Taking a Break from Birthday Cake?

Today is my birthday. I love my birthday. Ever since I was a little girl I counted down the days. The hours. The minutes.  My mom was great with birthdays. Favorite dinner. A nice gift. Extra hugs. And MOST important to me - a Birthday Cake!!

As I got older, I quickly realized that friends, boyfriends, my husband and even my children were not capable of replicating the idyllic birthday experience that I had savored in my mind. So, what did I do?  Every year I started planning something special just for me - for my birthday. Some years it was a facial. If it was a weekend, a family hike. A dinner at a restaurant that "I" picked. And, of course, the perfect cake - usually something with vanilla cake, mocha filling and butter cream frosting with lots of creamy pink flowers. 

So, as I mentioned earlier, today is my birthday. And much to my utter shock, when my friend asked if she could bring me over a birthday cake later today, I paused and said "Not really interested, but thanks." My daughter offered to bake me a cake. I said, "Aw... but no thanks." My husband even came through and offered to pick up a cake from my favorite bakery 30 minutes away. "Nope," was my reply. 

Truthfully, I feel pretty great today and would like to continue feeling that way.  And, you know what?  Dreaming about birthday cake no longer does it for me. Call me crazy, but now I crave some of my home-made "gelato" made from only frozen fruit, nuts and flax seeds. It tastes creamy and outrageously delicious and doesn't make me feel bad after eating it (mentally or physically!).  It makes me feel good and, at 51, that is truly the icing on the cake!

I share this with you because I know that so many of you struggle with sugar the way that I always did. In a million years I could NEVER believe this could happen to me so now I believe it can happen for you, too. For me it was birthday cake, for you it may be wine, cheese, or pasta. I get it. We all have our own version of birthday cake.

This year I am focusing on the sweetness of life rather than the sweetness of cake.

I feel like this may the best birthday gift I have ever received.