Another Year, Another Fabulous Cake

Forty something...

 A few days before my birthday each year, Chi begins to quiz me about what kind of cake I would like to put my candles on.  Sometimes I want carrot cake.  Okay, if I am honest, all the time I want carrot cake.  But some years I like German chocolate or a traditional southern coconut cake.  This year, however, I broke out of my safe zone.  I know...shocking, right?  Sarah went with something non-traditional.  I chose a lemon cake with a citrus cream cheese frosting.  Mmmmm.... 

You know the story about when Chi and I first met.  It was at his housewarming and my annoying roommate, who knew him from church, convinced (i.e. hounded) me to go with her even though it was my birthday.  I did.  He was so cute in his white oxford with the sleeves rolled up and his khakis and his bare feet in his kitchen, charming as all get out.  He wouldn't let me leave without a slice of his homemade apple pie.  The rest is history.  A few weeks later, he made me dinner and, since he found out he had missed my birthday, he baked me an almond gateau in belated celebration.  So, birthday cakes are highly sentimental and a really big deal to me, especially since he makes them.



Lemon Cake!



13 years later, there are a few more candles on my birthday cake.  When I look at this picture, it seems like I was just sitting in that chair, eating a slice of cake, and the year has virtually flown by.  But, I always, always think back to that first cake and the sweet guy that made it for me that night thirteen years ago.  I am reminded of this every September 27 when he sets a new concoction in front of me. 

It is a blessing every year.