Attack Of The Killer Printer

ATTACK OF THE KILLER PRINTER!!

It started out as a normal Monday...

My printer looked like this:   

During 2nd hour, it turned into THIS:

Yes, it turned into a killer, arm-eating printer! It went something like this...

I was happily printing labels for each class roster. Along about the 3rd batch... BAM! Printer Jam! Ugh. I hate it when that happens.

I couldn't figure out how to get to the jammed paper. It was SO FAR BACK THERE. I tried everything I could think of, to no avail. Finally, I spied the little tray where the blank paper goes, and pulled it all the way out. BINGO! I could barely see the wad, way in the back. I was pretty sure my hand wouldn't fit in the hole though. But I was determined. I turned, twisted, shoved, and FINALLY got my hand all the way back there and I could barely grab the paper with my thumb and finger. But man, it was stuck good. I just didn't have enough strength in those two fingers to pull it out. So, I did the next logical thing (right??) and turned, twisted and shoved my other arm up in there. Now, let me point out, I had both arms in that thing, all the way up to my elbows. I tried as hard as I could, but I just couldn't get enough leverage to get that paper out. So, I shoved them up in there even farther. BIG MISTAKE.

I was stuck. Really stuck. As in, OH MY GOSH MY ARMS ARE TRAPPED IN A PRINTER stuck. I was about to have a panic attack. Thank goodness I have an office aide! Although she was dying laughing, she managed to lift up that printer (I don't even know how we both fit in that little space where the printer sits and I don't want to know what we looked like). Once she lifted it up, I could wiggle my arms a little, and bit by bit, I pulled them out. You know how your arm looks after you've laid on it for a long time and it is all wrinkly and marked up? Yes, that is how both of my arms looked. Lol. 

Relief flooded into me. I was free! And when I looked down, guess what I had in my hand? That dang paper. Thank goodness, because I was already wondering how I could convince my office aide to stick her arms up in there and try to grab it...

I just love Mondays!

Adventures of a Foodie Wannabe

Adventures of a Foodie Wannabe...

So, I've always been a very picky eater. This is kind of hard to believe, because I sure love food. However, I only love certain foods. Two New Years Eves ago, I decided that I wanted to make a resolution that would better myself in some way. So, I decided to do "12 Months of Tasting"...

JANUARY:  My first new food was: POLENTA

 Mmm! Delicious! What did it taste like? Kind of like cheesy, buttery, mashed potatoes. Definitely a good first choice!

FEBRUARY:  EGGROLLS

Well, okay. Not eggrolls in the oriental sense. But eggrolls in the "Chili's Southwestern Eggrolls" sense. YUMMO! One of my new favorites. Good second choice. Man, I was on a roll (eggroll... get it?)

MARCH:  AVOCADOS

Some people say they taste like butter. Umm... No. Not so much. They taste like... ICK. GROSS. I don't like them like this ^^^ or like this:

Besides, who could eat something that looks like baby poop? I mean, really? ICK! Month #3, not so impressive.

APRIL:  CAPERS

I love these little salty bites of olive-type goodness. Oh my!

MAY:  FENNEL

Fennel is... gross. It tastes like black licorice. I tried it in a pasta dish. You can imagine, that black licorice pasta must be disgusting. Trust me. Run. For. Your. Life. Do. Not. Eat. This.

JUNE:  KIWI

These are SO GOOD! Sweet, mild, delicious green flesh. I love it... and I RARELY eat fruit, so that is saying something! (And after 2 gross "new food" months, it was so nice to find something so delightful!)

JULY:  POMEGRANATE

Again... what a pleasant surprise! It is very, very good. A little tart, but really delicious. The only issue I had with it was the fact that I was eating actual seeds. That part was not my favorite. Maybe that stems from moms always telling their kids not to eat watermelon seeds or a watermelon would grow in their bellies... But that won't keep me from eating this again!

AUGUST:  GNOCCI

How could I not love these? Potato dumplings? I love potatoes, and I love dumplings. OF COURSE I LOVED THESE! Yum Yum Yum!

SEPTEMBER:  COUSCOUS

Couscous is basically little tiny pasta. Well, kind of. This could have been really good. Unfortunately, I tried it in tabouli that someone made. Not my favorite. I may give this another try at some point.

OCTOBER:  PUMPKIN SOUP

Okay. I tried. I really, really tried. But I could not eat this. Totally, completely nasty. I like pumpkin flavor. But I don't love it. Not enough to eat it cold. In soup. Yick. *shudder*

NOVEMBER:  HUMMUS

In theory, I should have loved this. It is made with garbanzo beans, and I love all kinds of beans. But, then again, I didn't like the cold soup either. I just couldn't wrap my mind around cold bean paste. I ate it, but I didn't enjoy it.. not even with the cute little bread sticks that it came with.  My sister loves it though!

DECEMBER:  For my dad, I tried EGGNOG

For as long as I can remember, my dad loved eggnog. He would get so excited when the holidays rolled around and they started stocking it in the grocery stores again. I had tried it before, but since it was my year of "being a foodie", I gave it another shot. Umm... same results. I just can't drink thick, eggy milk. Sorry Dad!

So... after my "12 months of tasting", I had come to the end. It was a really good experience for me. I discovered a few things I really, really liked. And I also found several things I really, really didn't like. But after years of being picky, I found out that I could eat pretty much anything I set my mind to.

It was a lot of fun, and one of the best New Year's Resolutions I'd ever made. Now... what can it be this year? It will be here before I know it! 

Bucket List

Making a ... 

bucket list

noun Informal.

a list of things a person wants to achieve or experience, as before reaching a certain age or dying: abucket list for a terminally ill patient; What’s on your summer bucket list?

Origin: 
2005–10;  from the idiom kick the bucket  ‘to die’

So... today I saw that a favorite show of mine is going off the air. Tonight was the last Episode of 

 

... which just happens to be on my unofficial bucket list.

Well, I guess I can just cross that one right off. 

That got me to thinking... what really IS on my bucket list? What things do I really, really want to do before my time on this earth is over? I'm talking about tangible things, of course. The spiritual things? Well, that is a whole other post.

So, here is my "Official Bucket List". Well, at least for right now.

• Travel to Ireland.  Why? I'm not sure. It may have something to do with the movie Leap Year...
• Run a 5K.  Yes, I realize this means I have to run.
• Have a Home Organizing business.  The Clutterbug.
• Learn to dance.  I have zero dancing skills.  I mean zero.
• Take part in Community Theater.
• Drive an Indy car.  For my Daddy.
• Be on Let's Make a Deal or The Price is Right.
• Meet Keith Urban.  Have him take me to Ireland. HA!

Well, that's it for now. More to come... I'm thinking, I'm thinking!!

And she's.... SAFE!

Recently, I was reminded (again!) of something that happened to me years ago... yet, I am still haunted by it to this day.

When S was about 8, she played Coach Pitch Softball. She was the pitcher, when meant that she stood on the pitcher's mound behind the coach that was pitching.

Just as the game was about to start, I realized that THIS is what she looked like: 

Obviously, this was not conducive to good ball playing.

I loudly yelled, "Wait! Hang on a minute!" And took off running for the pitcher's mound to get that mess of hair up in a pony tail. Well, you've heard about the best laid plans? Yeah, that happened.

Half way there, I tripped. And fell. Hard. On my belly/face. And SLID ALL THE WAY TO THE PITCHER'S MOUND! 

As I lay there, trying to decide if I was alright, and everyone around me stood frozen, trying not to laugh if I was really hurt, the little girl that was playing short stop ran over to me, threw her hands out and yelled, "SAFE!"

At that, we all burst out into horse laughs and I jumped up, fixed S's hair, and 'carefully' trotted off the field. 

Needless to say, I'm not the only one that hasn't forgotten that EPIC FAIL. (Yes, I did just use the word 'epic fail'. I guess that proves that there really is a first and last time for everything.)