So...

This just happened.

Yeah, that's a 1 lb box of See's.

Or, rather, it was a 1 lb box of See's. ... I've eaten as much of it as I can.

I've been setting housekeeping goals for myself. (Don't judge. I can't make myself clean the kitchen if I haven't made a "rule" that it has to get done on a certain day of the week.) Aaaaaand, today, while cleaning said kitchen I ran across a box of See's that's been sitting on a shelf since I got it. ... As a Christmas present.

That's right. I ate an 8 month old box of chocolates today. And now I'm preserving the moment for posterity.

In my defense, most of it was inedible. It was a box of nuts and chews, and the caramel had crystalized, rendering practically EVERY "chew" pretty disgusting. (Don't worry. I gnawed the chocolate off the sides of the caramels. Waste not, want not and all that stuff.)

But listen, it was still a pretty decent amount of chocolate. I'm more than a little sick to my stomach, but I also feel like VICTORY IS MINE!

Man alive, I love candy. It's so great that I can eat it again! (And, tender mercy, kids. The rum nougat was still perfect. Soft and chewy and awesome in it's rummy fruitiness. Who cares that there was only one good candy left in the box? It was my favorite kind, so that's a serious win!)

Yet another insight into my (candy loving) soul...

You guys love it when I tell you (crazy) stuff that I think sometimes, right?

Well... hold on to your hat, because this is good.

Have I ever told you how much I love salt water taffy? ... Because I do love it. A lot. (I blame/thank my Grandma Evans for this. She always had pockets filled with the stuff, and would give us a taffy any/every time we'd hug her and tell her we loved her. We all know that I have a heck of a lot of love to give without a candy reward. You can imagine, I am sure, how lovey-dovey I can be when there's a piece of candy (or 27) in it for me.)

Anyhoo... I love taffy. A lot.

And one of my *five favorite flavors is the peppermint kind.

I seriously love peppermint taffy. (This won't come as a surprise to anyone who's ever seen me scarf down a box of Junior Mints, a bag of York Peppermint Patties, a candy cane (or four), the peppermint/white chocolate M&M's, or anything of the like.)

Like I said, I love it. A lot.

So much so, that as I just popped my third peppermint taffy into my mouth, I actually thought "I love eating this candy. It's better than brushing my teeth!"

... True story.

And then I remembered that WE BRUSH OUR TEETH TO GET RID OF THE SUGAR THAT CANDY LEAVES BEHIND. So much for just eating peppermint candy and not brushing my teeth before I go to bed. (Sometimes I really hate being a grown up.)

*Just in case you're ever wont to hand-pick a pound of salt water taffy and send it my way, my other four favorite flavors are: black licorice, orange, root beer float, pina colada, and grape. (Also, I'm going to include an honorable mention of egg nog -- it'd make the top five, but it's seasonal, so it's not always available.)

It's... Christmas in July!

How did I spend my night last night?

Why, baking and frosting sugar cookies to take to work and make them think I'm a crazy person, of course! 

Listen, it's how I roll. If I am well enough to bake in July (something I have not been able to do since July 2009 - not that I'm counting. ... Oh, wait. Yes, I am!), sugar cookies are on the tippy top of my list of things to do. I mean, they're right up there with fudge and dipped pretzels.

It's not the full-blown affair that Jule, Weez and I used to do every year, but ... in a dark corner, on a late shift, it'll do.

(Ha! I do love throwing a little TMM humor in every once in a while.)

And now I must be off. I have a movie to start. At 7:00 PM sharp!

Because, again, this is how I roll on the 25th of July.

Chocolate: It's what's for dinner.

I haven't been feeling well today (suuuuuuper tired, lightheaded/dizzy, fever), so I cancelled my usual Sunday schedule so I could stay home and rest. And rest, I did.

I took a two hour nap on my couch this morning, then moved to my bed and slept until 3:15 (I had a church meeting at 3:30, so I'd set an alarm... otherwise, who knows how long I could have slept?!) I got home from my meeting at 5:00 and crashed again.

Remember how I was saying, just the other day, that when I do too much - for too many days in a row - my body shuts me down? Well, I got shut down today. In a big way. But that's alright. I'm pretty sure I got more sleep today - in the day part of the day - than I've had at night in the last three nights. I'll take it!

Because I haven't been feeling awesome, and because I wanted to have room to sleep if/when/wherever I was, I texted Jo this afternoon to let her know I would not be making an appearance at Sunday dinner.

This translates into: I had to make my own dinner tonight. First, I boiled some whole wheat noodles (because I'm so healthy) and had a little stroganoff. Then, I made....

S'more (Crack) Dip

1 cup milk chocolate chips*

1 cup mini marshmallows

2 Tab milk

Melt in a saucepan, then pour into an ovensafe dish. Layer another cup (approx) mini marshmallows over the chocolate mixture and broil for 1 minute, or until marshmallows are toasted.

Serve with graham crackers for dipping.

Because this isn't the first time I've made S'more Dip for dinner (not even the first time I've done it this week), I'll share that *I think it's best with half milk and half semi-sweet chocolate chips. Also, you can cut the recipe down into half or a third and/or do the first step in the microwave. (It takes, maybe, 30 seconds to melt the chocolate chips and marshmallows, and then you can put the other 'mallows on top and throw it right into the oven to broil.)

And that, my friends, is how you make dinner (or dessert, if you're one of *those* people who feel like chocolate can't be a main course) in less than two minutes.

You're welcome.



Nobody said anything about cookies...

Remember that rule about how I'm not allowed to buy candy until March?

Well, guess what...

Nobody ever said anything about me not buying cookies.

And it's Girl Scout cookie season.

Heh heh heh.

*Disclaimer: Nine of these boxes were ordered on behalf of my friend Monica who doesn't have a Girl Scout in her life. ... That's right. I'm her cookie dealer. Don't judge. ... Of course, that does mean that the other six boxes are mine. And I live alone. (Read: I will eat these. All of them. By myself.) But hey, at least I'm not keeping all FIFTEEN boxes. It could be worse.