The first entry into my blog was about my most recent cake disaster. Well, let me complete the story by telling you all the story of the first cake disaster of the month. This was a horrific week in terms of family tragedy, and just overall schedule shuffling. Those of you who know me well know that I take care of my nephew when daycare is closed. So believe me J.R. aka Lil Bud is tied into this story as well as a few other characters. Hopefully you all will recognize the players as they all had a part in this story too. Ok, it was July 2nd and I had a migraine. This one was bad because I actually took my medicine and normally I don't take anything. Anyway, so the day was a bit hazy, but I knew that I had to get my strength for Monday because I had to babysit my nephew. Anyway, Michael informed me that he was in town and that he'd like to get together on Monday. So, I start thinking. Well, this is doable so I start planning how I'm going to babysit, bake a cake and spend time with a friend. Well, my adrenaline was up and my mind was racing with planning. So Monday morning comes and I get to my sisters house surprisingly not on time. It's a shame too because I was up at 4 and I could have easily gotten to her house by 7:15 but it just didn't happen. Who knows! Anyway so I get to my sister's house at about 7:30 and I unload all of my baking equipment. If you've never had to move a kitchenaid mixer from one place to another I don't suggest it at all. That is a heavy duty piece of equipment, but it whips up a great cake! So anyway, my nephew is up and ready as usual. I swear when the sun comes up so does that kid! Anyway so he's running around and I'm trying to keep up with him and naturally I have not had much sleep because I slept all day on Sunday and not at all Sunday night. So I get started baking at about 9:00 simply because I knew that I had a hair appointment at 1:30 that I would naturally be late for. So I begin baking and much to my surprise my nephew behaved beautifully. Normally he's into everything opening cabinets, throwing things in the sink, pulling out books. You know, he's a kid so he's generally making a mess. So I'm getting this cake done and I only had to run Bud out of the kitchen vents once. That in itself was a major accomplishment. Anyway, the cake goes in the oven at about 10:15. I always take about an hour with each cake simply because I hate feeling like I've rushed to get things done. So anyway the cake is a sheet cake and it took about an hour and fifteen minutes to bake. While the cake was baking, Bud decided he was ready for a nap which meant that it was my nap time too. So he took a nap while the cake was baking and I closed my eyes for a sec while I patted his back. At 12 I took the cake out and what timing it was perfect. Bud however was still asleep which suited me just fine because I didn't want him to see me leave for my hair appointment. So the cake is out and I'm getting dressed and my mom arrived on time at 1:00. I'm still not quite ready and I should have been because I didn't have to fix my hair. So I left Carla's at 1:25 knowing that I wouldn't make it on time. Naturally the bridge that is truly the only short cut from Carla's to Mrs. Harley's (the hairdresser) is out and I have to travel by way of 327. This actually put me three miles out of my way, but what could I do? I'm already late! So I get to Mrs. Harley's at 1:40. I'm only ten minutes late. Guess what, she's not even there. Her husband informed me that she was at the bank, hoping to get back to the shop before I arrived. I'm telling you, she knew I was going to be late. She knew it, but this time I didn't feel compelled to tip her because she was later than I was. :-) So, I got my hair done with no major disasters and I head home to shower and change and get ready for Michael. I'll speed this part of the story up simply because I know that most of you have better things to do than read my blog. Anyway, Michael and I talked, visited my sister, had dinner, visited with my mom, went for a walk and we hugged goodnight. I hope that was good enough for those of you who were hoping for a romantic description. Sorry, no such luck. Anyway, the next day, is Tuesday July 4th. I remember because I did not work on the cake at all until that evening. I was invited to a cookout that I had to attend, simply because this was the first invitation that I received in a long time where I was not required to bring any of the goods. It was a great party. So, I got home after a long day and I began to work on the cake. Just so you know it's about 11:00 pm and I'm about to really make this cake a work of art. So I lift the board and the cake which has already been glazed cracks right down the middle. There is nothing I can do to save it, the cake is broken. I'm stunned. Just stunned and I all I can do is sit there. My dad is asleep while the tv is watching him and my mom bless her heart, is feeling awful for me. Her initial question was can you decorate it anyway? Is the crack noticeable? I said no about decorating a broken cake and I begin to pull butter out of the freezer so that I could begin working on another masterpiece. It's 11:15 and I'm getting things done. Just so you know you cannot bake a cake with frozen butter, therefore I had to get it melted by way of the oven. Sad but true! So the cake is whipped up into a frenzy and I get busy running around the kitchen all in the name of cake decorating. My mom hangs in there and sits in the den trying not to fall asleep, but the poor thing was tuckered out and she slept in the den while I worked feverishly. The cake was in the oven in about an hour and fifteen minutes. I had to work fast because I had no choice. The cake had to be delivered to NC by Thursday and my mom was the delivery truck this time. So I worked on the cake, the minute it came out of the oven I let it cool just so I could glaze it. The glaze was great and while it was drying I whipped up another batch of icing. I also patiently created about eleven roses to decorate the cake with. By this time, my mom was in bed and my dad had not moved an inch. I believe it was about 4:00 AM when I finally finished getting the cake baked, glazed and iced. I was pooped, because rememeber I had not recovered from the lack of sleep on Sunday night. The worse part is that I was supposed to babysit on Wed. because my parents and sister had a funeral to attend. Hmmm...needless to say that when morning came I was still a zombie. I did not hear my mom ask me if I needed her to babysit, nor did I hear her leave. I did however hear my dad calling me at about 7:30 asking me if I was supposed to babysit his grandson. You don't want to know my initial thoughts, but lets just say I can't remember them now anyway and my only reply to him was that if mom isn't here then she's doing it for me. I didn't sleep well that morning because I was up again at about 9 just so I could finish smoothing and decorating the cake. That part went without a hitch. However, there was one more disaster to follow. I decorated the cake in pretty red roses that I made the night before and I trimmed it with red scrolls around the side. It was beautiful and then to finish it up I wrote ,"Happy 46th Birthday Deborah". Well, that cake was finished and I had to leave to babysit. I went over to my sister's where I spent the remainder of my day not giving the cake another thought. That is until my mom called and said you spelled Deborah with an "H". The client specifically asked that the name be spelled "Debora". I was so brain dead that I didn't even realize what my note had said and I did what I thought was correct. My mom reminded me of this and I was too tired to move. So I explained to her how to remove the letter and she said, "I'm not touching that cake, I don't want to ruin it." Mind you this is Wed. evening and my mom is heading back to NC so that she can deliver the cake on Thursday morning. So anyway, I'm pooped and not able to think. My mom called the client and explained to her that the name was spelled wrong and the client said that it wasn't a problem and not to worry about it. The cake delivery went smoothly and all seemed to go well at that momemt. I was thrilled because believe me that cake took me through some changes, but I learned one thing no matter what be prepared for the unexpected. According to the client, the cake was a huge success and the birthday girl would not let anyone cut her roses. That meant a lot to me because often once I deliver a cake I don't hear the reaction that others have to it. I know the cakes are good because I have a resident taste-tester in my mom, but I'm not a cake person. I just love baking and smelling the finished product's aroma permeate the house. So a lesson to all, be prepared no matter what and in life we will all have a little trouble, but work hard to overcome and things will turn out fine! :-) Have a great week and please post your comments! I look forward to reading them.