Recently a sweet friend of mine died suddenly and totally unexpectedly. She was only a few years older than me and had no signs of health problems. I have so many thoughts and feelings about her death but cannot properly articulate them, so I’ll just say she was an amazing woman and I will miss her.
What I can articulate is the need to enjoy life NOW. We cannot wait until next year to do things we have been wanting to do for years. Live like you are dying because you do not know if you will see tomorrow’s sunrise. AND, enjoy each birthday as they come, regardless of the number attached to it.
Yesterday I turned 41. Last year I struggled with the fact I was turning 40. Honestly, the anticipation of it was worse than the actual event. Now I’m 41 but that is just a number; every age we get to is a gift.
All that said, I want to throw a little Celebrate Life party with a giveaway and a special discount. I am total introvert so having a real-life party would be an agonizing experience. Virtual parties are perfect for me!
FOUR $25 AMAZON GIFT CARDS
GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. Winning comment numbers were 98, 7, 50, 78. Thank you to all who participated!
I am giving away FOUR Amazon gift cards worth $25 each! To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment telling me your favorite cake/dessert to have on your birthday. (My favorite is carrot cake with cream cheese icing).
- One entry per person
- Comments must be left on the blog post, not on Facebook or as an email reply
- Giveaway ends 11:00 PM EST, Thursday, November 15th
- Four winning comment numbers identified via Random.org
- Winners have 7 days to respond to my email, after which alternate winner(s) will be selected
LIMITED TIME DISCOUNT
You can save 30% on all action sets and video workshops offered at Everyday Elements between now and Thursday, November 15th. Use the coupon code life30 at checkout.
All video workshops will be removed from the site by December 1, so now is a good time to grab them up.
About Amanda
So sad about your friend, but you are right in the need to enjoy life right now. Happy Birthday to you! I love cake, I think my current favorite is a shaggy coconut cake. Or anything with a really good buttercream frosting, yum!
I’m sorry for the loss of your friend. i love your celebration of life idea. my favorite cake is chocolate layered with vanilla cream frosting. the kind of cake that melts in your mouth and tastes like it’s worth every calorie 🙂
Every birthday is a cause for celebration! I enjoy a nice Napolean Cake on my birthday 🙂
Sorry to hear about the loss of your friend.
My favorite bday treat, is a cake my grandmother made for me as a child each year for my birthday “Cherry Jubilee Cake”. I have never seen a cake like it, only hers. It is wonderful and my only request each birthday!
Happy Birthday to you! So sorry about your friend.
My favorite birthday treat is a good Boston creme pie! Yum!
My absolute favorite dessert is from Long Horn… Chocolate Stampede! You must share it, because it is HUGE.
I’m sorry for your lost of a friend! May the Lord bless you with comfort when you think of her. The message you have is SO great… and one I need to start to live by!
my birthday is so near Christmas that I think all decadent goodies are meant for my personal celebration! My favorite is probably my mom’s fresh coconut! Happy Birthday Amanda!
Oh my, so sorry about your loss! I always like icecream for birthdays, and for comfort too 🙂
I am so sorry about the loss of your friend!
Happy Birthday and thank you for the giveaway!
My favorite birthday dessert is a funfetti cake with yummy funfetti icing, DELICIOUS!
Happy birthday! I love the idea of just being grateful to be another year older. My b-day is on the 19th, so I will hopefully be celebrating with my husband’s homemade mud pie (Oreo cookie crust, coffee ice cream, topped off with dark chocolate fudge). Mmmmmmm….
I’m pretty traditional regarding my cake. As long as there is a lot of white buttercream icing on top, it can be chocolate or white, angel or devil (sfood). Fresh strawberries would add nicely.
moosetracks ice cream=yum.
So sorry for the loss of your friend! I lost my Mom suddenly and unexpectedly two years ago.
Happy Birthday! Mine is Nov 20th so I am hoping for my favorite Dairy Queen ice cream cake!!! Thank you for the giveaway 🙂
It’s hard losing friend so my heart goes out to you.
My favorite birthday cake is: chocolate fudge with chocolate chips (inside) and frosting … chocolate ganache. Rich and very fattening. But we’re all exempt from gaining weight on our birthdays so it doesn’t matter! 🙂
Aww, I’m so sorry you lost your friend. Celebrating life, a wonderful concept!! I know when my family and friends make fun of my age, I am 41 also, I just tell them that I am one of the lucky ones who got to see another year go by. Too bad everyone wasn’t so lucky :o(
So, to celebrate life and my many birthdays, I alsways get a Popcorn Cake for my birthday. I know, it sounds weird but it so full of fat and sugar, how could it possibly be anything but divine?!?! Although there is no cake batter, it’s more of a huge popcorn ball, the simple, festive recipe is as follows:
Ingredients
Pam
12 cups popped popcorn, seeds removed
2 cups M&M candies
1 cup lightly salted cocktail peanuts
1 cup candy corns
1 stick unsalted butter
1 pound marshmallows
Directions
Grease a large tube or bundt cake pan with Pam and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the popped corn with the M & M candies, candy corns and the peanuts.
In a large microwavable bowl, melt the butter and marshmallows, stirring every 30 seconds or so. When melted, pour over the popcorn mixture, and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared cake pan, pressing down to fit. Cover with aluminum foil to keep moist and let rest until firm, 3 to 4 hours.
To serve, invert the cake pan onto a large cake plate or platter. Shake gently to release. Serve at room temperature.
Fantabulous!!! I love my birthday!!!
God bless you all,
Tiffany :o)
The best things in life…
…aren’t things :o)
Tiffany,
Thank you for the recipe!! Sounds fantastic! I’m printing to try out during the holidays.
So sorry to hear about your friend. It’s always sad to let someone you love go. That being said, “Let us eat cake” I like white cake with chocolate frosting with jamoca almond fudge ice cream.
Now I am hungry 🙂
How sad that your friend passed away so unexpectedly. Something like that really makes you take a long look at where you are headed in life.
I love chocolate mud cake – and my family makes the most yummy gluten free ones so I can indulge myself wickedly.
I’m sorry you had such a loss, Amanda. Words like yours here touch my heart and remind me of the same thing. We’re not promised a tomorrow, and today is a precious gift! I’m glad you had the gift of your friendship to treasure as a lasting memory.
Birthday Cake: Chocolate cake, white buttercream icing, and ice cream!
Sorry about your lose and thank your for the reminder to enjoy the present.
I enjoy vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting, but I’m not a big birthday person to begin with. My mom never made a big deal out of them so I never do (much to my husband’s dismay).
Amanda, I am so sorry for your loss. The best we can do is live each day to the fullest.
My favorite birthday dessert? Hmmm–that’s easy! Chocolate cake! Although, not just any chocolate cake–the one my sister made for me years ago. I believe it was called Hershey’s Disappearing Chocolate Cake, or something like that. It took three kinds of chocolate or cocoa powder in it, and was truly a DARK chocolate cake. With homemade icing that was to die for! Yep–that would be my favorite!
I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for the reminder to enjoy our life now. We always get caught up in the little things, so we need to just stop and be thankful for what we have and have had.
My favorite birthday cake is a plain yellow cake with chocolate icing! It’s been my favorite since I was little…although funfetti cake with cream cheese icing is pretty high on the list too!!
Cheesecake. I love it any day but especially on my birthday!
You are in my prayers.
Hmm…favorite dessert for my birthday? Well, I like chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Oh, and coconut sprinkled on top! I also like chocolate ice cream. That is my kind of dessert. (It wouldn’t be to bad to have the peanut butter frosted cake…without the cake, too! Love that PB frosting.)
I love a marble cake- best of both worlds 🙂 And chocolate frosting. And FOR SURE jimmies (or some people call them sprinkles- but I grew up calling them Jimmies)
Happy birthday to you!
Life is short we sometimes need reminders on celebrating each day. My favorite way to celebrate my birthday is with my mother’s spice/carrot cake. It makes my mouth water thinking about it. The cake is full of flavor, like pineapples, coconut, cinnamon and topped with cream cheese icing. Life is so good.
Happy Birthday Amanda! My favorite birthday cake is lemon pound cake. Made from a box mix and it must be Duncan Hines 🙂
I love sweets and it is always hard to decide on a birthday treat. I think as of today, I love Peanut Butter sheet cake! Its so delicious and there is always so much of it you can save/freeze it for later! Yum!
Sorry about the loss of your friend. Each birthday is a gift. Happy birthday to you, hope all your wishes come true!
I love spice cake with peanut butter icing!
So sorry about your friend. I’m glad you are cyber-celebrating! 😉
I am a cake-aholic, and I had to comment because just last night Chris said, “you know, we don’t need to wait for Birthdays to get us a cake”. I Love that! 🙂 I’m gonna get us a Publix yellow cake with cream cheese frosting! 🙂 mmmmmmmmm
Happy Birthday!!! xo
Amanda, sorry of the loss of your friend. It’s never easy. I am, however, happy you are celebrating your birthday! My favorite cake is ice cream cake. It has to be chocolate cake with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Love it! Being that I’m pregnant right now it sounds delicious for lunch! 🙂
Happy Birthday!!
My favorite birthday treat is Lemon Meringue Pie! Thank you so much for celebrating life. I am so sad to hear about the passing of your friend. God bless.
So sorry to hear about your friend. I hope things are close to getting back to normal very soon. I will be celebrating my birthday at the end of December. My favorite cake or dessert is anything made with chocolate and a tall glass of milk.
Amanda, so sorry for your loss. It’s never easy when we lose someone who means so much to us. As for celebration…bring on the Cheesecake! It’s my favorite, but being the sweetaholic that I am, any cake would work also. Thanks for the chance to win! 🙂
My favorite birthday dessert is a very difficult choice. Today I’ll go with Dulce de Leche cheesecake.
i’m so sorry to hear about your friend….
my favorite is red velvet with cream cheese frosting 😉
So sorry to hear about your friend. I’m about to turn 41 too, so losing a friend that young is especially sad. Hopefully your wonderful memories of her will help you through. And hopefully you had a happy birthday. With mine coming up, I’m counting on an ice cream cake. Any kind my husband can find. Yum.
You are right, everyday is a celebration and blessing!
My birthday cake is a Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake. It’s the thin chocolate cake that you ice while it’s warm. Around here we just call it Candice’s Birthday Cake. 🙂
I’m a sucker for cream cheese – any kind, blueberry, cherry, chocolate!
And I’m sorry about your friend. My Mom had sudden bypass surgery a few weeks ago and then coded after the surgery. They got her back, but it has been a wake up call for both of us on how short our time is.
So sorry about your friend.
Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing!
mmmm…cheesecake!
Life is a gift and it is to be celebrated…even the little everyday things. :). I’m so very sorry for your loss.
Love strawberry cake, loaded with fresh strawberries and strawberry icing! Yum!
Happy birthday to you! Hope it is a oh so happy day!
I’m sorry for your loss, and glad that you have chosen to remember your friend by celebrating the gift of life.
My fave birthday cake is applesauce cake 🙂
Happy Birthday!
It’s hard to choose–I like most every kind of cake, sigh. But if I have to choose one–I’d take dark chocolate with chocolate frosting! Thanks for sharing about your friend and keeping her memory alive.
I’m sorry to hear for your loss. Thank you for reminding me that everyday is a gift!
My favorite is my Mom’s German Chocolate Cake made from scratch- nothing compares to it!!
I love any kind of cake… but right now my favorite is yellow cake straight out of the oven!
Carrot cake is my favorite too!
Amanda, I’m very sorry to hear about your friend. You are so right, each day is a gift to be appreciated and enjoyed.
My favorite birthday treat is chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, cooled in the fridge a day before.
Happy birthday and sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. My favorite cake is a death by chocolate cake.
Loving life! My favorite cake to have on my birthday is homemade strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting. Yum!
I love Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake!!
My favorite cake when I was little was Red Velvet but now that I’m older I love coconut cake! Happy Birthday Amanda!