FAVORITES, FAILURES & FRUSTRATIONS--GUEST AUTHOR BARBARA WHITE DAILLE

Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. She’s here today to talk about one of her favorite things—chocolate—which she’s incorporated into her featured book. Learn more about Barbara and her books at her website. 

When I tried to narrow the focus of this post to one topic, I found it a challenge. So to ease my Frustration and keep me from being a Failure, I’m choosing a Favorite that covers all the bases!  In a word…

Chocolate.

I’ll confess, chocolate is my favorite food, snack, and indulgence, whether it’s included in cookies, cakes, ice cream, or served straight up.

Every year, July 7^th is World Chocolate Day, and this year the Guinness World Records website listed the “Top 10 World Records for Chocoholics.” Check out the post for some amazing statistics, including:

·               a $25,000 dessert (No, that’s not a typo. Twenty-five thousand dollars!)

·               a 4,506-lb. 3.9-oz. box of chocolates

·               a cup of hot chocolate measuring in at 880 gallons

That’s a lot a chocolate! Maybe even enough to satisfy my cravings. Find that post here.

For more fun facts and figures, do a search for “Guinness world records” and “chocolate.”

Since everywhere you look, you read that sugar is bad for you, I recently decided to experiment to see what would happen if I gave it up completely…for a while. Of course, cutting sugar also meant going cold turkey on giving up chocolate, as it was the main ingredient in 99% of the items in my “goody drawer” in our pantry.

The results of the experiment? A big surprise.

Other than a few days of suffering a withdrawal headache, I didn’t miss either sugar or chocolate—and even lost some weight!

As some people say, though, everything in moderation. The goal now is to watch how much I eat while still allowing myself my chocolate indulgence. Even more important is keeping an eye on the sugar in those servings.

To the right are a couple of things I’m trying to cut down on the sugar count. I haven’t yet used the baking chocolate, but the candy bar is surprisingly good. There’s a learning curve for your tastes buds, though, as the sugar content of each is much lower than in a standard serving. There are 3 grams of sugar in the candy bar, and 0 grams of sugar in the baking chocolate.

I would love to hear whether or not you’ve ever kicked the sugar cravings and what tips you can share with us!

A Rancher of Her Own (The Hitching Post Hotel #2)

A reason to stay

Ranch manager Pete Brannigan has no interest in playing tour guide to a city slicker like Jane Garland. But spending a few days with the headstrong photographer is a small price to pay for everything her grandfather has given the single dad. Though Pete's drawn to Jane's sharp wit and striking beauty, he won't hurt his young children by falling for another woman who puts her career before family. 

Jane's seen the world through her camera…and used it to shield her emotions. With Pete, she can finally let her guard down. If only he could do the same. Despite their powerful bond, Pete still can't trust Jane with his kids or his heart. But if he keeps pushing her away, he may ruin any chance their relationship has to develop.

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