March 16, 2009

We hope you all had a good weekend!  One of the things that LilSis and I talked about over the weekend was a list of ideas for potential revisions to BigSisLilSis.  We've been posting for almost 6 months already and have close to 200 posts published now, so it seems like a good time to evaluate where we've been and where we want to go.

What would be really helpful for us is to know what our readers are thinking.  We can see from our stats that we do have some readers (hallelujah), and that the number is increasing every month.  We're very excited about that, and want to send a big THANK YOU to everyone who is reading what we're writing!

When we started BigSisLilSis at the end of September, we had NO CLUE about what we were doing, and we've learned a lot.  We've also had a ton of fun, but we realize it isn't all about us.  Everything that we do on BigSisLilSis is for our readers.

While we can see that we have some readers, we would love it if you could send us some feedback.  Here's what you could do to help us determine if we're on the right track:

• Leave a comment on a post
• Send us an email
• Subscribe to our feed via RSS or email

We want our content to be interesting and relevant, and we want to post on things that you want to read about and know about.  That's where your input comes in.  Your comments, emails and subscriptions are the only way we have of knowing what you want.

So, if you have a few seconds to educate us, encourage us, reprimand us, or redirect us, we would greatly appreciate it!  What are we doing that you'd like to see more of?  What do we talk TOO much about that you don't enjoy?  What could we do overall to make BigSisLilSis a better experience that is worth your time to read?  More recipes?  More cats in hats?  More product reviews?  More personal experiences?  More Sawyer photos?  I vote yes to that last one. 😀

Seriously, we thank you all so much for reading us, and for the input we've gotten.  It has been amazing to be part of this incredibly supportive blogging community!  Please stay with us, and help us make BigSisLilSis better!  We'd love to hear from you!  Have a good week, and don't drink too much green beer!

~BigSis

March 4, 2009

What the “L” is BigSis up to?

• Loving the thought of taking long after-work walks next week…thanks to Daylight Savings Time!  Bring it on!
• Looking forward to spring.  It's been a weird winter in Texas this year.
• Lusting over tonight's Lost reunion episode!

More of this tonight??

• Lunching on these meatless Gourmet GardenSteaks in the Baja variety.  These are not your usual critter-free patties; they're very delicious, well-seasoned and filling.
• Livid that I got suckered into this season's Bachelor!  Livid, I tell you!  Snarl!

And most of all:

• Lifting up in prayer all those around me going through a rough time…my friend who just lost her dad, my friend whose long-time BF just came to light as a long-time cheater, my friend who's trying to discern if her dating relationship is of God or not, my friend whose brother is struggling with the path his life is taking, and LilSis and her family dealing with Sarah's increasing health problems.  Love all of you!

~BigSis

March 1, 2009

I am a big fan of The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I don't always have time to read all of her Confessions of a Pioneer Woman posts, but I do subscribe to The Pioneer Woman Cooks. The woman is pretty darn amazing.  A lot of times, she has 40 or 50 photos posted with a recipe, and with some pretty incredible photography, at that!

I hope this doesn't come out sounding the wrong way, but I really want to know if Pioneer Woman is a one woman show or if she has a team of people helping her.  If any of our readers happen to communicate with Pioneer Woman, I would absolutely LOVE it if you would pass this post on to her.  I know she admits that she doesn't have time to comment much or reply to emails. She's just too busy!!

But, I would love to know how she home schools all her little ones, helps Marlboro Man with the ranch, cooks amazing recipes, takes amazing photography, and maintains a wonderfully organized blog.

Inquiring minds want to know…How DOES SHE DO IT?

~LilSis

February 27, 2009

The past few days have been very draining on me for more than one reason. I think the New Moon on Wednesday had something to do with some of that! Almost everyone I've talked to in the past two days has told me that they also had a lot of things happen on Wednesday. Okay, it is probably a coincidence, but that's when my laptop got attacked by the ‘virus'.  Yesterday, I was able to drop it off for an emergency visit with Phil, my IT guy, also known as Dr. Phil!!

Technically speaking, Dr. Phil says that it's not a virus. It's malicious software that is installed on your computer and when it attacks, it's unstoppable. I tried for a couple of hours to install some new software to try and remove the malicious software, but could not even get Firefox or IE to run.  I hope this never happens to anyone else, but chances are that it will.  Just beware! There is a window that pops up that tells you that your computer is at risk because it has no virus protection. This new window looks very similar to a real Microsoft Windows alert. If you click on enable protection, it will take you to a site to buy their anti virus software. But, it is just a scam to get your credit card information. Don't do it!!

I just found out that a couple of my friends have had more serious issues arise in the past couple of days, so I'm not going to go on and on about my laptop being out of commission. I've just become quite dependent on it and almost feel lost without it.

Besides all my blog work and my ‘real work', I rely on my Outlook  for all my tasks and my appointments. If I had a Blackberry or an  iPhone, I'd be able to retrieve my Outlook from that device.  I'm just not ready to go there yet.

Since I'm such a good-natured, sweet, forgiving, LilSis, I'm not going to fly to Texas to kick BigSis' ass! You know I'm just kidding, BigSis!  🙂 You had no way of knowing that site was malicious.

Hopefully, Dr. Phil will get me up and running on my laptop in the next few days.

~LilSis

February 26, 2009

Today's post is being slightly delayed due to technical difficulties.  To be completely honest, BigSis sent a virus of some horrible magnitude to LilSis and she's still trying to get rid of it today!  So sorry, LilSis!  I found some bikini photos of Heidi Klum that showed her to be a normal woman with the usual kinds of body challenges that we all face, and thinking it was funny, I forwarded them to LilSis.  So, when LilSis opened those photos, her computer sustained an astronomical virus attack.  That's what I get for spreading photos that are unkind.  Sorry, LilSis.  Sorry, Heidi.   I hope I've learned a lesson from this (head hanging in shame).

~BigSis

February 25, 2009

I was out running errands the other day, and happened to notice a small sticker on the back of the SUV in front of me.  It said “Wag More, Bark Less”.  It's a simple arrangement of 4 little words, but such a profound statement, don't you think?  It struck me immediately as a great philosophy for life, kind of like those “my dog taught me all I need to know about life” books.

Think about it with me for a minute.  What if we did wag more and bark less?  What would that look like?  First of all, to me wagging more would mean outwardly and gratefully showing our joy at the things that please us – without reservation or self-consciousness.

The other part of that is that more things would please us.  Have you noticed how little it takes to make a dog's day?  It seems that they think this walk will be the best walk ever, that this meal will be the most delicious thing they ever tasted, that this game of frisbee has to be the most thrilling experience in their life, and that sitting near you on the couch is the greatest fulfilling moment they could imagine.  How would it change our lives if we were a little more dog-like, and focused on celebrating the simple joy in our lives and being thankful for it all?

Now the “bark less” part.  When I think about barking in human terms, it conjures up images of people complaining, being angry or being verbally aggressive or even abusive…all things we could absolutely use less of.  All things that reflect the opposite of gratitude and joy.

I know that we don't literally have tails to wag or barks to silence, but I think this sentiment is going to be on my mind this week.  I hope it will.  Wag more, bark less.  I like it.

~BigSis

February 24, 2009

Well, I have to say that my Cooking Bucket List is nothing as specific or fun as yours, BigSis! These days, I'm just struggling to stay on top of weekly meal planning and shopping for the family. We have too much going on right now for me to carve out any extra time in the kitchen. Maybe one day things won't be quite so hectic.

If I could have just one thing on my Cooking Bucket List, it would be to try to become a better baker. I'm going to have to get past the fact that I don't like to measure ingredients! Actually, I have lots to learn! I think it will just require some time and patience. Hopefully, the day will come when I have time to experiment.

I've been working on my ‘other' Bucket List, ever since I saw the movie. Some things are more trivial than others and some are bigger wishes, but I thought I'd just share a few. (They're more fun than my cooking list.)

This list is not necessarily in order by priority, but I think the likelihood of me getting front row tickets to Elton John's Red Piano concert might happen before I get to go to Egypt or spend a month in Maui.

Here's just part of my Bucket list:

• Go to Vegas and see Elton John's Red Piano concert again and get front row tickets so I can get onstage
• Go on a hot air balloon ride
• Take my dream trip to Italy
• Learn to speak Spanish fluently
• Learn a little bit of  Italian before the dream trip to Italy
• Go back to Magens Bay in St. Thomas with SirHoney
• Swim in the French Riviera
• Visit Egypt, tour the Valley of the Kings, and see where they discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen
• Watch the sunrise at Haleakala, take the 28 mile bike ride down the mountain, and then spend a month in Maui

Haleakala Sunrise

Oh, how I would love to be there right now! I'm looking forward to the day when I can start scratching some of these off my list.

Come on…I'd love to hear what's on your Bucket List!

~LilSis

February 20, 2009

I'm just curious, has anyone else ever said anything like this to someone?

“You better not leave mad; I could get hit by a bus today and then you'd feel bad that you never had a chance to apologize.”

OR

“Life is too short to sweat the small stuff…I could get hit by a bus crossing the street today and you'd be sorry that you let the little things make you mad.”

Yes? No? Maybe? Okay, I wouldn't say this now, but I think I have used a version or two of these phrases in the past.  (I've since learned that laying a guilt trip on someone doesn't do anyone any good.)

So, the reason I even bring that up is because today, I almost got hit by a bus! Seriously!

Here's what happened. It's a sunny, beautiful, brisk morning. I'm running down a hill in the bike lane facing oncoming traffic, while listening to some great music on my iPod. (I always face oncoming traffic because I've got my music up pretty loud and I don't want to be unaware of traffic coming up behind me.)

So, I'm singing along, (la dee da dee da), thinking to myself how great of a time I'm having on my run. Then, I see a bus up ahead coming up the hill. (I don't move yet, because I assume if bikers have the right of way in a bike lane, then runners should, too, right?) Well, obviously the bus driver didn't think so.

I don't know if he was just toying with me to see if I could jump to the curb before getting hit, or if he honestly wasn't paying attention, but he suddenly comes into the bike lane to get ready to make a right turn. If I hadn't jumped to the curb, well, who knows!

Not a great way to start the day when you see one of these barreling straight towards you!

I'm still analyzing this incident to figure out what I'm supposed to learn from it. Is it something as simple as “Don't run in the bike lane, dummy!” OR something deeper than that.

For months now, I've been trying to wake up every morning and take a few minutes before starting my busy day to say some gratitude prayers and really reflect on all our blessings. Maybe this was just another reminder to not take anything for granted and appreciate every moment of every day.

Thank you to my guardian angels, again!

~LilSis

February 17, 2009

Here we are early in the week, approaching a new “Lost” episode!  I'm still not used to having a new episode every week after that long break, and it's a fun little surprise when I remember that Wednesdays bring a fresh show!  You probably know there are tons of us crazed Lost fans out there, but did you know about all of these fun Lost things?  I didn't until I started digging around, and then I couldn't find a stopping place…there are gobs of these goodies out there!

• Sawyer's Nickname Generator.  Have you see this?  You have to try it, it's oodles of fun.  Sawyer's nickname for me is Mighty Huntress.  I like it!  I think if he knew I was a long-time vegetarian, he might have another name for me, but for now Mighty Huntress it is!  And while we're talking about Sawyer, let me bless you with another photo.  You're welcome!

Finding these photos is hard work, but no sacrifice is too great for you!

• Josh Holloway's Fan Site.  I don't love the way this site is done, but you can make up your own mind.

• Video and Audio Podcasts.  ABC puts out new podcasts each week, which you can download to your computer or to iTunes.  The February 12 podcast featured some insights from the gentleman who plays Daniel Faraday, and ran a little over 4 minutes.

• iGoogle Widget.  I added this to my iGoogle home page.  This week we've gotten video, photo galleries and Lost news.

• Jorge Garcia's blog.  Did you know that Jorge (Hurley) has a blog?  It's called Dispatches from the Island, and it looks like Jorge's been blogging since 2007.  Check out his post on the cool cake that Duff and the gang from Charm City Cakes did for the show's 100th episode!  You've seen the Ace of Cakes on Food Network, right?

• Lost Magazine.  I had no idea there was a magazine.  Trying.  Not.  To.  Subscribe.

• Lost-TV: the Unofficial Fan Site.  This site is so full of goodies: show transcripts, episode summaries and reviews, news, links, and more.

• Lost.com: another Unofficial Fan Site.  This one is jam packed full of features too, and I love the Puzzles section!

Another photo? I can't stop myself!

Oh dear, another photo?  How'd that get in there?  Oh well, enjoy, my friends!

~BigSis

February 13, 2009

Do you have paraskevidekatriaphobia? I don't! Sounds like some really scary disease doesn't it?  This is actually what people have who suffer from a fear of Friday the 13th!  Who'da thunk it?

I've always been curious about how this date came to be known as an unlucky day. Snopes has some interesting facts and some amusing superstitions about Fridays and the number 13. Here are a few that I thought were funny!

This quote is from 1846: “A child born on Friday is doomed to misfortune.” That's harsh! (I'm not superstitious, but I hope I wasn't born on a Friday!)

In 1883, this was said: “If you hear anything new on a Friday, it would add another wrinkle to your face and adds a year to your age.” Wow! Don't let anyone tell you anything on Friday!

Oh, you'll like this one, BigSis! I hope you didn't move into your new place on a Friday. In 1982, someone said “Don't move on a Friday, you won't stay there very long.” Note to self: Don't move on a Friday if you want to stay there a while.

I think if you tell yourself that it's an unlucky day, then inevitably, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.  So, tell yourself that it's a lucky day! Or, in my world, I'm just happy that it's Friday! TGIF!

~LilSis