Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. ~Sandra Boynton

Readers, mug cake.  Mug cake, readers.

Now that we all know each other, I'm going to tell you a little bit more about your new favourite dessert: The Mug Cake.  

If you have ever experienced this cake before, you know what I mean when I say that it is THE tastiest treat you will ever make in under 8 minutes.


The recipe in a nutshell:  You take your ingredients, mix 'em around in a large coffee mug until they reach cake-batter consistency, and then nuke for about 3 minutes 30 seconds.


For those of you who now wish to try it for yourself,
here's the recipe (and for those of you who
don't, I highly suggest you go see a therapist)

Nutella Mug Cake

Ingredients

4 tablespoons self rising flour
4 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons Nutella
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a large coffee mug. Whisk well with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 – 3 minutes. (Time depends on microwave wattage. Mine took 1 /2 minutes.) 

2. Top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

Note: Depending on the wattage of your microwave, you may have to increase cooking time.

Makes 1 very large serving.

You can eat it straight out of the mug or dump it onto a plate for sharing.  (Cause when it says "large serving" it mean "large serving"!) Please let me know what you think after you try it out!


Ciao for now!

"Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of." ~Charles Richard

Yesterday caught me a bit by surprise - it was beautiful out!!  Being one of the last days of it's kind this year, 

I "carpe diem"-ed and got out my camera!

Another charming Dinan restaurant.
My dad's been here!

Place Duclos - this is where I catch
the bus if I want to leave town

Up on the ramparts with
with Cassandra

Overlooking Dinan's harbor -
check out that blue sky!!

A typical view from the town walls

"The English Garden"
My favorite place to spend a sunny day!!

Last Weekend

Last weekend Rotary organized a “two-day field-trip” for around 150 Exchange Students to Mt St Michel.  For a less-than-48-hour excursion, we really packed it in, so I’m just going to illustrate the highlights.

Highlight #1:  Quicksand!!

For those who don’t know, quicksand occurs when you’ve got water flowing beneath a layer of mud.  There happens to be an abundance of the stuff behind  Mt St Michel, and it has become something of a tourist attraction to walk across it.  Yes, it is somewhat dangerous, because if you break through the surface the water below can suck you under.   But the sensation of running across fluid ground was totally worth any risk the experience presented; it felt like walking on water itself!

Highlight #2:  National Anthems!!

That evening we were asked that every country present sing their anthems at dinner.  Despite the fact that were was something like 3 bajillion different anthems to get through, this was by far my favorite part of the trip.  Everyone was so fired up to be representing their countries through song and they were all so beautiful.  While "Oh Canada" was obviously my anthem of choice (I love how you can really let loose and BELT OUT the lyrics), close favorites were that of Japan, New Zealand, and Germany.  But really, everyone showed such great spirit and a shout-out to Tosh from Norway as he was the ONLY one from his country and therefore went solo for the singing of his anthem.  Kudos!

Highlight #3:  Dancing!!

At 11pm the tables are pushed away, the DJ sets up and all 150 of us are on the dance-floor for the next 4 hours!!  I danced like a TOTAL freak the whole time, and it felt good!  They also had playing the most diverse music-mix I’ve ever heard, the song selection featured at least 4 different languages, and included the Macarena!  And then about half-way through a song comes on that is apparently very popular in Brazil because the Brazilian kids just take over the floor and never MIND the girls - the boys can shake so well it made all us white girls wanna cry...  No way should ANY male be able to move their hips like that! 

Anyway, the Rotarians finally had us “evacuate” at 2pm, no-one was in bed before 3, and it was up at 6 again if anyone wanted breakfast!!  So I’m gonna say that day 2 was a lot more low-key, just sort of hung out around the castle and chatted.

And that basically sums up Last Weekend!  I promise to be more punctual with my updates in the future, so a big THANK-YOU to everyone who’s still following this blog!  I really appreciate it and I wish you all a great week!

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern

So, anyone who’e been paying attention to this blog may have noticed that last Saturday was my OFFICIAL One-Month Anniversary here in Dinan, France.  That’s correct, folks, I have survived one full month on my own in a foreign continent with no loss of life or limb; give it up!!

Alright, self-praise aside, I admit that the phrase “on my own” is not totally true.  Therefore I dedicate this post to paying my dues to the people who made this trip happen, as well as those who’re making it happen still.

Thank-you, first and foremost: Mom and Pappa.  For shelling out the big bucks for the plane ticket after devoting 16 years of your lives shaping me into Exchange Student material, and for possessing the great courage and love to let me go.

Chris and Corrina:  You’re two of the wisest and funnest people I’ve ever met.  Corrina, I wear your necklace often.  Chris, I love the book.  Thank-you both for knowing me so well.

Brothers:  Thanks for the laughs, I hold them close.  Can’t wait to return, set up the Wii, and kick all your @$$es at Super Smash Bros Brawl.  It will be epic.

Friends:  We’ve shared so much: stories about stupid classes, aimless walks through Chilliwack, cupcake-decorating parties, hilarious Youtube vids (Avenue Q comes to mind) and awful movies (Vampires Suck comes to mind) that were only worth the ticket price cause they brought us together.  Thanks for sticking with me and being the kind I people I love to be stuck on!!

Rotary:  Thanks for giving me the chance of a lifetime. I’m doing my best to make you proud.

Host Families (present and future): It takes guts to allow a stranger into you house and lives.  Thanks for having ‘em.  I wouldn’t be here without you.

The makers of Skype, Hotmail and Facebook:  I shake you all warmly by the metaphorical hand.  You’ve made the world a closer place; I thank you for that.

Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes you who you are;  what elements evolve you from day to day?  Me, I am a firm believer in the concept that every human interaction one makes influences one’s character.  So thanks to everyone I love for making me who I am today.  I don’t know where I’d be without you. (I really don’t!!)

Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! - Albus Dumbledore

My first day of school at Les Cordeliers had me relating to Mr Harry Potter and his first entering Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  Les Cordeliers was once a monastery built in the 1200s, and it still retains many castle-like features: stone walls, spiral staircases, courtyards and towers, ect, ect...

This magic-school setting is enhanced by the characters present; the teachers are called “professors” here, and command a lot more respect from the students than the ones back home, I’m finding.  I’m just waiting for a grumpy janitor to turn up with a cat!

And then there is of course the sensation of having stepped into a different world; a hidden realm, if you will.  Everyone is speaking a foreign language, wearing different clothes, and they all seem to have an internal GPS installed to navigate around the baffling school grounds (while I stand with my mouth open and totally lost until someone takes pity on me and leads me to class *merci, Jean-Baptiste!*  Seriously, how did anyone make it to class on time in the HP books?!?)  Even the atmosphere seems changed, as if the very air is charged with some alien energy!

I know most of it is all in my head.  I really don’t care, cause starting my new year of school here is such a rush and this is going to be great!  And when Marina told me I could leave school for the village during lunch hour, my newly-formed Hogwarts half was squealing “Hogsmead trip. Every.  Day.”