CADBURY CHOCOHAULIC

Growing up, I was initially put off (aka grossed out) by the idea of a bunny laying eggs.
Neither was I a big fan of the taste of Cadbury eggs- I’ve just never been the sort of person
that liked soft centers inside my chocolate. I’m much more a chocolate-covered pecan kind of girl.
So I had no major bias towards Cadbury when I went to London and ate one of their milk chocolate bars for the first time.

It was heaven. Compared to Cadbury, I think most American chocolates taste like wax.
Cadbury claims they add extra milk in their recipe and the creamy flavor really seems to validate that advertisement.

I was nineteen when I first discovered Cadbury and I have to admit, I was immediately an addict.
I initially bought one bar, just to try it out. Later I went back for 4, as the grocery store happened to have a deal. Those four only lasted 2 days. I was in London for 4 weeks and I swear, I probably went through 20 chocolate bars.

Luckily I was a teenager still, so the sweets didn’t immediately go to my hips. I don’t know if I would have been able to resist even if they had.

When I first came home, the grocery stores near my house didn’t carry Cadbury, so I despaired.
When I moved out to California, however, I found Vons and Ralphs had a buyer smart enough to carry this product.

Now, my husband and I maintain a constant supply of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars in the fridge. I usually will have 3 or 4 squares as dessert after dinner.

I believe Hershey has the rights to manufacture Cadbury in the US. I know Kraft is bidding on the company right now, and Kraft shareholders (including Warren Buffet) are up in arms about overpaying. But my real concern is, will my chocolate change?

If you haven’t tried it and consider yourself a chocolate lover- Cadbury is a necessity. If you like creamy fillings, my husband is a big fan of the Caramello. It’s a creamy carmel- much more gooey and delicious than most carmels. I like the Fruit and Nut bar. It contains raisins and almonds. I also like the Almond bar.
My most favorite of all- one that is sadly not carried in my local grocery stores- is Hazelnut.

Chocolate lovers out there- what is your favorite type of chocolate?

Jazzarazz

Here’s a couple of links to our newest book reviews:

Princess Ben

Catherine, Called Birdy

Here is another title that we just added!

The Westing Game

Just wanted to let you know that we have started to add book reviews to our site. If you have a book that you would like to review yourself, just send us a note at: ninehats@gmail.com with your review attached and we will be glad to add it. If there is a book you would like to see us review, just post a comment and we’ll try to get right on it. In the mean time, check out our new Book Review Page: Book Reviews

Thanks,

NineHats

Hopefully, with this simple tutorial video you can make your own “album” of your favorite songs by building playlists.

Good luck and Enjoy,

NineHats.com

Now that we all have cell phones we don’t run into this issue. That was, until one of my good friends Brad, decided to move to Australia, then Germany, then… well you get the picture.

Its true, I could have gone out and bought a Skype phone and set up an account. But, that’s just more money and more hassle. Instead, I looked around and found a cheap deal on an international calling card that I could recharge whenever I wanted to. It felt a little old school, but it worked great. Afterall, I only talk to my friend on the phone a few times a year. So, whenever I want to talk I just check my calling card online and then load up if I need to. Then I’m talking without the fear of running up a bill I can’t pay for.

My preference is Cloncom.com. I’ve personally used their service in the past. When I used their service I was not an affiliate of theirs. I was just another person who needed a calling card. The service was the cheapest around, but the qualitity of service was great. I had used an AT&T card for domestic long distance for years and when I switched to Cloncom.com for international service I could not tell a difference in service.

I hope you’ll take a look at them. They offer great deals on discount international calling rates to every country out there. They have great rates to Australia, Germany, Mexico, Canada, all of the South American countries, Europe, Great Britain, Russia, and many more. They will certainly be able to take care of your international calling needs. Check them out for the best rate on international calling cards out there.

You can also use their service you get your own local number in another country. This can be real helpful in cutting down your costs if you are making calls to a particular country on a regular basis. Click here for more info. Get a local number in another country. Learn more!

If you have never seen 311 play or would like to try and catch one of their future dates go to their website and check out their upcoming tour dates. One thing that you’ll notice about 311 that many other artists don’t do is reasonable ticket prices. When many artists are charging nearly $100 a seat (after fees) for a show in Santa Barbara or LA, 311 only charged $50 for the best seats in the house. They truly understand the concept of “fan appreciation”.

Click here to read the whole review.

Back in the day when I wanted to go mountain biking or hiking for the day all I had to do was roll out of bed, fill up my CamelBak® and I was on my way.

But as life has progressed there have been additions to my life and the amount of preparation has increased accordingly.

The most notable addition, for the purpose of this pose is my Australian Sherpherd, Tacoma. He’s a great dog. He loves to hike and loves to swim in any water that finds. Above all, he is incredibly agreeable and never complains.

So about a week ago I took Tacoma for a hike in a canyon nearby my house. It was still spring so it was not too hot yet. We hiked about two hours in and then he found a nice swimming spot and jumped right in.

After swimming he decided he wanted to go off-trail and continue climbing rocks and exploring. In all, it was a great day. After we finished lunch we started on our way back.

It was on the way back that I noticed Tacoma was walking gingerly on his hind legs. I stopped him and made him lay down and roll over.

Assuming that he had a sticker in between his pads, I started to look around when I realized it was much worse. See, Tacoma had hiked over so much hot ground and climbed over so many rough rocks that he had blistered his pads and they were starting to tear. Without being too gross, the poor guy was walking on the raw pad skin that had been exposed.

Having spent my fair amount of time outdoors I knew to never go adventuring without a little kit. Therefore, I pulled out my first-aid kit. I always had thought that my kit was rather thorough for a day kit. However, by the time I had bandaged up three dog paws the kit was worn down to nothing.

In hindsight, I’m glad that I had that first-aid kit. Had I not had that kit I would have had to carry my 55 pound dog on my shoulder for the two hour hike out.

If you’re thinking about going hiking, and you should since it is such a beautiful experience, I suggest you take a look at our “How To” on Planning a Day Hike. Even if you are an experienced hiker you might find some helpful reminders.

Enjoy,

-NineHats.com Adminstrator

p.s. Here is what Tacoma now wears to avoid this problem in the future.

The most interesting experience of all was that when we purchased the book the price was significantly different. The book on the internet was about $39.99 with free shipping and no sales tax. However, when we purchased it from the brick and mortar bookstore we paid just under $60.00.

We mentioned the disparity in price to the nice gentleman who was ringing up the purchase and he inquired further. He offered to order the book from the internet and have it shipped to a location of our choice (home, business, school, etc.) for free and we would get it at the internet price within a week.  We asked if they could just honor the internet price and they apologetically said, “No.”

The store explained that the company has to make up the cost of doing business (essentially the cost of keeping the lights on and paying the help). Because we were up a creek, we cringed, and bought the book.

It is still hard to believe that there is a 50% markup when you buy something from a brick and mortar joint instead of getting it off the Internet.

Now, were not going to sit here and tell you that there going to be no stores in the near future; its simply not realistic. However, what does seem abundantly clear is the fact that the brick and mortar retail industry is going to see some serious contraction over the next few years.

The storefront retailers who don’t get killed in this economic downturn are going to have to face a second wave of destruction as Internet retail expands further into their bottom line.

We’d like to hear what you all have to say because we’re sure we missed some very salient points in this issue.

Sincerely,

-NineHats.com Staff