Lately...

So, recovery was going well. I was sleeping lots, hanging out with the Poof and Zack, taking it easy; then I picked up some cold/flu virus somewhere along the way. According to the Nurses's Station at the U of M Fairview, I now have a viral infection. Coughing your guts out a week after major thyroid surgery is not much fun at all! :( I am supposed to avoid contact with the public as much as possible for the rest of the week (a nearly impossible feat since I work at the Mall of America - hand sanitizing every 15 seconds, here I come!) and also supposed to get lots of rest and fluids.

In other news, I've been working on a website started by a friend of mine:

www.personaldramas.com

You should check it out! It takes a hilarious look at the funny, frightening, and sometimes downright freaky world of internet personals. It's always good for a laugh. Personal Dramas - we read the personals, so you don't have to! :)

Recovery is pretty rad...

So, I am home from the hospital and recovering nicely. I've been sleeping 17 hours a day, enjoying all the visits from friends and family, snuggling the Poof, life is pretty good. My surgery went well, my incision is healing better than expected, and I only threatened one lab technician when he woke me up to draw blood at 4:30am. (I have never understood why they even bother giving you something to help you sleep when they're just going to appear every 25 minutes and demand you wake up for some reason...) I was able to come home, as previously planned, on Wednesday morning. I had lots of hospital visitors, my family has came down to visit a couple of times, Zack's family came down last night, and a lot of friends have been stopping by. :)

Tonight, my parents are planning on coming down and we're all venturing out to Punch Pizza, which aside from being delicious, should also provide a vast amount of entertainment, as any non-Americanized culinary experience with my dear redneck father usually does. I must be off now to pop my "Cheater Cheater Cheesecake Brownies" into the oven. :)

Sometimes you want brownies, sometimes you want cheesecake, sometimes you want both, but have the patience or motivation for neither. That's where Cheater Cheater Cheesecake Brownies come in handy...

Cheater Cheater Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients You Will Need:
1 package store-bought brownie mix
1 package cream cheese (low-fat cream cheese optional)
⅓ cup white sugar
1 egg
Teaspoon of vanilla extract

Prepare the store-bought brownies first according to the package directions. Then, take a baking pan, and grease it with non-stick cooking spray, and pour in the brownie batter. In a separate bowl, combine your cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract, and whisk together. With a spoon, drop the cheesecake mixture in dollops throughout the pan, grab a butter knife, and swirl for that fancy-dancy marble effect. Then bake your for 35 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can test to make sure they are done by sticking a toothpick in the center of the brownie. If it comes out clean, you’re all set!

A note to all those planning to visit or well-wish while I recover from surgery...

So, tomorrow morning is my surgery...

If you would like to stop by and visit me in the hospital, the best time is tomorrow evening, providing I am up to it. I will be at Fairview University Hospital on the U of M Minneapolis Campus. Call/text my cell phone and we'll make sure to get you directions! :) I will also be home at my apartment in Minneapolis recuperating for a week, and would love if you stopped by! If you would like to send well-wishes, but are unable to make it up to the hospital or my home, please feel free to send cards, letters, etc. to my home address. If you do not have it, send me a Facebook message, or comment here, and I'll make sure its provided to you! :)

Thanks again to all of you that have kept me in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers. :) You guys are the best! <3 *hugs*

Take Care!

Blood Orange Cheesecake and Bureaucracy Blues...

So, last weekend with temperature hovering around -15 during the day, Mr. Zack and I decided we'd head to the Marjorie McNeeley Conservatory at Como Zoo because it was a) essentially free and b) WARM! Apparently everyone else in the greater Twin Cities area had the same idea. I've never seen the conservatory so packed! Despite the initial crowd-pushing and the fact that the orchid show was later in the year than I expected and not happening when we were there - boo :( - we still managed to have a lovely time. Pictures to come, soon, I promise! We ran some errands and decided on a quiet night in, making dinner together and catching up on some housework. We quickly decided 'twas a night for parmesan chicken and risotto, but what for dessert? We wracked our little brains, and I came up with cheesecake, possibly citrus, then remembered organic blood oranges were on sale at The Wedge, and found this amazing recipe HERE - thanks to the good ol' blogosphere and food blogger extrodinaire - Aimee from Under the High Chair

Blood Orange Cheesecake
makes a 10-inch round, serves between 8 and 16, depending on how generous you are.

Crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter

Filling:
675 grams cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
zest and juice of one lemon
zest and juice of one blood orange (or regular orange)
5 large eggs, room temperature

Topping:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
juice and zest of one blood orange
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.
For the crust, melt butter and add to crumbs. Mix well and press into a ten-inch springform pan. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until slightly golden. Cool.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add citrus zest and juice. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition, but not too vigorously. Pour over crumb crust and bake for about 40 minutes. Middle will still be slightly jiggly.

Remove from oven and run a sharp knife around the sides, but do not remove ring. Cool 15 minutes on the counter.

Meanwhile, prepare topping. Combine sour cream, citrus zest, citrus juice and sugar. Pour over slightly cooled cheesecake and let stand for half an hour at room temperature.
Chill completely. Remove ring and serve.



This cheesecake is simply AMAZING! :) Light and citrusy, full of flavor, and super easy! I think it might be the dessert I bring to Easter this year!

Also, if you don't have a springform pan (rather essential in cheesecake production!) I noticed that they were on sale at Target, $13.00 for a set of three different sizes! :)

Aside from cooking and baking delicious things, we've been busy doing a little mid-winter cleaning and I am excited to say I finally have a desk I fit under! Thanks to Zack and Ikea! In other news, school is still being a pain about academic appeals and its all just a nerve-wracking waiting game...I can't register because I have holds, but I have holds because I have cancer, and I can't continue to be insured for my surgery to treat my cancer unless I can make my holds go away and register for classes...its a vicious cycle full of red tape and administrative hoo-hah!

Oh well, nothing to do but wait...wait, and eat cheesecake... :D

Or I could just take a nap...

Dates and such...

Just a note to anyone who was wondering when my surgery was going to be...

- Tuesday, January 19th at the U of M Fairview Hospital.

It's mid-morning, then there's recovery and regaining consciousness and whatnot, so I suppose I will be ready for visitors late that afternoon/early evening.

If you are interested in visiting, I'd love to see you! Let me know and I'll give you details on where to go and where to park and such.

Hope to see you! I'm sure your hugs have healing powers! :)

12 New Year's Resolutions for 2010

In no particular order, here are my 12 New Year's Resolutions for the year 2010:

1) Adventure more! - Be they big or small adventures! I want to travel more, see, do, and experience more.

2) Yoga more! - Mr. Zack has said he wants to learn basic yoga, so now I'll have a little more motivation once I have a mat buddy! :)

3) Photograph more! - There have been so many beautiful moments over the past year that I've missed capturing, or, that I have captured and they've remained on my memory card or buried somewhere deep on the computer. I have so many beautiful frames to fill!

4) Read more! - I've been so stressed out, worried, sick, or all around miserable feeling that I've fallen WAY behind on my reading! :( The first goal for 2010, locate my library card!

5) Create more! - I love to paint and craft and cook, but these passions have fallen by the wayside with how sick and weak I've been lately. I already have plans for creating an artsy corner in the office! :)

6) Volunteer more! - I used to volunteer all the time, and I really miss it!

7) Correspond more! - Keep in better touch with friends and family, especially those who make such an effort to stay in touch with me! (For the past 22 years I have received a birthday card on, or before, my birthday from ALL of my mother's siblings and my grandmother...)

8) De-stress more! - Make time to do those things that keep me sane...reading, meditation, candlelit baths, painting, etc.

9) Grow more! - Find some clever way to flower garden in an apartment during the summer. I am a green thumb at heart, and summer just isn't summer without getting to root around in the soil and be rewarded with brightly colored blooms!

10) Tidy more! - Keep things in our wee apartment more tidy and organized!

11) Study more! - With cancer soon behind me, the semesters of 2010 should be a WHOLE lot easier!

12) Live more! - I'm sick of cancer, so here's to getting my life back and a cancer-free 2010 after I kick thyroid cancer in the face with my thyroidectomy!

Wish me luck and love on achieving these things! I certainly wish all of you love and luck for the coming year! :)

P.S. Do you have any New Year's Resolutions?

Papillary Thyroid Cancer 101!

Lots of people have been asking me lots of questions about the type of thyroid cancer I have and what treatments are available, and what the prognosis is and whatnot...which is legit, because its ridiculously confusing and I had no idea what the thyroid even did until mine started trying to kill me...

However, to be completely honest, its kind of a downer having to relay the same craptastic news a bajillion times...

So, for your education pleasure, I present to you Papillary Thyroid Cancer 101:

http://www.endocrineweb.com/capap.html

If you have questions, please, ask me! This is just a general outline to abate some of the common questions I get repeatedly.

I have a consultation with a surgeon on January 4th, once that happens I should know a little more in the way of surgery dates for my thyroidectomy and whatnot, I promise I'll keep you all posted.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday, I know I did, despite all the nasty news. :)

Thanks to everyone again for the prayers, warm thoughts, well-wishes, and love and support!

Take Care! :)