Bad Day???
This is going to be long, but I have to vent, please.
Ive been working around the clock over the past 2 months since Katrina and Rita hit Louisiana. I work for the largest wireless phone company and am a Traffic EngineerIm responsible for ensuring the cell sites have enough capacity to carry the calls (preventing fast busies).
Anyway, thats why Ive been absent from here for awhile. I havent had much of an opportunity to make any cakes/cookies during this time. However, last Monday was my 7 year old sons birthday. He wanted me to bring a chocolate chip cookie cake to school for their snack. I said no problem. The theme he wanted for his party (today, 10/22/05) was Pokemon and he wanted Pikachu on both his party cake and class cookie. No problem, right. I went online and looked for jpegs or gif files that I could use as a template for a buttercreme transfer. Found quite a few really cute ones. Narrowed down my selection and went to work. The first bct was terrible. I guess I was shaking or something, but I couldnt for the life of me get my circles for his cheeks in the shape of a circle. So, I scrapped it and did another one. I decided I would skip the red circles on the cheeks and instead, use red icing after it was on the cake and put a flattened red ball on the top. The transfer came out cute overall, but as I was trying to get the gaps out, I smeared it. This was Sunday and I had to have the cookie by Monday at 2 pm. So I said, forget the transfer, Ill do colorflow. Well, my colorflow was too thick, so I thinned it down and I think I thinned it down too much. I let it dry overnight under a ceiling fan on high and it never dried. I was totally ashamed to bring it to the school.
(See Pic 1)
I decided to work from home Friday night so I could work on my sons cake while my kids are gone to school during the day. He wanted chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I really did not want to make another buttercreme transferI guess my biorhythm is off or something, I dont know. Ive done them before with no problem. So Im trying to think up something else that I can dofigurines, edible image, molded fondantsomething. I looked at every store I could think of for figurines or toys to no avail no one carries Pokemon anymore. I knew I didnt have time to order an edible image online and know of nowhere around here that does them. I called a bakery that I know puts peoples pictures on cakes and figured they could do an image for me, so I call them. Sure, they can do it for $10.50. Im thinking, no problem, thisll save me some time. I high tailed it over to their store--about 30 minutes from my house and give them my picture to transfer.
(See Pic 2)
After waiting about 10 minutes to get waited on, while there is only one customer in the store and several employees walking all around me, I give the girl my picture and told her I wanted it the same size as the picture I gave her (5 x 7). She says the person that has to do this is with a client right now so itll be a few minutes. I say no problem. I begin looking around at all of their cakes and cookiesall of which were sooooo sloppy I couldnt believe it. I waitedand I waitedand I waited. Thirty minutes later, they bring it out. Its 8 x 10! I asked if they couldnt get it to the size I asked for. The lady said, Well, the girl that took your order didnt tell us you wanted it a specific size. I say, Well, I told her. They are looking at me like, you are out of luck! Then she says, Youre gonna have to wait some more. I said Fine! So, off they goanother 20 minutes goes by and they bring it out. This is how it looks:
(See Pic 3)
I had already paid for it, so I just took it and left. Im feeling really down and stressed by now, because all of my ideas are not working out like I want them to. BCT turned out really bad, color flow piece horrible, edible image (which was on a piece of fondant) atrocious!!! What in the heck am I going to do? Write happy birthday on the cake and not worry about it? How well will the fondant figurines turn out? Never tried them before. Nooooo, I promised my son Pokemon and by George hes gonna get Pokemon. So I stop by Albertsons (grocery store) to pick up another cake mix and pass by the bakery and see the little book they have to look through when ordering kit cakes. They have two Pokemon cakes!!! One is an edible image similar to one I found online but wasnt sharp enough to printthe other, two Pokemon figurines. This little guy sees me looking and asked if he could help me. Im ready to grab him by the front of his shirt and start groveling if need be to get him to sell me either one of these items. Please, please, I tell him. He and a decorator look through all of their stuff and produce the figurines. I told him that he just saved my sanity!!! So, now Im feeling a little betternot really sure what Im gonna do yet since I just got the figurinesand to tell you the truth, I know absolutely squat about Pokemon. LOL.
On my way home Im thinking about what Im going to dogotta bake my layers and make my icingI still have time to do this. My cell phone rings: my daycare calling to tell me that my two year old daughter has choked on her hair barrette, was given the Heimlich Maneuver twice, beat on the back and swallowed the darn thing!!!!! All metal, one of those things that you bend one way to open and bend the other way to close. I have to take her to the emergency room to have her X-rayed to see if its caught up on anything. They tell me she should pass it, but if not by Sunday evening, bring her back and they might have to do surgery!!! Ooooookkkkkk, Im ready to call Albertsons back and tell them to make me a cake. My daughter seems fine, shes babbling up a storm, being her normal cheerful and sweet self. What to do???
I go home and start baking. Devils food cake. Son wants chocolate icing, but the design I think Im going to do needs white icing. Decide to compromise and just put white chocolate in it and see what happens. My phone was ringing off of the hook--friends and family calling to check on my daughter. I was on the phone so long that I couldn't call my son's friend's house to tell him to come home. My husband was getting home from work about 8 pm last night and I found out that my 7 year old son is not where he's supposed to be and hasn't been there all night! I call everybody in the neighborhood and run out to meet my husband in the driveway to tell him to go to this one house that we have forbidden him to play at because the kids are thieves! I've got another mother from down the street coming to help me hunt for him, I've got a daughter that I need to watch constantly and a cake in the oven. I'm about 2 seconds from dialing 911, when my husband calls from his cell to tell me he was at that house. He was supposed to be home before dark (which is about 6:30 right now). He said he was going to one place and didn't and he didn't come tell me that he was going somewhere else; AND he was where he wasn't supposed to be!!! Boy, I was ready to throttle him big time!!!
I ended up making White Chocolate Almond icing. It was really good on the devils food. I decided, since Im really frustrated, grumpy and stressed out, that Id just try to find the cake that Albertsons wouldve done and decorate it like that. So thats what I did. I finished it 15 minutes before I had to leave for the party. Im glad its done and Im pleased with how it turned out. What do you think?
(See Pic 4)
Im sorry this is so long. I really felt I needed to get this off of my chest. All of you are wonderful people and Ive missed talking to you all.
Oh, btw, it hasnt passed yet. Guess well be going back to the ER tomorrow night!
Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Bless your heart! Kids can do the craziest things at the worst times! Your cakes came out great! I think the cookie looks really good. Don't know what happened to the edible mage though. Glad your back, and I hope everything turns out well with your daughter!
OMG! Do you have any hair left on your head? I
sure am sorry you have had such a time, on top of working so hard working to help get NOLA back on track.
Sure hope your little girl will pass that thing and not have to have surgery!!!
THe son presented another dilemna, do you hug him (because you are so glad to have him back okay) or punish him for not doing what he is supposed to do? My guess is both, with the hugs first!
Good luck tomorrow, may you have a much, much better day! By the way, you did great to hang in there and get it all done today! Janice
WOW.. I hope she passes it tomorrow early morning!! Poor baby.. And you OMG you need to take a hot bath, put on your pajamas, take an advil and GO TO BED!!!!!!!!!
P.S. Glad your back!
Wow! {{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}
It can be verry scary when you can't find your child...trust me! Once- my son took off on me in Walmart- he was running so fast and then he decided to take a 90 degree left turn and almost ran out through the front registers, luckily a worker who had just seen him 1-2 minutes before he took off running caught him....the other time my husband was inside and I was outside watching my son qhile he was playing (we lived on busy street at the time) and I went in the house just for a minute and he decided to go for a walk down the block on the busy street side- arrgghhh!!!
Hope things go well for your daughter...and I agree, give your son hugs because your glad to see him but also explain to him that he scared you very badly.
Wow that is one crazy story!! I Think your cookie and cake turned out great! Good job under such pressure! Hope your little one passes that thing and you wont have to go thru surgery - we will keep you in our prayers and please let us know what happens!!!
So sorry to hear about your day. I truly hope your daughter "works" everything out. It is scary when your kids aren't where they are suppose to be. Hopefully your son will never do that again.
As for your cake, I think it turned out really nice.
Great big hugs to you.
Oh, man. The things we'll do for our kids! Your son would've probably been happy with the Albertson's cake, but I understand how you would've felt guilty guilty. We put way too much pressure on ourselves.
Glad to hear that things came out ok with your dd. We all have bad days, but it's small consolation when you're going through one. I made myself a double chocolate kaluha cake friday as a reward for making it thru the week 1/2 way sane.
Hope you get some rest soon. I used to work for one of the wireless carriers and don't want to even imagine how hard you've had to work these past weeks.
(SIGH) It's Sunday evening and I am still sick to my stomach!! Normal Saturday night kids came in and out.. Hubby and I did our normal things.. Older kids went to bed around 10pm, hubby and Brian hit the sheets little after 10pm. Well I always stay up watching movies.. No noise, everyone asleep.. I actually get to hear the whole movie.. Anyhow around 1 am I hear this BANG,CRASH and feel the house vibrate.. 
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! I was laying on the couch and flew off like Spiderman. I was yelling at my husband that I think someone hit my car and the house.. I ran outside.. Sure enough.. I was soooooooooo scared.. after the police officers got there they realized he had just done some drugs.. He had strength like the hulk.. It took 4 officers to handcuff him.. He was drunk and strung out... Thank god my car was there or he would have came right into my house.. Officers said he had to be going at least 60 pmh when he hit my car.. then he pushed my car up and around the curb. my moms car was in the driveway on jacks (hubby was fixing transmission) my moms car got hit with my car and knocked it off the jacks THEN he hit the house.. The house only had one piece of wood siding crushed, but MY CAR.. 
it is gone.. My moms car just got bump in the driver side door. Just glad we are all safe.. Material things are replacable, lives are not.. Tomorrow will have to call insurance and hope the police report is ready in a few days.. This really bites..
Click to view 2 photos of the accident.. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8SYtmrZy2fi¬ag=1(sigh) One of the pics you will see where he ended up at and where my car ended up.. It was parked on the side of the house in the street.. it ended up in the driveway.. the other photo is the damage done to my car.. 
all that and you're still here....you must have had a hard time getting over it....... you did great.
Whew, well first of all both the cake and cookie are fantastic, good job! They look great. Glad your little one is ok!
Briansbaker, whew scarey time of it! Hope everything is ok and you have stopped shaking! I know I was shaking for both of you!
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes
Sure glad you and your family are all right, know you had to be really terrified with all that going on!
A drunk totaled my nephew's truck a couple of weeks ago, also while it was parked, we were so glad he wasn't in it because it tore the truck all to pieces!
Marknrox, sure glad to hear that everything came out all right and DD is fine!
I guess we should all be glad that this past weekend is over with all the trouble going around!
Just venting.. After all that has happened, I called for the police report yesturday and today.. They said the police officer still hasn't filed it.. GRRRR.. 
Does anyone know how the process works with officers filing reports? I really need to get the insurance info. from that report.. (sigh) my poor car..
My goodness. I stay off of here for a few days and everything happens. So sorry Marknrox and Briansbaker for your horrible weekends. My problems seem pretty minor now. Just finished commenting on Briansbaker and her dusting abilities in another forum. Just love to give you a hard time. I still haven't dusted since the last time I gave you a hard time. LOL As far as police reports, they will file them whenever they get d--- good and ready. I often wonder if they ever put themselves in the other guy's shoes and think about how they need to get their insurance settled and get another vehicle. Just thank the good Lord that no one was hurt.
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