re: Firefighter trying to bake!

Welcome to Cakesdecor.com Nick. Good luck in your cake journey! You will learn something new with each cake you make and it may not be about cake.
I think your cake is off to a good start. There are tons of places on the internet where you can learn all kinds of things about cake decorating if you just look in the right places. There are a lot of free tutorials here on CD. I’m a big Edna De La Cruz fan myself. I also like Craftsy.com for classes there and sometimes they are on sale and you can pick up a class for as cheap as $9.99. (incidentally, they have the wilton classes you can watch from home for about $14.00)
My advice to you is, do what you love, love what you do. Take your time and enjoy the process. Try to get better with each cake you make.
Good Luck! Happy Caking!
Donna Tokazowski
Cake Hatteras,
Hatteras NC

Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.