I recently had my thirtieth birthday, which is rather hard to believe. We had multiple quiet celebrations, all with a cake (2 of which I made, more on that later), but in the end, I can’t help but be reminded of just how blessed I am. I have so many wonderful, loving and thoughtful people in my life. In my devotional today on Galatians 6:1-18, Paul “had just finished telling the Galatians to love each other, to put away the things of the flesh (like jealousy, envy, divisions, and hatred. Anyone been there? I sure have!) and to put on the things of the Spirit (like love and patience and kindness— you know, all things that make for a sweet friendship or relationship). Then Paul gives us this command: bear each other’s burdens.” And, I can say, I have those people in my life. The people unafraid to speak truth and love to me, to help and pray when burdened, to rejoice when rejoicing.
30 feels rich. I feel almost gluttonous when thinking about all of the love I so undeservingly receive.
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Aside from that, my 30th birthday has been about cakes, weaning and running.
First the cakes.
- Cake 1: Poppy seed cake, marscapone frosting, strawberries (from, where else? notwithoutsalt.com)
- I substituted the flour with Andrea’s gluten free flour, making it a gluten free cake.
- I also substituted the marscapone with dairy free cream cheese, making it dairy free.
- This cake deserves to be eaten for breakfast.
- Cake 2: Macha Fruit Cake from U Knead Sweets in Columbia, MO. I have always had a cake for as long as I can remember from Helena Shih, owner and head pastry chef at U Knead Sweets, well before she opened this brick and mortar bakery. Now, the whole region of CoMo and JC benefit from my childhood experiences.
- Cake 3: S’mores cake with homemade marshmellow fluff and a bittersweet sour cream frosting.
- Graham Cracker Cake: I made this a 3 layer cake (one per decade) so I took the recipe and added another half of everything to make enough batter.
- Marshmallow Fluff: um… yum.
- Bittersweet Sour Cream Frosting: I didn’t have enough chocolate (a crime, I know), so I added a cup of cocoa to my mixture (I had about 3 oz of bittersweet chocolate), and used 8 oz sour cream plus a cup of powdered sugar. I loved it.
The weekend of my birthday, Mark had extended family in town. After a morning spent at church, a nap refusal and dinner with the extended family, we rushed home to get baby V to bed. Our routine has concluded nightly with her nursing, until this evening. She, randomly, decided she didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I left her room crying, completely caught off guard. But, we now have a more intentional bedtime routine, complete with reading 3-6 books and snuggles, that appears to be working so far. I just never imagined her weaning herself a week before turning 14 months. My tiny independent spirit.
Oh, and this weekend, I am running my first half marathon – the Broadway Bridge Half Marathon to be exact. Proceeds go toward the Special Olympics which has always had a special place in my heart. Otherwise, I feel absolutely nuts for running 13.1 miles and am so beyond grateful for my husband who had been so supportive of my running. This wouldn’t be at all possible if he wasn’t in my corner.
So, that’s 30 for now. Crazy start to this new year, but hey, what’s life without a little crazy?
tiny.steiny.love 