Top Ten Great Things About This Weekend

This past weekend we had a bunch of good stuff happen to us. So much stuff in fact that I figured I would put it all down in a list of the top ten cool things about this weekend. These are in no particular order except for the last one - it's definitely #1 on the list:

Grilled pineapple with cinnamon and sugar - Nancy (mom-in-law) made some excellent side dishes to our dinner on Friday night. I don't know how she managed to pull it off, but after flying for 24 hours, she still had the energy to whip up dinner. That woman has some serious skills in the kitchen, and the grilled pineapple did nothing but bolster my opinion.

People watching at Starbucks - I like people watching period. People watching with Eric (pop-in-law) just brings it to a whole new level. His comments are entertaining and it's always a pleasure to join him at one of his favorite spots back in the states - good ol' Starbuckaroo's.

Breakfast at the Post Office - Before church on Sunday we all went to one of my favorite breakfast spots in Scottsdale. It's called the Post Office and pretty much everything they make is good. I got a create your own omelet with one of my favorite combinations: ham, american cheese, tomatoes, spinach and green chilies. Mmmmmm, mouth is water just thinking about it. As a bonus, we were a couple of tables away from Jared Allen, defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings. Big dude.

Movie watching - I love sitting down and watching movies. I actually prefer to watch movies at home rather than go to the theaters. Not only is it cheaper, but I can stretch out as I please and pause when necessary. We ended up getting a very "manly" movie which, cussing aside, was pretty good. And by good of course I mean entertaining. Just a lot of fight scenes, shootings and things blowing up. What's not to like?

Pool lounging - I've never claimed to be a "sit in the sun and fry" kind of a guy, but hanging out in the pool is one of my favorites. We always end up coming up with whacky games or challenges that make it even more enjoyable. This time it was seeing who could throw a ball across the pool and make it land (and stay) on a raft as well as going back and forth across the pool without swimming and only pushing ourselves off against the wall. I guess you had to be there :)

Watching Nancy adjust to the new timezone - So you can probably imagine that it may be a bit tough adjusting to a country that is 15 hours behind the country that you just left. One of my favorite things about the in-laws being back in the states is watching Nancy fight to keep normal wake and sleeping hours. Sometimes she adjusts rather "quickly" and sometimes she doesn't adjust at all. You can bet your bottom dollar however that you will catch her napping on the couch every single day at various times. Maybe we should start making bets?

Picking the folks up at the airport - It's always very exciting seeing Eric and Nancy for the first time in a long time. Granted, Mandi and her mom webcam almost every single day, but it's obviously just not the same. Seeing the smile on my wife's face as her parents make their way to our truck is a particularly special moment for me.

Coming home to a painted house - I know that Mandi touched on this yesterday, but I have to reiterate how good it feels to come home to a painted house. It's amazing how a single coat of paint can seemingly transform a room. We know have every single room in our entire house painted to our satisfaction with the exception of our master bathroom toilet room. Now that the painting is done, here comes the fun part: Mandi coming home with furniture to fill the newly painted rooms. First up, the nursery.

Hiking - We all set out on a hike Saturday morning to the mountain where Mandi and I got engaged. The entire loop is 4 miles and Mandi and I did 3 miles of it. Eric and Nancy were considerably faster on the way up and we didn't want to make them wait for us to make it to the top, so we stopped at the second check point. I'm proud to report however that I hiked all 1.2 miles to the first check point without ever stopping - that's the first time that has ever happened.

Time with Family - Do I really need to say anything else about this?

My Top Ten Favorite Cereals

I have to start off by telling you that I could have breakfast for every meal of the day and more specifically, cereal, for every meal of the day. In fact, it probably WAS my meal for every meal of the day during most of my college years. Whenever I'm actually craving something, it's generally cereal. Every time I go to the grocery, I just HAVE TO walk down the cereal aisle to see if any of my favorites are on sale. If there were a cereal rehab, I would have already been committed.

So without further ado- My top ten favorite cereals ever:

Honorable Mention: Sugar Smacks, Cap'n Crunch, Honey Bunches of Oats

10. Cheerios: a simple classic...although I do like to pour on quite a bit of sugar.

9. Trix: I was sad when they changed to the little pieces shaped like fruit. They actually hurt my mouth when I ate them. They saw the error in their ways (and all of my complaint letters) and recently changed back to perfect little smooth round balls of goodness.

8. Honey-Comb: I'm not sure if I like these better with or without milk, but if my hand were to the fire, I might have to say without.

7. Kix: Ronnie tested AND Ronnie approved. I do like to add a good amount of sugar to these also, but I will say, they are already sweet enough out of the box.

6. Frosted Mini-Wheats: When I eat these, I can't explain the feeling I get when I'm about to bite into a little mini-wheat that is absolutely covered with "frost". I'll usually let these soak in the milk a bit and then drink the "frosty" delight when I'm done.

5. Life: I love these with a ton of milk. Mandi loves these with vanilla yogurt and blueberries.

4. Raisin Bran: This is another cereal that I load the milk on with. It's such a treat to get a spoonful with a bunch of raisins in it. One of the few cereals that I don't like without milk however.

3. Lucky Charms: Mandi and I have been known to go through a box of these in one sitting. She usually picks out all of the marshmallows and eats them separately. I love crunching on the marshmallows with my two front buck teeth.

2. Quaker Corn Bran: It's actually hard to find this cereal now. I used to eat it all of the time as a kid and it's probably the healthiest one on this list. Anybody know where I could order this stuff in bulk?

1. Golden Grahams: I've never met anybody that doesn't like GG. I'll take them with a little milk, a lot of milk, no milk, water, beer, vodka, albuterol, TOBI, sweat, tears; truthfully, anyway that I can get them. I just wish they weren't 1200 dollars a box.