QUE SERA, SERA...(HOME MADE CHEESE CAKE)

I LOVE this song...and this lady

When I think of strong women, Doris Day comes right to mind.  She bolted out of the gate a fighter and eventually learned the true lesson to living a positive life..."whatever will be, will be," and she lived it.  She turned 91 this year.  

There is a saying that Doris embraces, originally penned by Vivian Burnett of the Christian Science religion...“Our gratitude is riches, Complaint is poverty…”  I stumbled upon a blog post on myorbit365.wordpress.com about gratitude and letting go and it pretty much says it...it is what is happening to me right now and I'm in awe as to how well this works.  No worrying, giving it to the universe or a higher power and just letting what will be...be.  It's how I have always believed life should be.  I have posted the article below...it is well written:

"At the beginning of the year I chose “Gratitude” as my word for the year. I thought I would share some insights that I’ve gained this past year on this particular subject:

1. Living with gratitude is damn hard actually. Especially if everything around you is breaking and if life is just generally overwhelming.
2. It is much easier to be grateful when things are going well and running smoothly in your life or when you are on top of things.
3. Living with gratitude is not something that one can turn on and off. It becomes a way of life – much like praying.
4. I love writing very much but I do find it challenging to keep a gratitude journal. At times I felt that I was recording the most mundane things that I was grateful for. Nevertheless, it does actually become easier with time. 
5. Teaching kids to have a spirit of gratitude is not that easy. That is why you need to constantly be aware and be clear about the fact that you are grateful. They do eventually learn from your example.
6. Living with gratitude can certainly put things into perspective. You see just how blessed you are and how wealthy you are. I refer not only to material wealth here but also spiritual wealth.
7. I have found that it is WAY easier to find things to be grateful for if I surrender my issues. In plain English, this means giving it over to God or the Universe or whatever you refer to as your Higher Power.
8. Once you become accustomed to looking for things to be grateful for, you will find that you begin to appreciate simple pleasures and things that you previously took for granted.
9. When there is adversity in your life, you will no longer ask :”WHY ME?” You tend to ask things like “What’s good about this situation” or “what can I learn from this” .
10. There is a lot of research indicating that living with a spirit of gratitude improves your quality of life. I have to say that I can vouch for this. I have had an exceptionally challenging year but at no time did I feel like I wanted to run away. Or jump off a bridge or whatever. Somehow I just managed to take things in my stride. Now this could be because I am becoming a grown-up but I do think it’s more than that and I think that being consciously grateful has a lot to do with it.
11. In short, this is what I have to say: You simply are not the same person if you are giving thanks and practicing the art of gratitude every  single day. Seriously. Go forth and be grateful. It will change your life."

 It really will change your life...for the better.  Instead of living with disease (dis-ease) you will live with ease and that my friends, is how you come one step closer to grasping the true art of living.

CHEESE CAKE

One of my mother's favorite desserts was cheesecake and she worked year after year, holiday after holiday, perfecting the perfect recipe for home made cheesecake. She literally spoiled me to store-bought cheese cake because once you have had the best of the best, there is no going back. I hope you will love this recipe as much as I do...so, so, so delicious!!!

Crust:

1-3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

Combine ingredients and press into bottom and sides of a round, spring-form pan.  Set aside.

Cake:

3 - 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 eggs, room temperature

1 cup sour cream

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Blend in sour cream.  Pour into crust and bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes or until center is set. Turn off oven. Leave cake in oven for 1 hour with oven door slightly open. Cool completely and put on favorite topping. I like to put cherry pie filling over the top just before I serve.

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