Chocolate explosions are the best kind. (Happy New Year!)

2011 began with chaos, chocolate and cleaning. It was intended to be a relaxing, low-key evening but somehow went terribly awry at the last minute.

We began by cooking a leisurely Italian meal complete with pesto pasta, Roman chicken, cheesy-walnut-pesto bread, and sparkling pomegranate juice. Delicious.

We then watched a movie—the best movie of 2010, Inception—to close out the year. By 11:34 we had finished the movie and began a lively discussion of its themes, the ending and what we loved about it (everything).

We had planned to toast the New Year with ridiculously-thick chocolate milk shakes, but now the time was running short. By the time I (Chelsea, always thinking of chocolate) remembered our plan, it was 11:53. Seven minutes till 2011. “We can do this!” I assured the others. Brandie and I got out the blender, ice cream, chocolate syrup, etc. We blended away busily while my sister kept count in the living room.

“3 minutes to go!” she would yell, causing more bustle in the kitchen. The blender stopped working, and I was basically whipping the ice cream by hand, still inside the blender, with a spoon.  I spooned some out for my sister’s glass, and she ran to the living room with a whipped-cream-topped frothy treat.

“35 seconds till midnight!” she cried.

I picked up the blender to pour the rest into two glasses when the blender’s bottom completely fell out, causing a minor explosion of chocolate milkshake. There was chocolate everywhere, up and down the kitchen cabinets, on the floor, on my forehead. Brandie and I were laughing hysterically and trying frantically to save some of the precious elixir as it flowed onto the floor.

Our hands full of melting ice cream, we tracked chocolate footprints into the living room as Felicia counted down “3-2-1- Happy New Year!” and we toasted with those darn milkshakes.

We are tempted to think, Dear Lord, this year began with an explosion and a sticky mess to clean! This is a terrible indication of how this year is shaping up.

But then, explosions are kind of exciting. Certainly laughable when they’re chocolatey.  And we are not opposed to our lives being flooded with sweetness. Here’s to a happy 2011 and chocolate for all!