Frenemies

Here's your weekly comic, all!!  I didn't color it because I wanted to try something new. :] Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Don't forget to get your passport

Hello Divas!

Soon, when you want to travel out of the Unites States, you will have to have your passport. Don't wait till the last minute, get yours now before the rush.
They have a great passport card that you can get also. It's like your drivers license, so you can keep it in your purse for those quick excursions for Canada and Mexico. I added a link for you to get all the information. Many post offices have an easy way to do your paperwork & get your pictures, you just need to make an appointment. I'm getting mine for a great cruise to Mexico!
Cruises are you best value trips right now, prices are lower than they have been in years. Check out a cruise near you...
Divas need vacations too!!

http://www.uspassport123.com/passports.asp

Wine Tasting in M.D. Fashion!

Today I bring you the first segment of D'Vine Wines and Virtual Tastings. All the wines I will be sharing with you are special because they are enjoyable, affordable and wont leave you feeling hung-over financial. I will be going to places like Costco, Trader Joe's and other local wine stores to find and share wines that taste like a second mortgage but at a cost all of us can afford to enjoy! We've all seen wines with high rating only to later learn that you had to forgo groceries for a month just to enjoy it's experience.....BUT since the wine industry has been affected by the current economy there are great opportunities to experience numerous great wines at reasonable prices!

In true wine tasting fashion, I will be tasting and writing about no more then five wines at a time. This is to make sure the palate is not over stimulated in each virtual tasting. The important thing is to enjoy the experience without bankrupting your wallet!

ENJOY!!!


Juan Gil 2006 Juan Gil

Robert Parker-91 Points

Spain is one of my favorite value regions for wine in the world! This amazing red from the Spanish importer Jorge Ordonez that is 100% pure Monastrell (Mourvedre) is a great example why. It demonstrates what is so amazing about the region of Jumilla. BIG, BOLD, Jammy fruit, expressive aromas and full bodied complexity (these are all attributes that I love in wines). The color is an inky violet. The nose is an intense floral, spice and red berry aromas all which offer striking pungency and clarity! The sweet red fruit on the palate, which is dusted by sexy oak spices and finishes off the taste with a suave gingerbread quality. All of this reminds me of a Southern Rhone wine! This wine is a TRUE Modern Diva find!!! Find this affordable luxury at Whole Foods or other local wine stores costing between $11-$14.

Twin Creeks 2004 Interlude Cabernet Sauvignon

Some People buy wines strictly on liking the label. Well if you are one of them you got lucky!!! Not only is the label an art work in itself but the the wine is a great choice and a great value! This Cabernet Sauvignon is bright, bold and full-bodied, but smooth on the finish. The dark color is enhanced by aromas of pepper and spice. The primary flavors are of black current, blackberries, cherries and the again the kick of pepper. This Cabernet Sauvignon I feel represents a wine that tastes like it costs more then you actually paid! Its such a great deal it can be enjoyed as your everyday pleasure! It's a great wine to enhance roast meats, most cheeses and of course CHOCOLATE!!!! A Napa Valley wine steal at only $11-14.

Sextant 2007 Wheelhouse Zinfandel

If Zins are your SINS, then look no further then for some excellent values from Central California. When you pour this wine in a glass feel how this wine is sumptuous and inviting. The 2007 Sextant Wheelhouse Zin summons a range of fruit characteristics that are underscored by supple tannins. To begin, a touch of cherries flow into hints of dark chocolate which roll into soft notes of raspberries only to be overtaken by a flavorful bite of red plums. Like the turn of a wheel, the structure is circular and the finish lingers with lasting momentum! Another great value at $14-$17.


Maipe 2008 Malbec

Robert Parker-90 Points

Argentina is another great region for valued wines. I love the complexity that a great Malbec can bring to the table. The 2008 Malbec by Maipe is a glass-coating purple color with a striking perfume of violets, black cherry and black raspberry. Exhibiting a surprising complexity for its price category, this wine has gobs of fruit and savory flavors and excellent depth and length. It is an outstanding wine value for enjoying at your next BBQ or just to enjoy a relaxing evening. At only $6-$9 its cheaper then a night out at the movies! Date Night Tip: For all us Penny Pinching Divas...open a bottle of this and order a movie off the T.V....all for under $15!!!

Cheers,
D'Vine

The Ultimate Blog Party (UBP)!!!

Calling all Women and Moms! Come join the fun with the Ultimate Blog Party from March 20-27th! The Ultimate Blog Party is all about building online friendships, discovering great new blogs/websites and is the perfect event to build your network and have some serious blogging fun, all without stepping away from your machine :) Last year, the Ultimate Blog Party 2008 had over 1500 bloggers participating and the UBP 2008 related pages had over 72,000 page views, with the actual UBP 2008 party receiving over 20,000 page views. This is a fabulous opportunity to introduce your blog to the masses and to find new blogs for your blogrolls!

This year they made sure to invite everyone to the party! So they are using Facebook and Twitter to promote the UBP ‘09. Just imagine all the friends and followers who could find YOUR blog! So make sure to invite your Facebook friends and Twitter followers! There will even be prized for them!!! When using Twitter make sure to use hashtag #ubp09.

It’s simple to join the fun and lots of ways to get involved! You can simply read the UBP post, publish your own party post on your blog and/or sign one or all of the Mr. Linky link at the end of the party's page!

Here are the rules (Please Visit the UBP for all the details!):

• Read and comment on UBP 2009 post to be entered in the draw for PRIZES.
• If you have a blog, write a party post on your site, include a UBP 09 Button and tell us which prizes you want if you win.
  
• Add your blog URL and/or your Facebook link and/or your twitter link to the appropriate Mr. Linky.
  
• Visit tons of blogs, Facebook pages and follow new twitter friends from the Mr. Linkies. (To be eligible for prizes, we ask that you visit and comment on at least 20 blogs.)

So Modern Diva Nation pull up your chair, enjoy a cocktail, maybe a sweet or two :) and enjoy the blogosphere!!!

VGNO First Day of Spring Party!

Check out Ann's blog tonight and join the fun!!
http://annagain66.blogspot.com/

As always sign up...check out the giveaway and then go blog hopping!

But First a Cocktail from Ann @ Ann Again...and again. This week's drink is a delicious penny pinching beverage! Perfect for all us Divas needing a fabulous beverage to end a long week but don't want to break the bank!

MAIDEN'S BLUSH
Ingredients:
*Light, sweet red wine
*Seltzer
*Lemonade

~Serve in goblets, and for a bit of spring flair, serve with the rose petals floating on the top. (Can easily be made alcohol free)

Have Fun at VGNO and good luck in the giveaway!!!

Your Daily Eat Green Tip!

Don't Open that Door!!! Every time you peek in the oven it loses 25 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit! This tip courtesy of THE BON APPETIT, take it or leave it :)

Eating Chowder without the GUILT!!!

Hearty chowders are always a crowd pleaser and taste great! But usually they are loaded with whole milk and pack on the calories! So instead try this hearty, healthy RAW (to keep this soup in its raw form don't heat it above a temperature of 104-115 degrees Fahrenheit) alternative! This soup will surely fill up even the hungriest of divas without packing on the pounds!

Cleansing Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

• 4 cups corn off the cob (about 4to 5 large ears)
• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 avocado
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp finely mined onion
• Celtic Sea Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

Instructions:

• Setting aside about 1/4 cup corn, sprouts and bell pepper blend the rest of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
• Plate the mixture and top with a sprinkling of reserved corn kernels, sprouts and/or diced red pepper bits as desired.

What Modern Diva is All About

All of us at Modern Diva would like to thank all of our followers for the great support of our blog so far!!! We also wanted to let all of our followers know what we are all about!

Modern Diva is a blog spot dedicated to motivating today's modern woman with articles and posts in tune with the true diva lifestyle.To enhance the rare and outstanding talent of today's modern diva, we provide articles and posts that include profiles and interviews with motivational women, along with today's timely topics such as woman's health and fitness, wine and food reviews, latest happenings around town and more! All that today's Modern Diva could desire! Join us in the "Diva Revolution" by celebrating the modern YOU and transform the average into a contemporary distinguished diva!

If you know anyone who might be interested in our blog please forward it on to a friend so she too can join the "Diva Revolution"!!!

Next Generation Cooking Class

Who doesn't love going out to grab a cocktail and some dinner with the girlfriends? But those cocktails, appetizers and dinners can add up quick! Instead of a costly night out grab all your M.D. friends and plan a girls-night-in and host a virtual cooking class! Macy's and Tyler Florence have teamed up together to offer a free 12-part series of podcasts featuring some of his favorite recipes! The podcasts are short (only about 4 minutes long), perfect after a few drinks :) and each one has the recipe in printable form!

Planning your Virtual Cooking Class

1. Visit the website and print out the coordinating recipe for the podcast you want to show that night.
2. Send out an Evite or call the girls and tell them what ingredients they are required to bring
3. Plan a great cocktail to serve before the class. My personal favorite: The Cucumber Mojito (saw it; tried it; from Top Chef season 5..I just loved Jeff!!)
4. After the much needed cocktail (especially if its been a long week!), gossip and chit chat play the podcast and start cooking!!!

Hosting a virtual cooking class will allow you and your girlfriends to have some great personal time and wont leave everyone's pocketbook waiting till next payday!!!! So all you Modern Divas go forth and create!!

Peggy Gorman Tells Us Who Inspires Her!

Our first inspirational story on health and fitness is in!

Peggy Gorman shares her secrets:

"I find myself looking to different blogs to get inspired. I don't know anyone personally so reading about how different people are losing weight allow me to check out a diet. I really like the WII Fit Families and feel they are losing weight correctly and make it fun. Two other other great places to get inspired are Momlogic ans i-diet and fitness. These sites are fantastic places to learn about issues dealing with diets, meals and the environment. I am so glad I found these sites because they all inspire me! I find myself following these awesome sites because I can read and "talk" to moms, woman and men about real life, real stories and learn their how to's."

"During this economic crunch I don't have the extra money to spend to get the latest and greatest information. With these sites I can now get the much needed information, share my weight loss stories, get tips, win fabulous prizes and having the the real winner be ME when I look in the mirror. I owe all this to the wonderful women and men of the sites mentioned above :)"


THANKS PEGGY!!! I HOPE THIS POST HAS INSPIRED ALL THE MODERN DIVAS LOOKING FOR A WAY TO KICK START THEIR HEALTHY GOALS FOR 2009 AND BEYOND!

Phone Today, Gone Tomorrow

Hey all!  Here's your weekly comic! :] Sort of a continuation from last week. Happy Wednesday. :3

Virtual GNO (Girls Night Out) - And A Giveaway!

Check out this cool blog : http://annagain66.blogspot.com/

Sign up...check out the giveaway and then go blog hopping!

But First a Cocktail from Ann @ Ann Again...and again

Absolut Summertime Recipe

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Citrus Vodka
1/2 oz Sprite
1 slice Lemon
3 oz Soda Water
3/4 oz Sweet and Sour Mix

Directions
Add all ingredients except lemon to shaker filled with ice. Cover and shake vigorously. Strain contents into ice filled collins glass. Garnish with lemon.

Have Fun at VGNO and good luck in the giveaway!!!

Who Inspires You?

In honor of National Nutrition Month® we have a challenge for all of our Divas. Tell us about someone who has inspired you to make healthy changes in your life and why. Please respond to our Gmail account at mdiva3@gmail.com. Don't be shy, share your motivational hero with your sister Divas (PHOTOS ENCOURAGED!). Over the coming weeks we will highlight your stories of these Divine Divas on our blog to help give everyone an inspirational boost!

Healthy Lifestyle Suggestion!

Something I did for myself today that felt really good!

A healthy lifestyle isn't just about nutrition or exercise, it's about feeling good about yourself, projecting the positive. I want to share with you something that I did today that has me smiling and feeling good about myself.

It actually started last night with an Internet search for an old friend. I found him or rather where he was working, without too difficult a search, living on the other side of the country. I sent a generic email under the "contact us" section of his employer, with just a request that they forward my email address to this individual. And, with an amazing display of customer service, this company actually did forward my email and he contacted me! I hadn't listed my maiden name, wondered if he would know who I was, and amazingly he did. We talked today, shared where we were with our lives some 30 years since we first met, reminisced, for over 2 hours.

My point is that contacting an old friend, being able to talk about ourselves with someone who doesn't know our day-in/day-out drudgery, hearing ourselves focus on the positives with our lives is a great morale booster. It helped me appreciate all the wonderful things in my life. I reaffirmed how proud I was of my daughters, how much I loved my husband and appreciated my life.

Reconnect with someone from your past, find an old friend, tell them the best parts of your life today and you'll feel better after. Whatever your age this suggestion applies. If you're under 25 connect with someone from those 'awkward' teenage years and you'll realize how far you've grown, if you're over 50 reconnecting with high school or college forgotten friends helps us remember the 'tingle' of youth!

Sharing is good for the soul!

Tell Me Something I Don't Already Know!

In honor of Nutrition Month, I offer this tidbit of trivia:

The word Gymnasium is derived from the Greek word γυμνάσιον (gymnasion) meaning 'place to be naked' and was used in ancient Greece to designate a locality for the education of young men including physical education which was customarily performed naked as well as bathing and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered as important as cognitive learning. Most Greek gymnasia had libraries that could be utilized after relaxing in the baths.

Thank god for Nike and Adidas designing fashionable and comfortable workout gear. I don't think I'd enjoy being 'au natural' at my local 24 Hour Fitness!

March Celebrates Nutrition

The number one New Year's resolution is to get healthy, whether it's eating right or getting to the gym to drop those extra pounds. Chances are, at sometime in your life, you have made a New Year's resolution pertaining to your health and fitness and chances are you broke it. Did you know more then 40% of people say they don't keep their resolution more then 60 days? Well here we are just past 60 days into the new year and how many of us have remained consistent with our goals?

March presents the perfect opportunity to stay on track with National Nutrition Month®, sponsored by the American Dietetic Association. As Modern Divas we want to help champion this cause for our followers! Our goal this month is to provide daily postings that will rejuvenate your resolutions and help keep your health on track! Let's beat the odds! Day 60 and beyond will not signify the end of our goals.

We believe in a healthy lifestyle, not a 'diet'. We want all our Diva's to feel comfortable and sexy in their own skin, whatever is the healthy size and shape for YOU; not the latest "perfect" body the entertainment industry deems desirable. What exactly is a size ZERO anyway?

Let's make some time to really take a look at your health and think about your eating habits and lifestyle. Where can you potentially make healthy changes, that will enable you to reach your goals for not only this year but a lifetime. Chances are that as a woman you will at some time in your life find yourself not only taking care of you, but being a primary caregiver for others, be it a husband, significant others, a child or a even a parent. And chances are, that as a woman, you will put yourself second or last on the list of people to take care of! Let's start the habit of keeping ourselves healthy first - remember a healthy woman creates a healthy home.

So we leave our Diva's with this question for today:
What is one healthy habit or change that you have adopted (whether it be just in the past 2 months, today, yesterday, or from years past) that helps you maintain a healthy lifestyle. Inspire others with your little piece of habit!

Flushed

Here's your second comic! Don't tell me that this hasn't happened to you. ;) Happy Wednesday, all!

Give me yours and I'll give you mine!

This morning I finally had an hour to just relax before heading off to class. While enjoying my breakfast and a cup of coffee (Jen and coffee...NO WAY! LOL) I turned on the Today Show to check in with the world around me. With the economy running around like a chicken with its head cut off, news stations are flooding its audiences with helpful ways to save. The Today Show was no exception and had a really interesting segment with Farnoosh Torabi from thestreet.com reporting about the hottest trend that's re-inventing itself throughout America.

Trading/Swapping/Bartering has been around for centuries and is a popular form of business in other countries but here in the U.S. that was never the case (yes I know back in the day it was...when we were still traveling west and riding the Oregon Trail). But that is all changing. Farnoosh goes on to tell audience members that bartering is making a comeback and is becoming the hottest/trendiest way to save money!

Here is the list of websites Farnoosh gave to the audience.....

Craigslist - I know, I know we have all heard of this site but did you know that it has seen an increase of 100% in its bartering posts since Janauary '09.

U-Exchange - This site is excellent for trading cars, homes, renovations and even vacation spots. This site has become so popular that it has seen an increase of 172% in viewing and posting traffic.

FavorPals - This site is geared towards trading services. Here you can find people with all kinds of services just waiting to be traded in the U.S, Canada, the U.K. and France!

SwapTree - This site offers a place where people can trades books, CDs, DVDs and video games. This is a great site for families and especially ones with children (or for wives with husbands that are geeky gamers).

Farnoosh also emphaised to be specific when posting your bartering needs or wants, to make sure to keep records (specifically drafting up a simple contract to protect yourself) and to always file with the IRS.

So Modern Diva's go forth and enjoy a world without money!

Tell Me Something I Don't Already Know!

A true Modern Diva should always have some interesting bits of trivia that you can share in conversation! Here's today's bit:

This tantalizing bit of trivia was told to me by my husband during dinner tonight. I thought it was worth sharing. This info was found today on USA Today. (and who says reading the paper isn't still worthwhile!)

Today, March 3, 2009, aka 03/03/09, is considered "square root day".

Square Root Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated on days when both the day of the month and the month are the square root of the last two digits of the year. For example, the last Square Root Day was March 3, 2009 (3/3/09), and the next Square Root Day will be April 4, 2016 (4/4/16). The final Square Root Day of the century will occur on September 9, 2081. Square Root Days fall upon the same nine dates each century. The exceptions during this millennium are during the 21st century with the 10/10/2100 day and 22nd century with the 11/11/2121 and 12/12/2144 days also being the Square Root Days.

Ron Gordon, a Redwood City, California high school teacher, created the first Square Root Day for September 9, 1981 (9/9/81). Gordon remains the holiday's publicist, sending news releases to world media outlets. Gordon's daughter set up a Facebook group where people can share how they were celebrating the day. One suggested way of celebrating the holiday is by eating square radishes, or other root vegetables cut into shapes with square cross sections (thus creating a "square root").

In lieu of the square vegetable celebration style, I am sharing this info with our followers. Go forth and be square!