Surprise! They Got Me Again!

Today has been really great. Tony and I got up real early and did our morning chores. Then I cooked up a bunch of homemade buttermilk pancakes and made delicious, more than healthy smoothies for Chet's, Tony's and my breakfast. Then thirty minutes later Chet and his cool dog, Willie, jumped into his car and adios-ed us, because they were taking off for the Blue Max, in Midland, for Chet's show tonight.

A few minutes later, our super great friends/volunteers started arriving, so they could walk our dogs for us. While Tony and the volunteers were outside, I stayed inside The Cabin and caught up on some paperwork and then returned phone calls and e-mails.

Around 11:30, which is usually about the time that we take off to go eat lunch with the volunteers, I went outside and saw Tony and our friends carrying sacks of food into The Okay Corral. So I went to go see what was going on. "Surprise, Nancy!" Lisa said. "We're cooking here and celebrating your upcoming birthday today..." And I was surprised, because they had gotten me again.

After greeting everyone, while Tony cooked hot dogs and veggie burgers, I went back to The Cabin to grab my portable Bose, so we would have music playing outside. When I returned Lisa and I did a quick sound check to make sure the music was loud enough, but not too loud. Then our friends suggested that I come over to and take a look at my birthday cake that was made by Creative Cakes By Sharon, in Kerrville.

When I heard those four words, "Creative Cakes By Sharon" I hurried over to the table, because I knew it would be an awesome cake design and totally delicious. Then with all of our eyes on the cake box, Lisa slowly lifted out the cake and sat it on the table. "Omg!" I said. "This is totally unbelievable! I love it! How in the world does she do this?"

As all of us stood around the table admiring my pink, strawberry cake, someone said, "This is the cutest thing that I have ever seen. Look at Little Debbie's picture peaking through a hole that she made in the blanket. It looks just like her and the holes and the chewed up sheets, pillowcases and blankets on the sides of the cake, that the frosting on the top appears to be holding down. Why don't you go get Little Debbie so she can be at your birthday party?" So I took off and fetched Little Debbie.

Then Tony said, "It's ready, y'all. Come and get it." As everyone started serving themselves, I took this picture of some of them.

As we sat around the tables, eating lunch, with Little Debbie going around begging for food, we laughed and talked about my too cute Little Debbie birthday cake, going to the upcoming Medina Garage Sale, our rescue dogs, Blake aka Ranger's super adoption and him already going to work each day with Fay, etc. And when I had finished eating, everyone suggested that I read my birthday cards and pass them around for all to see. So I did exactly that. I loved them so much, later today, I took this picture of them.

Then it was time for me to open up my birthday presents.

Omg! They gave me some of the coolest birthday presents! It was like they had somehow read my mind, because I love all kinds of kitchen gadgets and for months I've been wanting to buy some All-Clad pots and pans, because they are the best, with a lifetime warranty and they are Made In USA. And a certain item that I recently found and fell in love with, at the Cracker Barrel restaurant, in Kerrville. Well, today my dear friends made all of those wishes come true, plus Lisa's husband Chuck bought me a box of wine to enjoy. Here are the great kitchen gadgets and Callphalon spatulas.

I love these Kikkerland wooden guitar spoons that don't show up in the picture above!

Here are my first two All-Clad fry pans! I'm calling them my All-Clad Starter Kit. Now, once a month, I plan to buy one All-Clad pot or pan until I have all of the pots and pans I need.

Then I got this tiny little mattress!

For Little Debbie's soon to be assembled bed by Tony, that I fell in love with, at Cracker Barrel's.

After opening all of my super birthday presents it was time to cut the birthday cake, but before we did, everyone wanted to take a picture of Little Debbie and me, next to the birthday cake that June held for me. But the first round of pictures were too dark, because we were standing in the shade and a certain super volunteer, who shall remain nameless, that lives in San Antone, only shot me from the neck down, so we moved out of the shade and they shot another round of pictures. Tony took this one just as Little Debbie leaned over and tried to lick the cake as June was pulling away.

Then Lisa sliced the delicious cake for me and served it to everyone. And everyone said it was the best strawberry cake that they had ever eaten. I love all of my presents and I want to say, "Thank y'all so much, for making my day better than great!" And that is about it for today, because I am fixin' to register online, to activate the Lifetime Warranty on my brand new awesome All-Clad fry pans!

Y'all have a great evening!