A century of chocolate-ness

Guess what? The humble Oreo biscuit turns a hundred years old today! Happy birthday to one of the best treats around. These sort of chocolate related milestones should rightly be acknowledged and celebrated! :) Read the entire story and get great recipes on the Eat-In website.

That Oreo martini really catches my eye. Note to self to try and make it at the next braai*.

*Braai - South African term for the word barbecue. 

Chocolate Monday - week 7

I got this pic from S.O's* cousin. She had it as a profile pic on her BlackBerry Messenger. A girl close to my heart, she is!

As soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect for me, this blog and Chocolate Monday.

Chocolate Mondays have been created to banish Monday Blues, or at least lessen the sting of a new working week.
*S.O = Significant Other 

Whoop! Another Tim Burton movie!

I do so love the minds of movie maker Tim Burton and writer Neil Gaiman. Now, now, no need to judge. :)

I am thrilled to see another film release from Tim Burton. If you need a reminder, he did films like Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands and so on... The animation looks very much in the style of Corpse Bride, while it pays homage to the classic story of Frankenstein.

The story is about Viktor who looses his dog Sparky. But he manages to bring his beloved pet back to life again. And my word, I adore the quirky dark undertones.

Watch the trailer and lemme know what you think. If you cannot see it below, click on this link to take you to Yahoo movies.

Chocolate Monday - week 6

Godiva truffles - LOVE!

The Lovely Azra  brought this to my attention this morning on Facebook. Could there be a better start to the week?

Chocolate Mondays have been created to banish Monday Blues, or at least lessen the sting of a new working week.

Word cloud

I found this through Saaleha and I had to share it. Click on it to see the larger version.

I created this word cloud from words on my blog and it was much fun to do. Go to Tagxedo and do it yourself!

Chocolate Monday - Week 5

Image found on Imgfave

Okay, I know I have been slacking off on Chocolate Mondays. Sorry about that!

Reason being is that I have been on leave for a very short while. But on the down side my company is talking about restructuring Editorial to Cape Town. While I would love to move to that beautiful city, it is not possible at the moment. S.O* and I are getting married, I cannot ask him to resign and start anew because my job needs to move. And I cannot just pack up the rest of my life and move to another city for the sake of a job...

There has been talk of retrenchments and I suspect because I cannot relocate, I will get the axe. It has been a scary and stressful few weeks in this regard. 

*S.O = Significant Other 

Chocolate Mondays have been created to banish Monday Blues, or at least lessen the sting of a new working week.

Tragic or hilarious?

I heard something really funny on the radio today. Wanna know more? Read this post

Chocolate Monday - week 4

Dare I put this out there, but this has got to be the best. chocolate. Monday. ever! Okay, let me explain. S.O* and his family came over to talk about the wedding. Tradition dictates he give me chocolates for the event. He told me: "I bought your favourite chocolate." I asked which one and he simply said I will see it on the day. I didn't expect more that a box of Raffaelloes.  He walks in carrying the parcel below:

The parcel of chocolates from S.O and his family. 

A close up of the goodies. 

Unwrapped and ready to be eaten hastily!

Needless to say I was beyond pleasantly surprised! I mean, look at that beautiful bounty of all my favourites!  Oh my, oh my! I swear I will get into a chocolate induced coma quite happily. After he left, he told me: "Was going to put Nutella in there but know you have a tub so left it." Aw...


Now where do I begin?!


*S.O = Significant Other 
Chocolate Mondays have been created to banish Monday Blues, or at least lessen the sting of a new working week.  

If I could shut my brain down for a bit, I would

Recently, I've been irritable, listless and needing some down time. Work wise, I have not really taken decent leave since April 2011 and you know what? I think I have reached the end of my tolerance threshold.

December was a crazy, and I mean an absolutely insane month, having taken on some responsibilities of a colleague who had resigned, plus having had new tasks added to that. Burnt-out and frustrated, that is what I am. I am also so annoyed by how companies everywhere are treating employees in this current economic climate - it is really not fair! It makes me want to punch many CEOs!

I have been fantasising about taking leave from my life, even if it is for a short while. Venture off to an adventure where I am anonymous and not accountable. Dangerous, I know. But what is a gal to do? S.O* and I are hoping to set a date for a wedding in March next year - the families will meet this Sunday to discuss it. Yeah, that is how my little ethnic community operates. Sigh. We want to get a house and make it into a home. I want to begin our life, under our roof and I cannot wait for that. Yet, me and marriage go together like wearing a bikini in a snow storm. I feel I am going against my very nature. (If you need to remember just how much I am against marriage, read this post.)

My dreams have also been vivid and downright odd. I've been waking up long before my alarm, recalling them perfectly, only to fall asleep and have the dreams fall through my memory. That makes me sad. I remember one dream could have been a great fictional story and now I cannot bloody remember it. I wish I could kick myself at times.

I have also been reading a lot less that what I usually do. This is not because I have a low supply of books. No, it is because I am too tired in the evenings! When I do read, I manage a few pages, before I realise I am not concentrating and the book is falling out of my hands. Another reason to kick myself!

This post perfectly reflects my state of mind: scattered, unfocused and downright grumpy.If you managed to read it till the end, a huge congratulations to you. Thanks for lending an eye to my venting session.

*S.O = Significant Other

Chocolate Monday: Week 3

Picture found here: Imgfave.

It is a morning filled with dense, grey clouds and mist that hovers around like ghosts. This is very unusual for Johannesburg, but I do so love it. It is perfect for an indulgent lie-in but alas, it is Monday! It makes me crave things like hot chocolate and biscuits.

Talking about chocolate, S.O* asked yesterday:
"So...how many blocks of chocolate is okay for consumption? Just had six small blocks - the small ones. Hmm....dammit this fruit and nut [chocolate]."
My gut response: there is never enough chocolate that can be consumed!

*S.O = Significant Other
Chocolate Mondays have been created to banish Monday Blues, or at least lessen the sting of a new working week.  

Chocolate Monday: Week 2

Oh my word, this Monday is turning out to be annoying! Even though it is only 6:30am, the following has happened:

• The boom into my office parking lot did not open, after numerous attempts of inserting the access card. So I drove around the block again to speak to one of those attendants. "I will let my supervisor to meet you there," the idiot says. So I wait, and wait, and bloody wait some more. Eventually, I decided to park outside and walk up. Oh, I will have words with that parking office today! 
• The doors of the elevator refused to close. On the fifth attempt, they did though. The fifth attempt! 
• The milk in my cornflakes did not taste good at all. I had to spit it out and throw out my breakfast. I never really knew that Soy Milk can go bad...
• To top all of this off, I only got in about 4 hours sleep last night. I almost feel as if the universe is telling me that is is a day to stay under my duvet, where I can be safe from agitations. 

This Chocolate Monday oozes goodness. And I really need some of that to rub off onto me today. 

Chocolate Mondays have been created to banish Monday Blues, or at least lessen the sting of a new working week.  

Driving debacles

Imagine getting ticketed for 'driving too slow'? It happened to my dear friends driving around in the Gulf, and I have to say, I am appalled. I think cops should prioritise helping people in need (my friends were lost and trying to figure out where they were) instead of going on that power trip of issuing tickets.

It ties in to the cops here is South Africa. Across the highway, they sit in various spots with their cameras to ticket speedsters. While I do not mind this because some drivers are absolutely reckless speed demons, their presence has irked some South Africans.

In one of the spots, someone spray painted the word "Asshole" with arrows pointing to the cop with the camera. Tsk tsk. That was removed, and after a few days I saw "Asshole" was replaced with "Still a asshole". While that is grammatically incorrect, I still snickered. "Still a asshole" was painted over and while there was a few days of peace....it now says: "Ok ok dipshit". LOL, really I laughed out loud when I saw this. Further down the highway on the opposite side, I only noticed this morning someone painted on different spot: "Another baboon". Someone clearly has issues with the cops!

PS: Happy Friday the 13th!

Chocolate Monday: Week 1

I was not one of the scant cars on the road this morning, which means most people are back at work today. It could mean more of a shock to your system since it was a pretty long break for most people. I worked right through though, so a holiday is screaming for existence, but that is another blog post all on its own.

Drum roll, please, for the first Chocolate Monday of the new year! I reckon most people will feel like this today, especially today:

Picture sourced from Imgfave.
Chocolate Mondays have been created to banish Monday Blues, or at least lessen the sting of a new working week.  

Don't you love it when books speak to your heart and soul?

"My dad says that being a Londoner has nothing to do with where you're born. He says there are people who get off a jumbo jet at Heathrow, go through immigration waving any kind of passport, hop onto a tube and by the time the train's pulled into Piccadilly Circus they've become a Londoner."
- Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch 


I think my heart and soul cannot be in more agreement.