The DieDie Blog

So I’m staring at the screen trying for the life of me to figure out what the heck to write. Honestly, I’m coming up blank. I’ve no shortage of things that have happened lately, but I’m just not sure who the hell would want to read them. For instance, last week was a fucking nightmare. I had a huge project to do that should have been distributed out to several people. I worked until the late hours of the evening almost every day. And then at the end of the week the person in charge of the project added even more things to it, though still leaving the deadline everything was due for Monday. So on Friday I had plenty to rant about and was going to make that my post. But really who wants to hear a bunch of bitching? There’s been far too much of that going on in the world lately.

So here I am stuck here trying to figure out what’s worthwhile to post. Random news stuff I suppose. This weekend was pretty awesome as we had Dustin’s sister come down and visit with us. She’s fresh out on spring break from college and it was so much fun to have her out here. Amelia and Jessica just seem to have this bond. One pretty amazing example of this was when we were driving around, Dustin and I in front and Jess and Amelia in the back. Suddenly giggles from both the girls start and continue non stop for a while. We asked what was going on back there, and Jess replies that Amelia just started grinning and laughing at her and it was contagious. I don’t think she’s done that with anyone else. And that sort of thing would happen all the time. Amelia absolutely adores her Aunt. While Jess was here we played video games, went to Ashland, had a couple of dinners out, and watch some movies. Overall a fairly relaxing yet packed weekend.

Now that Monday is here though, I’m wondering what this week will bring. Work’s not looking particularly sunny, but that’s just because I update our car sites with all the lovely manufacturer incentives when they come out for the month. Ah yes a long and boring task. I don’t have plans for the weekend and other than a small respite from the Munchkin on Thursday, where our awesome friends Carly and Ryan have agreed to watch Amelia for us so we can watch Alice in Wonderland, not much else is planned.

Ok so now I’m trailing off so I think I’ll close tonight with an awesome video. NSFW but it’ll definitely get your spirits up.

So a while back I blogged that I was going back on the Atkins kick. As I had used this method a few years ago I honestly didn’t think I’d have a problem with it the second time around. Boy was I wrong. You see my life has changed since then. When I originally did the Atkins diet, I was single, living alone, and addicted to WoW (World of Warcraft). This may not seem like a significant factor, but bare with me while I explain.

I worked at Time Warner Cable where they graciously had breakfast meals that I could have on Atkins, more specifically a cheese omelet. Then at lunch they had a full on salad bar. So it was easy to have an omelet for breakfast every day and then follow it up with a healthy salad for lunch. When I’d get home I’d load up on broccoli and cheese or whatever quick food I could have on the diet. For example, hot dogs, hamburgers without the buns, and of course my staple Diet Mountain Dew. Then I’d plop myself in front of the computer and be set for hours on end until late am where I’d go to bed. That lifestyle included no one else around me to influence my eating habits and a bad addiction to a video game that ensured small quick meals and lots of substituted calories with the Dew. Not very healthy I know, but I shed a lot of weight.

Now, I have a full blown family. I tried the Atkins diet again, I really did. But as it was only me on the diet I got to watch Dustin eat awesome things that I love, like bread, potatoes, and ice cream. I was a sad panda. And of course I gave in. So Atkins sadly was out the window for me. But we had a back up plan. Counting calories!

Of course that sounds so laborious and taxing. Fortunately, Dustin had his iPod Touch to help us out with a calorie counting app called Lose It. In no time we were calculating what went into our favorite foods and realizing that it wasn’t so much the food that was making us gain weight, but the amount we were eating. What should have been an easy 1 serving size had been upped to at least 3 servings. Especially, when we’d go back for seconds.

So, armed with new knowledge and an application for calories, we started cutting back on the amount we ate. In about a week we’d dropped a few pounds already. It was awesome! All we were doing was just setting a goal and then sticking to it. Exercising would burn calories allowing you to eat more if you desired, but generally I found I was getting used to the new portion sizes. Now sure, we had times where we did still go back for more, but we were aware of the consequences. In addition we’ve been walking more during the day and well I have my Zumba class every Friday. I’m sure that helps.

We’ve also found quick a few tasty low calorie foods to enjoy as well. Skinny Cow Ice Cream has 100 calorie bars. Quakers Rice Cakes are delicious and only 70 calories per serving. Franz bread has special 45 calorie slices which is awesome for bread! Digorno has 200 calorie pizza slices! The list goes on and on. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve started this calorie business on New Year’s Day and I’ve dropped 20 pounds so far. It’s a gradual loss but I know I’ll keep up with it and it’s a healthy way to lose weight. Plus I can still eat ice cream and pizza and anything I desire! I just have to remember to keep it in moderation.

So wish me luck as I continue this. I’ve still got another 30 pounds to lose before I’m back where I need to be. It’s only a matter of time now.

Ingredients:
2 TBSP Corn Starch
4 TBSP Soy Sauce
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1/4 Cup of Onion
1 Package Baby Carrots (chopped into sticks)
2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
3 Cups Rice
1 Egg

Add the soy sauce and the corn starch into a mixing bowl and stir until dissolved. Chop up the chicken into small chunks and add to the bowl. Make sure to get the chicken nice and coated with the sauce. Then set the bowl into the fridge and let it marinate for about 20 minutes. While that’s going we can chop up our green and red peppers into thin strips. Do the same to the carrots. The onions can just be chopped into squares. Get your rice going as well. I do mine in a rice cooker, but instant rice in a saucepan works just as well.

Once the chicken has marinated pour the excess sauce out and drop the chicken into a greased (either use Pam or oil) frying pan or wok. Cook the chicken until it’s able to be easily broken apart with a spatula. Now’s the time to add in all our delicious ingredients! Toss in the peppers, onions, and carrots. Stir fry til the vegetables are cooked but still crisp. You want to retain that nice crunch and not let it get too soggy.

Now’s the time for the egg. Make a well in the stir fry and scramble the egg, then mix together. By this time your rice should be done so go ahead and add that into the pan/wok. Mix it all together and add a little extra soy sauce to taste.

Viola! A quick and simple way to make chicken stir fry. It’s one of my favorites and I especially love the colors in addition to the delicious taste.

Enjoy!

So yeah. If anyone is keeping up with my blog you may have noticed that I missed updating for this Tuesday. Whoops! All I can say in my defense is this:

They would call it Agent Z. It was an organic pesticide designed to protect our crops from parasitic invasion. But something went wrong. The first outbreak was reported on a sugar farm in Cuba. The workers became lethargic and stopped eating. Their bodies wasted away until a voracious hunger emerged, robbing them of their reason. We didn’t know at the time that they were already dead and that the parasite was controlling them. All we knew was that these infected had begun to attack us, smashing our heads into the ground and fighting over the messy contents.

We feared in our hearts long before our minds could comprehend. Our genetic ingenuity had created something born of fantasy and nightmarish tales told around a campfire. Never in a million years would we have dreamed our advances in technology would give us…zombies. But it didn’t end there. The Agent Z epidemic spread as such horrific tragedies are wont to do. It left in its wake chaos, destruction, and abnormalities. Some of us were immune to the infection, but not in the way we had hoped. But before we could realize the full extent of our transformation something even more terrifying happened. The zombies became sentient.

At first those of us that were immune tried to mount a defense against the zombie horde. We soon discovered that they moved as one unit, focused on a single goal and threw themselves at it until whatever barricades or traps we set were buried under the sheer weight of numbers. With horror we watched as a detachment of 5,000 zombies threw themselves on top of the strategically placed bombs we had set around our fortress. It was then that we knew we had to run. We had to scatter. These zombies knew things you see, things that we didn’t even realize ourselves. 4 months after they became sentient we heard rumors that the zombies had learned how to poison the water. It was how D.C. fell. Mass panic broke out again. Any bottled water that hadn’t been scavenged before was like gold now. 8 months later the supply ran out. No more Aquafina, Desani, or Rocky Mountain. It was all gone.

Sure we could have found fresh sources of water not yet tainted by the Z’s. But that meant venturing outside and braving the horde. No one wanted that.

We figured the end was here. Zombies at our front door and death from dehydration and hunger at our backs. But we were immune you see and having that immunity did things to our bodies. Sensing imminent death we adapted. Some of us developed a thirst for things other than water. What was around us was more than plentiful. Blood. Still the change was different for many. Men that could turn into half beasts began to stalk the night, they could eat anything human, zombie, animal, it didn’t matter. It was survival. As more of us fled from our own people we became remote and isolated. We figured we could outrun the monsters. But even then the change found us. Rumors on the wind whispered of the old nightmares thought only of fantasy. We had thought zombies were fantasy too. But we were wrong. Now the world lay home to banshees, were-creatures, vampires, witches, and so much more.

And now I am one of them. In all this the zombies were a constant threat. As the few remaining pockets of humans were converted into the zombie legion they began to turn their eyes on us, the Immune. We began to go missing. For what or why no one knows. But with the change running wild in our veins, we are ready. I am ready. Come for me and be warned, my teeth are sharp and my tongue sharper, but nothing and I mean nothing is more dangerous than a genetic structure that refuses to die.