Special hot chocolate

Between two cats and a rat, we have now become the House of Turds.  It's one big psychosis, because the fight is over who gets to clean it up.  My kids watch the rat's butt, waiting for a poop to scoop.  There must be a way to extend this to other chores, such as tidying their rooms.  Now as it happens, the rat likes me.  He does not want to be handled by the little ones, no matter how we direct him.  This morning, after much persuasion, he spent 30 seconds on my daughter's chest before finding the safe haven on her head.

It's nuts here.  They are under-grounding utilities in my neighborhood.  Last week they dug up our already underground phone line and shorted the system.  We haven't had a land line for two weeks, and since we don't get cellular reception here, our Mercury has been officially in retrograde.  Furthermore, three construction men guided me around their vehicles and straight into a short wall that took off my from bumper.  Today, they dug outside our garage without any forewarning, and I've been  banned from driving all day.  I walked the boy to school, walked the girl to lunch, voted on the way, and walked the boy back from school. Thank goodness for the double shot of Belvedere I took to help smooth out the knots in my day. 

All I want is to curl up with a cup of special hot chocolate tonight, so thick and creamy that it will coat my entire digestive tract.

1.5 cups milk (I use 1%)

1/2 cup heavy cream (to make up for the 1%)

3 oz Valrhona dark chocolate (get the highest % cocoa you can find)

1 stick cinnamon

pinch cayenne

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and watch carefully as you slowly bring it to a boil.  Take off heat, allow to steep and for the chocolate to melt for 10 minutes.  Remove cinnamon, stir and serve to yourself and your sweetheart, or just to yourself and to yourself again.  After all, you are the one who deserves it most!