Carrie The Cake Lady!

Well, here I am...let me tell you a little about myself and why I'm here!

My name is Carrie...a 26 year old who has been living and working in the Sunshine State for 3 years. A Wisconsin "Cheese Head" native, I attended Winona State University in Minnesota and graduated with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation in 2005.

Upon completing my internship in Indianapolis, I knew the next step in "growing up" was to look for my first job as I began my career in Recreation Therapy. Being the type of gal who knows what I want and doesn't settle for anything else, I was Blessed with an opportunity to focus on the Physical Rehabilitation part of Recreation Therapy with a job at a Rehabilitation Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Taking the plunge and moving to Florida with not knowing a single soul was one of the biggest...scratch that...the biggest step I've ever taken in my life. When I found the position and decided to pursue it, I figured that I should probably take a little trip down to Florida to make sure it was something that would be a good fit for me...for some reason I didn't really have a good picture in my mind from the one Florida family vacation that we took when I was in Kindergarten! After a long weekend in St. Pete...I decided that moving "half a country" away would be something that I could see as the next phase of my life. So, after paperwork in Human Resources was completed over that time...and a car was purchased and held for me at the car dealership...and let's not forgot the offer was accepted by the sellers on the condo that my parents purchased for me to live in...I caught a one-way flight down to Florida a month later. The car dealership salesman picked me up from the airport, handed over the keys to me...and it was official...I was about the begin my life in Florida (with Mapquest printouts to get to all of my destinations).

After two years of getting my career started in St. Pete, I was again Blessed with an opportunity to take a huge step in my career. Networking proved to work for me, and I was told (by a gal who I met at a conference) of a Rec. Therapy position at the Veteran's Hospital in Tampa. After much waiting and anticipation, I was finally able to move into that new position in October of 2007. I can't be more honored to be able to work with Veteran's and Active Duty Service Members on a daily basis. I am passionate about my job and I'm happy to do what I do...doing everything in my power to give them the best of care...that they very much deserve for all that they've been through to keep our country Free.

So, now we're moving on to the whole "Cake Lady" part. Since a goal of every Recreation Therapist is to restore, create, and introduce leisure as part of any balanced and healthy lifestyle, I discovered a couple of years ago that cake decorating is something that I really love to do! It is a creative outlet for me...and I love seeing the smiles and happiness of others shine through when I have cakes to share with them!

Check my Blog periodically to see my work...and please share your comments, ideas, and feedback with me! I do love to take orders, too...so if you live in the Tampa area, please contact me and we can talk about what you're looking for and what I can do for you! (And for those of you in other parts of the country...I haven't figured out the whole shipping thing yet...unless you don't mind getting "smash cakes" in the mail!) Regardless, I'd love to hear from everyone! :)