oh, hey.

How could I have forgotten about Four Foods on Friday?! I need to add it to every calendar and alarm I own.

1. What’s your favorite beverage containing chocolate or chocolate flavoring?

I could order a Venti Extra Hot White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks in my sleep.

2. What’s your favorite chocolate bar? OR Share a pic of your favorite candy, chocolate or otherwise.

My favorite chocolate is Cadbury Dairy Milk, but not the kind you can buy at the grocery in the states. It tastes completely different than the chocolaty goodness of Dairy Milk bars from the UK.

3. What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten that had chocolate in it?

Chili with a little chocolate is a great mix of sweet and savory and most people think that’s pretty unusual.

4. Share a recipe using chocolate.

Magic Bars

• 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/3 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter and mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of square baking pan. Pour an even layer of sweetened condensed milk over firmly packed crumb mixture. Sprinkle chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and chopped nuts over top and press down firmly with back of fork. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool before cutting.

Tags: Yum Yum Add Comment »

Mike and I are in the process of paying off our credit cards, which means resisting the urge to book a summer vacation. As much as we would like to convince ourselves otherwise, a credit card with a zero balance is much more fulfilling than a few days on the beach.

If the urge for a few days of sun does get the better of us, the Credit Card Club can help us find a card with low interest rates, no annual fees, and rewards programs so we get the most for our money. The top credit card offer is currently a Chase Visa with 0% APR for 12 months, so we can book that vacation, get a great tan, and take our time paying it off!

Sometimes we just can’t avoid making a charge, but we can avoid using a card with high rates and no incentives.

Tags: Ciao Baby Add Comment »

Since most everyone should have received their economic stimulus check by now, the website How I Spent My Stimulus is really heating up! Some people are very bitter and are making sure that they spent their stimulus outside of the US, others are getting out of debt, and there are even a few people buying guns and drugs!

We spent ours on new summer clothes, a night out, and a deposit on a new car even though we had big plans to pay off a credit card! How about you?

Tags: Buy Buy Buy Add Comment »

I love going to Disney World, and one of my favorite things about the Disney property is the foliage and topiaries. I’m amazed that trees, bushes, and shrubs can be molded, clipped, and trimmed into dancing hippos, teacups, and lions with bushy manes.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the horticulture skills nor the time and space necessary to nurture my love of topiaries. Luckily, silk plants aren’t just dusty ferns and bad table settings anymore, they are beautiful and realistic looking trees, plants, hanging baskets, and topiaries that are a real art form! Silk plants are now made from the highest quality materials and are often mistaken for a real live plant.

www.artificialplantsandtrees.com doesn’t carry dancing hipps or teacups, but they do carry classic topiary styles that can displayed inside and outside and mix beautifully with real landscaping without all the maintenance! Silk plants obviously don’t require watering, weeding, fertilizing, or trimming so you look like a gardening star without the farmers tan.

If you love the outdoors, but suffer from allergies, artificial plants are a lifesaver. They bring the beauty of flowers and greenery to your home without the itchy eyes and runny nose. Not to mention that they can be enjoyed year round. There’s no seasons when it comes to silk plants!

Tags: Hello Add Comment »

This surveillance video was taken at the Volkswagen offices in Shanghai, China. Keep your eye on the bottom right POV as the two gentlement are exiting the elevator.

Was Granny there the entire time or is she a classic example of clever video editing? Does it give you the goosebumps either way?

It should also be noted that it hasn’t come out anywhere that the video is a hoax, and that I’m a big sissy who freaked out when she appeared on the screen out of thin air!

Tags: Hello Add Comment »

Online dating is second nature for my generation. It’s as common place as meeting someone at the laundry matt or grocery store. You just have to make sure you’re going to the right internet dating services, just as you would go to a grocery store in a good neighborhood!

Prime Dating Sites is like a map of internet dating services. Their reviews of eHarmony.com and other popular dating websites provide valuable information about each site’s features, the dating communities they target (dating, friendship, relationship), and what makes that site stand out from the rest.

Whether you’re leaning towards Perfect Match or Yahoo Personals, Prime Dating Sites can help you find the right website to find the right partner.

Tags: Hello Add Comment »

I listen to Drex on Kiss FM every morning on my way to work, and I know the show is corny and annoying, but I love it. Anyway, today Drex was having a Prince-A-Thon and I thought I’d share the play list, because who doesn’t love some good Prince songs on a Friday afternoon?

Tags: Boob Tube 4 Comments »

I couldn’t help but laugh and sneak a picture of the couple driving infront of me on my way home last night.

They were an older hippie couple, kissing all over eachother while they drove, with smoke coming out of the back of their El Camino which had a bumper sticker that read “Gas, Grass or Ass - No One Rides For Free”. The single break light was the icing on the cake, though.

I ended up passing them because they were just puttering along, and when I did, I noticed that the guy driving was super into his music, and feathered hair, and was drumming on the steering wheel and dancing. Don’t we all have the same reaction to Free Bird?

Tags: Hello 1 Comment »

For those of you that don’t know, Mike and I had quite the untraditional beginning to our marriage. I lived in Indianapolis for three years while Mike lived in Chicago, which meant that we became very familiar with the stretch of I-65 that cuts through Indiana.

When we eloped, we were both committed to another nine months on our leases and Mike was still in paramedic school. That meant that neither of us could move and we spent the first nine months of married life living approximately 200 miles apart. The marriage therapists in Livermore could probably have a field day with that scenario.

Things fell into place around Christmas, and I was able to secure a new job and move to Chicago, which means that even though we’ll be married a year this month, we’re still getting used to living together. I’m a proponent of couples therapy to help us work out the kinks, relieve some of the tension, and make our household run a little more smoothly. We’re both still very independent, and having a hard time compromising.

There’s lots of reasons why couples seek therapy; they may fight, not feel the same spark as they did when they first got together, or be in the midst of a real relationship crisis. Whatever the reason, there’s no shame in seeking out help, especially when it can save something as important as a relationship.

Tags: Hello Add Comment »

I was really glad to hear that the California Supreme Court lifted the ban on gay marriage today, and that gay couples could begin to marry in less than a month. The sexual orientation of a couple has absolutely no bearing on their ability to enter into a committed relationship and take responsibility for their partners and their families.

“Essentially, this boils down to love. We love each other. We now have equal rights under the law,” declared a jubilant Robin Tyler, a plaintiff in the case along with her partner. She added: “We’re going to get married. No Tupperware, please.”

I hope more states begin to follow suit, as the ban is absolutely absurd, but considering it took four years for California to follow Massachusetts in their ruling, I don’t imagine Indiana will be next in line.

Tags: Hello Add Comment »