Spicy Pumpkin Cheese Ball

Messy Messy Fail - I can never seem to remember to send back my beer rebates.  I cut out the upc code from the box, save there receipt, fill out the sticky stupid little form that I usually end up ripping and taping back together.  But I ALWAYS miss the return by date.  It's only $5 dollars you say?  Every little bit counts, people!

Tidy Victory - Nana Patti came up for a quick visit over night and I wanted to find a decent meal to serve.  I knew I had a frozen 5 pound pork tenderloin in the basement chest freezer and a few pieces of leftover bacon in the refrigerator - I found this recipe for crockpot brown sugar balsamic glazed pork tenderloin and this for bacon parmesan asparagus on Pinterest and BAM - dinner was made.  The pork was really moist and FULL of flavor from the glaze.  The asparagus had a great flavor from the bacon fat and it was so nice to eat it cooked a different way other than oven-roasted.

Happiness Is Homemade Linky Party #91

Messy Messy Fail - Every summer I plant some cana lilies that I've pulled out of the garden the previous fall.  In our zone they will not survive the winter in the ground, so they must be brought in.  My mom actually gave me a few to start YEARS ago, and every year they multiply in the ground so you end up at with at LEAST twice as many as you put in initially. Yes it is a little tedious, but they are such a fun and tropical looking plant with gorgeous bright red flume-like flowers.  Too bad I forgot to plant them at the end of the spring.  I knew that if I wanted to them survive the winter in my basement for next summer I'd have to plant them for a little bit to build up some nutrients.  No flowers this year, just big green leaves, but even those do look nice!

Favorite Shots - Covered

Messy Messy Fail - I thought I was being smart by recording the Grandparents Day date on my computer calendar from last year.  I thought Grandparents day was always September 8th.  Well, turns out Grandparents Day is on the Sunday after Labor Day, not September 8th, which was the date of the Sunday after Labor Day last year.  All the grandparents in our family received a very early Happy Grandparents Day message.  I guess at least I didn't miss it all together.

Happiness is Homemade Linky Party #90

Messy Messy Fail - My poor car, Cecilia the Champagne Camry, gets really beat up especially in the winter.  I have to go into and out of it up to four times a day during the winter, so you can imagine the salt and dirt buildup from our parking lots in sub-zero temperatures.  Do you think I cleaned her out this summer?  Heck no!  Too hot for that!  What doesn't kill us makes us stronger anyways.  That goes for vehicles, too.

Tidy Victory - This one goes to my FIL - grandpa the child whisperer got the UPKer to eat A TACO!!!  I have never been quite so shocked in my life - it was a feat like none other.  I told him he was hired and I would pay him quite well to attend all meals with the child.

Party on Wayne......

5 Reasons Why I Am Excited to Start Teaching Again

Messy Messy Mess - I should have known when I left my computer bag next to the dog water dish that someone was bound to dump the water on the floor, hence soaking my computer bag.  Good thing the computer was charging on the end table!

Tidy Victory - In my new middle school classroom, I finally have four (cue gasp!) large bulletin boards to decorate.  I've NEVER had bulletin boards to decorate - I had to hang posters with duct tape on painted cinder block walls, which usually only stayed up for a few months.  So I made a trip to Joann's and found some cute fabrics on clearance, grabbed some borders at Office Depot and a staplin' I went.  I am so excited to hang up some fun pictures and my sticker charts to help the kids with their practicing this year!

Favorite Shots - Red Oriental Poppy On Fire

Messy Messy Mess - As I was enjoying my butternut squash and banana chocolate chip cookie while driving in my car from the high school to the middle school, I dropped a chocolate chip into the seat.  Therefore I was sitting on the chocolate chip while driving.  In my white denim shorts.  However, it was not until that evening that I REALIZED this had all occurred after tossing my clothes into the hamper.  I don't know if my students were too embarrassed for me to say something or they didn't notice.  Hopefully the latter.

Happiness is Homemade Linky Party #89

Messy Messy Fail - This will be week two in my new classroom at the middle school and I have yet to hang anything on the wall, decorate, or really organize for that matter.  My co-worker and I have been seeing all of the 5th graders and helping them check out new instruments.  I blame this lengthy process of the lack of visual interest in my new room.  If you have a child going through this process at their school, check out my last post about how you as the parent can help your child be successful.

9 Ways to Help Your Child Be Successful On Their Instrument

Messy Messy Fail - So I now have three key chains - one for my house keys, one for my high school keys and one for my new middle school keys (yay for a new classroom room!!!!).  I used to keep all of my work keys on the same key chain but now there are so many, too many for one ring.  You can imagine how many times I've left a set of keys at another location - that would be three times.  Lots of extra traveling looking for keys this week.

Wordless Wednesday Favorite Shots - Lucy Goosey

Messy Messy Fail - I definitely thought it was a great idea to put a yogurt container I had frozen to keep the UPKer's lunch cold in his lunch box, and it definitely made a huge mess everywhere.  I can't figure out now if HE made the mess or if IT exploded in his lunch box, but either way I felt horribly guilty that I made his teacher's afternoon unpleasantly sticky.  

Happiness Is Homemade Linky Party #88

Messy Messy Fail - Let's just say my face was a messy messy fail as I blubbered my eyes out in the street watching my toddler (we shall now call him the UPK'er!) get on his school bus for the first time at our daycare providers house.  Good thing I wore waterproof mascara!

12 Highly Recommended Things To Do at Niagara On the Lake

Messy Messy Fail - It's our first day of school without students (professional development) and doesn't our coffee pot poop the bed.  It's six years old so I guess I'm not too surprised.  Thanks Topic (whose mom created and shared this recipe I posted) for the wedding gift!

Wordless Wednesday - Favorite Shots

Messy Messy Fail - Another badly packed lunch yesterday - curdled yogart (again?!?!?!?!) and a moldy Cutie.  What's up with that (in the words of Keenan from SNL)??!?!?!?!!?