Shoes, Art and Motherhood: Happy Birthday to ME!!

I know, it was actually last Friday, but I'm just now getting around to posting pictures! I’m meeting a friend of mine in Memphis this weekend, so I told Mike that for my gift, I wanted money for gas and for the zoo. I also told him that I wanted a cake - one that I didn’t have to decorate, that I didn’t make myself, and that I didn’t have to go pick out.

First, some back story. My grandmother (who now lives in TX) used to bake cakes for a living, so every birthday, cakes were A BIG DEAL. My cousins and sisters and I would spend weeks picking out *the* perfect birthday cake for that year, and my grandmother always came through with the most amazing creations. Because of this, I’m spoiled when it comes to cake. I will usually either make the cake myself (not as good as Nana’s, but I’m getting there!), or just buy a cheap one from Wal-Mart or somewhere. I refuse to spend a significant amount of money on a cake, because honestly, they are never as good as Nana’s.

So, when I told Mike I wanted a cake, I was fully expecting something from Wal-Mart, or maybe an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. I told him I didn’t care what it looked like, but I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I just wanted cake. He sent me an email on Tuesday, asking to make sure I was going to be 30 (yes, honey, 30. A year younger than you.), another asking how much a cake from Dairy Queen costs (no clue, call them and ask!), and then a third asking what kind of decorations I wanted on it (doesn’t matter to me! As long as it’s cake, I’m fine!) I think he got a little upset after the third response, because he stopped asking questions. That afternoon, he was smiling when he got home, and informed me that I was really going to like my cake, and he had stopped to put a deposit on it. I kinda went into shock at this point, because you don’t put deposits on cakes from DQ or Wal-Mart. He then told me that he was wanting it to be a surprise, but when I saw the bank account I’d know where he got it from. He stopped and ordered me a cake from a local place called Dream Cakes, and the total cost was going to be $55. I almost died, because I was REALLY expecting to get $10 cupcakes from Wal-Mart!

He stopped and picked it up on Friday, and it was very pretty. I was still extremely skeptical - until I cut it and tasted it. I swear, if it didn’t have fondant on it, I would have thought he had somehow convinced Nana to come over from TX to make the cake. It was SO good, and it’s definitely the closest I’ve ever tasted to one of hers that she didn’t make. It was so good, in fact, that we’ll probably get Cadence’s cake from there this year since I’ll be a week from my due date at the time.

Momma, Sarah, Cecily and Benjy came up, and we spent the night playing the Wii and eating cake and pizza. I’m posting some pictures of the cake, along with a video of Sarah and Cecily playing Raving Rabbids. I think Sarah got video of me, too, and if I can find it, I’ll post it as well (might as well embarrass all of us!) It was a great night, and an awesome 30th birthday!