Strawberry Shortcake – Quick & Easy Dessert

Strawberry Shortcake – Quick & Easy Dessert

Jul 20, 2021 | Dessert, Food, Tamela's Tailgate Treats

I’m not really a baker, but I have a really bad sweet tooth!

Therefore, I play around with desserts pretty often to satisfy that. While in graduate school, one of Demario’s football coaches’ wives took me under her wing and showed me how to make this quick and easy mouthwatering dessert. It’s so good, I had to share!

Ingredients

  • 1 box of butter cake mix
  • 2 sticks of butter (doubled)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 milk (instead of water)
  • 1 small can of Eagle Brand condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
  • 1 container of strawberries
  • 1 container of Cool Whip

Instructions

  1. Follow the instructions on the box of cake mix but use my recommended amount of butter (trust me). [Ooh! And I recently added some strawberry mixture inside the cake batter…amazing.]
  2. Use a sheet cake pan for baking the cake.
  3. Once the cake is done and cool, poke holes all throughout the cake. Make sure the holes are large enough for milk to seep in. ( I use the end of a wooden spoon.)
  4. Pour the can of condensed milk over the top of the cake and even it out.
  5. Wash and dice strawberries. Stir in powdered sugar to create a syrup mixture.
  6. Pour syrup mixture over cake.
  7. Top with Cool Whip and serve.

*Place leftovers in the fridge.

(Quesha, thanks for sharing this all those years ago. It’s still one of our favorites, and I love making it for our guests!)

 

 

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Normalize Not Being Okay

Normalize Not Being Okay

Jul 3, 2021 | Faith

Normalize Not Being Okay

Let’s normalize not being okay all the time or having it all together.

We all could use some sort of help or people in our corner who we can vent to and seek guidance.

Over the years, I’ve had a few responses tucked away that are automatic when someone asks me how I’m doing or how life is treating me. “I’m doing amazing” (my go-to). “Living the dream” (my sarcastic response). “I’m alive and well, blessed and highly favored” (my spiritual one). There were many in my pocket ready to go! Oftentimes, I’d felt the need to be the “strong friend” and completely disregarded what I’m feeling.

Eventually, I realized that sometimes I’m just not okay. Sometimes, I just don’t have it all together. And that’s totally fine. I may not be “doing amazing”, “living the dream” or feeling “highly favored” at all times. I may not want to be the strong friend through it all. Sometimes, I must admit that I need support, advice, and someone to help guide me back to a sound state.

 

 

Mental health is something that we, especially in the Black and Brown communities, have avoided addressing for far too long. I encourage you to be able to identify when you’re not okay and to never forget to offer your strong friends a place to be vulnerable, too. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a life coach, spiritual mentor, personal trainer, or psychologist. At some point in life, I’ve used them all, and it has been rewarding in more ways than one.

As Demario recently stated in an interview, “We are three-part beings. We have to take care of ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually.” Honestly, I’ve been guilty of neglecting two of those frequently, but I eventually decided it was time to accept that I don’t have to be okay all the time or appear to have it all together. It freed me.

 

Are things not the best right now?

Can you use some accountability in your personal, career, and/or spiritual life? Do you just desire different perspectives to gain understanding in a certain area of your life? Here are a few reasons why seeking out a life coach or therapist is worth doing:

  • You have goals you want to achieve but you first need to get out of whatever’s holding you back from achieving those things.
  • You are caught up in the humdrum rhythm of everyday life and want to get out of your comfort zone and introduce yourself to something new.
  • You are experiencing past hurts or trauma and you want to heal from them.
  • You dream of having a meaningful, purposeful life but you’re not sure of the first step to take in that direction. 
  • Your relationship/marriage is going through a few issues and speaking to a professional could help you get through it. 
  • You know that you have a lot to feel grateful for but you need a little extra inspiration to piece your puzzle together.

Mental health is imperative. If you can use the extra help, don’t hesitate to get it.

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Reading the Bible in a Year! Best Book Club Ever

Reading the Bible in a Year! Best Book Club Ever

Apr 30, 2021 | Faith

Reading the Bible in a Year! Best Book Club Ever

Friends! I am so excited to share with you my commitment to God this year.

As I entered into this new year, I reviewed some dreams I was ready to make into reality and began trying to plan what I would like to accomplish. But, as always, God helped make those plans for me.

Getting on Track

 

At the start of this year a close friend of mine reached out and asked if I would be interested in joining her Bible reading plan (aka reading the entire Bible over the course of one year). It felt like divine fate! God knew this was a year of action for me, and the perfect year to find power in studying His word. I realized that the lack of community and accountability were huge factors in my failure, so God made sure this plan was primed for my success by willing it through a friend.

 

How It’s Going

 

Let me tell you, I have been active about reading self-help books in my life, but nothing can compare to spending such intimate time with the Lord’s words. I get to experience his truths daily in the most productive and collaborative environment!

We are only a little over 100+ days in, but the work God is doing inside of me is life-changing.

I feel engaged with His text, and as a group, we are able to strengthen our bonds with him both individually and collectively.

 

Make Your Own Plan

Maybe for you, this reminder is all the push you need to put your own Bible plan together. You can embark on the journey solo, engaging with God one-on-one, or get a group of faith-minded friends together and do the Lord’s work through a book club!

Every step you take towards Him is one He will reciprocate with leaps.

I look forward to sharing with you more about my experience as I delve deeper into His word and hope you will share your experiences with your own Bible reading plan!

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Parent Routine: Getting Kids Down for Bedtime

Parent Routine: Getting Kids Down for Bedtime

Apr 29, 2021 | Family & Home, Parenting

Parent Routine: Getting Kids Down for Bedtime

Get to sleep… now!

 

Bedtime… it can be a struggle. I don’t understand why kids don’t like bedtime! After a long day of working, mom-ing, and all the things in between, bedtime has become one of the things I don’t play about. 7:30 PM. (I may bend every now and then, but not often at all.) Here are a few tips for getting your kids down to bed as smooth as possible.

  • Create a schedule/chart that’s visible for the kids. The chart can use large lettering for your children who can read but use photos for the children who can’t read just yet. This helps them look forward to what’s next.

  • Set alarms that you and the kids recognize. I have alarms that go off all throughout the day on my phone with ringtones both the kids and I remember. At 7 PM, my alarm goes off every 5 minutes leading up to 7:30. This helps us transition smoothly from downtime after dinner to brushing teeth to story and prayer, and then to bedtime. [Now, when dad’s away, one of the kids always pops up to “protect me” or as they like to say, “so I’m not lonely”. 😩 It’s so cute!]

  • Put the kids to bed awake. My older kids get to read books most nights until they fall asleep. Other nights, they may get to play games on the kindle, but it turns off automatically after a certain time.

  • Put the “baby” to bed awake too! I have done it all with my infants: co-sleep, bed in my room, sleep in their room… all of the options. What has been the most fruitful for our family, once the newborn phase is over, is to train them to fall on their own and not to rock them to sleep!

 

“Wake-up time is not easy either! (Can I get a witness?)”

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

Wake-up time is not easy either! (Can I get a witness?) When you start waking kids up, they always want to sleep in later. When I’m almost done with breakfast, I call on the baby monitor for everyone to get up. I give them 5 minutes of whining then I do a last call!

  • Checklist time. They begin working on their checklists when they get up. They have a chalk sign of all the things they need to do before they leave their room.

  • Help time. I then go in and help them finish getting dressed and check for anything they missed that needs completed before departing the bedroom for breakfast.

 

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Finding Balance Through Self-Care

Finding Balance Through Self-Care

Jan 30, 2021 | Faith, Family & Home

Finding Balance Through Self-Care

I will admit, I most certainly have a tendency to… let’s say, overcommit to some of my gospels. First and foremost? Philippians 2:3. You know, the part that says “Count others more significant than yourselves.” I can’t tell you how often I find myself run ragged trying to ensure that all those around me have what they need; nice clothes, exercise, balanced meals, spiritual enrichment, and this list goes on. Meanwhile, I push myself to the side, looking like a stray dog, overweight, body aching, eating cake for breakfast.

Get Honest With Yourself

 

At some point, I had to recognize that self neglect had become something I was so guilty of, it was damaging my health. Self-care never was a priority for me because I so frequently struggled under the false burden to prove I was an excellent follower of Christ by being servant to my family and community. Don’t get me wrong, this verse should be very instrumental in our day to day lives, but never at the risk of our own mental and physical wellbeing.

Understand All That You Give

 

I entered 2020 running on empty, exhausted with my life, emotionally defeated, and physically drained. I look back now and know that had God not revealed to me early on the importance of caring for myself, I would have broken. He gave me a simple lesson: you cannot fill another’s cup if yours is empty. We are called to live selflessly, without conceit, to not show partiality, and to display the same unconditional love and servanthood to our neighbors as Christ does for us. Nevertheless, God desires for us to be whole in Him first by obtaining a great level of spiritual health. We must remember that Christ needs us to give to ourselves so that we may then give to others.

“Caring for myself does not make me self-centered, it does not negate all that I do for others.”

Fix Yourself Up

It has certainly been a year of growth, but I am most thankful that finally I have gathered the awareness that my overall health is just as important as the health of those closest to me. 

Moreover, caring for myself does not make me self-centered, it does not negate all that I do for others, nor does it take away from living out my calling through Christ.

So how am I going to make changes in my self-care this year?

^

1. Meet with God daily.

^

2. Make my physical health a priority

This means a long list of exercising, drinking more water, taking my supplements, limiting my sugar intake, seeing my health care providers and yes that includes my massage therapist.

^

Prioritizing my mental and emotional health

I need to seek assistance to properly confront my anxiety and OCD, and overcome the stigmas I associate with needing help.

^

Perhaps most importantly, ENJOY LIFE!

Embrace the people around me that bring me love and laughter.

It is time I learned that caring for myself equips me to understand what I need in all facets of life and to be able to identify when those needs aren’t being met. And boy, am I going overboard with it this year!

 

 

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