5 and 15

Some rather "rich" American coffee products at the local grocer-- (almost 9 euros for coffee-mate, Ouch!!)

Some fine sugary processed foods from the U.S. (wonder if there is a Finnish version of Aunt Jemima???)

Americana Central at the City Market grocery store-- even some Paul Newman salad dressing, and of course 'good ol ' peanut butter!

The Finns love their potatoes--- there are plenty to choose from at the store

Our team extended its winning streak to four games and raised our record to 5-2 on the season with a 49-14 win against the Jaguars last Saturday. We started off very slowly and didn't play a very sharp game. We are sometimes plagued on the offensive side of the ball by the tendency to put the ball on the ground, so that is something we must fix if we are to reach our goals this season. Our QB Alex Rouse continued to play well. He is leading the league in completion percentage and doing an excellent job of running the ball too. Alex manages the game well, makes plays, and does a great job of spreading the ball around to his receivers. We now have a break from league play and won't play our next game until Sunday August 8th in a rematch vs. the Helsinki Roosters. The Roosters are in first place in our league.

Another big event in my life is my 15th wedding anniversary on July 22nd. Wow, Estalita and I have been married for 15 awesome years already! I really don't know where the time has gone. She has been such a great companion, the love of my life, and is truly my best friend. I feel very blessed to have her in my life. We are celebrating # 15 by heading off to Germany and France for the week. It worked out well to have a break during this time, and it didn't hurt that Ryan Air was offering some really cheap flights out of Finland either. All five of us are flying round trip to Germany for less than 300 dollars. We plan on spending the night of our anniversary in Paris, and then touring around some for a day or two. I will be posting some pics from the trip along the way.

Lights out.