Let's make a cake!

So, I'm a do-it-myself kind of person. I like to learn new skills and try new things. With a wedding coming up in 83 days, money-saving is a GREAT incentive to try learning something new...like wedding cake baking!!!! I've never done it in my life so this was interesting. Let's start small... an 8" round and a 6" round. Phew.

Devil's food cake...is there anything better?

I showed that fondant who was boss. "We can do it!"

You can't make butter-cream frosting without tasting just a little bit on it...

My first attempt at applying the fondant to the frosted cake...

Adding the second layer to my tiny cake. I'm pretty sure the fondant is supposed to go on all at once at the end...but I didn't do it that way. Some things you've got to learn the hard way.

Trimming the edges...

MY CAKE! My mom and I sat looking at this white blob, wondering how to decorate it. All of the sudden, she springs to the pantry and comes back with a bag of red hots and some fake flowers. Mom, you saved the day!

Yeah...so don't look too close... :)

Tasted great! Fun for a first try! Now, let's practice!

Roommate (and guests) Christmas Party!

TRUTH.

"For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net You laid affliction on our backs.
You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment."
-Psalm 66:10-12-

"The LORD Yahweh is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD Yahweh is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise up against me, in this I will be confident.
One thing I have desired of the LORD Yahweh that I will seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD Yahweh all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD Yahweh, and to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble He shall hid me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD Yahweh.
Hear, O LORD Yahweh, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, 'Seek My face,'
My heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD, I will seek.'
Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD Yahweh will take care of me.
Teach me Your way, O LORD Yahweh, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breath out violence.
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD Yahweh,
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!"
-Psalm 27-

"The Story"

Jesse's is far more detailed and sly, but here's my version for them time being :) Enjoy! I sure did ;)

A Very Special Tuesday...

Several days before, I asked Jesse if we could go see the movie "The Christmas Carol." He thought through our schedules and suggested we go on Tuesday. Seemed like a normal plan. As the days got closer, he began to reveal a few extra details...having breakfast together the morning of...dinner before the movie...a short stop at the Garfield-Park Conservatory (a place we visited once before but wanted more time in). All these things seemed sweet and fun, but a little over the top when all I wanted to do was see a movie. But I went along with it :-)

We met outside my apartment building at 6:00am on Tuesday. It was freezing, but twilight was beautiful. We wandered through the city--he was smiling quietly as I started rambling about all the different breakfast places I thought he might be taking me. We finally ended up at the beach--one of my most favorite places in the world. We stood looking at the water and the birds as the light started to get a little brighter. I'm not sure if he strategically placed a driftwood log there or what, but there just providentially happened to be a nice log there for us to sit on and dig our toes in the sand. (Again...it was freezing.) Laughing, talking, praying, and taking pictures...the sun finally rose and thus began the most beautiful day.

Starving and cold, we quickly put our shoes on and began the walk to the breakfast location. After exhausting every possible guess for a cafe, I finally guessed "the SDR?" (Student Dining Room) and Jesse excitedly said "YES!" At this point I'm thinking, "Are you serious? You've been talking it up so much and now you're taking me to the free dining room?" But I smiled :-D When we arrived, he told me to get a drink and sit down. As I sat with my coffee, Jesse walks out of the servery with three covered plates (much like you see at fancy restaurants). My thought: "Hmmmm...." He sets the most delicious looking and tasting omelet in front of me. Several days before, he arranged with one of his coworkers to have a very special breakfast made for us. IT WAS FABULOUS.

Well...the day had pieces of normal-ness to it...we went to classes and to chapel. We were supposed to meet back together around 4:00pm to start our evening. As I was getting ready to go, I casually asked my lovely roommate, Michelle, "Hey, how do I look? Should I change my outfit?" She took that as her cue to throw open the closets and have me try on every article of clothing I own. I ended walking out the door with the same outfit I originally had on, but most appreciative of how sweet she was :-) Jesse and I hurried to the train, trying to get to the conservatory before it closed at 5:00. As soon as we arrived at 4:45, Jesse started nervously fumbling with his phone. I disregarded it and just kept walking.

We headed towards the Fern Room, but delayed as Jesse pointed out a dead tree to me along the way (He was stalling). The Fern Room is a beautiful large greenhouse style room, filled with ferns, trees, rocks, a pond in the middle and a beautiful waterfall in the back. We took the walkway through the mini-jungle, stopping for a moment to laugh at Jesse when he ran into a rock. As we rounded the corner near the waterfall, I started to see red rose pedals on the path. Jesse didn't say anything so I pretended to be oblivious. When we reached the pedals, he pulled me onto the cove below the waterfall and said he wanted to read me something. He pulled out his Bible and read Proverbs 31:10-31 to me. He paused for a moment afterward. "Emily, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." ...LONG PAUSE...Me: "Was that a question?" Jesse: "No." ...LONG PAUSE...Jesse: "I love you." (First time he's said that to me.) At this point, he puts our coats (which I had been holding) on the ground, pulls a little red box from his pocket, kneels down on one knee and says, "Will you marry me?" And I said yes.

Two of our good friends, Jameson and Allison, had been Jesse's assistants, putting the pedals down and taking a few pictures. They popped out from behind the bushes and gave hugs :-) After the excitement, Jes took me to Maggiano's Italian restaurant for a LOVELY dinner and we celebrated. After the meal, it was definitely desert time...we got some icecream to take back to my apartment, where we were supposedly going to celebrate with my roommates, but little did I know there was a party going on! We walked into the room to a huge "SURPRISE!" of friends and cake :-) What a fabulous time.

So...that's the long story...we're getting married!!!

36 Days

December 12th is my finish line :) I've got four big papers due before then. Here are the topics...if you have any opinions, suggestions, or research sources please feel free to leave a comment.

(1) Is Allah of Islam the same god as Yahweh of Christianity?
(2) An Exegetical Study on a Passage of Romans.
(3) The Philosophy and Apologetic Approach to Reincarnation and Karma
(4) A Theological Study of the Doctrine of Sanctification

YIKES! I'm hopeful that it will all get done and I'd love it if they wouldn't require any all-nighters. :)

Tonight is the North-South Football Game. It's Moody's all-star football game of their intramural sports teams. Jesse and several of our good friends made the team so I'll be dressing up in black and red (team colors) and cheering for them in the freezing cold tonight :) Oh the prices paid for fun in Chicago....

These last few weeks have been stretching and good. My CNA class has finished (except for one more clinical day happening on the 15th). It was such a great experience, though a lot of work. I LOVED the people in my class. All of them so unique and genuine. I feel like I made some good friends.

My new little computer, fondly named "The Comical Companion," died on me two days ago. He lived a short life and died digesting my final papers. I'm a little ticked at him, but hope for his best in computer-heaven. Maybe they'll give him a new hard-drive.

Now...time to get to work on one of those papers :)

Blessings, Friends.

Movie from Missions Conference

MBI hosted their annual missions conference this last week. One of the keynote speakers was from India...his work was in freeing the Dalits (lowest social class in India) from the stigma of their situation. On Thursday night, they showed this film, a secular project, to the attendees and had a discussion afterwards. I didn't get to hear the discussion, but would highly recommend that you take time to watch this documentary. It's a small look into the red light district in Calcutta and what one woman was trying to do. It's 90 minutes long and, I would suggest, is not appropriate for children. Please take time to watch it. There is a 2.20 minute trailer if you'd like to see that first and the link for the actual documentary is below that. Born Into Brothels

Blessings,
Emily

For Fun...

Random....Go to this website. The artist's got some neat designs :) Fun to look at: Vladstudio

"Where Jelly Beans Come From"

California Pictures :)

Last weekend, Jesse and I took a trip to the wonderful land of sunny California :) We arrived Friday afternoon, rented a cute little red car that I neglected to take a picture of, and drove to my grandparents house :) After a delightful lunch with them, we drove to the little historical city of Benicia, which once served as the state's capital for nearly 13 months.




We drove to the outskirts of the city where there was a beautiful view of the Bay. Here's a few pictures of the bay-bridge.



After that adventure, we went to the ever-famous hot dog restaurant...Caspers :) YUM. When ordering "everything" on a casper's dog, you get mustard, fresh tomatoes, and onions.

Saturday was our visiting day. After breakfast at my grandpa's favorite diner, Jesse and I drove to my hometown of Scotts Valley where we visited the wonderful little farmer's market! Joe Carlson, the most gifted coffee shop manager/barista I've ever met, made us some delicious iced coffee. :) After some shopping around and visiting with friends, we headed to the Carlson's house for lunch! Seeing old friends and meeting new ones was a blast :)

After lunch, we got to sneak a quick trip over to Felton to see more family...literally give hugs and visit for 5 minutes, then Jesse and I had to book it to the rehearsal dinner...YIKES! Time got a little bit away from us, but we still managed to arrive on time!

We kind of forgot to take pictures in between...like at the rehearsal dinner and at my aunt and uncle's house (I know...don't throw stones at me) :( but WE HAD A SUPERB TIME at both. It was so wonderful to be with family and see faces we hadn't been around for so long.

Then came... SUNDAY!!!!

Jesse and I were up early, on our way into Berkeley, when we missed our exit and ended up on the Bay Bridge :) So we drove into San Francisco and back out real quick, but got a few pictures along the way :)

We finally got to Berkeley and had a little time to spare. Since we hadn't eaten, we drove around town trying to find a place for breakfast. Me in heels and Jesse in a tie, we tried to avoid going to McDonalds and found a cute little French Bistro instead! Oh boy was it delish... :) AND...after brunch....we ordered flourless chocolate cake. Amen and Amen.

We finished our brunch and made our way to the church...



I camped out at the piano to rehearse the music with my little sister (Elaine) and her boyfriend (Josh). We hadn't practiced the music together before that morning. :) Jesse was kind enough to be the photographer.

The wedding was structured as a contemporary Catholic mass with a few additional characteristics added for the vows and special offerings. It was a lovely service...very unique to Chelsea and Marcus.

After the ceremony, the auditorium emptied and Marcus' sister led the procession of people to the reception hall with a belly-dance. (Sample clip to be posted at a later time) :)

Pictures from the reception...





Chelsea and Marcus peeled an orange rather than cutting cake. It was very unique :)

Family Pictures...





And that was our adventure :) A wonderful (FAST) trip to the west coast. Thank you to everyone that hosted us and made it such a special time!!!