in my book. Guys, think how fast you would run for cover if a woman you JUST met told you this:

"Hi, I'm Susie Q and I just left my 15 year marriage because my husband was abusing me." Wouldn't you think - YIKES!!!!!! Susie Q might have some issues?

I wonder if he ever had to get a restraining order......


Speaking of nutty, look at these gorgeous babies:




I came back from Meetup and ate ALL of these. They were AMAZING!!! And somehow less nutty than the guys I've been meeting lately.

They are Chocolate Nut Clusters from The Chocolate Fetish and they are incredible!! My favorite was the white chocolate with macadamia nuts. But all were great - there were two dark chocolate with hazelnut. And I love the helpful nut on top to tell you what nuts are PACKED inside. So you can see what we have - milk chocolate with almonds, milk chocolate with cashews, and dark chocolate with pecans.

I really liked these because the chocolate was of the best quality, but the focus was on the nuts. Some nut clusters have too much chocolate - the nuts are sprinkled on a thick chocolate base. Not there - the nuts are all the way through and are plentiful. Outstanding!

The more men I meet, the more I like chocolate.

Waking the Warrior

I am about to go on a rant. So get ready.


Today I woke up a little blue. It happens to me from time to time. Sometimes it's because I have an unsettling dream. This morning I was feeling bad about the Afghanistan Affair, the Speed Dating Debacle, and the Restraining Order Ordeal. I mean, I don't FEEL like a mutant. How can this relationship thing be so damn easy for everyone else and so impossibly hard for me? Obviously I am a freak.


That was my frame of mind. Not so festive.


I decide a good walk in the brisk (but sunny) outdoors will help me get out of my funk. I get dressed, so outside and get the papers. I glance at the USA TODAY headline "For investors, "bloodbath" reflects fear." Oh, great - BLOODBATH - that's helpful. That's uplifting. Not only am I a mutant freak with a over sized personality, I am now engulfed in a BLOODBATH. What will be next? Should I put out an Amber Alert for my money?


Maybe I should take out a personal ad - "Single woman with a larger than average personality seeks soul mate. She enjoys floating in a pool of her own blood, worrying about the future, and hanging out with scientists."


I know USA TODAY is in the business of selling papers. I know front page stories about blood baths will sell. What happened to all that talk about "Hope" and "Change"? This is more like that old "Hee, Haw" song:

Doom, despair and agony on me

Deep dark depression, excessive misery

If it weren't for bad luck,

I'd have no luck at all.

Doom, despair and agony on me!

Well SCREW THAT!!


Here's one of my favorite lines and I'm sorry I don't have a source to attribute it to:




The North Wind has made the Vikings.




I say, "Bring it! Make me a Viking."



Bring it, Recession! I made all that money and you can take it all and I'll make it again.


Bring it, Speed Daters! Damn right, I have a big personality - and it's that personality that will get me through ANYTHING that this life can throw at me.


Bring it, Heartbreak! It didn't kill me, it made me smarter.


Bring it, Arthritis! Remind me that I don't have forever on this Earth and make me enjoy every second of every single day.


You don't become a Viking when life is easy. You become a Jamaican. You become a Paris Hilton. Your biggest accomplishment is spending Daddy's money.


So go ahead, USA TODAY. Do your best. Try to break me with your stories of fear. You are but the North Wind. I am a Viking.


Are you going to let life (the government, the media, your employer, your family, your health, etc.) make you a whining mess? Or are you going to stand up and be a Viking?







I said it before and I'm saying it again - stop whining and get an axe.

Intimidation by Chocolate

I hope you all had a great weekend! My dating odyssey continued. Saturday night I did Speed Dating. I've actually done this before, and while it's kind of fun, it's also a little overwhelming. Can you imagine meeting 20 people in a couple of hours? You get about 5 minutes with each one. By the end of the night, I couldn't remember my own name, much less theirs.


I was told by one helpful guy that the men were intimated by my "big personality" (his words, not mine.) Well, I don't think the ol' personality is going to be changing anytime soon, so I may not be finding a boyfriend in this life. And a "big personality" does come in pretty handy when you're a motivational speaker. To be honest, if I have to give up my personality to find a good guy, then the price is too high. I like who I am.


What I didn't tell him was that most of the men were about as exciting as drying paint. The Research Triangle is loaded with scientists and software developers - apparently all of whom are single. And let's just say they're not bringing sexy back.


Speaking of sexy, today we're going to The Chocolate Fetish, a great little shop I discovered on the Asheville trip. I was lucky enough to get to meet the owner, Bill Foley, while I was there. Bill is a great guy who took time out of his busy day (the shop was packed - what recession?) to visit with me and show me around. Now, I am absolutely insane with this chocolate thing and bought a ton of stuff from him. So we're going to have to pace this visit out a bit. This ain't no stinkin' Speed Dating!


Let's start with their website just in case you want to get in on this delicious adventure: http://www.chocolatefetish.com/


They ship all over the US and even have a few international customers. They mix their own chocolate (this is not like Wolfgang Chocolates where the tanker truck of chocolate pulls up - seriously - I saw the pipes! They just pump in the chocolate like oil!). Fetish blends chocolate from Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Venezuela and four types from the US into their own special mix. They use no vegetable oil - only the natural cocoa butter and no chemical preservatives.


Their shop is cute - they even have some gift items:






They also do chocolate art - sculptures, amazing cake-like confections - gorgeous stuff. And they've been written up in loads of publications like Southern Living and Chocolatier. But let's get down to the nitty gritty and do some tasting!!


Now remember we are pacing! And Bill will probably die when he sees what I picked to start with:




Peanut Butter Malted Milk Balls. What can I say? I love peanut butter and when I had those Reese's Peanut Butter Whoppers it changed my life.

Well, Bill's are better.

I even tried Harry and David's:




Harry and David has a whole line of assorted malt balls. I, of course, was drawn to the peanut butter like a smoker to nicotine. They too have nothin' on Bill. The Fetish rules!!!

A little Chocolate CSI reveals why:





Oh yeah, baby! Look at all that peanut butter in the Fetish ball. And look at all that malt in the Harry and David ball. No contest. I wish I had a Whopper to dissect. Although I have no doubt about the result. Bill is da man!

What do you think all those Speed Dating scientists would think about these high-level experiments? Somehow I think they just wouldn't get it.

More from The Chocolate Fetish tomorrow!

Until then I have to close with a very appropriate quote sent by my good friend Mark Fleming:

"If you love something, set it free. Unless it's chocolate. Never release chocolate." - Renee Duvall


Release the scientists!!!!