So Tired

I was completely wiped out today.

I admit it was partially my own fault that I was functioning on a bit of sleep debt, but last night was not my fault.

For the past couple of days I have been going to bed much later than usual because I had a bit of baking to do. Since I was spending my days in Dinwiddie, I had to do everything at night. Thursday night I baked the cookies, Friday I baked and frosted the two cakes. Normally two cakes wouldn’t be a big deal but I discovered just as I was making the first that I was one egg short for the second cake. Of course the second cake was the one intended for the next day’s specialty dog show and I had to be there bright and early.

Dang.

And of course this was just a few minutes before 11:00 pm. By the time I would get to the market it would be closed. Waiting until morning was not an option. I needed to be at the show site by 9:15 am. There is no way I could buy eggs and then bake and decorate a cake. I was stuck. However I could try the quickie marts, they would still be open and there was a good chance they would have eggs.

The first one was a bust. It had plenty of milk, ice cream, beer and soda, but no eggs. Then I remembered the Wawa that was about a mile away and decided to give it a shot. When I first went in I found the snack packs of two hard boiled eggs, a nice quantity, but not in a usable form. Filled with despair I rounded the corner of the dairy case, my egg buying options were running out. Then I saw them, the eggs, in all their glory. The four boxes were tucked in the lower left hand corner of the display case. I scooped up one and quickly made my purchases. Wawa had saved my bacon.

Back home I finished up Jake’s birthday cake and then started the second cake. At the same time I was making two batches of frosting. Orange for Jake and chocolate for the dog show. Fortunately the rest of the evening went without incident. I was able to bake, cool and frost the two cakes. I was even able to fit them in our garage fridge. This would harden up the dog show cake's frosting and would give me a better surface to decorate in the morning.

The next morning, Saturday, I was up by 6:15 am. I staggered down and whipped up a double batch of brownies. They would be still warm and lovely at the show. Once they were in the oven I decorated the cake. I decided the club’s logo would be the way to go. I printed out a copy and used it for reference as I freehanded the design on the cake.


dogshowcake
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

All in all I think it turned out pretty well. It’s not perfect, but then again I not getting paid for it. Then it was time for a quick bath for John.


wetdog
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

He looks like a sad little hound when he is wet in the tub.

And a quick shower and change for me.

The cake and the luncheon was a success and we were all done before 1:30 pm.

Good, I would be able to haul all the leftovers and dog home and get to Jake’s party only 15 or so minutes late. Which was about what I predicted, Larry and I planned that he would take the kids to Laser Quest and I would met up with them with the birthday cake. The schedule for the party was two rounds of laser tag, and then we would have the party.

It all worked out and the kids had a great time.

That night I made a serious effort to get to bed at a decent hour. I had to be up early Sunday for another dog show. My ring time was 8:00 am. Ugh, but at least the car was already packed, the dog was clean and I didn’t have to worry about bringing food for a party.

I was happily tucked in bed when I was awoken by Max’s voice.

“Mama my blankie is filthy.”

“Wha..?”

“My blankie is filthy.”

“Alright, bring me your blankie.”

As his steps faded away I glanced over at the clock. It was 3:30 am. I desperately hoped that the filthy blanket was a figment of his imagination.

Max’s thudding footfalls heralded his arrival. I blearily held out my hand and Max placed his blankie in it.

It was a sodden mess.

My heart sank. My dream of a decent night’s sleep slipped away as I went down the hallway to check out Max’s bed. It too was soaked. I then had the special joy of stripping a bed and then remaking it in the wee hours.

After Max was tucked into a clean bed with new pajamas I dumped the soiled linen in the tub and went back to bed.

Waking up was painful. I so wanted top go back to sleep, but I had paid my entry and the judge was a good one. I really did not want to miss out.

So I got up and pressed on.

Once I got moving it wasn’t so bad. I was able to get out and to the show in plenty of time.

The funny part was when I was ready to go. I told the dogs it was bed time and Crunch and Rally dutifully went to their crates. John, however, danced to the garage door. After one show he figured out if I was all dressed up it must mean a dog show.

He’s no dummy.

At the show he was full of confidence and even tried to get up on the table when it was his turn, just like his daddy, Crunch, used to.

He didn’t get any points, but he did look good.

We were done in short order and home by 9:45 am.

I was drawn out and exhausted. After lunch and a few chores about the house I finally collapsed in bed and got a nice nap.

I’m still tired, but not as wiped out as before.