SURPRISE!!!!! (cont.)

So, remember, I am almost ready to head out the door to meet my friend, Jennifer, for lunch when there is an abrupt knock on the door. Dave goes to the door, peers out the peep whole and then says, "Hey Miss, come look at this."

Now, I'm perplexed. Confused. Look at what, I wonder.

When I get to the front door, Dave opens it and standing there in front of me are Ben, Robin and Andy!

I was dumbfounded! All of those dorky reactions that I was planning in my head for the faux-surprise party the night before were gone! I just stood there, staring and confused!

Ben then said, "Surprise! Ready to go to lunch?"

WOW! YIPEEE! Whoop-whoop!

I was so excited! My lunch date with Jennifer was simply a ploy to make sure that I was ready to leave by a certain time. We piled up in Andy's truck and headed off to Sacramento!

I was so proud of them! They had a plan and everything! Pick me up and cart me off! I love it!

Ben picked a restaurant in Old Sac, California Fats. Jennifer and her husband, Josh, met us there. They walked into restaurant wheeling an ice chest! Peculiar, I thought, but maybe they bought fish. Josh cooks, so that made sense to me. I was just thrilled to be eating in a quant little restaurant I had never before been to!

We had an absolutely pleasant lunch where I reveled in the thrill and happiness of being surprised! Then, we left the restaurant to walk around Old Sac...or so I thought!

As soon as we stepped foot on the sidewalk outside of California Fats, a Limo Bus passed us and caught our eye. It looked cool. We surmised about who was getting picked up in Old Sac in a Limo Bus. Jennifer mentioned that she would like to peek inside of one. She had one for her wedding guests (as transportation from the hotel to the wedding) but never got to see the inside of it. So, Josh proclaimed, "I'll get us on the bus!"

Now, Josh is the type of guy who would walk right up to the Limo Bus, start taking to the driver, and try to get us a looksy. Some of us, Jenn, Andy and myself, get a little shy in these situations; but, I thought Josh was just joking and so I laughed at his joke. Then, the next thing I know, he starts crossing the street and walks towards the Limo Bus...and everybody just follows him! At this point, Jennifer, who is nicknamed "the Shhhhsh Monster" because she gets embarrassed when we get too loud or draw too much attention to ourselves, gets a little excitement in her tone and says, "Ooh, lets follow him and see if we can get a look."

At this point I think 2 things. First of all, I wondered when the heck did Jennifer blow caution to the wind and second, I'm thinking, there's no way I'm gonna follow! So, I promptly did a 180 and walked back to the rest of the group!

The next part, the next part is a total blur!

Somehow, they got me on the Limo Bus. The Limo Bus that they rented and arranged for us to ride around Sacramento! SURPRISE!

I couldn't believe it! Two surprises in one day! I was the luckiest girl in the world that day! Never in a million years did I see that one coming!

Here's us inside the Limo Bus...what's in the cooler you wonder...

The fixins' for chocolate martinis! Complete with chocolate sauce on the sides! Oh yeah!

And, just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, the Limo Bus took us to Leatherbees, which only serves the best hot fudge sundaes in the world! (This is the dorkiest picture of me ever; but, it's for you guys, only for you! It didn't help that I had already had 2 chocolate martinis by this point!)

Ben, Robin, Andy, Jennifer and Josh...from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

SURPRISE!!!!!

I tend to become a little sneaky, a little suspicious around my birthday, some might even call it obnoxious and nosy but I don't talk to those people anymore!

I love surprises! LOVE them...when they're taking place, that is! But, everything leading up to the surprise, unless I'm in on it, drives me crazy! Every year, I accidentally, unconsciously, tend to be on the look out for anything that remotely hints to me there is a possibility of a surprise coming. Somehow, Dave's cell phone accidentally ends up in my hands and I accidentally snoop to see if he's been contacted by people. Contacted by people who might possibly try to plan a surprise. Contacted by people who don't normally contact him.

It's bad, I know! I'm bad! But, I can't help it! It's an addiction, a craving, that takes over my mind and compels me to snoop!

I JUST LOVE SURPRISES! I love to plan surprise events. It's so exciting! I think people should get surprise parties every year! Haha! I know, then it wouldn't be a surprise. But, that's how much I love surprises!

I am kind of proud of myself, tho. This year, I did not try to extract information out of anyone, I did not try to trick anyone into giving up information (I have done that in the past, it worked beautifully, teeheehee) and this year I fought the desire to snoop until the very last minute! I didn't snoop until the day of or the day after my Birthday! That's a record for me, folks!


The result: I got a SURPRISE! And I LOVE it!


Here's the low down:

I'm going to start at the beginning of my suspicions.

On Friday morning one of my girlfriend's, Robin, texted me and told me there was a party that night at our friend's house.

Hmmm...this started my wheels turning.

Then, Friday afternoon, Robin called me and left me an excited message announcing that is was Friday and that I should call her...

Double hmmm...

THEN! My friend, Jennifer called me and left me a message asking me if I wanted to do lunch with her the next day and in said message she told me that she would be at a basketball game that night in case I called her and she didn't answer.

Triple hmmm...!

LASTLY! When I got home from work, my friend, Ranae, texted me to see if I was coming with Robin to their house for the party.

That's when I figured it out! That's when I was pretty sure I was having a surprise B-day party at Ranae's house on Friday night. OK, I thought, I will play along; but, on the inside, I was getting so excited, thinking about how much I love surprises and about how everyone should get surprised! (Don't think I don't admonish myself every year that I am not going to do this to myself! I just can't help it!)

I began talking to Dave about making dinner, which we went ahead and did- made dinner at home. I checked and double checked with him, very subtly of course, that we should go ahead and make dinner at home (I wanted to make sure that we weren't supposed to eat at the surprise party but I couldn't come right out and say that to him!).

After dinner, I finally got in touch with Robin and told her that Dave and I would stop by Ranae's after we ran to Target. Robin informed me that our friend's, Ben and Andy, would not be at said party as they had other plans.

HMMM...so, Jenn, Ben and Andy all have other plans? Yeah, right! Whatever! They're just trying to throw me off!

While shopping at Target, Robin texted me and asked where we were. I played good, I promptly texted back and I even texted her when we were en route to said party...my surprise B-day party, so that everyone would know we were on our way and they could hide, or whatever!

SO! Imagine my surprise when we show up and...

You guessed it!

There was no surprise at all! Just a normal ol' party...accompanied by a follow-up text from my friend, Jennifer, asking me to go to lunch with her the next day.

D'Oh! I felt so foolish! What was I thinking? Sheesh. And, on the way home, I settled into believing that there would be no surprise this year (and admonished myself for doing this to myself yet once again!). On the car ride home, I wasn't down nor depressed. I had a very lovely B-day filled with wonderful B-day wishes, cards, thoughts and some gifts and I just revelled in those memories!

So, imagine my surprise when, the next day just as I was finishing up getting ready for lunch with Jennifer, there was a knock on my front door...

HAHAHA...to be continued...

SO, our computer got a virus and thankfully, our friend Ben, saved my computer! OH! I was having SUCH withdrawls!

When Dave was hooking the computer back up, he asked me to get the vacuum cleaner for him.

Is it bad that I had to pause and think about where the vacuum cleaner is? And, I had to look in 2 different places to find it?!?! That's BAD, huh?!?!

I had a great B-day! :) It started with a surprise Omelette breakfast, then Happy Birthday wishes poured in and that made me so happy. So, SO happy. Seriously, made my day!

I did learn, that as a 29 year old, the hearing starts to go! I thought my nephew was his brother, I know, for shame! And, I could barely hear my friend when she called me while I was in a restaurant! Oh well, who needs hearing!

Thank you for the Happy Birthday wishes. It honestly made my day!

I love Birthdays! I love February 17th!

Thanks, folks!

In Lieu of Valentine's Day

The people in my life are very important to me. That is why I want to introduce them to you- in absolutely no particular order and they'll randomly be posted on the blog.


First, I'll formally introduce you to Dave. I'm pretty fond of him. I guess I better be, I married him!


Dave is a worker. He's a busy bee. But, he won't pass up a chance to play video games or watch a movie.



Dave says and does things that he thinks are pretty funny. I have to remind him all of the time that after he says and does said things...he's the only one laughing! But once, to my horror, on Thanksgiving Day, Dave's sister CRACKED UP at one of Dave's jokes! (They were the only two laughing, I might add.) I like that Dave still makes his silly jokes, even though I tell him every time that he's the only one laughing.



Dave is very helpful, to me and to other people. I like that he offers his help to others. He will try to find solutions to other people's issues/dilemmas. Whether it be their psychological/personal problems, or construction type issues, moving, manual labor, you know, "man stuff", he's there for ya, sticking up for you in the conversation or trying to find some way to help you! He's very solution oriented.


Dave likes to clean, it is a stress reliever for him. (I wish I had been born with that gene!) He'll start cleaning other people's houses, too. One Thanksgiving Day he went to town dusting my Mom's living room for her (apparently, I wasn't doing a good enough job). Even at parties, Dave will start cleaning up... before the party is even over!


Dave thinks of me enough to use cleaners when I am not at home so that they don't trigger my asthma and if I'm wheezing and coughing, he's right on top of it, asking me what I need. *Insert appropriate "awwww" here*

I just can't, and don't know how, to express how much he was there for me when I was home sick in January. I swear my love for him grew.



OK- no more mushiness- I promise!



Dave can be a dork and a goofball. I absolutely love that he can be a dork! I love that he can laugh at himself! LOVE IT! It's a side to him that not everybody gets to see a lot and it's a side that I'm privileged to see a lot.



Dave can build and fix almost anything (almost anything refers to all the stuff in and around the house that leaves me clueless)! Stuff that 1) I have absolutely no idea how to fix, or put together and 2) would break it trying! Dave also always knows where everything is, including all of my crap, including stuff that I am sure I "lost" and including stuff that I actually put away myself and then subsequently forgot where "put away" was! I'm a joy to be around, can't you tell! Imagine how he feels- he's there for almost all of my Missyisms!

So, that's Dave in a nutshell. He always knows where my belt that I wore 2 weeks ago, on that one Friday night, is. He can build and fix almost anything. (He just fixed the mouth piece to my breathing machine.) He fixes me hot tea at the first sign of a cough! He makes me laugh. You know, that laugh where you're doubled over and your tummy starts to hurt from laughing so hard (or in my case, wheeze and cough from laughing so hard!)? And, that's a wonderful, wonderful thing!

Questions

How come I can eat the same thing for breakfast every morning and some days go until almost 11 with out getting hungry and other days, I have to eat a snack around 10 AM?


How come when you're talking to someone who lives in a different area, at one point, the conversation usually turns to weather? I do that to my friend Paula and Michelle who live in a different state and country! It's not because we don't have anything to talk about, I think it's because it might be an effort to feel closer to the person. Maybe, knowing what the weather is like there helps to paint a more appropriate picture of their life, thus enabling one to feel closer to the individual...who is thousands of miles away...but who used to only be never more than 20 miles away!

Has someone ever left your life and you felt like a part of your soul was missing? Have you ever felt not completely whole because of the absence of an individual?

Have you ever procrastinated buying something and then have the price sky-rocket on you? Then, stalk the item on the Internet like a military sniper waiting for the price to go down? Ooooh, I know some of you out there have and I know who you are! HA!

Does, "catch it, challenge it, change it," ever leave you feeling perplexed? I've caught stuff, but in challenging it I realize that it's so innately a part of me, there is nothing I can do to change it...even though it causes me stress sometimes!

Have I completely lost you, yet?

I am a hugger. I like to hug. Sometimes, I feel awkward when people hug me; but, still, it's a nice gesture and makes me feel good. I do not, though, like being touched by strangers! My girlfriends and I were in a lounge once, sitting at a table and sipping drinks. Out of the blue, all of a sudden, this drunk, totally wasted, man...man in his FORTIES, came up to our table and started harassing us! Yes, HARASSING! One of our friend's was wearing a lovely head band. This STRANGER, this DRUNK, OLD STRANGER, began belittling my friend about her headband. We promptly began sticking up for said friend, but the sloppy drunk middle aged man wouldn't leave it alone. To my horror, to my utter horror, he began to lift his arm and reach for her headband in an effort to remove it. With out even thinking, I attempted to swat his arm down, at the same time exclaiming to him, "No-no, no-no, you don't touch people you don't know!"

He slowly turned his body, looked at me, and slurred, "I totally agree with you," the slur could barely be comprehended. Stupid, drunk bastard!

Of course, he didn't get the hint and stuck around long enough for my girlfriends to start messing with him, leading him to believe that the two of them were married... to each other, which boggled his small mind. Stupid, small minded, ignorant MAN! When he got up to leave, I thought that he would just walk away and leave us alone. But, to my horror, to my utter and complete HORROR, he tried to HUG ME! This is making me cringe just typing it! He put his sloppy drunk arms around me, said something to me but I was internally cringing so much that I didn't hear one word of his slurring! I couldn't even think what to do, my pathetic instinct took over and this is what transpired:

I cringed, shivered, shook my arms back in forth, motioning "no-no, no-no" and exclaimed in a half whine, "You're not supposed to touch strangers!" I wouldn't, couldn't, hug him back.

Thank God, seriously, thank God, that as soon as I said that he stopped hugging me. But, it didn't end there! He moved to my next friend and hugged her, too! I was horrified! This stupid drunk guy just didn't get it! He slurred something to my friend along the lines of, "You don't cringe like your friend." (It sounds creepier than it was, he was just a stupid, drunk guy.)

And my friend, God bless her, replied with the utmost coolness, "No, but I punch hard!"

With that, he dropped his arms, stepped away and they looked at each other. She then pulled her arm back and made a fist and the drunk man was gone! Forever gone!

There's safety in numbers folks, Girlfriend Power! ;)

Wednesday Thoughts

-One day I decided that I wanted to help some legislation pass that I felt was important. I wanted to do this sometime in my lifetime. I told somebody this goal and they responded by telling me that I already help in getting legislation passed, every time I vote! What a nice thought they had! Very optimistic and positive, huh? I like that!


-It's exactly 1 week to my Birthday! I love Birthdays! They're so much fun. It's your special day. Your very own, personal special day.

- Celebrate does not mean food! Celebrate does not mean eat! Why can't I disassociate those two from each other?!?!


- Now that Dave has found my knitting needles (they got buried in the move, the move that happened 5 months ago, yea, so what?!?!) I can start knitting again! Knitting brings me a feeling of accomplishment. AND, the first project that I am going to complete is Michelle's scarf! I promise, Michelle! You'll at least have it for next winter! :)


-Everyday is a challenge and you can choose to keep your chin up and keep plugging along or you can choose to feel sorry for yourself because of your struggles, thus creating bitterness, I think. And bitterness, folks, is ugly! It grows and grows and grows, turning those who fester in it ugly. By making the choice to keep your chin up and keep plugging along, I think you're able to find and see the happy moments that are in each day. Keeping your chin up and plugging along is not the easiest thing to do, though. It is a struggle in itself. Some moments are a lot easier than others. No body ever said this was gonna be easy! Those who keep their chin up and keep plugging along are better off for it, though.

Epiphany

I had one of those enlightening, eye-opening, smack you in the head, epiphanies last night!

If you're a reader of this blog and its comments, you've probably noticed the football rivalry between my sister-in-law and myself. We have very differing opinions.

My problem is, I believe some of her comments, opinions, to be not fact based at all, totally false and far-fetched. (Stay w/me here, Jo, keep reading!)

I, on the other hand, believe that some of my opinions are completely and 100% factual. Which leaves me is a quandary when people disagree with...with...with a fact!

As I was pondering this it dawned on me:

Oh-my-gosh I am my father!

Then, I started freaking out like all good natured twenty somethings do when they realize they have some of their parents annoying qualities...like always having to be right!

Let me explain my dear ol' Dad.

My Dad is a retired United States Air Force F-15 Fighter Pilot. My dad was one of the best. Now, that is 100% factual. I am not exaggerating one bit.

He felt the need, folks, the need for speed! Ahahaha! He kicked some tires and started fires! Oh, thank goodness for "Top Gun," the movie!

Anyway, my dad is an intellectual man. Who has opinions. Lots of opinions. About politics, current events, sports, etc. The thing is, my dad would disagree that he has a lot of opinions. My dad, would state, that he has the facts and comes to the only logical conclusion possible with those facts.

I think that might be a common trait among fighter pilots. They have a stressful job where one mistake in the air could mean death, so they have to be confident in their decisions, in what they know. Sometimes, that carries over into their every day life.

And, I think somewhere along my growth and development, I inherited...or adopted...this quality.

So, take my "opinions" about Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning (to me) is professional, is a smart quarterback, is respectable, does not pout, takes his job very seriously, and is good at what he does. I've read numerous football articles about seen numerous sports news and ESPN stories.

So, being my father's daughter, and because of all of the "research" that lead me to my informed decision, I have turned my opinions regarding Peyton Manning into facts. Therefore, when people disagree with my facts, i.e. have their own opinion (for example, my sister-in-law calling him a spoiled brat), I think it's the most far-fetched, unwarranted thing! I don't even have the ability to grasp where such a belief comes from. This has got to be because I turn my opinions to fact, just like my dad. All of this dawned on me last night, out of the blue!

I have my father's quality! The very quality that frustrated me as a child and caused me to stomp away from him, then turn back and glare at his laughing face, subsequently causing me to walk straight into a wall and smack my head, making him laugh even more and making me even more mad at my Always-Mr. Right-dear-ol'-Dad.

OMG. Holy cow. Hello Epiphany.