ay, ay, ay, ay!

...for summertime.  our annual summer fair tour kicked off around memorial day, and one of the highlights is the huntington beach street chili cookoff and salsa tasting.  we go, we eat, we eat some more, you get the idea.  unlimited chili and salsa tasting is only for professionals, kids.  don't try at home, or on anything but an empty stomach.

this year there was a mariache band playing in the street.  ay, ay, ay, ay!*  these guys were awesome, and almost made me wish for a sombrero of my very own.**

* i googled the appropriate lyric here to double check, and it is ay, ay, ay, ay! canta y no llores.  unfortunately, yo llore.  some of the chili was super spicy.  tears of tastiness, but still.

**i'm sure my husband will make a mental note for christmas.

craftermath

...for new vocabulary words.  i think it was glamour magazine which defined "craftermath" as the result of a frenzied creativity binge gone awry.  i don't really do glitter or paint {i totally failed as preschool teacher}, but i definitely do fabric and staple guns. 

this piece was the result of a shower curtain which could no longer fulfill its destiny, as our new house has glass doors.  i repurposed the material as a window covering and small bulletin board display for our honeymoon postcards, and i ended up with this large-ish leftover piece.  i figured i'd know exactly what to use this for after i was finished stapling him to the styrofoam. 

apparently, his purpose is to act as a shield if someone wanders in through our sliding glass door.  a cute, but highly ineffective, shield.  because alas, i've got nothing.  too small for a headboard, not really working for me as a large bulletin board, and vetoed by the husband as a strange wall panel hanging in our living room.

what a craftermath.

a whale of a... tortilla

...for foodie fails.  in my quest to become a little more housewifey skilled in all things domestic, i've been trying to accomplish some of my pinterest items.  i'm happy to say, my "pins i've actually tried" board is slowly becoming a real folder.  some pins have turned out better than expected {cake batter cashew butter, you have my heart}.  others... not so much.

these homemade tortillas had all the potential to be delicious.  egg whites, coconut flour, seasoning blend, almond milk:  all things i enjoy.  i even shocked myself when three out of four tortillas came out looking like actual tortillas.  you can see the hidden whale tale there on the right which was the result of a batter oops.  i lovingly spread almond butter on the top beauty there and sat down to enjoy.

it tasted like an off pancake.

undeterred, i tried again with a sort of breakfast burrito a few days later.  another fail.

i guess i'm sticking to my costco la tortilla factory low carb high fiber wraps {much tastier than they sound, i promise} for the time being.  i may not fully understand the whole of the ingredient list, but i'll be darned if they don't make an excellent salsa/ hummus vessel.

not, of course, using my pinned "dessert chickpea hummus" recipe that i made last week.  totally as disgusting as it sounds.    

for dad

...for my dad, who i love and miss every. single. day.

i aspire to be that magic mix of kind, thoughtful and completely uncool one day.  {i'm a third there already, for sure.}
  

the peculiar purple playground

...for a nice commute.  during my last longterm sub assignment, i began parking a quarter mile away from my school to avoid the chaos that was the parking lot.  crossing guards and school buses and street sweeping warnings were really starting to get to me.  so every morning and afternoon, i walked through this beautiful park on my way to and from work.  whatever this purple tree is, it covered the ground with enough color to really make the scene picturesque. 

one day after school, i saw a lovely moment where a dad and his young toddler son were playing on this playground.  the boy was happily holding dad's hand as he stood uncertainly at the top of the slide.  i felt happy and content inside as i watched.

and then i realized something. 

"wait a minute.  that baby is not wearing any pants!"

moment ruined.  nudity is not for public parks, even in santa ana.

on keeping a neat space

...that never, not even one time, in the six years i have been teaching, has my desk or classroom ever looked like this.  i've been subbing {and not blogging, apparently} these last couple months of school, and this classroom was a disaster area.  seriously, it was like an episode of hoarders.  all available surfaces, covered in.....stuff. 

"hello, can you help us?  we're trapped in mrs. xxxx's room."
"okay, where exactly are you?"
"we're wedged in behind the filing cabinets and the bean bag chairs, under the piles of papers, next to the full sized piano (!) that's also covered with files."

i feared for these children.  and this teacher's family, upon her retirement when they're forced to bring in a uhaul to clean out her classroom.