June 2009

Indian-Themed Dinner Party

by Diana on June 29, 2009

in Dessert,Dinner,Life

Annie + Dave were kind enough to have a bunch of us over for a home-cooked, Indian-themed dinner party.

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There was food all over the house and lots of good eats to be found.

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Kelsey + Emily – happy eaters!

I have some photos of food, but unfortunately, have no idea what I ate. It all tasted delicious, though!

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Kath’s rice pilaf.

And since I don’t know what anything is…I bring you some delicious-food-photos (sans descriptions)…

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My bowl. So good…especially with that cucumber sauce!

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Hey Kath! Don’t you love her dress?

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Kath and I tried to play with the cats…

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…but they were both hiding.

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Group shot…so cute how we all dressed for the event.

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I wore a sparkly, super-bright, yellow top…it’s not “Indian” (duh!) but I thought the color was pretty and kinda sorta went with the theme.

We missed half of the dinner party who took off before we got our group shot, but hopefully, we’ll catch them next time.

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The sun was setting as I was leaving and the lighting was making everything look so photogenic…even these stairs. I couldn’t help but snap a shot.

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I got one of the city skyline in the background with the setting sunlit horizon.

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I dug into my Soy Creamery chocolate ice cream sandwiches treats in the freezer for a quick dessert…yum!

Thanks Annie and Dave for the most-delicious dinner party!

{ 3 comments }

Since I have a post in need of being blogged up next, here’s a quick recap from Sunday…

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Hubby and I did some serious house-hunting on Sunday. We met our real estate agent somewhat early, so I had my breakfast to go – a piece of Great Harvest Dakota toast with Barney Butter, a not-so-green smoothie, and plenty of water. We went out for a few hours and found some houses with good potential. We need to think about the houses some more, though.

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Later in the day, I solo’ed it to meet up with Kath , Matt , Kelsey , Kate, Nate , Caitlin, Jason, and Conor at Pops in the Park – an outdoor symphony event.

I left my camera at home (put the camera in the wrong purse…doh!)…good thing I had my iPhone! Though, I did manage to accidentally post a photo on someone’s FB page instead of mine…oopsie!

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I brought some super yummy Gorgonzola & Artichoke Cheese Spread from a local fave spot – Pasta & Provisions . Love them! Love this dip…wow! Who knew I liked Gorgonzola cheese so much?

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Check out that spread! I filled my plates up with lots of yumminess including some of Kelsey’s delish pasta salad.

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Oh, and Kath and Matt brought the perfect summer picnic item – Gazpacho! It was so perfectly cool, with a nice texture and slightly spicy flavor. Mmm…

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Conor brought his homemade Italian doughnuts

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…with 3 (count em, 3!) dipping sauces: chocolate, raspberry, and raspberry-chocolate.

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I had one doughnut per sauce, plus one extra of my fave – the raspberry!

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Kath managed to get some delicious coconut-pecan cake from a neighboring picnic and was kind enough to share some with us. Yay! Thanks K!

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The weather was hot and humid, but the night was fun with a little Italian red wine and Italian music playing in the background.

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Kath let me borrow this group shot (Thanks!).

Fun times, guys…let’s do this again next year, if not sooner!

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Wow, this weekend has been crazy!

I knew Friday night that I had a full day ahead of me, so I tried to keep dinner healthy.

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I tried to keep dinner light with some TJ’s Wild Blue Shrimp and some veggies – organic squash and organic red onion from our organic produce delivery service.

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For our carb, I heated up this cool new Kashi product I found – 7 Whole Grain Pilaf. It took a mere 60-90 seconds and was ready like that!

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Yum!

First, I went to a boot camp class with a couple zumba instructors to assist with an 8-9am Saturday class.

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I didn’t want to have a full stomach whilst zumba-ing the morning away, so I just had a Clif Energy bar in Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch.

It was pretty cool because I got to test out my cueing and mirroring skills and move around in the audience to try to help those who couldn’t see the lead instructor.

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Then, we rushed over to Southpark for the Asana Zumbathon! I downed a protein bar and lots of water. Water so was KEY today because of all the exercising – especially the outdoor part. I found these awesome and affordable gigantic bottles of electrolyte enhanced water at Trader Joe’s the other day and got 2 for Saturday’s events.

The Zumbathon went from 9:00 – 10:30am, but we got there right at 9:30 for the last hour. Better late, than never, right? :)

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I wish I had pictures, but alas, I left my camera in the car, so I found this one from Asana Activewear. The event was a blast! We’ll have to have one of those again soon. *crossing fingers*

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After the zumbathon, it was time to gear up for my zumba instructor auditions. I got some hummus from a local restaurant because I simply love it and it’s pretty healthy.

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I also got some fresh ingredients to make a delicious deli-style sandwich with a side of fresh, red pepper.

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I used Great Harvest Dakota bread, smoked turkey, tomato, organic baby spinach, and muenster cheese. It was so awesome! Filling, nutritious, and energy-providing.

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An hour before my audition, I made hubby and me a not-so-green smoothie with frozen, mixed berries, a banana, organic baby spinach, and skim milk.

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Although I put spinach in there, I think the berries won out as far as colors go. Hubby didn’t even know there was spinach in the smoothie till I told him…teehee. :)

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I wore a top I got especially for auditions, my zumba pants and used a black, leather cuff as my statement piece. I thought it added to the whole zumba look. :) As for auditions, they went really well. I was nervous, but I am just pleased that I did about as well as I think I could have. I had to do 3 songs with mirroring and cueing and then some interview-type questions. Mostly, I was proud of my dancing…I was worried about messing up the routines, but they went very smoothly. No word yet on the results, but I’ll let you know.

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Later that night (yea, we’re still on Saturday…lol), we grilled out with friends.

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Hot!

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We did grilled onions on top of our burgers.

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Then, I topped my burger with a tomato slice, spinach, dab of mayo, mustard, and ketchup.

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I had a real Coke in a bottle (tastes so much better, I think) to drink.

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Trader Joe’s chocolate chip cookies were dessert.

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After dinner, we headed out to the marina…

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…for some night fishing….just as the sun was setting.

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We didn’t catch anything…

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…but we did have fun out on the water.

After night-fishing, we were ready to head home. I was sooo ready for bed after my extra long, but fun-filled day.

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Michael Jackson – King of Pop

by Diana on June 26, 2009

in Uncategorized

I still can’t believe Michael Jackson is no longer with us. I’m in shock that his life has been so tragically cut short.

Michael Jackson was my first major music obsession. When I was a little girl, I listened to his tape so many times and so often that I wore it out. I wore out a freakin’ tape! Have you ever heard of such a thing? My parents still laugh about it today.

Here are a couple videos…


Michael Jackson performing “Bad” live – I believe Bad was the tape I wore out, but I’ll have to confirm with my parents since that was so long ago!


Remember the Time – a great example of Michael’s creative genius – his music videos were like mini movies!


And, will anyone ever be able to compete with Thriller? I couldn’t find an embedable version, so here’s a rehearsal video with a wee-clip of a Michael home video. Neat stuff!

RIP Michael…we’ll always have your music.

What’s your favorite Michael Jackson song?

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Clean Eating Magazine

June 25, 2009

I stumbled upon a cool, new magazine the other day: Clean Eating magazine The magazine doesn’t appear to be all that “new” (I checked the back issues and there are 7 older versions online), but it’s new to me. I’m…

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Morphing Polenta

June 23, 2009

Polenta Day #1 I decided to try a polenta dish that I’ve been wanting to try for awhile for dinner the other night. I made Giada’s Polenta with Arugula. I cut back on the butter and used skim milk instead…

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New Fave Breakfast – Simple Oatmeal + “Sausage” + Coffee

June 22, 2009

I have a new favorite breakfast combo: New fave breakfast consists of a small-ish bowl of simple oatmeal: Pre-cooking ingredients: 1/4 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup water Post-cooking ingredients: sprinkling of sliced almonds (store in the freezer to keep longer…

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PS Happy Father’s Day!

June 22, 2009

PS I almost forgot to say… Happy Father’s Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (green = my dad’s favorite color) We are taking a trip home to see my dad in a couple weeks for a belated birthday and Father’s Day celebration, so more on…

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