If There is a "Dancing Gene" it Must Be Recessive

Most people like to dance. Many people, when I tell them I can't dance and that I don't really enjoy it, think I'm weird.

But, you know what? I swear, the not-able-to-dance thing has got to be genetic.

Because I come from a family of non-dancers. On both sides.

I've got rhythm, but I lack coordination. When I dance, I resemble Elaine Benis from Seinfeld. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, I dare you to click on the link.) The difference between me and Elaine, though, is that I am aware that I'm a bad dancer.

I'm not terrific when it comes to slow dancing, either. I know, I know, all I have to do is follow the guy's lead. But do you want to know something? I do not think I can be led! (Maybe it's a good thing that all most guys in high school just sway in circles at high school dances...because I can do that. Geez, I could probably lead, if going round and round in circles is all that I'm required to do.) But I digress...

The fact remains that I cannot dance.

Therefore, when Brooker gave me a 10-punchcard for Zumba last Christmas, I was less than enthusiastic. And I felt bad about it, because I love Brooker, and I wanted to like her gift, I really did!

So. On the morning of January 1, 2011, I went to my first Zumba class with Brooker. And I went with an open mind, really I did!

I wanted to stand in the back and dance  wiggle around the way the awesome Zumba instructors were. I was very uncomfortable. Times ten.

But I stayed the entire hour, and I wiggled with the class. (I decided that the most important thing, since I didn't know the moves AT ALL, was to just keep on moving. After all, Zumba can be a fantastic cardio workout!)

Yes, I stayed. And I wiggled. And I didn't hate it.

I DIDN'T HATE IT AT ALL. Something about dancing with the Zumba Sisters and Brooker...well, it was kind of fun.

I've used up that 10-punchcard, and I've purchased new punchcards for myself.

BECAUSE I LOVE ZUMBA. Especially with those Zumba Sisters! (I went to Zumba once at my gym, and I didn't really care for it. Just sayin'.)

Me, Chelsie, gal in the middle, Brooker & Jill with butt tassels.

Oh! And that's not even where the craziness ends, people!

I've never really cared for "dance music" for my entire life. Because dance music is for dancing. But...

I've gone ahead and purchased a LOT of the music we dance to at Zumba.

Seriously, before Zumba I'd never have given Lady Gaga a chance, and I had never even heard of anything like "Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)" or "Prrrum" (among many other songs!).

As it turns out, my Zumba playlist on iTunes is stellar to listen to when I clean.

Who says people can't change, huh?


*Disclaimer: I still reserve the right to say I don't love all dancing. I'd rather do just about anything than go to an actual dance. And I still think I'm un-leadable (not a word?).

I Like Boating

Oh yes I do!

Lord, give me strength...

What the 2010?!

Old news, I know. We're well into our second day of the new decade, but I just caught up with the rest of the world, and I'm left scratching my head, wondering how the devil the past 10 years have zipped on by so darn fast!

Moving on...

First and foremost, I finished my list; I tried crab (thanks to Kelly for sharing). I went to Red Lobster with a few friends on Thursday evening, and I partook. It wasn't that bad, actually; I really liked the texture, and the taste wasn't all that fishy. But then...things got out of control, and my peers pressured me into trying lobster too (compliments of Josh). When I fought my way through that (gagging thrice), I announced to my peers that my list went from 18 to 19, hooray for me! And do you know what happened then? Matt said, "You should try one more thing to make it an even 20." And I caved! I caved, because 20 really does sound better than 19. And the only other thing at the table that I had not yet tried was coconut shrimp. (I'm a total dummy. I already know that I don't like shrimp, and I've long held the view that coconut destroys anything that it touches. Is it obvious to anyone else that coconut shrimp could never be a winning combination in my book?) Anyways, I did it. My list is complete. I am a brave soul indeed...

The crab leg...

Trying the lobster...

The coconut shrimp...

Enough of that...

Do you remember the post where I tried to talk myself into being excited for winter (especially the snow)? Well, quite honestly, I've considered myself lucky, because although it's been quite cold, I haven't had to deal with snow much.

Up until the New Year, I mean.

We've kinda gotten dumped on since the close of 2009. DUMPED ON. I've shoveled 3 times in the past 24 hours. And this snow is HEAVY.

Yesterday morning, Bro. Jenkins showed up with his snow blower, and he took care of our fatty driveway (THANKS A MILLION, BRO. JENKINS!). So Brookie and I thought we'd kinda "pay it forward" and shovel a neighbor's driveway. It took us a while, but we did it. (That's ONE.)

The snow, lovely and serene, continued to fall. All the live-long day. So yesterday afternoon, I shoveled again. Solo this time, but it was okay. (That's TWO.) After shoveling, I met up with Cookie at the theater to watch Sherlock Holmes (which I highly recommend), and then chillaxed at home with the Brookes.

The snow stopped falling at some point...

But then it started up again during the night, because I woke up to another 4 inches of snow. So I got dressed and shoveled again. (That's THREE.) Somehow, it keeps getting heavier. If I had any thoughts of being charitable, shoveling other people's driveways, too...well, those feelings were obliterated within minutes of removing the snow from my own. Brookie came out to help after she got dressed and had breakfast, which is great, because otherwise I might still be out there...

(Pictures do it no justice...)

So now that there's buckets of snow out there, I'm being tested. I already know that being happy or excited about the snow is just not an option.

I'm working on tolerance without complaint...

vanish. dwindle. disappear.

Yep.

Those words perfectly describe what's happening to the year 2009; to the past decade, actually. Honestly, where does the time go?

Noteworthy stuff I've done in the past 10 years (not necessarily in chronological order):

*high school graduation (good riddance!)
*i acquired 3 more degrees (AAS, BS, MS)
*a guy who stole a kiss from me in college is now gay (no, it's really true)
*I WENT TO SCOTLAND!
*i lived in Alaska for an entire summer
*i've made friends with terrific people who have enriched my life in a thousand ways
*got chubby in grad school and lost the extra weight through hiking, biking, and softball
*i discovered the poet within
*one magical word: Disneyland
*i've acquired 3 sisters-in-law, 3 nephews and 1 niece
*oh yeah. i have a career!
*i've tried all sorts of foods outside my comfort zone. (this really is big for yours truly)
*i backpacked 20 miles round-trip while getting over strep. (yeah, i'm proud of that one)
*other really, really cool stuff (i did this list on the spot, okay?)

Looks like the past 10 years have been good for this ginabean, huh? It's true, over all. Sure, LOTS of pain was endured (it's called grad school). But mostly it's been a good run. Here's to the next 10, right? (And maybe, just MAYBE, a husband and children will be thrown in the mix before 2020!)

One more thing, though...one of my resolutions for 2009 was to try a handful of new foods--at least 10. I've accomplished the goal (which grew to a list of 18 things, most of which I really didn't want to try, due to bad past experiences, or just because I've been too chicken). Actually, I've only tried 17 of them; I have yet to try crab. See for yourself:

The List

So. This evening, the last day of 2009, I'm going to try it. A group of us are headed to Red Lobster (for the seafood lover in you! -except there isn't a seafood lover in me-) sooner than later, and I can check it off my list.

Don't worry, I'll let you know how it went, once it's come to pass...

time flew...

I was in BC for a full 8 days, and now, I sit here scratching my head, wondering where my beloved break went.

Because I'm back to reality, see...

I've been back in IF since Saturday afternoon. And as much as I love my life in IF, I'm rather bummed that my week-long hiatus is all gone.

It was a great time, that hiatus. The entire thing.

Some of the highlights include (but are not limited to):

*Playing with my nephews
*The cold (but successful!) BYU football game against Air Force
*Cuddling with baby Jane
*Breakfast burritos
*Chillaxin' with the fandamily
*Getting lost in Provo and eating at Bombay House with Coretta
*Seeing Lisa 3 times in 1 week!!!
*The Thanksgiving Feast
*Brisk walks with Brent and Dad
*Setting up Christmas decor and over-stocking a couple of shelves that resulted in Mom very nearly having a stroke (bwa ha!)
*Beautiful weather
*Listening to Jane squawk because she's recently discovered her voice
*Watching New Moon and not completely hating it
*Trying pomegranate again
*The Blind Side (what a stellar movie!)
*Surviving the entire week without a single solitary nap :/

And now...pictures:

Amy and Janie

Jackson got tired and climbed on my bed

I.Love.Stuffing.

The boys and the bird...
(carving the turkey is Dad's job every year)

Janie's first Thanksgiving
(She's so precious I could just die)
I think she was smiling big at Brent when I snapped this pic...

Me and Abby licking pickled beets
(They really aren't any good. I may or may not have gagged when I popped one in my mouth)

Story time: I used to love pomegranate, back in the days of my youth. Until, one day...I came home from school in search of an after-school snack (tradition in the O-household). At this time, one of my brothers--who shall remain nameless, but it starts with a V--came out of the kitchen with a fruit roll-up in hand. The fruit roll-up was unwrapped, and rolled up tightly. This brother of mine gave me said roll-up and told me to eat it as it was. (Oh, blind, foolish Gina! Don't do it! Don't trust him, look at his mischievous smile!)

But guess what? I did it: I bit into that fruit roll-up--a big bite--and what do you think was rolled up in that lumpy roll-up? (Did I forget to mention it was lumpy? It was.) Pomegranate seeds! Only, not just a few pomegranate seeds, oh no! An entire fistful! All wrapped up tightly and delivered to the stupid and unsuspecting Ginabean!

Well, folks, it wasn't good. Not at all. And ever since that fateful day (somewhere in the '90s), I've avoided pomegranate. It really hasn't been hard to avoid 'em.

Anyway, since 2009 is the year to be brave, I thought I'd give pom another go.

Me and my pom (provided by the lovely Kelly!)

I still don't like it. I just had 2 or 3 at a time, but still...it took me back to the day I stopped loving them. No more pomegranate for this Ginabean!

Aaaand...that was my Thanksgiving week in a nutshell.

sweet taste of India...

Well, folks, I finally did it. I've been on this earth for...several years...and I finally tried Indian food. It's not that I haven't wanted to try it, but rather, I've never really had the opportunity to try it. (Okay, there was that one semester in grad school when I lived in "The Curry Palace" with a nice Indian gal, but we were never there at the same time, and I wasn't about to dig into her leftovers when we knew so little about each other, you know?)

Anyway...I made a resolve to try it this year, and when Coretta found out about it, she asked me, please, could she be there with me when it went down, and also that it needed to go down at the Bombay House in Provo.

So that's what happened.

The drive there was not out of the ordinary for the Ginabean in a city she doesn't know well. I'm no good with directions, even when I google-map it beforehand. I had full intentions of going to the Jordan River Temple yesterday afternoon. But somehow...somehow!...I missed my exit. So I just continued on to the Provo Temple.

Things weren't any better in Provo, in case you were wondering. I've been to the Provo Temple before, but never from the way south exit.

Know how I bragged about my apple pie, and that I can change at lightning speed? 'Member how great I am at those two things? Well...my sense of direction (or complete lack thereof) is something else entirely. Other adjectives that apply: intriguing, astounding, "impressive", interesting...umm...pathetic. Sad. Depressing. Right. Get the picture? To help my sad little ego just now, let it be said that I make quite the navigator if I'm not driving. (And if we're not driving around in Nanaimo, BC. Man, I got us way lost there, but I blame it on the scaling of the map we used.)

Moving on...

I met Coretta (a dear friend/previous roommate from yesteryear) at Bombay House at 7:00 last night. (I drove by that place 3 or 4 times before I found it. And it ain't hidden, really.) Oh, how joyful it was to see my Coretta-friend! I think the last time we saw each other was nearly 4 years ago. She's married and has 3 kiddos, we haven't seen each other in 4 years, and things felt just like it was yesterday that we were roommates at BYU-Idaho. STUPENDOUS, don't you think?!

Coretta knows what foods I like, and, more importantly, she knows what I don't like. Plus, she knows Bombay House. So we figured out some options I'd likely like, you know? And, since they had lamb on the menu and it's my goal to taste lamb by the year's end, I killed two birds with one stone and ordered lamby, Indian-style. (I so wanted to call the title of this post "Mary had a little lamb, and I ate it," but my mom said it sounded too harsh, like I'm eating a pet. Out of respect for my mom, and pets everywhere, I obliged.)

Coretta and moi at the Bombay House
(I love this girl!)

We went all-out and ordered beverages too...
These are Rose Lassi and Strawberry Lassi

It really is the darnedest thing, but Rose Lassi tastes exactly how a rose smells, but delicious. Not so you'd want to throw up at all! Who knew?! -I ordered Strawberry to be safe, but Coretta let me have a sip or two of her Rose...

The spread...
You ought to be jealous!

My first bite of Indian food...
This was the Lamb Boti Kabab Masala, FYI...

I wasn't quite ready for the picture, can you tell?
This is just before my first bite of Raj's Chicken.
(If I could write "Supremely Delicious" in Hindi, I would)

Holy. Crap. How have I gone my entire life thus far without going crazy on this stuff?! -I'm fairly sure my body would hate me if I tried the super spicy stuff, but Indian food is amazing! And what the what? They use ginger and mango in, like, tons of their recipes. Mango ain't my fave fruit, but I rather enjoy what India can do with it!

Coretta and I also ordered the Onion Naan (flatbread) and mango ice cream. (Yeah, here's something truly shocking: that ice cream didn't hurt my tummy at all. I think it's cause it was more yogurty than ice creamy.)

The Mango Ice Cream...
Isn't it lovely?!

So yeah. Yesterday was good (despite the set-back that is my sense of direction). It was DYNAMITE seeing Coretta again for a couple of hours! And after that, Lisa let me crash at her place so I wouldn't crash on the freeway. It was loverly seeing her again too!

quirky me...

Canned pears are nasty. Very, very nasty. Something about the texture and...whatever. Yuck. I dislike canned pears so much that I've developed an aversion to fresh pears.

(like this one)

Because 2009 is a year of bravery for trying "new" foods, pears are one of the first foods I put on my list.

Okay, not first, but not last either...

Anyhoo, Lisa's grandparents have some pear trees, and she shared a fresh Utah pear with me tonight. I was apprehensive, but I put on a brave face and tried a wee slice...

A very wee slice...

And guess what? I like fresh pears. I really like 'em. So there's one more food I can check off the list. And another fruit I can add to the rather small list of fruits that I like! Sweet!

Also, I seem to like watches. Somehow I keep collecting them...

Blue face: WalMart special about 8 years ago...
Swiss Army: A college friend was gonna DI this like 5 years ago; I couldn't let that happen...
Beaded: Newest to the collection. I LOVE IT. (Thanks Mama!)
Fossil: I got this one on sale about 2 years ago...
Pink face: High school graduation gift from my younger brothers. It still works :)

I also LOVE bracelets. This is funny, because even a few years ago, I didn't like 'em at all. I couldn't understand the idea of decorating one's wrists.

Things have changed. Drastically.

Pink leather: Bought from a Peruvian fella at Huntington Beach...
Cream braided: Found this one at the mall somewhere...
Cute multi-colored O-rings: From Brooke, who found it at the IF Artisans Market...
Green/Brown beaded: Bought this my last day of grad school from a professor's daughter...
Black Kua Nuts: Got this puppy from Chris when she went to Hawaii last summer...
Yellow/Green beads: I bought this to help refugees from Uganda. Cute!
Brown wooden beads: Only a few months old. I found it at the Quilted Bear in O-town..
Blue/White: I made this my last day of grad school...

Plus I have another (really cute!) bracelet that Brooke brought me back from Australia. I'll show it to y'all sometime. :)

I'll post about my awesome weekend in Zion (aka Utah) one day soon...

the list grows...

There are a lot of foods I haven't tried (which is why I set that one goal for myself at the beginning of the year).

While on vacation, I added a few foods to my list. While at the LA Temple, we ate at the cafeteria there, and Lisa got the chile relleno. She requested that I try some, since I'd never had it before. So I did. I ate some chile relleno. Not bad. I don't think I'd want to make a whole meal of it, but it'd make a good appetizer or something. :)

Chile relleno looks something like this...

Lisa also got custard for dessert. Lisa also insisted that I taste custard, because, again, I had never tried it before. Custard is NOT good! It tastes like egg-white Jello. Or what egg-white Jello would taste like, if the Jello company ventured in that direction. Seriously not good.

Custard...

And then...I tried shark meat--also ordered by Lisa. We went to a fancy-schmancy restaurant and Lisa ordered the mako shark. I braced myself, but told myself, "I'll like it." We took a video of myself trying the shark. (Yes, we busted out the camera in the extremely nice restaurant. What can I say? I'm not the classiest girl in the world, I suppose...)

Anyway. The video:

It really wasn't bad--although it did seem to have a slightly fishy aftertaste to it.

Anyway, my brothers sometimes get a kick out of my aversion to certain foods. Sometimes they'll even play their own version of "what if..." It usually goes something like this: "What if you had to eat a banana in order to save Jackson's life? Would you eat the banana?" Or try this one on for size: "What if you had to eat an entire coconut cream pie or else Seth would die? Would you eat an entire coconut cream pie then?" And so on, and so forth. To my brothers, I say this: I'd do my darnedest to eat the custard in order to save the life of a loved one.

But I'd rather eat the shark...

F is for FAMILY...

Here are some pix of what went down last weekend at home with the family...

I took Goose to dinner at Texas Roadhouse in O-town
for all the niceness he does for me (and my car)...

I played with this kid...
Isn't Seth ridiculously good-looking?!
He looks so grown-up in this picture...(smile/frown)

And he, in turn, played with my keys.
(The child LOVES cars)

Shared a delicious Slurpee with these two...
(Amy and Jackson)

Took pix of Jackson's parents adoring him...

Played fetch with Ikers...

And tried one of these bad boys...
They weren't overpoweringly coconutty, but still...

PS I tried asparagus this past Sunday. Lisa made some delish foil dinners (cooked in the oven). Asparagus was on my list of things to try, people. I haven't forgotten about it.

ASPARAGUS!
It didn't really have a flavor, and it was cooked long enough that it was soft.
I liked it. I think I want to try it sauteed sometime...

domesticatin'...

I don't know that I'm naturally a "domestic" sort of gal...although I do make a killer apple pie and I can follow a recipe with relative ease.

Anyway...lately I've had the hankering for homemade bread, so I've made several loaves in the past month or so. (Like I said, I can follow a recipe.) And really...who doesn't enjoy homemade bread? Puts the store-bought to shame. Every. Time.

Eat your heart out, Martha...

Last night for an Enrichment activity with my new branch (the Ammon 19th branch was recently absorbed into the Ammon Foothills branch), I learned to crochet. Well, I guess I'm still learning.

I think I like it. :)

Two of my favorite colors...

The work in progress...
One day, it shall be an afghan "cuddle blanket."

What I've done so far is probably 8 feet long or so. And maybe I don't want to tell you how long it's taken me to get that far (somewhere near the 4th row or something?) Okay, I give in; 2 hours. I started doing just one solid color and was going to switch off, but then lightning struck my brain and I decided to combine both colors throughout the entire blankie. I really like the color combo, and I figure it'll be a warmer, thicker afghan this way.

Anyhoo...for those who don't crochet, I give you permission to be impressed. For those of you who know how to crochet much better than I...umm...hello. I'm joining your ranks and intend to improve my skill. :)

I'll try to remember to post a picture of the finished product...in a few months when the daunting task that lays ahead is complete. (I think I'll work on it whenever we watch a movie and stuff...)

Oh yeah, and just for fun (and to document growth!) here's a pic of Abby and her pregnant belly from this past weekend. (I think she was in the middle of week 24?)

B is for Bravery, C is for Choke...

I've kind of taken a break from my New Years Resolution to try new foods. I wouldn't say I've been avoiding it. But I haven't really been going out of my way the last couple of months either.

Well, tonight Lisa provided ample opportunity for me to put on a brave face and taste some different foods. Back in 2000, Lisa went to Ghana for some sort of humanitarian aid thingy, and she came back with a few recipes (as well as some excellent memories and all that jazz). She's been getting the itch to make some African cuisine lately, so today she made Red Red. She made 2 varieties: chicken and shrimp.

Now...shrimp was never on my list of foods to try this year; I already know I dislike it. But my brother Aaron has insisted that I need to try, try again. So I did. Just for him.

If you have a sympathetic gag reflex, go ahead and skip the video...

Honestly, it's not even the flavor that I hate;
it's that nasty pop when you bite into it.
And also the yucky texture...

Anyway, I tried it. And that gag is GENUINE, people!

Moving on...

I also tried plantains for the first time in my life. Fried plantains. Not bad, really. One of my friends was shocked out of his gourd when he saw me finish one off and go back for another. (Something about plantains and bananas being "closely related" I guess?)

I also ate (and swallowed!) some Red Red (the chicken variety). Actually had seconds on that.

Aaaand...last but not least, I ate a slice of mango. I didn't really care for it. It had a weird flavor I didn't exactly love. I think I'll stick with the dried mangoes. (Yum-o!)

So...that's a whole bunch of new foods all in one night, wouldn't you agree?

Red Red (with chicken)...

mangoes and fried plantains...

Anyway...I think I'm gonna eat me some frozen yogurt now...

the haggis...

This post has kind of been a long-time coming. I've known I'd blog about it ever since I knew I'd be tasting haggis. And I totally wanted to post it earlier, but I've been having issues uploading videos onto blogspot from my computer. Meh...

I hope I haven't built the suspense too much for any of you who care to watch what is about to unfold. It's really nothing special. Except for the part where I eat haggis. (It is a big deal, okay?!)

Bon appetit!

Me & Lisa dishing up the haggis.



Will I, or won't I...?!

Okay, so I totally realize now that I shouldn't have looked up what, exactly, haggis is before I ate it. (Basically it's the Scottish equivalent of a hot dog, but sheep-style. Minus the hoof.) I don't know if you picked up on it, but I totally gagged twice before I even managed to get the fork to my mouth. Then there was at least one more gag whilst the haggis was in my mouth. Can somebody tell me, please, how you can't think of what haggis is when it's rolling 'round in your gullet?

Anyway...I did it. I ate a bite of haggis. And now I'm forever done with it. Seriously, it wasn't bad, but why would I eat it again? I feel quite certain that it's the nastiest thing I've ever put in or near my mouth. And I feel equally as certain that it's the nastiest thing that ever will go in or near my mouth.

Done and...done.

Oh yeah...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VANCE!

nightmare revisited...

I heard the craziest story on the radio as I was getting ready for work this morning.

Seriously.

Quite a freaky story.

Some fellow goes sky diving for the first time on Saturday. As a first-timer, you have to go tandem. Shortly after the chute opens, the guy realizes his jump-master isn't responding. At all.

Turns out his jump-master is...wait for it...dead.

Seriously.

I told you it was crazy.

The story gets better, though. Although the jump-master is a goner (rest in peace), this rookie sky diver somehow lands without dying himself and he tries to revive the jump-master.

This story freaks me out of my gourd because I went sky diving in September 2006 and I had bad dreams before I went. (Nightmares about my chute not opening.) My experience was, in a word, awesome...but since diving, I've felt that I cheated death and I've decided I don't want to tempt fate again.

This story has just strengthened my resolve, thanks...

Weird Food Night...

Oh gee. I talked to my mom yesterday and she brought to my attention something that I just realized on Saturday afternoon: my blog has been a lot about food lately. I fear it may make me seem rather piggish and whatnot. People, my life does not revolve around food. True, I really enjoy it, and I don't skip meals unless it's accidental, or it's Fast Sunday. But I have other, like, hobbies and stuff.

So I was thinking, "I just won't post any more about food."

However, 2009 being the year to try new foods...well, not blogging about it just isn't an option. There you have it. There will be, I'm quite certain, lots of other "foody" posts.

PS I will be trying haggis this coming Friday. That post will be quite interesting, I daresay...

Moving on: My cute friend Brooke hosted a party called "Weird Food Night" on Saturday. It was pretty awesome. The dealio was that we were supposed to bring strange food combinations that might sound yucky, but in all reality it's pretty good. (The main rule was "Don't bring it if you won't eat it.") Sounds like fun, right?

Right!

So...I'm not clever. Or really all that brave. Basically, if it sounds like a yucky combo, I'm not going to write down the recipe. So instead, I made this little number:

I give you: "fishy jello!"
Clever, right? It was totally Lisa B's idea...

Kade brought this cottage cheese/salsa dip.
Yummo! This was a fave snack whilst I was in college...

Jonathan brought "Mango Loco" suckers.
It's a mango sucker covered in chili powder.
This reaction is 100% authentic. (Not to mention embarrassing)

Lisa B brought Ground Nut Stew with Rice.
(A tomato-based stew with peanut butter, a Ghanaian dish)
Rather tasty, actually...

Lisa B also brought this little number.
I so didn't even go there...
(Yep, that's bananas with Nutella)

Callie sampling Megan's Meusli (a tasty German dish)...

Brooke made something she calls
"Creme de la Peachy Tuna."
I couldn't make myself try it...
I think she said it's a Belgian delicacy...

Lisa John brought Artichoke dip.
(Artichoke was actually on my original list of foods to try)
It's some tasty stuff!

Oh yeah, Jonathan also brought Sangria Senorial,
some strange Mexican soda.
He really likes it...

I got really brave last night and tried a Bananas Foster Dove candy.
Once I finally tasted the banana flavor, it was less than pleasing...