Inconvenient Blessings

I've just had a Monday of a Friday morning. One of those days where everything you do takes twice as long as it should, and everything you touch seems to backfire.

By the time I was running a couple minutes behind & didn't need any more setbacks, I found the bracelets I wanted to wear. I hadn't worn them in several years & that quickly became evident. You see, they're elastic beaded bracelets that I've had since my freshman year of college, and as I slid them on my wrist the elastic broke (on 4 of the 7 bracelets) and beads flew ALL OVER the bedroom. My first thought was, "Are you kidding me? I don't have time for this!" Not only did I have to pick up beads from all over the room, I couldn't wear those bracelets, so now I needed to find different jewelry to wear. But I did, and that was fine.

All that was left for me was to go into the kitchen & take my vitamins on my way out the door. When I stood at the sink, I noticed the blender sitting there, & I wondered if it had been rinsed out from the night before. (Sidenote: I'm meticulous about cleaning the blender as soon as I'm done with it so food doesn't get gunked up in the blades, etc. My boyfriend is - shall we say - slightly less meticulous...) As I lift it up & tilt it to look inside, I discover (the hard way) that there was water in it. The dirty dishwater runs down the front of the kitchen cabinets... and me. "Great!" I say. "So THIS is the kind of day it's going to be? Alright. Fine! Bring it on, Friday," I threaten. So I clean myself up from this mess, take my vitamins, and head out the door about 20 minutes behind schedule - grumbling all the while.

I begin my morning commute wondering why I've had such a craptastic morning. Then as I come around a turn and look ahead to the intersection at the bottom of the hill, I see flashing lights & realize I'm going to have to take a detour. "What?!? Seriously? I don't have time for this!" As I approach the firetruck & ambulance, I realize what has happened. There's been an accident. It appears that one car t-boned another in the intersection. They're loading someone from one car onto the stretcher & the folks from the other car are still inside. The whole incident looks to be about 20 minutes old. And I am instantly humbled.

Right then it hits me. It's not about the detour. It's about the fact that, had I been on time, had all those little inconveniences not littered my morning, that could have been me. I could have had more than a detour on my way to work. I could have had a hospital visit on my way to work. Heck, I might not have even made it to the hospital. Who knows? The point is that in that moment, I'm humbled by the divinely timed orchestration of my life. In that moment, my attitude goes from an arrogantly annoyed, "So THIS is the kind of day it's going to be?" to a humbly grateful, "So this is the kind of day it's going to be. Wow!" What an unexpected blessing.

It got me to thinking, why don't I choose to see the blessings before I'm revealed the purpose? In every little setback this morning I was frustrated, and ticked off by the inconvenience of it all. My mind could only comprehend the idea that the whole world was out to make me late. I couldn't wrap my head around the possibility that perhaps every time something took a little bit longer than I would have preferred, I was moving a little bit closer to where I was supposed to be. It was only upon seeing where I could have wound up that I appreciated those setbacks.

So in those moments when the bracelets break, and the dirty dishwater spills on you, you have a choice. A choice to either say, "This is the kind of day it's going to be?" & throw your hands up, defeated. Or to roll with the punches, and say, "Well, that was annoying, but I trust I'm exactly where I belong at this given moment," and opt to see the silver lining. We can choose to look at life as a glass half-full of blessings, or we can gripe and complain and ask where the other half of our blessings are.

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that all people who wind up in accidents deserve it because they rushed through life, or that divine timing is a good excuse to be late. It's not about that at all. I'm simply saying that for me, on this particular day, the events of this morning served as a wake-up call for me to readjust my perspective & stop taking it so personally when the little frustrations of life get in my way. Perhaps I should be more open to the idea that it's not all about MY way. And maybe, just maybe, I should choose to see those annoyances as blessings in disguise.

The point is that had I not seen the accident, I would have let those small morning mishaps ruin my day. But because I saw the accident, those inconveniences turned to blessings in an instant. I hereby challenge myself (and you) to recognize those alleged mishaps as blessings - even without having to see the accident. Choose the bright side. Accept the blessings. Don't sweat the small stuff. And trust that there is often a reason for even the smallest moments throughout the day...

A Super Bowl Tradition

Several years ago, my sister-in-law inspired me to create something that would become an annual tradition. I believe it was the 2006 Rose Bowl when she & my brother invited me & my parents over for a viewing party. They had a smattering of all the usual picky party foods: chips & dip, cheese & crackers, etc. And then there was the cake!

My sister-in-law baked & decorated it herself, and it looked like a football field - complete with end zones & everything! I was so intrigued by her creation that I couldn't help but give it a try on my own when the Super Bowl rolled around a few weeks later. Five years later, the cake is still part of my Super Bowl tradition. I may watch the game at a different place with different people each year, but the cake goes with me everytime. :)

Though football season is over for a while now, I figured I'd share the process on here in case it inspires any of you for next season!

It all begins with a basic cake. I'm a big fan of Duncan Hines' Golden Butter Recipe, but it can be whatever flavor you prefer. Just be sure to bake it in a rectangle pan.

Next, it's time for the icing. While I won't think twice about using a box mix for the cake, I'm personally totally against canned "frosting." I'm not sure why, maybe it's because my mom never used that when I was growing up. But there's just something about it that tastes all wrong to me. So for my cake, I always make cream cheese icing, but again, it's a matter of your own preference. Whatever you decide to use, it's important that you have plenty of it, and that it starts out plain white, so you can add colors to it as needed. Separate the plain white icing into 4 different bowls - one for the field, one for each endzone, and one that will remain white for decorative touches. *NOTE: always wait for cake to cool before applying icing.

Once the cake has cooled, add green food coloring to one of the bowls to create the field. Spread it across the middle of the cake, leaving room on each side for an end zone.

Once the field is in place, create the appropriate colors for each end zone. This year, the Packers & Steelers were in the Super Bowl, so it was tricky choosing colors. I didn't want to attempt a "black" icing, so the Steelers had to be yellow. But the Packers' colors are yellow & green. So in an attempt to make a distinction between the field & the Packers' end zone, I mixed 2 different greens in 2 different bowls. The distinction is slight, but it's there. :) Once the colors are just right, spread the icing in the end zones.

Next up, I try to make yard lines on the field. At this point, I create my own pastry bag, & put the plain white icing in a small plastic sandwich bag, and cut a VERY tiny piece off the corner. That makes for maximum control & minimal mess. Obviously, it's a cake, so the accuracy of spacing & the # of lines are not terribly important. I usually just make one line up the middle of the cake, one line to border each side of the "field" & the end zone, and then alternate back & forth with lines on either side of the middle, until I run out of room.

I finish off the decorations with team names in their respective end zones, and the year in the middle of the field.

Typically, the ultimate finishing touches on this cake include little plastic football players & 2 goal posts that you can find at Party City. http://www.partycity.com/product/football+cake+toppers+10ct.do?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=ProductSearch&utm_campaign=GoogleMerchant&extcmp=GoogleMerchant

However, having just moved into a new home less than a month ago, I was unable to locate my football cake toppers. Personally, I think the field itself still makes a pretty fun statement, but if you've got the football players & goal posts, well, that's just the icing on the cake... :)