21 Jul 2007 7:10 AM

...it's 93 degrees here in the usa during a July heatwave but i'll do almost anything for a friend...lol...even posting a HOT secret recipe for "Hot Chili Chocolate"...dedicated to Bonchloe as per her previous blog about her chance encounter with this heavenly drink and her reaction...visit her blog and you'll become a believer too.

This secret HOT CHOCOLATE recipe is from the author, Joanne Harris, who wrote "CHOCOLAT" which later became a movie starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. The story tells of a beautiful and mysterious woman who opens a confectionery shop in a rural french village. The once sad and lonely villagers are delighted with her delectable creations that contain secret ingredients to soothe troubled spirits and heal broken hearts. It is also, some discover, an aphrodisiac....a chocolate with seemingly magical powers.

HOT "CHOCOLAT"
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3 1/2 Cups Milk
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Vanilla Bean (cut in half lengthwise)
2 Hot red Chili Peppers (halved and seeded)
  (OR use pure ground red chili pepper like Rich Pasilla, Chile Negro, or Ancho)
7 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate (preferably 70%)
Brown Sugar to taste (optional...try to go without it)
Whipped Cream. Chocolate Curls, Cognac, or Amaretto 

Place milk in saucepan, add the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and chili, and gently bring to a shivering for one minute. Grate the chocolate and whisk it in until it melts. If you must, then add brown sugar, but try to go without it. Take off the heat and allow it to infuse for 10 minutes then REMOVE the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and the chilis. Return to heat and bring gently back to a simmer. Serve in mugs (or demitasse for smaller amounts) topped with whipped cream, chocolate curls, or a dash of cognac or amaretto.
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Here's another version:

HOT CHILI CHOCOLATE
2 1/3 cups milk
1 vanilla bean
1 red chili pepper
1 cinnamon stick
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
Split red chili pepper and remove the seeds. Also split the vanilla bean, lengthwise. In a saucepan, heat milk to simmering with vanilla bean, chili pepper and broken up cinnamon stick. Continue to simmer for a minute or two. Grate chocolate, and whisk into the hot spiced milk until melted. Remove mixture from heat and let sit for 10 minutes, to steep. Strain, and heat through again if necessary. Serve hot.

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12 Jul 2007 5:33 AM

*thank you for visiting my blog*...the purpose of this blog is lifesaving educational awareness

MaryEllen, one of my best friends, has a 24 yr old son struggling with the effects of lyme disease (from a tick bite). Michael is in the late stages where it has reached neurologic proportions. He's in severe pain, blurred vision, off balance, loss of memory, slurred speech, fatigued, headaches, etc. and can't hold a job now. He was misdiagnosed with arthritis, and multiple sclerosis (for which he was put on steroids). He went 3 years trying to get a proper diagnosis. He's now addicted to pain meds. Insurance companies will not help financially with the expensive treatments because of "unreliable lab test results". So many victims are losing all their material wealth including their homes trying to save their dying loved ones out of their own pocket. I'm now passionate about educational awareness in order to help my friend as well as others.

LYME DISEASE CAN BE EASILY TREATED IN THE EARLY STAGES WITH ANTIBIOTICS (in later stages it's not easy but possible) BUT WITHOUT PROPER DIAGNOSIS, COOPERATIVE INSURANCE COMPANIES, AND KNOWLEDGABLE DOCTORS OVERSEEING TREATMENT, IT CAN BE FATAL! It's OFTEN misdiagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Lupus, Myesthenia Gravis, Bell's Palsy, Paralysis, ALS, Lou Gehrig's, Delusions, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Dementia, Alzheimer's...and even stress and arthritis.

If you know anyone in high places (or can write your representatives or congressmen) who can help please tell them that we need:
1. Publicity
2. Lyme disease education for doctors and the public
3. Passage of a federal bill earmarking funds for Lyme disease research and prevention
4. Passage of a state bill that:
      a. forces insurance companies to cover Lyme patients
      b. requires employers to educate workers about Lyme if they
          work in a high risk area
      c. creates a study of Lyme disease issues.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT:
"Lyme disease is a spirochete much like syphilis. It has been found in every organ and every bodily fluid in the body. It has been found to pass from mother to fetus as Gestational Lyme. In babies born with Lyme disease, 75% show Neuropsychiatric Symptoms including Autism (9%) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (56%) and 63% have Neurological Sensory Integration Problems and Hypersensitivities.  Just like with syphilis, people with Bb in the body may be asymptomatic for Lyme disease for years and in some cases longer than a decade before they show signs and symptoms of late stage disseminated Lyme disease. During this time they could be unknowingly passing the disease from mother to fetus."

IF YOU ARE BITTEN BY A TICK and develop a rash (sometimes no rash appears) then place the tick in alcohol and take it to your vet or doctor to be tested for lyme. DO NOT TOUCH IT (use tweezers and pull gently closest to the skin). It takes up to 24 hrs for Bb to be transmitted and 3 days for symptoms to appear. Get on antibiotics (doxycycline for early stage) immediately.

...If you read this WHOLE blog then thank you for your time. The one paragraph in quotations i did not write. All was based on my research from reputable sources....anna

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2 Jul 2007 2:15 PM

Audrey Hepburn wrote this when asked to share her "beauty tips."

BEAUTY TIPS

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness...

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure , share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair , let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone... People,
  even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed,
  and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of
  each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have 
  two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

                                                                      ...Audrey Hepburn

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1 Jul 2007 4:32 AM

You can tell an imposter blogger by looking at their Blog History in their Profile. An imposter has only one or two (if that) whereas the REAL overfifties member will have more and all of them you may recognize as originals.
...the real Stella is Stella.2

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21 Jun 2007 2:59 AM

The Lord spoke to Noah and said, "In six months I am going to make it rain until the whole world is covered with water and all the evil things are destroyed. But I want to save a few good people and two of every living thing on the planet. I am ordering you to build an ark." And in a flash of lightning, he delivered the specifications for the ark. "Okay," Noah said, trembling with fear and fumbling with the blueprints, "I'm your man."

Six months passed, the sky began to cloud up, and the rain began to fall in torrents. The Lord looked down and saw Noah sitting in his yard weeping, but there was no ark.

"Noah!" shouted the Lord, "Where is my ark?" A lightning bolt crashed into the ground right beside Noah.

"Lord, please forgive me!" begged Noah. "I did my best, but there were some big problems. First, I had to get a building permit for the ark's construction, but Your plans did not meet their code. So, I had to hire an engineer to redo the plans, only to get into a long argument with him about whether to include a sprinkler system.

My neighbors objected, claiming that I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning board.

Then, I had a big problem getting enough wood for the ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that I needed the wood to save the owls, but they wouldn't let me catch them, so no owls.

Next, I started gathering up the animals but got sued by an animal rights group that objected to me taking along only two of each kind.

Just when the suit got dismissed, the EPA notified me that I couldn't complete the ark without filling out an environmental impact statement on Your proposed flood. They didn't take kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the Supreme Being. Then, the Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed flood plan. I sent them a globe!

Right now, I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission over how many minorities I'm supposed to hire. The IRS has seized all my assets claiming that I am trying to leave the country, and I just got a notice from the state that I owe some kind of use tax. Really, I don't think I can finish the ark in less than five years."

With that, the sky cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled. "You mean you are not going to destroy the world?" he asked hopefully.

"No," said the Lord. "The government seems to be doing a pretty good job of it already."

-anonymous

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