Learning on a 40D: Exposure

Hello, as I just got my 40D after it had made a trip to Germany to correct some focus issues, I went out and started learning. This is my first DSLR and I have decided to try and learn photography bit by bit. Today was exposing right on the manual mode.

I tried spot metering the highlights of the scene and reading the metering off my palm, and both seemed to work all right. When metering of the sky while doing landscapes I tended to underexpose a bit, and I'll keep that in mind next time I go out.

Here are some samples:
My home:

Those all look perfectly exposed to me.

I stick with manual unless time doesn't permit me to chimp.

I think you've got exposure down for these types of shots. Remember to not get too technical and keep your eyes open too!