Chocolate Milk

Today I stood in line for 2 1/2 hours to vote early. It's great to have the option to do that. Can you imagine what the polls would have been like next Tuesday if we didn't have early voting? I can't imagine what they're going to be like anyway, even with the early voting! Most people were very patient and cordial and left each other in peace to listen to music and read while we waited. But a few people around me grumbled incessantly about how ridiculous it was that we had to wait so long and that the Coke machine only had Vault left. Some folks are just impossible to please.

When I was in kindergarten, we had to write a short book. We decorated the plain white cover and each page was a different story that we'd illustrate. I don't remember most of the book, but the one page that is still clear as a bell to me is the "If I were President" page. And you know what I said I'd do? I'd drink all the chocolate milk I wanted. And everyone else could, too. Oh, if only the Presidency were that simple.

I wonder how chocolate milk goes with Frosted Mini Wheats?

An oatmeal day

Today was an oatmeal day. The weather is getting cooler here in my neck of the woods and this morning just called for a warm bowl of oatmeal. Trader Joe's organic oatmeal with blueberries did the trick. Then go figure, I went to my parents for dinner and we had oatmeal. Of course, this was REAL oatmeal, made in a pot, with maple syrup and butter. Because they can take the time to do that and eat it all. I can't imagine the mess I'd make trying to cook that and the week's worth of oatmeal I'd be left with.

Dear Cereal readers, I have a confession to make. Cereal Girl is a little drunk tonight. Not wasted-and- making-a-fool-of-herself drunk, just drank-several-glasses-of-wine-and-feeling-sleepy drunk. The kind of drunk that comes from sitting with friends in a warm house, talking about life and being silly, drinking cheap wine, eating cheese and fruit and watching football. The kind of drunk that makes you want to curl up in a ball at the end of the couch with a contented sigh and never leave, because you never want that moment to end. Single friends, married friends, friends in serious relationships - all of that nonsense is put aside for a few hours and we're just us. Just friends. Neighbors. A community. Moments like those are happening more frequently in my life lately. It's a good thing . . . and yet it leaves me wanting so much more.

Mini-Wheats vs. Frozen Chicken

I'm 29. I'm single. I eat a lot of cereal. It's cheap, it tastes good, and I get my daily dose of fiber.

Cooking for one is nearly impossible. It takes planning. Planning a grocery list of things that won't go bad before you eat them, planning recipes that are freezable to save for later, planning to have enough clean tupperware bowls for freezing, and planning the night before to put the frozen stuff in the refrigerator to thaw.

Of course, that's assuming several things: a) I've taken the time to sit down, find a recipe, and make a grocery list b) washed the pile of dishes in my sink from last week c) I don't wind up going out to eat with friends or in the car after a long day at work, leaving a chicken breast thawing for 5 days, thus making it inedible, and d) I actually feel like cooking.

Like I said, I eat a lot of cereal.

Welcome to my blog. It's not just about cereal, I swear. Tonight I'm eating a delicious bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats with soy milk. And bonus! It came with a totally usesless mini-Guitar Hero game!