Day 7 - Chocolate? Only if It's Swiss...

I really am not a sweets fan.  I don't have a sweet tooth like some people.  And, while I don't consider myself a chocoholic like several of my friends (my DH included), I do occasionally crave a piece.  And, trust me, when I say a piece, I mean like one piece can keep me satisfied for several weeks.  Drives my DH crazy because I'll buy us a candy bar and his will be gone about five minutes after I give it to him while I'll slowly eat mine over the next week.  That is if he doesn't eat it before I finish it.

Regardless, I had the day off and nothing of interest to write about until we went into town for lunch, and I stopped at the local candy store to get one of my favorite chocolate candies... I'll let you know which one as we count down my favorite chocolates:

#10 - The original Lindt Almond Bar

I first had this candy in Switzerland.  We had just crossed the border from Italy, and we stopped at some kind of travel stop.  I remember the brightly colored bars and I grabbed one with almonds on the label.  It was the richest and creamiest chocolate I'd had to that point, and I was glad I had bought more than one bar.  I had also grabbed two gift boxes of individually wrapped chocolates with scenes of Switzerland on them.  It's a wonder I made it home with the boxes intact!

#9 - Trader Joe's PB and J

I don't know what it is about this chocolate bar, but I love it!  I think it's because it's raspberry jelly, and I love that stuff.  Whatever, it's seriously tasty.  Of course, you'll find that three of my favorite chocolate bars are a combination of chocolate and peanut butter.  As an aside, Chubby Hubby by Ben and Jerry is my favorite ice cream... I think that has chocolate, and, um, peanut butter too!!

#8 - The Original Snickers Bar

Still one of my favorites.  The combination of peanuts and caramel really is "satisfying."  I think one of the best parts, too, are the commercials.  I really am a diva when I'm hungry...!

#7 - See's Victoria Toffee

I didn't realize that See's candies are mainly a California thing until I moved to Wisconsin.  I can't remember a Christmas that went by when I didn't get my favorite Victoria Toffee.  I know that most people are into the Nuts & Chews combination, but I still enjoy taking my time and slowly working my way through this toffee, chocolate, and peanut slice of Heaven.

#6 - Ghirardelli's Dark & Sea Salt Caramel

I have to be honest, I am not a fan of dark chocolate.  There's something about the combination of salt and caramel, especially with that full flavor of Ghirardelli chocolate that makes this combination especially good.  The Ghirardelli factory is in San Francisco, and even the milk chocolate has a fuller, deeper flavor than most chocolates.  And, their hot chocolate is oh, so good too!

#5 - Peanut Butter Snickers

What can I say?  It's got chocolate.  It's got peanut butter.  And, it's a Snickers....

#4 - Sweetness and Light Moo Bar

This little local shop produces some mighty fine chocolates.  But, I especially love their Moo Bars.  Soft, fluffy marshmallow layered on top of almonds with a creamy caramel base and coated in creamy milk chocolate.  I find myself craving these, and as I said before, I do not have a sweet tooth.  They're located right next door to the post office, and it's such a temptation to go in there when I go into town when I pick up the mail... but, I do control myself.  Except for today.  Today I splurged.

#3 - Lindor Peanut Butter Truffle

So Lindt also makes Lindor chocolate truffles in many flavors.  Obviously, I like the peanut butter ones.  Already covered in rich and creamy milk chocolate on the outside, the inside is also rich and creamy.  Seriously, peanut butter and chocolate is a match made in heaven.

#2 - Teuscher's Champagne Truffle

I thought I'd had good chocolate until I was introduced to these bad boys.  I worked in an art store and the owner went to NYC on shopping trips.  She brought back a box of these to share, and I was hooked.  Whenever I get to NYC, I stop at Rockefeller Plaza and pick up a box or two.  And, whenever friends go to NYC, I direct them to the store.  And, I ask them to bring me back a box, or two.  They are so worth the price.

#1 - Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles

Don't get me wrong, Teuscher truffles are the best, but when it comes down to it, if there's one chocolate candy that I can just eat until I make myself sick, it's these Milk Lindor balls.  I hate when Christmas comes around because it seems like these things are everywhere!  I love these things.  If I see one, I will grab it... along with another one... and a friend to keep them both company.  It take my full effort of willpower to not grab a tub of these when I go to Costco.  Silky, smooth, creamy on the inside;  I just let the thing melt in my mouth.  MMhmmm.....

Ten Years Ago...

I got caught up in all the news shows and documentaries over the course of the last several days, and many focus on the fact that all of us can remember where we were that morning.

My aunt had died on that prior Thursday, and I had rushed home to California from Wisconsin to be with my mother.  I was a medical student on my Family Medicine rotation, so I only could miss a few days.  The funeral ended up being scheduled for later in the week, so I caught the Red Eye from Los Angeles back to Wisconsin on Monday night.  I arrived for my connecting flight in Chicago about 6:30 a.m. CDT, and we took off about 7 a.m.

I landed in Milwaukee about 7:45, and by the time I got to my car and the radio came on, my usual morning show was talking about smoke from the World Trade Center.  If you remember, there was a light plane that flew into a building in New York just a couple of months earlier, so I didn't really think anything about it.  I got home and turned on the news, just in time to see the results of the second plane having hit the second tower.

I called my mom to let her know I had made it home safely, but the phone just beeped with an "All Circuits are busy" message.  I remember listening to Peter Jennings on ABC reporting, and I wondered what was going on in the world.  I thought of friends I knew in New York, and something made me think of a jewelry vendor where I had bought a silver ring who had his stand just at the foot of the WTC steps.  I wondered if he had escaped or was injured.  I know, random thought.

Over the next several hours I attempted to get a hold of any family member, but the phone lines were out.  I watched and listened as the Pentagon was attacked, and I thought of military friends I knew stationed in the D.C. area.  I heard about the downed plane in Pennsylvania.  And, I watched in disbelief as the first then the second tower collapsed.

I went to the clinic at noon as scheduled.  I think we saw all of three patients even though the clinic had been booked solid.  A portable television was playing in the office, and would continued to play non-stop over the next 2 weeks.  I got sent home early since there weren't any patients, and my TV at home was on the news non-stop.

I finally got a hold of my mom later that evening, and she told me that family members had been calling her about me because they knew I was traveling cross country.  Had I made it home?  Had I been diverted?  Had she heard anything from me because there were plenty of rumors about other missing planes?

In the weeks that followed, friends and I had philosophical discussions about the choices people made on that day.  Would I have jumped from the burning towers?  Would I have voted yes to try to retake a plane held by terrorists?  Would I have run up the stairs to help others inside while everyone else was running down the stairs?

I know that ten years later I still have a kind of combination of morbid curiosity and PTSD surrounding the events of that day.  I cringe watching the video knowing what the outcome will be, but yet I want to hear the survivor stories, the "I could have been on the plane" stories, all the stories.  Because in a special way, we have all been affected and united by this event.  And those are stories that are going to be told over and over again for a very long time.