Operation Hot Mother

Since Brad convinced me that this is the new, hot thing to do, I created a Facebook account on Friday. I'm not sure why, especially since I have no time to devote to it these days. But, it's there. I'm doubtful I'll stick with it for long, as I'm a big fan of Blogger, but you never know. At minimum I'll use it to provide me with quotes from shows like "Arrested Development" and "The Office" so I can start my day with a smile.

This weekend was entirely consumed with birthday planning for my mom. I keep referring to it in my head as "Operation Hot Mother", which is an "Arrested Development" thing. In this case, the word "Hot" refers to my mother possibly being really steamed at me bringing my Grandma here as a surprise. Yes, it's weird, but by doing something nice I could possibly get myself a wall of silence from my mom for an undefined amount of time.

So what have I accomplished? Well, I made test cake #2 and test frosting #3, and actually decided to use it for the real thing. The recipe is from the Magnolia Bakery in New York, and I had recently seen them highlighted on a Food Network show. I'm using their "Vanilla Vanilla" recipe, except I'm having to adjust it a bit since the cake will be 11" x 15". It is, by far, the best cake I've made from scratch.

I managed to get most of the cake decorations put together, which consist of scrapbook decor, mini photos, Scrabble letters and a few calculator keys. It seems like it would be an easy thing, but it took me hours to put together. You'll see why when I post pictures of the final cake. I made restaurant arrangements, planned meals and grocery lists, finalized travel, and got some stuff to make a unique birthday sign/banner. Bought a gift for the cat to give my mom, which is a nice frame with a cute picture of him before he got cancer. (He's still alive, which is why she can't bring herself to leave him and visit family in Iowa). I tried different decorating tips for the frosting, deciding which ones I was going to use when I had the real, final cake in front of me, and also made a few store stops for odds and ends.

When I type this out it doesn't seem like much, yet it took me all weekend to accomplish it. Tonight I'm going to go to the Party Station and pick up some containers for food transportation, since we'll be having a picnic at Blossom (an outdoor music venue) Sunday evening before hearing the Cleveland Orchestra's "Night at the Movies". I need to make the banners and birthday signage, and go through the fridge and cupboards to see if there is anything I can toss before buying the huge load of groceries tomorrow night for the weekend. I have to do laundry, pack, hand-make two birthday cards (one from Brad and I, another one from the cat), wrap gifts, and make a list of stuff I need to get during my short time in Iowa, like the good C&H sugar that you can't find in Ohio (yes, the sugar we have here is really that bad). Oh, and I need to clean my car, since right now it looks like a car I spend 65+ miles a day in. Is it possible that I can accomplish all of this in three evenings, between the hours of 6:30pm and 10:30pm? Hmmm...probably not, but I'll die trying.

I'm hoping that through my hard work and long hours now, that Friday evening will come and I'll be able to just sit back and enjoy the family. Well, at least enjoy them in between the cooking of meals and of course baking and decorating the cake. And if my mom is ticked at me for all I've done...well, then hopefully at least everyone else will enjoy themselves. There's no stopping Operation Hot Mother now.