Yesterday I was a year younger. Think about it.

So today is my birthday. I'm Thirty. Wow 30. Three. Zero. That's just crazy. Sometimes I still feel like I'm 12 (supported further by the “Mighty Morphin” t-shirt I bought today). I'm not exactly sure where this birthday came from. Like most things this year (as mentioned numerous times) it just kind of snuck up on me. I'm usually much more prepared for this. But hey, I'm on vacation next week, so it ain't all bad :) (or bad at all :)).

There are a few changes for my birthday this year from last. A big one is that I'm not making my own cake. For some reason I got it into my head that as someone who bakes this was something that I should do. So I made this. And it was pretty amazing. Granted, the day I made the cake I thought it was going to be awful. I was a ranting raving lunatic (something I have mentioned briefly before). This year just thinking about it was stressing me out. I was concerned about making everyone happy and I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. As a result I decided that I should just have my mother order my cake. A cake I have had before. Not just any cake: This cake... BEHOLD...

THE NUT BUSTER!!

It's an awesome cake, I mean it's called “THE NUT BUSTER” could there be a better cake for me? Just check out this description: “Our famous chocolate truffle and white chocolate mousse are sandwiched between three layers of moist chocolate cake. A combination of cashews, hazelnuts, almonds and crushed pecans roasted to perfection smother the cake, and rich dark chocolate drizzle adds the finishing touch.” Drooling yet? Actually this is only the first of two cakes, the other one is much smaller and a surprise. The Nut Buster is Saturday's Cake, the mystery cake is for tonight.

At this point in my rambling you may be wondering about the changes to the site. It's something I've wanted to do for a while but never really found the right time to do it. So I set a hard date for my birthday. It seemed like a nice cheap gift to myself :). The most important and fantastically awesome addition is obviously my sweet new banner. It was made for me by my brother's girlfriend, the ridiculously talented Natasha Gouveia (natashagouveia.org). Aside from her awesome abstract and traditional art (which you can see on her site), she has this quirky style of drawing fun little characters that I love. She always makes these cute birthday cards with them drawn all over it (usually accompanied by some amusingly crude humour :)). And when I asked her if she was willing to make me a banner, I made sure to say “crazy characters" and this is what she came up with. I absolutely love it! :). It's exactly what I wanted. THANKS NATASHA! :).

As for my vacation and what I'm planning? Well first, it's more of a “stay-cation” (I hate that "word"). I'll do little trips here and there, see some movies, and most importantly bake some things. One of the significant baking items I have planned this week will be these banana brownies that I mention on my "about" page. Three years ago this Saturday they were the first thing I ever baked from scratch. The brownies were super rich and had the distinct flavour of banana. They were quite good, though not for everyone. Unfortunately I had to throw out half of the pan. It was either that or sit down with the pan and a tub of vanilla ice cream. At the time I thought I was making the right decision (I still have nightmares. The brownies calling to me from the compost bin :)). However the thing I'm most excited for is when I head to my Aunt's place tomorrow afternoon to make some Tiramisu. I've never made it, but it's one of my favourite desserts and I'm super excited. But somehow my Aunt managed to “grandma” me. She told me that for my thirtieth birthday I can't leave her place with anything less than a 9x13” Tiramisu. I knew it was trouble when she said “TUB” of mascarpone :). Ah well, somehow I'll make due :).

Anyway, I'm going to try and make a few updates this week. I have some recipes I want to post from the past weeks and hopefully some new ones too. Wow! How did this post get so long winded? It's a good thing I don't normally go on like th.... oh wait... never mind.. :)

~Adam

Birthday Vacation Fun Fact: A year ago next Thursday I came up with the name for this site :).