Adriann and I are both kind of bored with the food choices. I wish I wasn’t such a picky vegetarian. I think I’d like to try making eggplant lasagna (with all the right fat-free, sugar-free ingredients - I found a recipe somewhere for it) and there’s a good recipe for broccoli-cheddar soup on Phase 1, so maybe there’s hope. Breakfast is just getting kind of old, and my stomach has a hard time digesting all the eggs. @_@

Yesterday morning, we tried making these “cinnamon omelets”, which sounded SO good, but I was unable to even finish mine. They were actually pretty disgusting after the first few bites.

Tried making the chocolate-peanut butter cookies again with the right kind of PB, but they ended up being SO dry. I think it was the sugar-free chocolate. So next time, no chocolate added. More vanilla, less PB, and more sweet n low.

In conclusion, so far:

Pros of the South Beach Diet
1. It’s healthy!
2. All the eggs you want :)
3. Lots of broccoli and soy foods, which I already love!
4. Lots of new cooking options — I’ve baked more than I ever have before this past week.
5. Lots of beans. Yum.

Cons of the South Beach Diet
1. Food limitations - i.e. no bread :( I don’t exactly “crave” it, but when I ate egg salad without bread, it was kind of weird.
2. PEEING. Omg, I spend half the day at work in the bathroom.
3. Lots of beans = gas. :(
4. Lots of baking = no time for anything else, as all our free time is spent around food.
5. No fruits! I miss fruits, though I know I’ll get to have them in 1.5 weeks.
6. It’s expensive!! We’ve literally bought $100 worth of stuff for the diet.

There are probably more pros and cons alike, but I’m kind of tired and unable to think of them. At any rate, no real weight change, which is killing the awesome happy buzz I had going yesterday and the day before about this diet. We’ll see, though. If I’m eating healthy, adding exercise in should help me lose some of the 45 pounds I need gone.

A couple years back, I remember complaining to Vickie, while we were in line at St. Louis Bread Co no less, about diets that limit your carbs. I proclaimed myself a carboholic and said any diet that wouldn’t allow me to eat bread and pasta was pretty much sent straight from the depths of hell.

Well…consider me better-informed now.

Because of Deana’s awesome success with South Beach, Adriann and I decided on a whim to give it a shot. The diet works in three “phases”, so we thought, why not just give Phase 1 a try and if we don’t like it we can stop.

It is now day 4 of Phase 1, and I haven’t had a piece of bread, shred of rice, even a bowel of cereal, since Sunday. It’s actually…a lot easier than I would have previously thought. Sure, we’re more limited to what we can eat and how, but it’s nice waking up early to have a big breakfast, and we’re actually discovering new recipes for sugarless foods. We’ve been making these sugar-free, carb-free pancakes the past couple mornings, and they are DELISH. Basically, they’re just eggs, vanilla, ricotta cheese, and cinnamon. Sounds gross but tastes just like regular pancakes! We use sugar-free syrup and have been making omelets (lowfat cheese, eggs, and broccoli). I’ve even attempted to drink V-8, which I never thought I’d do! That was actually the worst part of the past 4 days lol.

Well…to be honest, Tuesday afternoon, I was feeling GROSS. The lack of sugar affected me I think. I was dizzy, headachy, and nauseous. But I also think that had a lot to do with the fact that I didn’t have enough veggies for breakfast and lunch. Wednesday I had three sips of V-8 and I felt 100% better. Today I’ve had my full servings of veggies (lots and lots of beans, another semi-bad side effect due to um to be frank, gas), had a little milk and cheese, and had a TON of protein — eggs for breakfast, half an egg in my salad for lunch, soy chicken (basically chunks of protein) in my salad, and egg salad for dinner. Yes, lots of eggs. ^^ That’s the one good thing — there’s no limit to the amount of protein you can have, even the yolks in eggs are OK.

Last night I also discovered a recipe for sugar-free, carb-free peanut butter cookies!! OMG they were good. I accidentally used the wrong peanut butter, so we only ate a couple apiece, so tomorrow I’m gonna make a ton with the right kind and eat up. South Beach encourages dessert, as long as there’s no sugar or carbs.

The carb-free, sugar-free stage lasts for two weeks. So far, I know I can do it! It’s really amazing actually, because right now I’m incredibly full and it’s all healthy stuff inside me. Beans, eggs, and…I’ve been meaning to talk about it, tuna.

Off topic a bit, a couple months back I decided to introduce tuna back into my diet. Not because I was craving it (because I’ve overcome those cravings before) but because Deana’s sister mentioned that eating some fish helped bring her hair back, and she’s a veggie too. I don’t eat it all the time (in fact, I’ve only had it maybe 5 times since I started again), but occassionally like tonight, it’s good and very filling. The first few bites were hard to get past, but I find that if I think of it like egg salad, I feel much better. Adriann actually mixed some eggs in with it, which was good!

So in short, I’m actually enjoying the South Beach diet. I don’t know if I’ve lost any weight (they say you’re supposed to lose between 8 and 12 pounds the first two weeks), but I feel healthier and I know it’s good for me.

I also added a nifty little widget to my sidebar! Check him out:

I am a dork. Check out the “search terms” people used to find me yesterday. >D

severus snape	2
dan radcliffe	2
emo robert+tekken	1
living life is easier with eyes closed	1
manga snape man	1
best lines from across the universe

I particularly like “Emo Robert+Tekken”. rofl. That’s got to be some pretty limited search reults, kiddies. And also “i don’t care about you” is also pretty harsh, but “manga snape man” and “dan yaoi” make up for it.

I started writing a kickass song yesterday on piano. I love those moments when you’re so inspired that when you sit down, all you have to do is pluck out several notes and you know what your melody’s going to be. It’s been a long time since I’ve known what that’s like, probably since I wrote Short Goodbyes, which is still I think the best thing I’ve yet to write. It’s a very full song, and Adriann’s harmonies are better than I could have ever imagined.

So this new song is on piano, but I’ve also added drums and a 2nd piano harmony part. It’s a little indie, a little edgy, and very emo. I think it might be called Come As You Are, because that’s the first line.

Anyway, we’ve got 2 other songs (Lulaby and one untilted) that are completely-written, 1 song that has music but no lyrics or bridge, 1 song that’s got great potential but doesn’t know how to finish itself (CAYA), 2 songs that need to be re-recorded (Little Mermaid and Peter Pan, which kinds of needs finishing), and probably others I’m forgetting. I’d like to have an entire album up someday, start a website and sell the CDs there too.

In other news, I’ve decided I’d like to participate in NaNoWriMo this November — NaNo is National Novel Writing Month, where you basically write a 50,000 word novel within the month of November. I tried doing it about 3 years ago and failed a bit. This time, I’m going to start fresh and just do it. Even if it sucks, I think it’ll be a great achievment to say I’ve done it.

On Friday, Adriann and I went down to Disneyland to hang out with Deana, her cousin Chris and Chris’ boyfriend Daniel (the awesome HP “Ben”!), and Robert and Jessi. On the way there, I was contemplating how tired I was and how we should just not go or not stay long, but I’m SO glad we did because it was by far the best Disneyland trip yet. It was short, yeah — we only stayed from 7 to midnight — but it was just one of those weird, hysterical kinds of trips where you have the best time because 1) you’re incredibly tired and that makes funny things 50% funnier and 2) Disneyland magic tends to occur. ;)

For example, it’s hard to descibe how funny this is, but we were getting on the train to get to the new Finding Nemo ride that we have yet to go on (mostly because, as Robert put it, “Before you can experience the ride, you have to experience the line!”), and someone said, “Hey, let’s go in the caboose!” Most of us had already sat down, and I looked back at the caboose and was thinking it wasn’t even open to take passengers. It looked a bit ghetto to me. We were sitting on the train waiting for it to go when Adriann finally realized we wanted to go in the caboose, and she stood up and just went. >D It was funny.

So we get in the caboose, and it’s friggin AWESOME. Only way to travel, people. It had nice padded seats and some awesome acoustics. Ben kept repeating, “We’re in the CABOOSE” and it was hysterical. We were incredibly loud, laughing, and just having fun, and the people in the train in front of us were glaring, but it was worth it.

Then someone brought up the point, “What if the Caboose isn’t really part of the train and the train goes and leaves us behind.”

That was funny in itself and then someone else added, “Yeah, it’s not like they need any of us — we’ve got some queers, Mexicans, and a Jew.” And then Ben said, “Let’s put a sign on the door that says ‘minorities only’.” >DD That still cracks me up.

Then we attempted to take videos on our camera phones, and the funny part was not that none of us could get a clear picture for it but that EVERYONE took out their camera phones all at the same time and were holding them up, trying to videotape. And then Ben showed us a picture of a car he once saw that was pimped out like the Milenium Falcon.

Then we headed over to Rainforest Cafe and had a great dinner. The last time we ate their with Ben and the gang, the waitress neglected to bring him his Mr. Pibb for like 30 minutes, I kid you not. He was hysterical about it, and when we got there, he said, “As long as I don’t order a Pibb…”

When we were getting ready to leave, we noticed it was raining. Now, keep in mind, a normal “rain” in our part of California is a drizzle, and “Storm Watch 2007″ is usually for a couple drops and some dark clouds. But this was real rain, pouring down. Downtown Disney was flooded and it was cold, and it reminded me a lot of summer in Missouri. Poor Chris was sick, we were all cold and tired, and we had parked in the Disneyland parking instead of the Downtown Disney parking, so we had to walk in the rain all the way back to the tram. I didn’t have a jacket, so I got soaked, but…it was actually really awesome to experience that. Normally, I’m really not one to enjoy walking in the rain when I have long jeans on (I hate the wet bottoms of jeans), but I just made the most of the night and enjoyed the company and laughter.

That sounds cheesy. But I had a great time, and I’m glad I just took a moment to document that.

Okay, someone shoot me — I just read a Harry/Ginny fic…and enjoyed it. T___T

Here it is, the proof.

I want to see the Sweeney Todd trailer so, so badly. It’s really eating away at me at the moment, and I just spent an hour looking for any sign of the trailer. I did find out that it exists at the very least and that a guy taking a mall movie survey got to see it! I am soooo jealous, it’s just not fair.

Speaking of fair, we’re all going to the LA County Fair this upcoming weekend, and I am very excited. It’s been over a year since I moved to California and last year this time we went to the fair and it was just a really awesome experience. Adriann and I got our hands dipped in wax, we ate weird foods and just had a blast. I’m on a diet, so I need to be careful what I eat there…but I suppose if I indulge a bit more than necessary, I can always do a hardcore workout the next day.

I was sooo good this week, while I’m on the subject of dieting! I stayed below 1500 calories every day and most days stayed below 1200. Plus, I walked over 3 miles, did DDR, did weights for 1 mile, and walked around Disneyland. Not too shabby. I’d love to lose 20 pounds by Yaoi Con…though I think I’m still going to fall short of that goal. That’s a lot of weight to lose in 1.5 months.

I’m so glad I have a ton of stuff to look forward to. I just realized that Gay Day Disneyland is right around the corner. It’s not only the weekend of my birthday but also the 4-year anniversary for Adriann and I. ^^ It’s also the first place we really went on a date (though it’s not really a ‘date’) , though arguably that could be Islands the night I landed in California…but I was so cracked out from jetlag, I’m sure that doesn’t count.

This entry was partially written yesterday and partially finished just now, so apologies if it gets disjointed right about now, but I wanted to add that I’m obsessed with new HP art. For example:

I’ve decided I really love the character of Voldemort, too. He’s fascinating to me right now, and I kind of want to re-read Book 6 so I can get all the facts about what made him tick.

Blah, disjointed x1056.05g.

This song “Some Girls” by Rachel Stevens is hardcore awesome. Everyone should download it.

I signed on Myspace…only to see this:

What has happened to the internet?

Last night, Adriann and I joined Deana and her gal Lauren and Ben and Deana’s cousin (a triple date!) down at the Grove to see Across the Universe. I had really been looking forward to it, even though we had to drive all the way into LA to find the right theatre. It was just…beyond worth it.

I know it’s getting horrible reviews (I just read one) and some of what’s said is definitely true. The review I read mentioned how the director was extremely literal (”Strawberry Fields” comes to mind, where Jude — yes, of “Hey, Jude” fame — pins strawberries to a wall) and sort of missed out on what could have been an awesome sentiment about the current state of the world. He said it was “far removed” from 2007 and very much stuck in its era, though I honestly don’t see what’s wrong with that. I know it’s fashionable to draw parallels between Vietnam and Bush’s stupid war, but at the same time, it was really moving to see a different time. It really just made me feel hopeless, watching the scenes of Vietnam, and I was smart enough to connect the dots by myself instead of having the director do it for me. So to me, it’s okay.

The lieralness did get to me a bit. Only when several lines from the movie were direct Beatles’ song quotes (i.e. Prudence crawled in through an open window and Jude said, “She Came in Through the Window”).

Overall though, it was just lovely. I really adored listening to the singing and the way each song had a new sound. For example, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” wasn’t an up-beat pop tune but was a girl’s angsty lament about her unrequited love for a cheerleader. It was dark and weird and I loved it.

And as I touched on above, some of it was really brutal and terrifying. Thinking of war always makes my stomach clench, but watching one of the main characters suffer through Vietnam, watching all of his friends die around him, was almost too much. He was so young, and it just hit me that you really didn’t have a choice back then. If you were drafted, you went to war or went to jail. I’d like to think I’d go to jail for my morals, but if faced with that decision, I don’t know what I’d do. I guess sometimes women really don’t think about those kinds of things, because it’s not likely we’ll ever be drafted. Men I would think still have the chance to worry. I don’t envy them.

Anyway, that’s off topic. Another scene that hit me was their Vietnam protest. It was…eerie, actually, how much it resembled my experiences in protests over the Iraq War. The same people, the same chants, the same desperation and pain, the same images of people in body bags with white faceless faces… It was horrid but wonderful at the same time.

Adriann and I bought the soundtrack and listened to it on the way home. We’re hopefully going up to San Francisco for Yaoi Con from October 25th-29th, and I’m going to make a bunch of Beatles’ CDs so Deana can become a fan. ^_^ One step closer to making her like emo!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, not really.

I think this entry is done. I’m glad I’ve started posted again — oh crap, don’t want to jinx it!

Daniel (Ben) is the coolest guy I have met in a long, long time. Anyone who can throw down words like “ellipses” and “colloquial” and can quote spells from Harry Potter is okay in my book.

In general, I find college guys are always the best people to hang out with.

So. While at Disneyland yesterday for Robert’s birthday, I came across something that really just shocked and excited me as much as the Phantom of the Opera movie did several years ago and possibly more.

SWEENEY TODD IS GOING TO BE RELEASED IN DECEMBER/JANUARY WITH JOHNNY DEPP AND ALAN RICKMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

::whew:: Excuse me while I explode. Depp is playing Todd and Rickman is playing the nasty Judge Turpin, which seems perfect actually, and even the dude who plays Wormtail is playing the weird Beadle character.

It’s really just overwhelming, and to share in my happiness, here is an awesome shot of Depp as Todd. Stephen Sondheim supports this movie, so I shall too!!