When Ya Gotta Go...

DISCLAIMER: For some this just may be a little TOO MUCH INFORMATION.

After arriving at my in-laws, we were promptly fed copious amounts of food. Carne Asada, rice, beans, guacamole, tortillas and Diet Coke. I think that it is a commonly known fact that Coke in Mexico, tastes different than the Coke in the states; and by different I mean better. I don´t know if the syrup is sweeter or what exactly makes it better; but just like Domino´s - it just is. I had told Luis before we left for our trip that although I LOVE Mexican Coke (That doesn´t sound right - does it...) that I was not going to drink any because I am ONLY drinking Diet soda and one sip of the regular and I knew that I would be hooked. So imagine my surprise, my delight, to find that Diet Coke is ALSO much better in Mexico - YAHOO!! or should I say Arriba, Arriba, Arriba!! Which according to Luis is the Spanish equivalant to Yahoo! Hmm, and I always thought that when Speedy Gonzales said that; he was telling the other mice to go Up, Up Up! LOL.
So, as I was saying - The Diet Coke is DELICIOUS; and trust me when I say that I never thought that delicious was a word that I would use to describe a dietetic, carbonated beverage - but I must!

My in-laws have a very modest, very large, home. Well, basically I guess you could say that it is more like a compound. There is an enclosed patio at the entrance, a small living room, kitchen and 2 small bedrooms. The bathroom and shower are outside in the courtyard, but they are enclosed and the courtyard is also filled with various plants and trees. There are 4 apartments on the ground floor, each with its own shower and toliet at the back of the house and on the upper level of the house, there is a beautiful terrace, 4 more bedrooms and another living room and kitchen.
Typically we stay upstairs but as the apartments are currently vacant; we chose to stay in one of those instead. When given the choice it was a no brainer for me, because even though we rarely go to the bathroom in the middle of the night; it seems inevitable at my in-laws, and all of the bathrooms are downstairs.
When I saw our apartment I was thrilled with our decision and made a mental note of how MUCH easier it was going to be to go to the bathroom. I woke up in the middle of the night and I had to pee like a racehorse. (It must have been from all of the delicious Diet Coke.) I happily went to the door, anticipating how much quicker and easier I was going to make it to the bathroom and I was horrified to find that I could not unlock the door. I know (now) that it required some kind of twist and pull action; but with my legs crossed and the pressure building, I just couldn´t figure it out. So, in a moment of desperation I grabbed a cup and proceeded to pee; right there in our kitchen. As I am the Queen of CLUMSY, it took me quite a few attempts to get the cup in the right place; and about 4 pee and dumps (yes, I still LOVE the Diet Coke) and finally; I was done. I cleaned up the floor, cleaned out the sink, threw away the cup (I hope;) LOL, (No, I know that I threw away the cup;) and went back to bed sans pajama pants, which got slightly wet during the first few "attempts." A few hours later I threw on some shorts, successfully unlocked the door and went to the bathroom again. In 41 years, I have never been so thankful to unlock a door in my life. You would have thought that I was Geraldo Rivera opening up Capone´s vault and actually finding something in there.
Oh, why is it that I am willing to sacrifice my privacy and my dignity for the sake of this blog? Why do I repeatedly share my mishaps, and acts of utter stupidity with you? I guess, I am just trying to adhere to that old addage "write what you know."
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

Diet Coke Chocolate Cake

Welcome to my 51st blog!! It hardly seems possible. I actually had no idea that I had reached such a mile stone, or should I say 'Mild" stone; (I mean in the world of blogging, 51 is probably not even a drop in the bucket, but for me Queen of Less and Less Free Time Lately, I think 51 is impressive.) Anyway, I logged on just to put this little and I do mean "little" post and there it was, my profile, and it said 50 posts - who knew?? SO yay Queen of writing a blog once and a while !! Happy 51st blog, and may it not take me another 15 months to post 50 more - LOL

Anyway, on to my little post...
Earlier tonight I sent an email to many of my friends, so most of you are probably going to feel REALLY cheated right now; because all I'm going to write about is the Diet Coke Chocolate Cake. Sorry for the tease friends; but on the off chance that anyone who reads "The Bumpy Ride" isn't on my personal email list; I want them to know about this AMAZING cake; cause you know me, I'm ALL ABOUT the GREATER GOOD.

OK, so yesterday I ran into my friend Mari in the Super Walmart parking lot. She mentioned my previous blog, or should I say mine & Michelle (.....K's) previous blog, and we were talking about weight loss. Mari told me that she's been doing Weight Watchers for 2 weeks and she had made this Chocolate cake with Diet Coke, and it was D-Licious. I was fascinated and since I was heading into the Super Walmart I felt compelled to buy the ingredients.

It really couldn't be any easier. All you do is get a Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix (she specified Duncan Hines, so I bought Duncan Hines; if you want to try something else; let me know how it works - see again there's that Queen of Following the Rules thing in full effect. Anyway, you add 1 can of Diet Coke (and yah, I don't know, I asked if it had to be DIET COKE per se, and Mari couldn't really say one way or another - and so of course I had Luis buy 1 can of Diet Coke - you know why. ) I personally prefer Diet Dr.Pepper; which actually might be pretty tasty in the cake; Diet Pepsi or Coke Zero, but for the purpose of this cake I put in the can of DIET COKE; and that's it. No eggs, no oil, just stir the cake mix with the Diet Coke and bake as per the instructions on the box. Serve it with some Cool Whip Free and I swear to you it tastes like a Hostess cupcake. Mari had told me exactly that and by golly she was right - a Hostess, Friggin cupcake.

Now, make no mistake, of course there's still sugar, and there's still carbs, but it's a lot less fattening and moist as can be. I recommend eating it before your last meal of the day, because about 2 months ago I stopped eating carbs and dessert during my last meal of the day and or after; and I attribute MOST of my weight loss thus far to this; even though I'm still going to the gym 5 times a week. (I have the metabolism of a snail and it is difficult for me to lose pounds, but this practice really has seemed to help - AGAIN , information being shared for the purpose of the GREATER GOOD.)

Well, as promised; just a "little" blog. I just wanted to share this CRAZY recipe with you; and or affirm that this recipe DOES WORK (if you happen to have seen it before.) Now with my luck there's probably some study out there showing how baking the carbonation of the Diet Coke into the cake has actually proved harmful. But now I've done it; I've gone and posted a blog about how great it is; so be prepared for me to recant my recommendation at any time; cause you know, sometimes I'm just the Queen of being The LAST To Know. Hahaha BUT in case it really is safe; I'm told there is a yellow cake recipe with Diet 7 up or Diet Orange or Diet Mountain Dew (a lot less restrictive than the DIET COKE I guess;) and for some reason lately lemon EVERYTHING has been sounding great to me, so I'll keep you posted.

Alrighty, I've said enough. I hope you try and enjoy this treat as much as me and my family did.

Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING