Sweltering . . .

It has now passed "HOT" here in Virginia, and has moved into completely uncomfortable, muggy and buggy. We're registering officially at 98 degrees, which with humidity feels like about 100 degrees. The plants and grass are wilty and dying. The pool today was barely a relief. (Picture of the Dogger included.) The kids can't even stand to be outside for more than ten minutes, and frankly I just want to sit inside with my head in the freezer.

While I've got time to kill, I thought I'd compile my innagural TOP TEN LIST. Once a week I'm going to pick a topic (ie. Top Ten Chick Flicks of All Time, or Top Ten Breakfast Foods) and give you what is, in my opinion, the top ten in that category. Think of it as a way to get to know me better, a way to get you thinking about your favorites, and a way to get you to respond to my Top Ten in disgust or agreement (can you tell I'm searching for comments?)

The dreadful heat of the day has inspired today's list:

MY TOP TEN TASTEY FROZEN TREATS

10. Skinny Cow Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich (It's big, smooth, creamy and low fat to boot! Round shape makes it seem somewhat grown up. Sandwich portion sticks to the fingers, which is as it should be with a true ice cream sandwich.)

9. Aunt Nancy's Frozen Sherbet Delight (a recipe handed down from the Hubby's aunt - a refreshing combo of vanilla ice cream, pineapple sherbet, fresh bananas and frozen strawberries in their juice. Perfect!)

8. McDonalds Ice Cream Sundae w/ Caramel & Nuts (How can you resist, especially when you get to the very bottom and it is all caramel? And the price is too good to be true.)

7. 7-11 Slurpee (I had to put this in for my Hubby, who literally lives for a giant sized Slurpee. So many flavors to choose from, and if you can't decide you can mix them all together and make a "Suicide". Even though I think there is a slight aftertaste of ashtray, darnit if it doesn't make my kids and my man happy.)

6. Jamba Juice Mango-A-Go-Go Smoothie (Why Virginians haven't caught on to the Smoothie craze like Utahns is still a mystery to me - oh wait, it's because they all drink frozen coffee. Anyway, this makes the list because you just feel healthy drinking it, even though each one is about 600 calories!)

5. Frozen Samoa Girl Scout Cookies (I only discovered this as a frozen treat when I couldn't wait for the cookies that I had stored in my freezer for safe keeping to thaw out. If you don't mind risking cracking a tooth - they are simply delicious this way! Then again, I'd probably eat a Samoa covered in mud . . .)

4. Costco's Berrie Smoothie (It's just big enough for two people to share, it only costs $1.35, and it packs a walloping 4 grams of fiber! This smoothie is actually really good for you. That's why I buy one to share with Soren every time I'm in that darn store.)

3. Snickers Ice Cream Bar (Have mercy. The genius who decided to make my favorite candy bar into an ice cream bar should be given a Rolls Royce, knighted by the Queen and invited for lunch at the White House. Bless you delicious, nutty, choclatey, melty treat.)

2. Cold Stone Creamery (I can combine my three favorites here - sweet cream ice cream, brownies and caramel - okay I do extra caramel - and have it mixed by some teenager with extremely large forearm muscles. It always tastes unbelieveable and is a good substitute for my #1 fave treat.)

1. Good Old Fashion Brownies and Ice Cream (The all time ultimate home style dessert. There are a few caviats however . . . the brownies must be fudgy, not cakelike. They must be warm enough to slightly melt the ice cream. The entire dessert must be topped with either homemade hot fudge or smuckers caramel, which has also been heated through to thin it just slightly. And there you have frozen treat nirvana . . . for me.)