Wednesday
Sep172008
What's in a Name?
September 17, 2008 
And that's how embarrassing nicknames are born, boys and girls! (There's one for the scrapbook, eh, Beth S.?)
Well, Gabe Z., you have to admit that "Jason" is a really rare and hard-to-spell name - especially here in the U.S.
I suppose if the baby had been named Joey, or if this was a shower for a baby kangaroo, the inscription would have been fine. Unfortunately, neither of those was the case.
On an unrelated note: I totally want to reach into the picture and rip off those silly plastic balloons. And on an even more unrelated note: is that a chicken foot in the upper right-hand corner? What the heck, Leah T.?
Reader Comments (89)
When I saw "Little bundle of Joey" I thought it was a deliberate pun--if so, terribly cute (only if the kid's name is Joey/Joseph/Josephine/Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabbadoo).
But Swetty is just carelessness.
I also thought the chicken-foot was a cookie jar or other such "homey" piece of householdery that you can make at your local mudhouse or buy at the farmer's market.
But doesn't it make you feel sad?
If people are that violently uneducated and flat-out stupid to be misspelling "sweetie" and "joy" as ADULTS.....I guess the problems that we are having now as a country are to be expected. :( Especially in this age of instant Internet on cell phones, computers and PDAs, not checking spelling is really shameful.
I can only imagine that being a production-line decorator would desensitize one to misspellings, the way saying a word over and over makes it sound funny eventually....
I'm trying to think the nicest thing I can about those decorators who seem to have an indisputable fascination with creative spelling, partnered with an apparent aversion to reviewing one's work!
Very funny and enjoyable blog, thank you for the daily diversion. And, you're absolutely right about cupcake cakes.
Have a sweet day!
I don't know if I could eat a cake that says "swetty" so disgusting. I must admit I was a little surprised you didn't comment on the odd placement of all the booties. I had a good laugh on this one. Actually all of your posts make me giggle.
The writing on the "Joey" cake is fabulous.
Since everyone's now into "unique" name spellings for their children, I believe "Jason" is spelled "Jaysin".
Y'know, having looked at the St. Phillip's Bakery site, I really, really doubt if those tacky, mis-matched balloons were put on there by that bakery. Truly, they seem way too classy for that. Not perfect, no--obviously the mis-spelling came from there!
But on the balloons, somehow I think that's the buyer's goof, not the bakeries. ("Seems a little plain, don't it? Let's dress it up some, wit {stab!} these purty balloons, see?" And then no one had the heart to tell Granny they were awful....)
I think that it's supposed to be "Jasmyn"
I'm starting to wonder if the public school system is breaking down in the reading department. These just keep getting worse and worse.
But I love love love me a good laugh!
I just love all the optimism in you guys, making excuses for the decorator's spelling errors. However, for the record:
The name really was "Jason", and was spelled out for the bakery.
It was supposed to be bundle of "Joy", and no, no one in the family was named Joe, Joey, Joie, etc.
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adrian
I have to admit that my daughter's name is Hanae (my mil wanted the more traditional so that's why its the other! but its pronounced like the more traditional spelling of Hannah) so you never know w/ the top one. I agree wholeheartedly about the balloons on the bottom cake. Too bad about "joey". The rest of the cake is okay.
Was the the Joey cake from somewhere in the south? Because I can just hear it in my head:'An thain rat own theyat cayke, Liddle Bunndle of Joey' I lived in Alabama for a while, and my mom's cousin Tina pronounced her own name Taeena!
Wow, if they are welcoming what i assume is a baby, and the thing is already sweaty it is going to make one smelly, grasy adult!
I LOVE this blog. It makes me so happy. It is not too often these days that I laugh until I cry.
I am a loyal and regular reader!
I'd eat a big slice of the first cake for sure. I'm a chocolate freak and aside from the big, gloppy lettering, the cake looks edible. The second one.......OMG. I honestly could not tell for a whole minute what that was supposed to say! Such sloppy work and then the wrong spelling as well!
I apologize for the double, but I just realized I had the order of the cakes mixed up! The chocolate one was second and the horrible accident from a handwriting class was first. Whoops!
My sons name is Joey. I find myself adding the "e" when I write or type the word joy. I really have to watch this. I bet the cake decorator has a Joey at home. But you think she would catch the error.
Or maybe it was a baby shower for a kangaroo.
It took me several long looks to determine that those blobby-things on little swetty's cake were supposed to be booties! I thought maybe they were catepillars wearing terrycloth robes or something....
What a great blog you've got going here. Always puts a smile on my face! Thank you for your incredible sence of humor!!!
Vicki
Why do I love your blog? I'm a writer and cake decorating is one of my hobbies. Love your clever cake commentary! LOL every time I visit. Keep up the good work.
I had to do a double-take with "Jaysm" because at first glance I thought it said "Jasm," which would be a truly unfortunate nickname indeed.
Although with some of the more, ahem, unique names I've been seeing kids with lately, I wouldn't be surprised if that is for some poor soul named Jaysm.
I too think that the balloons on the joey cake were done after the fact. There seems to be a nice design underneath the baloons, and the mispelling aside, it is a great looking cake to have someone squash those icky balloons on there!
It is official. I adore your blog so much you are going on my blogroll. Is that okay? I hope so because I already added you. I even wrote a whole post about you! Oh, and I think the chicken is a ceramic decoration of some sort. Festive!
http://www.thehuckablog.com/2008/09/07/let-them-eat-cake/
What? Misspelling "Chris" as "Ohio" doesn't qualify for this post? Harumph.
Well, I envy the writing abilities of the person that made that last cake, even if they can't spell "Joy".
Kate
One from my family history, many years ago: a cake to Antonyh. Well, my granma did ask for "Anthony with an H".
My son just came home from school and asked me "Am I your little bundle of joey?" To which I replied "Of course you are, swetty pie" lol!
The only explanation on the "Jaysm" one I can think of is that it's not an American name. I was in a meeting yesterday with a guy named "Jayasimha" who goes by "Jason" in the US (as that's the closest pronunciation). It could be a butchering of an Indian or other name.
To preface this story, my name is Lacey. I wish I had a picture to accompany this, but it happened several years ago, before the idea of documenting it for the internet would have occurred to me ;) My birthday, my mother's, and my grandmother's all fall within a week of each other in February/March. One year, we were visiting my great aunt around then, and she got a birthday cake for the three of us. She brought it out, and I (only I) noticed that the inscription read "Happy Birthday Charlotte, Mary, and Larry". Yep... Larry. Sigh.
'lil swetty' was supposed to be lil SWEETY... as in sweetheart. hahaha
It's not a chicken-- it's a storks foot! However, still a fail. Absolute fail. Ahahaha.
One year, my darling husband Jason got a cake with his named spelled "Jashon" really, is it that hard people?
i went to school with a kid name Jaysm.
and it really was his name.
Actually - you could look at "bundle of joey" as quite witty, if the babies name was Joey.
...
*coughs*
The funny thing about the "Joey" cake is that this spelling mistake happened to my Aunty, but on her birth certificate.
My nonna couldn't write English, so when my aunty was born she asked my mother (who was 13) to write the name Vanessa Joy Marin, but because of her accent my mum thought she said Joey and wrote that instead.
I think it's a penguin foot to be honest with you....still weird though
Swetty's cake is sweating sprinkles
I have pains from laughing so much...this blog is ace! ;) xx