The Man I Married by Shanna Hatfield

Today is the birthday of my husband, better known as Captain Cavedweller.

The above photo is one that makes my heart melt in about two seconds flat into a puddle around my feet.  I love the look on his face, the fact his mother gave this photo into my keeping, and that CC stylishly paired cowboy boots with his circa 1975 shirt. I also love that hair. He was known for doing his own barbering back in the day.

When I met CC, he was so different than other guys I knew. He liked to stay out of the spotlight, he genuinely cared about others, and he wasn’t embarrassed to hug his mom or his grandma. You know you’ve got a keeper when he lets his grandma pinch his cheeks in front of his new girlfriend or allows his mother to hug him without rolling his eyes or complaining.

Some of the things I most admire about CC include his ability to break the tension in a room with a joke or a laugh. Rarely is anything all about him. He can be completely exhausted, but if someone asks for his help, he’ll see what he can do to provide assistance. He doesn’t dwell in the negative or stew over things he can’t change. I recently witnessed him take the high road when taking the lower road would have been easier.

He has taught me to look beyond what is just in front of my face  – to see the stars twinkling in the night sky or the butterfly dancing among summer’s fragrant blossoms.

CC holds open doors for me, brings me flowers “just because,” and makes my world a little brighter just by sharing it with me.

Although I’m sure it would embarrass him to acknowledge it, he provides me with a wealth of inspiration for my romance novels. In my stories, most of the guys are gentlemen. They treat women respectfully, work hard, have fun, and do their best. They may not always get everything right, but they try.

Rather like my Captain Cavedweller. He’s not perfect, but none of us are. If you want to tally flaws, I’m pretty sure his are far, far fewer than mine.

Which is why I love him so.

CC knows I’m a complete and total nut-job most of the time, yet he loves me anyway. He gives me time and space to be me. And he not only encourages my dreams, he does what he can to support them and help them become a reality.

I know his love is unconditional. I like to think he knows mine is too. Unconditional and deeply grateful for the blessing of him in my life. I don’t know how he manages it, but he melts my heart on a daily basis, makes me laugh all the time and gives me more joy, friendship and love than I ever imagined possible.

Every year for his birthday, CC requests I make carrot cake. The recipe is one my grandma shared with me long before I  met the boy I'd marry. I hope you'll enjoy it too! It's best served chilled and you can definitely make it a day ahead of time (or a week ahead and freeze it!).

Elsie’s Carrot Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 tsps. baking soda
4 cups grated carrots
1 tsp. salt
1 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tsp. cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients, set aside.Cream together eggs, sugar and oil.  Stir in carrots then add dry ingredients. Mix in nuts last. Pour into two nine-inch round baking pans or a 11 x 13 baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from the pan. Cool completely then invert on cake plate and top with Cream Cheese Frosting. Garnish with halved walnuts if desired..

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 box powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite recipe from your grandmother?

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A hopeless romantic with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Shanna Hatfield is a best-selling author of clean romantic fiction written with a healthy dose of humor. In addition to blogging and eating too much chocolate, she is completely smitten with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller. Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

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