Not Me Monday Tuesday

Wow, what a week it's been. In fact, it was so busy that I took the liberty of creating a Not Me Monday Tuesday post. Just couldn't get it all done yesterday! You can still visit MckMama's blog to see those who were not procrastinators like me.... they actually got their Not Me posts done on the right day. But the way I see it, I'm just spreading out the fun, right? Okay, I know I'm in my own little world, but you can just humor me.

Anyway, getting on the the point of this post....

On one of my many late nights at school this week, I got a taco. Softshell chicken taco to be exact. About half-way through, I did not chomp on a chicken bone and feel like I nearly broke a tooth. Hmmmm.... maybe I should call my sister Erin for tooth-gluing tips.

Friday night after school, I did not travel to Duluth (80 miles from home) with two friends to look at Christmas lights. Why didn't you look at lights in your own town? you might ask. Well, if we were honest here, I'd tell you that the real reason we went to Duluth was not to eat at the best place on earth--Olive Garden! While there, I absolutely did not order manicotti. And if the server accidentally placed such a hideous dish in front of me, there is definitely no way on Earth I would take a picture. No, that would be totally inappropriate in a nice restaurant!



After a scrumptious dinner, we layered on our warm clothing and headed to Bentleyville, an outdoor light display in downtown Duluth. We did not nearly freeze, since we were near Lake Superior and it was rather windy. Seeing the outdoor ice skating rink, literally thousands of lights, and snowmen and reindeer roaming about, I did not envision myself in a movie. With the cheery Christmas tunes from the likes of Bing Crosby and Gene Autry, Jenny, Rebecca, and I would never have embarassed ourselves by linking arms and skipping down the path, all the while singing. No way... not us!!! Here are a couple shots from our night.



After gallivanting around on Friday night, I did not sleep in on Saturday. And when I finally woke up in the land of the living, I did not have 5 purses to finish and get in the mail. With the hand-stitching completed, I did not have to rush to the post office to meet the deadline for mail pick-up. There were not 6 people ahead of me in line and when it was all said and done, I did not have only 3 minutes until the truck came to whisk away the packages mailed late by procrastinators such as myself all those other people ahead of me in line.



Because I'm not the cool teacher I am, I did not bake sugar cookies for my students. In case you have me confused with that other crazy teacher, I did not put a couple of spoonfuls of frosting on a plate and let the kids go to it. Even more exciting, some of the frosting even make it onto the cookies!


Okay, here's the Wal-Mart story I promised you...
Yesterday I went to the Wal-Mart photo center to print out 4 pictures I needed for a school project. 4 pictures, people! I looked at the Kodak machine and there was a message saying it was out of paper. Once I got the attention of the lab technician social chatterer, I mentioned that the printer was out of paper. He looked at me like I had an alien head and said, "Yeah, that machine isn't working right now." Fine, I'll go to the next machine. As I started to touch the screen, Mr. Helpful did not say to me, "That one doesn't work either."

Okay, Buddy, would it be easier for you to tell me what machine DOES work?

"Only the Fuji machines work right now."

Is that because you don't want to take the time to add more paper? Okay, now to find a Fuji machine.

All full. Of course they are. Okay, I'll wait.

Three hours fifteen minutes later, a machine opened up, so I started to upload 300+ pictures. Once I found the ones I wanted, I tried to order the specific size I needed. When I didn't see the mini prints, I hit another button for more sizes. BIG MISTAKE! The 300+ pictures were not gone from the screen, and I did not have to start over.

So starting over once again, this time the computer did not freeze at picture #26. For four minutes! Yeah, this isn't going so well.

Back to the counter to speak to Mr. Not-So-Helpful, I mentioned that the computer was frozen. He did not walk over, hit a button, speak not a word to me, and head back to whatever it was that was consuming his time.

Another four minutes pass... computer still is not on.

Waiting, waiting, waiting....

In the meantime, another computer opened up, so I moved to that machine, loaded pictures (all 300+ of them), and looked for the mini print option. When I couldn't find it, I decided once again to solicit the services of Mr. Not-So-Helpful. "Excuse me, how do you do the mini prints on this computer? You know, the ones that print 4 small prints on a standard 4 x 6 print?"

This was not his reply: "The Fuji machines don't have that option. The only machines that print the mini prints are the Kodak machines."

At this point, I was not trying to hold in a very rude comment. So I politely said, "Like Kodak as in the 4 machines that aren't working now?"

"Yes, that's right. Or you could do a collage print and print out an 8 x 10 size or larger."

Not really what I wanted, thank you. That's why I asked about "mini prints."

As I left the photo department completely defeated, I glanced at my watch. I did not waste 45 minutes and have absolutely nothing to show for it! My next step? I did not head to Target to print out my pictures... and I was not successful. Thank you, Target.



Do you have some moments you'd rather not claim? Try a not me post and see how therapeutic it can be!

Manicotti Mystery

As a response to a question on facebook, I'm sharing the "Manicotti Mystery."

For years I have LOVED manicotti. I ordered it once at Olive Garden, and have ordered it every time since then. I can't make myself try anything new. So when I was at my sister Erin's house and she made manicotti, I was extremely happy (even though it was different than Olive Garden manicotti). I copied her recipe and thought I would be on my way to many delightful meals of the wonderful Italian cuisine. Here's the saga so far...

The first time I made manicotti, I was planning to have several people over before our singles' Bible study. I was really excited to try making it--sounded easy enough. Everything was set to go...just had to pop it in the oven after work. Couldn't get any easier. I found out that Jason, the leader of the Bible study, had been taken by ambulance to the hospital that afternoon. We decided to postpone Bible study that night. So I feasted on that pan of manicotti for several days and didn't think anything of it. Turns out Jason was okay, so life was good, right??? I'll let you decide.

Since our dinner plans didn't come to fruition on the first attempt, I decided to try again. A couple weeks later, we planned to have our meal before Bible study. Once again, manicotti was in the frige waiting to be cooked after school. I called my sister Becky on the way home and she told me she'd just gotten home from the emergency room with my mom...who was on her way to Duluth for emergency surgery. Well, to make this longer story shorter, Mom was okay and didn't need surgery. But the thought still crossed my mind Is it because I'm making manicotti tonight? Everyone came and enjoyed the manicotti (which turned out great) and after I told them the story we all laughed and I didn't think anything more of it....

...Until the next time I made it. Some friends (Brooke and Travis) were heading to Alaska for a few months, so I planned a dinner for some close friends (yes, from the singles' Bible study). It seems I was in the kitchen all day, but it was a lot of fun. I made manicotti, soup, breadsticks, cheesecake...YUM! After we ate, I kept my fingers crossed that nothing would happen to anyone (I didn't answer my phone all night, just in case). As I was cleaning up the kitchen, Travis told me that Brooke had gotten sick and was going to bed. I was seriously starting to panic at this point. He told me she was already sick before she ate, but my I had my doubts. I left that night saying Three strikes and you're out. First Jason, then Mom, then Brooke. I'm never making manicotti again!

After several months, maybe even a year, I was having a "girl party," and when considering what I could make, the thought crossed my mind that I could try manicotti again, just to see what happened. I went against my better judgment, and I made the dreaded dish, all the while hoping the chain of mishaps was behind me. I was wrong. Talking to Anne the next day, she felt sick. Her words, "I had too much rich food at once." Yeah right. Just admit it...it was the manicotti. Did I mention I'm NEVER making manicotti again?

I guess I'm not one to remember my resolutions...and I'm thankful my friends don't remember either. Here's the scene...girl party a year later. Anne convinces me to make manicotti again. I cave to the pressure. Find out last minute Jenny might not come. She's feeling sick. WHAT??? Are you kidding me? She said her kids had been sick too, so that's where she got it. Yeah, right. I'll say it again I'M NEVER MAKING MANICOTTI AGAIN!

I honestly had not made manicotti for a long time. This summer while in Alaska, I was going to make dinner for my aunt Joan, uncle Eric, and Grandma. Since I was closer to Russia than the lower 48 states, I thought It HAS to be okay for me to try manicotti, right? After discussing the story and giving everyone a few laughs, the meal was very yummy. Once again, my fingers were crossed. Good, no one got sick. No phone calls from home saying something bad had happened. I thought I was out of the woods...until Eric mentioned the next day that Joan had had an upset stomach the night before. He said, "I don't think it's from the food. The rest of us are okay."

It's been six months since I was in Alaska, and although I'm getting hungry for it, i don't think I can bring myself to succumb to the temptation to make manicotti. By now, there are many people who have survived my culinary attempts...so many, in fact, that I could probably get a quantity discount and have t-shirts made. I'M A MANICOTTI SURVIVOR! I'm thinking spaghetti sauce red for the shirt with mozzarella-colored lettering. What do you think?

So there you have it...the reason I'm never, not once in this lifetime, forever into all eternity, not EVER going to make manicotti (at least not that I'm going to tell anyone). I'm doing it to spare your life!