Making  the perfect cake takes a lot of skill. I have had a lot of practice with it between birthdays and even a wedding so I thought I would let you guys in on a few secrets. First off, It is very time consuming when you are making a layered cake with homemade frosting. Because of this, I suggest making your frosting the night before you plan to make your cake, and put it in the freezer overnight to keep it fresh. I have done it all in one day and it is just exhausting and takes a lot of clean up. My personal favorite and most requested cake is the white wedding cake recipe with cream cheese frosting. There isn’t really a secret to making the frosting, it is a simple recipe consisting of butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. One tip that I do have for the frosting is that if you need to make more than what the recipe calls for, make 2 separate batches and then combine them once they are made, don’t just double the ingredients. For some reason, when I try to double the ingredients it changes the taste. So for example, if it calls for one bag of powdered sugar, a stick of butter, and a block of cream cheese, don’t use 2 bags of sugar, 2 sticks of butter, and 2 blocks of cream cheese in one bowl, just do it all separately. It will pay off in the end. Now, onto the cake. Making a cake completely from scratch is awesome. But when you are given materials to make life easier, use them (as long as it tastes good.) I like to start off with Duncan Hines white cake mix, then add sour cream, egg whites, flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil. For this cake you want to do at least 3 layers, but no more than 5 layers. While the cake is baking, pull the frosting out to de-frost. Once the cakes are baked, let them cool for at least 30-45 minutes. Next, it is time to put the frosting on. I always go ahead and put the first layer on whatever I will be serving the cake on because it seems almost impossible to move the cake onto a different plate once it’s frosted. Now you are done! You can add sugar sprinkles or whatever you desire for finishing touches.

Over my 22 years on earth, I have discovered some items that I now can’t live without. The first thing is a Chapstick holder that goes on your keychain. Chapstick is an everyday necessity and what better place to keep it than with your keys. If you are driving down the road and your lips start to feel chapped, it’s right there handy and ready to use. Just don’t put it on if you plan on driving with the windows down and your hair down. Been there, done that and it turned out very sticky. The second thing you need is a organizer that hangs on the back seat of your car. I’m not sure what the name of it is, so that’s what I call it. But seriously, I always keep extra stuff in my car like a water bottle, umbrella, flip flops, deodorant, jumper cables, and so on. This organizer is the perfect way to keep your car looking tidy while still having everything you might need. The third item on this list is a phone mount for your car. This may seem like a common item but the amount of cars I have gotten into that don’t have one of these is shocking to me. They are like $15 on amazon, and they make your life so much easier. Especially with the new phone law in GA, it makes it easier for you to follow the GPS, and answer phone calls with one touch. Similar to my car, I like to keep some “extras” in my purse. But no one wants to carry around full sized items weighing down their purse. So, do yourself a favor and run to Walmart to get the fourth thing you will need which is travel sized beauty products. Travel sized deodorant, perfume, dry shampoo, and Advil if you just want the basics. If you want to go all out, grab a mini hairbrush, travel sized makeup wipes, and a mini mouthwash in case of emergencies. The final item on this list, is a Tile key finder. Not only do they make them to find your keys, but you can also put it in your wallet or purse. A Tile is a device that you connect to your phone so that if you loose it, the tile will beep until you find it. For me, this has been a lifesaver as I was always to one to lose my keys at least once a week, if not more.

Growing up, I always watched movies where kids would graduate from high school and move out, usually to a college dorm. I envisioned this for myself until it actually became time for me to graduate high school, and then reality hit like a ton of bricks. There is so much that comes with moving away from home. For starters, it was expensive, very, very expensive. Seriously, I still don’t understand how some of these people are going to school and working part time jobs and are still able to afford rent while having money left over for gas, food, activities, shopping, etc. That being said, I decided to stay home and commute. There are advantages and disadvantages to this decision. A good thing about staying home is extra time with family. One day, I will be married and have my own little family and although it will be great, I will miss the time spent with my parents and my sister, so I might as well soak it up while I have the chance. I get to spend time with my dog that lives at my parent’s house and she greets me at the door every day, that’s a huge plus for me. I do believe that staying at home has helped me stay on track to graduate. I am easily distracted so I think that if I were to be constantly surrounded by roommates I would never get any work or studying done. Although there are many good things about staying home, there are also some disadvantages. First, I won’t have the “college dorm experience.” Second, it is harder to make friends from school whenever you only really see them during class because you commute so far and then that class is over in a few months and you go your separate ways. Secondly, you use SO. Much. Gas. Although you don’t have to pay in rent, it almost feels like it because of how much gas you have to put in. Lastly, the “freedom situation.” In my case at least, no matter how old I am my parents always want to know where I am or at least when I am going to be home. Which is understandable, it is mostly a safety concern. But it is different when you are living on your own, you don’t really have anyone to answer to. With all of that said, I am happy with my decision od staying at home to commute as I feel that for right now, the good outweighs the bad.

Thank you for being you. I know that phrase seems a little generic but if you really think about it, it is so special. No amount of money, fame, or good looks would be better than just who you are as a person. From the beginning I knew that you were a rare find. Some things that I noticed right away is that you are loyal, hilarious, stubborn, but genuine. I realized how loyal you are to your family, which is so important. No matter how much any of you would argue and fight and call each other names, if anyone else were to disrespect your family you were the first to correct that person and defend your family. Since then, you have been loyal to me as well, which is not something you can say a lot of the time. Something I have always wanted in a companion is for him to make me laugh, and you have succeeded in that every day for the past four years. There is seriously not a day that goes by where you don’t make me laugh. You just have a way of making situations better, and lightening the mood. I could be so stressed out and worked up over something but when I tell you about it, you bring me back down to earth and make me realize everything is going to be okay. Something about you that we have in common is your stubbornness. It drives. Me. Crazy. The fact that we are both pretty stubborn causes 90% of our disagreements. But no matter what it is we are disagreeing about, we always work through it and come out stronger in the end. Plus, we’re getting better at learning to compromise. One of the things I love about you most is that you are sincerely a genuine person. You don’t go with the crowd, you know what you believe and you aren’t afraid to say it. Sometimes life is hard, and we don’t get dealt the best hand but there is two ways you can go about it, you can make the worst of it or make the most of it. The man you have become today is something to be proud of. You have given so much to make me happy and just know that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. So to my handsome, funny, loyal, stubborn, genuine boyfriend, Thank you for giving me the best 4 years full of fun and I can’t wait for 104 more years laughing together.

Thank you for being you. I know that phrase seems a little generic but if you really think about it, it is so special. No amount of money, fame, or good looks would be better than just who you are as a person. From the beginning I knew that you were a rare find. Some things that I noticed right away is that you are loyal, hilarious, stubborn, but genuine. I realized how loyal you are to your family, which is so important. No matter how much any of you would argue and fight and call each other names, if anyone else were to disrespect your family you were the first to correct that person and defend your family. Since then, you have been loyal to me as well, which is not something you can say a lot of the time. Something I have always wanted in a companion is for him to make me laugh, and you have succeeded in that every day for the past four years. There is seriously not a day that goes by where you don’t make me laugh. You just have a way of making situations better, and lightening the mood. I could be so stressed out and worked up over something but when I tell you about it, you bring me back down to earth and make me realize everything is going to be okay. Something about you that we have in common is your stubbornness. It drives. Me. Crazy. The fact that we are both pretty stubborn causes 90% of our disagreements. But no matter what it is we are disagreeing about, we always work through it and come out stronger in the end. Plus, we’re getting better at learning to compromise. One of the things I love about you most is that you are sincerely a genuine person. You don’t go with the crowd, you know what you believe and you aren’t afraid to say it. Sometimes life is hard, and we don’t get dealt the best hand but there is two ways you can go about it, you can make the worst of it or make the most of it. The man you have become today is something to be proud of. You have given so much to make me happy and just know that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. So to my handsome, funny, loyal, stubborn, genuine boyfriend, Thank you for giving me the best 4 years full of fun and I can’t wait for 104 more years laughing together. fffffffffffffff

Making  the perfect cake takes a lot of skill. I have had a lot of practice with it between birthdays and even a wedding so I thought I would let you guys in on a few secrets. First off, It is very time consuming when you are making a layered cake with homemade frosting. Because of this, I suggest making your frosting the night before you plan to make your cake, and put it in the freezer overnight to keep it fresh. I have done it all in one day and it is just exhausting and takes a lot of clean up. My personal favorite and most requested cake is the white wedding cake recipe with cream cheese frosting. There isn’t really a secret to making the frosting, it is a simple recipe consisting of butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. One tip that I do have for the frosting is that if you need to make more than what the recipe calls for, make 2 separate batches and then combine them once they are made, don’t just double the ingredients. For some reason, when I try to double the ingredients it changes the taste. So for example, if it calls for one bag of powdered sugar, a stick of butter, and a block of cream cheese, don’t use 2 bags of sugar, 2 sticks of butter, and 2 blocks of cream cheese in one bowl, just do it all separately. It will pay off in the end. Now, onto the cake. Making a cake completely from scratch is awesome. But when you are given materials to make life easier, use them (as long as it tastes good.) I like to start off with Duncan Hines white cake mix, then add sour cream, egg whites, flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil. For this cake you want to do at least 3 layers, but no more than 5 layers. While the cake is baking, pull the frosting out to de-frost. Once the cakes are baked, let them cool for at least 30-45 minutes. Next, it is time to put the frosting on. I always go ahead and put the first layer on whatever I will be serving the cake on because it seems almost impossible to move the cake onto a different plate once it’s frosted. Now you are done! You can add sugar sprinkles or whatever you desire for finishing touches.

Silence. These days all you hear through the house is silence. It’s what you prayed for and would have given a limb for all those years ago. When the cartoons were on maximum volume in one room, rap music blaring from another, you just wanted a few minutes of silence. But now that silence is all you have, you would do anything just to have a house full of noise again. You were always told to hold on to these times, that time flies and you will miss it one day. Now it all seems to make sense. The only thing that stays the same is that everything changes.   You think back to a time where there were fingerprints on the walls and toys everywhere being stepped on and you remember them as the “good ole days.” The days when the kids would beg to have friends over, you would cave and say yes and end up with 12 kids in the basement. As you rushed around to get something made for dinner to feed that many people and you whipped up some brownies you swore you would never do this again, until you did. Again and again. As you look at your frail body in the mirror, sunken in cheeks and white strands of hair is staring back at you. If only there was a way to know you’re living the “good ole days” before you’ve actually left them. Now the dinner and brownies are only made for two. Your days consist of reading books, doctor appointments, and running errands. It seems like it was yesterday when your errands were running the kids from gymnastics and baseball practice. Now the errands are picking out new paint colors for the empty rooms of the house. Your whole life was around your kids. Their school plays, sports practice and games, school dances, tutoring, back to school shopping, summer vacations, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. The kids are no longer kids anymore. But it seems you forgot that while they were growing up, you were growing old. Now it is your children’s turn to be parents and the cycle will continue on, there will be grandbabies and your children will look up to you and wonder how you did it all. You will beam with joy watching your children with their children, but knowing that no matter how old they are, they will always be your baby.

We were never rich growing up, in the sense of finances. But me and my sister Jessica were always surrounded with love and laughter. Our big family has always been close and has always celebrated milestones together. For me, I spent most of my early years with my Grandma that we called Nanny, she was my dad’s mother. Since I was the baby of the family, of course she seemed to “favor” me, at least in my eyes. We were always together, and on days that I didn’t see her, I remember calling her on the phone to talk, and we would laugh and laugh. Some of our favorite things were going to the Dollar Tree, going to church, making homemade coke floats, and ceramic angels. She cleaned houses for a living and definitely wasn’t a financially wealthy woman, but she would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. One day during the summer between fourth and fifth grade, I experienced my first heartbreak. I remember going into her and my Papa’s house, and everyone was there. My other grandma, that we call Granny, had just brought us there. My mom walked toward us with puffy eyes and a mascara stained washrag that she was holding very tightly. I knew something was wrong, but I still wasn’t sure what. I scanned the room looking around for my Nanny, but she must have not arrived yet, I thought to myself. My dad and mom asked me and Jessica to come upstairs into my Pappas room. He shut the door and sat us down to break the news. This was the first time I had ever seen my dad cry, for his Mama had died today.Hearing those crackled words come out of the brokenhearted man that had always been the strong one, broke me and shook my world. I was mostly feeling confused. She was just with me yesterday, how could she be gone today? We found a bible that she dedicated to me and I love to look through it and she the notes that she wrote throughout it. It has been over 10 years since she has been gone and it doesn’t seem to get any easier to tell that story. No matter how many times I get my heart broken by a boy it will never compare to what I felt that on that sad summer day.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton