Chocolate runs through my veins. I'm speaking figuratively, of course, but I have a personal connection with the food of the gods. As many of you know, chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao tree. Even though chocolate is eaten all around the world, the cacao tree doesn't grow everywhere. Africa produces the majority of cacao beans, followed by Asia and the Americas. However, the cacao tree is native to the American continent, possibly originating in Venezuela (according to Wikipedia). That's right, I live in the country where cacao may have been born.

 Two weeks ago, my fiancé and I went to our wedding cake tasting, accompanied by my mother. Our cake is being made by Mayra Pérez, a friend of my sister and an excellent baker. I don't have her bio, but I know that her story is quite interesting. For her, baking began as a hobby and she trained to be a professional baker on her spare time. It's only recently that baking became her full-time job and I predict a long journey of success for her. She has already won prizes in cake decoration and appeared in local TV. It's great to be friends with such a talented person.

 

A month ago I wrote about my mother's avocado tree. I said that last year was a big harvest and that this year we wouldn't be so lucky, remember? It turns out I was utterly and completely wrong. The neighbour who always helps us came over to harvest them. He climbed up the tree and discovered that most of the avocadoes were way above the roof. The tree was full of fruit, but we couldn't see them.

I can't believe I began this blog one year ago today, not knowing exactly what I was doing or if I would succeed. One year later, I'm happy to say that the journey has been amazing and I'd do it all over again. At first, I thought I'd bake a cake or something to celebrate this blog's birthday, but I remembered I'm a terrible baker and didn't feel like experimenting. Instead of a cake, this post will feature an account of what has happened during this year.

Timing couldn't be worse when my lower back decided it was sick and tired of my bad posture. For the past week and a half I've suffered a severe case of low back pain, which wouldn't allow me to sit for more than 15 minutes. After an unhealthy dose of pain killers and some physical therapy, I'm now able to sit for at least 30 minutes at a time.