Have you been wondering about me & chocolate?

You know the chorus of that song by Cinderella, “You don’t know what you got ‘til its gone,” where the singer laments not appreciating or recognizing the great love that was and now isn’t in his/her life?

Most of us have experienced something akin to this, whether it be a friend or a family member or a loved one or a job, etc., and it feels like a truth - a cautionary tale, if you will: appreciate the good things in your life WHILE you have them.

Well, I have a different song to sing/tale to tell. It would go something like this: “You don’t realize what you gave up ‘til it is back.”

I must first say, I do not suppose to have coined a phrase of universal truth here – I realized immediately, and each successive day after, what I had given up when I went for 27 days without my Diet Coke/Diet Dr. Pepper (caffeine).

But, wow – 14 YEARS without chocolate! I absolutely did not fully realize/comprehend/remember what I was missing. And, I am so happy it is back in my life that I have appreciated it multiple times every day since December 31st.

I am about done appreciating at this magnitude and will shortly be consuming at a more normal level of “appreciation,” but before I tried to be a normal person, I had to make sure I had been thoroughly reminded of and reacquainted with my old friend. And I have been. Isn’t chocolate divine?!!!

A few of my current favorites:
BYU Creamery Chocolate Milk -thanks to Kurt, I tasted chocolate milk for the first time in my life the other day (Mom didn’t think it was good for us when we were young – she was probably right!)
Chocolate Donuts (thanks, Joe!)
Chocolate Mint Graham Crackers
Peppermint Oreos, Oreos, Oreo Shakes, Mint Oreo Shakes, homemade oreos, etc.
Brownies
Hershey’s Kisses, M&M’s, Kit Kats, Twix,…
Chocolate and Peanut Butter anything, but esp. the treats my sisters-in-law make
Chocolate Sin Pie at The Dodo
Chocolate Chip Cookies from Paradise (completely obsessed with these)

I could go on and on. I’m like that mayor guy in Chocolat who abstains from chocolate and then completely loses all self control and eats all the chocolate in the chocolate shop window one night. Classic.

So - diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but chocolate is her 2nd bestie. Glad to have you back, friend!

BTW – can someone smarter than me/better informed than me please tell me the etymology for the “don’t know what you’ve got….” phrase? Was it really Cinderella? I’m sure I should know or be able to find it, but I’ve not been able to yet.

And, yes - the Chocolat reference was just so I could have a pic of Johnny Depp on my blog. :)