One more birthday card

Here's the final word about Danny's 40th birthday from the good people at Toothpaste for Dinner. Happy Birthday Danny!

Birthday surprise!

I have been keeping a secret these past few weeks. (And boy am I bad at that!) I have been sneaking around and planning a surprise for Danny's 40th birthday. I arranged to have my friend MaryJane babysit overnight so that I could whisk Danny away for an evening in Chicago.

I made reservations at the 4-star Amalfi Hotel in Chicago a few weeks ago. I was sure that the gig was up when Danny noticed the charge from Orbitz, but he assumed that it was an academic conference-related charge and didn't question it. Also, I told (warned) the kids about the trip the day before, but they totally forgot and didn't rat me out. So, when MaryJane showed up on Saturday afternoon, Danny was pricing gutter pipes on line and was completely and totally surprised.

The Hotel was gorgeous! And it is in the middle of everything! We were able to do a little window shopping, admire the architecture and walk around Millennium Park.

Also, there was another surprise: I had arranged to have Danny's friend Matt (and my friend Beth) meet us for dinner. Cafe Iberico seems to be in a Google black hole. I had noticed that the street address of the restaurant didn't match the hundreds on Google maps, so I called the restaurant and asked them if they were on the corner of LaSalle and Kinsey, and they said yes. However, they are actually on the corner of LaSalle and Superior, many blocks away. I told Danny that we had 6:00 reservations (they actually don't take reservations) so we had to hop a cab (I love Chicago!) to get there "on time." We got to the restaurant before Matt and Beth, so I had to secretly call them on the phone and sneakily get the hostess to give the two of us a table for 4. But Danny was completely surprised when Matt and Beth showed up!


Here's Danny's description of the event:

"I had no idea we were leaving for a night in Chicago. When MaryJane showed up I thought maybe she and Susan had plans. I was so surprised I felt my brain working about two steps behind what was happening. It was especially surprising that the kids had kept the secret. They were quite casual about it all. Susan produced a packed suitcase out of nowhere and we left in 15 minutes!

The drive to Chicago was easy and the hotel was beautiful. We got to walk around with the holiday shoppers and spend a little time in some very snazzy stores, including an entire store devoted to olives (one of my favorite foods) and a Lego store with a life-size Darth Vader - the picture is sure to give me some street cred with the kids.

Then we went to a fabulous tapas restaurant. I was a little suspicious when they set the table for four but couldn't for the life of me think who would be joining us. Believe me that I was stunned and delighted to see Matt and Beth. The food was fantastic and the company was even better. I enjoyed a wide variety of drinks and was glad not to be driving back to the hotel.

The following morning (when I finally woke up) we walked around admiring the Chicago architecture in freezing sunshine and ended up in Millennium Park. It was a wonderful end to an unbelievable trip.

Did I mention I have the best wife in the world?"

Happy Birthday Danny!

To celebrate the momentous occasion of Danny's 40th birthday, I present you with images of the world in 1968.
Classic styles and fabrics:

Stylish hair:

Haute cuisine and interior decor:

High quality entertainment:

So, being 40 is not the worst thing in the world. At least you don't have to wear polyester and horn-rimmed glasses. Happy birthday Danny!

Nerd legacy

Well, geekiness is hereditary and here's the proof:

When Danny was a young fellow, he spent weeks constructing an authentic suit of chain mail from spools of steel wire. And yesterday I came home to see the kids gleefully trying on their nerdly inheritance. The kids love it, although they can barely stand up wearing 30 lbs of metal.

Birthday

Today was my birthday. I am a little unclear about what one is supposed to do when they are old and have a birthday. The kids were frenetically excited about it the night before, but I was unable to convey to them that nothing much was going to happen. In the morning, Danny gave me flowers and had put up some decorations. I got some lovely presents: a necklace with a cricket on it and a book from Danny (Creepy Cute Crochet), two books from my sister Michelle (Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet and Nigella Express), and my mom and parents-in-law were very thoughtful and sent gift money.

Nuclear daisies

Joseph gave me a box of babies for my birthday. Yikes!

I went to work for 9 hours. No one in the lab remembered that it was my birthday (despite the birthday list posted next to the lab contact info), and it would be weird to mention it. I bake cake for people in the lab on their birthdays, so I would guess that it co-dependently makes it so that other people are not in the habit of remembering birthdays. I had a decent but uneventful day. My lecture on learning and bird song went well. Also, I discovered that the ISU library has started subscribing to Web of Science--my favorite research tool! And I finally got a bike! Danny answered an ad in the Pantagraph, and we bought two ancient his and hers (a matching set!) fixed gear Sears and Roebuck Free Spirit bikes for $40. I left work early and went home to bake a cake with the kids. We went out to dinner at Medici's. The food was excellent--I had the best burger and the best slow-cooked chicken that I have tasted in ages! We came home and decorated (and ate) the cake.

You can never add too many non-pareils!

Vanilla cake with chocolate frosting with pomegranate jelly filling and raspberries and blueberries (and plenty of non-pareils and a monkey on top).


Update Monday 5/8: I got a nice card and treats from my labmates, which was really great. At this age, I can't say that I care that much if people forget my birthday, but it's like an extra bonus if they remember.
Also, here's a picture of our dorktastic new bikes: