Mr. Potts' Birthday

Mr. Potts had a great 34th birthday yesterday. He doesn't like to make a big deal out of birthdays, but I do. So, I had to surprise him.

He had received a Sirius radio a few years ago from his dad & has really enjoyed it. He's mentioned a few different times how he'd like the "boom box" (that's what he calls it) that goes along with them, so we could use it at the house. Unfortunately, since his unit was an older model, it isn't compatible with the newer boom boxes - I feel so silly using the word boom box.

Yesterday after work I headed to our closest Best Buy armed with a printout from the Sirius site showing what I wanted - at a discount. I asked if they'd match it, since I want to buy local and I really wanted it that day. They agreed!

Once I was home, I set the gifts up on our bed & then shut the door back.
Side note: We have to keep our bedroom door shut while we're not there or the dog & cat will lounge all over it. Nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night to a mouthful of pet hair.

Mr. Potts arrived home & went upstairs where he was so very surprised to find the boom box on the bed. A little perplexed, knowing that his unit didn't work with it. I told him that I wanted to make sure that he received one he could use with his car, but helpfully pointed out the Nordstrom bag sitting on the bed. Which had the new unit in it!!

I'll admit, I was giggling & clapping like a school girl - I was so excited to have surprised him!
Here he is with his birthday surprise - already reading the instructions.
Close up
Mr. Potts is a HUGE Bruce Springsteen fan. The first channel he put it on was the Bruce Springsteen channel. Which happened to be playing one of my favorite Bruce songs.
Bruce will be coming back here in November & we're planning on going to the concert. The last time we went, was as a Valentines Day gift & the tickets I got him were phenominal! Not the area in front of the stage - we're both too short for that, but great tickets on the first row!

In addition to his surprise, I made dinner for him - a chicken pepper stir fry which was yummy! After dinner, we celebrated with a Birthday Cake Bread. We'll be having cake with my family on Sunday afternoon since my niece's 5th birthday is today. The BCB is really yummy so I had to share the recipe. You could also call it Zucchini Apple Bread - I forgot the carrots.

Birthday Cake Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium grated peeled Granny Smith apple
• 1/2 cup grated carrot (about 1 medium) – (optional)
• 2 medium shredded zucchini
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 2 large eggs
• Cooking spray

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
• Add grated apple, grated carrot, shredded zucchini, and walnuts to flour mixture; toss well.
• Combine canola oil, milk, and eggs in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
• Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring until combined.
• Spoon batter into an 8 x 4–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove cake from pan. Cool completely on wire rack before slicing.