How Do You Work?

Decorating By Elise87 Updated 20 Aug 2009 , 12:43am by Elise87

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Elise87 Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 4:50am
post #1 of 33

At a cake decorating store i go to they have a kitchen where they also make cakes. When i passed by it the first time there was 2 girls sitting there in complete silence working on their cakes and the second time there was a couple more people and they were all chatting a bit but still there was no music or anything.

Is this common practice? When i decorated a cake or whatever i often like to have music on or have my TV that i can glance up to every now and then ....does anyone else ever do this or do people like to work quietly?

Just curious to know people working styles icon_smile.gif

32 replies
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sweet-thing Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 4:59am
post #2 of 33

Quiet! I need to concentrate! LOL!

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LaBellaFlor Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 5:00am
post #3 of 33

First off, I love your work. I do usually have the t.v. on, BUT I'm not really watching it and I DO NOT like anyone to talk to me when I'm working. NOTHING drives me more crazy then for someone to ask me questions when I'm working .

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kansaswolf Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 5:06am
post #4 of 33

I don't like TOTAL silence, but at my house, that's pretty much a guarantee! I don't mind the occasional dialogue with someone, but I really don't like being interrupted every five minutes because the 2-year-old NEEEEEEEDS something... Naptime is my friend. icon_biggrin.gif I could talk to my sister or my mom while I'm working, but anything more engaging than chit-chat (or TV, or music playing) would probably be too distracting!

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Elise87 Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 5:07am
post #5 of 33

Thank-u LaBellaFlor! and yeh that's what i mean, i have tv on but i am not really watching it i just like some background noise, i don't know why lol but i am still able to concentrate on what i am doing....funny thing is back when i was in high school and studying for my exams i had trouble concentrating without the tv on! shouldn't it be the other way around lol

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cathyscakes Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 5:11am
post #6 of 33

I usually like a t.v. on in the background, but I really don't like anyone watching me. It really makes me nervous, and I usually mess something up when I have people around,

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sugarMomma Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 5:37am
post #7 of 33

I prefer not to have people around distracting me, it messes with my concentration.
However I like the tv on for company (usually Food Network), though I 'm not really watching. Once my DH came home and started cracking up cuz I was working on a wedding cake while a Wedding Cake Challenge was playing and I didn't even notice.
Ironically whenever I find myself working on a cake late at night, exhausted and over it, Duff and his crew come on and re-energize and inspire me.

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CutiePieCakes-Ontario Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 5:59am
post #8 of 33

I have a fulltime, bill-paying job, where the radio is on 24/7. Since I do spent so much time alone at that job, I like having the sound of 'another voice' in the room. When I do cakes, either the radio is on, or the tv from the other room. BUT I can't stand anyone standing there watching me (as my DH can attest by the number of times I've told him to bog off!). I will actually stop working to stare back until he leaves. icon_twisted.gif

The only time I have done cake work without a sound was, ironically, the day that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died. I didn't hear a thing about him until I turned the tv on at midnight and caught the end of the news. WT..? I thought they were wrong. "The Life and TIMES" and "Life and Death".

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Elise87 Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 6:24am
post #9 of 33

i have to agree with the people looking over my shoulder and watching me work, that definatly is annoying and takes away from my concentration.

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kricket Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 6:28am
post #10 of 33

I usually pop a DVD in, but not something "new" that I have to really pay attention to. I choose a movie I'm very familiar with, so I can enjoy the parts I see, yet not miss anything when I'm not watching. A favorite is Pride & Prejudice---the long (and only true) one!

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Elise87 Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 6:32am
post #11 of 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by kricket

I usually pop a DVD in, but not something "new" that I have to really pay attention to




exactly what i do all the time lol

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costumeczar Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 12:31pm
post #12 of 33

I have a tv or music on, but when my husband wanders in and tried to talk to me I get all irritated. I guess I like the background noise but not having my focus broken. I get in the "cake zone" and don't want to be bothered!

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Loucinda Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 12:47pm
post #13 of 33

I like that term "cake zone" - that is what I do also. Do not try to talk to me or watch me while I am working on a cake. After 30 years of raising kids, I am perfectly happy with complete silence. icon_smile.gif

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alaskagirl3 Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 12:58pm
post #14 of 33

I like to have my IPod on and play my favorite tunes !

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dnrlee Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 12:59pm
post #15 of 33

I listen to my ipod. That way I can zone everything (and everyone) else outicon_smile.gif

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DianeLM Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 2:25pm
post #16 of 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by kricket

I usually pop a DVD in, but not something "new" that I have to really pay attention to. I choose a movie I'm very familiar with, so I can enjoy the parts I see, yet not miss anything when I'm not watching. A favorite is Pride & Prejudice---the long (and only true) one!



I do the same, but with TV reruns. I can practically mouth along to every episode of the original Law & Order.

What's funny is when I actually do WATCH TV, I'll hear a commercial come on that I'm very familiar with, but it's the first time I've actually SEEN it!

When there's absolutely nothing on TV, I strap on my Zune. But, when I'm measuring and doing complex (for me, anyway) equations, all noise is OFF.

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nanikins Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 2:36pm
post #17 of 33

Audio books on my IPod, although sometimes I find myself rewinding too often - between concentrating on the cake and twin toddlers.

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Texas_Rose Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 2:45pm
post #18 of 33

There's never silence in my house, because I have 5 birds, so at least one is always making noise. Usually the kids are watching TV while I'm working too, or DH is playing music on the computer. Our kitchen is open to the living room so I get everyone's noise, but I honestly don't notice it much anymore.

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Suzycakes Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 3:07pm
post #19 of 33

I ALWAYS have the tv on - but it has to be tuned to a program that I can relax with while working. I never 'listen' to anything that I really want to be watching - it's useless and a waste of good cake decorating time - so if its a 'must see' then I watch the show and then go back to decorating!!

I too have a great room with my kitchen, droom and living room -- my DH is an outdoorsman, hunter and history buff - and if he wants to tick me off in a hurry all he needs to do is come in and switch the tvl to the history channel (really - George Washington won again?? I can't believe that he did it again!!); or the outdoor channel with those da** whispering hunters with the set up game to shoot at!! Don't get me wrong -- I don't mind that he hunts -- but seriously - you expect me to listen to it?? It annoys the He** out of me and my concentration level just bottoms out -- and then a nicely smoothed buttercream cake can quickly become a messy crumbcoat if he gets a hold of the remote!! So I am always quick to point out that this is $$ I'm working on and if he wants me to use it for something other than "ME" then put down the remote and walk away from it very easily!!LOL!!

Suze

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indydebi Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 3:32pm
post #20 of 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by DianeLM

I do the same, but with TV reruns. I can practically mouth along to every episode of the original Law & Order.




icon_lol.gif I'm with ya there!!

I gotta have the tv for background noise. I can't even go to sleep without having the tv on.

And my official "lunch time" is 12 noon when I sit down to watch Andy Griffith reruns! icon_biggrin.gif

AT&T comes into the shop periodically to try to sell me AT&T. I tell them I already have comcast. They tell me they can save me money. I tell them they don't have cable tv. They tell me, "You dont' need TV! You're making cakes!" I tell them, "Obviously you know nothing about working in a kitchen making cakes, do you?" icon_lol.gif

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izzy1953 Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 3:47pm
post #21 of 33

my husband has a wonderful "system" and the best music you could imagine.....i pop in the eagles, doobie brothers, bob segar, jimmy buffett whatever im feeling and go to town!!!! don't want anyone in there with me, no one asking questions and most of all no advice unless i ask for it! my creativity kicks in and i have a cake or cookies or cupcakes before you know it!

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BCo Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 3:52pm
post #22 of 33

I always have the TV on also - just like Debi I even have it on when I'm sleeping....bad habit I know but I can't stand complete silence.... icon_smile.gif BUT when I'm working on cakes usually the food network is on or some other reality tv that I don't need to focus on and can just be background noise. I don't like people talking to me either - my kids usually go watch a movie or go downstairs and play. But the thing I hate the most that my BF takes complete joy out of is video taping me while I do my cakes.....he thinks it's hysterical to try and "interview" me while I'm working on a cake. It drives me insane. He says, how are you ever going to be a TV star if you can't work and be taped at the same time!!! Then he'll put the video up on the computer and play it over and over while laughing at the angry mean comments I make the whole time.........

Ah - so much fun....MEN!

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Clovers Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 4:05pm
post #23 of 33

You ALL have TVs in your kitchens??

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costumeczar Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 4:12pm
post #24 of 33

My kitchen kind of opens up into the family room, so I used to turn on the tv in there and have that on. Then came summer vacation, and I realized that if I wanted to ever hear anything other than the noise of Spongebob, I'd have to get a little tv for the kitchen. I got a little portable one that has a digital antennae (it's about 6" across) and it does fine for amusing me and drowning out the sounds of the tv and the Xbox.

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indydebi Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 4:19pm
post #25 of 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clovers

You ALL have TVs in your kitchens??




When I baked at home, I had a tv in the kitchen and the one in the family room was positioned so I could see it from the kitchen, plus the one in the front living room. Not counting the 2 upstairs in the bedrooms. 3 people .... 5 TV's. We are the typical American Family! icon_lol.gif

At the shop, I have my TV on a rolling cart, so I can move it to the kitchen when I'm working and back to the desk when I'm in the office space. I have to step over cables a lot, but it works for me! icon_biggrin.gif

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dnrlee Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 5:49pm
post #26 of 33
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clovers

You ALL have TVs in your kitchens??




I do too - mainly for the kids to watch while eating breakfast but I like to listen to the news while cooking dinner too.

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BREN28 Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 6:07pm
post #27 of 33

how funny,we all kinda work the same! i need the tv on in the living room,just for the background noise,but not paying attention to whats on. i hate when someone walks into the kitchen,i will stop what im doing and look at them until they leave,then start back up again. it REALLY irritates me to be asked questions,while im in the kitchen working on a cake!!!

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varika Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 6:12pm
post #28 of 33

I actually prefer to put on classical music to work on a cake. Or nothing at all. Unfortunately, my kitchen is open to the living room, so what that really means is, whatever Dad or Mom or my brother is watching is what I get!

I really, really, really hate TVs in kitchens, personally. I won't tell anyone how to live their life or anything like that, but when I have my own place, there will be no TV in the kitchen and the TV will be OFF while people eat a sit-down dinner!

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ljdills Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 6:43pm
post #29 of 33

I grew up with 3 siblings and bookoos of cousins. Now I have three children. Silence is deafening to me. I can't think when it is too quiet. I don't like someone talking to me, but I always have music or the tv on when I am working on a cake.
I do however agree with varika about meal time that is how I was raised TV OFF at dinner !!!

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teswade Posted 19 Aug 2009 , 7:03pm
post #30 of 33

I never turn the tv or music on on purpose. If it is on I don't notice it. What does bother me is when my grandmother (whom I love dearly) stands there and watches me work. I never say anything because she is proud of me and loves what I do, plus I would never tell my grandmother to do something or upset her. I usually just stop for a bit and talk to her about the cake then she will go away and I will resume, but for some reason I just cant have anyone watch, it bothers me to no end.

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