Escape to Wisconsin: Fun with HistoryGirlie and Kitty

By now I'd surprised pretty much my whole family, but there was one honorary family member that still needed a shock...

Mom called HistoryGirlie (my former teacher colleague/sister from a different womb/wedding day lady-in-waiting/future History Channel commentator) on Friday afternoon. We needed a way to surprise her with my visit, but we couldn't risk just driving up to her house (45 minutes north) and finding out she wasn't home or goodness knows what. So, Mom sold HG on the idea that she was going to Appleton to shop, and wanted to see HistoryGirlie and her daughter Kitty because Mom missed them and wanted to see HG's baby bump and so on and so forth. Luckily, HG a) wasn't busy Saturday morning, and b) is easy prey for Catholic mother guilt, and immediately agreed to meet Mom at Archiver's Scrapbooking store.

The whole conversation took place with me sitting on the couch next to Mom, stifling giggles and trying to figure out what must have been going through HG's head. Her hubby said after the fact that he thought something must have been up, but HG swore up and down that she really just thought Mom wanted a shopping buddy since her own daughters had selfishly moved thousands of miles away :)

Saturday morning we set out for Appleton. After a quick stop for Mom's gas station coffee (keep this tidbit in the back of your brain for later), we made it to Appleton in record time and discovered that Archiver's wasn't open until after we'd planned to meet HG! Mom quickly called HistoryGirlie and moved the meeting place to Atlanta Bread (a yummy breakfast and sandwich place nearby). Since HG is currently in a "delicate condition" (random tangent - when did we lose those cutesy phrases for being pregnant... they're so much more fun to say than to call someone "knocked up" - end tangent)... anyhoo, since HG is with child, I figured it might be a little evil to give her a full-on surprise, so we decided to stage me at a table in the restaurant with my back to the door, and Mom would meet HG and Kitty at the entrance and lead them over... giving HG a chance to recognize my jacket and/or back, and start to put the whole thing together.

If I didn't already have several viable book ideas, I'd add "How to Surprise People" to the list... cuz I rock at it! HG was bowled over - and Kitty (her two year old doll of a daughter) came right up and hugged me!!! She remembered me! So exciting :) HG, Kitty, Mom, and I caught up at the restaurant, then attacked Archiver's for a bit. HistoryGirlie had a term paper to write and a house to clean, so we made plans to hang out more after school on Monday night.

(I told you - doll!! Kitty at the dinner table on Monday night.)

While HistoryGirlie went home to be productive, Mom and I opted to hit up a few more stores, then tour College Avenue (the main drag in Appleton) to see what changes they had dared make in my absence. (I don't do change. At all. Ask anyone.) The real problems didn't arise until we got to the Kimberly side of the Fox Cities...