How To Pull Off A Surprise Party

My good friend Jamie turned 30 the other day and Traci thought it would be a good idea to throw a surprise party for her at my home.  Well, I suggested to have it at my house.  It's been a few years since I've had a get together here since I've been traveling most of the year in my tent while the house is rented to vacationers.

We started planning this party about a month in advance and I don't know how she pulled it off.  Each time I would see Jamie, I wanted to talk about the party or tell her who was coming.  There were several moments where I almost blew it or freaked out that someone might blow it by accident in her presence.  Each time someone would bring it up around me I would say, "shhhhhhhh!!!!!"  People looked around and thought I was crazy.  That's not unusual but I just didn't want to talk about it out loud just in case Jamie was standing near by.

Durning the last few days of coordinating, I seriously don't know how Traci was able to pull it off.  Jamie would call when we were setting up or the taco man would call while Jamie was in the room and panic would settle in on whether or not Traci should pick up the call.  Then it was time to get her to the house.  That was another roll play on why I would want to bother them before dinner to drive all the way to my house when the restaurant they were supposed to eat at was in the opposite direction.

Everyone got to the house, Jamie walked in thinking I was going to give her a gift and as she walked in the door..."SURPRISE!!!!!" She was surprised...and very touched I might add.  Seeing her expression that moment was worth the month of stress and lies.

No slip ups. No, "I'll see you at your party" mistakes.  As soon as she was surprised and I snapped some photographs, it was time to relax.

This was Max's first party and he stayed put under the taco man all night and then coming in the house to beg for cup cakes for a while.

So, how do you pull off a surprise party?  A little mix of luck, faith and hope.

Manifesting Dreams In Joshua Tree National Park

There is something about an idea in your head.  The more you think about the idea, the more you see it right in front of you.  I think this assumption has  always been there, but recently with "The Secret" phenomenon, we can learn that we have the power within ourselves to manifest anything in our lives once we put our mind to something.  Sometimes the whole idea sounds far fetched, but you never know. You may or may not believe it's true, but it "sorta" happened to my twice over the weekend.

As you know, it's a dream of mine to own an airstream and perhaps get a fancy camera (don't read this post my little trusty point and click!), specifically the Canon 5D Mark II.

When I was touring Salvation Mountain, I was snapping away when a young woman in her early 20's asked me to take a picture of her and her friends.  Of course I said yes!  Then it happened.  She handed me her Canon 5D Mark II and asked me to snap away.  I had to get a picture of the group with my camera as well so I had my point and click in one hand and her...sigh...Canon 5D Mark II in the other.  I told her how much I wanted that camera and she said it was the most expensive thing she owns.  She lives in a house with nine other kids her age in order to afford it.  Wow, did I just say "kids?"  Whew...getting old already. The same night I logged on the computer and 2 people wrote status updates that their new 5D came in the mail.

The following day, I headed to Joshua Tree and look what appears out of nowhere, a piece of land with a vintage airstream just sitting there, looking pretty.  I took pictures of it and stood there for a moment to day dream.  Sigh.

I visited Joshua Tree for the first time last Thanksgiving and my second time last weekend.  It really is a beautiful place.  If you are into rock climbing (I know I'm not!), this is the place for you.  If you would rather stay low to the ground (I know I would!) there are miles and miles of desert to walk on and hundreds of cactus...all with seemingly different personalities.

I have found that you really can't beat our beautiful National Parks.  I ranked my favorites here and I look forward to visiting more this year.

Of course this morning I woke up to the today show talking about airstreams and how celebrities are "downsizing" their life to have one of these trailers (click here to view).  Anytime they get bored of theirs and want to get rid of it as a charitable donation, I would gladly take it off of their hands.

Specifically, the Ocean Breeze International 16 model. Ahhhh, she's the one.