Heaven is made out of cheesecake, I'm certain

Listen, this isn't a proper update. It's just something to get you through the week until I actually write a decent post. And it's to help you calm those nerves with some tasty treats.

To read a fun little post about the Pinterest party I attended, please go here. Ahlin is adorable and wonderful, and I'm so glad I have her and these lovely girls as my new Dallas friends! I love them all dearly. (I'm sorry you had to see really unflattering pictures of moi if you clicked on that link.)

These are the recipes I brought to share. Yes, I brought 2. Because I am an overachiever and I was craving both. Sue me.

Recognize this from Pinterest? I hope so. 

(Skinny) Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes  
Servings: 15 • Serving Size: 1/4 cup • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 2 pts
Calories: 73.3 • Fat: 4.4 g • Carb: 3.4 g • Fiber: 0.9 g • Protein: 5.2 g • Sugar: 0.6 g

Sodium: 244.7 g

Ingredients:

• 13.75 oz artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots used green onions instead
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
• 4 oz shredded part skim mozzarella cheese  I didn't have any, so I just added grated Parm from a can, and it turned out great!
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• olive oil spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a small food processor, coarsely chop the artichoke hearts with the garlic and shallots.

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Place in an oven-proof dish and bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, until hot and cheese is melted. Serve right away.

Can be made one day in advance and stored in the refrigerator before baking. Makes about 3 3/4 cups.  

You know I could never take a picture this nice. It's fine. 

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes
Source: original recipe by Martha Stewart; via Cookin' and Kickin'
(And just in case you do Weight Watchers, they are 4 points each. Not bad at all!)

Ingredients:
42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped  if you use just 1 package of Oreos then you can really only chop like 8. Totes fine.
2 pounds (32 ounces) cream cheese, softened  I used the 1/3 less fat kind, works just fine
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream  substituted plain fat free Greek yogurt and it was scrumptious and healthier!
pinch of salt

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 275°. Line standard muffin pans with liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each liner.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, beating until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes (it took mine a little longer, approx 25 min. Just keep an eye on them!) Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight) (but seriously. I'm glad they had a chance to sit in the fridge for a bit because it makes them that much better later!) Best served really cold! You can garnish with fresh whipped cream and crumbled Oreos if desired. (I didn't have any more Oreos, but I did add whipped cream and maraschino cherries at the end!)
Makes 30 cheesecakes. For realz. But you will wish there were 109234 million. Also, many people said they were so rich they could only eat just one. WHAT?! PLEASEEEEEE. AMATEURS! I COULD PROBABLY EAT 5 IN 5 MINUTES EASILY. But I didn't do that. But maybe I did. I don't know. It doesn't matter. 

How they actually turned out:

Not bad, if I do say so myself! I served with plain tortilla chips. 

We only had 4th of July cupcake liners in the house, but honestly, Oreos are America's favorite cookies, so you're welcome, America.

This is maybe the 9th one I ate. But who's counting?

'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ay

Post title lyrics from this lovely song by the talented Imagine Dragons. So excited for all their new success! Even Glee's doing a version of It's Time. Tee hee! Props goes to The Momma who first heard this song at a work meeting. I think it goes quite nicely with this post. 

Dear concerned citizens of the Blogosphere, 

I am alive and well and I have recently relocated to Texas.

You have may have noticed my talented and lovely sister updated my blog header to more appropriately fit my current stage of life. (Come check it out if you're on Google reader!) If you recall, this is what I had before: 

That panda sure was adorable, and though I'll miss him so much, this new header is here to stay (at least for the next 7 semesters). 

In case you missed it, I will be attending Texas Woman's University (I embarrassed myself and kept calling it Women's instead of Woman's up until this week when I had orientation. HOW EMBARRASSING) to pursue a master's degree in Communication Disorders. It's pretty self explanatory, but I'll just tell you anyway. Em spelled out palindrome phonetically (get it? speech pathology and phonetics? they go hand in hand! hardy har har) and also added that cutie little Texas because well that's where I live, Sillies. Plain and simple as that. And I loveeeeeeee it. 

So now I'm just gonna get real for a bit because this is my blog and I do how I please. If you thought this would include mostly Instagrams then you're wrong. It includes mostly words as I reflect on life and how I got here, and I'm pretty sure you'll stop reading here, Katie Derrick, but that's jusssssssssssst fine. 

I graduated BYU in 2011 and knew it was best for me to take at least a year off of school. I was just burnt-out and needed a break. And then I went to Mexico and loved that, but had my doubts about my future. 

Then I got this really cool dream job, which turned out pretty nicely until he couldn't give me full time hours and then up and decided to move to India. So artistic, so hipster, so awesome. But then if I hadn't left that job when I did, I wouldn't have found my new job as a Speech Language Technician. And then I wouldn't have realized how cool this field really is and truly solidified my desire to be a real live SLP. 

So yes, I did have 5 different jobs in the past 10 months, but working was not my main focus. I took this year off of school to just relax and have fun and really figure out what I want out of life. Grad school was the last thing on my mind, and I actually dreaded the thought of having to go back to classes and homework. If you rewind to last October, I visited a friend doing the same program at ASU, and after seeing her busy lifestyle I literally wanted to vomit and never attempt such a thing. Like literally. I was so grumpy just imagining myself at grad school anywhere. 

When I applied to grad schools in December and January, moving back home to attend TWU was  honestly the worst case scenario and very last option in my plans.  I imagined myself at UT hanging out with the fruitcake liberals of Austin, far enough away from my hometown, but still close enough to visit my main peeps. But you know it goes, life happens when you're making other plans. When I hadn't been accepted to any programs by the beginning of April I just told Heavenly Father I'd stick it out in Provo just one more year and party with my BFFLS while pretending to study for the GRE retake. And wouldn't you know it, Heavenly Father thought that was pretty hilarious, so not 2 days after making that decision, I was accepted to not only TWU but also the U of U. 

All signs pointed to TWU and living at home with my main peeps (as in living at the same house with my baby brother and parents even though I've been independent for the past 5 years.... yep...) As much as I never thought I would do such a thing, it just felt so right and still does. (Also, when your mom makes scrumptious homemade dinner and basically encourages you to watch Downton Abbey and Project Runway on DVR almost every night, how can you say no? Oh, and if you can find me a place that's cheaper than free, please let me know)

Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need and when we need it, all we have to do is trust in Him. He's got it all figured out, so I just gotta learn to be a little bit more patient and wait as He unravels all of life's surprises for me. 

So here I am, on the eve of my first day of grad school and I couldn't be more excited. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be doing exactly what I'm supposed to do. 

It may have taken a full year to feel this ready, but I do and I'm on top of the world. 

And since you've made it this far, I will reward you with a preview of what's to come on Instagram tomorrow! Brace yourself for some straight up adorableness. 

Dear whoever you might be, I'm still waiting patiently.

Post title lyrics by Civil Wars. I enjoy this version, but my new fav live version is below. 

*if these posts are too few and far between for your stalking pleasure liking, be sure to follow me on Instagram  @hanbanthegreat for more frequent updates ;)

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many [hypochondriac] things: [via Instagram pics]"

It all started when I couldn't sell my body donate plasma for moolah anymore because I ran a temperature of 99.6 degrees or higher at 5 different times in one month. Those phlebotomists made me get a note from my doctor before I could come back. And then my doctor made me get all these tests done including a blood sample and a TB test. 

If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk.... (a reference that might hit a little too close to home, but goes nicely with this post.)

TB test results #1. It was definitely red, but not raised.  The silly assistant was clearly not trained very well in TB results because she marked this as positive and ordered a chest X-Ray immediately.

Said X-Ray.  Flattering front and side views of my upper body, if I do say so myself.  Momma called the doctor and the doctor said, "No TB, but enlarged heart! To the hospital you go for more tests!" (Momma didn't actually call the doctor. I took care of this like the adult I am. Though she did wish she was there with me to hold my hand in loving support. Love that mom of mine!)

But in the meantime, before I could go in for an ECHO, the doctor's office called back and said, "Your blood sample came back positive for TB. We've notified the health department. You should call them immediately." Cue freak out moment. Cue the embarrassing sobs of thinking you have to notify the wretched boy you aren't on speaking terms with because he's a jerk. You kissed him recently and isn't TB contagious?! THE HORROR.  Cue the phone calls with worried parents calming you down. Then you go to the County Health Department in panic mode and the nurse says it's not TB, but orders TB Test #2 on the other arm just to be sure.  72 hours and many stressful tears later, I found out it was a false-positive.

But don't you worry, I still had an "enlarged heart" to fret about. 

I actually got to hear and see my own heart beating! Chance of a lifetime! #yolo

Nervous face in attractive hospital attire.  Luckily, there was nothing wrong with my heart, but it is mandatory to have an Echo done if the doctor has any worry of an enlarged heart. 

In the end,  I milked it for all it was worth. Treated myself real well. 

Got a new manicure as soon as I saw my fingers in this picture.  And ice cream always makes everything better.

After the fact medical bills that totaled close to $900 and I only had to pay a $20 co-pay. #seriouslysoblessed #lovemyparentsandtheirinsurance

We probably joked about this too much since people actually have this disease, but laughter can be the best medicine. And it's treatable! This isn't 1910, it's 2012!  Let the TB jokes keep coming. 

And my parents even had a few light-hearted things to say: 

So you're fine? Go eat some Fettucine Alfredo-- Heart attack on a plate. Your heart can handle that now! - Mom

Did the Cardiologist see that it's been broken a few times? - Dad 

(which isn't  actually light-hearted, just plain precious. My dad is so protective and if anyone hates the boyz that break my heart (and I do mean BOYZ not men) more than he does,  I'd like to meet 'em because his hatred runs deep)

My happily ever after? My doctor finally signed the note and said I'm good and healthy to donate plasma! I can start making the extra spending money for treats like these: 

New bag for all my grad-school needs!

New running shoes for all my training needs!

New Salt-Water Sandals for  all my fashion needs! Totally surprised Sister with some red ones and I think that now qualifies me as the best sister in the entire world. Not really debatable. 

And now to end with a tender song I am most recently obsessed with.