40 &...

So. Here's the thing: I'm turning 40 this month.

You should know that I have never yet cared about any of my birthdays. I mean, I enjoy my birthdays, but I have never cared about my age. And I had no plans to change that.

When my darling aunt Denise turned 40 a few years ago, I decided that 40 must not be too bad! She is darling and young and vibrant.

But in the last month or so, a little bit of caring has been creeping up on me out of nowhere.

It may have something to do with the fact that I developed symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome and had to get a root canal, all while going to physical therapy 3x a week for my knee treatments. What? I'm 39 and it feels like my body is starting to fall apart!

Right now, I feel like I'm almost 40 & fat, and 40 & a little frightened. But I'm determined to become 40 & fabulous.

At least I'm working on my knees. And I started a diet yesterday (for the first time in about 10 years!!). I'm told that 40 is a great time, a time of rediscovering yourself, having a little more time and freedom to devote to interests/passions that have had to be put on the back burner for, oh, let's just say a very long time.

I can do this. Right??

discovery

When my book club friends were here visiting, Collette asked if Marc and I discover new things each time we're here, or if we stick to the things we know and love. I thought it was a very interesting question, and I mentioned it to Marc. I found out later that we both decided then and there that we would make it a point to discover new things while we were in Paris this time. Thanks for the motivation, Collette!

We've been to a new museum and many new stores. Marc has been going to special movie premieres, where often the director and cast are present. We've both been trying to take different photos than we have in the past.

But my favorite form of discovery has come in the form of the book on chocolate in Paris I bought recently. It tells where to find the best chocolates, as well as the best chocolate pastries and ice creams. Obviously I don't have the time (or money!) to try them all, but I jotted down several to check out, and I have been to a few, with varying success.

This was a big success: a boutique called Richart. Everything was so beautiful that I had a hard time deciding what to try. I was the only person in the shop at the time, so the woman working there had time to answer all of my questions. She even gave me 4 samples: mango/passionfruit, ripe tomato/basil, lime, and raspberry. They were all absolutely delicious, so I figured I couldn't go too far wrong. They have different selections of chocolates intended to be eaten: 1) before a meal, 2) after a meal, 3) anytime of day, or 4) before bed. I ended up buying:


a bar of dark chocolate with sesame seeds -- so unusual (I loved, Max liked it, Marc wasn't really into it) I'm disappointed that these photos didn't turn out well, because the packaging was beautiful!


the anytime of day selection, which includes: Venezuelan cocoa beans in ganache, caramel coulis, raspberry ganache, mango/passionfruit ganache, orange coulis, bergamot ganache, green tea ganache, ylang-ylang ganache, and curry praline. My least favorite was the green tea. My favorite was the curry! This was an adventure in chocolate, and I hope to have time for more...