when is a surprise not a surprise?

...when there is no way to hide it until the moment of 'surprise' is in order.
I wanted so very badly to surprise hubby with a homemade birthday cake this year. It just so happened to work out that we will be hosting poker this Tuesday (tomorrow), which was sort of last minute as we thought someone else was hosting this week. No big deal, except that hubby has been talking about wanting to have a party of sorts for his big 4-O this year, but there is just not way to get it done this time of year. Anyway, the point is, now with us hosting poker this Tuesday...the last poker game before they get here...I thought it would be fun to throw a cake together, put up some balloons maybe, you know, your basic birthday stuff. But I start my new job tomorrow and will not be home until after 6pm, poker people begin arriving around 7pm, and to make it even more impossible, Hubby will be home from 2pm on, anyway.
So what's a girl to do? Well, give up any hope of a surprise first of all. This weekend I had a little good luck and a little bad luck. Unfortunately, we have been looking forward to spending a fun-filled social 3-day weekend together, but while we were out at a small music festival (Hubby and his friends wanted to see Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes), I was feeling very run-down and tired. I realized the next morning that it was because I have come down with a bit of a cold or something. I have been taking medicine which makes me feel a little better, but also even more tired. At any rate, the good luck is that a friend of ours had also invited us over for an end of summer, sit around the pool kind of party today. I convinced Hubby to go, which gave me a chance to make the cake. A sweet little 2-layer number with a layer of chocolate whipped cream between and a raspberry whipped cream to finish it off. Yes, he's a boy and the cake is a dark shade of pink, but he LOVES raspberries so he'll just have to deal! It's about a half-sheet size though, so as soon as he needs something from the freezer, it will no longer be hidden, and I will have to explain myself. Oh, well...at least there will be pizza and cake on Tuesday and what more could one ask for on their birthday?? (oh, yes, there will also be beer)
So, now the long weekend is over, and I start my new kennel job tomorrow. I am starting to get that anxious feeling inside, but I am very excited. I have to say, though, I could get used to just staying home. Oh, yeah, I also had to clean house top to bottom (which took all of about an hour), and I did several loads of laundry, and gave the dog a bath in preparation for the in-laws visit. It would've been a great week if not for this sore throat!