I made cheesecake!!!!!

When I committed to making cheesecake for class today, I did so having never done it before. Scary, huh? But, it was a good thing because I have always wanted to and now I could not put it off. So, this weekend I did a practice batch. This was the first time I had used a hand mixer in probably 10 years. It was hilarious!! When I first began mixing cream cheese started flying. There were little bits on me, on the wall, on the countertop. I eventually got it under control and everything went pretty smoothly. I made 3 different kinds: classic, chocolate swirl, and chocolate (the actual recipe was for chocolate swirl). When it was all said and done they were quite tasty. My neighbors had some and really liked them and even Brian, who is really picky and mean about my cooking, loved the classic. That's a good sign. This morning I got up and made the batch for class, classic only because it was easier at this point. I managed to keep all of the ingredients in the bowl. Hopefully everyone likes them! And now that I know how to do it, I won't have to sit out desert on the holidays. I can make my own gluten free cheesecake!!!

Things on MY desk....

Since this is the next to last post before the end of the class, I though I would go ahead and delve in to the very popular "what's on my desk" segment. Here goes... (by the way this is my desk at home which will soon become apparent)


* Computer (desktop)
* Computer (laptop)
* Printer
* An external hard-drive that apparently no longer works (I really need to get it looked at)
* Two binders - one for class and one full of journal articles for my paper
* Some weird handle to a suitcase, not sure where it magically appeared from
* A few bills
* A small bathroom mirror
* License plate renewal reminder
* A small purple water gun (my son's bath toy)
* A can of tuna (my son has wanted to carry it around the house and this is where it ended up)
* "Miss Kitty" (She is a little stuffed cat that came from the lounge singer at our hotel in Vegas. She also     gave me my engagement ring and will, at least in a discreet way, be at our wedding)
* A stuffed shark dog toy (for me, not the dog)
* iMac remote control
* A stack of pictures I have been meaning to put somewhere
* A Christmas ornament that did not make it back into the box last year
* A "Magic Plant" stocking stuffer for the big kid


These are all on the actual desk or second shelf. I also have two enclosed hutch cabinets. We will skip those. It's all the normal desk stuff. Let's move on to the top of the hutch...


* A conch shell
* Large dried starfish (came from vacation in Florida when I was 5ish)
* Camera
* Brian's dry cleaning that he will never take
* Clipboard
* Bag of crap from Brian's truck that has been sitting there for at least 6 months
* Two kids hardback comic books meant for the consignment sale


This actually makes my desk sound like a huge mess, but it is not. I am a neat freak. Or at least I use to be. I have been teased so much in the past about my overboard organization (I use to color code my folders and make sure that any dividers and tabs matched, weird shit). Unfortunately, Brian does not share or appreciate my hatred of clutter and now, no matter how hard I try, I cannot escape it. Plus, having a two year old dragging everything everywhere and not picking anything up does not help. I do my best and my desk is the one thing that I can, for the most part, keep as "mine". Obviously, as can be seen in the list, Brian and Derek have managed to park some things in "my" space, but once my "end of the semester is here I have time to clean EVERYTHING" time comes, it will be gone (at least temporarily).