Ok, so, over two years later, I'm back to the blog. A lot has happened in the last two years, more than I want to get into right now, but I'll just summarize by saying that I had no idea when I started this blog how different my life would be in just a short amount of time. Two years ago today, my boyfriend and I were celebrating his 27th birthday with the new, exciting, surprising and heavy knowledge that we were expecting a baby. I was just beginning to settle into the idea of creating a human in my body, a family in the world, and a relationship with this man. It's been a wild couple of years, but we're all having a pretty good time! Tonight, we put our beautiful, amazing 18 month old son to bed after singing "Happy Birthday" for a lullaby, and then settled into our respective evening rituals, his computer-zone-out-time and my kitchen-zone-out-time. I made sure to get Steve a few useful gifts that only a partner knows one needs (headphones and pajamas), but my favorite gift to him is a treasured family recipe, my mother's Red Velvet Cake.
Nothing says love like food. But the bigger the story that a recipe carries, the more love it delivers. I love the story of my mom's Red Velvet Cake, at least, my take on it, because it's such a wonderful testament to a mother's love. My mom is one of the six living children born to Erma Beery and Philip Owen Waggoner. She was born December 23rd, because, in the classic style of my Grandma, there was no way Erma wasn't bringing her new baby home to her 3 other young children BEFORE Christmas. For her entire life, my mom has had to share her birthday with the Christmas holiday, and, obivously, Baby Jesus gets a bigger party. But my Grandma knew it was important to celebrate each of her children in their own way, especially since she had so many, so she made Mom this beautiful, festive Red Velvet Cake every year for her birthday. It is seasonal, decadent, and a true labor of love (which you can find out for yourself by emailing me a request for the recipe!).
I am especially glad to make it this year in honor of my Grandma, who passed away just before Christmas last year. I'm such a lucky woman to be able to share her legacy and love. Happy Birthday, Steve!
