Fish & Other Fall Festival Mishaps

I have made it through not one but two Fall Festivals at school. Both went surprisingly well, despite some unexpected setbacks.

The middle school festival was a runaway success. Remember, my cupcakes were among the featured dessert items there. But despite my careful planning of a cupcake theme, they didn’t turn out quite as I envisioned.

They were supposed to look like goldfish in a bowl.

The result? Not so much.

So then I worried no one would buy them. It turns out I overestimated my creative cupcake abilities, but I underestimated the sales skills of the 11 year old. She talked those cupcakes up to her friends, who then bought them up and ate them up. Hurray! Total win!

The fall festival at the elementary school was no less fraught. I signed up to volunteer for “concessions”. In my mind concessions meant I’d stand behind a snack table, sell potato chips and chat with other moms.

There is a dark side to concessions no one talks about. And that dark side is this: when hot dogs are being offered, someone has to make the hot dogs. And pop them in buns and wrap them in foil and slog them to the sales table. Guess who that someone was last weekend?

On the bright side I now know how to operate a large, hot dog steam unit (you can make 60 at a time!), and at least I didn’t have to wear a hair net.

But while I was busy with Operation Hot Dog, my fella was busy breaking one of our most important house rules: Fish are not allowed as pets.

Guru Guy let the 8 year old play a game where winners were rewarded with a goldfish. A live, swim-in-a-bowl goldfish.

Guess who won the game?

Guess what house now has a goldfish?

Fish are not allowed at our house because all of us hate cleaning the fish bowl, and it gets really disgusting. We know this because we had a beta fish who lived at least 5 years.

I danced a jig when he finally died and the house rule – No Fish! – was born.

But now we have a fish and a special fish tank on order. My Fun Fish Tank is supposed to be self-cleaning. My fella read all the customer reviews and they agree it actually works.

The tank had better work, harder than guru girl at the hot dog table, or else that guppy’s gonna get grossed out by his living conditions.(Click this link to learn more about My Fun Fish Tank, available for $14.99 online or from Target.)

In all seriousness, fall festivals remain one of my favorite fall things. Even when they involve goldfish.

Many thanks to the volunteers who make them happen, especially the volunteers who, unlike guru girl, have a good attitude and basic competence ;)