I'm Your Daddy

Today as I sit here thinking about my dad and what he's meant to me through the years, I've come up with something new and fun to pay tribute to the man who helped teach me some pretty important things in life:

Funny. I definitely get my sense of humor from my dad. We can go back and forth with jokes and he has some great one-liners. Along with joking in general, he's helped me learn to not take the trivial things in life so seriously, and encourages me to do spontaneously fun things too!

Appreciation for simpler things. Growing up with parents who were divorced, we didn't always get the opportunity to live with lavish accommodations or get to go to more upscale eateries and such. But what made up for it was my dad teaching me to appreciate every moment as it comes as if it is your last. He taught me to value simple things and to take everything else as just an added blessing.

Trustworthy. I love having a father that I know I can go to and share everything with. From my biggest fears to my happiest moments, I've had the honor of being able to trust my father enough to share it all, knowing that he doesn't see me as less of a person. In fact, I remember once, telling my father about something I did when I was a kid and saying, "Dad, just so you know, when I was younger, I did this _________," and seeing him smile as he said, "Oh I knew. People told me you did. But I knew you were safe and that it was something you would grow and learn from." I love knowing that he isn't afraid to let me "fly" because he was always ready to catch me in case I fell.

Honesty. I remember once when I was younger and I had a super huge crush on a guy, and I told my dad about this amazing boy that was just everything wonderful on the planet. And he looks at me, smiles, and says, "Oh don't worry. You'll get over it." And the funny part is that as I got to know the boy more, he did & said some things that REALLY turned me off and I TOTALLY did get over him. My dad's ability to level with me and state honest opinions with me is truly something I appreciate.

Extra Mile. A lot of people make remarks about how they notice that I have a developed habit of giving and serving others, but truth be told, if my dad had not set that example for me at a young age, I probably wouldn't be as apt to do it now. Even when I was little, my fondest memories of my dad was him giving food to people on the street—when we BARELY had any food for ourselves. And when people needed help, he was the first to raise his hand to volunteer. He truly goes the extra mile and has instilled that value in my own heart.

Rad. Look guys, my dad is just plain cool, okay? When I was home for Christmas, I talked my dad into letting me teach him the Single Ladies dance . . . and if you could imagine an older guy in a living room watching a YouTube tutorial and doing the Single Ladies dance just to humor me, you'd understand my dad's level of AWESOME! ;) I have had SO many amazing moments of random fun with my dad, and the fact that he joins in the fun and isn't afraid to do things that are unconventional just makes me EVEN more thankful that God gave me a father I can be proud to call my DAD.

I love you daddy!


Happy Father's Day!

How Sweet It Is

I got to go to the Cake Wrecks "World" Tour (book signing event) at Third Place Books yesterday!

For those who have never heard of Cake Wrecks, basically:

A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.

You can check them out online HERE.

I had SO much fun at the event. I got there early to grab some grub, especially since I heard there was a BBQ joint inside the Commons area. And if you know me, and by now I hope you do, you KNOW how impossible it is for me to resist BBQ. Come on now, I may have moved to Seattle, but you can't rob this Texas girl of her BBQ, unless of course your BBQ joint also sells shrimp and tilapia (but that's another blog post). And though I haven't found any good TX style BBQ yet, I'm not afraid to eat some of that yummy goodness that is BBQ. The place I went to last night, Burney Brothers BBQ, was almost Bill Miller's quality. Not quite. It was just kinda okay. I've YET to find BBQ up here that can compare to Rudy's . . . or Pok-E-Jos . . . or well, let's face it, other ones that are better than Bill Millers. Don't get me wrong, I still got love for Bill Millers, but given the choice, Rudy's wins, hands down.

I could write an entire blog about TX BBQ . . . but we'll save it. There's sweeter things at hand . . . CAKE WRECKS! So I get done eating and head into the bookstore area and buy my Cake Wrecks book :D And I start reading it and I'm just laughing out loud so hard. That book is awesome! If you have a B&N or other bookstore near you, make sure you check out the book! It's by Jen Yates.

The Q&A session was quick, but Jen and John DID get to share some of their favorites and they were some of my faves too. Then when they were done, we were instructed to get in one line and then as we passed through each station, we could go to another line. The three stations were: Book Signing, Free Cake, and the Cupcake Judging Competition. To celebrate the book signing, Jen posted a cupcake contest where people could bring in a cupcake that resembled another cake wreck from her blog. I actually got to stand in front of a lady in line whose son won one of the prizes for his "wreckplica." It was fun being surrounded by fellow CW fans. And I must admit, I was mildly jealous of a chick who was waiting in line, cause her husband was proudly sporting a HAPPY FALKERSATHERHOOD cake wrecks shirt. I thought to myself, "Oh I hope my husband wears one of those someday." We shall see . . .

So here are some pics from the event:

In front of Third Place Books. I stopped in to eat dinner at a BBQ joint inside. The service was crappy. The food was "meh." But the excitement of going to the event kept me happy :D

Got my book! It's hilarious! Lots of new content that isn't posted on the site. If you don't buy the book yourself, at least look through it at the bookstore. You'll get some good laughs :D

This chick was introducing Jen and her husband John. She was reading from a sheet of paper. It was unrehearsed and dry. But I guess it was okay cause Jen and John totally livened things up when they took the stage.

They're explaining some of their favorites and doing some Q&A. Even jet-lagged they're so fun and witty :D

The cake that started it all . . .

One of Jen's favorites- a groom's cake. it's not photoshopped. it's cake photo paper. why THAT pic? the world may never know.

A Cake Wrecks fan favorite— Naked Mohawk-Baby Carrot Jockeys! Seriously, who makes these things? Oh, Costco. That's who.

Jen judging the cupcake wreckplicas that fans brought. This was just some of them :D

Cupcake Wreckplicas! So funny!

I love the Wreckplica of the baby coming out of the flowery cake

2 bakeries joined together to provide cake for all the event attendees. it's my first time ever having cake with cardamom in it. One had cardamom, the other was a mint chocolate chip cake. they were both YUM!

Jen signing my book :D

Me and Jen photo op! She's so SWEET and witty! I read cake wrecks every morning and her humor just adds to my day! :D

Cupcake Wreckplica of the Naked Mohawk-Baby Carrot Jockeys!! :D

My fave Cupcake Wreckplica! the Original post told about a mom who ordered a Transformers cake for her son. But she said instead of having Optimus Prime on there, she wanted Bumblebee instead. The cake she got had the Transformers logo and colors . . . and this bumblebee on it. ;) guess they've never seen the movie. ;)