Affairs

I have to try some of these Affairs chocolates. The reviews of the place are great. I feel like I need to travel more, and would love to go on a chocolate buying trip. I had so much fun when I was chocolate hunting in France. I need to go back. Apparently, the desserts and chocolates at Affairs are among the best in this country. Plus, everything comes in cute little boxes with ribbons on top! I think part of the reason Tee and Cakes is so successful is because they put fabulous desserts in really cute pink boxes. I bet one could put almost any dessert in a really cute box, and it would cause the price to go up by at least two dollars. I know a guy who thinks pies are the next cupcakes. I think he might be right- upscale slices of pie in pretty boxes with ribbons and a spork on top sold for a ridiculous price. People would pay, I swear!


The last few days, my mind has been a million miles away. I can't seem to get very into my workouts, so the harder sessions haven't gone all that well. I've gotten through them, but I feel like I'm dragging some and not on top of things as much as I could be. It's amazing how sore and tired my legs are feeling from the little bit of added running that I'm doing. I'm also doing more walking without the brace, and even have gone without taping my foot now and then too. I know it's not quite there yet, but things are coming along, despite some extra fatigue this week.

In some incredibly depressing news, a new report showed that more children under 10 are suffering from anorexia than ever before. 82 percent of those with anorexia in one report were girls, but boys also suffer from the illness. Apparently it's difficult for pediatricians to recognize the symptoms in children before it's too late. It wasn't clear why this is, but the result is that more children are dying from the disorder. In an interesting article, it was shown that social networking influences body image. This is nothing new, but what's alarming is just how much media affects the rate of eating disorders, especially in children. It's downright scary.

Eating disorders of all kinds are more common these days, and I believe that people reach some sort of acceptance because there are so many people struggling. It has become OK to binge or restrict, because everyone else is doing the same rather than dealing with the underlying issues that cause these kinds of behaviors. There was an article about Alexis Bellino, one of the real housewives of Orange County, who has had an eating disorder since she was 12 years old. She has also had many surgeries to enhance her body. In the article, she gives credit to her husband who got her to stop counting calories. Later she admits to not eating less than 900 calories a day, which is not only a starvation diet, but blows that theory out of the water. Maybe she meant that she counts the calories less than she used to. Sadly, she is one of those people who believes that once you have an eating disorder, you always will. I have heard a few ladies say that being in a relationship helped them get over some aspects of their eating disorder. I can definitely see that, but it's important to have enough self awareness and self confidence to feel good and make the right choices, boyfriend, So or spouse aside.

Back to chocolate news-

Tonight I got to try some CocoNova. It was interesting. At first I wasn't sure I liked it, but the cocoa flavor builds and becomes more intriguing. The three of us who tried the Cherry Cacoa all felt that it grew on us. We were skeptical at first, and because this product is not milk based, the first taste seemed a bit watery. In the end though, we liked it well enough to finish off the bottle. I thought it would have been really good served warm. The cherry flavor was nice, because it was subtle and natural-no artificial flavor here. It was good.

Wow. Considering it's about 1:30 AM. I better go to bed. I have no idea what I'm writing anymore, because my head is swimming. I'll have to write a more coherent post another time.