New Year's Resolutions

While I was working as a missionary for my church, I once met man who told me confidently that he was perfect. . . save for two weaknesses: women and booze.

In that same vein of introspection, I seem to have at least three: chocolate cake, peanut M&M's, and sugar cookies, each of which I ate my weight in over the holiday season.

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[Yes, that's Sonic the Hedgehog -- a chocolate Sonic the Hedgehog]

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Now two weeks removed from all of the holiday celebrations, I feel a little more confident sharing one of my New Year's Resolutions that will surely prove to be one of the keys to all my happiness this year:

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I will only eat 6 bags of Peanut M&M's this year. [I'd originally planned it to be 4 bags, but on January 1st, I found a sale at Ralph's for some leftover "Holiday Mix" bags of M&Ms. They lasted until January 3.]

A few other snippets of things I've been meaning to post on:

Surfin Donuts (San Clemente, CA):

A friend at work tipped me off to Surfin' Donuts when she learned of my donut exploits, giving particular mention to their dutch crumb bear claws. When we took the kids to Disneyland last December, we paid a visit.

Their donut selection was limited, and at the hefty price of .89 a donut, they couldn't quite get my attention. However, a chocolate donut and a pink donut caught Jared and Emily's attention respectively, and I hardly felt I could deny them -- not when we were headed to the happiest place on earth. They each kindly gave me a taste, and I can report that they were serviceable. [But please, at .89 a piece I'd invite you to look elsewhere.]

[The Glazed and Cinnamon Crumb Bear Claws.]

Michelle and I each picked out one of the recommended bear claws, which were a much better value at $1.39. Both were filled with an apple pie type filling and were very good. The cinnamon crumb was easily our favorite.

Donut/Yogurt Shop Near Little Caesar's [Linda Vista, CA]:

I stopped by this place at about 4 p.m. on Halloween. We had Hot N' Ready pizzas in the car, but I was feeling carefree. My sister Sarah was with me, so we decided to check it out.

They had about 7-8 donuts total under the glass as we walked in, and I distinctly remember a fly buzzing around somewhere. My immediate inclination was to turn around and walk out, but I couldn't get myself to be so bold. No, instead I shot a look to Sarah, who didn't seem brave enough to walk out either. I then responded to an attentive cashier and selected the two donuts below [which all but wiped out their donut supply]:

[Yes, this is just about how they looked under the glass -- and these were the better looking ones]

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My hope is that just looking at the picture gives you some clue as to how they tasted: old.

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Since Sarah paid for the donuts, I don't remember how much they cost. The free donut holes were a nice, unexpected gesture, but the poor quality and selection -- even at 4 p.m. -- makes my list for one of the three worst donut experiences of all time. The next time I pass this place on my way home from Little Casear's, I'm determined to turn my head and look the other way.

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Frosty the Snowman (Layton, Utah)

While we were in Utah, we made a snowman. Emily insisted we name him Frosty, and then wondered openly what we had to do to make him talk. When I told her that required a magic hat, she wanted to know where we could find one. When I told her we could only get a magic hat from a magician -- and that we didn't know any magicians -- Jared chimed in and suggested we look in the phone book.

Sadly, only a few hours after we built Frosty, someone decided to trespass on my parents' front lawn and destroy him while we weren't watching. [We found foreign footprints leading to and away from Frosty.] I tried to rebuild him, but someone pushed him over again on Christmas night. Hopefully Santa was watching and taking notes.