I'm back!

Almost five (FIVE!!) years after my last post here, I have been bitten by the blogging bug once more and have enough motivation to start typing again. There has been very little (though also a whole lot) going on in my life during my hiatus from these pages. To make a long story short: I now have a six year old little girl who is going on 14, a "threenager", my hub-bub, my full-time out-of-home job, and a whole new outlook on life. Does that last part sound a little fluffy? I can see that but it couldn't be more true. I'm a more grateful and positive person now, and I practice mindfulness and meditation to counter anxiety and stress. I'll go in to more of all those things at later times through this blog. And also cooking! I've never stopped cooking and baking, watching cooking shows, looking at food blogs, and talking about recipes and techniques. Food has remained my hobby, my escape, my stress-reviler and outlet.

Here's how I decided to dabble back into blogging: St. Patrick's Day was nearing and I was talking to a colleague about fun times I'd had at a previous job in my younger and freer days. St. Paddy's Day was a time of indulging in a few Irish traditions, including lots of drinking and eating. I fondly recounted the Guinness chocolate cake recipe I always made for the office potluck we would have to mark the holiday. I make that recipe every year and was inspired to make it again - and bring it to my office to share some St. Paddy's cheer. And where did I dig up the recipe? Right here on my blog, of course. That cake recipe was the first thing I ever posted here. Way back in 2009! I made the cake (with some influence from the Kitchn's recipe) and it was a hit once again. Duh. It's Guinness and chocolate and butter. But you get the point.

I've come full circle, and this fits my new outlook so perfectly that my mind was made up before I could even have an doubts. And here I am. Hi, it's been a while.