I Won the Lottery!

I won the lottery. . .the cereal lottery that is! If you know me you know about my love affair with cereal. I can eat Jerry Seinfeld under the table any day! I eat it first thing when I get up every morning and every day for lunch. When eating out for breakfast it is very common for me to choose a bowl of raisin bran over an omelet. And on any given day I have at least 7 boxes of different cereals in my cupboard. Oh, and if there is ever a morning without milk I almost lose my sh&%! The only thing I can compare it to is the normal persons need for coffee.

Last night I was in the mood for a little treasure hunting at Big Lots--once again please no judgments. I started out in the scrapbook section and Ben came over to tell me that they had my very favorite cereal of all time. Now if you are just a normal person you might think who cares, can't you get the cereal at Safeway? But if you are me you run over to the cereal section and almost come to tears.

This cereal used to be normal staple at all supermarkets. I credit Lori Westendorf for introducing it to me in the late nineties. But since 2003 this cereal has dropped off the face of the earth. I haven't seen in 4 years- yes, I remember the last time I tasted it's sweet crunch. I was traveling to Montana (to conceive Henry, by the way) and found it at the local Bi-Mart. I always check for it at obscure stores, I have Googled it several times , and I even checked to see if anyone was selling it on Ebay. But since that special summer day in 2004 I have had no luck.

The best cereal of all time I am telling you about is Quaker Toasted Oatmeal. It is the perfect combination of flakes and crunchies. It sticks with you all morning and it is quite tasty. To the cereal expert it is heaven! I bought all 9 boxes (we managed to find a few other brands too), ran home, tasted it and danced in the kitchen. It was the most glorious day!

Now for those of you that are judging me for my food purchases at Big Lots I have to tell you that I did check the dates and I have until February 2009 to consume all of my Quaker Toasted Oatmeal-- no problem for the cereal lover!