Okay. I’m about to rant about something, but before I do…I’d like to acknowledge how lucky I am to have such problems in the wake of the recent tragedy in Connecticut. Peace be with those tormented families.
My excuse this week for not having interesting content (besides my crying intermittently as a result of the aforementioned tragedy) is that I was responsible for creating/coordinating/conducting my 4 yr, soon to be 5 yr, old’s birthday. I am not a party planner. I stress. I anguish over it. It’s not because I want the perfect party. I want a GOOD party that doesn’t cost me what would be the equivalent of a down payment on a small house. I kid you not…some places charge hundreds of dollars to host your party…and that does NOT include cake/pizza/favors. But, they highlight “FREE paper cups, plates, napkins!!!” Really?
The epic disaster for my attempted DIY party was…the cake. Let me outline for you my series of mishaps. Let me also advise you to always have someone ELSE make your cakes…someone with nerves of steel and a clue.
Things started off okay…I greased and floured a 13×9 cake pan. No prob. I slaved over making the batter. Looks good. THEN, I poured the batter into “the pan”…except that it WASN’T “the pan”…it was a different, UNGREASED pan. And then I baked it. I kid you not. I turned around to grease the pan for the next cake, and I realized my mistake. So, cake #1…ruined.
THEN, I rushed to make the SECOND cake…which turned out okay. As one wasn’t going to be big enough, I needed to make another. Here’s what the first two cakes looked like:
HMMM! I actually contemplated frosting the broken cake. Then, I regained my keen senses and realized that, much like time moving backwards and being in the fast moving lane at Stop & Shop, this was not possible.
Now, of course I’m out of ingredients for a third cake! SO, after getting new ingredients, I bake the THIRD cake. Now, it’s close to when we need to LEAVE for the party. Have you ever tried to frost a warm cake? I hadn’t until then. I thought, “What’s the big deal? Ok…it’s not cooled, but SO WHAT???”
Umm…yes, the frosting MELTED on the cake.
It looked like someone tripped and spilled their orange sherbet sundae all over the cake as the frosting melted into bright orange pools of pure sugar. STRESS. So, I SCRAPED OFF the melted frosting and rushed the warm cake OUTSIDE to cool off. I stealthily placed it UNDER the patio table, thinking that this would protect it from THE RAIN. Yes, it was raining! JOY. My parents were at the house, luckily, so I had my father be on duty to watch that some rabid squirrel didn’t come over and sit upon/start munching on the cake whist I mixed up MORE frosting (which is everywhere, mind you…along with a general dusting of powered sugar). I finally bring in the cooled cake and frost the friggin’ thing. Here it is:
Okay. Don’t laugh. It looked MUCH worse before, if that’s at all possible. Those odd, tulip shaped things are supposed to be dinosaur footprints. I know. How sad. Do you believe that it tasted good? No? Well, I don’t blame you.
ANYHOO…I think that the party turned out okay…and the cake tasted reasonable as well. I have noticed many more gray hairs on my head since Sunday, but no prob! At least I have hair! Action shot at party:
Needless to say, I understand that I do not have a career ahead of me in either: a. event planning, b. baking, or c. photography.
The big gift for my son was goldfish! (no, not the crackers…)
AREN’T THEY SO CUTE???? My son has been asking for a fish for ages. I contemplated the small fishbowls…but as I wanted a goldfish (not a catatonic beta fish), I opted for the slightly larger tank. DON’T YOU LOVE IT???
I’ve come to realize, however, that my gift of fish has not been as met with the same enthusiasm as the grandparent’s gift of Legos. Hmm. Another fail. I should have just stayed in bed that day.
Moving along…tis the season to be receiving packages in the mail, right? I recently ordered a cool clock…one of those old school “flip clocks”. The one I got was pretty plain…but THIS is the clock that I REALLY wanted:
I have coveted this clock for ages. It has different fonts that show up as it flips through the time. LOVE. IT. Here is a link to see it. Did you also see the price tag? $395!!!!! OUCH! So, I had to settle for a more conventional one, which I am very happy with. Still…I hold a special place in my heart for this clock. (any of you Powerball winners out there…I’d love one for Xmas! Thank U!!!!) Anyway, I was talking about packages in the mail. Here is how my clock arrived:
Package Fail
Umm….are you KIDDING ME? It looks like an elephant sat on it whilst eating its 1,000 pound lunch of hay. Wha??? How???
Believe it or not…the clock inside was actually undamaged. Ho Ho Ho! Lucky me!
Just so that you don’t feel that I’ve TOTALLY wasted your time with this post, here is some cool stuff to check out:
Check out the video here of this crazy thing. This is “Firewall” by Adam Sherwood. Please check out his website. AMAZING! I want one for my living room (next to my $395 font clock, which I don’t actually have). Next:
Isn’t that gorgeous???? This artist, Guy Denning. Sooo talented! Please check out his website here. Look under the heading “self portraits”. Amazing, right? I love how he draws. So loose, yet so accurate. BRILLIANT!
Okay, have a lovely holdiay! I’ll be making yet another birthday cake for my son’s ACTUAL birthday, which is Christmas Day. No joke. Oh, continued joy and happiness!!!!
