Today is my birthday. As a rule, I do not like large festivities surrounding this day. I prefer to spend my energy on Halloween and Christmas.

The traditions I have regarding my birthday:

• My dh makes the cake of my choosing. He does not bake and half the fun is watching him fumble around in the kitchen.
• There is only ONE candle on mommy's cake. I have young children and I need to start that tradition early before thay learn to count past thirty something.
• I do not have to wake up early or change a diaper.
• We have the dinner of my choice.

This year I found a recipe for sour cherry cheesecake brownies. Black forest cake kept popping into my head, but I make the best black forest cake and that is also where the recipe lies--in my head. It was too much work to write down the instructions, so I chose brownies. They are sitting in my refrigerator right now and they look really good. A little good vanilla ice cream and a dollop of hot fudge and we are good to go.

We're going to my parent's for dinner. My mom is so happy to have me back home. She quickly volunteered to make my B-day dinner--Black and Blue salad. A wonderful concoction of salad greens, a supurb cut of steak grilled extra rare and blue cheese dressing.

My stomach is already rumbling.