I'm always looking for motivating new songs for my iPod cardio playlist.  As LilSis just mentioned, I also get tired of my tunes really quickly.  I get some songs from old CDs, but most come from iTunes.  The only problem with discovering new songs on iTunes is that you get to listen to such a short snippet of the song, who knows if you're going to like the whole song?  You can pay for a song and then not like it at all.

Here's a solution to that problem…Grooveshark!  Voila!  At Grooveshark, you can listen to songs in their entirety, and even make your own playlists to come back to and listen to time after time.  How is Grooveshark different from iTunes?  You don't download songs and you can't put them on your MP3 player.  You just listen to them online.  You also don't have to pay for using Grooveshark.  If you don't like dealing with ads on the site, you can pay $30/yr for a VIP account, but they don't bother me.

You can search Grooveshark by artist, or by keywords that can be found in a song name or album name.  You can also look at the songs that are most popular with other users at the moment to get some idea of what's hot.

I like to listen to songs on Grooveshark, and then download them on iTunes for my iPod if I like them enough.  It's the perfect marriage of technology!

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

When we opened our doors for business at 4:30 this morning where I work, Christmas trees and beautiful decorations were revealed, Christmas Blend was brewing, our holiday packaging filled the shelves, red aprons were donned, and, yes; the Christmas music began.

BUT, am I ready? No.

Is it time to start getting ready? Yes!

After Halloween, it seems like the days fly by, even faster than normal. I'm never quite ready to think about Christmas when the retailers fill their shelves with Christmas items, which seems to get earlier and earlier every year. With so many other things on our minds; Christmas, which is supposed to be a joyous time of year, just seems to add more stress to our lives. My goal is to not allow that to happen this year.

For a lot of us, myself included, there's going to be a tighter budget for Christmas this year. So, what that means for me is better planning and getting my list ready earlier. My intention is to try to make a lot of my family's Christmas gifts this year, which means that I need to get started now!

Over the next few weeks, we'll be talking a lot about the big Charity Bake Sale benefiting In-Sync Exotics, but we'll also be sharing some tips to hopefully help make your Christmas planning and shopping go a little smoother.

To get you started, this 4 Top Tips to Get your Christmas Planning Started that was posted by BigSis last year is worth taking a peek at again in case you want to get started early. And this one on how to Make a Christmas Game Plan has links to sites where you can download free printable planning pages.

It may seem too early to start talking about all this Christmas planning, but the best way to avoid stress and last minute chaos is to be organized and plan ahead. So, I'm getting started; how about you?

~LilSis

Posted under Holidays

Have you heard about Tweets for Boobs? If not, that's exactly why I'm mentioning it here today. I know that since BigSis and I started tweeting, we haven't stopped talking about it. We're both loving Twitter and see a huge potential to tweet about a broad range of topics, some more relevant than others, and some just for plain, simple fun.

I love this idea of using Twitter to help raise money for Breast Cancer Research. Just in case you haven't heard about this project, I wanted to mention it early in the month to give everyone an opportunity to jump on board.

Tweets for Boobs

Help raise $10,000 for breast cancer research.

All you have to do is include #tweetsforboobs in a tweet through the month of October and with every tweet you are making a $1 pledge for donation.

Follow @tweetsforboobs and at the end of the month, they'll give you your pledge total so you can make a donation to Susan G. Komen Foundation for your total pledge amount.

I've already talked about how Susan G. Komen Foundation is one of my favorite charities, so I'll be putting some Tweets for Boobs out on Twitter all month. If you have a Twitter account, please consider doing a tweet or two for boobs!

~LilSis

Posted under Health

For Mother's Day, brunch is normally on the agenda for a lot of us moms. It's just nice to have one day out of the year when you don't feel guilty saying: “I'm not cooking today.  And, as a matter of fact, I'm not doing any laundry either!”

Most Mother's Day Brunches include mimosas, too. But no one says you have to drink Mimosas on Mother's Day. How about some Margaritas?  Food Network has over 100 great recipes for different varieties of Margaritas.

I think this Whole Citrus Margarita sounds nice because it just calls for fresh juices instead of a store bought mix.

Whole Citrus Margarita

If you're not really in the mood for a tequila-filled Margarita, how about one of these treats for after dinner?

We love these Margarita Cupcakes from Recipe Girl.

Margarita Cupcakes

This Frozen Margarita Pie from Cookie Madness looks scrumptious!

Frozen Margarita Pie

This Key Lime Bundt Cake with Margarita Icing is another from Cookie Madness.

Key Lime Bundt Cake with Margarita Icing

And the Margarita Cookies from Peanut Butter and Julie are adorable!

Margarita Cookies

How about Margarita Ice Cream from Barefoot Kitchen Witch!

Margarita Ice Cream

Whatever your plans are for Mother's Day, we wish you a wonderful day!

~LilSis

Posted under Food

It's finally here; the day we've been working toward and looking forward to since last year's sale that resulted in a $3,055 donation to the SPCA of Texas!

The baking and packaging is all done, and now all we can do is sell these goodies!  Our goal is another $3000 for our favorite charity, and we pray pray pray that we make it!  Our secret fantasy – not so secret now – is that we sell everything we've made!  How incredible would that be!

If you're in the Dallas area, email me for directions at bigsis at bigsislilsis dot com.  We'd love to see you!

If you're not in the area and you'd like to help these little furkids, you can donate at http://www.spca.org/goto/bakesale.  If you use this url, the SPCA can see that your contribution came through our event, and we can send you a thank you!

Thanks for your support, your well wishes, and your prayers for a successful event today!

~BigSis

Posted under Animals

Today is a big day for us!  This morning, I'm hopping on a plane to meet BigSis in Vegas, where we'll be attending the BlogWorld & New Media Expo 2009. We've been planning this trip for months so we're really excited that the much-anticipated day is finally here!

We've been studying like crazy to prepare ourselves for all that we hope to learn this weekend at the Expo. And, we're secretly (ok, not so secretly now) hoping to meet Darren Rowse, the infamous ProBlogger. I'd also like to meet the zany, Jenny of The Bloggess. And, we're both curious about Anthony Edwards being a Keynote Speaker.

We're going to be extremely busy with morning til night sessions and plan to crash a few ‘After Parties', so if something exciting happens, you can bet we'll be Tweeting about it! If you aren't already following us, just go to the right sidebar and Follow BigSis and LilSis. We promise not to bore you with what time we get up, what we eat for breakfast or what time we get in from the casinos; just maybe a couple of quick Tweets about our adventures and misadventures!  We'll also be putting up our photos on flickr.  You can find our photostream at www.flickr.com/photos/bigsislilsis.

And, if time permits, we'll throw up a post or two from Vegas so stay tuned for more on our BigSisLilSis adventure @ Blog World in Vegas!  Look out Vegas; here come the sisters!

~LilSis

Posted under Travel

Since it was started over 27 years ago, most of us are aware that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And, if you haven't already noticed, there are pink products popping up in retail stores everywhere to raise funds for this cause.

Over the past few years, we've talked a lot about breast cancer awareness and the importance of annual mammograms and monthly self exams. Today we want to take this opportunity to round up some of our previous posts on this important issue.

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Oct 2010)

• Breast Cancer Awareness: Not Just a Pink Party

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Shop For the Cure

• Clarisonic in Pink! Yes, please!

• Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Pink Products

• October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Oct 2009)

• Bake Sale/Rummage Sale for Komen Race for the Cure

• Nancy Brinker wins Medal of Freedom

• October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Oct 2008)

One of my favorite charities that has been helping to raise breast cancer awareness for almost 30 years is Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  In case you've never visited the site, it's worth taking a few minutes to read the story about Susan G. Komen and how her sister, Nancy Brinker promised her that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

Nancy Brinker has proven that one person can make a difference. In 1982, that promise became Komen for the Cure and a global breast cancer movement was launched.

Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, Komen for the Cure has invested more than $1.9 billion to fulfill that promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

We are now more aware that ever that early detection is the key to a higher survival rate so the single most important thing we can do as women is to have our annual mammogram. I'm writing this today as a friendly reminder to anyone who may be behind on their annual mammogram; please call and make an appointment today.

~LilSis

Posted under Health

Remember a few weeks ago when I let myself run completely out of eye cream?  It wasn't pretty.  In fact, it was darn frightening for the people around me.  Since I was starting at square one, I decided to go on a mission to find an effective eye treatment that was affordable.  I first tried Olay Regenerist Eye Products, with mixed results.  I'm still using the anti-aging eye roller, but the eye lifting serum went right back to the store.

What to try next?  Aha!  I found a package of Loreal's Revitalift Eye Lifting Repair Duo with big half-ounce samples attached of Revitalift Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate (for day) and Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Night Cream.  I paid less than $20, and got 4 new products to try!  How fun is that?

I've been using all 4 products now for almost 2 months, and have some good news to share.

• None of these products caused a break-out!  That's pretty big for my grumpy skin.  90% of the moisturizers and treatments I try will immediately cause clogged pores and/or zits, even if they're dermatologist-tested/approved and theoretically non-comedogenic.

• All of the products seemed to do a pretty good job of moisturizing.  Even so, the day cream didn't cause shine to bleed through my foundation in the morning, which some products can do.  Using the night cream with my Tazorac every evening helped to lessen the drying effect that the retinol product can have on my skin.

• The daytime eye cream worked fine in conjunction with the anti-aging roller, and didn't get goopy or cakey with my concealer.  The night eye cream was richer than the day version, and seemed fine.  Neither eye products caused any burning or irritation.

Now for the bad news.  I hate that there IS bad news, since the price point on these products is great and there was a fair amount of good news. But Loreal's Revitalift line is about advanced anti-aging action and wrinkle repair.  Did I see any lessening of wrinkles?  I don't think I did, I'm sorry to say.  If there was any improvement, it's so slight that I haven't really noticed.

I'll probably keep using these products occasionally until they're gone, but I don't think I'll repurchase.  I'm still on a mission for the best eye cream.  Any ideas of what I should try next?  Be sure to come back for this week's Fabulous Friday when I'll share my review of an anti-aging skin serum that actually does work!  😀

~BigSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Anyone addicted to Facebook? Have trouble focusing at work because you're tempted to look at your Reader ten times a day? Or maybe a particular website you can't stay away from?

Now, be honest!

I'll go first.

I did recently sign up on Facebook after much persuasion from relatives, but I purposely do not look at it every day nor spend much time on it at all. I can see how it could be addicting and time consuming if you let it.

I haven't joined the Twitter craze and probably won't any time soon. Since we are in the cell phone business, I really have no desire to be on my cell phone twittering when I'm away from the office. (Oh, but I guess congrats are in order to Ashton Kutcher for being the first to have a million followers.)

I do, however, have one little confession. I'm a tad bit obsessed with my Google Reader.  I check it every morning in anticipation of finding great new posts from my favorite sites!  Also, during the day, after I complete a task or a big project, I'll give myself a little treat and allow myself to look at my Reader again to see if there is anything new that came in since the morning. And maybe during lunch, after work, before bed and in the middle of the night (just kidding).

If you think you might need a little help disciplining yourself, then check this out. I recently discovered this little tool on this Daily Blog Tips post.

It's really a pretty good idea. Go to keepmeout.com and enter the url of any website that you visit too often.  If you try to access the site more than once within a specific time interval,  the service will block you and remind that you should wait some time before you can go there again.

You know what they say…the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem. So here goes.

My name is LilSis and I am an addict. I'm addicted to my Google Reader.

~LilSis

Posted under This & That

I love all those great ideas for decorating dorm rooms that BigSis just shared with us. It's nice to know that there are some retailers that make it easy and affordable for us to get just about everything we need in a one-stop shopping trip. Luckily, we've got three years to go before we have to prepare for that big move!

Honestly, it seems like school just let out for the Summer and here we are talking about getting organized to send the kiddos back to school.  When we talk about how fast time flies, here's a perfect example. Last year right before HayHay was about to enter his Freshman year of High School, we all of a sudden noticed that he was literally growing out of his bed.

Well, I wonder why? We bought the bunk beds when he was four years old! So, one day he's a little four year old with brand new bunk beds and the next time I turn around, he's a 5'8″ fourteen year old sleeping on a little twin bed. (You gotta give him credit, he never complained or even mentioned that his feet were hanging off his mattress.) I just ran across the photos that I took for my ad .

Here's what he was sleeping in just last year.

And here was his cute little desk on the end.

I don't even think he could sit in that little chair and fit under the desk!

After one trip to IKEA and some fresh new paint colors, here's what the Big Boy Room looks like now.

The IKEA bed, dresser, and nightstand are all from the Hemnes collection. The bed was $299, the dresser was $299 and the nightstand was under $100.

We got the Quick Silver comforter, sheet set, pillow cases, shams and two pillows at Bed, Bath and Beyond all in one “Bed in a Bag” for under $200.00. They may not have the exact set right now, but I know they have some awesome deals going on for bedding.

Finally, drawers big enough to hold big boy clothes.

Yes, the Led Zeppelin wall covering is a ‘hand me down' from BigT.

But, I love that he still loves his Rugrat pillowcase!  🙂

I'm not crazy about posters being hung all over the room with thumbtacks, but HayHay managed to do this himself without asking and I've decided that I need to choose my battles.

We never did totally finish his room, so that's one of our projects for this week. We're going to head back to IKEA to try to find shelves for his trophies and some sort of storage unit for all his sports memorabilia and his collection of hats. And, if I find some reasonably priced frames, maybe I can convince him that his surf posters would look better if they were framed.

While at IKEA, I'm going to try to focus on buying just what we need to finish up his room, but in looking through the new 2010 catalog, I'm going to be tempted to browse through the home organization section and the office workspace area.

There's something about getting the kids ready to go back to school that makes me want to reorganized all the cabinets and drawers in preparation for the school books that have to stay at the house and all the new school supplies. I love shopping for school supplies! I probably haven't mentioned it lately, but I do have an office supply fetish. (I could get lost in Staples for hours.)

If I find any amazing bargains or any fun, new items, I'll be back later this week to share them with you.

~LilSis

Posted under Family