We've been very busy talking about Easter projects and goodies these past few weeks, but I didn't want this day to go by without mentioning it.

This past Friday, April 22nd was the 41st anniversary of the first Earth Day. Earth Day is a day that was founded and is intended to raise awareness for our Earth's natural environment and promote green living.

As the population increases at a mind-boggling rate, more and more people are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the threat to our world's natural resources.

Both BigSis and I have committed to making 2011 the year that we make going green a part of our daily lives. It doesn't take a lot of effort, but simple things we do every day can make a huge impact!

Did you know that you can run a TV for six hours on the amount of electricity that is saved by recycling one aluminum can? And by recycling one glass bottle, you save enough electricity to power a 100-watt bulb for four hours.

I've put together a list of 25 very simple things you can do right now to help reduce your environmental impact, save money, and live a happier, healthier life.

Recycle.

• Bring your own reusable bags when you go shopping.
• R, R, and R. Reduce consumption, reuse whatever possible, and re-purpose old items.
• Know what can and can't be recycled in your area.
• Use a reusable stainless steel water bottle instead of buying plastic bottles.
  
• Buy recycled products.
• Before you throw something out, research online to find out if it's recyclable. Items such as yoga mats and old gym shoes are now being recycled to make new products.
• DON'T throw batteries or electronics into your trash.
  
• Recycle your cell phones and computer equipment.
  
• Give your gadgets a new life and fight e-waste by trading on Ebay Instant Sale.

Save energy.

• Turn off all lights when not in use. (This is my biggest pet peeve and my hubby hears about it every time I walk in a room where he's left the lights on.)
• Change all light bulbs to compact fluorescent lamps, CFLs.
• Unplug all electronics when not in use.
• Lower your thermostat in the winter and raise it in the summer.
• When time to replace an appliance, choose one with an Energy Star Approval.
• Wash as many clothes as possible in cold water.
• Hang clothes on a rack or clothesline whenever possible instead of using the dryer.

Save water.

• Switch to a low-flow shower head.
• Repair leaky faucets.
• Turn the water off when you brush your teeth.
• Wash only full loads of laundry.
• Take shorter showers. (This will lower your water bill and energy bill.)
• Plant drought-tolerant, native plants in your garden.

Save a tree.

• Convert to online statements and payments for as many bills as possible. To organize, just set up email folders for payment statements and confirmations.
• Instead of tossing tons of paper, tissue, and gift bags each year, get creative and try packaging gifts in reusable items like tea towels, scarves, or bandanas.
• Instead of buying boxed or bagged items, switch to glass storage containers and buy staples such as cereal, nuts, lentils, and rice in the bulk section of your store.

I hope this gives you some ideas of simple things that you can start doing today in and around your own home. Most of these can be done on a daily basis without too much trouble and when you GO GREEN, you SAVE GREEN!

~LilSis

Posted under Home

Is it just me, or are the Christmas specials airing earlier and earlier each year?  On Monday, we had the Shrek Christmas special followed by the Grinch.  On Tuesday, we had Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and on Wednesday we had Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  At this rate, we'll be out of Christmas shows to watch by the weekend!

Rudolph and Herbie

Rudolph

I know that retailers put Christmas merchandise in the stores as soon as possible in order to get every possible sale.  That makes sense to me.  But I don't get why these TV shows come on so early.  Are the networks afraid that the ratings will be lower if the shows come on later in the month, thinking that we'll all be at parties instead of gathered around the tube?  It doesn't bother me, it just baffles me.  I've missed my favorite (Rudolph) several times because it came on while I was still doing Thanksgiving dishes! Well, not really, but almost!  Next year, will we be watching the Grinch before we go out to watch the Fourth of July fireworks?  Just wondering.  What do you think?

~BigSis

Posted under Holidays

Be there or be square!

Hey, all you cyber-sisters and brothers!  Are you going to the BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas in October?  BigSis and LilSis will be there with bells on, and we would LOVE to meet you there!

Here's the scoopage that you need to know right now:

• The Blogging Conference is October 16-17.  The New Media Pre-Conference is the 15th, if that's your thing.

• The early bird discount for registration expires on July 1st so you have just a few days to get your act together.  The early bird rate for the 2 days is $300.  It will go up to $395 on July 1st, and then $495 on September 14th, so it's definitely worth it to get your plans made now.

• Hotel information is out too, so check out the 3 hotels with special rates.

• The 2009 schedule is still being finalized, but peruse the 2008 Conference Schedule if you'd like to get an inkling of what could be in store for us this year.

We'll talk more about this as the weeks go on, but we are really really excited about this!  If you're planning to be there, please let us know!  How fun would it be to get to meet up with folks we've only talked to through our blogs?!

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

I've been searching for a vegetarian – or ideally a vegan – alternative to pork bacon that is crispy and smoky and delicious.  And by the way…I'm still looking!  Along the way, I found and tried an odd little product called Bacon Salt.  To be honest, I didn't love it although I gave it kudos for originality.  🙂

The Bacon Salt people saw my review, and emailed me to see if I'd like to try the natural variety of the salt, as well as their Baconnaise, which is a vegetarian bacon-flavored mayonnaise type spread.  Well, this girl just saw Zumanity, which scared the tweet out of me, thanks for asking.  If I can survive that and live to tell about it, surely I'm tough enough to handle bacon-flavored mayo and more Bacon Salt, right?  Right?  Ehhh, ummm, sure…?

The bad news first. I still am not a fan of Bacon Salt.  Frankly, I think the “unnatural” version tastes better than the natural one.  The natural variety just tastes harsh and fake to me.

However!  The Baconnaise is another story.  The flavor is not bad.  It's smoky, savory and bacon-ny, but pretty darn salty too.  I started thinking of how it might be used other than just lightly spread on a tomato and lettuce sandwich.  I think potato salad would be a good fit since potatoes drink up a lot of salt, but I don't know how to make less than a giant washtub-sized vat of it so I settled on deviled eggs.

Baconnaise Deviled Eggs
(vegetarian)

5 or 6 large eggs
1 tblsp or more Baconnaise (can dilute with some plain mayo)
2 tsp dill pickle relish
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
Pepper to taste

Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes.  Run cold water over eggs until cool enough to peel.  Peel, rinse and dry eggs.

Cut eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks to a small bowl.  Add all the other ingredients and mix well.  Add a little more Baconnaise to reach the consistency you like.  Fill each egg half, and refrigerate.  BigSis Note: I like to sprinkle my eggs with Penzeys Shallot Pepper before eating them.

The final verdict?  Baconnaise is pretty good, but it's a little strong for me.  I'd recommend mixing it with regular mayo to smooth it out a smidge.  I think that's what I'll do the next time I make these eggs, or a vat o' tater salad!

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Well, LilSis, I have to say that I'm ambivalent about the Anti-Puff Eye Roller at this point.  I liked how the roller ball felt on my under eye area.  It was cool and felt kind of soothing.  The fluid or serum or whatever you call it didn't irritate my eyes in the least, which is a really good thing.  I don't have anything negative to say about it, and the price is excellent.

The Garnier web site says that the eye roller works based on this premise:

Caffeine decongests puffiness and diminishes dark circles
Pro-Vitamin B5 refreshes and hydrates the delicate eye area

Since we've seen that caffeine can be an effective ingredient in anti-cellulite products, in theory this product should work.  To be completely honest though, I just didn't really notice any reduction in puffiness.  We DID have a lot of Mexican food and pizza a couple of times plus Big T's yummy pita chips, so this may not have been a fair trial for this product.  If you continue to see results, LilSis, I may buy myself one to try under normal circumstances…when I'm not consuming massive quantities of salt!

On the Sister Scale, I'm giving this product 6 out of 10 points, but I'm reserving the right to revisit my review!  What other eye products do we have to talk about, LilSis?

~BigSis

Posted under Beauty and Skin Care

Cerella the Cougar

You know we're big cat fans at BigSisLilSis!  We talk about cats all the time.  But did you know we're really BIG CAT fans?  ^..^

My favorite animal of all time is the mountain lion (also known as the cougar, puma, or panther), and I've been dying to take a little road trip to In-Sync Exotics to visit their mountain lions, tigers, lions, leopards, lynx, cheetahs, bobcats and servals.  In-Sync is a wildlife rescue and education center in Wylie, Texas which is only around 30 miles from North Dallas.  They've been around since 2000 and specialize in big cats.

I'm not a fan of zoos, circuses or any other organization that scoops animals out of their natural habitat to be used for our entertainment.  In-Sync isn't one of those groups; quite the opposite actually.  They provide safe, caring homes for these big cats who need it for whatever reason.  It seems neglect and abuse are the common thread in many of these cats' stories.  They will be loved and watched after for the rest of their days at In-Sync.

What that means is that In-Sync needs operating capital, and their needs for cash will only grow as they take on more and more of these big kitties.

Now for the good news!  Today only – September 15th, 2011 from 7am to 7 pm – is your opportunity to leverage a gift to In-Sync Exotics.  Your donation to In-Sync will be matched dollar for dollar via Donor Bridge.  Your $25 gift becomes $50, $50 becomes $100, $100 becomes $200.  You get the idea!!

Just do what I did.  Go to In-Sync Exotic's Donor Bridge page and click on Donate Now.  You can also go to Donor Bridge and search for In-Sync Exotics.

If you have big love for big cats as we do, please don't let this day pass without checking into this great opportunity before it gets away!

Moses the Bobcat

Note:  I saw on Donor Bridge that the company who processes credit cards for their charities charges a fee of 2.9% for the service. If you donate $50, your fee will amount to $1.45.  To me, that's a small price to pay for an extra $50 for the charity.

Photo credits: In-Sync Exotics

~BigSis

Posted under Animals

Don't look too close! My royal icing didn't turn out too great!

We sisters have a little Irish in our genes, but not much. For some reason, though; maybe because my hubby is half Irish, we always have fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day. We usually have friends over, cook some corned beef and cabbage, listen to some Irish music and possibly have a green beer or two. Last year I made this Glowing Gecko Cocktail for some friends and it was a huge hit.

I love the legend about how every Leprechaun has a hidden pot of gold and how they'd rather turn you into a frog than be captured. Even though these guys don't look like it, they are considered to be faeries and I've always been a bit fascinated by the “faerie world.”

I was in Michael's a few weeks ago looking for something completely unrelated to St. Patrick's Day but when I saw their St. Patty's Day display, I couldn't resist picking up a four leaf clover cookie cutter and some green sprinkles.

To this day, I can't pass a clover patch without stopping to look for a four-leaf clover. 🙂

Even though I've made a few cookie recipes lately, I have to be honest and admit that I really don't like to bake. If you look at my Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies and my Linzer Heart-Shaped Sandwich Cookies, I usually choose a recipe that's more about the decoration, which is the fun part for me.

For these St. Patrick's Day Clover Cookies, I used Alton Brown's Sugar Cookie recipe that I found while browsing Food Network's website. And since I had pretty good luck with the Wilton recipe for the Linzer Heart-shaped Sandwich Cookies, I decided to go with Wilton's royal icing recipe.

I think I may have bitten off more than I could chew with the icing recipe. Who knew that royal icing had to be mixed for 10 to 12 minutes with a hand mixer? (And, yes, I have survived my entire adult life without owning a stand mixer.) I even had to recruit my hubby to help me with the mixing of the cookie dough when my arm got tired.

This sugar cookie recipe was pretty simple and the cookies turned out perfect! I'm not a big sweet eater but if I'm going to eat a cookie, I like a soft cookie and I prefer something like a shortbread so that's probably why I like these so much. They were soft and moist and not overly sugary!

For me, the royal icing was a royal pain in the “you know what” and these sugar cookies are perfect without it!

~LilSis

Posted under Holidays

Valentine's Day generates so much buzz, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to send these random last-minute ideas your way:

• Need a great gift idea for the animal-lover in your life? Sponsor a Snip in their honor…a neutering or spaying, that is!

Do it for the animals!

• Papa John's is making heart-shaped pizza this weekend. You get a thin crust pizza with one topping plus Chocolate Pastry Delights (whatever those are) for $14.99. PJ isn't my favorite pizza (I love you, my dear i Fratelli) but you can't beat this price!

How cute is this?

• Eggs on Sunday has a really cute Valentine's Day breakfast menu. Since the 14th is on Saturday, this is definitely doable!

Valentine's Day Breakfast

• This Green Rice Casserole from Lottie + Doof has nothing to do with Valentine's Day, I admit it, but I'm so dying to have it this weekend! Perhaps it would make an unusual unexpected side dish if you're cooking your Heart Day meal at home? You might serve it next to a crispy roasted chicken, but I'm imagining it piled into a nice tender portabella/portobello mushroom cap, and broiled with more cheese on top!

It's not pink, but still looks delicious!

• And, last of all, in the spirit of loving your neighbor, check out this video!

Bonus Tip : Arrange for a small wine and dine at your place, followed by some adventurous, amorous trysts of lovemaking! Getting in the mood will be the relatively easy part, considering it's Valentines'! You could watch some porn to get the ball rolling. However, it must be understood that few countries do have a ban in place for streaming, or watching porn. But fear not, search online for the best VPN to watch porn, and you might just get a solution to your problems! Also, did I tell you, the watching porn on Valentines' day could apply for singles as well? Self-love is just as important you know!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! If you're missing your sweetheart this year for whatever reason, we send you our love. God bless you!

~BigSis

Posted under Holidays

We don't talk much about sports here on BigSisLilSis, but there is no way that I can let this historic moment pass without mentioning it.

LilSis and I moved to Arlington in the late 60s with the whole fam damily, so we grew up there.  Texas and Arlington are home base to us, even though I'm in Big D and LilSis is in California now.

Now, after 39 years, our Texas Rangers have won their first playoff series, AND their first playoff game at home!  It's finally happened!  Yes yes yes!  And this week, we're competing in the 2010 ALCS playoffs against the New York Yankees.

We know that the Rangers have had some tough years and haven't always had a superior team, but this year they do and we're thrilled and proud about that.  They play as a team without a bunch of diva drama, and it has taken them far…this far!

Not everyone is so happy about the Rangers' visit to Playoff Land though.  Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News is a little less than joyous about it.  Check out this gem from Mr. Bondy:

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

When we were on our tour of downtown Chicago last week, we happened to pass Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill on North Clark Street. We all wished that we could stop and eat lunch there but we knew that we didn't have time so we'll have to plan that for another visit. Passing Frontera Grill reminded me that I bought Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday cookbook sometime last year and have yet to cook a recipe from it.

I decided to browse through his cookbook yesterday to find something to make as a side to go along with the Chicken Enchilada Casserole that I had planned for dinner. And since Cinco de Mayo is only a week away, I thought this would be a great time to try one of his recipes.

I ended up making the Roasted Garlic Dressing with Green Chili. Rick Bayless says that this is one of the most versatile dressings that he makes and that grilled onions and radishes have gone into the roasted garlic-dressed romaine salad at Frontera Grill since the day they opened. He also suggests that it's great on top of a salad of sliced tomatoes and cilantro, which is what I decided to do. This recipe makes about one cup.

This recipe was quick and easy yet had a terrific flavor because of the roasted garlic and chiles. Salad dressing is not the best recipe for photographing, but this dressing was perfect drizzled on top of this tomato and cilantro salad.

Roasted Garlic Dressing with Green Chile
(from Mexican Everyday)

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (I only used 1 serrano)
3/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
Salt

Set a small dry skillet over medium heat. Lay in the unpeeled garlic cloves and the chiles. Roast, turning frequently, until soft and blotchy brown in spots, about 10 minutes for the chiles, 15 minutes for the garlic. Cool until able to handle, then slip the skins off the garlic and roughly chop the chiles (no need to remove the seeds).

Combine the garlic, chiles, oil, vinegar and a scant teaspoon of salt into a blender jar or food processor. Process until smooth. Taste and season highly with additional salt if necessary. Pour into a jar and secure the lid. Refrigerate until ready to use. Shake well immediately before pouring out.

~LilSis

Posted under Food