Filling Up My Cup and Chocolate Pancakes

One day, when I was my philosophical eleven year old self, I asked my best friend if she saw the glass half empty or half full. Of course I failed to mention this was a figurative saying, not to be taken literally. She pondered and answered that if it were orange juice she would like it half full. But water; half empty. Of course we got a great chuckle out of this as I tried to describe to her what I really meant by the question… although her answer was pretty spot on for an average eleven year old. 

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My answer these days is usually half full…

Within minutes of waking up, you can find my head deep in the fridge rummaging for my mason jar of iced coffee and cream. Always cream. I fill up my mug to the brim, and re-fill when it gets dangerously close to half empty.

A few hours of work and whatnot later, it’s time to fill up on something solid. Insert eggs most mornings.

But yesterday was different. Yesterday I filled up on these incredible chocolate pancakes. The wonderful Alex did it again with another genius recipe! Literally seconds after she posted her bitter chocolate waffles yesterday, I ran to my kitchen and made a batch myself.

I made a couple of changes:

             I added a dash of vanilla extract.

                               I used melted butter for the fat.

                                            I added a handful of dried cranberries (highly recommended).

                                                                         Oh and I made pancakes instead of waffles but thats trivial.

And for a topping I blended a bunch of frozen strawberries until smooth and microwaved them to make a deliciously sweet strawberry syrup. Plus more chocolate obviously!

Make these, you won’t be disappointed. Unless you eat more than half the batch and wind up with a massive stomach ache and glued to the couch for the rest of the morning. Oops. Talk about filling up.

Once I felt better I biked down to the lake for a swim. A decathlon if you will. I was in a strange homesick mood and my glass felt more on the empty side. Diving into a chilly lake seemed like the only thing that would calm me. And it did.

You’d think starting my day off with a heaping pile of chocolate would have been enough, but sometimes a little touch of nature, the cold sensation of water, and a phone call to home… those are what it really takes to fill me.

And later that night after a shift of waitressing, and attempting to fill up my bank account, my friends and I went out for some drinks. Chipotle infused tequila, pear juice, and cilantro. It wasn’t orange juice, but my glass what definetely looking half full.

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How do you cure a glass half empty kind of day? For me, it took a mound of chocolate, a soothing swim, a mall trip with my roommate, having a good shift at work, and a couple of drinks with friends. The glass is now back to overflowing.