To introduce what I am about is going to take a little explaining. Recently my fiancé, Nick, has insisted that I get into gaming, Why? Because he is a gamer and is convinced that I’ll love it. Him being an expert on what I like, I have to give it a shot to see if he is indeed right. This blog will be half about this. The other half, food. because I actually do love to cook and know this about myself. I may not have that many recipes but the ones I have are fantastic.

I will be documenting my journey through the world of gaming with my blog adding a few recipes in there every now and again. It’s the mom in me, I feel the need to feed people.

SO lets get to the games!



My thoughts on my first “real” game, the first person shooter, BioShock.

I was skeptical at first…genetic mutation? Killing small children? Really? But the story and the deco feel peaked my interest. I started out slow because I don’t do very well with first person controls, I am either staring at the ceiling, the floor or my most impressive move, spinning uncontrollably. It took about 10 minutes of walking around the initial scene to get a good grasp of the controls to where I could step into some actual game play.

I loved the look of this game. Art deco? Awesome! Undersea world? Absolutely! Now, I think the last video game I played to some seriousness of a level was Super Mario Brothers back in 1986 so using an Xbox controller with all those buttons and triggers was a bit to get used to… left trigger? Right Joystick? What? How am I supposed to get used to this? Lets just say after 8 hours of continuous game play, my aim is still absolutely nothing to brag about.

Anyway….

I can say that a game like this will turn even the meekest of tiny women into a trucker in about 20 minutes. I think I dropped 20 f-bombs in 5 minutes. Nick was in his glory watching this and laughing. But, after about a half an hour he had to ignore me and sit where he couldn’t see the tv because apparently an experienced gamer boyfriend does not want to help, he wants to do. He explained to me that when I say “whats this? How do you do this?” his first natural response was “Lemme see that” (controller) so he could do it himself.

I slowly walked around, being extremely cautious, I still don’t have those ‘walking around’ controls down, so I try to stick close to a wall and do things as slowly as possible. I’m thorough, I look through everything to finding whatever I could. I search every corpse and every shelf. Nick is impressed at my searching abilities. OF course I’m going to be good at the easiest part of the game. I thought it was fun, it was like a treasure hunt. In the first part of the game all you have is a big wrench and what the game calls plasmids, which are injections that give you crazy super powers, like the ability to shoot lightning out of your hand.

(A side note about plasmids, apparently these things are the reason that the Splicers are on a crazy murderous rampage. They clearly used to be normal human beings. So the understanding on why you need to repeatedly inject yourself with them is lost on me.)

So you have this lightning hand and a big red wrench. This is the part of the game where you have to get your aim on. You shoot them with the lighting and whack them with the wrench. Are you kidding me? This was good though because most of the first level splicers don’t have guns, they just run at you and try to hit you with things.

Now, picture this. Beginner, walking carefully and slowly around a corner, splicers come running at you, you try your terrible aim with your lightning hand and miss, there are 6 splicers attacking you and your walking abilities are sub par… you start swinging your wrench in a panic and you are now spinning out of control. The screen is a blur of wrench and blood. Surprisingly this is a very effective method in this stage of the game.

Once I got past the first stages it was a pretty good experience. Nick was proud that I managed to make it through at least 3 hours without dying. I suppose that’s what happens when you are cautious. I watched Nick play for a little bit and he ran through that place like he was invincible. I can see why he had so much trouble not dying, but everyone has their own game play style I suppose.

I’ve been thinking about getting back to it all day, but a busy Sunday and a 4 year old lurking about makes that a bit tough. Once bedtime comes I’m hitting that controller and killing some splicers!

Lasagna. Oh the yummy-ness that is thee..

So, I make KILLER lasagna. I just do so sue me..

I'll start off with my Sauce recipe first because it is essential to making a good Lasagna.

Things you will need...

Large sauce pan
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes, I used Contandina or Pastene.
1 can of tomato paste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/3 cup of sugar
3 Tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons (about 5 whole cloves) Fresh Garlic
salt & pepper


First you want to start by heating the Olive Oil in the pan at medium heat and saute the onions for about 5 minutes or until they start to become slightly translucent. Then dump in the tomatoes and paste. Stir everything up... and then, and I am totally serious about this part. DUMP EVERYTHING ELSE IN. Stir, let simmer on LOW heat for about and hour and a half.

You can add meatballs or just ground meat to make a meat sauce, which I recommend because it totally makes the flavor perfect.

While that is cooking you will start on your lasagna.

What you will need...

1 Box lasagna noodles
1 large container of Ricotta cheese, (I cannot stress this enough... do not use store brand! Use the good stuff it makes all the difference)
about 6 cups of mozzarella cheese, grated
2 whole cloves of garlic either chopped or put through a press
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 egg

Start by putting a pot of water on to boil for the lasagna noodles. Once that boils... toss em in.

While those are boiling you will want to prepare your cheese.
Mix the container of Ricotta cheese, the egg, garlic, parsley, salt & pepper, along with about 2 cups of your mozzarella cheese in a large bowl.

Once the noodles are done layer accordingly...

Sauce
noodles
Ricotta cheese
more grated mozzarella
Sauce noodles
Ricotta cheese... ETC

The last layer on top should be a layer of Mozzarella cheese.

Pop it in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the cheese in top is slightly browned.

NOW THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! Once you take it out of the over, it needs to cool for at least 30 minutes, this is the secret to NON runny lasagna.

Cut, serve, enjoy!

The kick off

So I find myself a struggling single mom, engaged to my best friend, trying to find my identity in all the wrong ways, making my self unhealthy. Too many bad foods, to many stresses in my life. Making bad decisions.

I find myself wanting to have another baby so badly that I take matters and my PCOS in my own hands and by some books on PCOS and fertility, how to fix it, what diets to follow, what natural supplements I can take to boost my fertility. In the process I find out that its not just fertility that I can improve with the diets and the exercise. Its my general quality of life. My mood swings can disappear, the acne can improve my overall well being could take a jump in a good direction.

I am thrilled and jump in full force.

The problem here is that if I am going to do this, I need to change my life completely. Its time for a full self overhaul. I have not been living well. I am on a hand full of medications and have a problem with anxiety that is on the verge of debilitating.

First move. I separated from my fiance. Not a permanent separation, I need the space to be able to make this self journey. Second move. Clear out the cabinets and replace my diet with a all natural high protein, no complex carbohydrate diet. Lots of nuts and legumes. Fresh veggies and fruits and we are going to balance out my hormones.

I'm starting to make a better life for me and my son one step at a time.. this is my journey. Documented here, day by day.