I just cleaned it up.  The mess was big, and I mean BIG!  It’s a much better idea to organize the refrigerator BEFORE you go grocery shopping, but when you’re heading to the 99cents store, you go when it’s time or you might miss out on the treasures of the day.  The consequence of my lack of planning resulted in a big mess. 

Do you ever start to do something, and get that little feeling that this is not likely to turn out well, and then when it happens you wonder “How did I think I was ever going to avoid THIS?”  Yep.  That happened to me today as I was trying to make space for my new grocery purchases – I knocked last night’s leftovers off the top shelf and they splattered all over the kitchen and all over me…beans and wieners everywhere.

Just as a little background, I grew up with beans and wieners.  It was one of those foods that you could afford on a tight budget, so we had them regularly.  They were always accompanied with a tall glass of ice cold milk and bread with butter.  I know…where’s the fresh greens or fruit?  Not needed with this meal.  Beans are already a good source of fiber and it doesn’t hurt to have a meal every now and then without the greens.  To me, beans and wieners are a comfort food, not to mention quick to prepare!  Which is exactly what we needed last night.  Fast forward to Saturday and the “mess”.

I purchased 4 tall bunches of asparagus for dinner tomorrow…our Prosciutto Asparagus favorite recipe.  Eating on a budget usually means that I can splurge on occasion.  Anyway, I needed a place for the asparagus in the frig, so I set the storage dish with the beans and wieners on the top  shelf of the door, just for a minute or so, mind you.  The problem is that when I went to close the door, forgetting what was on top shelf of the door, the container fell…from the top shelf…to the hard kitchen floor…and SPLAT!!!  Beans and wieners everywhere!  Those little beans became projectile missiles!  Fortunately, when the container hit the floor it still had its lid on.  The container didn’t break, but the force of the impact popped the lid off, thus the projectile beans.  Good news?  Not all the beans were lost.  Bad news?  I lost precious time cleaning up.  It is yet another hiccup in my day that I spent trying to pull myself together and get things done. 

I couldn’t let this ruin the whole day.  My life seems these days to be a battle between setbacks and accomplishment – one step forward, three steps back.  I keep looking to get ahead and I am hopeful that some day soon I will.  It certainly helped to remind me of the many times my kids have had a spill or a drop or a major catastrophe.  I stood there, waiting for the reprimand to come, but I was alone, by myself and all I could say (to myself) was “I told you it wasn’t a good idea to put that there!

But life goes on, and hopefully I can find balance between the good and the inconvenient moments in life.  

I finally got around to making the Halloween Candy Bark that I saw at Bon Appetit.  I have re-named it Halloween-Bark-at-the-Moon. 

It is as yummy as it is pretty and easy to make.  It says it will keep for up to a week.  I wonder if they mean it will stay good for that long, or that is how long it will take to make it disappear from the jar.  Regardless, I would have to disagree with both assessments!

I think I started cutting/breaking up the bark a little before it had completely set.  I put mine in for about 40 minutes, when the recipe called for 30 minutes.  I think it needs to be really stiff and hard set when you cut/break it up, but I was impatient and ready for bed after a long day.  If yesterday was any indication of what happens when I blog at midnight, I should stop while I’m ahead.  I have placed the cute jar of Halloween-Bark-at-the-Moon in my frig for a while longer.  One thing.  My Butterfinger candy bars were breaking up a little too much…I think they might be super fresh.  But it turned out okay.   I put all the little bits of leftover bark into a jar and we will use it for topping on ice cream…sounds like a super tasty treat!