A Very Appa-y Birthday: The Appa Pillow Pet

Sorry about the brief hiatus. I really am trying to blog every day, but this week I got a little sidetracked, and I will admit that it was totally not my fault. :P It was the fault of a man named Brandon Sanderson and his stupid, wonderful, addicting book.

Brilliant book, whether you typically like fantasy or not. This is my second time reading it, and I'm just as sucked in as I was the first. Darn Nook. Darn Brandon Sanderson.

But excuses aside, I've actually been really excited to share a project with you guys. You see, last week was my husband's birthday. James doesn't typically get very excited over birthdays, especially not his own. Every year I try to come up with something that will get at least a twinge of excitement out of him. He rarely lets me do a party, and he usually buys his own "gift" - usually by saying, "This electrical/computery component we need is my birthday present." This year he tried to claim the sign-up fee for the Utah Valley Marathon as his present - as if running ever brought joy to anyone :P

What a weirdy.

Another thing to know about James, just to set the stage, is that he is very easily pleased but not very easily impressed. This means he usually likes everything just fine, but he really doesn't go nuts over much. He also doesn't get very mad about anything or very sad about anything. He's very even-keeled. This is normally a huge blessing to me, as I like my life drama-free, and James's easy-going nature ensures my blissful, drama-free existence. But when you give a gift, sometimes you want a little drama. You know what I mean? I usually get a "Neat, thanks honey." Which is nice and all, but I aspire to more. So I try really hard to do something special for him every year on his birthday.

Anyway, this year, I came up with something that, humbly and honestly speaking, rocked the socks off of all previous birthdays. It takes a bit of explanation, so this post is all about the back story and tomorrow's post will address how the awesomeness was wrought.

You see, about a year or so ago, James and I discovered Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it, because honestly I think it is quite possibly the best t.v. show ever. Anyway, there is a character in the show called Appa - he is a six-legged flying bison and the last of his kind. He is very cute and furry, and did I mention he flies? Anyway, after watching several of these episodes, James started saying, "Can I have one?" every time Appa appeared on screen. I told him of course we could.

 Admit it--you want one, too. (Image found here)

Of course, that's easier said than done, seeing as flying bison are not only on the verge of extinction, they're also (inconveniently) fictional. So I had to come up with something creative.

Well, I'm sure you all heard of the pillow-pet craze of this Christmas. Our little oblivious Isaac got two of them - a dog and a penguin. The more I looked at them, the more I thought that Appa would make a perfect pillow pet. So I kept that on the backburner for a while, then decided to give it a go for James's birthday. Keeping it a secret was quite the challenge - I ended up having to banish James from the dining room (that's where I was working since my craft room was too much of a disaster. Sad, huh?). But I did it, and it was all worth it.

When James got home on his birthday, I made him close his eyes and I placed Appa in his hands. He kept his eyes closed and guessed, "Is it a Pikachu?" (Can you tell I married a giant nerd?) He said it in that "Neat, honey," voice and I was getting ready to clock him. But then he opened his eyes, saw it was Appa, and gave me what I had barely dared hoped for - an ecstatic response. Wide eyes. Big happy smile. Delighted, "Oh!!" and a big hug for Appa, and then one for me. :) A reenactment:

I proceeded to take my victory lap around the living room, chanting, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" I totally won! :) Here are a few more pictures for your enjoyment:

 

And thus ends our story of the very Appa-y birthday. Come back tomorrow if you want to see how I did it. Pictures of Isaac cuddling a disembodied Appa head will abound. See? I'm full of awesome gifts for everyone!