Tuesday Top Five: Birthday Goodness

This is a continuation of what I hope is a continuing tradition here on The Stained Tartan.  Again, I give all credit to Cory's The Bruin Brew Blog for this idea. Cory, we should coordinate! Sam, you are more than welcome to this action as well.

This week's Top Five:

"Scott's Top 5 Birthday Things"

I was going to do memories, but that is too specific, these are the top five things I enjoy about all of my birthdays. These span from when I remember getting Abu when I was younger to now (by rough estimates 18-20 years).

1) Wiener Schnitzel
I turned 13 in the lovely country of Germany while visiting relatives, this coincided with my discovery of my absolute favorite meal: Wiener Schnitzel with Spätzle. Really this can be any type of Schnitzel, it is not tied to just veal. On that birthday, Erica arranged a wonderful outing with family and younger neighbors in their area in to the forest near her house. I remember being told that there was going to be a surprise, and that there was a timing requirement. I don't really remember what we were doing before hand, but I do remember walking out of Erica's house to see a huge horse drawn party carriage, with long bench seats, and a stripped red covering. I am guessing this was smaller than I am remembering, but 12 or so people climbed on, and we took off in to the forest. It was amazing. Once we made it out of the city, Erica pulled out containers full of food, most notably little, bite sized Schnitzels! With my mother being super mom, she figured out how to make Spatzle (which she has taught me, and it is not very easy...), and every birthday I have been home, she has made this very special meal for me.

2) LazerQuest
For those of you who live in Spokane (especially if you were a boy between the ages of 10 and 20, or if you were a parent of a bot between those ages), this seems like a given. For those of you who have not had the pleasure, LazerQuest is one of the greatest things ever. They say 'Laser Tag at its finest,' but that is an undersell. LQ exists inside of the old Spokane Armory. You strap on a vest and gun and you find yourself in a multistory, huge maze with mirrors, smoke, crow's nests and ambush spots. You fight it out against such villains as The Baroness (my mother), Admiral (my father), Mocha (Chelsea), Drake (Russ), MastaPoo (Drew)... and one of my favorites that I remember Dr. Evil (Eric Peterson). LaserQuest was (and should still be) a birthday staple for me and my friends (including my first Lock-in for Russ' birthday). First LQ, then Pizza. What more could you want. Anyone want to go in August when I am home?

3) Mom's Cake
Like a lot of people, your mother tends to be a driving force for birthday traditions. When we were little (I assume she did this for Chelsea as well) she would ask us what we wanted on our cake. We would have some sort of theme, and we could pick anything we wanted for her to decorate. Just one rule: No Faces. My Mom would make the coolest decorated cakes ever. Some of them that I remember (these are a little fuzzy, I think I may remember more pictures of these cakes than the actual cakes) a Genie cake (for an Aldin party), a Ninja Turtle cake and many other greats. She was a pro. Then as we got older, she started changing up the substance of the cake. As was mentioned earlier this week her Super Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Awesome Cake is up there in notoriety, but that was more for Chelsea and Penny. For me, she mastered the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cheese Cake, amazing.

4) Summer Birthday
I don't really know how to explain this one. As my Birthday is at an awkward time for a 'September to June' understanding of the year, it is often over looked (much like late December and early January Birthdays get overshadowed by Christmas, I know Dad...). So I don't really expect all that much when it comes to my b-day. I expect most people to not remember it, or not be around. This does not bother me, and it actually makes the well wishes and festivities all the more meaningful. It makes me really happy whenever someone goes out of their way to mark the day.

5) My 20th birthday, specifically the day before. I cannot really go in to detail about this, but for those who were there know what I am talking about.

Come back next week, same time, for more top 5 picks from yours truly. If you want to contribute, let me know what top 5 things you want to know!