If you and I are friends on Facebook or you were around me the week this happened, you’ve probably already heard this story. Please bare with me!

My first mistake was deciding late on the Sunday evening before Memorial Day that I was going to make homemade salsa to take to my grandparents’ house the next day. I didn’t choose this because I’m some great salsa maker. In fact, I had never attempted making my own salsa ever before. Dumbly, I thought I could do it with no problems. The recipe seemed easy enough, and I really wanted some salsa.

My second mistake was going to Walmart late at night to get the ingredients. By the time I got home, I was tired. It had already been a long weekend. I wasn’t at my best to attempt a brand new recipe at that time.

My third mistake was not making sure the food processor blade was in the food processor before I turned it on. My fourth mistake was touching my mouth with the same towel I used to wipe up spilled salsa ingredients after I had to transfer everything to a mixing bowl when the food processor didn’t work. I should mention that the salsa included freshly chopped jalapenos – ouch. My fifth mistake was putting all the ingredients in the blender when everything else failed. I wasn’t paying attention, so all the juice ran out the bottom of the blender, spread across the counter tops, and tricked down the cabinets.

My biggest mistake in all this was how MAD I got during this incident. I was frustrated with myself because I thought I should be able to make salsa. I transfered this frustration into ANGER when things didn’t go my way. I blamed M because he was the one who washed the food processor blade whose absence started this bad chain of events. I frantically searched for the blade before giving up. I sat in the floor of the kitchen angrier than I have been in a long time as my lips tingled and burned from the jalapeno juice. When M got home, I was still angry. He looked for the blade while I was making the aforementioned mess with the blender. We gave up and went to bed.

Looking back, it’s a funny story. Yet it’s also taught me some important lessons. Lots of little things went wrong. That’s life. It happens. But I let myself get bent out of shape about it all. Why? Part of it is my personality. I’m a perfectionist. The other part was pride. I wanted to have delicious homemade salsa that everyone could ooh and awe over the next day. It’s pitiful to admit, but it was true at the time. Maybe I was getting too big for my briches. This incident humbled me. I learned there is no use crying over spilt salsa.

By the way, we found the food processor blade the next morning. See the photo at the top of this post. It was on the couch of all places and had been chewed up by Charlie. I guess before I realized it was missing, one of the dogs had pulled it out of the cabinet. Life is funny.