Chocolate Pretzel Sticks

Pretzel sticks with chocolate shapes are a simple treat to make and family, friends or loved ones can enjoy this treat year round.  I started making this treat about two years ago and have received many compliments on this treat I thought I’d share my little secret. They aren’t difficult to make at all and one batch should take less than 20 minutes to make. 

An article on The Huffington Post called “10 Health Benefits of Chocolate” posted online on March 28, 2012 states, “Keep in mind that all chocolate was not created equal: Dark chocolate packs more a health punch overall, but even the bittersweet varieties can be high in calories, fat and sugar.” So although, some chocolate can be beneficial this should be a treat you should enjoy occasionally. 

The main ingredients are:

·         semi-sweet chocolate (milk, dark, white)

·          pretzel rods

·          mold of your choice

·          a sauce pan

·         spoon or fork

·         sandwich plastic bags  and ties for the bags

The first step is to wash your hands, the mold, pan and area you are going to use to keep everything sanitary. 

After you have done that quickly dry your mold and pan with a napkin and turn on your stove to low heat.

You can break the chocolate by leaving the chocolate inside its bag and hitting it against the kitchen counter top. Once you have broken the chocolate place the pan on the stove where it is on low heat and add your chocolate in the pan. Stir slowly and make sure your chocolate does not burn. It should take about three minutes for the chocolate to melt.

After the chocolate has melted begin pouring the chocolate onto the mold make sure to do this slowly so you don’t spill. 

Once the mold is filled begin placing the pretzel rods on top and make a slow turn to cover the back side of the pretzel with chocolate. After completing this place a plastic sealing wrap on top and make sure it is long enough to cover all the chocolates. Keep the chocolate out for five minutes to cool before you place the chocolate in the freezer.

After the chocolate is hard from the freezer take out the chocolate from the molds. There is the option to eat the pretzel chocolate treat right away or and individually wrap each treat and tie it. Once that is complete you can place them in your fridge for whenever you want one you can enjoy the treat!

It is as simple as that and if you want to be fancy with making them different colors that will only work with white chocolate by adding food coloring.

On Saturday April 21, 2012 at 5:00pm Rubi Cortez and Elpido Rivera joined in civil matrimony witnessed by family and friends of the couple in Wasco, California.

 

The matrimony took place in the front patio of Elpido Rivera uncle's house where family and friends of the couple sat and witnessed the marriage at 5:00 pm.

   

After the marriage, guest took their seats in the front of the groom's uncle's house where they waited to be served food for the reception. 

 The food served at the reception of Rubi and Elpido Rivera's wedding was birria (cow meat), Spanish rice with peas, and macaroni salad. Along with the meal a variety of soft drinks, water and alcohol, for adults ages 21 and older, were available to drink.

The bouquet of flowers was thrown by Rubi Rivera in the evening for the traditional toss that is to be caught by the next bride-to-be.  

The bride, Rubi Rivera, hosted guest and thanked them for attending the wedding. On the back table gifts were dropped off for the bride and groom.

This was the main floral arrangement placed on the table were Rubi and Elpido Rivera enjoyed their dinner. The theme colors for the wedding were white and red. 

The bride, Rubi Rivera, spoke with her mother, Teresa Cortez, and her sister called Tere Cortez over party concerns.

Mr. and Mrs. Rivera make a quick run to the house of the bride's mother for the remaining soda cans they are running low on.

 

 

Champagne was served in the evening where family and friends rejoiced and wished a lifetime of happiness to the couple.

 

Rubi and Elpido Rivera went around thanking their guests for attending their civil marriage that took place April 21, 2012.

Kelly's Unusual Side

There is a bond between a pet and family that is like no other. Pets have a way of making you laugh at the silly circumstances they sometimes find themselves getting into. Currently, our puppy’s name is Kelly we aren’t exactly sure what her breed is because she was a gift my sister received from her boyfriend at the time; a short while after the death of our previous puppy Daisy who was unfortunately run over by a reckless driver.

We have noticed the difference in the two puppies. Daisy was rather a playful puppy who enjoyed barking and making a scandal. However, she was also very sweet and would wake us up in the morning by nudging us when our alarms rang. She was smart enough to know whose alarm went off and who to wake up and who to leave alone.

The first couple of days we had Kelly home all she would do was hide under the bed. Now she still hides under the bed when frightened like right after I showed her this video of herself barking that I posted she ran under the bed because she was afraid of herself.

According to the article posted August 4 , 2009, “Stages of puppy” found online at dogtime.com “When puppies are separated from their littermates too early, they often fail to develop key social skills, such as sending and receiving, the hierarchy process (who is in charge), and so forth.” We believe this may have been what has kept Kelly from being social with other puppies.

She is slowly developing her doggy skills. A couple of weeks back, we doggy-sat my cousin’s puppy who is a Chihuahua mix named Princess. The first night Princess was trying to play with Kelly; but Kelly was scared and would hide under the bed. By the second night the puppies were fighting over which bed was whose and eventually both puppies gave up and choose a bed. Then on the third and final night both Kelly and Princess were like best friends playing together and sharing food which surprised us all because when Kelly usually sees other puppies or dogs she will hide behind our legs.

The video above shows the rare side of Kelly barking at her own reflection.

Raining Can Benefit Us All

Rain benefits us all even if it gets our favorite pair of shoes wet. The sound the rain makes when pouring down can be soothing as the droplets hit the ground. The rain is so small yet when thousands of droplets hit the ground a serene note can be heard. According to Michael C. Miller who wrote the online article "The Benefits of Rain" on Ezine Articles he says, "Since rain provides fresh water making the rivers flow, filling lakes and keeping plants alive, it is very significant."
Living in a town where agriculture is important, rain contributes to keeping plants alive. According to city-data.com for Shafter, California the average precipitation is less than two inches of rain; and months of precipitation tend to be from January - April. When the rain does trickle down to the land the soil and plants benefits from this like this picture of Almond Trees I took on the month of February 2012 posted above.
Shafter is known for its agricultural industry and according to Wikipedia such crops include: cotton, almonds, pistachios, alfalfa, carrots, and potatoes among other vegetables. 
So whenever I hear the sound of rain falling on my window, it is the sound of soft music to my ears; because every drop penetrates into the soil that helps keep our crops or plants alive. Due to rain I am able to eat corn, almonds or pistachios locally grown and not have to worry about where my food came from.

The Meaning of Family to Me

Ever wonder why things just don't seem to be going your way. You have everything planned out and BAMM something happens to ruin those plans or they don't execute like you had thought they would. I know I have wondered why? Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't my plans be fulfilled, I would have been so happy! But no, things like many say, happen for a reason. 

Well you don't always know what that reason is; but I can tell you this, eventually you will know because life has a funny way of revealing things to you later in life. Whenever I am unhappy I remind myself that everything in life has a purpose and if things don't go a certain way I was hoping it is because it was not meant to happen that way. Eventually everything works its way out.
         When bad things happen remember this: Right now sure you may be upset at the turn out; but things will change the sun will shine. After every rain storm there is a bright sun shining down to show everything will be okay. And the rainbow created after the rain storm is a glimmer of hope. Hope for a better ending!
Having faith in God is what keeps me going. Today is Easter, April 8, 2012, here in the United States, and I am having the pleasure to have family over from San Francisco that I haven't seen in months. I consider myself fortunate to have them over even with crying baby and all. Family is important to me because I was taught that without family support it is difficult to get by peacefully in life. I understand that sometimes we have our conflicts or disagreements but that doesn't stop me from loving them. After all we are family through thick and thin.