Story for the Week
Disclaimer: This blog post does not actually include a book review, and the only reference to reading is me always having a book at the ready while I’m waiting for something or someone. I hope you enjoy it anyway. 😊
Every year, I take off time before and after my daughter Corinne’s birthday—to prepare and then to recover. 😁 There are decorations to be bought, cakes to be baked, gifts to be wrapped, food to be organized.
Things were a little different from last year when we had just lost her dad and we had to keep gatherings small and socially distanced. She decided she wanted to go back to her traditional bigger party this year and invited about 40 of her (closest) friends, so we rented the covered gazebo at our local park in case of rain and, well, COVID. There was no way I was cramming 40+ people into my house and making them wear masks.
Monday/Tuesday
In the week leading up to the party, Corinne was off school for Columbus Day, so we used that day to sleep in and just chill and catch up on TV shows we’ve been missing because of her theater schedule. On Tuesday, our shih-poo Oreo had a grooming appointment at 1:00, but then I had to run home to pick up a plastic bin and some supplies Corinne needed for theater to meet her before rehearsal at 3:00. (She couldn’t bring it to school in the morning because it included a case of water, a gallon of juice, a 12-pack of soda, and two pairs of shoes.) I got the call for Oreo at 3:30, so I ran back for him, had a weight loss group session at 5:00, and then went to the school to pick up Corinne at 6:00—only to realize that she didn’t finish until 7:00. (Good thing I have a Kindle reading app on my phone. 📱)
Wednesday
On Wednesday, my brother-in-law Rodolfo needed a ride to the DMV to renew his driver’s license, but the closest appointment he had been able to get was about 35 minutes away. On the way, we were talking about how hungry both of us were, and I mentioned that I should find the closest Great American Bagel so we could pick up some bagels on the way home. When we arrived for his 11:30 appointment, he was given a sheet that said 12:50 😮 and texted me to be prepared to wait. I told him it was ok. Every reader on the planet is always prepared to wait 🤣, and I told him that I could just run to get something if I got hungry. He responded with, “No! Starve! I’m starving. 😓” And I told him he couldn’t make me. That’s just the kind of relationship we have. Then I informed him that he was going to laugh because the closest Great American Bagel was actually the one closest to home…a little less than an hour away. 🤣
After we arrived home, my sister-in-law Stephanie and I went to pick up the bagels and some groceries that we still needed for the party and then came home to eat. While we were out, I got a call from my dad asking if I was still stopping by that day (I was) and asked me to stop at CVS to pick up a prescription. Ironically, Rodolfo asked if I was still planning to go to my aunt’s to set up her new printer (I was), and asked if she was the same direction as my dad. When I said she wasn’t, he said he had a favor to ask. Would I be willing to stop by CVS to pick up a prescription? (Clearly, the answer was yes. 😁) So I went to CVS, where Dad’s prescription was ready but Rodolfo’s was not. Went to my aunt’s to set up her printer, went to Dad’s to help him with something and drop off his prescription, went back to CVS for Rodolfo’s prescription, and finally got to spend a couple hours at home watching television before I had to pick up Corinne at 10:00.
Thursday
Thursday, it was time to get serious. It was cake baking time! 😎 But….
When I started pulling out the ingredients, I realized I didn’t have enough sugar (all Stephanie’s fault she admitted since she and her fiancé have been using sugar regularly in their coffee ☕), but I had scheduled a consultation for a bathtub to shower conversion so we couldn’t go back to the store until after it was finished. The consultation lasted until right around lunchtime, so I suggested we pick up the sugar and then buy Chipotle for lunch since I was going to need the kitchen for baking. While we ate lunch, we decided to watch an episode from the last season of Law & Order SVU, which turned into a second episode, and THEN I finally started baking around 4:00.
I needed two 11×18 cakes, and I had to pick up Corinne at 7:00. The first one went into the oven, and as I was measuring the flour for the second one, I realized that I had put in way too much flour for the first cake. Now I have made this recipe several times a year for about 12 years, but instead of 4 cups and 6 tablespoons of flour, I added 6 cups and 6 tablespoons of flour. 😣 As I waited for it to bake, because I was not taking it out of the oven, I scoured the Internet for possible solutions to the dry, crumbly cake I was certain would be the result. Alas! (Yes, I am being overly dramatic.) Too many sites talked about how to avoid a dry cake by making sure you didn’t use too much flour or baking powder. It was too late for that. I posted on a baking forum, and the first piece of advice I received was “throw it out” (not an option). But finally, I found a possibility, instructions on how to apply a milk soak, on www.tasteofhome.com. Worked like a charm, and for those of you at the party who couldn’t tell there was too much flour in the cake, now you know. 😉
I waited until about 6:40 to put the second cake in the oven. It needed to bake for an hour, and I had to pick up Corinne at 7:00, so I figured I had plenty of time. All the best laid plans and all that. 😑 Corinne asked for Cane’s for dinner. On our way to Cane’s, she asked for Culver’s because we passed one and she changed her mind. I said no because we were already almost to Cane’s and I had to get home to take out the cake, but then the line at Cane’s was super long, so we headed back to Culver’s…where the line also was super long.
I started getting really annoyed and said she would have to settle for McDonald’s. She said she was sorry because she knows how stressed I get with party prep, but I told her that it was just because I had to get home. Rodolfo wasn’t home, and Stephanie was already in bed because we had to leave at 3:00 a.m. to get her to the bus for work the next morning. Stephanie’s fiancé Jorman (who we call J) was awake but speaks very little English, so I struggled to think of how to explain to him that I needed him to keep an eye on the cake. I told Corinne what to put into Google Translate to text him and ask him to just turn off the timer if it went off and that we would be home soon.
As our curbside McDonald’s order became a 20-minute wait and a refund, I got more and more angry, expecting the cake to be burnt by the time we got home because I couldn’t decide how to explain to J to check the cake for done-ness. He’s a chef and has worked in bakery departments, so he knows how to check a cake. I just didn’t know what to translate to ask him to check the cake. And I couldn’t bake another cake Thursday night without ending up not going to bed at all. When we arrived home, the oven was off, and the cake was perfect. Turns out that J woke Stephanie when we texted because he didn’t want to mess up the cake. We were two for two with the avoidance of potential cake disasters. 😰
Friday
I headed to bed about midnight with an alarm set for 2:45 a.m. to drive Stephanie the mile to the bus scheduled for 3:07. In her defense before I tell the story, Stephanie has never taken the early morning bus to work since she and Rodolfo usually drive together. Since Rodolfo wasn’t home and I wasn’t working, I was happy to drop her off. I tucked my pajama shirt into my pajama pants, threw on a hoodie, put my hair in a pony tail, and headed to the bus stop at 3:01. As we approached the corner, I asked Stephanie which side of the street the stop was on. She was looking at her phone, started to apologize, and said that we should have been at another stop two miles away. 😮
We had no choice but to try to make it. When we were about half a mile away and had missed the 3:05 arrival, Stephanie realized that we should have stayed at the first stop. She thought there was only one bus route, and there are actually two on Fridays. I whipped a U-turn, knowing full well that we wouldn’t make it back for the 3:07, but we had to try. As we came off the ramp, we saw the bus go by, so at this point, I had to drive Stephanie the 20 minutes to work.
We were both over-tired and giddy, so I told her I would only hate her for a little while. As we passed Denny’s, I told her we actually had time to stop for breakfast…if I hadn’t been in my pajamas. 😏 I wanted at least a fountain soda, so we pulled into the McDonald’s drive-through, only to discover it didn’t open until 4:00. Stephanie mentioned that a lot of the people at work walk in with Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, so we decided to stop there.
By this point, we were laughing pretty hysterically. I ordered an 11-point (WW) Boston Kreme and asked Stephanie if she wanted a coffee. She did and then had to decide whether she wanted cream and sugar. I was pretty sure Dunkin’ doesn’t carry fountain soda and ended up with a bottle of Diet Coke and then asked the guy to throw in a second donut. We paid our $8.10 and headed to UPS, where I took a picture of Stephanie to send to her brother and told her she had just become blog material…that I just had to find a book review to go with it. I never did find a book review to include, but I decided to go with the material anyway. 😆
On my way home, I ate my first donut. As I reached into the bag for donut #2, I realized it was not the only thing in the bag. When I looked, I saw that the Dunkin’ employee added two extra donuts at no charge. Clearly, Stephanie and I had been pretty entertaining at 3:30 in the morning…either that or he took pity on us. Regardless, when I told Stephanie the story of the extra donuts later that morning after she arrived home, she started to laugh and shouted, “You’re welcome!” She and J enjoyed the treat. 🍩🍩🍩🍩
So after two Boston Kremes and a Diet Coke, I crawled back into bed about 4:30 and had to get up at 6:00 to take Corinne to school for 6:50, and then I crawled back into bed again where I stayed until about 10:30. The party was Saturday, so I had to decorate the cake on Friday, but I needed black writing icing and some decorations for the party, and I also had to stop at the mall to pick up my glasses. There’s a Party City near the mall, so Stephanie and J went with me and we picked up everything we needed. At the last minute, I decided to get some balloon bouquets that wouldn’t be ready for two hours, so I knew I would have to go back.
The “maneater” corner of the cake was finished before I picked up Corinne at school, with just enough time to take her to dinner with a few friends for her actual birthday before she had to be back at school for theater rehearsal by 5:30 until 10. I spent the next few hours going back to Party City for the balloons and the eyes J suggested for the center of the maneater (👍) and decorating the cake before Corinne got home.
We had a successful party on Saturday, albeit a little chilly. Today, we went with four of Corinne’s friends and their parents to The Office Experience, and now I am writing a VERY late blog post after Corinne went to bed following a hugely successful birthday weekend. And if you’re as exhausted reading this as I was writing it and living it, you know why I always take an extra day off after the party to recover.
My plan for tomorrow? Take Corinne to school in the morning, and then come home to sleep…until I wake up. Then I’ll put away everything from the party that just got dumped on and around the table and counter in the kitchen Saturday night, start some laundry, and relax. I am truly exhausted…but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
For my daughter…Happy Sweet 16. We all love you, and I definitely love you the most. ❤
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