PHILADELPHIA© Cheesecake

Hands down to the Kraft peeps!  The cheesecake recipe that's on every stick of Philadelphia cream cheese is a keeper.  It's true that it's easy and simple to make, and it tastes great!

The recipe is easy to adjust too.  The original recipe calls for 4 sticks of cream cheese.   I only had two sticks so I winged it and hoped for the best.  Of course, it will be a smaller cake.

I cut back to 2 eggs and used 3/4 cup sugar.  I also cut back to 2 tablespoon of sugar for the crust.  I think it came out great without the additional sweetness.

1-1/2 cups   graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbl           sugar
1/3 cup       butter or margarine, melted
2 pkgs         (8oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup       sugar
1 tsp           vanilla
2                eggs

Bake in 325F oven for 45- 55minutes.

Note to self: don't over bake it.  You don't want the crust to become too hard.

Here's the original recipe:

PHILADELPHIA Classic Cheesecake

Simple Pleasure

It doesn't take a lot to brighten up my day.  A beautiful English plate that I got from Goodwill; a little cheese dome from another thrift shop.  They go very well with the day-old donut somehow and that makes me happy.

Hello 2014!

Time flew by too quickly.  I didn't even say good-bye to 2013 and here we are, 10 days into the brand new year.

My last post was more than two months ago.  The past two months went by like a blur.  I wasn't even ready for Christmas.  What Christmas??  I was intensively involved with the office move that I lived, breathed and dreamed about it 24/7.

Ahhh, the move...It was quite an experience.  I was volunteered the role of Project Manager.  I was a bit scared at first since I had never handled such a large scale move before, and I certainly had no idea what I was supposed to do.  But, someone had to do it... and I was that someone.

I took a deep breath and jumped into a sea of unknowns.  From overseeing the construction, finding movers, furniture vendors and other service providers, to organizing everything for 20 people to move from a 10,000 square feet office to a smaller 6,000 square feet space... and dealing with the hiccups, insurance requirement, restrictions, scheduling and the aftermath,.... man, now looking back, I had to ask myself, how the heck you did you do it, Suts?

Yes, pat me on the back please.

Everyone was impressed with the efficiency of the move.  The partners were totally blown away that they walked into a brand new office that was fully ready for operation.  All boxes put away; all systems ready to go.

That goes to show, never say you can't.  Just bite the bullet and do it.  Somehow, you will find a way to do it right.

I will face 2014 with my new found fearlessness.  I think 2014 will be an interesting year.  I can't wait to see what it will bring.

Here I come 2014, ready or not!!

I'm 50! I'm 50 Years Old!

The big day is finally here.  I can't believe that I'm half of a century old today (11/6/13).  I don't feel 50 at all.  I thought I would get a little sentimental about turning fifty but you know, it's quite OK.

We are only as old as we feel. A recent survey done by an university (forgot the name) found that most folks don't think AGE makes them feel old.  What makes them feel old is when they can't live independently in their own place anymore and when they can no longer drive.  Great message and it came at the right time.

So, I've decided that I'm going to be the youngest fifty-something that one can be.  Remember, 50 is the new 30.  There is so much ahead of me and I better get going.

Happy Birthday to me!

Different Shades of Gray

I am not fazed by finding gray hair or white hair on my head anymore.  I just look at it, sigh and pluck it. Out of sight.  Out of mind.  I'm thankful though.  The little gray and white thing has not taken over my head and I still have no need for hair coloring (not yet anyway).

As I get used to this "gray" business that comes with getting old, I find different shades of gray hair.  What causes it?  Well, you can blame it on this little pigment called melanin, which is responsible for giving us our hair color.  Without good old melanin, you get:

The silvery white - that's when you totally lost it.
The definite gray - that's when you lost most of it.
The depressing black tip-gray root - sorry, you're losing it
The hopeful white tip-black root - yay, you're regaining it -- maybe?
But, what's up with black tip-white middle-black root? - is this the ultimate comeback??  If so, I have few to show off.

So, as I get ready to turn half of a century old in a week, I gracefully accept the fact that "grayness" is inevitable.   Gray hair is like wrinkles...

UGH!!!

YES.  Wrinkles!!  How can I forget about the wrinkles???  That's part of growing old too!!

But gray hair, wrinkles what not -- getting back to being graceful - we can stay FOREVER YOUNG on the inside because our mind and our heart will not turn gray (unless we kick the bucket) and have wrinkles.

I'll drink to that.  Cheers.