Let me preempt this post by saying – I’m telling you all this because I like to ramble and sometimes I just like to get all of my thoughts out on “paper”.  And I’m also sharing because for the next few days (or weeks)  I’ll be sharing some really recent cakes – which is not normal for me.

Many of you won’t give a hoot about this – that’s okay.  Some of you like to read my nonsensical blabbering… and that’s okay too!  I’m just being me.

Oh, and if you don’t know what I’m talking about… when I post a cake it’s usually one I’ve done 4-5 months earlier.  That’s because I’m just. that. far. behind.  I eventually try to post every cake I do… it just takes awhile.  I do skip ahead if I have a holiday specific cake and try to get it posted while it’s relevant, but other than that… if I do a cake for you, chances are you may not see it on my blog for a few months!  Okay… stop rambling Rose and get onto the rambling.  Yes, I do talk to myself.

So, the past few weeks have just been a whirlwind of busyness and stress, running hard against deadlines and schedules, and just plain worn out – which is why I made the decision a few days ago to take some time off.

My son took that picture of me up top one day when I was so tired I couldn’t think straight. He said, “Smile Mommy” so I made this exaggerated effort to look happy when I really wanted to pass out.

In the midst of all that craziness, my computer broke again and I had to have Dell come out and replace my hard drive for the 3rd time.  This cycle of hard drive crashes and software failures and kids spilling lemonade is getting so old – it just makes me want to scream and cry and scream some more.

The only saving sanity (in relation to my computer) has been the reliability of Carbonite (which means I will eventually get all of my files back) and my friend Casey saving the day!  Everyone keeps telling me I should switch to a Mac but the truth is, I paid a small fortune for the Dell Complete Care warranty that covers all accidents and failures.  So I intend to keep this computer at least until that warranty runs out (which is more than a year away)!

So there…  since Carbonite takes several days to securely restore all of my files, I’m sort of limited with the cakes I can write about.  By the way, it’s not necessarily typical for it to take days to get your files back with Carbonite…  the thing is, I’m not exaggerating when I say I have thousands and thousands of pictures… you can just ask my hubby or Casey - I seriously have a zillion pictures.   So my restoration process is slow.  Very, very slow.

For those reasons… the only pics I have of cakes right now are ones I’ve done since the computer crash and still have on my SD card… which is just a few weeks worth.  So those are the ones I’ll be sharing for now, okay?  Okay.

Other than that… there have been a few very bright spots in my weeks of exhaustion and feeling like I might lose my mind.  There have been my walks/runs with Ashley (which I’ve not been documenting very well), my wonderful birthday double-date (see below), then a long weekend spent with my best friend Kathy and her family, and even my long day working a booth over the weekend for a fundraiser.

For those scattered moments, I didn’t have any electronics to play on, no cakes to do – and no piles of dirty dishes and laundry staring at me.  It was nice!  I need more of that!!

Oooh, let me share a couple of pics and tell you about them, then my rambling is over.  On my birthday, which also happens to be my best friend Kathy’s anniversary, she and I and our husbands went out on a double-date.  It was a fun, relaxing evening that is so very rare.

Remember… she lives in Italy, so we don’t see each other much and even when we do, we’ve never had an “adults only” date.     It’s almost always us and our 9 kids and usually a few more friends and family too!

But for that few hours… it was just us!  We laughed, we ate, we acted silly, we talked without interruption … it was more fun than I’ve had a in a long, long time!

So that’s it… that’s what I wanted to write about today.  And although I went around the world and out of the way to tell you… that’s why I’m posting recent cakes and skipping some of the older ones (for now).

Aren’t you glad you know all that?  Ha!  On that note… I’ll be sharing a very recent cake later tonight!!

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Well, I didn’t see myself making a PSA like this, but I feel I owe it to my local customers to announce ahead of time.

I have decided to take some time off in August and September from cakes.  I’m not completely quitting cakes for those months – just taking a a break from how many I normally do (which is ALOT).  Late nights and no breaks on the weekends is wearing me down physically, mentally and emotionally.

Can you see how tired I look in that picture up there?   That was taken just a couple of weekends ago and while I was thrilled to be there doing that cake, I was also completely exhausted and sleep-deprived.   I didn’t even have time to fix my hair before making that delivery… that’s just pitiful!

August is a long time from now, but I’m nearly booked through then so I’m looking ahead and making the decision now to make that my break time.    This will not affect my blog – I plan to keep chugging away during that time sharing cakes and tutorials and recipes…. I just won’t be doing much new work “in real life”.

Don’t panic if you’ve already talked to me about an order during that time.  I will be honoring requests I’ve already agreed to and have deposits for.   If I don’t already have a deposit, I’ll decide on a case-by-case (or cake-by-cake) basis as to whether I’ll still do the order.

I know this may upset some customers when I say no, but the fact is everybody needs a break and I almost never have them.

Between being a homemaker and wife, homeschooling 6 kids, blogging and volunteering for this and that and doing an average of 5 cakes per weekend … I’m just stretched too thin!   I rarely sleep more than 4-5 hours, I’m in constant pain in my back and shoulders and with headaches, and I don’t feel like I’m doing my best at anything because I’m trying to do everything.    I won’t keep whining – I’ve done this to myself, but I am also the one who can undo this… so I am.   

With encouragement from my husband and faith that God will give me wisdom on how to better manage things, I hope to be back better than ever in the fall!  Thanks so much for your continued support and always coming back and again for your celebrations!

Lots of love & hugs!!    Rose

One or more links in this post may be referral and/or affiliate links.  Read my disclosure policy here.