Your input on the cocoa mix was really interesting. Some prefer a mix requiring water, others swear by milk and some even use milk with mixes that already contain dry milk powder.
The mix I made had the basics of every recipe I found: instant milk powder, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and instant coffee creamer. I tried it and I have to say it is no where near as good as the Archer Farms mix. Not as smooth, chocolaty or creamy. It tasted rather powdery and a bit lumpy in comparison, with plenty of gunk at the bottom of the mugs. Today I tried adding mini chocolate chips, which helped make more chocolaty but it was still gunky. Another option is adding chocolate pudding mix. I will try this tonight. I am really hoping to hit on a concoction that is giftable!
I have just two more questions I hope you can help me out with before I get off this question kick and return to regular blogging!
Can we talk pillows? After being pregnant five times I am trained to sleep on my side and always buy the firm pillows labeled "for side sleepers". They always feel wonderful for about a whole month before disintegrating into a lumpy squishy mess over the course of just two or three months. The pillow gets tossed into my closet and I get another. I am tired of this wasteful cycle! Is my head heavier than average, I wonder?
Last week I tried my old "chiropractor pillow" - you know the kind with firm edges and a dip in the middle for your head. I have never in my life woken up so sore. I am still sore from this pillow. I visited my closet and picked out the least lumpy pillow in my discard stash and still - I wake up so sore every morning.
So - can anyone out there recommend a good pillow? This will most certainly be the very first item on my Christmas list this year!
The second question: coats. I am freezing up here and it's not even that cold yet. I have gotten by with Target coats that you would think would be warm enough for Minnesota since Target is headquartered here, but must be made for the average winter in, say, Topeka, KS. I do have a toasty down Lands' End parka that I purchased my first year in grad school in Iowa and I love it except that I look like a big green puffy mushroom when I wear it. I would love a sleeker looking long parka warm enough. Otherwise I tend to put off things like getting gas or going anywhere after dark from December through the spring thaw.
You Northerners out there - what's the best coat? North Face? L.L. Bean? Lands' End? Columbia? This item will be second on my Christmas list!
Thanks to your help, the third item on my list will no doubt be a GHD flat iron, which is totally frivolous and not needed as much as a good pillow or coat. (Maybe it could wait until Mother's Day, honey!)
