Seriously. Don't.
It has been a series of unfortunate events around here as of late and I have no one to blame but myself. Not quite two weeks ago, I did a spectacular back flip off of a ladder and proceeded to windmill myself right off of our raised deck, hitting the deck box on the way down, finally landing in a heap on the beach stone that surrounds our garden. I'm sure it could have won me the grand prize on America's Funniest Home Videos. Unfortunately, there was no one home to record my fall.
Ladder safety 101; DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, climb unsupervised or while home alone (the cat does not count). You know when you buy a new hairdryer and it comes with a warning label that says "Do not use while bathing" and you think to yourself, who would be that stupid? Well, I think ladders should come with similar warning labels. Perhaps they do. Ours is about a hundred years old and of the wooden variety. Ironically, our neighbours call it the widow maker.
Fortunately, I was not seriously hurt. I was more embarrassed than anything at the initial time of the fall. Stunned as I was, I managed to grab my phone and take a picture of the crash site before I called my husband to let him know what happened (he was not impressed).
Somehow, I managed to take two deck chairs down with me and lost a shoe in the process. Note the crack in the seat of the bench. That was made by yours truly. You would think a terrible fall like that would knock some sense into me. It did not. I got right back up on that ladder and finished the job of putting our garden lights up in our gazebo. Stupid is as stupid does.
As if that weren't bad enough, I waited an entire week before going to see a doctor. I know, I know. Trust me, I know! When I told the doctor what happened and then showed him my bruises (they were many and fierce) he could not believe that;
- I waited so long to seek medical attention
- I didn't need a note for work as I hadn't missed a day (what can I say, I really love my job)
- after viewing the numerous X-rays that he ordered (12 in total) nothing was broken!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there have been a series of unfortunate events around here, and not the Lemony Snicket kind. Unfortunately, I now know what Plantar Fasciitis is and what it feels like to walk like Frankenstein's monster. I have also learned this handy trick; when you shatter and spill an entire bottle of olive oil all over your kitchen floor, the best way to clean it up is with vast amounts of oatmeal. I kid you not. Perhaps some things you read on the Internet really are true!
With all that said, I am optimistically trying to look on the bright side. I make every effort to be a glass half full kind of girl. I know that things could always be worse. and because of that, I'm still smiling. It's a sort of a wince actually, but I'm trying. The moral of this post? Life is uncertain, eat dessert first.
Don't Trifle With Me Recipe
- One bag of two bite brownies, cubed
- 1 box of Jello vanilla pudding
- 2 cups whipped cream
- 1/3 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
- 3/4 cup simple syrup
- 3 cups mixed berries (I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)
Directions:
- to prepare the simple syrup, add 1 cup of water to 1 cup of granulated sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking frequently
- allow syrup to stand and cool to room temperature
- whip the whipping cream in a medium sized glass bowl until soft peaks form
- prepare the pudding according to the instructions on the box and let stand for 5 minutes to set
- fold the pudding into the whipped cream
- layer into a trifle bowl as follows; brownies, booze infused syrup, berries, cream
- top with chocolate shavings and more berries if desired
