A couple of months ago I got an email from Susan, my friend, Michele's sister, informing me of Michele's upcoming 40th birthday. Jim, Michele's hubby, was planning a surprise party and wanted to include me in the festivities. Perfect timing for a 40th birthday, Michele! This email came at a point in my life were things were pretty crappy, and the anticipation of a fun getaway went a LONG way toward keeping me on the positive side of things. Emails flew back and forth from all parts of Texas to Pennsylvania and back, and the party was planned and the details ironed out! And in the process, I was able to squeeze some work into the trip, which was also a great thing.
A week or so before I was to arrive in Dallas, I emailed Michele and let her know that "work" would be taking me to Texas and did she have any time to play the weekend I'd be there (with Jim's approval, of course). I won't bore you with all the details, but let's just say that Michele unwittingly made us sweat—we thought we were done in on the surprise, because she had "plans" the evening of the party. Did she know what we were up to? What plans had she made without putting them on the calendar or telling her family? OH NO! Jim poked around and found the source of the other plans and resolved the issue.
You've already read about the fun with Michele and her family on Thursday and Friday, but Saturday was the BIG day! Brandon had his first soccer game that morning (thanks to Hurricane Ike, the one the week before had been canceled), which made for a great excuse for the in-laws to come to Dallas from Wichita Falls.
This is the soccer superstar and his adoring cheerleader!We had planned on me taking Michele out for lunch and shopping after the game, but Michele planned on having the family over for lunch, getting the kids down for naps, and THEN we could play. (I hate it when we have to be responsible adults!!!) One by one family members bowed out of lunch, leaving just Michele, Jim, the kids, and me....we opted to drive through Dickey's BBQ and take home some of the most yummiliscious BBQ brisket, sausage, beans, and dilled potato salad ever for a "quick" lunch. Michele had to be out of the house before 2:00 when the margarita machine was to be delivered, or the goose would be cooked. Done.
The nice thing about being the one driving is that you get to "control" where you go, how long you're gone, and when you return....sort of. It seemed to take FOREVER to get from Plano to Denton, but we finally made it....so much for my #20 for lunch Saturday, but this, too, was ok. We reminisced about our Denton days, drove past places were we'd met, hung out, and empty lots where beloved establishments are no longer. (Please pardon the diversion as I take you down some of the roads we travelled that day.) The house pictured above is now a daycare, possibly connected with the church behind it, but when Michele and I met there in the mid-80's, it was the home of Phi Kappa Sigma, a fraternity on campus without a stellar reputation, but truly some of the most down-to-earth and non-pretensious frat boys around. At a time when several fraternities lost their charters at UNT, the Phi Kaps lost their national affiliation and the house was sold, to the church behind it! The musings then, and now, were, "Oh, if those walls could talk!" Thankfully, they can't, but hopefully, the house was cleaned out well prior to the church taking possession! Since then, all the frat houses have either been sold or demolished and the fraternities and sororities have been relocated to more "posh" houses in a central location, and the Phi Kaps are back on campus after meeting the national requirements. Felix Mira (from the national office), are you still out there somewhere? What about Miles Richardson, and Tom and Bradley and all you other guys who made being a Phi Kap Little Sister a blast? Where are you all?
One of the things that got us to laughing on our drive was the fact that across the street from the old Phi Kap house, a home owner had a bunch of furniture out, seemingly for the garbage truck, but similar to days long gone when the Phi Kap furniture would end up on the front lawn for parties.
Another landmark we drove by was the Beer Barn on Bonnie Brae. This has always been one of the most unusual businesses to me! In Texas you have "wet" and "dry" areas....meaning you can buy alcohol in some places and in others you can't. Beer is available in most places, but the "hard stuff" has to be purchased in "wet" areas. (I was surprised to see how the "wet" areas have expanded and multiplied over the years.) The Beer Barn was one of two unique sources of adult beverages when I lived in Denton. You actually DRIVE THOUGH the barn to purchase your beer! (I think I may have done so one time, maybe....seriously, only once, if ever!) The other place was called the Igloo (I think) and you could buy adult sno-cone type drinks, again through a drive through. We didn't venture to that side of town, but I don't think it's still there.We drove through the UNT campus and ooohed and aaaahed over the new buildings, wondering where this and that went, and trying to identify the different dorms. Then over to Fry Street we were saddened by the empty lot where the best pizza with corners ever was made, the Flying Tomato (aka The Tomato). Apparently some businessman from Houston bought the property with the idea to rennovate the area and the Tomato was left homeless. Hopefully by the next time I visit they'll have a new home and I can have a slice for old times sake. The Tomato was across the street from what was then the ITEC building, where most of my major classes were held. Jack and Dwight and I spent many hours at the Tomato as "The Tomato Design Group" working on our project for Mohammad's CAD class, eating pizza, and drinking one or two pitchers of beer.
After more driving around, we made our way over to JoAnn Fabrics, formerly Cloth World and my place of employment during college. I "had" to see if they had any pieces of the Afternoon Tea line that I'd found here in PA...which they didn't. (This store has really gone downhill....for those of you here in PA, it ranks between the Washington store and the Bridgeville store, but closer to the Washington one.....tears in my eyes at the neglect.) Then on to a quick run to Foster's Westernwear store, via Braum's ice cream (home of the 2nd best ice cream in the country). We sat in the Foster's parking lot trying to finish our ice cream, and I realized we had to get moving, fast! We didn't have time to eat, shop for boots, and stop for "surprises" for Heather and Brandon (my bribe to Heather to let her mommy come play with me by herself), and be back in time for the 4:00 party. So we skipped Foster's, headed to the mall for some power Webkinz shopping, and then sped down the highway back to Plano. This speeding trip included an unintended jaunt on the newly-constructed tollway portion of 121 (where there is no place to pay as you drive—they bill you based on your license plate number—who would'a thunk it? and how the heck do they deal with rental cars?) and a potential ticket for running a "yellow" light with a camera for monitoring speeding and light running—again, how do they deal with rentals? Guess time will tell!
These are Brandon & Heather's new Webkinz.
Brandon named his Chicken M&M and Heather named her cow Hide 'N Seek.
Click on the borrowed photos from the Ganz web site to find your very own chicken and cow online.
Trying to figure out how to let Jim know we were running late, without Michele knowing "why" we were late, I suggested that she call and ask him if he wanted us to pick up dinner. In the process, she let him know where we were (he could figure out our arrival time from there), but she didn't ask about dinner. She asked me where I wanted to stop to pick up food? Geeeze! I was stuck! How was I going to get her home—without the dinner I asked her to ask him about—to the dinner that he'd had delivered by On The Border (YUMMMY Mexican food!!!!)???? Heather had begged me earlier in the day to go to Chuck E. Cheese's—probably my least favorite place to go. So, I told Michele I wanted to take Heather to CEC, since I wouldn't be able to on Sunday (when I'd told her I might) because I'd promised Michele (and Jim) to grab sandwiches from NY Subway (now NY Sub-Hub) after church. I don't know when I've had to lie so much as I had to up until 4:30 p.m. that Saturday!
You can't really tell anything about the food from this photo, other than that there was LOT of it, but let me assure you, it was ALL WONDERFUL!!!! (Maybe I should'a gotten a pig Webkinz for Auntie 'Drae?)
We finally arrived back at their house, guests perfectly hidden from view, and were greeted outside by Jim, who informed me that Heather wanted me to go in and hide with her so her mommy could find her....nice distraction, Jim! Just as I closed the door, all the guests yelled, "Surprise!", only to find out that it was only me! We got back in position and in came the birthday girl—completely and totally shocked and surprised....and I think just a wee bit delighted to see the margarita machine....and her guests! Sharon was kind enough to be the first to pour a lovely adult limeade out of said machine and present it to Michele (see photo above)—WHOOO HOOOO! Kudos to Sharon!!!
As the afternoon turned into evening, Michele started questioning things I'd told her thus far...was I really there for business? what was I working on Friday in the hotel room? [her cake] And the questions kept coming...along with answers and admissions of half-truth and flat-out-lie telling....ooops! Will she ever trust me again???? When Jim first asked me to come for Michele's party, I told him I wanted to make her a cake....and he told me she likes red velvet with white icing. As time went on, I became a bit more perplexed. I didn't want to impose on Michele's mom or sister, both of whom had assured me that I could use their kitchens, but with the recent changes with airlines charging for "extra" luggage, and increased security measures at the airport, baking the cake layers and taking homemade icing, or even a completed cake, didn't seem feasible. Luckily, I discovered that the room I'd booked was actually a suite, with a "big" refrigerator, a stove, microwave, and dishwasher (I don't even have a dishwasher at my house! I was gonna be living high on the hog!). So....the plan came together in my mind—I packed one of my 1/4 sheet cake pans and my hand mixer in my checked suitcase and bought the ingredients for the cake and icing once I got to Dallas (I think the mixer was the reason TSA did a physical search of my suitcase!). I had also been perplexed about what the cake should look like, other than a 2-layer red velvet with white icing—I was told "No black" by Jim. It just so happened that I had extra gum paste flowers from a recent wedding cake, so I borrowed that look and used some of the extra flowers....with black stems....not enough black to get me in trouble! :) I'm thinking maybe the cake got me just a wee bit out of Michele's dog house for all the lies and half-truths I'd told her, maybe! Good thing to know—GanachA'rae makes long-distance deliveries!
Michele had lots of help with opening her presents! All the kids felt they had to lend their hands and expertise. Occasionally she found herself admiring several items out of several different gifts! After all the guests were gone and the leftover food was put away, Michele sorted through her loot to try and make sure that all cards and gifts were matched to their respective partners.
Bless his heart, I think Jim was the last of the folks to get a piece of cake while it was still on the table. And to make matters worse, he still had not been able to eat it after the gifts were sorted! Here sits his lonely piece of cake, that he finally finished, after being so sweet to keep Michele and I with full margarita glasses in hand for the better part of the evening!
Needless to say, I ended up sleeping in their guest bed for the few hours we slept before it was time to get up and head to church! What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday, and even better to be part of such a fun surprise for one of my dearest friends! So Michele, welcome to the "Over 40" club! I hope your "real" birthday is just as fun and special as your party day was!!! Can ya believe we've known each other for more than half our lives????? It's been great, even in the crappiest of times!!!
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