Totally mad day!

So, yesterday was DH's birthday. We have friends who also have a birthday in the family on the same day and decided to have them over to celebrate together. Good. Okay. Unbeknown to D., they were coming for a BBQ, as I got him a BBQ for his birthday. The hitch with this is, after buying the bbq and various other things to fix up the deck I had to put it together and prepare dinner and get everything else ready for guests.

Okay, now I admit, I was cocky. In true M. style I planned out everything on paper, things I could prep the night before, planned the meal, made a shopping list, planned what I would prepare in the morning before work, then what would be left when I returned home. And, as far as the BBQ goes, I was sure that after putting together so much Ikea furniture, I'd be a pro.

Okay, so here's what happened. Woke up 6:30, checked email, had coffee etc. Went out to Safeway to pick up some needed ingredients around 7:30 am. Got back, mixed up batter for cakes, put in pans, then realized the oven wasn't working. Nope. Suddenly, as I'm about to put the cakes in and am pressed for time, not working. Thankfully, my landlord was around, came in and fiddled with it and made it work.

Put cakes in the oven, put bacon on to cook, put eggs on to hard boil (both for spinach salad). While those were cooking, I checked them intermittently and went to re-pot our giant hydrangea plant and get the new jasmine plant set up. I took the hydrangea down stairs to the lawn to re-pot it. After re potting it, I realized this meant carrying it up stairs by myself. K, this pot is ENORMOUS and FULL of gravel and soil. It was brutal. Okay once that was done, changed over the bacon, turned off the eggs, went out to the car to get the bbq. Realize it's very heavy also. Ug. Got it inside.

When it comes to the bbq I was VERY good. I read all directions before starting. I took out all the parts, laid them out on the floor, made sure they were all there. Okay, the first time I phoned the help line was on step 2. Step 2 of 12. Then, 3 hours later, I was almost finished and there was a wire I couldn't find a place for, AND I realized the bottom support panel and wheels were on the wrong side.

At this point, here was the situation: BBQ in livingroom not quite put together, BBQ refuse all over livingroom. Two baked cakes on counter in kitchen, Kitchen covered with cake ingredients. Plate of bacon and dirty bacon cooking pan in kitchen, boiled eggs still sitting in water on stove top, pieces of pots and dirt all over deck, me sweaty, dirt under my fingernails and not showered, and needing to leave for a team meeting in 30 minutes. So, I pulled the bbq outside, put the eggs and bacon in the fridge, covered the cakes with saran wrap, showered and threw my hair up and ran to the car and went to work.

Came home from work, felt a bit hungry, realised I hadn't eaten anything yet that day, put a cover on the bbq, bows on, wrote in card, and started cleaning up kitchen. D. got home, I rushed him upstairs, made him open his card and took him out to present the bbq, and preceded to tell him he had to fix it. Lol.

Then finished cleaning, whipped cream, prepped salad ingredients and was just starting to make the brie burgers as the guests arrived. We had a great visit with friends who are like family, yummy food, and I was so happy the cake turned out. I made a chocolate layer cake with whipping cream and strawberries in the middle, and whipping cream as icing, and covered the top of it with strawberries. It was sooooo good.

So all ended well, but it was a MAD Day.