A Mini-Miracle

Just want to share something that happened to me yesterday.   This has nothing to do with my 30 by 30 (but since you're wondering, YES I'm still planning on writing up the rest of my adventures as soon as I can!), but for now I just have to share this little story.

I was at the square yesterday afternoon and I had just finished a guitar lesson- which was one of my new adventures and so far I'm sticking with it!- and since my kiddos were in the sweet care of Joey's "Favorite Grown-Up" (my Aunt), I thought I would go to Cool Beans and get a few things done.  

And because it's me, and I have a knack for this kind of thing, I grabbed a box of envelopes when I meant to grab notecards, so I couldn't work on what I had planned.  No worries though, I had already bought my hot tea so I wasn't going anywhere fast!  

I pulled out a book instead.  

I'm reading "Rediscovering Jesus" by Matthew Kelly.  It's a devotional, so there's only a little bit to read each day.  I'll tell you more about it later, but I'm only on day 4 or 5 right now!  The part that I read was about "The Jesus Question."  Basically, it's from Mattheww 16:15, when Jesus asked his deciples, "But who do you say that I am?"  Kelly says that this question is unavoidable- that everyone will have to answer it in some way, and that even if they think they're "ignoring" the question, they're choosing to ignore Jesus, which- in a way- is their own [pitiful] answer to the question.  Kelly says that Jesus is everywhere.  Entirely unavoidable.  

As I finished up the chapter, I kind of challenged that.  I mean, I was sitting in a public coffee shop.  Hobby Lobby is one thing, but most other public places don't display even the tiniest hint of christianity, let alone Jesus.  I looked around to see if I was right.  

I saw a ton of things that REALLY speaks volumes about our culture, and I wrote all these things down under the heading Looking for signs of Jesus... A framed dollar bill on the wall, an ATM machine, clever signs about coffee/chocolate/caffeine, lots of art (paintings, photography, wall hangings), newspapers, and they even had a psychic there offering tarot readings!  The closest thing I saw to Jesus was a St. Patrick's Day banner with little four leaf clovers on it. 

I came to the conclusion that our ONLY chance to see Jesus when we're out in public like that... 

is IN EACH OTHER!  We have to treat others like Jesus would have.  We have to love them.  THEN we will start to be able to see Jesus everywhere we go!

A short but sweet little lesson, I thought.  I was pretty content with myself for having come up with this.

  

As I packed up, I realized I had overlooked a bookshelf, and decided to walk past it on the way out to see if there was a Bible.  I figured that was my best shot at finding a physical "sign" of Jesus.... NOPE.  Nothing.  No Bible, no religious books, no spiritual books... that I saw.  There's a chance I could have missed one or two as I was speed-reading through the book titles.  

But not a CHANCE in H-E-double-hockey-sticks that I could have missed what I saw next.  On the very top shelf, laying flat on the surface was a great big Slap In The Face.  A HUGE wake-up call, that I wasn't expecting... not in the least!  

A loud and clear "Yes, Emily.  Even in Cool Beans, on your beloved Medina Square, I am here."

A lonely, but purposeful card that someone had left earlier...

This.

My mini-miracle.

And you know,  THANK GOD I was wrong about not finding Jesus there.

THANK GOD for this reminder, just for me, that He is everywhere I go.

And THANK GOD for still loving doubters like me.

Day 10- Geocaching

Have you heard about geocaching yet!?!?  I thought I knew what it was, but then I actually TRIED it, and ohmygosh, NOT what I was expecting.  It's SO fun!!! Like, really fun for grown ups AND kids, and probably for advanced grown ups, too!

(DAD, you are going to LOVE THIS!!!)

So before I get much further, you'll have to learn what geocaching IS so that you can follow along.  Here's what explained it best for me.  It's a minute-fifteen second Youtube video that explains pretty well what it's all about.  Check it out and then come right back, ok?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YTqitVK-Ts

As you now know, it's like real-life treasure hunting, using your phone with a GPS.  You pick a "Cache" that you want to look for, read the description and clues, follow its coordinates on the map, and then look for it!  Usually the cache will be within 10 yards or so from the coordinates.  Some are easy, others hard, and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Once you find it, you sign the log book, and then you can even trade little knick-knacks that were left inside from other geocachers!

I cannot WAIT for the weather to get nice again so I can go geocaching all the time!

THIS is where it all began.  Once I downloaded the app, I pulled open the map and saw this:

I’m probably stating the obvious, but each green dot is a Geocache!  I couldn’t BELIEVE that there are so many in Medina!  And there are close to 50 geocaches in each city around Medina (including Brunswick, Strongsville, Cleveland, Fairlawn, Wadsworth, Lodi, Wooster…) Maybe this makes me a huge dork, but I think it's REALLY exciting!

Anyway, back to my story... we grabbed knick-knacks from around the house (and marked them with #Ems30by30), packed up the kids, and headed out to find our first Cache!  We decided to try finding “Cache Noel” which is located right by Castle Noel, south of the Medina Square.  J was SOOOO excited to be on a “treasure hunt,” and T just picks up on her enthusiasm, even when he doesn’t know what’s going on.  It’s terribly precious.  Once we got to the exact coordinate of the GPS, the cache was supposed to be within 10 yards or so.  

We searched high and low, and then… WE FOUND IT!!!  Here we are, checking out what was inside:

We signed the log book, and found my girlfriend’s name (the one who inspired me to do a 30 by 30, and also who told me about Geocaching!):

  

And we traded knick-knacks.  J was so excited to pick a bouncy ball, and T couldn’t care less, so we just took the one!

I cannot WAIT for the weather to get nice again so we can go geocaching all the time!  If you want to try it out, just start by downloading an app for Geocaching... of course there's one that costs $10, but I just used the free one! :)

OKAY, now I have the CUTEST PICTURE of when we found the geocache, so this is a MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!! Don’t scroll down unless you won’t do this cache or don’t mind knowing where it is!!!

****SPOILER ALERT!!!****

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****SPOILER ALERT!!!****





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Pulling out the Cache...

...and putting it back!

Day 9- Try a New Food (SUSHI)

It’s true.  I was a sushi virgin until today, day 9 of my 30 by 30 challenge.  I knew this task was what I had planned for the day, but all day I kept thinking “I don’t wanna do this! I don’t wanna do this!”  I’m really just not a fan of seafood.  It grosses me out thinking about eating animals that were slimy and swimming in the oceans or lakes.  The same oceans and lakes that people pee in, and are also the recipients of tons of pollution of all kinds.  I’m not about to get on an environmentalist soap box, or get into my former/sometimes-back-again vegetarian ways, but seafood just isn’t my thing.

I was going out with a group of friends that night, and the lovely birthday girl chose Twisted- a sushi restaurant in Medina that I had never been to before! It didn’t take long to find something that looked good to me- it was a “crab Rangoon” roll, and it included a few of my faves: avocado, cream cheese, rice…. oh and it was deep fried! ;)  

The only thing still freakin’ me out was the crab.  Eww.  BUT I did it.  Put on my big girl panties and ate one!  It was really good!  Still hard to swallow (if I’m being honest) but I’m pretty sure it was just a psychological thing.  I heard Sebastian in my mind singing “under da sea we off da hook!”… So it was kind of a one-and-done thing.  YES, I liked it, but NO, I will not be going back for more!

  

But wouldn’t you know, I got showed up!  My sweet little J was awake when I got home, and- this brave little girl who took a taste of perogies earlier that evening even though she swore she didn’t like them, and then ended up eating two- she wanted to try my leftover sushi too!  I told her everything that was in it and she said “hmm.. sounds good!” She took a bite and loved it!  She’s a BIG fan of rice so I think that helped.  She even gave it a “thumbs up!” 

 

I’m so proud of her for being so fearless when she tries new things!  If you think about it, 3 year olds are trying new things all the time: new foods, games, puzzles, activities at school, playing with new friends, etc.  And my 17 month old is CONSTANTLY exposed to new things- first of all because he’s a baby, and second of all because even the things that aren’t new to him, he may not remember!  I feel like I should just give them a little more credit when it comes to not wanting to try my broccoli because it looks different that night (okay so I have a tendency to over-cook broccoli and then the kids are like “why is it mushy?!”)…  They still need to eat healthy food (or whatever else I cook for dinner), but just going out of my comfort zone tonight helps put things in a new light.  It IS a little scary trying something new, especially when you don’t think you’ll like it! 

So the good news is, K will finally have someone he can take out for a sushi date!  

Bad news is, it's not me.  ;)

"Marquis Au Chocolat" Recipe

Marquise Au Chocolat

Preparation time: 50 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Cooling time: 2 hours

Chilling Time: overnight

CAKE LAYER

Melted butter (about 2 tbs)

1 Tbs. ground almonds (plus extra for dusting)

Two 3.5 oz bars of dark chocolate (60% cocoa content or more)

One 3.5 oz bar of Maya Gold (or good-quality orange flavored chocolate)

1 ¼ C. sugar

2/3 C. plus 1 Tbs. unsalted butter

pinch of sea salt

5 large eggs

MOUSSE

9  oz. dark chocolate (60% cocoa content or more)

¾ C. confectioners sugar

¾ C. unsalted butter

5 large eggs, separated

2/3 C. whipping cream

cocoa powder for dusting

CREAM

1 C. whipping cream

3 Tbs. confectioners sugar

1 1/2  tsp. orange extract

plus fresh oranges for the garnish

Preheat oven to 350*

Brush the pan with melted butter and dust with the ground almonds, shaking off any excess.

To make the cake, melt the chocolate, sugar, butter, and salt in a large, heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, then remove from heat.

Whisk the eggs with the ground almonds and fold into the chocolate mixture.  Continue to fold until the mixture thickens.  Pour into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for at least two hours before starting the mousse.

[But be careful where you set your mixing bowl down, especially if it's after midnight and you have 2 sleeping kids upstairs!]

To make the mousse, melt the chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl sitting over a saucepan of simmering water.  [Just try not to eat it...]  Remove from the heat and add half the confectioners’ sugar, stir, then whisk in the butter.  Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time.  Set aside.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks start to form.  Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar and continue to whisk until glossy.  Whip the cream until stiff peaks form.

Add one-third of the egg whites in a large bowl to the chocolate mixture and carefully mix to blend.  Gently fold in the remaining whites, alternating with the whipped cream.  Do not overmix, but ensure that the mixture is well blended.  Pour the mousse over the cooled cake in the cake pan and refrigerate overnight. [If it hadn't been 5am, I might have remembered to snap a pic of the "finished product" before chilling!]

Remove the pan from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before serving.  Dip a butter knife into boiling water, dry it, and slide it around the sides of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then gently smooth the sides of the mousse.

For the cream, whisk together the whipping cream, sugar, and orange extract together until stiff peaks start to form. 

Serve each slice with a dollop of the orange cream, and garnish with orange.

[enjoy]

Day 8- Enter a Chocolate Dessert contest

I spent a lot of time in the month of January doing research, planning and preparing for all my adventures.  One chilly morning I walked into the daycare center where I teach my music classes, and on the front table, there were a stack of pink papers that caught my eye.  They were entry forms for a dessert contest.

A DECEDANT CHOCOLATE DESSERT CONTEST!!!

Didn’t take much convincing.  Once I read over the entry form (and learned that it was not necessary for the recipe to be original), I was sold- I knew I had to do this as one of my challenges!

I spent a long time searching through recipes and trying to find the perfect, most decadent chocolate dessert out there!  I landed on a recipe from Green & Black’s chocolate cookbook that had me drooling.   I spent more money on good, quality dark chocolate than I care to worry my husband about, but anything for chocolate, right?!?!  Besides, the chocolate contest was a part of Medina’s Chocolate Festival, which benefits “Faith In Action,” so it’s all for a good cause!  I had to make it the night before because it needed to chill overnight, but my sweet little Tasmanian Devils were such messy, mischievous little goofballs that night, that until they went to bed, I had no choice but to give them all of my attention.  I didn’t hate it one bit!  Well… not until the wee hours of the morning rolled around and between rocking my precious T back to sleep a couple times and the complicated recipe I chose, I was still baking.  

I took a 2 hour “nap” while the cake portion cooled, and before I could start on the mousse.  When I finally finished, it was 5:00 a.m. in the morning of the next day.  A day in which I had a music class, and then, of course, I had to decorate the cake and deliver it!  But even throughout all this craziness- my busy schedule, the lack of sleep, the mounting stress of “do I stand a chance?”- I still loved EVERY SECOND of the baking process!  It must just be in my blood (thanks mom!).

I finished the cake and decorated it with just moments to spare.

   

J and T were so tired, I knew they’d fall asleep the second we started driving, so I asked my little brother came with me to deliver the goods!  He drove my car for me while I held the cake, and then stayed in the car with the sleeping beauties while I ran the dessert in- what an angel!  He’s such a great help!  

The dessert delivery was very “professional” and even uneventful…. Except for this picture I asked them to take for my mom to see!  You can tell I hadn't gotten much sleep... 

The next day, we went to the Chocolate Festival to find out if I’d won!  It was very crowded and I was so confused on where I was supposed to go, but I'll save you the drama; I found out pretty early on that I did NOT win first place, at least.  They were selling slices of the “First Place” dessert- a brownie…. I’m sure a very fancy and delicious brownie, but folks…. It was a brownie.  I should just be honest with you instead of trying to mask my emotions.  I was REALLY disappointed!  I'm a very sore looser, and actually that's in my blood too (thanks Dad!).  Found out later that my dessert won an “Honorable Mention” award, which is kind of cool except that the man who told me kinda winked at me too… so I wasn’t sure if he was just trying to be nice and give me a leftover ribbon or something?  Because it DID say “Chocolate Cookie Contest” when I actually entered the “Decadent Chocolate Dessert” contest…. hmmmm... it was all just bizarre…

                    

But we had an awesome time at the festival, and not all of us came out losers- Tucker won a teddy bear in a raffle!  :)

As hard as it was for me to not be… irritated (that I lost... to a brownie.), it was a GREAT lesson to share with J, who wanted to know where my “birthday cake” went, and why I didn’t win.  But really though… I couldn’t possibly have expected to win a contest my first time entering with a cake that I had never made before!  And it’s DEFINITELY something I’ll do again next year if the timing works out.  But next time, I’ll practice a recipe or two and know what I’m doing.  Instead of winging it I’ll be winning it! 

By the way, there is supposed to be some sort of “recognition” for the winner and they’re also supposed to be printing the winning recipe!!!  SO you can bet that I’m going to make that winning brownie recipe to see if it REALLY was more decadent than my “Marquise Au Chocolat”… and if I have to eat my words in the end, so be it.  I’m sure they’ll be delicious.

(Recipe will be posted soon!)