Brownies, Lemonade and Dog Poop

Today, for lack of anything better to do and in aid of getting at least one child out of the house, I came up with a great idea!  Well, actually I came up with the idea yesterday but it came to fruition today.

On Halloween, while I was handing out candy to the kids, the new neighbors came by and introduced themselves.  They are a nice couple, no kids or pets, and had just moved from an apartment in Tempe.  I had a nice chat with them, which was enjoyable because at this point I had not met any of the neighbors.

About a week later, Marianne (the neighbor) came by to tell me that "they" and some of the other neighbors were having a garage sale this weekend and we were welcome to participate since they were already putting out the signs.  She did not know (but YOU do, if you have been reading faithfully) that we just had a killer garage sale back in September, right before we moved.  I thanked her and told her of our recent sale and she let me know that if I found anything that I wanted to sell, I was welcome to bring it over to her sale.

Well I thought about it, and I didn't really have anything to sell. But, I did have a good idea that would involve getting to know the neighbors, teaching the children a few lessons and forcing myself to relax a little on a Saturday morning.

Last night, I made a batch of brownies (which I didn't take a picture of because I'm an idiot I was too busy cleaning the kitchen).  Then I sprinkled the top with some of the leftover Halloween M&M's before I put them in the oven.  We got up this morning and made some Country Time Pink Lemonade, gathered up a few other supplies and headed over to Marianne's garage sale.  Madison even made a cute sign with the prices listed on it.  I don't have a picture of our set-up because I left my camera at home we were too busy selling brownies and lemonade.  I also didn't get a picture of the cute little sign that Madison made because I screwed it up in a ball and threw it in the trash we somehow misplaced it.

Overall the morning was a success, we made about $8 selling brownies and lemonade.  Madison handled all of the transactions and did all the math on her own.  She even gave out correct change.  I was pretty proud of her.  I went and introduced myself to the other neighbors that were having a garage sale and spent a good amount of time getting to know Marianne and Patrick.

Right before we were about to pack up, I recognized one of the other neighbors and decided to introduce myself.  BIG MISTAKE!  I was stuck.  I hate to say negative things about anyone, but she just wouldn't stop telling me her life story.  I'm not going to embellish, but I will tell you a few facts that may help paint the entire picture...........she lives with her ex-husband, she doesn't have a job, she's not sure when or where she is going to move, her son has a major learning disability, AND ON AND ON AND ON!  Too Much Information folks!  Somehow, she became distracted and I was able to escape without being detained too long.  I felt I had dodged a bullet.  I left poor Marianne with her and returned home as quickly as I could.

Later on, I took the kids and the dog out for a walk.  The dog did her normal "business" and I returned home with a steaming pile of dog poop in a plastic bag.  As I was approaching the driveway, the aforementioned neighbor came running over to me (this is Karma for leaving her with Marianne).  I was trapped! I could not get away.  I stood there with the dog poop in my hand, the kids had long since gone inside.....it was starting to get dark.  And, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get away.......not even to dispose of the poop that was now cold, but still stinking!  I was stuck out there for ages before I managed to effectively excuse myself inside; that's an hour of my life I will NEVER get back!

I now live in fear of running into my neighbor, never knowing how much time she will once again suck from my life!

BTW, here is the only picture that I successfully took today.......don't worry it's not of the dog poop!

The Leftovers!